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75 posts in this topic

34 minutes ago, KCOComics said:

This is the issue. Every alteration on a book shrinks the pool of potential buyers. 

Personally,  I wouldn't buy a green or purple ASM50. 

On the other hand I'm looking for a IH1 and FF1 that presents well. In my price range I'll be looking at really beat up blue labels vs nicer looking purple labels. Maybe I would consider purple,  but I still wouldn't want green. 

When would I buy green?  Hard to find golden age. Superman 1, I would grab in any condition if I could afford it. 

I recently bought a Tec 26 with no back cover and love it. 

 

Hmm but Green is more 'pure' than Purple..?

Its very individualistic and subjective.  If I see 2 copies of the same book both £500 and one is a mangled Blue and one is a tidy Purple or Green I'd definitely consider the latter - it would depend on the book.  I'd buy a Purple ASM50 if all it had was one or 2 tiny colour touches.

In some ways comics collectors are fussier than pro conservators - I find this a bit odd as comics interiors are a very low grade item in the first place.  If you mend a tear in an original letter written by Lord Nelson why not an ASM 50..?

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25 minutes ago, mike devon said:

Hmm but Green is more 'pure' than Purple..?

Its very individualistic and subjective.  If I see 2 copies of the same book both £500 and one is a mangled Blue and one is a tidy Purple or Green I'd definitely consider the latter - it would depend on the book.  I'd buy a Purple ASM50 if all it had was one or 2 tiny colour touches.

In some ways comics collectors are fussier than pro conservators - I find this a bit odd as comics interiors are a very low grade item in the first place.  If you mend a tear in an original letter written by Lord Nelson why not an ASM 50..?

I agree, it's very individualistic and people have very particular tastes.  It's part of the fun of collecting. 

I have no particular issue with restoration if done right. My personal preference would be to only get a restored book if it was a book i couldn't afford in nice unrestored condition. 

To tell a quick story there was a really nice mid grade journey into mystery 83 that had a big obnoxious sticker on that front. I contacted Trace at eclipse paper restoration about removing it and boy did i get a lesson on conversation. That guy knows his stuff, was open and honest about costs and return on investment.  I didn't end up buying that book, but I wouldn't hesitate to work with Trace or buy a book restored by him. It would just need to be one of those big big titles for me personally. 

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1 minute ago, KCOComics said:

I agree, it's very individualistic and people have very particular tastes.  It's part of the fun of collecting. 

I have no particular issue with restoration if done right. My personal preference would be to only get a restored book if it was a book i couldn't afford in nice unrestored condition. 

To tell a quick story there was a really nice mid grade journey into mystery 83 that had a big obnoxious sticker on that front. I contacted Trace at eclipse paper restoration about removing it and boy did i get a lesson on conversation. That guy knows his stuff, was open and honest about costs and return on investment.  I didn't end up buying that book, but I wouldn't hesitate to work with Trace or buy a book restored by him. It would just need to be one of those big big titles for me personally. 

The conservators are the ones with the real knowledge.  Someone comics related said to me 'comics and water don't mix' - well in fact hydration is used all the time by conservators on paper works.  For 'gluing' they use starches that can be removed with water.  

To me a highly desirable book with a pro internal fix is a very minor thing.  Even married pages - if its done right you'd never be able to tell.  Covers yeah I understand people being ultra fussy.

What was Trace's verdict on the sticker - I expect it would have been a few hours work to remove it @ about £60 per hour..?

I saw someone on here say that hydrogen peroxide is used for lightening pages - well no it isn't any more.  At least its not the first choice as there are less invasive things available.

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24 minutes ago, mike devon said:


What was Trace's verdict on the sticker - I expect it would have been a few hours work to remove it @ about £60 per hour..?
 

It was complicated. 

Removing the sticker would require chemicals,  so we are talking purple label no matter what. 

Once you removed the sticker the book would look off. Basically the sticker would help preserve the paper,  so the sticker spot would look brand new, but the rest of the cover would be aged 50+ years. So then your talking about washing it all. 

There were other issues with the book he could fix and we did some quick math about the projected grade restored vs the total cost of resto. Actually the math was favorable, but it was a big investment. 

So yes. Removing the sticker was quick and easy. Doing it right and getting the most out of the book was a project. 

The big thing for me was,  he took the time to go through every detail of this with me. Really good guy and I hope to do business with him because he spent all that time with me,  knowing full well I was on the fence about buying the book.  

 

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On 2/12/2020 at 1:25 PM, William-James88 said:

Also, CGC will be able to tell what's been done and they are more likely to make the mistake of saying an untouched book has been touched then missing it.

I'm curious about this. Has this happened to you recently?

The reason I'm asking is that the philosophy at CGC used to be that unless they were sure, they wouldn't hit the book for restoration, trimming, or married pages or covers...

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14 minutes ago, The Lions Den said:

I'm curious about this. Has this happened to you recently?

The reason I'm asking is that the philosophy at CGC used to be that unless they were sure, they wouldn't hit the book for restoration, trimming, or married pages or covers...

I think PLOD for chemical removal of labels etc is daft - any book thats been read and is 50 odd years old will probably already have more gunk on/in it already from fingers, ageing, and the label glue itself than will touch it to remove a label.

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5 hours ago, The Lions Den said:

I'm curious about this. Has this happened to you recently?

The reason I'm asking is that the philosophy at CGC used to be that unless they were sure, they wouldn't hit the book for restoration, trimming, or married pages or covers...

I was referring to the story of the Fantastic Four 10 that went from blue to green to blue label. You had commented on it.

