Sparkle City Comics 4 4

[lizards2]

21 minutes ago, comicquant said:

A good example of a grade which is way off is the Batman #227 they've got up right now.  They say its an 8.5 and its a 7.0 on a good day.  The over-grading is consistent but the degree of over-grading varies quite a bit.  They've got to have more than one person grading because it seems there's an old school (3 to 4 bumps off) and a new school.

I see the corner bump at LLFC, but the rest of it looks like production issues, with the raker marks at the bottom having some rubbing wear.  What am I missing on this one?  Looks like something I would crack out of a CGC 8.5 slab that you think looks a lot better, because the the outer well hides a lot of that stuff.

 

[Buzzetta]

As far as sparkle city I wrote something once that was seemingly negative and they privately messaged me here with a very long message...

 

shrug 

[comicquant]

4 minutes ago, lizards2 said:

Some of their stuff almost looks plausible.

But then there are books like this one http://www.ebay.com/itm/Avengers-83-NM-9-6-HIGH-GRADE-Marvel-Comic-KEY-1st-Valkyrie-VINTAGE-Silver-15c-/202058176191?hash=item2f0b9b16bf

where it looks great from the front, but kind of bumpy on the back.

Its says in the fine print the grade only applies to the front cover 

[lizards2]

Just now, Buzzetta said:

Lizards let it go.  It's an unwinnable situation since you are engaging  someone who still needs a babysitter.  

I dood it!

[scooter99]

42 minutes ago, lizards2 said:

I could easily have this wrong, but at that time they were mixing in slabs and raws, creating the illusion that they knew how to grade.  Then they went to all raw.  I don't know what their current auctions look like, as I ignore their emails.

Yes, when I followed their auctions they had both slabs and raws. 

[Mystafo]

HA! 9.6?!? Pass the spray paint we're hittin it hard tonight baby!

[lizards2]

2 minutes ago, comicquant said:

12 minutes ago, lizards2 said:

Some of their stuff almost looks plausible.

But then there are books like this one http://www.ebay.com/itm/Avengers-83-NM-9-6-HIGH-GRADE-Marvel-Comic-KEY-1st-Valkyrie-VINTAGE-Silver-15c-/202058176191?hash=item2f0b9b16bf

where it looks great from the front, but kind of bumpy on the back.

Its says in the fine print the grade only applies to the front cover 

I can't see that.  I do see that it is listed as 9.6 in the header and elsewhere, and a 9.4 in the description.

[comicquant]

Just now, lizards2 said:

I can't see that.  I do see that it is listed as 9.6 in the header and elsewhere, and a 9.4 in the description.

I was kidding of course but it does seem the back covers don't always match the grade

 

[Gotham Kid]

They used to auction off some primo graded stuff. Not for a long time now ...

[Mystafo]

And a 9.0 in real life!

[comicquant]

22 minutes ago, lizards2 said:

I see the corner bump at LLFC, but the rest of it looks like production issues, with the raker marks at the bottom having some rubbing wear.  What am I missing on this one?  Looks like something I would crack out of a CGC 8.5 slab that you think looks a lot better, because the the outer well hides a lot of that stuff.

 

Blunting top/bottom spine-side
Wear (top staple)
Edge wear LRFC
Multiple spine-ticks (some CBCs)
CBC under right paw of left-most wolf
Light partial readers crease (below bottom staple)
Light foxing top half of BC
Light soiling back cover

I see what you're referring to as manufacturing defects and I originally docked them as a couple of impact dents because I'm not sure I've seen this with just a pair of dents.  Typically that defect affects the width of the cover (multiple defects with some dents worse than others) and is closer to the bottom edge.  Also seems like that particular defect is usually more of a pulling tear than an impact such as these.  I don't know though, the pic isn't great so usually you can bank on a few things you're unable to see.  

