Heronext

On 12/21/2023 at 12:32 AM, Nick Furious said:

Those are very valid points.  I can see where he would still want the MJ designation on the label to get full price

I suppose it does somewhat more "legitimize" what has already become a shady assemblage of paper and plastic

On 12/21/2023 at 12:31 AM, migmtl76 said:

Did you guys see this :

 

Yes a couple pages back

On 12/21/2023 at 12:13 AM, Nick Furious said:

He gets them re-holdered to convert Newsstand labels to Mark Jeweler labels and Green label to blue labels.  That part is not speculation.  And maybe even Restored labels to Blue labels...but that part is speculation.  

Getting "Mark Jeweller" added to label is not really necessary, he can still sell it as 9.8 MJV without the label notation, market would still eat it up IMO.  If his reseal fools CGC it would fool a buyer; why go through CGC.  Same for Green>Blue scam: if his reseals are so good he doesn't need CGC; in fact doing so theoretically makes the scam more detectible.  Only thing I can think is maybe the custom label is to make the new slab look "different" from the old slab, and maybe to fix a crack... But then, that should be suspicious to CGC... Are his reseals perfect or not...?

On 12/21/2023 at 12:02 AM, Nick Furious said:

I'm not giving much credence to the "inside man" theory.  I really think it's much more likely that he just found a loophole in the re-holdering option and exploited the heck out of it.  

Maybe the "special relationship" he has alluded to is as a customer who does a lot of reholdering & spends a lot on custom labels.  I'm wondering how he reseals books, and if it's so undetectable, why even get them reholdered.

On 12/20/2023 at 11:42 PM, sledgehammer said:

70% of them are in custom labels, and they are all keys.

I did a search of Forest Hills CGC (the location city of the ebay seller in NY), and it brought me to a dealer on the CGC site called Royal Collectibles

https://www.cgccomics.com/comics-dealer-locator/dealer/1398/

Word of advice, don't click on their website. I had to quickly click off whatever it was, and I shut off my computer quickly too.

I have to think there is at least a remote chance that a big submitter in that area might have some relevant info or connection to the ebay seller.

Anybody know, or are him or her?

Royal Collectibles is a regular comic shop.  I know it but I've not been in years. Queens is home to 2 million people.  I don't see a clear connection 

On 12/20/2023 at 11:09 PM, Nick Furious said:

A.I. can probably already solve this problem without needing to redesign the case.  Input the label information, scan the book...and you get a green light or red light for re-holdering without re-grading.    

And weigh all submissions to the microgram.

Would love it if they videoed grading sessions too.  A friend's Mazda dealership does that for inspections; customers can watch online.

On 12/20/2023 at 9:57 PM, D Stuart said:

The plot thickens... again:

 

 

That's impressive work... I predict an FBI raid of the seller's house and a CGC recall of 10 million slabs

If CGC had an investigative unit, like U.S. postal inspectors, what would it be called?

Tell them you can't afford it and ask them to send back to you raw.  Sell as raw unpressed VF and NM- with a note that CGC evaluated them at those grades and found no restoration 

On 12/5/2023 at 8:05 PM, CGC Mike said:

Marketing would like to keep the popup on the screen.

Thanks for trying

On 12/6/2023 at 8:31 AM, Happy Noodle Boy said:

Well here's a game-changer, and I'm pretty freaking annoyed: your post inspired me to do some research to confirm where I purchased this book from. I had mixed up which EC books I purchased where, assuming this Haunt of Fear book was bought raw at a convention, but looking through my ebay history, it turns out that I bought it on ebay, SLABBED BY CGC, a blue label 6.0. I do crack out all my slabbed books, but didn't realize this was one of those. The trim looks obvious even to me now that I'm looking at it, but it obviously got by CGC.  The sale was long enough ago that ebay no longer has a good picture of the book, just a tiny postage stamp-size jpeg, but there it is in my purchase history.

Playing Devil's Advocate, even though it sure looks trimmed, is there any chance CGC could be right and MCS wrong?

 

First I'd ask MCS to have another look at it.  Your options then (1) try and recoup a significant portion (up to you) of what you have in it by selling as-is, (2) keep it, or (3) get it back from MCS and send to CGC for investigation.  Continuing option 3, since you cracked it out you may have to pay grading fees again, but try to get special treatment, like a free trim check / grade pre-screen.  If they then say it's not trimmed, you could keep, sell (not through MCS), or pay to put it back in a blue slab (then sell or keep).  If CGC thinks it's trimmed, that is the most complicated scenario and I'll end my post here.

On 12/5/2023 at 11:26 PM, Nick Furious said:

Forgive me for playing Devil's Advocate but let me challenge that with an extreme example:  I buy a book from you and 2 years later it has dropped 50% in value.  I can just trim the edges, have the trimming verified by MCS and send it back to you for the original purchase price?  

I wouldn't advertise such a broad policy but if a buyer had the guts to approach me after 2 years about an issue like that (few would but I think in this hobby all honest buyers and sellers should be comfortable with it) I might take the book back and if I suspected shenanigans, never deal with them again. Ultimately it would be case-by-case and depend on many factors including value of the book.  I don't in general deal with a lot of raw vintage books worth more than a hundred bucks or so.  As OP has now pointed out this was originally CGC-slabbed so that adds a twist.

In my opinion, any raws sold without disclosed restoration are implicitly guaranteed to be unrestored (not trimmed).  Any reputable seller (the person from whom you purchased it) should take it back if an outfit such as MCS thinks it's trimmed.  If you got it on eBay, of course the seller would have eBay's return window to hide behind, but if it were me, I'd take it back.  It's the right thing to do in a hobby where things like this can easily go unnoticed.  My reputation is worth more to me than one returned book.

