Stat Monsters

It's actually the legitimate thing to do for many sellers who formalize their businesses and have to charge as they pay the state sales tax.  I think it's rather shady when dealers start to ask buyers to pay cash or other methods to circumvent paying sales tax. 

My pet peeve is really the businesses, not individual hobby sellers, who run websites and seem so petty to charge a surcharge if you use a credit card or insist on Pay Pal "personal" to circumvent merchant fees.  I'd rather them just boost their pricing by 5% across the board to account for that 3% merchant fee they're so worried about absorbing.  It seems so petty and amateur.

In general, I feel (my opinion) that within the Original Art hobby, most collectors appreciate artwork as well as sequential storytelling and overall aesthetics.  Deadpool (aka Deadfool) is really low-brow as a character in the same vein over the top eye-rolling adolescent low-brow humor found with The Family Guy, Rick and Morty that lacks creativity.  With that, I get a sense that most art collectors have little interest in the character.  As someone mentioned, most of the artists who render Deadpool are not highly collected by name, short of a few who have done really nice covers (J Scott Campbell included of course) other than maybe Rob Liefeld and Ed McGuinness who created and launched his popularity respectively.  

This whole "Merc with a Mouth" persona works with teens and in the movies, but that's not the demographics of original art collectors.

I've bought from Spencer Beck over the years, many years.  He's always been very professional.  His communication precise and detail oriented

At one time he was one of the top sources of art for me to buy from, primarily because his website was updated continually on a very regular and frequent basis.

About 2 maybe even 3 years ago, it seems he stopped updating his website.  I'd always had friendly emails with him and at one point maybe 2 years ago he mentioned updating his website to become more modern and user-friendly.

Flash forward years later, I've not seen any updates, I've not seen any new website, and I believe 2019 was the first year he's not had his formerly annual discount sale.

QUESTION:

Is he winding down his business?  

Is there a reason why he doesn't update his old original website?

Is there a reason why he's not been able to upgrade his website as he's been wanting to for the past few years?

I really miss his updates and sales (the last sale in 2018 I passed on because basically, everything that I've wanted and seen from 2017 and before was there, but there was no new material that entire year).  There's a few websites I miss seeing updates from as well, like Albert Moy, who used to have frequent updates through the year.  Right now, I feel the top art dealer/reps who have frequent updates are Anthony Snyder, Romitaman, Felix Comic Art, Splash Page Art and Cadence.  

 

10 hours ago, Jay Olie Espy said:

You had a lot of art with you. How did you do moving stuff? Would you set up again?

I'm not sure if I'd exhibit again or not, it's contingent on the date, since I'm not an art dealer in the traditional sense, more of that old school style convention exhibitor of a collector selling stuff to turn around and buy other stuff.

The show definitely needs a diverse range of art vendors and in turn, needs outreach to drive qualified leads (buyers) into the show that'll spend more money.  It's a catch-22 in regards to buyers and sellers for this show.  I think I have a sense on the right formula to make it a win-win for the show's (and it's exhibitors) and buyers who invest the time and attendance fee to come to a show like this that wants to spend money but just needs to find the right pieces at the right price.

I exhibited at the show, but so many nice people had (prior to the show) and have (during and after the show) been asking me what I brought for sale, I decided to post them online

I'm now building a CAF GALLERY dedicated to Original Artwork "FOR SALE" here's the web-link: https://www.comicartfans.com/galleryroom.asp?gsub=158419  Right now I'm going alphabetical by artist from A to Z then will add updates whenever I get a chance.  I hope, by the end of the week to have about 300 pieces up. 

Feel free to check it out now or periodically. 

Thanks!  

FYI - There is a scam going on where a buyer purchases multiple items, then allows eBay's 90 day Buyer Protection to elapse without opening a case.

Then after the 90th day, they file a claim via Pay Pal, typically through their credit card company for a charge-back dispute, claiming "Item was not as described" and requesting a full refund.

