whomerjay

+1 I simply won't talk to a lot of dealers. I'd say more than half. But some price very close to what is FMV and what they want, and yes, this makes for a faster buying process, and a more likely sale IMO. In the early 1990s I was at a small show in San Antonio. A local dealer who owned a shop was set up. I liked the guy, we knew comics, knew the market, and priced books reasonably. Someone pulled one of his books, something like a Conan 1. and started trying to beat him down on the price. It went on for a few minutes. The prospective buyer got to "come on, I really want this book." To which the dealer ripped the book out of his hands, and said "You want this book?" and proceeded to rip it into little pieces and threw it at his feet. "Take the F'in book!" Gotta say, part of me really enjoyed that.

Thanks. Well, it would be nice to reholder and use the old label for the slab. Wonder if CGC would create this option?

Interesting. I would usually dismiss such a comment if it came from someone else. i have many old label GA books. A bunch are top census or were when I bought them. I love them as old label for obvious reasons including greater likelihood they have not been messed with. Moreover, given what the old label represents to me, an old label slabbed book is IMO aesthetically superior. But if these slabs are unequivocally and significantly damaging the books, I will seriously consider either freeing them or reholdering. I’m sure I’m not the only one in this situation.

Worked in the area for 5 years and was extremely disappointed with all food options that were not upscale/expensive along the lines of Capital Grille. However, this take-out Italian Deli is as good as any in the country: http://www.trinacriabaltimore.com/ It is ~1 mile walk from conventional center through a rough neighborhood but you will never forget the sandwich you order.

I’ve only read the first page of this thread and don’t know what it’s evolved/devolved into, but a few comments: 1) your sample size is a bit small; 2) I imagine most have had this same feeling after originally submitting to CGC. And many have forgotten. CGC had/has certain criteria for grading that differ from the more commonly held criteria that existed pre-CGC. Some have mentioned the heavy weighting of NCB stress especially in spine, unseen fingerprints etc. also there is clear curve for older books especially GA keys that is quite puzzling. I remember strongly disagreeing with certain apparent CGC criteria in the early days, and I thought I was the most conservative and anal grader I knew. Over time many replaced their criteria with those of CGC for obvious reasons. So CGC criteria became the norm whether CGC was “correct” or not. If one presumes that grades reflect aesthetic appeal, then the question is “has CGC accurately judged what is aesthetic to the majority of collectors?” Perhaps not initially. But today that they have essentially compelled most to accept their perception of what’s appealing, so CGC has dictated what is aesthetic and what grade a book should get, and most have knowingly or unknowingly been converted. 3. You might be a strict grader based on a reasonable set of grading guidelines that differ from CGC’s. But there have probably been a few dozen who aren’t who’ve come to the boards with the same rant. Thus the snarky responses.

will survive somehow

take

hey Sharon

Take

1. How many books has CGC graded in their history? 2. What is the likelihood that none has ever suffered damage after being received by CGC? 3. Knowing the answer to #1, what is a reasonable estimate of the number of books that have been damaged by CGC? 4. Of those books damaged, what % were reported as damaged? IMO it doesn't matter how great anyone is at handling books, some % of books get damaged to some extent with some frequency. I would bet: A. CGC employees are really good in handling books but are not perfect. B. Some but not all of the damage gets reported (unless Jesus is the sole CGC employee). "it would/could never happen" is a bit ridiculous. C. You have to expect the system to not be perfect; accept the good service and factor into your average ROI an uncompensated screw up every once in a great while. D. Also realize that the odds are greater that the fault is actually yours, but you didn't realize it.

take

take

or if 2018 is available. Not sure of licensing issues but want to buy legitimately. It appears the HA version can only be viewed on one computer and is rather restricted; would like a version that can be on my multiple computers and Iphone. May be a pipe dream.

great books. underappreciated (and undervalued) title IMO.

+ a lot. Multiple key truths here explaining the essence of comics as investments. If you restrict your investments to readily liquid books, know how to liquidate, and turn over inventory at a reasonable rate, profit and risk is arguably better than most conventional investments. Problem is most people: 1) can’t do math; 2) don’t utilize selling venues optimally; 3) acquire too much dead inventory and books that take too much work to turn over. Almost no one on these boards except maybe some BSDs or Roy embrace the optimal model. Part of the problem is few want to treat books like widgets. I and many accept a diminished ROI in order to be a collector/investor instead of a pure savvy investor.