Calidream'n

@Bludriver , especially in the area of high dollar raw books. I've come across 2 disreputable sellers in as many weeks. Coincidence or is the market just flooded with snakes and weasels???

@ADAMANTIUM , no, as posted in the Please Grade threads, this was a book I was looking to buy. This guy sent me about 5 pictures of it.

Man, with all the scammers and cheats selling on FB, Ebay and CL, and now in the restoration/pressing industry, this hobby has gone downhill quickly! Kinda depressing.

***Soooo, second warning I've given in a week; beware seller August Dos Santos on FB Marketplace in NY. He's selling the Hulk 181 I have in the "Please grade" and "Restoration" threads as all original/no resto. Obvious trimming, possible page/cover wash.

Thought I might as well include all the pictures he sent me. Soooo, second warning I've given in a week; beware seller August Dos Santos on FB Marketplace in NY. He's selling this as all original/no resto.

@Semicentennial , no, it almost was. One of those seemingly unbelievable deals. The guy who has it in NY had some X-men for sale at a really good price. I saw this book in the background, and inquired about it and asked for pictures and price. He said $5,000 firm, as he was planning on sending it to CGC then Heritage. $5,000 would have been an incredible deal for a book in this condition. Now seeing as he's trying to pass this off as unrestored, I'm staying away from all his books. With the really white pages and super sharp sides and edges, I'm thinking this book might have been washed and trimmed. Guys in the "Grade my" section said the same as you; the book looks "off".

@Eric C M you are 100% correct. The guy had this book in the background of some pictures of X-men I was interested in. They were really well priced. (GS Xmen 1 graded 3.0, X-men 2 around 2.0/2.5 and X-men 8, 5.5/6.0, all for $2,000). I inquired about the 181 and he said $5,000, nothing lower. He said he was going to have his "friend" press it, submit it to CGC then send to Heritage Auctions.

Thinking of buying, but I’ve compared it to other 181’s and it definitely looks like it’s missing art/features found on other copies both right and left sides of cover, especially right. Opinions?

I just did side by side picture comparisons with this book and another raw 181 on Ebay just now. I think this book has definitely been trimmed. Bummer. You know the saying; “if it’s too good to be true”…

That was my thought/fear. I’m no trimming expert, so once I have it in hand I’d like to know what to look for/how to tell. Considering putting down some serious cash on this so I don’t want to be screwed over.

@scburdetI don't want to say right now, to see if someone else sees what I think I see. I don't want to suggest it if it's not there. Not trying to be mysterious, I just don't want to plant the seed or people might see it by my suggestion. Grade? Thinking of purchasing this.

What do you guys think about the area on the cover on the edge by Hulk's right leg?

It's funny because it took me a while to get angry. I was mostly shocked at first that he would have all these potentially high dollar books and not let me inspect them. I guess I was just mesmerized by some of the Golden Age books; and he had a few short boxes full of just really desirable Silver and Golden. When I realized he wasn't joking about not taking them out of the mylars, that's when I knew I had wasted the hour drive to him, and the time spent staring as intently as I could at the Cap 10 to try to see the flaws. I could have left angry, but I remained cordial but blunt. I said there is no way me or anyone else is going to put down that kind of money without really inspecting the books. He ended up giving me a classic line as I left, not kidding; "I know what I have." FB Marketplace link; https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/215659418005677/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3A6f271778-4008-40b4-a435-7d9f89249248

I still remember his bait phrase "That book is pretty rare. You're not going to find another one." (Regarding the Cap. #10.) SMH, like I'd lose my common sense and just go for it after he said that. What a weasel.

@Buzzetta sent you a pm.

so, I asked this guy what would happen if I paid for the book, once it's mine open it up and see color touch on the inner front cover. He said it could be from the original printing. I asked about other areas of restoration to which he replied "Restoration is an opinion". That right there told me these were restored or touched up books in one way or another. He claimed to have purchased a lot of these when he was young, or got them a long time ago. I doubt everything this snake said.

The guy has a lot of tempting books. I remember All Winners #4, Zip Comics #23, Hulk #4, DD #1 Avengers #4, etc. Just enough to get you all excited until you realize they are all probably restored or missing something.

Late Golden Age Subbys

Batman 3

Cap 10

I'm pretty sure he is fully aware of these threads and the collecting community in general. That's why he sticks to FB Marketplace and such places. He won't come on here to get called out and bashed. He's a scammer who is running his game. He's knows he's a weasel; coming on here would only expose him more.

I did. He said no. His reasoning was that the books are far too old and fragile to be handled. lol. I said what about the GS X-Men #1? That's not too old. Nope.

Who knows what his real name is. His facebook profile is "Marshall Zerner", but when I couldn't find his apartment at first and called his cell, the message said "Michael". Gotta have your fake names if you're selling fake books!