This enables the buyer to circumvent eBay to screw the seller over by not allowing the seller any "buyer's protection" nor allowing eBay to decline their request for a refund.  A buyer has 180 days (6 months, I believe) to pulls this scam

They feel that by making a chargeback, it's automatically in their favor.  However, it's both postal fraud and mail fraud, a crime whose magnitude depends on the amount being extorted.

The buyer can dispute the chargeback and the disputed funds are held in limbo if via Pay Pal until the case clears.  I'd highly advise detailing the incident in defense otherwise judgment is made to the buyer.  The simple facts are the buyer is keeping all merchandise, not returning any merchandise and demanding a refund all while also intending to keep the items as well.

This is happening right now to me.  I'll post the buyer's name whose eBay user ID starts with "G and ends with S", but am giving them the opportunity to drop the chargeback knowing a police report will be filed with their local police since they've not returned the items and if they get their money back, is essentially theft.  

I just posted on the Original Comic Art forum, information about this show, more granular to what I'm, as an exhibitor am bringing.

The show is tomorrow, Sunday 11/10 from 10am to 4pm.

I'll have all of the portfolios marked and sorted as well as all pieces priced.  Most pieces will be in the $100 range on average with many up to $300-500, but will offer some pieces as low as $5 and as high as $7,000, so there could be something for everyone and every budget.

Here's what you can find if you see me there:

BOOK #1 Sorted by Artist’s Last Name

A to C

ORIGINAL ARTWORK

BY

Mike ADLARD

Mahmud ASRAR

Chris BACHALO

Eric “eBas” BASALDUA

Ed BENES

Joe BENITEZ

Jordi BERNET

Brett BOOTH

Mark BROOKS

John BYRNE

Sean CHEN

…AND OTHERS

BOOK #2 Sorted by Artist’s Last Name

C to D

ORIGINAL ARTWORK

BY

Sean CHEN

Joe CHIODO

Mike CHOI

Ian CHURCHILL

Olivier COIPEL

Gene COLAN

Amanda CONNER

Mike DeBALFO

Dan DeCARLO

Mike DEODATO

Tom DERENICK

Nick DERINGTON

…AND OTHERS

BOOK #3 Sorted by Artist’s Last Name

D to H

ORIGINAL ARTWORK

BY

Terry DODSON

Brent ENGSTROM

Alejandro “Ale” GARZA

Michael GAYDOS

Micah GUNNELL

Lori “Cross” HANSON

Jamie “Xaime” HERNANDEZ

…AND OTHERS

BOOK #4 Sorted by Artist’s Last Name

H to M

ORIGINAL ARTWORK

BY

Josh HOWARD                    Pat LEE

Erik JONES                            Ron LIM

J.G. JONES                            Aaron LOPRESTI

Fred KIDA                             Jim MAHFOOD

Aaron KUDER                      Mike MAYHEW

Greg LAND                           Luke McDONNELL

Salvador LARROCA            Ed McGUINNESS

Bob LAYTON                       

…AND OTHERS

BOOK #5 Sorted by Artist’s Last Name

M to R

ORIGINAL ARTWORK

BY

Jamie McKELVIE                 Paul PELLETIER

Steve McNIVEN                  Mike PERKINS

Adriana MELO                     Jay Scott PIKE

Win MORTIMER                 Antonio PROHIAS

David NAKAYAMA             Tom RICHMOND

Rudy NEBREES                    Al RIO

Oliver NOME                       Shelby ROBERTSON

Ryan OTTLEY                       Jimmy ROBINSON

…AND OTHERS

BOOK #6 Sorted by Artist’s Last Name

R to T

ORIGINAL ARTWORK

Jimmie ROBINSON

Nei RUFFINO

Tim SEELEY

Louis SMALL Jr.

