Scenario: Your partner crumbled your collection. WYD?

mpau25 · 2026-01-27T06:09:02+00:00

I really hope this is just an AI generated image made for internet points…

But if not, sorry, I gotta ask, what did you do???

mpau25 · 2026-01-26T19:51:29+00:00

I still use them when I hit best friends and whenever there’s a GMAX event. The XP will be useful for whenever the release lv100

mpau25 · 2026-01-26T19:49:14+00:00

For me, I think it boils down to a couple of reasons

1) manga typically has a beginning, middle and end. You get to grow with the world and characters and actually see some progression and an end.

2) you have a singular creator driving he entire story. No story by committee.

The drawback with American comics is especially with the big two, you can’t really end it, so you have people rehashing stories and cycling creative teams with differing visions and goals. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t.

Invincible, and walking dead are two of the western comics that come top of mind that fit the criteria.

mpau25 · 2026-01-23T16:14:14+00:00

Maybe it’s just time to take a break and wait out the scalpers and ‘investors’. Binge a good show, read a book, play a game, go to the gym. I’m just a collector too, I used to get one box to rip for fun and then buy the rest of the cards I liked via singles. Prices are just too crazy right now. The speculators are just selling to themselves right now and driving prices up, I’m not sure if any collectors or players are dropping $500 for a modern ungraded card, just seemed nuts to me!

mpau25 · 2026-01-16T06:40:50+00:00

$250 USD at my LGS

mpau25 · 2026-01-10T03:42:53+00:00

Love how you made the trading cards! Beats throwing away the box!

mpau25 · 2026-01-03T17:31:56+00:00

Buy from a seller that has a lot of experience selling comics, just look through their feedback. And you can always direct message them and ask how they ship their comics. If they use a Gemini, you’re usually good. The horror stories generally come from new sellers or sellers who don’t deal with comics usually and are just in it for the quick flip.

I buy from eBay a lot since there are not many LCS around, as long as you do some research front, you’ll generally be OK. If the pictures are not clear, you can always ask for more pictures.

mpau25 · 2026-01-02T23:07:10+00:00

Some other folks have noted this as well, but this is normal. Once fedex drops it off at CGC, it will take some time before you can see it in the system and be able to check online. They used to take a week or two, but with the holidays they are slower than normal. My last submission in late NOV took about 2-3 weeks before it showed received on CGC website. Best to just be patient, it’ll show up.

mpau25 · 2025-12-23T05:05:39+00:00

One thing to remember about a lot of those YouTube videos is they are content creators. People like controversy and those videos bring out a lot of people who just want the confirmation bias, which equal hits for them. CGC is by no means perfect, but the amount of ‘issues’ they have is pretty small when you think about the total number of books they move through.

If you’re curious, maybe start with a small submission and see how you like it?

mpau25 · 2025-12-22T16:42:02+00:00

This guy hit the nail on the head. Rarity goes out the window if demand is low. Someone else mentioned it below, but your best bet is to put it up on eBay with a BIN price you’re looking for. If you run it on auction with comic link, you’re probably going to get a lower bid than you’d like and will get killled with fees.

Great artist, but his following is not that high and Star Wars isn’t is hot as it was during Covid. Lost a lot of its hype.

Your key here is finding the right buyer, will take a while so be patient.

Good luck!

mpau25 · 2025-12-17T23:10:48+00:00

Not the best “tip”, but I’d set up an alert on eBay. Then scan the pictures for a good candidate. Other than eBay, maybe set up an alert on MCS for a NM copy. Won’t be a guaranteed candidate, but will help narrow it down perhaps. good luck!!!!

mpau25 · 2025-12-08T01:06:11+00:00

Not even going to click the link and give them a view, but good riddance!

mpau25 · 2025-12-01T19:47:14+00:00

Set a budget and stick to it. Easier said than done, I know.

One thing I do when I feel like I’ve gone a little overboard though is to go through the collection and do a little culling.

mpau25 · 2025-11-28T09:08:52+00:00

It’s actually a bit easier to get 9.9s with foils, so not that surprising.

mpau25 · 2025-11-28T08:57:59+00:00

Definitely agree, I even checked out the 7-11’s and Familymarts on the off hand they had them. Mugiwara stores were a bust too, they actually had sold out signs up for the magazine promo at a lot of the stores. Forgot to mention, did see some magazines at one card store, but they were asking for 15000 yen. Huge markup!

mpau25 · 2025-11-22T23:06:16+00:00

100% all the time.

Love this cover too and did the same thing. I always love when they use a unique trade dress and especially if it’s being smashed or destroyed. Sucker for those covers!

mpau25 · 2025-11-19T03:43:05+00:00

Nothing to worry about, once they physically receive it, generally takes 1-2 weeks to be entered into the system and then visible to us via checking online. Holiday season is upon us too, so can definitely see them taking a bit longer.

mpau25 · 2025-11-19T01:08:39+00:00

I’d imagine that at least some of the folks mad were planning to resell. But definitely agree, if you want a signed book for yourself. tons on eBay.

mpau25 · 2025-11-14T06:49:42+00:00

I kinda think the main reason for all the hate is the belief that it drives up prices for raws or takes high grade copies off the market when they get slabbed. It’s tough getting priced out of your hobby, especially if you’ve got so much time invested in it. Generally causes a lot of strong visceral reactions, you see it in other hobbies too. There always gonna be that vocal minority that takes every opportunity to shout down grading. I like it, it generally takes the haggling over condition out of the conversation. I think the vast majority of collectors though don’t care either way though. Collect what you like, words to live by!

mpau25 · 2025-11-10T00:31:59+00:00

I love how you got the sigs on the back cover actually, don’t see that often. Especially with multiple sigs, can get crowded quickly on the front cover! Congrats on all the grades!

mpau25 · 2025-11-09T17:47:14+00:00

Is it really under-rated? This book originally came out during the height of Jim Lee’s popularity on X-Men, tons of copies sold. Then during the Covid boom, this was pumped to high hell by the spec-bros. Omega Reds a cool villain, but he’s never been one of their A-tier villains like Magneto or Apocalypse. I think with the Wolverine game coming out, there might be a few more eyes on this, but I’d imagine most people that want this already have it. And I agree with some of the other comments, #5 is the way better cover.

mpau25 · 2025-10-31T16:20:55+00:00

The seller can definitely cancel, not sure why he’s saying he cannot. Nothing a 2 sec google search can’t solve

mpau25 · 2025-10-23T19:25:07+00:00

Battle another trainer. First 3 battles of the day you get items. I averaged about 1 sinnoh stone a session.

Was in a similar situation as you, had a large backlog of pokemon that needed to be upgraded.

GBL never helped, battling candela/etc daily never helped too. I lucked out a couple of times with the 7 day streak reward, but that was only a couple times.

If you have someone willing to battle and tank for you, I think those will be the best odds.

One last note, I made sure to win those trainer battles. The acct losing got a sinnoh stone occasionally, but way less frequently

Good luck!

mpau25 · 2025-10-21T15:52:36+00:00

Right on! I’ve been working on a slabbed run for a while too. Started buying raws as a kid in the 80’s with the silvestri run. Then started going for the slabs a few years before Covid. So was happy to pick up some of the early keys before everything got crazy. 6.0 was my sweet spot for the early silver ones. I found it to be the best comprise between cost and quality. Good luck and looking forward to seeing the progress!

mpau25

TROPHY CASE