Latest / Ultimate Rewinds Podcast / RAW TO RICH! 💰 Pressing Secrets Leaked! 🔥 How to Win in the Collectibles Market!

Transcript

RAW TO RICH! 💰 Pressing Secrets Leaked! 🔥 How to Win in the Collectibles Market! · Ultimate Rewinds Podcast

0:15
Welcome back to the rewind. I am here
0:17
with Barry from comicpressor.com.
0:21
Barry, you were one of the the people
0:22
who reached out to me, wanted to talk
0:24
about comic book pressing, and I was
0:26
really really happy you reached out
0:27
because I did see you on Swigglehost's
0:29
channel a while back, and I and I
0:31
definitely had some questions that I
0:33
would have loved to ask you here on air
0:34
today. But thank you for joining me. I
0:36
really appreciate it.
0:38
>> Lawrence, thanks for having me. I mean,
0:39
I've enjoyed your podcast, seeing you
0:42
grow. You've said some interesting
0:44
things and some out out I would say
0:46
outstanding things, not outlandish
0:48
things, maybe you have. Uh but um I
0:51
think you have a unique voice and a
0:53
growing one and uh I think uh you know
0:56
your your nose for nostalgia is
0:58
something that was interesting. So I saw
1:00
on IG you know you kind of posted like
1:01
any topics we could talk about. I like
1:03
to talk about pressing cleaning and the
1:05
value it creates for collectibles. So
1:06
I'm glad you wanted to talk about it
1:07
too.
1:08
>> Well thank you again. I appreciate it.
1:10
But let's let's start at the beginning.
1:11
All right. I know you've been doing this
1:12
a really long time. So how did you first
1:14
get into this?
1:16
>> Um I enjoyed comics as a kid. I was a
1:18
collector and then I kind of got
1:21
distracted and fed up with comics. I
1:24
didn't like the way they were drawn and
1:25
as they moved into the 90s or my
1:27
interest changed and so just kind of put
1:29
it down and uh went on about life and
1:33
one day I just decided I had some money
1:36
and time to invest and kind of put my
1:39
nose around and I started looking for
1:41
comic book collections on Craigslist and
1:43
found one and was blown away by what it
1:45
was and what it had. So I just uh I
1:50
started pricing it and selling it and
1:52
then one day I found about cleaning and
1:54
pressing after I sold a bunch of the
1:55
comics. I was like, "Oh my god, I didn't
1:56
I left the value, you know, un unh
2:00
harvested, you know, was stuck in
2:02
there." So I started getting involved
2:04
with cleaning and pressing. I'm a
2:05
graphic designer, so I have an art
2:06
background and a printing background.
2:08
just you know wanted to see if I could
2:10
make the books better and bought a press
2:13
also on Craigslist and uh started to
2:17
experiment you know become a hobbyist
2:19
and there was a lot of rumor and myth
2:22
and concern and secrecy around pressing
2:25
comic books and cleaning them and what
2:28
wasn't great restored and what was
2:31
acceptable was really murky and at the
2:34
time the CGC boards the forums uh on the
2:36
CDC website were a big place to talk
2:38
about this and most people shut other
2:40
people down or poo pooed it. So, I was
2:43
more interested in trying to figure out
2:44
on my own what I could do with it
2:45
because I didn't wasn't sure I was going
2:46
to get any help. So, uh I formed a like
2:51
a joint venture with a colleague to buy
2:53
these collections and I started pressing
2:55
stuff to try to get our money out of it.
2:57
And the thesis is
3:00
if you buy something at market value,
3:02
you can clean and press it and sell it
3:04
at market value. And everybody's paying
3:08
what they expect to pay or getting paid
3:10
what they expect to get paid, but you
3:12
make can still make money because the
3:13
cleaning and pressing changes the
3:15
appearance which can change the grade
3:18
which usually is for the positive if you
3:20
do it well. So, I just really got
3:22
excited about h taking my fate into my
3:26
own hands by cleaning my own
3:28
collectibles that I sourced and making
3:31
money from them that was could be a lot
3:34
higher than what I started with without
3:36
ripping anybody off, hosing them, taking
3:39
advantage of them. I could still pay a
3:42
fair price and feel like I'm going to
3:44
get my money back as long as I knew what
3:45
to look for, as long as I knew what to
3:47
expect. And that's kind of where I
3:49
started was what can I expect? And so I
3:51
started doing it myself to learn that.
3:53
>> So when you got into this for the first
3:56
time, what was the landscape of comics
3:58
back then? Like what really like how was
4:00
it? Was this frowned upon? Were people
4:02
like, you know, this is something that
4:03
shouldn't be happening to comics? What
4:05
was it? What was the community like back
4:07
then?
4:08
>> That was again rumor and myth, you know,
4:10
gossip and speculation. You know, it was
4:13
someone's doing it, these people are
4:15
doing it. Look, this is doable. I do it.
4:17
you can't do that, you know. Uh, but as
4:20
we I was going through all that
4:23
CGC bought Matt Nelson's company,
4:25
Classics Incorporated. Pressing was
4:28
their, you know, sort of main offering.
4:31
So, uh, as I understood it, I don't know
4:33
what they offered, but that was part of
4:34
it. Um, they did restoration, too, you
4:37
know, and, uh, you know, it's weird
4:39
because restoration, everybody was
4:40
talking about, it's evil, it's bad, it's
4:42
horrible, whatever. And Matt Nelson at
4:44
the time was the biggest restorer in the
4:46
land.
4:47
So, you know, restoration was embraced.
4:50
It's just expected in comic books. They
4:52
have a way to grade it. In other places,
4:53
they don't want it. They don't grade
4:54
anything. In comics, they'll grade it.
4:56
They just you do it and they tell you
4:57
how good it is or how noticeable it is.
4:59
Uh, so once it got legitimized, if you
5:03
will, coming into the CDC, then I was
5:04
like, "Wow, this is going to be
5:05
important." So, I got into comics. I got
5:07
back I was out of comics. I got back
5:08
into comics because Disney announced
5:11
2011, 2012, they announced this giant
5:12
slate of movies. So I'm like, okay, the
5:14
money's going to be everybody's going to
5:16
find out about this stuff. So got in
5:18
because I could see the opportunity. And
5:19
then once pressing was was part of the
5:22
CGC, I'm like, okay, now now the it's
5:25
not just the money's there, but the
5:27
system is there to turn pressing into a
5:31
money maker. Uh illegitimize it. So you
5:34
know, I just started taking advantage of
5:36
what was rolling again. first with the
5:38
popularity of the in the Marvel
5:40
transaction to Disney and then with the
5:42
popularity pressing with CGC all the
5:44
while sort of just trying to control my
5:46
my team's destiny with the collections
5:49
we were buying and selling.
5:50
>> It's it's funny because my next question
5:52
was literally going to ask you what was
5:53
that one moment that kind of put you on
5:55
the put you on the that track to say all
5:58
right this is this is going to be a
5:59
thing and I guess it is that that slate
6:01
of Marvel movies that kind of came out
6:03
where you knew people were going to
6:04
flood over to comics. So that you
6:06
answered my question, right?
6:07
>> San Diego Comic Con 2011 or San Diego
6:09
Comic- Con 2012, something like that.
6:10
Like once they once they published the
6:12
slate and they showed the whole thing
6:14
going out years and years and years, I'm
6:15
like Hollywood's fat and lazy. I'm like,
6:18
they're not going to run out of stories.
6:19
They're going to love this stuff.
6:20
They're going to milk it for all it's
6:21
worth. And you know, something's going
6:23
to hit. At the time, I mean, you know,
6:25
we weren't even sure Iron, you know,
6:26
Iron The point is Iron Man was like a
6:28
nothing hero. They picked a hero you
6:30
couldn't mess up to start, right? And
6:33
they they just hit it out of the park.
