[QUOTE=VinnyH;18523727]I should have realized this earlier. Bigger comic sellers are hunting the variants, like us, and then basically dumping the regular covers. Their budgets are much bigger than mine.
This has happened with the Topps Now cards where people buy 40 $4 copies hoping to get a /1, /5, /10, etc parallel. Then the $4 cards are dumped for $2.
I'm gonna try to streamline my buying and hope to get lucky with controlled purchases. I'll setup auctions one of these days to get rid of my early extras. I admit to going overboard myself trying for variants.
Thinking out loud,
Vinny :)!
PS: My last shipment of about 16 comics was excellent with no bent corners or problems. I still hope "Uncirculated" catches on.[/QUOTE]


Thanks for the updates Vinny! I was getting worried last week when the quality issue was coming up.

Pulled this 1:25 today… I really like the dramatic Anime look of the art…

[IMG]https://imga.theauthority.com/i/C4E/8aa6dbf3-d943-4896-aed7-9fda3bb311a3?Type=Front[/IMG]

Wondering if it's just dumb luck or a trend. My last 3 $40-$50 orders had no variant. Early on I'd get a 1:25 at least in one of those orders.
I may never figure this out,
Vinny :D

[QUOTE=VinnyH;18534589]Wondering if it's just dumb luck or a trend. My last 3 $40-$50 orders had no variant. Early on I'd get a 1:25 at least in one of those orders.
I may never figure this out,
Vinny :D[/QUOTE]

Yeah… I don’t know if there is any rhyme or reason. I have “one packed” a hit and I have also gotten skunked for a long run chasing a 1:25 and not hitting it until 40.

I’ve really been enjoying the Punchline covers and ratios…. Pulled this 1:25 Punchline 4 that I like a lot:

[IMG]https://imga.theauthority.com/i/C4E/eb432e51-232e-48a0-9f9c-876bf867d4f9?Type=Front[/IMG]

I've been pretty lucky on ratios (I think?), gotten two of 1:100+, three 1:50+ and nine 1:25 out of 306 purchased. I think you can look at it two ways for "expected" value: Buy 300 and get three 1:100, six 1:50 and twelve 1:25 if the ratio hits do not substitute for one another - in which case I am pretty far behind - OR kind of a weighted expectation of a total of 300 "ratio units"...meaning the sum of number of copies times their ratio. In my case, that would be roughly:
9*25 + 3*50 + 2*100 = 575 units vs expected value of 306.
LMK if that makes sense or if you think that is a weird way to think about it.
Of course, since the seeding is entirely under UD's control, we have no way of knowing if they are actually randomizing the hits or in fact manipulating the results one way or the other based on user profiles and history. But that way lies madness...

Anyone else have a shipping issue today/tonight?
I have about 20 comics that are transferable but when I go through the whole process it ends up with a error message that it can't be completed. Along the way they have a drop down box under only 1 issue that says "soft slab add-on $0.00". So some things are different in the process.

Hopefully it's just a glitch as they update their software.
Vinny :)!

Ok, need some help here on if I should accept this trade I got on ePack.

The trader wants the following:

Deadly Neighborhood Spider-Man 1 Sienkiewicz Variant

They want to trade me the following:
AXE Judgment Day Momoko Variant
Alien 1
Alien 1
Alien 1 Charest Variant
Alien 1 Magno variant
Deadly Neighborhood Spider-Man 1
Deadly Neighborhood Spider-Man 1 Bengal Connecting Variant
Deadly neighborhood Spider-Man 1 Casanovas Variant
Miracleman 0
Miracleman by Gaiman & Buckingham: The Silver Age 1
Miracleman by Gaiman & Buckingham: The Silver Age 1 Noto Variant
Predator 2 Bustos Variant
Spider-Man 1 Christopher Variant
Spider-Man 1 Ramos Variant
Spider-Man 1 Young Variant
Tim Drake Robin #1 CVR A Ricardo Lopez Ortiz
Wakanda 1
Wakanda 1 Artgerm Variant

Like any ePack trade I’d probably steer the thing closer to 1:1 for an item you like on your PC.

Bulk trades where you get bulk… unless you PC or are specifically asking for the bulk items… are generally not the way to go. Or ask them for a few silver grandeur coins instead? Grandeur silver coins are fun to get. Or a 1:1 for another ratio cover you like better?

Ask them if they have anything to send 1:1 for near the same value. All of the comics in that list below are easy to pick up individually. Your ratio cover is much harder to get.

[QUOTE=Gurds;18537154]Ok, need some help here on if I should accept this trade I got on ePack.

The trader wants the following:

Deadly Neighborhood Spider-Man 1 Sienkiewicz Variant

They want to trade me the following:
AXE Judgment Day Momoko Variant
Alien 1
Alien 1
Alien 1 Charest Variant
Alien 1 Magno variant
Deadly Neighborhood Spider-Man 1
Deadly Neighborhood Spider-Man 1 Bengal Connecting Variant
Deadly neighborhood Spider-Man 1 Casanovas Variant
Miracleman 0
Miracleman by Gaiman & Buckingham: The Silver Age 1
Miracleman by Gaiman & Buckingham: The Silver Age 1 Noto Variant
Predator 2 Bustos Variant
Spider-Man 1 Christopher Variant
Spider-Man 1 Ramos Variant
Spider-Man 1 Young Variant
Tim Drake Robin #1 CVR A Ricardo Lopez Ortiz
Wakanda 1
Wakanda 1 Artgerm Variant[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=finfangfan;18537313]Like any ePack trade I’d probably steer the thing closer to 1:1 for an item you like on your PC.