Jack SPARLING

Anthony SPAY

Tony TALLARICO

…AND OTHERS

 

BOOK #7 Sorted by Artist’s Last Name

T to Z

ORIGINAL ARTWORK

Tony TALLARICO

George TUSKA

Jamie TYNDALL

Chrissie ZULLO

…AND OTHERS

 

 

 

 

 

 

ART FOR SALE

Sorted by Artist’s Last Name

ORIGINAL ARTWORK

 

ADLARD             DODSON            OKSNER

BACHALO          EPTING              PICHELLI

BERMEJO          GARBOWSKA    PELLETIER

BISSETTE          GARZA               PEREZ, G.

BOOTH              GREEN, R.         PEREZ, R.

BRADSHAW       INFANTINO       PHILIPS

BROWN, R.         MADUREIRA      RAMOS

CANETE             McGUINNESS    ROMITA JR.

CHOI                  MILLER, F.         SCALERA

DeBALFO           NGUYEN            SEELEY

 

ART FOR SALE

Sorted by Artist’s Last Name

ORIGINAL ARTWORK

 

SIENKIEWICZ, BILL

SMITH, CAM

SPRINGER, FRANK

TIMM, BRUCE

TURNER, MICHAEL

WEEKS, LEE

YU, LEINEL

 

 

 

 

Over-Sized Large Artwork

ORIGINAL ARTWORK

Featuring works by:

Neal ADAMS

Mark BROOKS

Joe CHIODO

Gabrielle DELL’OTTO

Jenny FRISON

Ale GARZA

James JEAN

Kevin NOWLAN

Jimmie ROBSINSON

Bill SIENKIEWICZ

George TUSKA

…and More !!!

Here's a list (by artist) of what I'll be bringing to the show for sale.  I'm not an art dealer nor sell art as a business, I'm a collector looking to buy, sell and trade.  So, many of the pieces are fresh to market and I don't have them online neither CAF nor any website.  Most of the artwork is priced from $100 to $300 range, with some as low as $5 and some as high as $7,000, but I am bringing and pricing artwork that's affordable for the average collector.  

I'm marking my portfolios on the front covers so it's rather easy to go through and is fairly well organized.  I also have a price on every piece of art, so none of the "Please Inquire" hassles, with a no-obligation, free to look style and you can see the prices conveniently without having to ask or fearing by showing interest, you'll be price gauged with a high quote to then begin painful negotiations.

 

