bostoncorbett

This thread is REALLY going to get interesting when I put myself on YouTube, cracking the case as I eat chocolate fondu and guzzle Blue Ribbon -- naked. Then, after a good, hard, read, I'll cram it into a soft, plain, envelope and ship it off to CGC. I'll repost the re-submitted grade after it comes back (although with pics, of course). This should determine once and for all: 1. If I'm nuts, or 2. If CGC will regrade it a 9.9 or something a bit lower. -- Brian (AKA Boston Corbett)

As I sit here in the Mile High city and ponder the finer points of CGC as I nibble on sopapillas at Casa Bonita pounding on my Black Berry... All valid points regarding "re-submitting" a book. What people have failed to mention is that there is an equal possibility that re-submitting a 9.6 AS #5 will come back a 9.4, not necessarily a higher grade of 9.8. Given the theory of exponential value (I described this in a previous post)... If you have a high grade, high value comic, you risk a substantial amount of money "cracking" the case and re-submitting. Thus the reason as to why I won't be re-submitting the 9.9 in hopes of a 10. And, yes, if a comic is cheap enough, you can keep re-submitting your book in the hopes that someday a grader will award it the higher grade. Given the odds on New Mutants #98, there are approximately 400 -- okay, 396, just so we're exact and don't cause Senor Amadeus to suffer a stroke -- 9.8's available for re-submission. Assuming the 9.9 is no better than the 9.8s, and I have yet to capitulate to that fact, then you have a 1 in 400 shot at getting a 9.9. 400 submissions x $30 CGC submission fee = $12,000. If you add the price of the book ($250), you now have $12,250. Where have I heard this number before? God, ain't the vagaries of the marketplace a funny thing? God bless Capitalism and the Invisible Hand. Whoever gets the next 9.9, please email me and I'll buy you a beer. Either by actual $$$ or via the laws of probability (dumb luck), you'll have earned your 9.9. Oh, and if you re-submit 400 times, pray to God the nay-sayers are right about your 9.8 having "virtually no difference" from the 9.9, or your battle is lost before you lick the stamp. Brian (AKA Boston Corbett) P.S. Yes, yes, yes... the CGC fee is anywhere between $17/25 + shipping and 2.5% of the book's FMV. "About" $30. About. No need for detailed rebuttal on how to make the CGC submission process cheaper by haggling, theft, sneakery, sleeping with a CGC grader, etc.

1) I don't give refunds! 2) I teach in the b-school. English classes are on the other end of campus. 3) And I'd respond to your epic response -- and explain pricing theory and why it's more likely that something will sell for $12,250 versus $100,000,000 -- but it's getting late and I prefer passive-aggressive sarcasm and humor over scholarly debate. Here, on the boards, serious discussion, I believe, has no intrinsic (i.e, innate, natural, true, real) value. *checking the dictionary for proper definition* 4) And "objective" refers to the fact that CGC is a neutral third party. Purchasing something from a third party with no dog in the fight makes their opinion OBJECTIVE, even though their opinion might differ from some other neutral third party, making it SUBJECTIVE. *checking to see if I used the word "dog" correctly -- any carnivore of the dog family Canidae, having prominent canine teeth and, in the wild state, a long and slender muzzle, a deep-chested muscular body, a bushy tail, and large, erect ears.* Loving this board, Brian (AKA Boston Corbett)

Okay... Had to respond to this. I completely respected your post until I clicked on your "homepage" icon and got sent to a website touting "Comic Art," the most subjective and over-priced hobby in the world of comics. And, to top it all off, the "GEM" of the website is the original artwork of nothing other than frickin' G.I. Joe #21! Not just one page, or even two pages... BUT EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF ART FOR THAT ISSUE! I seriously can't see the computer screen as I'm laughing so hard. Hard to type. And, yes, I can tell already that we'd get along quite well.

My name is not Roman Abramovich. It's Gordon Gekko. My colleagues are Owen Morrisey, Dennis Levine, Ivan Boesky, Carl Icahn, Asher Edelman, and Michael Ovitz. Love your posts! -- Brian (AKA Boston Corbett)

