ComicConnect's Next Event Auction has started posting books ! 21 21

[Robot Man]

I bid and won several of Jon Berks books. Because I wanted them first and foremost. But it was an added bonus to know they came from Jon's fabled collection. I was glad they were labeled. The collection deserved it. Rick's collection also deserves a notation. Even a certificate would be nice. It was a remarkable feat from one of the most passionate collectors in the hobby. I get the ego thing and I agree but a collection like this deserves not to be lost to the ages. A notation of some sort is in order as far as I am concerned. And, I would bet they would also get a little "extra juice" with it. Even though I don't swim in this pool, I am glad to see Rick at least get compensated for all his hard work and devotion.

[MrBedrock]

1 hour ago, Cat-Man_America said:

I agree with Metro on this, but everyone has to choose the strategy that they're most comfortable with.  If it were me, I'd probably want a separate catelog or section devoted entirely to the collection with biographical information on the owner.  That's just good marketing, IMO.  As I see it, it isn't arrogance or inflated ego to display pride in a tough collection one has labored long to put together.  

You're right though, as a highly desirable run of books, the Centaurs stand on their own and the books sell themselves.  It's just that the prestige of acquiring rare books that were part of Gator's well loved collection brings another added dimension to the run.

From a marketing standpoint, I think it's always better to put a face to an impressive collection simply because it brings another great story to the provenance which can boost bidder interest.  OTOH, promotion can go too far.  Photoshopping one's smiling torso to the hind quarters of a horse would've probably been a Centaur too far ...and one we couldn't unsee..., but like I said, whatever strategy works. 

Interesting points. Maybe a sticker placed on the holder stating the proud ownership of the comic could help in this regard.

[Robot Man]

I've got a bunch of swill from Bedrock City. Can I get a certificate of authenticity?  

[MrBedrock]

4 minutes ago, Robot Man said:

I've got a bunch of swill from Bedrock City. Can I get a certificate of authenticity?  

Make them worth even less?

[MrBedrock]

4 minutes ago, Robot Man said:

I've got a bunch of swill from Bedrock City. Can I get a certificate of authenticity?  

Make them worth even less?

[Cat-Man_America]

1 hour ago, G.A.tor said:

I think you are overestimating that appeal. I could be wrong. I’m going to review results tonight. That will tell the tale. 

But I didn’t bid on berk books because they were berks. I was excited to see the books! That was my mentality. 

The Berk Collection is a special case mainly because they were graded very quickly and rushed to auction (some encapsulated without the inclusion of important creator attributions on the labels).  That said, I think that having The Jon Berk Collection stated on the label is generally considered a plus due to the length of time he owned most of the books (for those who care, the provenance matters).

On the minus side, Jon's CGC graded collection was in the newer gaudy label NR prone holders which influenced my bidding or rather, the lack thereof.  Sadly, several key books in Berk's collection demonstrated visible structural flaws and were graded on the high side, subjectively speaking, due to their pedigree.  In certain cases, this effectively made those books HGC in the CGC census even though they clearly didn't look it.  Other non-pedigree books appear undergraded, but one thing doesn't balance out the other.

The most disappointing aspect of this is that it drops other collector's copies that were formerly HGC to a lower status.  If the books merited it, no problem, but if the grades appear questionable, it starts looking manipulative.  Of coarse, none of this is Jon Berk's fault, it's all on the grader's and company backing those grades.

Your Centaur collection is entirely different because they were graded over a much longer period, including many older label books.  As you rightly point out, your collection is well known and had sufficient lead time publicity to grab the attention of most collectors who'd be serious bidders.

1 hour ago, walclark said:

Don’t you mean you would want a separate Cat-Man-alog?

I'd prefer going with something along the lines of the CAPTAIN MANNUP Collection!    ... 

Seriously, I think that the John Wise Collection catalog with CC is the gold standard.  It didn't come across as pretentious (to me) on any level.  John is one of the nice guys, IMO, and still an avid collector to this day.  

Edited March 15, 2019 by Cat-Man_America

[rob_react]

1 hour ago, atomised said:

one thing I noticed when I was going after the more fun 73 is that they extended the bidding another round when an underbid came in, I thought that was odd.  If the book is set to close and you are the high bidder, it seems strange to me that bidding is extended on a lower bid.  

They extend the end time whenever a new bid comes in in the last... 3 minutes? Even if they person wining doesn't end up with the highest bid. It's their special wrinkle on the online-only auctions. 

[G.A.tor]

1 hour ago, eschnit said:

Worked out just right.  We recognize the lack of ego, respect for the books, and well-earned reputation you have.  Just a last thought on it, I think it might have been ideal to slip a cert in the back of the book with the CGC id on it that said "from the collection of".  I imagine that could be a thing, if not abused and overused, that CGC could do that wouldn't be a negative to anyone.   I know I have a cert on a Crippen book as an example.     

I think certs are great for pedigrees , but not “collections”. Again , just my opinion. 

[MrBedrock]

Pretty obvious who it is that values the label over the books.

[Cat-Man_America]

4 minutes ago, MrBedrock said:

Pretty obvious who it is that values the label over the books.