BOOK #1 Sorted by Artist’s Last Name

A to C

ORIGINAL ARTWORK

BY

Mike ADLARD

Mahmud ASRAR

Chris BACHALO

Eric “eBas” BASALDUA

Ed BENES

Joe BENITEZ

Jordi BERNET

Brett BOOTH

Mark BROOKS

John BYRNE

Sean CHEN

…AND OTHERS

BOOK #2 Sorted by Artist’s Last Name

C to D

ORIGINAL ARTWORK

BY

Sean CHEN

Joe CHIODO

Mike CHOI

Ian CHURCHILL

Olivier COIPEL

Gene COLAN

Amanda CONNER

Mike DeBALFO

Dan DeCARLO

Mike DEODATO

Tom DERENICK

Nick DERINGTON

…AND OTHERS

BOOK #3 Sorted by Artist’s Last Name

D to H

ORIGINAL ARTWORK

BY

Terry DODSON

Brent ENGSTROM

Alejandro “Ale” GARZA

Michael GAYDOS

Micah GUNNELL

Lori “Cross” HANSON

Jamie “Xaime” HERNANDEZ

…AND OTHERS

BOOK #4 Sorted by Artist’s Last Name

H to M

ORIGINAL ARTWORK

BY

Josh HOWARD                    Pat LEE

Erik JONES                            Ron LIM

J.G. JONES                            Aaron LOPRESTI

Fred KIDA                             Jim MAHFOOD

Aaron KUDER                      Mike MAYHEW

Greg LAND                           Luke McDONNELL

Salvador LARROCA            Ed McGUINNESS

Bob LAYTON                       

…AND OTHERS

BOOK #5 Sorted by Artist’s Last Name

M to R

ORIGINAL ARTWORK

BY

Jamie McKELVIE                 Paul PELLETIER

Steve McNIVEN                  Mike PERKINS

Adriana MELO                     Jay Scott PIKE

Win MORTIMER                 Antonio PROHIAS

David NAKAYAMA             Tom RICHMOND

Rudy NEBREES                    Al RIO

Oliver NOME                       Shelby ROBERTSON

Ryan OTTLEY                       Jimmy ROBINSON

…AND OTHERS

BOOK #6 Sorted by Artist’s Last Name

R to T

ORIGINAL ARTWORK

Jimmie ROBINSON

Nei RUFFINO

Tim SEELEY

Louis SMALL Jr.

Jack SPARLING

Anthony SPAY

Tony TALLARICO

…AND OTHERS

 

BOOK #7 Sorted by Artist’s Last Name

T to Z

ORIGINAL ARTWORK

Tony TALLARICO

George TUSKA

Jamie TYNDALL

Chrissie ZULLO

…AND OTHERS

 

 

 

 

 

 

ART FOR SALE

Sorted by Artist’s Last Name

ORIGINAL ARTWORK

 

ADLARD             DODSON            OKSNER

BACHALO          EPTING              PICHELLI

BERMEJO          GARBOWSKA    PELLETIER

BISSETTE          GARZA               PEREZ, G.

BOOTH              GREEN, R.         PEREZ, R.

BRADSHAW       INFANTINO       PHILIPS

BROWN, R.         MADUREIRA      RAMOS

CANETE             McGUINNESS    ROMITA JR.

CHOI                  MILLER, F.         SCALERA

DeBALFO           NGUYEN            SEELEY

 

ART FOR SALE

Sorted by Artist’s Last Name

ORIGINAL ARTWORK

 

SIENKIEWICZ, BILL

SMITH, CAM

SPRINGER, FRANK

TIMM, BRUCE

TURNER, MICHAEL

WEEKS, LEE

YU, LEINEL

 

 

 

 

Over-Sized Large Artwork

ORIGINAL ARTWORK

Featuring works by:

Neal ADAMS

Mark BROOKS

Joe CHIODO

Gabrielle DELL’OTTO

Jenny FRISON

Ale GARZA

James JEAN

Kevin NOWLAN

Jimmie ROBSINSON

Bill SIENKIEWICZ

George TUSKA

…and More !!!

1 minute ago, Bronty said:

you know, I just watched the video and there's a lot more artwork as part of the video than I recall.   Still a great video actually.    

I have to take back my previous comments because you're right that there's likely a lot of pieces here.   How many, I wonder?

I thought I read in one of the links provide by one of the board detectives (great research work BTW !!!) there were over 3,000 individual pieces in total

 

Personally, I'd speculate it would go on the higher side of $150,000 potentially.  It depends if it's the entire storyboards to the whole music video as shown and how many pieces that is.   It needs to be a complete set 'tho to command a high price-tag.

It's less "artwork" than it is "memorabilia" and you see how much people pay for nostalgic memories. 

Although A-Ha is basically a "one hit wonder" (yeah, they've other charting songs (as well as a "greatest hits album", but poll the majority and most will say they did not have a sustainable mainstream career and won't be enshrined in the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame anytime soon if ever), they're iconic to the 80's and although most fans of the 80's are now in their 50's or 60's getting near retirement and fans who may have any nostalgia over it will probably be dead in 30-40 years, so there may be less people who recognize or care about it, it has relevant interest now and many of  those folks have disposable income.  

My general stance on underwhelming commissions is it's a subjective "in the eye of the beholder" judgment sometimes, but if you truly don't like your piece and it wasn't a free sketch, a cheap commission, but a high ticket item by a known name, odds are, there's going to be a fan out there to possibly sell it to. 