I have a few questions for our board appointed economics professors (I play one at the local University in real life, by the way). What is the comic worth if... 1. There was at least one other person willing to pay $12,350 on the eve of the auction? ANSWER: $12,350 (to that other person, at least on that particular day). That's not including the other bidders who dropped out before reaching this number. And, interestingly, the buyer (me) already had offers from colleagues who collect high grade books for a significant "return" on my "investment." Go figure. 2. What is it worth to people who find ZERO intrinsic value in this particular issue in this particular grade? ANSWER: $0 Thus, I will likely not attempt to sell any of my high grade comics to members of this board. For instance, G.I. Joe issue #21, even if a 9.9 pops up, is still worth crapola, and I will never ever own a copy. Why? It has absolutley ZERO intrinsic value for me (and G.I. Joe really really does suck donkey ballz). 3. In the comic book industry, can someone please intelligently explain the theory of "Exponential Value Theory"? HINT: The difference in value between .5 and 1.5 is less than 1.5 and 1.8... The difference in value between a 9.6 and a 9.4 is greater than a 9.4 and a 9.2. For an example, just look at the price of Tales of Suspense #39 in 9.0 and 9.2... and then look at the prices between 9.2 and 9.4. Other examples... EXAMPLE A: Luke Cage: Hero for Hire CGC 7.0 sells for $69. There is no significant increase in value until you hit the 9.4 range when it's worth a few hundred bucks. However, Luke Cage: Hero for Hire CGC 9.6 sells for $3,000. And the single 9.8? Well, it sells for whatever ungodly amount of money the winner can afford to grab the book when (if) it ever comes up for sale (I won't be selling it any time soon). EXAMPLE B: Everyone on the board seems to be aware of Incredible Hulk #181. A CGC 9.4 sells for $3,000, a 9.6 sells for $5,000, a 9.8 for $15,000 ($25,000 on a good good day), and a 9.9, again, for whatever ungodly amount of money the winner can afford to grab the book for when (if) it ever comes up for sale. EXAMPLE C: NEW MUTANTS 87 in 9.8 sells for $125 to $150. 9.9 Sold for $3,500 (i.e., an ungodly amount of money that the winner happened to be able to afford when he stumbled across the auction). EXAMPLE D: Iron First #14 sells for $500 in 9.4, $800 in 9.6, and $2500 in 9.8 (I was lucky and snagged a copy at $2,100 -- am I lucky for getting it on the cheap, $400 below FMV, or stupid for not donating the money to poor starving children in Africa? It would pay for 200+ manual laborers in Kenya, by the way). If a 9.9 ever pops up, Good Lord, you'd better be Pablo Escobar to have a prayer of owning the book -- you need to be rich and willing to kill to get it. EXAMPLE E: New Mutants 98. 9.6 sells for the same price as your garden variety "Charmin," 9.8 sells for $200 to $250, and 9.9? Yes, whatever ungodly amount of money, blah, blah, blah. THIS is the lesson that should be discussed. Comics are worth more (significantly more) as their condition increases. How much a book increases in value depends on: individual taste x popularity/demand for a particular issue x scarcity of the issue x popularity of the character x key "event" in an issue x CGC grade (PGX and other company's -- because of their lack of discipline -- doesn't count, unfortunately) x scarcity of CGC grade x luck (knowing of the auction, being in the country to bid for the auction, when other people are NOT aware of the auction, etc.) x [insert whatever variable I'm missing here, please]. Good luck figuring the math out. Please email me when you have. The idea of "pressing," getting screwed, spending too much, etc. is irrelevant. The "possibilities" of how/why this book is no different from 9.8s is moot. Indeed, outside of the case, it's worthless and I would be a complete fool for cracking it open. For starters, I'd instantly be out $12,500. But, thankfully it's still in the case and graded by CGC. CGC, while not perfect, is perfectly objective. At some point, on some day, three CGC employees agreed this book deserves a 9.9 and they assiged this particular book the grade 9.9, and they did not give this grade to any of the previous 9.8s. Yes, the "label" makes the value and not the book itself. Why? Because it's not me, Moose, Tommy Boy, Ricky, The Sperminator, or any other "board" member assigning the grade after we've "pressed" the out of the book. It's CGC, the industry bible. Is the grade a mistake? Maybe. Fluke? Perhaps. Will other high grade books "come forward?" Probably. But even with others -- or even a perfect 10 -- the odds of landing this issue, in this objectively graded condition by industry experts who are presently recognized as "The Authority" on comic book condition, is astronomically remote. The only difference would be that now someone else would have another extremely rare -- and valuable -- high grade comic. The lessons for the high grade collector? 1) Exponential Value Theory means that the price of the "one grade below" has NOTHING to do with the price of the book "one grade above." 2) Valuing a comic is a complicated process that consists of many many variables and you'd better be aware of them before you buy (or sell). 3) ANYONE spending more than cover price on a comic is spending more money than the average Kenyan earns in a day. And 4) if you find a super high grade "popular" book with few others listed on the CGC census, act immediately, or lose the book (and be prepared to give your left nut for the book you want -- I, by the way, am now sans ballz). Thus endeth the lesson. FYI... Pedigree cashed the check today.

Hi there. I'm new to the boards. Decided to join after reading this thread. I did a google search of "New Mutants 98 9.9" to see what people were saying after the Pedigree auction. Funny, funny, funny stuff. Thought you might like to know... 1. Payment is on its way. Check was mailed out last Thursday morning (I was traveling out of the country on business, or else I would have mailed it sooner). 2. As for the price, I called Doug at Pedigree to assure him that I, in fact, wanted this comic and it wasn't a fluke bid. As you are aware, if you want a 9.9 (or a 10.0) comic of any age, you have to act when it comes up, or risk never ever seeing it again. I'm glad you put it up for sale and I'm glad I bought it. My highest bid at the end (to avoid the stupid bidding war) was $15,000. Post that fact on this board and lets see what's said. Enjoy the check. I'll enjoy the book. Sounds like a great trade. Be well, my friend. Best regards, Brian AKA Boston Corbett