6:35
So, I mean, you know, but it at the
6:37
beginning, no, nobody expected Iron Man
6:39
to do anything, and it did everything.
6:40
You know,
6:41
>> to me, that was that's the the best
6:42
Marvel movie ever made was the very
6:44
first one. I can I can watch that
6:45
anytime it's on TV. Anytime I'm bored, I
6:48
can throw it on Disney Plus and just
6:49
keep watching that movie over and over.
6:51
But, you know, when you got into this
6:53
for the first time, was there like a
6:55
learning curve? Like, where did you take
6:57
your skill sets from where you started
6:58
to where you are now? Like, how did that
7:00
develop?
7:00
>> It is the hardest learning curve ever. I
7:03
mean I literally was away from my family
7:06
friends for like three years
7:08
>> every summer day and night pressing
7:09
stuff. I mean I was doing in my basement
7:11
so I mean saw each other in the
7:12
beginning and then I had so what
7:13
happened is I had a I had a consulting
7:15
and software company
7:17
>> uh and during co I had full of knowledge
7:20
workers during COVID all my knowledge
7:22
workers started working from home. So I
7:24
had this beautiful real estate and it
7:27
was empty it was unoccupied. We were all
7:29
working from home and so I was getting
7:31
asked like what my landlord's like what
7:33
are you going to do with your like my my
7:35
burglar alarm battery failed and it was
7:36
like beeping and my neighbors had to
7:38
like call me to tell me like fix your
7:39
alarm you know it's annoying us because
7:41
they had to hear it through the walls
7:42
you have a doctor's office next door and
7:45
uh like you I wasn't there and I was
7:47
like what am I going to do with this
7:48
real estate like well why don't you why
7:50
don't you sell it to your at least your
7:52
neighbor they'll take your space I'm
7:53
like okay I'll think about it but so I
7:55
ended up moving the comics business into
7:57
the space and So then I was away from
7:59
home. But I mean to me learning cleaning
8:02
and pressing was like Doctor Strange
8:04
learning the dark arts. I mean it was so
8:08
complic there's so many ways to mess
8:10
this stuff up. I mean there's so many
8:12
unexpected. You just I mean once you
8:14
mess it up you're like oh of course
8:16
paper curls when you get it too wet. But
8:18
you don't know that till you do it and
8:20
then all of a sudden it's like a live
8:21
animal. You know you can't get it to I
8:23
mean it's crazy. So like there's just
8:25
stuff where like I mean of course paper
8:27
splits if you press on it too hard and
8:29
it's old and brittle but who knew? So
8:31
like I mean you just do stuff. So I had
8:33
to ruin a lot of books of my own and
8:35
expl experiment with a lot of stuff we
8:37
had to to get all this working. And I
8:40
say the main house is my part and I
8:41
bought a collection. We paid a bunch of
8:43
money for it and we CC see pictures and
8:45
talk to this guy to list and everything.
8:46
When it all came in, all the books were
8:48
water damaged at the bottom. They all
8:51
all the like they'd sat in long by the
8:53
boxes got wet. We couldn't see any. We
8:55
couldn't really see it in the pictures.
8:56
Nothing. I mean, and so we kind of got
8:58
taken. We didn't get like ruined.
9:00
They're still nice books, but I mean
9:01
they weren't I was like, how am I going
9:02
to fix all this stuff? I'm like, I got
9:04
to figure this out. So, I was really
9:06
just trying to make my collections
9:07
better again. my my team my co came and
9:10
I could see the value pressing in
9:14
particular because during COVID
9:16
everybody had like a year backlog CTC
9:19
pressing CBCS pressing the individual
9:23
pressers nobody could get their books
9:25
out and so I saw a huge problem like
9:28
nobody's cracked the code nobody has
9:30
figured out how to scale comic book
9:32
pressing
9:32
>> how long do you think that from when you
9:34
first started pressing and learning to
9:36
press that you that it took you to kind
9:39
of get where you are now where you're
9:41
considered one of the best in the
9:42
business.
9:43
>> So, so the the leap was doing it for
9:46
other people. So, I mean that was
9:48
really, you know, like do I have the
9:51
cojones to say I'll do it? Do I have
9:54
the, you know, the capability
9:56
>> to to deliver on it? And then do I have
9:59
the consistency
10:01
to to keep banging at it and not have
10:04
another job?
10:05
>> Yeah. So, I mean, it was it was
10:07
nerve-wracking. So, but I mean, I had
10:09
worked for our little my little
10:13
partnership in terms of like for our
10:14
books and so I I was already doing it
10:18
and my partner is very talented,
10:21
capable, high net worth individual. He
10:22
had old Superman several Superman ones
10:25
and old books. So, I got a chance to
10:26
touch these things. So, he's like, "Do
10:28
my books for me." I was honored, you
10:29
know, like okay, someone else wants me
10:31
to try it. So, I did it. Now, actually,
10:33
back in the day, I actually created
10:35
videos on how to press and I sold the
10:37
videos. And wow, I don't do that
10:40
anymore. If you saw one of my videos,
10:41
good on you. Now, my stuff's all trade
10:43
secret. I don't do things the way I did
10:45
them then. But, I mean, at the time, I
10:47
was a hobbyist and I shared this before
10:48
social media. So, I was I had a video
10:51
series on how to do it. So, I had a lot
10:52
of people purchase the videos and I got
10:54
feedback from people what they didn't
10:55
like mostly and some things they did.
10:58
But I did get feedback that what I was
10:59
doing was different. That what I was
11:01
doing was not quite like everybody else
11:03
was doing. I didn't believe that like
11:04
come on. But that's that's kind these
11:07
all things came together to really to
11:08
get the confidence to help other people
11:10
start serving them and to keep growing
11:12
and that all came around I think 2022
11:16
is when I first started kind of offering
11:18
this to other people.
11:19
>> So without giving away your trade
11:21
secrets that's it's one of the questions
11:23
I wanted to ask you. What separates a
11:25
hobbyist who kind of does this on their
11:26
own to a professional who has, you know,
11:29
incredible results like you have? Like
11:31
we talked a little bit before uh we we
11:33
popped on the show about silver age
11:35
books that you've cleaned and pressed
11:36
that are getting 9.8s. What separates a
11:39
hobbyist from a professional?
11:40
>> Uh so um the hobbyist is just doing it
11:44
for themselves or they're doing it for
11:45
their friends or they they they're
11:48
reaching out. They're really trying and
11:49
they It's weird that the pressing and
11:51
cleaning is like a very um there's a
11:55
hungry crowd. The people who want to do
11:57
it are very hungry for knowledge.
11:59
They're open this year. Uh a lot of
12:01
trading of techniques um asking for help
12:05
um showing before and after pictures,
12:07
which is kind of the the sort of the the
12:09
the the
12:11
trade tool, if you will, you know, to
12:13
buy get credibility or to elicit
12:16
feedback. Um and uh but I would say the
12:20
difference is when I was in consulting
12:21
and software I was spending seven
12:23
figures a year in investing in my
12:26
business. I mean
12:26
>> wow.
12:27
>> So comic pressing is cost a fraction of
12:31
that. To me it was a bargain. It was
12:33
inexpensive to acquire customers if you
12:36
could do it right because in when I was
12:38
in corporate consulting I mean the
12:41
better we did the more secret we were
12:42
kept.
