kHAoS

i’ll take this w/ 30% off

i’ll take it w/ 20% off.

reading over the entire exchange, i can see how it’s not entirely clear. i should’ve just uploaded a pic of the entire slab instead of just the label.

yes, it’s the same jim lee 608 cover except the original being produced in 2003 vs 2022, as denoted by the CGC label.

i would consider it a reprint of some sort. the ads are different from the original 2nd printing and produced exclusively by mcfarlane toys.

yes, it is a jim lee cover. this reprint has the new DC logo and not the old DC bullet logo in the corner.

guess the graders haven’t gotten the memo that the mcfarlane batman 608 reprint is different from the real 2nd print. i hate to be the poor guy that just bought this book.

per PM, i’ll take it.

per PM, i’ll take it.

is the middle copy available? if so, i’ll take it.

i’ll take it!

i will take 1 copy.

if this is how ebay wants to run their site, it might benefit them to break-up the site or have different categories for sellers. this one size-fits-all standard for sellers is troublesome. i wouldn’t mind seeing something along the lines of a part-time hobby seller status of sorts. personally, i use the site to buy and sell as a way to fund my hobby interests. i’m not selling new retail product, it’s mostly video-games and collectibles. i’m not looking to run it like a full-blown business and it’s an unreasonable expectation to bear all these extra costs. i get that that it’s ebay’s site, so they get to set the rules. but after 20 years, it sucks to feel that you’re getting squeezed out. in all probability, i’m just probably old and this new age of buyers have different expectations of the ebay buying experience. i’ll get off my soapbox now...

so ebay holds my funds, but also pressures me to ship out right away? i use ebay as a hobby, but they sure know how to suck the fun out of it.

at one point, the goal was x-men GS 1 thru 544, but space became an issue, so it got trimmed back to 300. honestly, if space weren’t an issue, i’d probably collect every wolverine appearance, but since that’s not feasible, my wolverine run got trimmed to wolverine 1-69. i’m tempted to cut to down to the end of the silvestri run at 58, but the tex run was entertaining.

regarding hulk 340 specifically, that art has been altered for publication a bunch of times. the white effect on the claws was added in a pin-up compilation from the 90’s. foreign variants of that cover also changed the changed the background color or had the image reversed. and oddly enough, the marvel poster featured a green hulk and orange background. marvel probably cropped whatever reprint edition of this image they most recently used, instead of scanning the original. personally, the white effect butchered the original art, not sure why anyone would think this is an improvement?

these types of shipping problems are causing headaches on ebay. if you’re a top-rated seller, you’ll lose that preferred status if shipments are marked as arriving late or not scanned as delivered. i feel like ebay should ease off on it if it’s systemic with the post office and outside of the seller’s control.

the only pic i have of the donor vehicle is from the ebay listing. i can’t take too much credit, all i did was give it a good bath and purchase some repro labels. the street fighter jeep is a good shade of green and it’s an overlooked hidden gem. i just like the added bits from the stinger and the molded shovel to give it a slightly different look compared to the original VAMP (side-by-side pics added for reference). i got a cool story about that VAMP, though. as a kid, i missed out on it and never tracked one down at the flea market or yard sales. back in the crazy early ebay days, i scored this factory sealed one for $20 shipped. a part of me thought about keeping it sealed, but gi joe was pretty dead in 97 and i’ve kept it all this time, so i don’t regret assembling it!

during this pandemic, i’ve been ordering from them regularly and all of my shipments have turned out great. a couple of times, the mailers got crumpled, but the comics were all mint. i’m actually impressed at the condition of the comics considering their volume and i’m assuming their packers aren’t anal collectors, like most of us on this board.

finally finished up a custom project this week. i’ve been leaning towards vintage gi joe’s lately and wanted to mix in something new. the donor vehicle was from the 90’s Street Fighter line with added parts from the Cobra Stinger and VAMP cannon. a couple of odd things to note, while the shell looks like it should’ve been the same mold of the VAMP or Stinger, it’s not. and the plastics on these items are becoming brittle; certain parts are becoming really fragile. the jeep rolled off my couch and the cannon got chipped. i got an idea for another project, hopefully i can get it to come together as nice as this one.

i owned 4 more hulk 340 slabs, but those were sold earlier this year. i still have about 25 more copies raw. at one point, my goal was 50 copies, but i stopped once i hit 40 copies because prices were climbing and there were other books i was chasing at the time. i have multiple copies of the wolverine mini-series and wolverine #1, so you can tell the copper-age is my collecting sweet-spot.

this is a weird revelation for me. around 10-12 years ago, i noticed that star wars and transformers were steadily gaining all the time, so i figured gi joe would not be far behind. i started thinning out my collection, but prices were really flat. i was so bummed, i stopped selling altogether and figured i’d be stuck with them for the long-haul. fast forward to the beginning of the year, i sold some foreign joes for absolutely zany money. i regret selling some of my rarer pieces in the early 2000’s, but i’m relieved i didn’t purge everything 10 years ago.

i’m seeing more orders sitting at the local post office for a day or so before making it to the main distro center. but the other thing i’m starting to notice is more packages being routed to the wrong state before landing in the proper state. i’ve had 3 packages this month zig-zagging across the country for no apparent reason. at least from what i’ve observed, the local post office personnel do appear to be overwhelmed at times.

the bubble on my flight pod separated a few years ago and the mirage is hanging on for dear life. the bubbles are definitely thinner. great to see a fellow joe collector on the boards 👍

nice pick-ups! be careful with those TRU figs, the build quality and plastics have not held up as well the OG joes. i’ve had more than a few figs with arm joints separating and if the knees are frozen, the pegs tend to break. that flight pod is a thing of beauty, just wish the stickers weren’t cheap paper ones.