Hi, I've been lurking here for a while after I've been getting back into comics as a hobby after years of not collecting actively.
I'm not sure what category I fit into as a collector, but as somebody who went from being a "comic nerd" at high school (during the late 80s and early 90s - I cry when I think back on the mint multiple McFarlane comics I discarded) to being a pro cartoonist to years later buying back some of the stuff I had as well as the stuff I'd read about and salivated over, it's been fun.
The exception is when you think you've been shilled on Ebay. I apologise for resurrecting a topic that some might think has been done to death, but I really want to get opinions on something. I've bought a couple of early Uncle Scrooge CGC comics from sparklecity on Ebay, and the bidding pattern on the latest one seemed weird.
Here's the page with the bids on it http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&_trksid=p4340.l2565&rt=nc&item=350556378506. As you can see, everyone apart from this mystery man stopped bidding early on, leaving only me and this other guy. He bid me up another 200% over that last guy's bid. Now, he might just have wanted it, but does that seem strange to you? The final price doesn't seem that inconsistent to other prices I've seen on Heritage Auctions, which is where I've been buying a bit of stuff, but I have a bad feeling about this auction.
I thought Sparkle City has a good reputation, but can anyone else vouch for him?
Thanks for reading and I hope the rumours of flaming new members aren't true.
If he is legit, I'd like to keep buying from him, but something didn't seem right about this one.