12:43
>> Yeah. in comic pressing in this
12:45
wonderful hobby, you help somebody a
12:48
little bit and if it if you really do
12:50
them solid, they'll talk about you all
12:51
the time. And so you really do have like
12:54
great network effects here. So the
12:55
hobbyists that do well are the people
12:58
who are social and amiable and you know
13:00
what what and and talented too. Uh but
13:03
there is this you know and also the
13:05
hobbyists who do best and actually I can
13:07
tell you the main secret to what I do
13:09
which is not a secret which is I don't
13:11
believe anything I read. I don't believe
13:13
anything I'm told. I don't believe
13:15
anything somebody else told me for free.
13:18
>> You're a smart man. I I wish more people
13:20
would would take that advice in
13:21
everything that goes on in life.
13:23
>> How we've evolved though is like we've
13:24
gone beyond just pressing comics, right?
13:27
And I was talking earlier. I mean, we
13:28
press here's, for example, I mean, this
13:30
is a 1922 gold certificate, right? I
13:33
mean, so we we press currency. We've
13:34
learned how to press vintage paper,
13:36
right? I mean, here's a here's a Griffy
13:38
rookie, you know? I mean, pressing cards
13:40
and stuff like that. in cards, you know,
13:42
alterations are forbidden. They won't
13:43
even grade the card if they can detect
13:44
the alteration, right? So, you can't
13:46
really do the same things that you can
13:47
do with comic books, but you getting
13:49
something flat, it's not only
13:51
undetectable, it's expected. So, I mean,
13:54
you kind of have to do it. So, I just
13:55
learned kind of what was expected, what
13:58
was excessive,
14:00
where I wanted my stuff to go, where I
14:04
thought other people wanted their stuff
14:05
to go. and kind of crossing over in sort
14:09
of 2022 was more about a professional
14:11
website, a brand name, an identity, a
14:16
strategy, messaging, and a team. And but
14:19
the the biggest differentiator after all
14:20
that is investment. I mean, I put I was
14:22
putting a lot of money in in this
14:24
consulting business. I put a lot of
14:25
money into this business. I have
14:26
professional equipment, professional
14:28
materials. I don't reuse stuff that I I
14:30
we try to have everything reusable if we
14:32
can, but I don't reuse like cheap things
14:34
cheaply. So, it's just very much about
14:38
really putting the right amount of time
14:39
and money into it, commitment,
14:42
constantly doing what you can and and
14:44
and and investigation constantly where
14:47
it's R&D here is off the charts.
14:51
So, so last question about like you and
14:54
you know how you got into this, but like
14:56
when was it that you saw like pressing
14:58
like took off? Because I it feels like
15:00
to me like I was in the comics game, you
15:02
know, in 2022 obviously during co even
15:05
before then. When do you feel like that
15:07
that pressing and cleaning really just
15:09
like cuz it kind of felt like to me it
15:11
was like overnight like people just like
15:12
whoa this is a thing now. This has to be
15:14
done before submitting books. When did
15:15
you feel like that happened?
15:16
>> I think that's the acceptability of it.
15:18
I'm not sure. It's been going on for a
15:19
long long time. What this the dispersion
15:22
of knowledge like anything else. So
15:23
again, it legitimized was by being
15:25
legitimized by CDC is the number one
15:27
thing, right? They bought Nelson's
15:28
company. They they offered pressing
15:30
themselves. One CDC offered pressing.
15:32
There was no ambiguity. Is it
15:33
restoration? For years, the argument is
15:35
that's restoration. You're restoring.
15:36
Still I still get stuff on my Instagram
15:38
post. You're restoring comics. God bless
15:40
you. Thank you. So I mean it's just it
15:45
was considered you know like you know
15:48
you know and now it's like
15:52
>> so it's it's really just about how
15:55
acceptable is it how valuable a
15:58
capability is it which is really
15:59
extraordinarily valuable because at the
16:01
nosebleleed grades the higher the grade
16:04
you go the more you really only have a
16:06
pressing problem. the lower the grade
16:08
you go most time you have other many
16:11
types of problems from stains to foreign
16:13
matter and things like that but in comic
16:15
books you know it what stuff looks like
16:18
is it is more important than its health
16:20
which is crazy you can have a book
16:22
disintegrating but if it's gorgeous it
16:24
will still get a higher grade it gets
16:25
lower grade because of the it's not you
16:27
know stable but most people you know
16:30
just want the book to look good even if
16:32
it is for only a few years and if they
16:34
leave it alone no matter whether it's in
16:35
that case or not it's still going to get
16:36
uglier and and died over time. So, we're
16:39
in this weird area where it's got to
16:42
look good right now.
16:44
And there's an immediacy to it. There's
16:46
a satisfaction to doing it to people in
16:48
the hobby or you can really satisfy
16:50
cleaning up a comic book. You feel like
16:52
you're revealing the past and you're
16:54
you're making something better and it's
16:56
yours. You found it in the wild and all
16:57
of a sudden you see the value coming.
16:59
You cannot separate the money from the
17:02
hobby. In many cases, comics are as much
17:04
about finding a gold mine, a little
17:07
piece of gold in the mine, than it is
17:08
just that. And same with like cards,
17:09
hitting a card or whatnot or whatever,
17:11
you know, live break and things like
17:12
that. The gambling aspect came. It's
17:14
it's more in cards than it is in comics.
17:16
The gambling aspect, but comics are
17:17
coming. Comics still don't quite have
17:19
that gamble, but they do blind bags and
17:21
things like that. I think they're
17:22
coming. So, you know, all I could say is
17:24
in this one is, you know, we've really
17:27
done what we can to to put the most into
17:29
it, but there's an excitement and a
17:31
thrill and a satisfaction when you do
17:34
this work. There's that same set of
17:36
thrills if you are the sponsor of it and
17:38
it's your item. There's more of those
17:40
thrills when you find something that you
17:42
know, you understand what pressing and
17:44
cleaning can do. You know it can be
17:46
improved. It hasn't been approved yet,
17:47
but that thing, the raw material is now
17:49
yours or on its way to you. Uh, and then
17:51
there when it's all done, it's just it's
17:53
a war story. Man, I found this thing. It
17:55
was a tatter mess. Look at it now. I got
17:57
an 8.5 on a Golden Age book. Oh my gosh.
18:00
So, there's just lots of reward for
18:02
people who are have that nostalgia and
18:04
that feel for this type of collectible.
18:06
>> So, so you said it like this is about
18:09
money, right? This is going to be the
18:10
next segment on the podcast here is
18:12
about the financial gain from pressing
18:14
and cleaning comics and like you said
18:16
other things. you showed us a couple
18:17
things that that you guys uh handle as
18:20
well, but talk about the talk about the
18:22
financial aspect of pressing and
18:25
cleaning comics. Obviously, why is it
18:27
important? Talk about some of the stuff
18:29
that you have graded in the past that
18:30
you want to talk about. Obviously, we
18:32
talked about a few things ahead of the
18:33
show, but tell you know, every all the
18:35
listeners out there about it.
18:36
>> I couldn't believe it. Like, when I got
18:37
back into comics, I didn't understand
18:38
any of this. I mean, grading is
18:40
subjective. So, people still today are
18:43
CGC's been in business 20 years. They're
18:45
still talking about what idiots they
18:47
are. Or no, they they got it right this
18:49
time. There's a loose grader. There's a
18:52
tight grader. They, you know, I went I'd
18:54
sent it back three times. I got three
18:56
different grades. I sent it to three
18:57
different companies. I got three
18:58
different grades. No question. It's a
19:00
But so it's some of corruption. We when
19:03
I first started, I had customers who
19:05
acted like it was a sure thing. And I
19:07
was a clown, you know, a zero, you know,
19:09
for not getting it right. It's very
19:11
emotional when you
19:14
ruin some piece of history whether you
19:17
tended to do it or not whether everybody
19:18
knew it was risky or not it really does
19:20
hit you. I mean you feel it and when you
19:21
disappoint somebody else when you know
19:23
they were hinging on what you had needed
19:27
what you were doing for them they needed
19:28
it you know you really got it's really
19:30
tough and so I mean you know but I mean
19:32
if paper weren't fragile there wouldn't
19:33
be an industry to fix it and another
19:35
industry to judge the fix and yet
19:36
another industry to value the judging of
19:38
the fix. So, it's just it just is the
19:41
way it is. So, cleaning and pressing
19:44
helps paper look its best. Most things
19:48
aren't made to mechanical perfection.