There's nothing wrong with selling a commission you paid for and are dissatisfied with.   I'm pretty sure if an artist charged $300 for a commission and a customer refused to pay citing dissatisfaction, the artist would be upset, but if the customer paid for it and sold it, at least the artist got paid.  It's not like the old days where fans in disguise would commission work for cheap then flip it for profit.

Everytime you look at the piece maybe your blood boils or you feel negativity from the experience, why not just get rid of it, and not store it away.  It's taking space and tying your money up with a constant reminder present in your life of a regret.

Somebody else may enjoy it and you might make back your money, possibly even profit or maybe take a loss, but call it a day to salvage a bad situation.

I'm sure the artist wouldn't be offended and even if they were (and that's all contingent on them actually finding out) it's easily explained through either the truth said respectfully or a "white lie" cover up maybe citing financial strife.

Post it up for sale at what you paid then see if there's any action, then add the "or best offer" if there's no interest a few months down the road, and if there's still no action, then consign it to ComicLink or Heritage with no reserve and see what happens.

I feel that Craig's List and Facebook Marketplace are dream worlds where sellers look to find suckers with pricing 100x + valuation on junk.  Even eBay is 1000% a better marketplace because there's more legit sellers with reasonable prices than the oddities and weirdo price gougers. 

It's touted as a pure comic art convention.  This is the 3rd show held by the organizer. 

https://www.lacomicart.com/

Mike Mignola is an attending guest for the show.

Aside from the no-brainer of anyone in Southern California who collects OA going to the LA Comic Art Convention on 11/10/19, I was just curious on if it's a traveler's destination event that brings collectors from distant geographies?

It's the 3rd show and every time, it's had an amazing museum quality assortment of what many would consider "Grail" super-hero pieces that's awe inspiring to look at in-person.

Here's a link to the website:

https://www.lacomicart.com/

The organizer is super nice.

On 9/14/2019 at 6:44 AM, Poka said:

@Stat Monsters I did forget to add one thing. If you disagree with the facts upon which the buyer has filed a charge back, ie item not as described but he refuses to return the item, then your best chance is to file a police report against the buyer for mail fraud. The police report you submit to paypal. I have a paypal business account which protects against fraud (turning an item not as described into a fraud). This is how I have got my money back from paypal where a buyer filed a charge back against me and card issuer institution sided with the buyer.

Poka - Thanks, it's exactly what I'd planned to do, but I was going to do it afterwards, if in his favor because it's an attempted mail fraud at this point, but once he receives his money back and keeps the merchandise, I'd think it's then actual mail fraud, so less of an accusation or an attempt, but more of a real fact based action.  In reading your suggestion (BTW - Thanks!) I do think you have a strong recommendation in filing the report BEFORE to then use that as defensive evidence of what's going on based upon his pointed efforts to commit fraud by claiming an amount more than factual potential damages as well as making no efforts to communicate to return the merchandise to receive any level of a refund.

21 hours ago, Beige said:

cross-over posts!

So the CC has not yet been refunded?

Sweet - you got this buddy!

Paypal will side with you - I had the exact same thing happen to me - but only after 25 days.Ebay sided with buyer, paypal with me.

Paypal trumps ebay.

The end.

Thanks!  Yes, there has been no official refund, but my Pay Pal balance has frozen assets I can't access due to the dispute.

eBay has a customer service phone number that, if you speak with someone (and everytime, I believe their call center has been outsourced to the Philippines) and explain your situation, they'll generally side with a seller to take off an undeserved neutral or negative feedback or even if a buyer is able to scam the system, provide seller protection to make things financially right.  However, if you just leave it to the automated world of eBay's C/S via messages, replying to messages and leaving notes, eBay will usually it seems, not read them and just side with the buyer. 

