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Help? Captain America #34 20089457

Collector infinityG private msg quote post Address this user
Hey folks,

I was dollar digging the other day and picked up 4 copies of Captain America #34, 2 each of covers A and B.

I noticed one of the A covers had a different barcode than the other. Same book just different barcode.

See pics:






Does anyone know if it's a Canadian version or a NewSstand Edition? I'm leaning toward Canadian as Newsstands are not produced much these days.

Thanks!
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Collector Batman79 private msg quote post Address this user
Probably direct and newstand. Great catch!!!
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Collector infinityG private msg quote post Address this user
@Batman79

Thanks man!

I thought they stopped doing newsstand editions at some point in the 2000s, but I don't know when. I know NS editions are trending up but not sure if one is more rare than the other.
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I bought a meat grinder on amazon for $60 and it's changed my life. kaptainmyke private msg quote post Address this user
They are both the same price so I do not think its a direct/newsstand issue.... newsstands are typically $1 price increase from a direct market edition. Also, with Marvel it would have actually said "Newsstand" on barcode somewhere to indicate the price increase.
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Collector infinityG private msg quote post Address this user
i agree, @kaptainmyke, the direct ed has both prices which is normal but the other has just the one price for both US/Can with a different barcode shape and number. If it's not a newsstand, (i dont think they were printing newsstand versions in 2008 right?), I wonder what it could be...
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Collector GanaSoth private msg quote post Address this user
Beside the barcode, one says Direct Edition the other says Captain America.

So obviously one came from Steve Rogers Comic Book Shop.
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I bought a meat grinder on amazon for $60 and it's changed my life. kaptainmyke private msg quote post Address this user
If the prices weren't the same I'd suggest the "Captain America" barcode was newsstand but I'm pretty sure it's not.
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Collector infinityG private msg quote post Address this user
@GanaSoth lol Steve needs to explain this one

@kaptainmyke i guess its nothing special then

thanks for chiming in guys
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Moderator Jesse_O private msg quote post Address this user
ok - Both main covers, the Epting and the Ross, have the same barcode - 759606056521 03411. The second barcode actually belongs to Captain America #368, see pictures. Two thing: first, have you checked the indicia on both comics? I'd suggest doing that first. Second, if you have a smart phone, you can probably get a free bar code reader app. That might tell you exactly what is going on.





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Collector Drogio private msg quote post Address this user
Could be a multipack reprint. Check the indica! Otherwise I’m guessing newsstand.
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Collector infinityG private msg quote post Address this user
I use CLZ collector and it scanned in 2 different issues. Cap 34A and Cap 243 vol. 1.

I checked the Indica and they were identical.

Maybe it was part of of some pack? It doesn't say reprint anywhere either.

The mystery continues.
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SpongeBob Comics #1 sells for $991! Joosh private msg quote post Address this user
It’s a newsstand and direct edition.
These did not always have different prices.
Marvel continued newsstand distribution up through 2013.
I attached photos of 2 more examples from the same era, 11/08 and 2/09. Venom Dark Origin 2 has a price variation,Ultimate Avengers 1 does not have a price variation. Same differences otherwise in barcodes’ shape and digit count.

The books from 3 packs have a missing UPC or a much higher price for the 1 of 3 books that was on front of pack.

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Collector infinityG private msg quote post Address this user
this is exactly what i have @Joosh, nice to know and mystery solved! I'm actually surprised that newsstands were printed as soon as 2008/09. Where would these sell, like Barnes and Nobles or airport terminals or something?
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SpongeBob Comics #1 sells for $991! Joosh private msg quote post Address this user
From what I've gathered, Marvel didn't really kill the newsstand distribution so much as they let it die slowly. That makes sense in explaining why as you get into 2000 and newer, these newsstand books become harder and harder to find in any condition.
In 2011 or thereabouts, I read that newsstand distribution was strictly limited to Barnes & Noble and Books A Million. The last Marvel newsstand books had publish dates of 12/2013. These books state display limits in the UPC box "Display until 12/10/2013" is the latest I've seen, on Avengers 22.
I've done some math figuring out how many stores existed between B&N and BaM to figure out an idea of print runs, but in my own experience shopping at these places, many did not get all titles every month, some only got a sampling, others had a full selection. There were too many variables to get any usable numbers. I can figure out potential print runs, but that's it.
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