19:50
I've said that before, I'll say it
19:52
again. They're just not made to be
19:53
mechanically perfect. I've got all this
19:54
manga behind me, which right now is on
19:56
fire, right? And these books I'll just
19:59
I'll just pull one out, right? I mean,
20:01
because most people are seeing the manga
20:03
stuff online, but they're not really
20:05
seeing these books. I mean, these things
20:06
are like a telephone book. Okay? And so
20:09
they're super thick. They have tons and
20:11
tons of different color and black and
20:13
white sections and and they're made of
20:15
different papers and materials. I mean,
20:17
there's so much complexity in these
20:19
things. And then they have inserts. And
20:21
then these things, they were made, the
20:23
reason manga looks like this is it's
20:25
made to be read on a train. These things
20:27
were bought and purchased and then left
20:30
behind on trains and in subways, buses
20:32
in super crowded Tokyo, Japan, so that
20:34
the next person could pick it up and
20:36
look at it. So these things are I mean
20:38
they come out each week. It's not like
20:39
you really took super great care of
20:41
things that are weekly. So they're they
20:43
they just lumpy and bumpy and whatever.
20:45
So this is really thick, right? Then you
20:47
have something like a comic,
20:53
right? And these things have different
20:55
problems. Most of the problems happen on
20:56
the spine or the corners. They're a
20:59
little blunting and stuff, but until you
21:00
look at it under magnification, you
21:01
don't even know. I probably took my in
21:03
my first year of doing this, I didn't
21:05
even use magnifiers. I didn't even
21:06
realize. I was like, "My eyes are good,
21:08
but I wasn't getting 98s." And so, you
21:11
know, it turns out you have to really
21:12
work the way a grader sees it. The
21:14
graater doesn't look at books like you
21:16
do. I remember when I met Matt Nelson
21:18
for the first time, I gave him a book to
21:20
look at that I had done. And no kidding,
21:22
this is how he looked at the book, which
21:24
it is, I mean, just watching him read. I
21:27
had no idea. He actually looked at the
21:28
book like this.
21:31
He wanted to see if the corners were
21:33
flaring. I had no idea. I mean, you with
21:35
me? Like I mean who looks at a comic
21:36
book like this a greater like you have
21:38
to understand it's still the same book
21:40
but the way their powers of observation
21:42
are just light years beyond the average
21:44
person and so you really have to
21:46
appreciate it but when you can get the
21:47
the corner sharp and the the the spine
21:50
clean and all these little tiny little
21:51
tick marks and stresses out of it that's
21:53
what it comes down to. It's crazy but
21:55
the most important stuff between 96 and
21:57
98 which which can really inflect the
21:59
value of a comic is really only visible
22:01
under magnification when you get up
22:03
there. But the what the sick part is the
22:05
market drives all this because comics
22:07
create returns that really few other
22:09
assets can. I mean you can get a 4x, 6x,
22:12
10x change in value with a tiny
22:16
little manipulation. Isn't that cool? I
22:18
don't think people if you're not in
22:20
comics and you're listening to the
22:21
podcast. By the way, he was holding that
22:23
book up by the spine facing down. If you
22:25
are listening, you know, on Spotify or
22:27
an Apple podcast, just you guys are not
22:29
watching visually. That's how he's
22:31
holding the book. But, you know, talk
22:33
more about, you know, how important it
22:35
is now and the financial aspect of of
22:38
grading books. The next thing we're
22:39
going to get into is obviously how to
22:41
pick books out to be, you know, cleaned
22:43
and pressed. But talk a little bit about
22:45
first like, you know, the monetization
22:47
and and and the value, increasing that
22:50
value by doing this.
22:52
>> Clean and pressed books are expected now
22:53
if you're going to get them graded.
22:56
So, for a while, everybody was getting
22:58
everything graded. Grading is expensive.
23:00
I mean, you could be $50, $100 into a
23:02
book to clean and press and ship and
23:04
grade and ship it back. So, your books
23:06
need to be worth hundreds of dollars to
23:08
really not take a huge chunk out of it
23:10
before other transaction costs. And
23:11
buying and selling comics are nothing
23:13
but transaction costs. Pay a fee to buy
23:16
it, a fee to sell it, fee to ship it,
23:17
feed to store it, fee to press it, fee
23:19
to clean it, feed to send it somewhere,
23:20
feed to grade it, fee to regra it, feed
23:22
to crack it slab, feed to there's all
23:24
types of stuff. It's nothing but fees.
23:26
So you really have to do you really have
23:28
to be good at this like any other
23:30
investment area. You you know the the
23:31
the the the fro you know are just they
23:35
they get destroyed you know they get
23:36
really eaten up. So you can't just be a
23:39
noob and and do well unless you're darn
23:42
lucky or talented. So but knowledge is
23:46
the key in comics. So, what you really
23:48
need to to appreciate is just that um if
23:51
you with good with new with newly
23:54
available data and price guides and
23:56
other pricing pricing tools and AI now
23:58
chat GPT and things like that, there's
24:00
just lots of ways to figure out what the
24:02
what the comic is worth. But if you
24:03
start getting more advanced price
24:04
guides, you can figure out what the
24:05
comic could be worth. You start studying
24:07
these things, you can see like a comic's
24:09
value can double with one change in
24:11
grade. So, an 8.5,
24:13
you have a value of X, but at a 9.0 0
24:16
because 8.5 is the last non-mint grade.
24:19
At nine, you're a very fine near mint.
24:20
You basically have mint in your in your
24:22
grading.
24:23
>> So once you get to nine and you're in
24:24
the mint category, all of a sudden
24:27
things can really double and triple just
24:28
like that. And so people have strategies
24:31
like to buy 8.5s just to start getting
24:33
them into nines. They shoot say very you
24:36
can come up with very small goals and
24:37
pressing that can create very big
24:39
changes in value. And because comic book
24:42
value data is available all the time
24:44
now. sales are reported every day on
24:46
eBay and auction house platforms and um
24:50
you just use this data to know what's
24:52
changing and then you use cleaning and
24:54
pressing to make changes. Now what's
24:56
interesting is up until recently grading
24:57
was the way to do it but now with live
24:59
selling you really don't necessarily
25:01
need to press for grading. You have to
25:03
press for presentation. So now I, you
25:05
know, it's the shininess, it's the it's
25:07
the glare, it's the gloss, it's the it's
25:10
the it's the flash, it's the panache
25:12
that like on screen on camera that gets
25:15
that sale. Once someone buys it, then
25:17
they can decide to press it more,
25:19
cleaner, whatever. Pressing is fairly
25:21
infinite. You can press and press and
25:22
press and press and press something. But
25:24
you can split the book. The older the
25:25
book and the more fragile the paper, the
25:27
more it will buckle under pressure. It
25:28
will split one day. Could you tell us,
25:30
and I know this is a lot to ask, but
25:32
what should collectors be looking for
25:34
when they're looking for a book to kind
25:35
of buy to kind of press and clean and
25:38
bump? Like, is there something that you
25:39
automatically look for? A few things,
25:41
actually.
