BCarter27

A very nice Newton splash, with Jason Todd in costume meeting Batman in the field for the first time (over a knocked-out Joker). A jewel in my Newton collection!

Can anyone familiar with Romitaman's past inventory determine if he has any consignments in the current auction?

Has anyone spotted any familiar, recycled lots yet? We could all help with the legwork if someone could suggest a good method to research this.

Hello,

 

In light of the recent, public admission of shill bidding by Mike Burkey aka Romitaman, I would like to request a list of all lots this seller has consigned to Heritage for the last 3 years.

 

I would also request that any lots being consigned by this seller, both currently and in future auctions, be marked as such in their Description.

 

The above information will allow me to determine if I was affected by this activity, allow me to adjust FMV data for "comps", and also allow me to re-establish good faith in your auction house in advance of the upcoming Comic Signature Auction.

 

Thank you for your attention.

 

Just emailed to HA. Feel free to send your own.

Still no response from Heritage to my email. Has anyone gotten a private response from them?

While these suggestions may seem to be impossible to implement, or may not necessarily incent pieces to hit the auction block, simply put, the people that make these systems viable are buyers, and the status quo does nothing to allay people's concerns, nor does it help bolster confidence. Rather, more safeguards to protect the integrity of the bidding, past sales data, and the perception of market health will return some of the lost confidence from this revelation.

I'm with you, but I am not sure influencing the buyer/seller fee terms is a possible goal at this point. That is how the auction houses are competitive with one another (along with website ease of use, marketing, and advertising.)

As devil's advocate, and without a way to confirm, both HA and Romitaman stated his shills paid their buyer's fees. No mention of a negative seller's fee and I don't think anyone's confirmed that HA offers this (unless I missed a post.)

However, as the comic art market is now maturing (both in dollars and cultural significance) and the Old West mentality is pushed out, these are important points moving forward.

If someone can post some tips on how to cross-reference current lots with Romitaman's past inventory (via wayback), I am sure we can all pitch in to help.

Can anyone familiar with Romitaman's past inventory determine if he has any consignments in the current auction?

Hello,

 

In light of the recent, public admission of shill bidding by Mike Burkey aka Romitaman, I would like to request a list of all lots this seller has consigned to Heritage for the last 3 years.

 

I would also request that any lots being consigned by this seller, both currently and in future auctions, be marked as such in their Description.

 

The above information will allow me to determine if I was affected by this activity, allow me to adjust FMV data for "comps", and also allow me to re-establish good faith in your auction house in advance of the upcoming Comic Signature Auction.

 

Thank you for your attention.

Just emailed to HA. Feel free to send your own.

Signature Auction is open for bids.

For an alternative, check out my old post on our cheap, modular framing setup...

Who says Heritage is going to make any sort of restitution? And why would they be obligated to?

Well, that's the million-dollar question, isn't it?

Here we are on Tuesday, and it looks like no company is going to issue a statement on this because it opens them up to too much liability. The only way to get this fixed is for someone to file complaints with the authorities. And I think many of us aren't sure if our lots were directly affected. So we are hesitating to file those complaints.

 

The amicable start to a solution would be for HA to email each of us privately and confirm our lots were not from this consignor. (We would have to believe them.) And then those that got the red flag emails would have to decide for themselves whether to file complaints and possibly pursue collective or individual action.

 

The above step would at least settle down the unaffected buyers enough to inspire confidence in the upcoming auctions.

 

The alternative is ALL of us file complaints with the authorities while simultaneously emailing HA asking if any of our lots were affected. Maybe we should all pinky-swear to a deadline to do so? Thoughts?

 

P.S. ComicConnect and ComicLink should also get out in front of this. Email their affected buyers and state they will refuse consignments from this seller until an investigation is resolved.

 

I'm curious, assuming the auction houses had no knowledge that Mike was using friends to shill, under what theory would they be liable?

An affected buyer's transaction was with Heritage. If Heritage makes restitution to the buyer, Heritage should then try to recover that loss from Romitaman.

I see people in the other thread saying they are calling Heritage soon. The rest of us should follow suit with calls and emails... by Friday?

Here we are on Tuesday, and it looks like no company is going to issue a statement on this because it opens them up to too much liability. The only way to get this fixed is for someone to file complaints with the authorities. And I think many of us aren't sure if our lots were directly affected. So we are hesitating to file those complaints.

The amicable start to a solution would be for HA to email each of us privately and confirm our lots were not from this consignor. (We would have to believe them.) And then those that got the red flag emails would have to decide for themselves whether to file complaints and possibly pursue collective or individual action.

The above step would at least settle down the unaffected buyers enough to inspire confidence in the upcoming auctions.

The alternative is ALL of us file complaints with the authorities while simultaneously emailing HA asking if any of our lots were affected. Maybe we should all pinky-swear to a deadline to do so? Thoughts?

P.S. ComicConnect and ComicLink should also get out in front of this. Email their affected buyers and state they will refuse consignments from this seller until an investigation is resolved.

