17 May 2026

Preparing an acquisition request that we will actually open

What belongs in a rarity-based acquisition brief for an X-Men mutant archive edition, and what gets sent back.

Aisles of bound volumes in a library

Write the mutant’s name as you use it, the team book, a ledger code if you have one, and a number range. Add a condition floor. “Light handling, no tide line, gutter mark intact” is usable. “Mint” is not, because we will not certify mint from a thumbnail.

Tell us copies you already refused and why. A scuff you hated last month will still be there. If you will accept that scuff now, say so; otherwise we will keep filtering it.

Do not send a list of ten mutants “in case the first is hard.” That is matching work, billed as matching. An acquisition window hunts one object. Changing the mutant mid-window closes the window. You can open another.

If you have a deadline tied to a birthday, say it. We may decline rather than rush a class. A late honest letter beats an early decorative one.

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