25:43
First thing I look for are
25:44
non-colorbreaking defects, things where
25:46
the book is bent, but you don't see a
25:48
crack in the color. The second thing I
25:51
look for are sharp corners,
25:54
uh, and little little bumps and crunches
25:56
along the the spine tips. The third
25:58
thing I look for are tick marks, little
26:01
spine stress lines and little stresses
26:03
down the spine. The more you can count
26:05
them as opposed to being completely
26:06
uncountable because there's too many of
26:08
them, the better off you are. So I've
26:10
heard Matt Nelson and other graders say
26:11
it at the highest grades, they count the
26:13
marks at the bottom. They just squint,
26:15
you know. So it's just there. So the
26:17
more you can count the number of
26:19
stresses on a side of a comic book, you
26:21
know, the better off you are with your
26:23
chances to improve it and to get a
26:24
higher grade. Uh I also look for stains
26:27
that I can fix. We have a very
26:30
wellrecoognized capability to remove
26:32
staining on paper which is its own
26:34
discussion with its own hobby and
26:36
pursuits. There's lots of techniques to
26:37
do it. We primarily use light. Uh and
26:40
finally I look for um
26:44
presentation elements that only comic
26:48
the top of the hobby values but they're
26:51
very valued. It's like um cropping. Is
26:54
something cut off too close to an edge?
26:57
Uh or centering. Is the book well
27:00
center? Is the artwork centered on both
27:02
sides? Is it miswraps? How how is the
27:04
paper wrapped around the book? Is do I
27:06
see white on the spine supposed to have
27:07
black on it? Um also, uh variants,
27:11
things like Mark Jeweler inserts or
27:13
newsstand editions. Uh also things that
27:16
have to do with historic changes like
27:18
X-Men 1. There's a price box that shows
27:21
Cyclops, right? Is that price box light
27:24
green or dark green? Because the ink
27:26
quality changed as they replenished inks
27:28
in the presses. So,
27:29
>> the dark green X-Men ones have more
27:32
value to knowledgeable collectors than
27:35
the light green X-Men ones. So, these
27:37
things come with time, but because we've
27:39
worked on so many now tens of thousands
27:41
of books, we really know what the best
27:44
comics look like. We really know what
27:47
comics we get all the time. You know, we
27:48
really know. I mean, the most the comic
27:51
we get the most out of all comic books
27:54
is Secret Wars 8.
27:57
>> How do you guys stay ahead in a
28:00
competitive space? Like is aren't you
28:02
worried about like technology in the
28:03
future, stuff like that? Are you
28:05
embracing it?
28:06
>> Well, I mean, yeah, I'm embracing it. I
28:08
ask Chat GBT every day. What do I need
28:10
to know? Not that it knows. Uh or maybe
28:12
it's making it up, which I don't mind
28:14
either. Uh, so but what's interesting is
28:17
there's nothing with a longer memory
28:19
stuck in the past than the comic space.
28:21
So you actually don't have to really be
28:25
very futuristic because people really
28:28
just want stuff like like the good old
28:30
days. Like that's nostalgia. So the
28:32
nostalgia play allows you to actually
28:35
move a little bit slower, not
28:36
necessarily be the first mover. In fact,
28:37
the more first mover you are, the less
28:40
trust there is because it has to be
28:41
proven and validated. You can't take a
28:43
risk on someone's rare collectible. So,
28:46
they don't want the newest stuff. But we
28:48
do but but in the art world there's tons
28:51
of innovation and you have to look at
28:53
it. So, we you know we follow what's
28:55
being done in museums, Smithsonian, you
28:58
know, other places around the world,
29:00
science and vintage paper and
29:02
preservation. Matt Nelson's talked
29:05
extensively about deacidification
29:07
because acid in paper is what makes it
29:08
yellow or brown and that is destroying
29:10
the paper. CDC's out of business in 80
29:13
years if we don't figure it all out for
29:15
them. So innovation, but we we we really
29:18
try to brace it. My my when I was in
29:20
software and consulting, I was in I
29:21
dealt with patents. So actually what
29:23
brought me into this more particularly
29:24
is, you know, I read I've read thousands
29:26
and thousands of patents, either parts
29:28
of them or old. And so understanding how
29:30
technology works, how people do it,
29:32
appropriating technology from one
29:34
segment of the economy to another.
29:36
That's what patents are for. They
29:37
disclose technology so you can learn
29:39
from it and work around it. So, I mean,
29:40
we're constantly reading and evaluating
29:44
how technology is working, but we can't
29:46
just take the newest thing and stick it
29:47
on comics. But I will say this, it's get
29:49
what we really focus on is when
29:51
complicated technology gets cheaper.
29:53
Like my Instagram is serving me up all
29:55
these hand steamers. They're like part
29:57
steamer, part iron. They're like ceramic
29:59
and stuff like that. Like material
30:01
innovation and size things getting very
30:03
small. Steam is wet, dangerous, spits
30:06
around, does all kinds of stuff. like if
30:07
these little pocket tools can start to
30:09
do what big expensive equipment can do.
30:10
Like it's really miraculous. So we we
30:12
really do try to look for like viral
30:14
hits and and and cool neat little
30:16
things. There's tons of things that like
30:18
get rid of mold out of your shower and
30:19
mold out off of this. Maybe they could
30:21
get mold off a comic. You can't just go
30:23
dump it on there, especially as bleach
30:25
or some other, you know, costic
30:26
chemical. So you have to understand like
30:28
a little bit of chemistry. What's in it?
30:29
Good news. Now the AI really helps
30:31
because you can ask the AI, here's this
30:33
thing, here's its ingredients. Could
30:34
this hurt? What does it do? So you have
30:36
like a consultant around now all the
30:38
time. AI will find the defects or AI
30:41
will bring recommendations or or or
30:45
sense problems or opportunities, but you
30:48
have to decide what to do about it. So
30:50
anyway, I I think that the latest
30:51
technology and kind of what's happening
30:54
uh in com in comics and the world around
30:56
us is going to affect cleaning and
30:58
pressing of collectibles, including
31:00
comic books and other vintage paper. But
31:02
I think you can't just go take, let's
31:03
say, some new chemistry or some new
31:06
machine and just start going to town on
31:08
stuff. But if you test it and you start
31:11
getting good results, you can do well.
31:13
And I again what excites me the most is
31:16
expensive technology that's now much
31:18
less expensive and much more portable
31:20
because of the fact that innovation and
31:22
materials have have converged to make
31:24
you know a tool that is say for
31:29
household use that all of a sudden now
31:31
works on a comic book. So, we talked a
31:34
little bit before about like me being a
31:36
nostalgia guy, how I collect a lot of
31:38
things, and you know, obviously you come
31:40
in contact with a lot of different
31:42
collectibles um for what you guys do.
31:45
What in your eyes makes a collectible?
31:50
>> I've never been asked that before.
31:52
>> Uh well, there are there's so so uh a
31:57
sense of uh time.