While we are waiting for HA, ComicLink, ComicConnect, and any of the other auction houses (Profiles? Russ Cochran? All Star?) to send out lists of lots consigned by Romitaman...

I looked at his ebay Store and he doesn't seem to have any auction-style listings running currently or recently.

Has anyone won an auction-style listing from romitaman on ebay in the past that they would consider reporting to ebay's Customer Service? If so, please send them the link to his admission of shilling on the other thread.

Cross-posting this from the WEIRD HA RESULTS thread.

Just so we stay on point:

 

1. What specific pieces were shilled (whether buck passed successfully or not)? Let's see the items, bids, bidders, and results -in full.

2. Who are Mike's 'friends' that do the shilling?

3. What exactly was/is the quid pro quo given in return? More shilling by Mike for their goods? Other incentives?

I don't think there is any way to determine which pieces were shilled outside of the shillers stepping forward.

So I want to see a list released from each auction house of ALL the pages consigned by this seller.

I bought some promo posters that were impeccably packed. I would definitely do business with Anthony again.

My concern is always with protecting the site and it's membership. If that means closing down both parties galleries until the dust settles then that's what has to happen. I never once used the word delete or ban in relation to his account. I said I shut down his gallery. At that point in the conversation between he and I, I didn't feel I needed to extend him any further courtesy of an explanation.

Hi Bill,

Thanks for the clarifying post. I imagine it goes a long way towards calming anyone's fears about possible reactionary policies - however imagined they might be.

Perhaps a slight revision to the wording in your boilerplate reply to a situation like this... that the gallery "shut down" is only temporary until the dispute is resolved, but is not a permanent ban on the affected parties' accounts. I think it is quite easy to read "shut down" as a permanent exile, particularly in a moment of stress on the scam victim's part.

If your emails in disputes already include such language, please ignore the above.

Since your amazing site is one of the three major hubs of the OA community (the others being this forum and the Comic-Art L group), nobody wants to get locked out of there unduly! :-)

Thanks again for CAF!

http://www.reliablepaper.com/12_1_8_x_9_1_8_x_1_White_Corrugated_Bookfolds_p/rpsm1291.htm

 

Just refreshed my stock in these mailers. This was the best price I could find online. These are very versatile. I usually also put a piece of corrugated on each side of the books and then place them in here.

Never mind. The quality of these is bad. The perforations are too heavy on the folds and they crack and fall apart. Off to find another vendor.

http://www.reliablepaper.com/12_1_8_x_9_1_8_x_1_White_Corrugated_Bookfolds_p/rpsm1291.htm

Just refreshed my stock in these mailers. This was the best price I could find online. These are very versatile. I usually also put a piece of corrugated on each side of the books and then place them in here.

No one is answering my query about the Bruce Timm market. I'm not trying to be snarky at all, I think Timm is talented. But based on this result, 8300. for an average looking panel page it seems like he's hotter than Kirby or Toth. Is Batman Adventures an important book now?

Mad Love is a key book and won an Eisner. Also, Harley is beyond huge.

And Timm is not just talented... His Batman was voted the most popular rendition of the character. Over Adams, Aparo, Rogers, Lee, etc. (somebody help me with a citation?! )

There's been boxes of MTG originals at Illuxcon in past years. I can't recall particular artists, but the show is this weekend in PA.

Big week for me!

 

Punisher #4 cover (1987) by Klaus Janson [100% nostalgia piece for me!]

Punisher #4 cover

 

Detective #486 pinup by Don Newton and Dan Adkins [my favorite inker on Newton]

'Tec 486 pinup by Newton

 

Batman #363, pg 2 splash by Don Newton [1st full appearance of Nocturna!!!!]

Bats #363, pg 2 splash

Hey Bob, I am available to sign those adoption papers whenever you're ready.

Was looking for a Sean Phillips Hellblazer cover for a while, finally got this one.

I'm dying to know where in your house you are going to hang it! Maybe not in the bedroom. :-)

Great purchase.

picked up the MIracleman #1 Marvel wraparound cover featuring a jam cover by Garry Leach, Alan Davis, Rick Veitch and John Totleben

 

http://comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1254854

Totleben's Miraclewoman in this reminds me of Virgil Finlay. I wonder if that was on purpose.

This is Captain America: The Chosen #5, page 5 by Mitch Breitweiser. I've been waiting a good 6 years to buy this page and finally had the chance to get it. I love the detail. It's got Cap's origin in there, and iconic running pose in the rain, guns, cars. It tells a story and inspires imagination. Within the entire story, this page is part of a very vulnerable moment for Cap. If you read it in context, it gets a bit emotional.

Stunning page. Patience pays off!

I like the arrangement. And the bat-signal is a nice touch too!

I haven't tried them yet on our own brick wall in the bedroom, but I was looking at some of these brass brick clips-

http://brickclip.com/

Careful what you wish for... my wife's original art tastes are much more expensive than mine!