Issue 1

I?ve been having a lot of fun with my registry set lately and wanted to share my experiences, but then I thought why not make this a recurring event? So if you?re reading this, welcome to issue #1!!

Quick about me- I?m a Christian family man who enjoys collecting high grade Bronze Age appearances of the X-men and Silver Surfer. If this sounds like someone you have no interest in hearing from please stop reading now, otherwise proceed.

Finding comics and determining value- up ?til this point I?ve only looked to purchase and/or sell books through eBay. I?ve been a member of eBay for almost 10 years and I?ve always done really well in spite of the fees. When it comes to collecting however it can be extremely tough to find the high grade books I want (I suppose if they were easy to find they wouldn?t be as much fun to collect, but still). I thought for sure I?d find some great issues at Comic-Con but no such luck (unless I bought them unslabbed which I did not want to do). I did however find a few great web sites that many of you may already be familiar with- Heritage Auctions, Pedigree Comics, Comic Connect and Worldwide Comics. It?s been a lot of fun using these web sites to search for comics I want and at the same time I?m able to search for books in the same grade that I already own that have been sold- knowing the selling price helps me determine whether or not I?ve made a wise investment. Of course if you?re like many collectors you could just let GPAnalysis do all this for you, but personally I?d rather not spend the $9.95/month, and besides it?s more fun to do it myself.

Cover markings- one thing that makes absolutely no sense to me is the grading of books that have writing on the cover. How is it that some of these covers can have grease pencil marks or date stamps but have no mention of that on the label while others, even though they are still Universal, are noted on the label by CGC as having a ?pencil marking?? I understand it doesn?t affect the grade, but it looks terrible in my opinion and it should be disclosed by CGC on the label in every instance since not all sellers are honest enough to bring it to your attention up front. The lesson here is buyers beware and if in doubt ask questions!

Latest addition- I recently picked up an Iron Man Annual 4 CGC 9.6 off eBay. I can?t believe this book is so undervalued. It features a really cool cover and appearance by the Champions (yeah I know they didn?t last long, but hey the team included Iceman and Angel from the X-men so they?re cool in my book!) and it?s one of only 6 in the highest grade on the census. Score!

Well that?s it for now. I suppose if you like listening to me ramble on about comics I?ll know it by the number of views you give this posting. If there?s interest I?ll write again at some other point, if not then I?ll limit my posts to one topic at a time.

I?m out. Be cool, hug your kids and bring your wife flowers just because.

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