I had one person essentially tell me they thought they paid too much for the item (buyer's remorse) and told me they were going to return the item back for a refund and if I did not agree, they'd either damage it and send it back claiming it was damaged or send back an empty parcel and keep the item to get their refund, basically extorting with threats.  I cited those messages the person wrote, and they did so using eBay's messenger system, which eBay can verify themselves, so left it to logic and chance, but eBay clearly did not read the person's messages nor mine and allowed that person to get their refund and the person indeed did send back the item (albeit not horribly damaged) for their proof of return for the refund.  Had I simply called eBay, spoken with a real person, they would have reviewed that message and denied the buyer's claim instantly, but I was either ignorant or lazy to call and thought a written response was adequate, but it fell on deaf ears and blind eyes at eBay.   

So, I do encourage other sellers with issues, to speak with a live person to tell the full story and explain or defend accusations and the truth of the matter for favorable settlement. 

Although eBay usually protects the buyers because that's the illusion of the company being "for the people" the reality is, eBay makes their revenues only from the sellers who pay their listing fees, commissions and posts merchandise on eBay to make it an appealing marketplace site.  Without sellers, eBay would have no revenue.  Sure, they need buyers to come to buy to generate commissions, but unlike other auction houses that has 2-way (buyer's premium %'s and seller's consignment commission %'s) fees, eBay only collects from sellers, so they know they need to protect them as their golden gooses, especially the sellers who are not so casual listing infrequent and cheap merchandise, but are the power sellers who bring in predictable solid revenue.  That's probably why it's so hard to get a C/S phone number, and they let the masses go through their online message system, but the preferred sellers get a VIP type treatment I think. 

Update:  Thanks to kind board members who assisted, I was able to get Pay Pal's C/S # of 1-888-221-1161 (and did use a code to expedite my call that I got by logging into my account) and an email of chargeback@paypal.com to send additional substantiation.

The Pay Pal agent without committing to anything basically said it sounds like Buyer Mail Fraud and that it's an odd if not suspicious action for a buyer to wait almost exactly the time eBay's 90 day window expires (for which if he had gone through eBay with a dispute, the buyer knew he would lose) and using his Credit Card company as a chargeback to dispute the charge.  Pay Pal is actually now on the Seller's defense side since it's their job to work with the Buyer's credit card company.

Pay Pal does not have access to all of the information, so it's easy to email them substantiation such as communication messages, delivery confirmation receipts and transaction reports of what the items were/are.  

Pay Pal said at this point, the buyer makes their dispute, the seller replies, Pay Pal takes that to the credit card company and it can take 30+ days to get a response (not necessarily an action or decision) for which I assume either party can dispute if not in their favor as a last attempt before the case is closed and judgement is made.  The seller and buyer need not communicate and in fact supposedly does not even see each others notes to Pay Pal regarding the filing.

So, at this point they say it's a waiting game.  They also say, YES, if Mail Fraud is suspected, then that could be brought up and pursued, probably via Pay Pal and their (buyer's) Credit Card company or involving the local police or USPS.  If the buyer decides to be vengeful and send back the items purposefully damaged or an empty box, that further cements their fate as criminals conducting mail fraud, so it's recommended to take photos or videos of opening any returned merchandise.  If the buyer ends up keeping the merchandise and getting their refund, it's said one can argue that if they try to sell it, it's considered stolen merchandise, and yet another claim can be made at that level.

It's a whole lot of work and runaround for a small amount of money, but it's the principle of what's right and wrong, not just whatever is easy to make a problem go away and reward evil criminals who then may victimize someone else.

7 hours ago, Poka said:

@Stat Monsters I did forget to add one thing. If you disagree with the facts upon which the buyer has filed a charge back, ie item not as described but he refuses to return the item, then your best chance is to file a police report against the buyer for mail fraud. The police report you submit to paypal. I have a paypal business account which protects against fraud (turning an item not as described into a fraud). This is how I have got my money back from paypal where a buyer filed a charge back against me and card issuer institution sided with the buyer.