As I see it, the label and holder are crucial components of high grade book presentation.  Also, the display should serve the book, not the other way around.  I'm all for folks cracking their books out for whatever reason, although I'm persuaded by a wealth of evidence that the hobby would be much less respected today without third party grading.  Oh, and BTW, I'm all for keeping lower grade books raw.  

[MrBedrock]

I had always heard "buy the book, not the label" and thought...who in the world would value the label over the book. It just didn't compute that someone could actually care more about the label?!?!? I still can't believe what I am hearing. Is it true? Apparently it is.

[eschnit]

47 minutes ago, MrBedrock said:

I had always heard "buy the book, not the label" and thought...who in the world would value the label over the book. It just didn't compute that someone could actually care more about the label?!?!? I still can't believe what I am hearing. Is it true? Apparently it is.

I can't imagine anyone values the label over the book.   But, an example.  A boardie has the top two graded books of a desired Planet, one is a 9.2, the other a 9.0 Mile High.  Can look at the book within the slab and determine which book deserves a higher grade, but in the end it's very close.  I believe he had a tough time deciding which to keep and which to sell.  In the end, I believe he chose to keep both, but ranked the 9.2 higher for which he wanted to keep.  It's a tough call, because Mile High pedigree matters.   All things being equal, there is some value, some, for some collectors, for the history of the book.  Maybe zero to plenty of folks, but not zero to all.   It's not wholly irrelevant to everyone whether a book is from a pedigree or collection, or no label would include the information, and it would never be mentioned in descriptions.  Also, as time goes by and more and more books are entombed, they can't be touched.  So we can value the book itself all we want, but in the end, all we have is the covers, and the label.  We can't read a book in a case.  We can't even tell if a book's pages are brittle, except for the label says so, if we weren't the ones that got it graded.  I mean the integrity of the grading process is questioned all the time.  It's not that they don't do their best, but they're not robots.  No one could convince me that the 9.9 Hulk 181 is without question the best specimen of all of the graded 181s.  And yet, we trust the grade on the label, and it's worth at least 10X what a 9.8 is.   All I'm getting at is, is a lot of value is subjective.

[Jayman]

1 hour ago, MrBedrock said:

I had always heard "buy the book, not the label" and thought...who in the world would value the label over the book. It just didn't compute that someone could actually care more about the label?!?!? I still can't believe what I am hearing. Is it true? Apparently it is.

I was the lucky winner of this beauty!

CGC 9.8 yo! 

[lou_fine]

1 hour ago, MrBedrock said:

I had always heard "buy the book, not the label" and thought...who in the world would value the label over the book. It just didn't compute that someone could actually care more about the label?!?!? I still can't believe what I am hearing. Is it true? Apparently it is.

Paging Tim who will have absolutely no problems debating this point with you.   

[circumstances]

3 minutes ago, Jayman said:

I was the lucky winner of this beauty!

CGC 9.8 yo! 

That presents better than a 9.8!

[Ricksneatstuff]

31 minutes ago, eschnit said:

I can't imagine anyone values the label over the book.   But, an example.  A boardie has the top two graded books of a desired Planet, one is a 9.2, the other a 9.0 Mile High.  Can look at the book within the slab and determine which book deserves a higher grade, but in the end it's very close.  I believe he had a tough time deciding which to keep and which to sell.  In the end, I believe he chose to keep both, but ranked the 9.2 higher for which he wanted to keep.  It's a tough call, because Mile High pedigree matters.   All things being equal, there is some value, some, for some collectors, for the history of the book.  Maybe zero to plenty of folks, but not zero to all.   It's not wholly irrelevant to everyone whether a book is from a pedigree or collection, or no label would include the information, and it would never be mentioned in descriptions.  Also, as time goes by and more and more books are entombed, they can't be touched.  So we can value the book itself all we want, but in the end, all we have is the covers, and the label.  We can't read a book in a case.  We can't even tell if a book's pages are brittle, except for the label says so, if we weren't the ones that got it graded.  I mean the integrity of the grading process is questioned all the time.  It's not that they don't do their best, but they're not robots.  No one could convince me that the 9.9 Hulk 181 is without question the best specimen of all of the graded 181s.  And yet, we trust the grade on the label, and it's worth at least 10X what a 9.8 is.   All I'm getting at is, is a lot of value is subjective.

Knowing that boardie and his constant agonizing he will probably have none soon enough 

The 9.2 was the pick and the Mile High is now with a friend. Both are remarkable though. 

[Mr bla bla]

8 minutes ago, circumstances said:

That presents better than a 9.8!

Lemme see, you have purchased a slabbed label?

 

[Axmen]

26 minutes ago, Jayman said:

I was the lucky winner of this beauty!

CGC 9.8 yo! 

Beautiful!  But You mght  hit 9.9 with a press.  You should always have your labels pressed before slabbing so definitely a good candidate for press and resub!  

Edited March 15, 2019 by Axmen

[Jayman]

12 minutes ago, Mr bla bla said:

Lemme see, you have purchased a slabbed label?

 

A slabbed 9.8 label!  

[Mr bla bla]

7 minutes ago, Jayman said:

A slabbed 9.8 label!  

Yeah, I will start hunting slabbed 9.8 labels.

buy the label not the slab ...

Edited March 15, 2019 by Mr bla bla