Bio-Rupp

Boscoe and I had talked about GIJOE around Christmas when he was all over my $10 Mixed thread. Seemed like the most enthusiastic person I had ever had a PM about. Constantly wanting lower price, add ons, etc. Annoying... but typical during a big sale for this type of activity. It still amazes me the amount of cash this kid was able to sling around. Some of those $10 books ended up in this last sale that got him busted and I PMd the person who bought those books telling them they were in no way the grades listed. I would love to be able to say that I knew this guy was a kid by reading PM's like this one... ... but honestly, I have hundreds of PM's like this from adults I understand this is a child we are all talking about... but the level of manipulation he perpetrated is staggering. At 12 years old, this kid knew the system well enough to navigate ill begotten gains of hundreds of dollars. These tactics are not something you just trip over in science class... you either learn them via buying and selling for years watching the practices unfold before your eyes... or someone shows you how to do them. In my opinion, this is where the father has come in. Do I have any proof of this, hell no. Do I believe a 12 year old boy who just entered the hobby could attain this level of commerce deception, again hell no. I blame the father all day long. xxx ooo Rupp

The amount of money that changed hands with that kid is staggering. Unbelievable

It's apparently not unusual. Three months ago or so, I ran a big sales thread here, during which a veteran Boardie (who will remain nameless) PM'd me about some raw books that had been listed in my thread for an hour or so, asking for a discount on the stack (5 or 6 books). In the spirit of giving him a good deal, I thought...sure, why not...and I actually sold him the books in that "deal" at a loss...no big issue. Within a relatively short time (say 60 to 90 days or so), I watched that Boardie list those same raw books within his own sales thread upgraded at least a full grade point, which he then sold for more than my original (undiscounted) sales thread asking price. It was a great learning experience for me. Along with some other realizations, that's when I really had to internalize the bit of wisdom that says to make sure you are happy with the price at which you sell books, and then in some sense who cares what happens after that. Trust me...I understand that argument. Still, having said that, it felt like a light kick in the crotch. My crotch is feeling that very same feeling after reading the past few pages

Swick is back !

Now is good time to recommend "I, Frankenstein" as only 5% Rotten on the RT tomatometer... but 100% guilty pleasure Carry on

he's a serial offender and doesn't give a rat's patootie. I know... just be careful xxx ooo Rupp

Those fellas are lighting that thread up like a Christmas tree.

I thought the PL Discussion thread was CG now. Definitely a great place to work out kinks in your HTML xxx ooo Rupp

Snagged a sweet JLA1 off Francisco and it was everything I hoped for in a Silver Age key. Packed well and shipped fast. Couldn't be more pleased and more than willing to throw more money at him in the future. 10 out of 10... Top of the Pops... A #1... Super duper... you get the idea xxx ooo Rupp

Why? It's starting to look like the beginning of the end of the PL. Why? Try posting that someone is on the list in their sales thread. The list is no longer supported by CGC. I guess it's a good resource for anyone interested in looking. The boardies who support the list are a clear minority. It would surprise me if the thread went poof at some point. Where have CGC said that they no longer support this list? As far as I can tell, it's still linked in every sales thread. Didn't anyone receive a strike lately for posting the list in a sales thread? If not then why aren't there any posts about being on the list in Symby's thread? Symbiotic isn't on the PL. And, no, nobody's received a strike for posting the list in a sales thread lately. I have to stop posting when I 1st wake up. If Symby's not on the list then why the complaining? Is there a secret 3rd list? Shhh... its a secret damn it

Impressive fellas... most impressive xxx ooo Rupp

It appears this gentleman means business

Not that it matters in most peoples eyes, but the "stain" was NEVER brought up during any of our PM's Surprisingly hardly any questions were asked. As much as I don't want to use a car comparison - I think it's accurate. If I see a valuable car I want to purchase online, with plenty of photos and lengthy description - I will order a vehicle history report. Regardless of how detailed the seller's description is, problems that are disclosed from the history report of things I can't see (like major body/frame repairs, lack of maintenance, etc) - could affect the value or resale after I purchase it. Grader's notes seemed to have illuminated some problems SD may not have known about. But they are there, and the staining plays a part in the grade and would likely deter the resale value down the road. I don't believe anyone is being dishonest in this situation at all. I don't disagree with Bob's position - just as I would not intend to follow through on a sale of a car that looked great, ran great and was extensively described - only to find out from a third party there were severe problems that would affect it's value in comparison to other vehicles in the same condition. I agree with what you said up till the end. You have already seen the photos, and the description call up the seller and say I will take it sending money tomorrow and provide all of your details. During a restless sleep you think I should check the car history, at this point you discover something that the REPUTABLE Car dealership missed or was unaware of and now want out. It does not change the fact that there is still something wrong with the item that was not previously disclosed. Even if SD didn't know about it - Bob is meant to take a $16k hit because he checked grader's notes one day too late and discovered that the book has a major flaw in it? I can't agree with that. Regardless of a buyer's experience, it's still up to the seller to be the expert in the transaction. The seller should have all the answers. The seller should be the most educated about the product he is selling. That's my personal philosophy. That's why I believe that Bob is in the right with his decision. You know the one thing I woke up questioning myself about... other than why 3 dogs were piled on top of me asleep... was this... What would Dan's book had graded at WITHOUT this stain? 8.5? 9.0?