 

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4 hours ago, William-James88 said:

I was referring to the story of the Fantastic Four 10 that went from blue to green to blue label. You had commented on it.

 

Ah yes, the Blue 9.0 that went to a Green 8.5 that went to a Blue 8.5....

A lot depends upon who graded it each time it was submitted...

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12 hours ago, mike devon said:

Hmm but Green is more 'pure' than Purple..?

Its very individualistic and subjective.  If I see 2 copies of the same book both £500 and one is a mangled Blue and one is a tidy Purple or Green I'd definitely consider the latter - it would depend on the book.  I'd buy a Purple ASM50 if all it had was one or 2 tiny colour touches.

In some ways comics collectors are fussier than pro conservators - I find this a bit odd as comics interiors are a very low grade item in the first place.  If you mend a tear in an original letter written by Lord Nelson why not an ASM 50..?

I think for big keys, green will command more than moderate to extensive purple. I have a Detective 33 I pieced together and it came back a 1.0 Qualified. I thought it would be higher, but with low grade books its hard to know. I could see it going for about 75% back of a blue label due to demand. Of course it depends on the book and the demand. 

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6 hours ago, AnkurJ said:

I think for big keys, green will command more than moderate to extensive purple. I have a Detective 33 I pieced together and it came back a 1.0 Qualified. I thought it would be higher, but with low grade books its hard to know. I could see it going for about 75% back of a blue label due to demand. Of course it depends on the book and the demand. 

Well my Spidey 14 I was thinking I might get half the usual value so 75% would be great.  I've seen really shredded ASM14s getting relatively quite big amounts.

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On 2/10/2020 at 7:14 AM, mike devon said:

This is why I'm finding the whole grading/slabbing thing a bit wahey  IMHO a real eye candy book that technically loses on interior/back flaws etc is more desirable than a higher grade with a few  cover creases etc - see what I mean..?

Find YOUR sweet spot and go from there. Early on ,in the developing CGC market, I decided people were punishing PLODs too severely and bought up a bunch of key books at a fraction of their Overstreet values.

A book is worth what one person wants for it, and what another is willing to spend. 

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10 hours ago, AnkurJ said:

I think for big keys, green will command more than moderate to extensive purple. I have a Detective 33 I pieced together and it came back a 1.0 Qualified. I thought it would be higher, but with low grade books its hard to know. I could see it going for about 75% back of a blue label due to demand. Of course it depends on the book and the demand. 

So, I'm playing the piece it together game right now for the first time with a Detective 26. 

I need a back cover (witch reminds me, I should bump my WTB post). 

Piecing together a classic book is this whole new angle to collecting for me, but I kind of love the hunt!  I imagine if I ever complete the book it will be really exciting. 

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28 minutes ago, KCOComics said:

So, I'm playing the piece it together game right now for the first time with a Detective 26. 

I need a back cover (witch reminds me, I should bump my WTB post). 

Piecing together a classic book is this whole new angle to collecting for me, but I kind of love the hunt!  I imagine if I ever complete the book it will be really exciting. 

It’s fun but requires great patience. I started with parts in the late 90’s when in college. My budget was limited but parts/incomplete books were affordable. I’ve managed to piece together some great keys over the years.

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I've had lots of advice about my ASM14 with 1 ad page missing - some strong advice to just sell it on as is.  But I can't help thinking if I can nab the missing page or wrap for say £100 and just include it loose that would make the book more sellable and also add more than £100 to the value.

Of course it might not but thats a pretty high value key and its in nice nick apart from that page.

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20 minutes ago, mike devon said:

I've had lots of advice about my ASM14 with 1 ad page missing - some strong advice to just sell it on as is.  But I can't help thinking if I can nab the missing page or wrap for say £100 and just include it loose that would make the book more sellable and also add more than £100 to the value.

Of course it might not but thats a pretty high value key and its in nice nick apart from that page.

If your in no rush to sell it, I would try to find the parts. At the very least it will mean more to you. 

Edited by KCOComics
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8 minutes ago, KCOComics said:

If your in no rush to sell it, I would try to find the parts. At the very least it will mean more to you. 

Well I'd like to flip it I guess to get a higher grade one or something else.  I'm always working towards trying to get the best grade I can.

I saw a slightly better one with the same page married + reinforcing of cover etc got nearly £1500 so its worth contemplating - depends what the donor costs.

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3 hours ago, mike devon said:

Well I'd like to flip it I guess to get a higher grade one or something else.  I'm always working towards trying to get the best grade I can.

 

In that case, you are better off selling it as is now. Money today is worth more than money tomorrow. Plus by the time you finish this project, the higher grade one you are looking will surely sell for more than now, that is the way with these kinds of keys.

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3 hours ago, gadzukes said:

I've pieced/completed a Superman 1, Cap 1, and a Wonder Woman 1.  You're right..... patience/time is required.  It's an amazing feeling when you accomplish it though, especially the mega GA keys.

You, sir, have inspired me to give this a try with one or two books that I'd love to have in my collection but am not in a hurry to drop huge sums on (yet). I couldn’t imagine how much time it would take but being retired, I literally have nothing better to do so devoting a little time to a quest I may never complete sounds like a task worth starting.

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1 minute ago, B2D327 said:

You, sir, have inspired me to give this a try with one or two books that I'd love to have in my collection but am not in a hurry to drop huge sums on (yet). I couldn’t imagine how much time it would take but being retired, I literally have nothing better to do so devoting a little time to a quest I may never complete sounds like a task worth starting.

I've done it with toys many many times.

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