Bulk trades where you get bulk… unless you PC or are specifically asking for the bulk items… are generally not the way to go. Or ask them for a few silver grandeur coins instead? Grandeur silver coins are fun to get. Or a 1:1 for another ratio cover you like better?

Ask them if they have anything to send 1:1 for near the same value. All of the comics in that list below are easy to pick up individually. Your ratio cover is much harder to get.[/QUOTE]
Agree here. People are sending me similar trades. Basically they want the one dealer incentive for all their commons. Unless you want bulk, it’s generally not worth it.
Vinny :)!

I locked everything except the ones I have bought several of specifically for trading purposes. The only reason (for me anyway) for using CF is the ratio hit. Otherwise, paying full price for a copy you can't yourself pick that also costs an arm and a leg to ship home is pretty silly. I would only consider trading them for other hits, never bulk standard issues unless it's multiples of an issue you think has future growth potential.

None of these are quick turnovers. Being pre-orders means we won't have most of what we buy today for a few months. Seems similar to pre-ordering raw issues online.

I'm just hoping that long term the uncirculated soft slab catches on. The premium should be that they are sealed from the distributor and near-mint to begin with. If a hot issue develops you can always evaluate the condition through the soft slab, slice it open and send it to CGC.
Vinny

I understand the sentiment but I think the soft slab is doomed. Same problem as the old PGC flexible container - although it was far worse with that since one was paying for a grade. If there are *any* issues with inserting into the soft slab, it makes it a PITA to have to assess each one individually - and sometimes you have to really look hard to see the damage. Just not worth it to this long-time collector. Maybe the whippersnappers will like it. Humbug!

Some of the trading card covers are pretty cool. The back cover featuring the card back is a nice touch….

[IMG]https://imga.theauthority.com/i/C4E/5bf7b194-7c44-4e07-92c9-b08235b84c56?Type=Front[/IMG]

[IMG]https://imga.theauthority.com/i/C4E/5bf7b194-7c44-4e07-92c9-b08235b84c56?Type=Back[/IMG]

[IMG]https://imga.theauthority.com/i/C4E/84c3af35-b481-49db-a6bb-09ac201f3530?Type=Front[/IMG]

[IMG]https://imga.theauthority.com/i/C4E/84c3af35-b481-49db-a6bb-09ac201f3530?Type=Back[/IMG]

Pulled the GHOST RIDER 11 JS CAMPBELL VIRGIN ANNIVERSARY VARIANT 1:100 ratio.

Some new comics up… the DC Mech 4 turned out nice… cool design!

[IMG]https://imga.theauthority.com/i/C4E/5f38f55b-6b7e-40aa-95d7-b3d9d9dcbeb2?Type=Front[/IMG]

Some of the few variants I actually pulled showed up on the market finally. Ya'll arent kidding- getting lots of offers for bulk commons lol

[QUOTE=finfangfan;18555587]Pulled the GHOST RIDER 11 JS CAMPBELL VIRGIN ANNIVERSARY VARIANT 1:100 ratio.[/QUOTE]

Nice pull... im in a drought when it comes to ratio variants.. I think my last ratio was on the spawn batman one

Havent tried anything but the catwoman 51s look cool.

Pulled this Batgirls 14 1:25 with the fun Batman TV show theme song background…

[IMG]https://imga.theauthority.com/i/C4E/6fbf9250-bd48-454f-8724-c7e5a8056776?Type=Front[/IMG]

I'm trying DigiCards [URL]https://digicards.shop/[/URL] which accepts ePack comics now. It remains to be seen how much they advertise to build a customer base. It doesn't hurt to sit all my extras there for now. It was pretty easy to get an account and setup listings. Definitely better than all the photos I have to take for my eBay postings.

Vinny :)!

Some more comics trickled in today but things still seem to be slow going for Collect Forever.

I’m glad this cover shows up though… probably my favorite ratio cover pull to date:

[IMG]https://imga.theauthority.com/i/C4E/e50ba524-85c2-4c18-a759-7a142172d282?Type=Front[/IMG]

[QUOTE=finfangfan;18572685]Some more comics trickled in today but things still seem to be slow going for Collect Forever.

I’m glad this cover shows up though… probably my favorite ratio cover pull to date:

[IMG]https://imga.theauthority.com/i/C4E/e50ba524-85c2-4c18-a759-7a142172d282?Type=Front[/IMG][/QUOTE]

very nice cover. I DO wonder if they will ever get around to scanning all the "base" comics they must have. I have a few variants that have yet to be scanned.

I also havent pulled a variant in forever lol :(

[QUOTE=elektrokuter;18574821]very nice cover. I DO wonder if they will ever get around to scanning all the "base" comics they must have. I have a few variants that have yet to be scanned.

I also havent pulled a variant in forever lol :([/QUOTE]

Their MO so far when scanning comic issues does appear to start with the rarer ratio variant scans first (ie the cover that require the fewest scans) before moving on to the more heavily ordered covers a week or 2 later. It’s definitely a slow process for them and unless they hire more people I doubt they ever catch up.

It looks like they can process about 1500-2000 comics a week and about 14k comics showing in marketplace now. So at $5 a book that’s like $10k of product scanned a week…. Not a very lucrative operation for UD so far for the amount of work the process takes.

They are scanning every book? Figured it would be like trading cards where the commons are stock photos.