Yes!  Thanks!  I was going to file either a police report (do I do that with their local police or mine?) or via the USPS for attempted mail fraud.  In theory it's a pretty clear case that there is some level of fraud occurring even if just on the fact that the buyer is claiming the full amount on a partially damaged order and also has not returned the merchandise yet is claiming for a full refund and keeping both items.  I think their communication is where they committed legal suicide by incriminating themselves with their behavior as icing on that cake to substantiate a good defense or take away their credibility too. 

On 9/12/2019 at 4:35 AM, boatfund said:

https://www.paypal.com/us/smarthelp/contact-us

hit the contact us button and phone number and passcode pulls up  - you may get transferred several times - be clear, you have a buyer committing fraud that is trying to get a refund from you - the ebay item no longer pulls up due to the time frame.

"Call PayPal Customer Service and enter this one-time passcode when prompted.

The code below takes you directly to the experts you need."

like I said they may transfer you several times.

fyi - you have to go through multiple pages on the paypal website (starting with main home page) to get a phone number and ignore the pop-ups to chat about your problem through messaging - it is hard to find the phone number.   They do seem to prefer you using online system, however speaking with a rep works out best for me.

Thanks!  It's been five days so far since my replay to the complaint/issue, so I'm not sure if I'm support to wait for the Buyer to reply, for Pay Pal to make a judgement or be proactive and call Pay Pal now to circumvent waiting.  

I appreciate your advice and assistance.  I feel the same way where speaking to a rep is way better than using emails or chats.

23 minutes ago, boatfund said:

yes and I won.  Buyer bought an X-Men 266 NM  and not a peep out of him during the 90? days the ad still shows up on ebay and claims can be filed.  Then filed with paypal  about 170 days after it ended (almost 6 months) saying item was not as described and noted "box damaged" and wanted a full refund (plus I had double boxed it).  This was the first I had heard from him.   Well heck any insufficiently_thoughtful_person could figure out even if he shipped something back I would not get the same book back (no pictures left on ebay), they could buy a $5 beater and keep the NM.   I called and as I'm talking to the paypal rep and explaining the long delay in noting damage - ebay no longer even shows the item - and how I'm going to be ripped off - she goes this was a collectible?  I replied yes. She stated no one is going to wait to open up a damaged box that contains a collectible for 5 months.  I'm denying his claim. 

So yes, even after the ebay window is closed, paypal's window is 180 days.  I would call a paypal rep.

.  

 

Thanks for sharing your experience.  Do you happen to have the right Pay Pal phone number you used?  I'm accustomed to eBay and other businesses who conduct their businesses primarily online to have horrible customer service systems where it's either like pulling teeth to get a phone number and sometimes it's an IVR that won't allow you to speak to anyone and gives you the runaround.  I'd appreciate it if you could lead me to the right number for Pay Pal or where you found it.  THANK YOU!!!

1 hour ago, kav said:

pls post his ebay handle in this thread so we can all avoid him and also curtail his buying experience.

https://www.cgccomics.com/boards/topic/328716-ebay-blocked-user-list/

 

I'll post his info once this settles, as I don't want to potentially sabotage my case in the slim event he's on these boards and feels he's being "outed" unnecessarily.  I would hope he'd realize, after I pointed it out that he is indeed committing USPS Postal Fraud.  I'll give him a chance to withdraw his claim and apologize for his illegal aggression. 

I'm going to outline in my next correspondence to Pay Pal and the Buyer a reminder that:

Mail fraud is punishable by a fine and imprisonment of up to 20 years. 

For those following this thread, here's some potentially helpful information:

https://faq.usps.com/s/article/Mail-Fraud

If you believe you've been victimized by a scam involving the U.S. Mail, you can get help by contacting your nearest Postal Inspection Service office in one of three ways: Call 1-877-876-2455 (press option “4” to report suspected mail fraud). Visit postalinspectors.uspis.gov to report suspected fraud online.

