Messages posted by: tommyj

Hi vf1parker -

It depends on how much of a rush you are to liquidate them. You can list them here on Nosto, which is kinda like the eBay buy-it-now fixed-price format. Though you can list books at a percentage of current value.

If you are in a rush, I'd say just auction them off on eBay. Fees are steep, but you'll get lots of eyeballs. We toy with the idea of adding auction support from time to time, mainly because we feel the fees charged are so unfair.

If you have some nicer books, we highly recommend Heritage Galleries.

We are happy to help with further questions, thanks for stopping by the site!

Jason - sorry for the delay responding here. We had been running two or three months behind on getting new releases into the database, and we do pretty much catch up each pricing update. However, if even one more Premium Subscriber requests we keep up to current data each month, we will do so - we are pretty much letting Premium Subscribers drive any development changes at this point, since they are the ones who pay the bills to keep the site running. In any event, check after July 1st (after the next pricing update) and things should be pretty caught up. Thanks!

adxss - I believe the official title from the indicia was Strange Suspense Stories up until issue 77. Check that title.

Great question ultimateJezebel.

First - is a MT 10.0 comic really flawless?
The answer might surprise you - NO.
While the standard definition for this grade is "perfect in every way", the key here is to the naked eye.
You put a microscope to a 10.0 copy, yes, you will find flaws. But a person will have to look very hard to notice anything wrong.

Ok then, to answer the other part of your excellent question, what might differentiate a 9.9 from a 10.0?

It really is pretty simple - a 9.9 might have a very subtle bindery or printing flaw. On a 9.9, corners are sharp and square, spine is
tight and flat, blah, blah, blah. It's a gem. But there will be one very, very minor blemish to note. Maybe the tiniest of a tear near a staple, where during binding the machine cut in just a tad too much.

Contrary to what many think, it really is harder to accurately assess mid-grade books. Say, deciding between a 5.0 and a 5.5. For a 10.0, it's not that tough - if you see anything at all wrong, it's not 10.0.

An update to this thread - the Premium Subscribers asked, and as of the last Aug 1st site update the site is caught up with published data for current comics.

It's the number near the price, not the one in the upside-down triangle, on those issues which have that on the cover. Note comics from this era are generally not very valuable, so it's really not a big deal to open up the bag and check the indicia (small print at bottom of the first page) to be sure, if you have any doubt.

Yes - we tend to run about two months behind on getting new issues into the production database. For example we are just finishing up December 2008 releases now. Most users seem to be ok with this pace. If enough Premium Subscribers asked, we could accelerate the process.

BDCUES - there are certainly some lurking. The evidence is in the Census Counts in the Pricing section. If you look at certain undergrounds, you will see a surprising number of members who note they have those items in their collections.

And the potential is certainly here for an underground comic community, for several reasons. First and most obvious, the site not only supports undergrounds, it is arguably the best source for accurate pricing for undergrounds at this time. The Kennedy and Weist guides are great, but this is the place for current pricing, given the fuel here is current, actual sales. In fact, it was interesting to see at one time an underground comic book (God Nose, 1st printing) actually placed on the Top 100 list, probably due to a high-grade sale via Heritage. But what is needed to get momentum going is for some experts to step up and provide the key information you can only get from sources like the Kennedy and Weist guides - stuff like exactly how to identify editions and print runs. New and Premium Subscribers can enter this information directly into the Nosto database, via simple forms on the Item Detail page for each book in the Pricing section. If enough people did this, the site would become an invaluable resource for underground fans. If you or anyone else starts to do this, please let the rest of us know here. For an example, check out the UG called Tie-Tac (nn). You should see a sample image, creator info, actual sales data, cenus counts, and miscellaneous notes. What more can you ask for? Well, the same data for all the high-interest UGs out there, that's what.

ultimatejezebel wrote:
Isn't a unique cover a good guide as to what makes it a variant from the regular cover? For example Batman #608 2nd print had a different cover, and since there were only 20,000 printed, it's worth more than the 1st print.

Yes, as long as there is some way to easily tell which is which. Hopefully Nosto will become such a resource. Right now Premium Subscribers have the ability to provide images, creator info, and notes about a specific issue. But not many are making the effort to help provide this info. I guess my point is, if you laid out both books side-by-side, how would a novice know the 1st from 2nd print?

Above two are no longer recognized in the nostomania database, leaving PGX and CGC. We were just gathering too few sales to support these and generate valid pricing. Those of you who had items marked with either of these two certifications in your lists - these items have been converted to non-professionally graded.

The production database was updated tonight (Aug 27) with 784 new comic issues. This catches us up through the end of June.

Great stuff, for those who haven't seen this...

http://www.somethingawful.com/d/photoshop-phriday/classic-comics-iii.php