32:00
Uh I remember when I had this. I
32:02
remember when I got this with my
32:04
grandfather. I remember when I found
32:06
this at a flea market. I picked this up,
32:10
didn't know much about it, and now the
32:11
whole world's come to see its
32:13
importance, and I already have one, and
32:14
in fact, it's a nice one. Um, so time
32:18
time and is important. And then
32:20
awareness, you know, comic books are
32:22
worthless. I mean, if we were in a war
32:23
zone or, you know, we had to evacuate
32:25
our homes, we're not taking the slabs. I
32:27
mean, we might take action one. I was
32:30
going to say I'll take a few with me if
32:32
if that ever happens just in case
32:33
>> you they're heavy. If you were in a
32:35
flood, you wouldn't, you know, I mean,
32:36
god forbid Katrina, whatever, you know,
32:37
with me. And so I'm just saying like you
32:39
really can't run to the rooftop with
32:41
your slabs. So, we're very blessed in in
32:44
the United States and other places where
32:46
we can look for perfect, you know,
32:49
defect-free paper as a way to get
32:52
self-satisfaction
32:53
and and and develop wealth and and and d
32:57
and and have a dialogue that involves
32:59
oneuping our friends and feeling good
33:01
about it. So, like all all this stuff is
33:03
a collectible because your friends are
33:05
interested in it too. So, um, when it's
33:08
something to show off, when it means
33:09
something to you, when it represents
33:12
another time of of fondness or
33:14
importance, if it's coveted by others,
33:18
if it's making headlines, if it is hard
33:21
to find and will only get harder to
33:23
find, those things kind of converge to
33:25
make collectible. And finally, if a
33:27
grading company says they'll grade it,
33:29
collectible.
33:31
>> That that makes sense because, you know,
33:32
you talk about time and I'm a big time
33:35
guy. I'm I'm all about nostalgia, but
33:37
like there's a lot of like things out
33:38
there right now that that have nothing
33:40
to do with time and they're just worth
33:41
money and people like it and they're
33:44
engaging and they're bringing people
33:45
together. So, those are now, you know,
33:47
considered collectibles. I'll point to
33:48
like all the these crazy new, you know,
33:51
um, trading cards that are come out,
33:52
whether it's TCG or sports cards and the
33:55
autos and the one of whatever. So, like
33:56
that's that's a huge part of the
33:58
industry right now, almost like the
33:59
biggest part of collectibles. And I feel
34:01
like that has nothing to do with time.
34:03
So, I just find it, you know, a little
34:04
quirky that that you you say that. But I
34:06
agree with you. That's how I, you know,
34:08
perceive collectible.
34:09
>> It's the rip on the cards. I mean, it's
34:11
the time you just you found it. You got
34:13
it. You know, I've gotten this pack. It
34:14
was at the bottom of a box or whatever.
34:16
Um, celebrity is important. So, if a
34:18
celebrity is interested in it
34:20
>> or celebrities touched it, and it's it's
34:23
a carrier for a meeting with a celebrity
34:26
or a celebrity, this is all that's left
34:29
behind by an important person or entity.
34:32
That's also important uh collectible but
34:35
yeah people collect all types of stuff
34:37
and from matchbooks to with scraps of
34:39
fabric I mean all types of things quilts
34:41
I mean it doesn't have to be but yes but
34:43
in vintage paper you know and it it
34:46
again collecting vintage paper is not
34:47
easy you have to keep it cool you have
34:49
to keep it humidity controlled you have
34:52
to keep it safe I mean these books boxes
34:55
are heavy you need real estate you need
34:57
space I mean storing comic books it
34:59
takes money So really to hold on to
35:03
these books and to to really treasure
35:05
them and do it, it's like work. You're
35:07
like nurturing it. It's like a
35:08
Tamagotchi. Remember virtual pets and
35:10
things like that? I mean, you're
35:11
basically you're taking this little
35:12
thing and it was dirty and abandoned and
35:15
lonely and, you know, neglected and now
35:18
all of a sudden you're turning into this
35:20
thing and then finally boom,
35:23
>> it's in the man cave, you know. Wow.
35:25
Right. Look at you. Look behind you. So
35:27
I mean what you collect I people
35:30
identify with that people people
35:33
community builds around it and the trade
35:36
it's currency whether it's money or
35:38
whether it's the a way to to get at
35:41
somebody but people who have really no
35:44
other social outlet in some cases not
35:46
like they have no options but I'm saying
35:48
their their favorite social to meet
35:50
people is to show off their collection
35:52
that's a great way to meet people. So I
35:54
think what's collectible is what creates
35:56
um a connection between you and somebody
35:59
else who has similar interests but not
36:02
has not had the ability to find exactly
36:05
what you found and to to make that
36:08
exchange is really important and it goes
36:10
for me it goes all the way back to
36:12
trading comics as a kid. Yeah. We would
36:14
go up to the pool in the summer. Of
36:15
course, who takes comics to the pool
36:17
now? And we would sit by the pool, get
36:19
the comics wet and dirty, whatever. But
36:21
like we would go through our collections
36:22
and stuff like that and whatever, you
36:23
know, we throw them aside. We go swim in
36:25
the pool, come back. So, I mean, like
36:27
you wouldn't do that now with comics
36:28
because you know the value, but at the
36:29
time the value was like talking to your
36:32
friends or meeting for me, I met
36:33
neighbors, you know, my dad one time
36:35
lived in an apartment complex, you know,
36:37
I was like, "Oh, you know, my parents
36:38
were divorced. He moved to apartment." I
36:40
was like, I wanted to meet the people. I
36:41
brought comics, you know, this we got I
36:43
got to meet the neighbor kids and that's
36:44
how we started building communication.
36:46
So I mean I just think that that a
36:48
collectible is whatever it means to you
36:51
but it to me it stands for a different
36:53
time a different experience but one I
36:56
can share or your time and your
36:58
experience that you're sharing with me
37:00
and giving us something to talk about
37:02
together.
37:03
>> 100%. You know, I'd be aiss if I didn't
37:05
ask you about the comic book market
37:07
because or even just the collectible
37:08
market because there a lot of guys out
37:09
there like my buddy Swag. We always talk
37:11
about the market. We all do videos on
37:13
the comic book market. Where do you see
37:15
the collectibles market in general
37:17
heading right now?
37:19
>> Well, that's probably too big for me to
37:20
comment on because there's just so many
37:22
segments. But in comic books and vintage
37:24
paper, I mean, I it's heading, you know,
37:26
I see uh new new ways to buy, new ways
37:31
to experience the comics, blind bags, um
37:36
super limited variants, um rare like
37:40
artist appearances, making something
37:42
even rarer because they show up, they
37:44
it's a limited print, they sign it, it's
37:46
caned out, you know, when you wait in
37:47
line for it, whatever. Like it takes a
37:50
lot to get it. Um, and then I see the
37:52
the flip side of that, which is like the
37:55
eBay, the marketplace sales, which is
37:57
new marketplaces. Lots of people with
37:59
technologies lower the barrier. Lots of
38:01
people now have a marketplace, live
38:03
sales, you know, all that stuff. And so
38:06
it becomes more about personality,
38:08
presentation,
38:10
uh, authority, brand, um, trust, and not
38:15
just do you have one because the
38:17
internet's made everything seem more
38:19
readily available. So, um, and then
38:21
finally, I do think that, um, AI
38:24
optimization is really going to help
38:26
because when the AI knows where one is,
38:28
the AI can crawl this stuff and start
38:30
bringing it to you. So, I do think like
38:32
sourcing collectibles is going to
38:34
continue to grow in its importance as
38:36
much as experience in the buy. But live
38:38
buying uh uh uh people who like run
38:41
shows, uh sexy salespeople,
38:45
um again packages, blind bags, extras,
38:49
oneoffs, contests, raffles, all this
38:51
stuff. Anything that makes it fun to
38:53
buy, not just is get will be good for
38:56
most comics because most comics are not
38:57
hard to find a copy of. They're just
38:59
hard to find your copy of.
39:02
>> So, let me let me flip that around
39:03
because I've asked this question to a
39:05
bunch of people I know. Do you do you
39:06
take that as the opposite as well?