Is there a way to get to the login screen without going through this popup every time?

Member Sign In | Account | CGC (cgccomics.com)

This is from the Sign In link on boards.cgccomics.com

MODERNS:

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COPPER AGE:

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BRONZE AGE:

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SILVER AGE:

• [WITHDRAWN] Incredible Hulk #1 CGC 3.5 White Pages.  Price tag is $XXXXX plus shipping via direct no-fee payment method like Zelle or cashier's check.  This is available for hand delivery / pickup / meetup in the New York City area and throughout most of central (north-south) New England and upstate (eastern) New York.  Otherwise, I will ship it via FedEx or USPS Priority Express at cost (should be under $100, perhaps closer to $50).  This is a board exclusive listing.  If this goes unnoticed, I will relist it under the regular Silver Age sales area.  Potential buyers will be vetted.  No returns.

GOLDEN AGE:

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Planning for this to be a place to connect with potential buyers; a hub of sorts.  Think a combined Sales Thread, eBay links, and MySlabbedComics gallery.  List of items will hopefully steadily grow over time.  My inventory / collection numbers 12,000 comic books.  It will be a mix of publishers, ages, lots and single issues organized in a way that hopefully you'll find easy to navigate without scrolling through things that are of lesser interest.  There may even be freebies.

I am posting in this area rather than the regular sales forum because I don't want to clog it up more.  I'm happy to deal with whomever may come across this thread here in the backwaters of the boards.  Items may be listed without grades, prices or images, which I will gradually update over time.  Items may be deliverable next day, or up to a few weeks.  Hopefully people will get what I'm doing.  Think easy-going without a lot of pressure and fireworks.  If you believe anything posted here does not conform to board rules, PM me.

Feel free to email me with queries about things you are looking for.  ("I'm looking for..." and "Do you happen to have..." types of PMs are welcome.)

Firstly, if anything in my eBay store piques your interest, PM me to cut out the middleman and work out a boardie discount. I have been buying & selling there since 2000 and as a seller have always gotten excellent feedback.

PMs only; please no "take its".  Real estate here is reserved for item postings and updates.  I'm fine with offers; I'm even fine with grading disputes.

Content here to be fleshed out / edited as time permits.  Shipping, return policy and all that good stuff to be added.

Shipping: For slabs I use Uline 16" x 12" X 4" shipping boxes plus bubble wrap and peanuts.  I have also used these successfully for lots of up to 60 moderns.  For raws I use Easy-Fold mailers; comics are secured to & between two 9" X 12" cardboard pads with painter's tape.  If comics are in Mylars or Mylites, I will first enclose them in a larger polypropylene bag.

Old kudos thread that reflects but a fraction of the successful transactions I have made on the boards; here is one of my old threads.

Some stats about "The Inventory":

No. Golden Age: 131

No. Silver Age: 791

No. Bronze & Copper: 4000

No. Modern (post-1992): 7000

No. CGC slabbed comics: 154

Created 12/2/23

In my opinion, it would have to be otherwise perfect to still be an 8.5.  IMO also, there's nothing to really glean by the fact they left it out of the grader notes.  They don't record grader notes for every book, and when they do they don't always mention everything.  My understanding is they are not meant as a comprehensive account of defects for owners, but rather not-always-comprehensive notes that the graders take for their own purposes (thus, "graders' notes").

What year was the book published?  Also can you clarify - if back cover is detached at the bottom staple, wouldn't the front cover have to be too?

On 11/6/2023 at 4:13 AM, MyNameIsLegion said:

Large corporations like TW and Disney bought the IP for Marvel and DC not because they want to be the comic book business. They couldn't care less. What made them attractive properties is their media licensing potential. Where else can you buy that much IP that cheaply to get an entire universe of characters and stories for pennies?

I visited WB Studios in Los Angeles this summer and subsequently read up on the history of that studio.  It's complicated and fascinating.  As I understand it, some guy who got rich running a commercial cleaning company bought DC Comics, and then when WB was in dire straits in the 70s, that first company bought WB, and not the other way around!  Crazy, right?  WB ended up married with DC kind of by accident.

On 10/23/2023 at 11:17 PM, Dr. Love said:

just now on Ebay - and that's for the lowest graded, behind a 4.5 and a 6.0

pent up Atlas pre-code romance demand?  or is it the "Blissard Blessing"?

hmmm

There seems to be a high demand for slabbed romance right now.  People seem willing to pay way more than what a raw copy plus pressing & grading would cost them.

On 6/24/2023 at 11:06 PM, Heronext said:

A warning to sellers about ebay member raddude3000

On Sunday I traveled from one of my homes to another for a 2-3 week stay and brought a box containing my current 42 eBay listings (all comics).  For the past couple of years, I have only sold one or two things at a time but in the past months I have ramped this up to about 40 listings.  I've sold about 5,000 comics the past 10 years and am about the best seller anyone would want to deal with.

Anyway the day after I left home this guy buys a book.  I go to the box to pull it but it isn't there.  Obviously, a mistake on my part but no idea what happened and no way to investigate until I get back home.

Explained this to the buyer, apologized and offered a refund or to put the transaction on hold until I can get back home, find the book and ship it.  He chooses refund.

Here are his first two messages to me:

"Small problem? What the heck? Are you frigging serious right now?"

"Handle it now or you won’t like the feedback I leave on this unprofessional transaction"

In his feedback, he twice calls me a scammer and accuses me of "stealing his money" and "using it" for the 5 days until eBay refunds him.

His page: raddude3000 on eBay

My feedback page: Feedback Profile (ebay.com)

I'm trying to get eBay to remove the comment but it is proving difficult.

Just reporting that I finally, successfully got eBay to remove the buyer's negative feedback comment, so - it is possible