Messages posted by: starman

paglinitattoo wrote:And to answer your question, I noticed there are lots of questions posted on the forum that have 0 replys to them.

Ok, I looked a few over, and in many cases the posts are not really questions, but more "statements", that don't necessary warrant or ask for an answer. In other words, 0 replies does not necessarily mean a question has gone unanswered.

paglinitattoo wrote:And to answer your question, I noticed there are lots of questions posted on the forum that have 0 replys to them.

Hmm... no kidding? That's not good. I'll have to take a closer look and maybe assign one of our few guys to watch and make sure that doesn't
happen. Thanks for the heads up.

I think if some interesting threads get started, things will pick up. I had been hoping the presence of Mike Baron would help that, but so far his posts have been pretty pedestrian. Just look at the page views on his posts - pee-euw. The guy created Nexus, one of the greatest comics ever, and this is the best he can come up with? There is someone pretty upset about the assertion in this month's news that Overstreet is often way off on guide values, but so far they are only writing to the help lines and not posting to the forum, which might have started some good debate.

No problem, glad to have you around at least.

Another thing I should mention on the certification issue - is the holder archival quality?
If I'm keeping my most valuable comics in slabs, I would sure hope so!
It's my understanding this is true for both companies - both use an inner well of some
inert material. Historically this has been Mylar, but I was told by Jef Hinds Dupont plans
or already has discontinued production of Mylar, and there are other, similar substances
in use like Barex.

Hard to argue with paglinitattoo. Very little traffic, he's right.
But on the other hand has anyone ever posted a question that did not get answered satisfactorily?

Ok, here's the deal, but keep in mind that although this is my honest opinion, there are disclaimers to note:
1. I am involved with Nostomania
2. PGX advertises on this site
3. Though we would love CGC to advertise on the site, they refuse to do so because they won't even talk to
anyone who acknowledges PGX's existence.

That said, here are the Pros/Cons:
CGC more expensive than PGX
CGC books will tend to sell for more than PGX books, as proven by the pricing data on this site (all generated
from actual sales, I know you veterans get tired of hearing that).
PGX has better turnaround times
CGC is better at restoration detection
PGX, in my experience with many submissions, seems a bit tighter, at least on Bronze and Modern. A PGX
9.8 is usually nicer than a CGC 9.8, strange as that sounds.

So what does all this mean? If you have a high-end Golden Age book, you should send it to CGC, as you
more than anything want assurance it has not been dicked with, and this is your best way of knowing.

For a moderately priced book (say a mid-grade Silver Age or high-grade Modern, in the $100 value range),
go with PGX. The grade will be comparable, they will catch common resto issues in this era (like color touch),
and it will be much cheaper. If your book is only going to sell in the $100 to $150 range, why pay CGC
over $30 and wait three months when you can pay PGX $15 and get it in a month or so?

Yes, since Diamond shipped just over 150,00 copies of this book, at 1:30, that would put this variant
right about at a print run of 5,000. Good call.

The date-stamp (arrival date) does not affect the grade. Is there any chance the pen marks are associated with the arrival date pen marks? I could see someone tagging the arrival date, the pen isn't working, so instead of scribbling on some scratch paper to get it working they do a quick, small scribble on the book.

Assuming it's not - then, yes, this is a defacing defect and must be taken into account when determining the grade. If it is tiny as you say, however, then it will not affect the grade that much. A full notch is probably reasonable (meaning knocking it down from NM to VF). So to answer your question, yes, VF is still possible.

mjstankey - there have been many different series of The Spirit published over the years. From the Golden Age, a Kitchen Sink run, a Warren magazine run, etc. Which are we talking about here? Many of the later series reprinted older stories.

HappyGold wrote:Personaly, for my coins collection I use this page http://www.24hgold.com/english/gold_silver_prices_charts.aspx?money=Euro in order to estimate my coins value!

I don't get it - how does this let you track your collection? It looks like spot-price charts, and little more.

What tmbz was referring to is the ability to enter your collection on Nostomania, in My Lists, and have the current value automatically calculated for you - with pricing driven by actual sales, and separate pricing for each legitimate grading service (PCGS, NGC, etc.). You don't have to estimate anything yourself - the site computes a current value based on current market conditions.

oscarxena - as is often the case, I come bearing disappointment. Most likely what you have is a reprint, of very little value. How to tell? Some reprints have "REPRINT" near the spine or on the inside. The 35 cent reprint may have the price inside a diamond with no date or UPC code on the cover. The rare version, the 35 cent first printing, has the price in a square and UPC code. The Nosto MT 10.0 value is a purely theoretical number based on curve extrapolation from similar sales (for example the NM 9.4 copy that sold for $6,500.00). A MT 10.0 copy almost certainly does not exist. If one ever turned up, who knows what it might fetch at auction - over a million dollars is not hard to believe.

Double-cover books are a printing error, and a desirable one - such books command higher prices. The idea is, the second cover helps protect and preserve the complete interior book. When graded, these books get assigned the grade based on the inner cover and book - usually much higher than the outer one. Occurrences of triple or even quadruple covers have been documented, and these command even higher prices. Some dealers have been known to remove the outer cover, presenting the item for sale as one with much greater eye-appeal, but this is not necessary. Double-covers always do well when put up for sale.

User jsindall - if you're out there, Nosto is trying to reach you, you were last month's sweepstakes winner. Your email address on file is no longer valid. Write in via Contact Us to claim your prize if you see this.

tmbz wrote:
What happened to the pricing here? My collection used to be worth over $200,000.00. Now it's only worth just over $9,000.00. For example...my 1963-D Franklin Half...MS 65...with Full Bell Lines...shows a value of only $1.35.
I've written Nostomania, but I was wondering if anyone had any idea of what has happened. I know the housing market took a hit. But I didn't realize coins took one too.
Thanks.
tmbz

What happened is what we've been preparing the users for in the Nosto News for months - we are now gathering enough sales data to generate pricing for each recognized grading service, as well as items not professionally graded. See the note here for one comment on how most users can expect a plunge in value. For your example above, what this is saying, in effect, is that a sale (say on eBay) of a 1963-D Franklin Half where the seller claims it is MS-65 FBL will just not fly - nobody will believe it and it will maybe sell for the intrinsic silver value (when you factor in shipping). Yes, actual eBay numbers are driving this pricing. If your item is professionally graded, however, there is a solution! Simply go into My Lists, and change the certification for this item from None to NGC (or whatever), and your collection value will automatically adjust. In this case, upward. A lot!

The bottom line is that at the top of the grading scale, there is a huge price differential between "slabbed" and "raw" items, and Nostomania pricing now reflects that reality.

ultimatejezebel wrote:I've always worried that this type of 'pressure' on comic books could cause the staple to pop through either the centerfold or cover, especially for silver age books. Am I paranoid?

I also keep certain books in very small piles, especially the Giant-Size marvels or Annuals since these comics were stapled inside the cover and sometimes the staples are indented or poke through the cover

Good points on the squarebound books and related, there are times when stacking could cause problems.
Probably a little paranoid on the staple-pulls. The majority of those happen at the time of printing/binding,
or from careless handling.