39:08
Because it's not like it was back in the
39:10
day where you had to go to eBay, you had
39:12
to go to an auction house, you had to go
39:13
to a live show. Literally, you can find
39:15
a comic book anywhere right now because
39:18
there are so many, you know, live
39:19
streaming platforms and so many places
39:21
to buy comics. Do you think that hurts
39:22
the market as well because of that?
39:25
>> I don't because the market is incredibly
39:27
fragmented. There's still people who
39:28
don't use Instagram. I don't use
39:30
Facebook, you know. I mean, it's just
39:33
But I'm using Instagram, so I'm on
39:35
Facebook, if you were uh some people
39:37
still love Google. They're not using
39:39
chat GPT. Other people are just using
39:41
the AI. Some people, you know, so it's
39:43
like there's so many channels. They
39:44
really don't. There's lots and lots of
39:46
ways to do it, but the real growth is in
39:48
comic book conventions. Pop culture,
39:50
anime, comics. What's called a comic
39:53
convention now is the biggest, you know,
39:54
false advertising there is. Most comic
39:56
conventions aren't comic conventions.
39:57
They're pop culture conventions, but the
39:58
comics are what people connect with
40:00
through the movies. So, no, I think like
40:02
live buying has grown. Marketplaces have
40:04
grown where the flea market is kind of
40:05
where you classically would find the
40:07
stuff, but now you go to your weekend
40:08
Comic-Con. Sometimes it's at your your
40:11
veterans hall or school gym. Other times
40:13
it's at a convention center um or it's a
40:16
it's set up as you know, it used to be a
40:18
slot meet. So, I mean just I think that
40:20
like the experiential buying shopping is
40:24
as important and it's good because
40:25
you'll pay more for a comic when it's
40:26
right in front of you, which of course
40:28
dealers know, which is why you have the
40:29
whole ludicrous pricing models that
40:31
dealers do where they have just giant
40:33
numbers and you have to argue or debate
40:35
or articulate with them, which makes the
40:38
burden on you to know what you're
40:39
talking about. Otherwise, it's just
40:42
well, you don't care because you never
40:43
see one. You might not have seen one
40:44
again. You've got the money. you came
40:45
here to get it and you you all of a
40:47
sudden price isn't the issue, it's
40:49
availability.
40:50
>> One of the things I also wanted to ask
40:51
you is and I hear this from a lot of
40:53
people all the time how the comic space
40:54
is dying like you know everybody's you
40:57
know in their like 40s or up like is
40:59
there anything that you could tell us
41:00
that you think you know that you could
41:02
help us and maybe say you know that's
41:04
not the case contradict this in any way.
41:06
Is this hobby going to be alive at its
41:08
core 20 years from now?
41:09
>> I'm going to contradict it respectfully
41:11
with evidence that you provided on your
41:14
own. Okay.
41:15
>> Okay.
41:16
>> So, I was do looking at some of
41:18
Lawrence's videos in anticipation of
41:20
this interview, trying to figure out
41:21
what's his style, how's he work, is he
41:23
going to ambush me? Oh my god. Uh, and
41:26
he did like hot 10 comics for the week.
41:29
He's doing that. They're pretty cool.
41:30
You should check it out. They're neat.
41:32
He does some videos that aren't just
41:33
like interviews, boring interviews like
41:35
this with old people who still can't
41:36
forget comics.
41:38
>> Would you believe one of his number one
41:39
of his top 10 books of the week was
41:41
Green Hornet number one. I mean a book
41:43
from like 1940 4142. The point is is
41:46
even stuff that's 80ome years old is
41:50
still hot this week.
41:52
>> So the are comics dying? No. What's
41:55
happening is paper as a medium is
41:58
transitioning out which makes what the
42:00
paper you have rare and rarer? The fact
42:03
that you want to keep looking at comics
42:05
is something that have value is
42:07
something that takes a community to keep
42:08
supporting. At the moment, people start
42:10
realizing that it doesn't matter what
42:11
you pay for a Secret Wars 8, your life
42:13
will still go on. You know, that's when
42:15
things will change. But, uh, right now,
42:18
people don't just want something nice,
42:20
they want something better than nice.
42:22
Some people want the best, and some
42:24
people have to have the best. So, I
42:26
don't think it's dying, but I think the
42:28
comics hobby, like any other hobby, is
42:29
changing, and technology is changing it.
42:33
Valuations, what people, the value
42:34
people place in these things are
42:35
changing. the communities that see the
42:37
value are changing. And I think as
42:39
younger generations enter this, again,
42:41
my kids didn't really love comics that
42:43
much. They smelled funny and didn't
42:44
move. They like video games. But
42:47
Pokemon, you know, and manga and things
42:49
like that, they re they relate to that
42:51
because it it it connects to the
42:52
cartoons they saw on TV. Now, people
42:54
being born, there is no TV. They're not
42:57
watching TV. They don't even know.
42:58
Everything's a screen. So, what will
42:59
they connect with? I don't know. But
43:01
once we all figure it out, we'll be
43:02
hoarding that, too. Well, you brought it
43:06
up. I know we're going to touch on it a
43:07
little bit, but the manga I you brought
43:09
one out before. We saw the big uh Logan
43:11
Paul uh transaction that occurred. What
43:14
do you think? I mean, there's a big
43:15
debate going on right now in the hobby
43:17
about is this going to start to to take
43:19
off or is this going to kind of be just
43:20
like a one-off because of One Piece,
43:22
Pokemon, all that stuff. What are your
43:24
thoughts on that?
43:25
>> I mean, I've seen people say, "Well,
43:26
they printed three or four million of
43:28
these." Well, yeah. Well, not in the US.
43:31
>> Yeah.
43:31
>> I mean, these things are really heavy. I
43:33
mean, how many how many heavy how many
43:35
heavy beautiful mint things do you think
43:37
came over on the flight or the boat or
43:40
in someone's trunk or case or whatever?
43:41
I'm just saying. I mean, this stuff is
43:43
it's there, but it's just very
43:47
lizy, you know? I mean, and because
43:49
these were made to last. I mean, this is
43:51
a time bomb, right? This all look at all
43:52
this newsprint. I mean, this you mean
43:54
like this all it's all decaying and
43:56
destroying. These books get foxed. They
43:57
get all kinds of hideous spots and
43:59
stains on them. They really get bad. And
44:02
uh you know these don't fit in a
44:04
conventional like a heat press you can
44:05
buy on Amazon. You know what I mean?
44:06
Like the the the this just you have to
44:08
innovate. You you have to change your
44:10
equipment, your methods, your
44:12
techniques, all types of stuff to press
44:13
it. So all I can say is it's hard to
44:15
find in great condition. People only
44:18
want the best the the places where the
44:21
best you know the first appearances
44:23
which is really what drives collecting
44:25
in stories uh and prototypes. Those were
44:28
the books that people that either got
44:30
the fewest print runs in many cases or
44:32
people had no idea that that was where
44:33
the value was going to be or whatever.
44:35
Obviously, like with Dragon Ball and
44:37
Dragon Ball Z, I mean, there was a kids
44:38
cartoon about it. People have had
44:39
decades to catch up with it, but they've
44:41
had decades to catch up with, you know,
44:43
Wonder Woman. That doesn't mean
44:44
everybody's got copies of Allstar 8. I
44:47
mean, you know, it it you like who knew
44:50
Wonder Woman was going to be a big deal.
44:52
I mean,
44:54
it just happened. So all these things
44:57
that are uh important to people that
45:00
what you have a few of these things they
45:02
want the very best and the very first
45:03
and the rarest thing and everybody else
45:05
starts chasing and so Logan Paul is the
45:08
kind of person who can help people get
45:09
excited about chasing it. But I saw I
45:11
mean I've seen thousands once I watched
45:12
three videos of course like on Instagram
45:14
another 700 came my way. So I mean
45:16
they're all calling him a larer and all
45:18
kinds of crazy stuff you know for for
45:19
hyping and pumping and whatever. Maybe
45:21
it's a pump and dump and it probably is.