And remember, if someone asks you a question you don't want to give an answer to, use this line. "I'll break you in half, like a boy" Someone is watching the news this morning

They're both Ow/w and Dan's copy has small chips out of or starting at the right edge....take out the darkness of the sparkle city scan and they look pretty close. I certainly don't see a 10%+ premium IMHO My bad on the page quality... the last copy that sold at $15000 according to GPA had the lesser page quality of OW. xxx ooo Rupp

I do agree with you here Casey. I do not agree with your spelling of guarantee though

Not really anything to do with the conversation at hand (or maybe it does), but a comparison of apples and oranges. Dan's copy raw...that is now a slabbed 8.0 Sparkle City's copy that sold on 6/23/13 for almost $14,500... Sparkle City's copy sports lesser page quality ( the last sale reported on GPA is the one with lesser page quality )as well as the possible Marvel chipping at the top of cover. Definitely a lesser copy compared to Dan's. Again this is nothing against Bob, but perhaps he is really wanting a 8.5+ copy of this book for an 8.0 price. Looking at these two examples (no serial # listed on GPA of the last sale)... I really don't see what he's going to find in this price range that's any better

This is what I was just wondering about as well. Did Bob KNOW you meant you were going to nominate him if he backed out or was that discussed AFTER he chose that option? I believe so. It was his idea I thought that quote from Bob was before he found out about the stain and had nothing to do with the stain that wasn't known until after grading? It was before the stain was even an issue. If we negotiate a cash/trade deal. We both agree on the deal (and have PM's to prove it) then after that PM buyer tries to re-negotiate the deal, is that not a form of backing out. The deal wasn't cash only. Buyer approached me with the cash/trade deal. It was better than a cash only deal for me. Why would I want to change that?? That's how I read it. The buyer initially had "trade remorse" correct? Except it's the least injurious trade remorse I've ever seen...to the effect of offering 100% of the originally requested cash price. The offers of full cash and alternate trade tells me that Bob still really wanted the book. No one offers $16k cash for something they don't want to buy. I can see the truth in that... but we really don't know what was up on the trade part of the table do we?

Lots of us would be picky on a book like this with a stain and a 16K price tag. The notes are saying this stain runs the length of the book. This is what kind of baffles me. I've had books just hammered for a tiny dot sized stain. I totally agree. If I could even afford a 16k book right now, I would be more than picky about it's condition and I would make more than sure it's exactly what I would want. I am just curious if the seller hasn't made another offer. The seller clearly didn't realize the stain was there, and from what pics I have seen, it was a really hard defect to spot. IF it was me (and I hate doing what if's) I would express my disappointment as a buyer and decline altogether and look for a more desirable copy. IF I was the seller, I would totally discount my price based on what CGC has issued. Or unslab it completely and have it as a raw sale. I don't buy/sell comics. I am just a collector and not in the "business". But I could see how this is a surprise to EVERYBODY and it seems to me the classy thing to do would be discount the price or hold on to the book and resell it. I really cannot see how any one person is backing out of this deal in a bad way. Going to be hard to discount the price based on current GPA. Last copy sold at $15000 and had off white pages. Dan's has off white to white pages. Dan's is clearly a better copy based on page quality at the same 8.0 grade....thus justifying the 16G price tag

This is what I was just wondering about as well. Did Bob KNOW you meant you were going to nominate him if he backed out or was that discussed AFTER he chose that option? I believe so. It was his idea I thought that quote from Bob was before he found out about the stain and had nothing to do with the stain that wasn't known until after grading? It was before the stain was even an issue. If we negotiate a cash/trade deal. We both agree on the deal (and have PM's to prove it) then after that PM buyer tries to re-negotiate the deal, is that not a form of backing out. The deal wasn't cash only. Buyer approached me with the cash/trade deal. It was better than a cash only deal for me. Why would I want to change that?? That's how I read it. The buyer initially had "trade remorse" correct?

Initial offer ( I believe ) was cash and trade. The trade was beneficial to Dan, thus making him more apt to take the deal.

You've exposed my inability to draw circles in photoshop....it looks like a toddler drew it. :: You know I love you so I didn't want to point out that my daughter could rock you on photoshop and she's in Pre-K. I was seconds away from asking my 10 year old create those circles for me. It's harder than you think...

You've exposed my inability to draw circles in photoshop....it looks like a toddler drew it. Don't feel too bad about it... I destroyed this entire section of the boards yesterday with a misplaced " / "

Well Dan just stated that the larger "oval" was the smudge... which makes sense since there is nothing showing on the interior cover at that height. So possibly they are just talking about the entire 1/4 inch bottom spine corner ? Plus thanks to Chris for taking the time...