Here it is March already. I don't know if that means anything for you, but for me it's time to scramble and crunch numbers for the new pricing data due April 1st. And no, it's not an April Fool's joke if we tell you next update it's possible to get millions of dollars for a Detective Comics 27 in the right grade. Hhmmm... why do I feel deja vu? Maybe because exactly 1 year ago, the Nosto News started out exactly the same way! And coincidentally that was the first time I mentioned what I thought was a great new product for us collectors who grade our own books.

Mario sent me a sample kit for evaluation, and while I was impressed, I had several minor issues with the V1.0 labeling system. Specifically:

• The labels can't obscure the actual book much, if at all
• The product must work with other standard products (bags and boards)
• Cost has to be kept reasonable
• You can't have any risk of sticking or snagging on the book!
• Key info must be easy to view

Check out the new pic below. One thing that caught my eye right away is Mario's idea to further delineate grades below PR 0.5, with two new grades, INC 0.3, and INC 0.1. Now the irony here is I used to split hairs like this years ago, and my friend and fellow collector Chris would tease me, "Tommy! Are you sure that book's not a Poor Plus?!" And we'd laugh, and I had to agree with Chris I was making petty distinctions. But an odd thing has started to happen when we crunch the Nostomania pricing data - there now tends to be a huge variance in pricing for PR 0.5. Prices in this grade fluctuate wildly. Some of this is tied to the actual book offered, but some of it is due to the huge variance within that grade. Just how beat up is the book? Does the book even have a cover at all? Are there pages missing? I gotta say, Bravo Mario, this idea for new Incomplete grades is brilliant - you should try to patent it! I would not be surprised one bit if CGC, PGX, or CBCS adopt this scale. For a book like Detective Comics 27, the difference between a PR 0.5 and an INC 0.3 could be tens of thousands of dollars. I will say though, for 99% of the garbage books floating around for sale, the point is moot and Chris still gets his laugh.

What about the snagging and sticking? Well, tested on my favored mylite, backer, and outer flapped mylar system, I realized the new slim labels can simply go on the outside top of the mylar. Secure, out of the way, and not obscuring anything; Done!

The next thing I really like is the new backer sheets he offers. See the pic below. These cover all the information me and Chris used to try and capture in a tiny past-on Avery label stuck to the bottom back of each book. Hey, if the book is going to have a backer board anyway, why not include one of these sleeves and capture all the info I really care about, like when I bought it, how much I paid, some key notes, and of course the grade! Great job on the revamp Mario.

Ok Nosto people, go check out his new site, comicbookgradinglabels.com, Mario tells me there is a special where Nostomania members get free shipping. The details are on his site in the lower left area of each page.