John Campbell

I'm definitely planning to get a few pressed with a local presser to see if that mitigates the issue. If not, I may just take my chances on a few and see what happens with the graders. I wouldn't mind contacting them about this issue, but not sure where to begin. Anyone know what the email for say any of the top graders may be? Would love to get their thoughts.

That actually sounds like a really good idea. I've never attempted to reach out to CGC about anything like this before. Am wondering if I sent a general email if I'd even get a response.

Hello everyone. I've been noticing an oddity recently with several newer Marvel Comics I've bought right off the shelf from lots of different shops. From Amazing Spider-Man 88 to Hulk 3, Thor 20 and more. Many seem to have multiple curved but faint (usually non-color breaking) stress lines along the spine on the back of the comic. In my opinion, considering the placement and that many similar copies of certain issues seem to have this flaw, these may be production-related. Front covers are almost always completely blemish free and for all intents and purposes they're likely Near Mint condition. I've included a few photos below to highlight as best I can what I'm talking about. Does anyone know if this is a common issue? I've got a few potentially key issues I'd like to get graded but am afraid I may get hammered by the graders since grading seems much tighter these days. Is this something that they're aware of and taking into consideration when grading? I'm considering getting them pressed first, but not sure if that will help in this case. Any insights would be appreciated.

Here's another for the blocked bidder list. dewilli-54 28 Feedback Rating Bid on a bloodshot comic lot, won the auction, paid and then requested a cancellation almost immediately without explanation. I granted it and then immediately blocked him.

I'm sure Keya Morgan isn't all bad. He's probably just traumatized after being a survivor of the 911 terrorist attacks!

Zsaji. Strikeforce Morituri.

I firmly believe many of the Pre-Unity Valiants are undervalued keys. Pretty much any first appearance I pick up wherever I can find them. Harbinger 1 is really the only one that's risen a bit beyond what many may be willing to pay for a raw copy.

If I remember correctly there was a gorgeously restored AF 15 that had the coveted 9.8 grade awhile back. I think it was on sale for around $50,000. I think if I had to choose between an unrestored low grade or a super high grade restored I'd have to go with the restored.

All this. I've browsed their CGC selection on occasion and for some 9.8 graded issues I was interested in, the going rate was close to double the current going ebay rates or more.

Hello fellow boardies. I've got an Indian buyer raising red flags this morning. He was the high bidder on a Blu-Ray set I'm selling and then messaged me saying he lives in India and wants to ship to his friend's in Oregon. I told him I'd ship to any verified PayPal and eBay address. He seems to have met that condition when making payment. He's also had a few oddball questions he's sent my way throughout this whole process. Like asking me if the set is for Blu-Ray when it's plastered all over the listing and some issues with payment. Even though I may be protected, the fact he told me he lives in India and wants me to ship elsewhere makes me uneasy. I'd rather cancel the transaction than deal with a potential chargeback dispute if his "friend" doesn't ship the item. Anyone here deal with anything similar?

Question of the year, here!

This x 100! Never, ever ever fail to get tracking. If the buyer is at all shady, he'll get the item and then file a claim with eBay. And you'll lose the money. Got burned by a person_who_is_obnoxiously_self-impressed pulling that mess once. NEVER AGAIN.

I also think they take production flaws into consideration. For example, I sent in a copy of Outcast #1, the photo cover, to get graded. Virtually every copy I ever saw had at least one small color-breaking spine stress. Likely from when it was produced. The one I got graded had that as the only flaw I saw. It came back 9.8 just as I expected it would.

I think it will be interesting to see if my account gets flagged. Ordered 25 copies of Oblivion Song #1. Typically, I order 1 each of new Valiant titles and a handful of Image and IDW titles. Outcast #1 I ordered 15 copies of 1 and 10 copies of 2 - 15. Sold several sets before the market tanked on that one and several CGC graded #1s on ebay. Planning to order at least 10 copies of Oblivion Song #2 - 12 also (to sell in sets as well as getting some #1s graded). I very rarely order multiples of anything.

I think the key to being a better grader is to not let defects you see slide. Sure, you may really want that New Mutants 98 to be a near mint copy, but the big stress line on the back cover most wouldn't notice still makes it a Very Fine copy at best.

Great job of the crossing guards coming down 1 MINUTE LATER! Wow!

This is considered a production defect so CGC doesn't grade too harshly on it. This one looks a bit bigger than usual, so my guess is this wouldn't grade out at 9.8. If there's no other defects, you could be looking at a 9.4 or 9.6 copy. Scratches on the back, minor scuff marks and even the slightest hint of a fingerprint can lower the grade on this. On a side note, I've bought many copies of this the last few years so I know what to look for on it. I still haven't gotten any of mine graded. Out of the 7 copies I have, one maybe 2 could potentially get a 9.8 in my opinion. Don't laugh, but one I got off ebay for $50. It's a PGX 9.8 slab! It looks damned nice so I'm thinking it could get at least a 9.6 from CGC. I'm torn on what to do with that one.

Hmmm .... my favorite EPIC Comic battle? Vanth Dreadstar vs. the High Lord Papal.

I can't complain about the turnaround time on my modern slow track. My submission arrived and was checked in on May 20th and just arrived to my local post office today. I was iffy on whether a few would get 9.8s but all but one of the 16 comics I submitted got top grade. I tend to grade harshly so I can't really comment on whether their grading was particularly tight. I will say that I was pleasantly surprised the Outcast #1 Photo Cover Edition came back a 9.8 as there was one tiny, tiny color breaking stress line along the spine (extremely common for this book so maybe that's why it still got 9.8?).

3+ weeks in QC - called yesterday. Rep stated they were so backed up in Encapsulation and QC that I should expect two more weeks. So much for paying extra for FAST TRACK Well ... maybe that means you'll get a new slab that doesn't have to be returned because of defects. I'd consider that a plus. I love comments like that...be thankful you got something you should have got in the first place I get the frustration, but circumstances are a bit different than they were this time last year. It looks like these new slabs have a significant learning curve and QC is probably kicking a lot back. Personally, I'd be inclined to offer some kind of discount on Fast Track items that take longer than listed ... but that's just me.

3+ weeks in QC - called yesterday. Rep stated they were so backed up in Encapsulation and QC that I should expect two more weeks. So much for paying extra for FAST TRACK Well ... maybe that means you'll get a new slab that doesn't have to be returned because of defects. I'd consider that a plus.

I have a submission that arrived yesterday, listed as received. It's a slow track ... and I do hope they take their time with it because it sounds like there's still issues cropping up with the new slabs. Eek!

What would be really cool is if CGC offered a signature authentication service, with say a different colored label .... maybe something in Red? Hint hint.

Note to self ... if I EVER sell an Ashcan on eBay, I'll make sure to mention it's not comic book sized! lolz

Good points! Think I'll not get too aggressive in seeking this one out then. I also remember there was a slight continuity error in it back from reading it over two decades ago. Toyo Harada introduces himself to Peter Stanchek in this issue BUT he also introduced himself to Peter in Harbinger #1. I've got a feeling Harada's short-term memory isn't that bad.