Edited September 18, 2017 by comicquant

[lizards2]

5 minutes ago, comicquant said:

Blunting top/bottom spine-side
Wear (top staple)
Edge wear LRFC
Multiple spine-ticks (some CBCs)
CBC under right paw of left-most wolf
Light partial readers crease (below bottom staple)
Light foxing top half of BC
Light soiling back cover

I see what you're referring to as manufacturing defects and I originally docked them as a couple of impact dents because I'm not sure I've seen this with just a pair of dents.  Typically that defect affects the width of the cover (multiple defects with some dents worse than others) and is closer to the bottom edge.  Also seems like there's more of a pulling tear than an impact.  I don't know though, the pic isn't great so usually you can bank on a few things you're unable to see.  

I think you're looking at a lot of scanner artifacts on the FC, with some actual flaws.  The soiling/foxing on BC too - not sure - looks like an aging/tanning halo to me - foxing?  Not sure.  I really can't tell from the scan.

I agree there is wear.  But it looks like a plausible CGC 8.5 to 8.0.  At least some of the carppy ones I've cracked out.

I'm not trying to be an apologist for Sparkle City, but on this one I'm just not sure.

[lizards2]

After further review, there are quite a few books that appear within the realm of reason in this week's auctions.  It makes me wonder whether things have improved somewhat.  Or maybe the two/three grader hypothesis might be in play.

My gut tells me, like I've stated before, that if a flaw to support a lower grade isn't evident, it's hidden in there somewhere.

My experience in the past has been that they do cheerfully refund your money, so if you're feeling lucky, might as well go for it.

[Fan Boy]

45 minutes ago, Gotham Kid said:

They used to auction off some primo graded stuff. Not for a long time now ...

They did some nice ones at the beginning (years ago). I believe I have one copy still somewhere in one of my boxes. Now? No, not anymore. I haven't brought from them since then. Did had seen their auctions time to time, however... still sketchy of their grading.

[Saddle River Comics]

I haven't bought much from Sparkle City recently but bought a bunch of raw and slabbed books from them from late 2012-2015.   I looked very carefully at the pictures on the raw books before buying I also expected a bit of a discount from GPA because buying raw books on the internet is a lot different than having them in hand.  I would also say I look very closely at back cover scans.

With that said the raw books I have bought have mostly graded out (with the occasional dud) even though I have seen many books raw posted by them that seemed clearly over graded to me.  It seemed to me that I used to get bigger discounts on the raw books in their auctions in the past.  They got more of a following and even the raw books that seemed over graded were going off close to GPA.

 

Since I am on their e-mail list I look at their auctions now and then but I haven't bought since the prices rose to the point where I did not feel I was being compensated for the risk of buying raw books from them as I was in the past.

Edited September 18, 2017 by Saddle River Comics

[Jordysnordy]

Thanks for the replies. Very amusing

[entalmighty1]

32 minutes ago, Jordysnordy said:

Thanks for the replies. Very amusing

Jeff!

I've bought from Sparkle City in the past, but doubtfully will in the future.  I find the scans/pictures in their listings to be fairly self-explanatory, and the grades given almost never match the pictures.  Somehow, their auctions always fetch top dollar.  They seem to get GPA+10% for raw listings most of the time.  

[misterrmystery]

I've bought a few raw books from them in the past and found them to be over-graded. Check the scans carefully as they don't match the grade assigned. Would only buy slabbed books from them but rarely a bargain there.

[silverweb]

11 hours ago, woowoo said:

Typical Ebay overgrading that you would expect from an Ebay amateur seller, but this is a popular, high volume outfit!  The title says 9.6, then later they say approximately 9.4. With the color rubbing on the upper spine front cover and the  visibly dented back cover corners, I would concur with a 8.0 to 8.5. Ebay suckers are plentiful I guess.

 

 

[FN-2199]

I've bought several lots (short boxes) of moderns from them and they are a favorite seller of mine for those types of auctions. Their "average grade" assigned to the lot has been accurate. I also wish some other dealers would ship the way they do. I don't worry about how Sparkle City ships shorts and longs.

Lately, I've seen raw singles up for auction that I'm interested in but the condition looks to be exaggerated and there is tough competition in bidding so I stay away. I would love to see some more of their bulk auctions.