45:22
I mean, he pumped and dumped a card, if
45:24
you will, you know, Pokemon card. I was
45:26
I I say I pumped and dumped. I'm not
45:28
accusing him of anything. He's a wise
45:29
investor. But, um,
45:32
we all want to attain what we can't. We
45:34
all want to get as close to it as
45:36
possible. We all are influenced by
45:37
celebrity in some respects, and we all
45:40
once someone else shows the value, we
45:41
all start to recognize it wherever we
45:43
look. When we see something, oh, that's
45:45
manga. But the manga is beautiful. It's
45:48
different. It's it's stunning. It's uh
45:51
it's the illustration, the graphic
45:53
design, the storytelling. You don't need
45:55
to read any Japanese to enjoy manga. I
45:58
just think that people are going to
45:59
really have fun discovering this stuff.
46:01
They're beautiful, they're colorful,
46:03
they're lively, and you have no idea how
46:05
much other IP that's sitting in this
46:07
manga is going to end up being a story
46:09
one day on on a bigger small screen.
46:12
>> You just hit that right on the head. You
46:14
don't know what's coming in the future
46:15
that someone can pull out of these
46:16
pages. that that's the biggest thing
46:18
that I think you just you kind of
46:20
enlightened everybody out there. Like
46:22
we've s we've seen the One Piece, we've
46:23
seen the Dragon Ball, like you said,
46:24
we've seen some of the the Pokemon. What
46:26
else is going to come out of there
46:27
that's not hot right now? I think that's
46:29
I think that's what people are
46:31
forgetting right now.
46:34
All right, final segment. Barry, I
46:36
appreciate you coming on with me today.
46:37
We talked about a lot of great things
46:38
regarding pressing, the market, AI,
46:41
everything really in collectibles. and
46:43
obviously tell everybody where they can
46:46
find you before I get to these rapidfire
46:48
questions.
46:49
>> Okay. Well, I'm Barry. I'm I'm at found
46:52
at comicpressor.com.
46:54
Uh and I'm on Instagram at
46:55
comic_pressor.
46:57
The two most popular places I like to
46:59
hang out is on the internet or on IG and
47:02
can be reached there by direct message
47:04
on IG or email on our website. Uh, and
47:08
you can take a look at what we do, our
47:10
highest graded books, books that are one
47:12
of a kind, the highest grade in the
47:13
world, bumps, crazy bumps that we've
47:16
gotten from, you know, again, 8.5 to 9.8
47:19
or whatever, and the value that's been
47:21
been developed for that. So, uh,
47:22
comicpressor.com is a great place to
47:24
find me. And, uh, hopefully you'll find
47:27
yourself in a dialogue with me or
47:29
someone on my team, uh, when you have a
47:31
collectible that wants to look better
47:33
and a grade that screams to be
47:36
increased.
47:37
All right, you ready? Rapid fire. All
47:38
right, I'm
47:39
>> ready.
47:40
>> Most underrated pressing tip.
47:45
>> Knowing what not to press.
47:47
>> Bang. Good. That's a good one. Biggest
47:49
mistake collectors make in general.
47:54
>> Not doing enough research on what
47:56
they're going to do with the book when
47:57
they're done with it. So, most time
47:59
people come to us, I'm asking what their
48:00
goals are. So, understanding your goals
48:02
so that you know whether or not you
48:03
should spend more or less or hustle or
48:05
double time. pay rush fees and charges
48:07
to get something. So, yeah, just having
48:10
a plan that you that involves both the
48:12
money and the collectible, having that
48:14
worked out ahead of time.
48:15
>> So, this is a little bit of a weird
48:16
world, but most pressable grade. In
48:18
other words, a grade that you think has
48:20
the best chance of getting a bump where
48:22
you can make some money.
48:23
>> 8.5, that's the last non-mint grade. If
48:27
you can get something up from 8.5, you
48:29
move from not mint to something mint.
48:32
>> All right. one book that you'd never
48:35
press.
48:37
Is there one?
48:39
>> It has to do with the condition. I mean,
48:41
when something's detaching at the
48:43
staples, when something's really fragile
48:44
and brittle and chipping and falling
48:45
apart at the staples, I really I I would
48:48
You can still press it, but I mean, it
48:49
has it could just be damaged. Splitting
48:51
book, books that are splitting, those
48:53
are things that I I try to do the least
48:56
I can with because I just don't want to
48:57
cause more damage. a followup to that
48:59
one. And I don't even know if this
49:01
exists, but is there like a book out
49:02
there that's known for like really
49:04
difficult issues like a title, an issue
49:07
number, or no? Am I am I just
49:08
overplaying?
49:09
>> My least favorite book to press in the
49:11
world. Wolverine number one, the series.
49:15
That book is uh um it came after the
49:18
miniseries of one to four.
49:20
>> Yeah. The black cover.
49:21
>> Yeah. I don't really like the cover that
49:22
much. I don't like the interior art, but
49:24
the book fingerprints like crazy. I
49:27
mean, if you just touch that book, the
49:28
fingerprints get on it. It doesn't come
49:30
off easily. And when you try to rub it
49:33
hard, the ink smears. So, I do not like
49:36
Wolverine one one bit. I don't like the
49:38
paper. I don't like the artwork. I don't
49:39
like how it fingerprints. And I don't
49:41
like the ugly stains. Anakin Fox. So, if
49:44
I when I get a Wolverine one is it is my
49:46
least favorite book to work on.
49:48
>> All right. That's that's an interesting
49:49
one. Last one. All right. You ready? One
49:51
bold prediction for the future.
49:54
>> Yeah. I think more technology, you know,
49:56
is is is coming our way. I think
49:58
nanotechnology, for example, is really
50:00
going to change how you physically
50:02
address compost because you can use very
50:04
very tiny particles, use less of
50:06
something to get more of an effect. So,
50:08
it's harder to discover and it's it's
50:10
it's powerful. So I do think that tech
50:13
physical technology like nanotechnology
50:15
and I think uh IoT technology like uh
50:19
smart presses, lasers, things that you
50:21
can control with an app and I do think
50:23
that AI in grading I think they're all
50:26
going to come together really change how
50:28
fast,
50:30
how low cost and and how reliable an
50:33
opinion can be on really large piles of
50:35
stuff. And I think we're going to get
50:37
more more more more more transactions,
50:39
more value out of the out of the entire
50:42
uh pile of collectibles in the world
50:44
because there's going to be more ways to
50:45
judge them and more ways to improve
50:47
them. And it's the cycle of like
50:49
deciding you want it and deciding to
50:51
improve it and deciding again to do more
50:54
or with it or to get rid of it and get
50:57
the most you can. and the person on the
50:59
other side is trying to figure out well
51:01
what should I spend for it and what am I
51:03
going to do with it and how am I going
51:04
to get the most out of it and so just
51:06
like flipping houses I think flipping
51:08
collectibles is going to continue to be
51:10
really boldly say that the physical will
51:13
become increasingly rare anything that's
51:16
made of paper today could become a
51:17
collectible tomorrow and I think the
51:20
availability of data to improve it uh
51:22
tools to improve it data to evaluate it
51:25
uh data to price it and services to tell
51:28
you how nice it is or isn't are all
51:30
going to continue to proliferate.
51:32
>> If you'd like to become a sponsor here
51:33
on the Mighty Rewind podcast, make sure
51:35
you reach out at the mighty
51:36
rewindpodcast@gmail.com.