How to Contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Service

If you believe you’ve been targeted by a scam involving the U.S. Mail, you can get help by contacting your nearest Postal Inspection Service office in one of three ways:

Call 1-877-876-2455.

Visit www.uspis.gov to report suspected fraud online.

Mail your queries to this address:

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS SERVICE CENTER

ATTN: MAIL FRAUD

433 HARRISON STREET RM 3255

CHICAGO IL 60699-3255

To learn more about mail fraud 

Hi!  I was wondering if anyone who sells on eBay has encountered this scenario, and I'll try not to be too verbose to cause confusion by pointing out the facts of this scenario

* Buyer made offers on two (2) CGC graded books, which were accepted by the Seller and paid for then shipped in June

* More than 2 weeks after receiving the books, the Buyer sends a message claiming damage showing an obscured photo (could be doctored) requesting some sort of restitution

* Seller offers going through USPS Insurance claims, but requests more and better photos to process the claim.  Buyer does not respond

* Buyer eventually responds days later with a series of unprofessional messages ranging from threatening to profane, rude as well as unreasonable.  Declines to send photos.

* Seller professionally requests the photos once again to help the buyer process a claim (which at this point appears to be malicious criminal mail fraud on the buyer's initiative and actions)

* Buyer sends more obscured photos, all of which shows nothing remarkable.  Buyer sends a subsequent message essentially stating "What's going on?  Well, I'm tired of this process, let's forget about it, I'm done." in a short and rude manner.

* In September, over 3 months after the eBay transaction, the Buyer files a complaint claim with their credit card company through Pay Pal for their money back, as a chargeback claiming "item not as described" but claiming the full amount paid for the 2 items and shipping in total.

* eBay's Customer Service says there's nothing they can do.  Essentially, upon my inquiry they eluded to the Buyer as potentially pulling a sly maneuver.  eBay won't process requests from buyers to return/refund items after 90 days, but at the same time won't protect the seller either.  This maneuver enabled the Buyer to not risk having their claim denied by eBay.  

* Pay Pal allows customer issues up to 180 days from date of transaction to dispute, essentially extending eBay's window of 3 months to 6 months for an issue to be active.  So, warning to eBay Sellers, the transaction is not bullet proof for at least 6 months for criminal buyers to impact the sale.

* Pay Pal now handles the case and that is where the status is now.  Pay Pal has been informed of the facts and furnished with the information including the pure fact that a claim for the full amount is being made on a claim that one of the items is slightly damaged, so it's like if you bought 10 picture frames from Amazon for $10 each, $100 total, 5 came broken, but you are claiming $100 instead of the true $50.  Furthermore, the Buyer still has possession of the items and has not initiated or attempted to return the merchandise for their money back. 

So, I was wondering if anyone had ever encountered this scenario and if so, how was it handled and what was the outcome? 

I'd keep the Iron Fist, it's vintage and rare to find in 9.8 condition vs scooping up a potentially flash-in-the-pan modern book, which 9.8's are a dime a dozen these days and a Stan Lee autograph on a comic he has nothing to do with has not only less appeal, but irrelevant appeal and sort of like getting Joe Montana to autograph a Hockey Puck. 

I think if you have the autograph and get it slabbed with a green label instead of yellow and own the JSC COA and include that with the comic, it's probably good enough for most customers to buy.

I've never heard of comic book artist autograph forgeries on comic books, mainly 'cuz right now the signature in all honesty to most, does not add any incremental value to a comic book unless it's by a handful of names like Stan Lee or Frank Miller, and artists like Campbell are such prolific signers it's not a scarce autograph, so I'd think the COA is good enough substantiation.

Devil's Advocate... if a CGC certified witness happened to be hanging out where Todd is signing, or better yet, if a CGC witness themselves, acquired the signature, wouldn't it be qualified for the Signature Series?

Or is this one of those political issues where Todd has an exclusive with CGC not to ever certify his signature unless under his own controlled environment, so under no circumstance does certification occur without Todd's consent?