BrianHoward

On 4/29/2024 at 3:44 PM, BA773 said:

Crazy to not wanting to recognize some obvious details like this... 

Not really, especially considering I posted proof of the 3 unique sales... When you are using a fixed photography display and the items are visually identical (on quick glance through a monitor) it's not hard at all to produce seemingly duplicate staged shots.. We set up runs the same way, on the same display. 

Odd that you're not wanting to recognize this, but apparently you've got your reasons... 

On 4/29/2024 at 3:05 PM, manetteska said:

As I stated, these comics are common so I don't believe things are being re-sold incorrectly or suspiciously.

What I am saying is for a seller to state "look at the pictures" to determine a grade and then re-use the same pictures over and over is...interesting. Especially if the average grade of lot of comics changes.

To me, all three of these look the same, considering the spacing and overlap of comics; very difficult to get it this close 3 times in a row.

Sorry but it's actually pretty easy to set up the same shot when you use a fixed photography display such as we do. 

We also do not simply say "look at the pictures".. We assign an average grade for every run we sell and photograph every book. The Average grade is stated in the title and description... 

Since it seems we still cannot get the benefit of the doubt despite our track record, feedback and assurances, I hope this helps put this claim to bed..

On 4/29/2024 at 12:23 PM, manetteska said:

That same run of Batman sold 3 times over the past month or so:

 

They appear to constantly get inventory so multiple lots of this same blah run of Batman isn't out of the question.
However, they are using the same pictures in each listing, even with the average grade changing slightly (so their nonsense about using the pictures to bid accordingly is bunk).

And don't forget, they block for "bad vibes":

Considering all of the above, I wouldn't go near them.

If anything we are selling was relisted it would be due to non payment. Look at these, you can see that these 3 are the same run, but not the same books. If you look at the pics or the custom sku#, you will see the books are different as is the sku.  We have a warehouse and a huge volume of batman comics... We have 8 more of these runs right now for anyone interested who wants to help spare us the suspicion of selling an item or run identical to something we have sold in the past... 

neatstuffcollectibles

I will contact my ebay rep and send him a link to this thread. 

18 minutes ago, Hollywood1892 said:

I liked your post

I didnt like what happened to you.

Thanks for that. All I'll say is AVOID any buyers named Willem Devoch (or any variation) from the Netherlands. He tried to game me for 13k in lots. The only reason I didn't get totally screwed was because of Ebay Global Shipping. 

As a seller, I do like it. International shipments typically came with special instructions, requests for declarations, and other time consuming variables. I've sent many things through Ebay Global shipping and haven't had many problems. It's also another layer of protection for sellers. I had one buyer try to scam us and an expensive statute get damaged. In both cases ebay had to work it out with the buyer, which they did. 

Another gimmick from this POS 

15 hours ago, SushiX said:

Any guesses on Stephen Hughes and Michael Turner stuff?

We have a couple of really great cover examples from both up right now. 

Sparkle City Comics is currently offering an incredible assortment of fresh to market pieces of Original Art. Artists include: Frank Cho, Adam Hughes, Greg Land, Josh Middleton, Jim Silke, Mike Ploog, John Buscema and so many more!! 

Comic Art Auction Event

.

9 hours ago, HENRYSPENCER said:

Just noticed that Sparkle's weekly auctions were all pulled off eBay yesterday.  What's going on?

9 hours ago, Microbia said:

 I saw that too, first thought it was just a load error.

Sorry about that. We were still having problems with our scans so I had to end all of the auctions. Everything will be relisted Sunday evening. 

11 minutes ago, skypinkblu said:

Yes, that was his name. I'd rather not post what he said, it was a long time ago, I may not remember it all, but he got my name and address by buying something on eBay and he never mentioned "consigning". Meanwhile I had been high bidder on the Okajima that is on eBay but after the scan differences, I stopped bidding. 

If our super lenient return policy doesn’t assure you please feel free to reach out and ask for pics. Others have and we have no problem accommodating. 

We have since changed our scanning software to vuescan as per the recommendations we got from here. 

Thanks for the clarification on that call. I don’t want people thinking that is how we operate. It’s not. 

Greg  & Mike Carbonaro were at times Independent Contracted buyers. They did not work exclusively with us, many dealers and others have utilized their services. 

I would never ask a buyer to cold call someone like was described.  I’m not saying it didn’t happen, just that if it did it would not have been with my knowledge, instruction or approval. This was no way related to any purchases from us and Independent contractors do not have access to our customer records. 

 Greg was doing deals with board member dealers and collectors before we knew who he was. Sorry if anyone got the wrong impression, but any cold calls like that would not have been directed by me. 

Neither of them are affiliated in any way with Neat Stuff or Sparkle City. That has been the case for years. 

Yes, there clearly was an issue with the scans. I'm not sure what happened, but thankfully someone took me up on my request to continue this discussion directly and reached out to me.. With his help we have already implemented changes that should hopefully fix this. We will do our best to be more diligent in the future. If anyone sees a problem like this in the future, please contact us directly through ebay. 

We do have a very lenient return policy and, of course, anyone who is not pleased with the book they receive can return it.

Please let me repeat, so that any concern can be alleviated and perhaps we can stop beating this issue: In addition to our already very lenient return policy, Anyone who has purchased a book from us and is not happy with it due to the scan problem can return it for a full refund PLUS reimbursement of return shipping. 

2 hours ago, batman_fan said:

My take based on his reply to my post is the scans are 100% accurate and the books look identical to the scan he post so you can be 1000% you will get a book that looks identical based on lux and lumens comparison.  You could compare the two using a spyder and they would come out 100% identical out to 3 decimal places 

Sorry if I did not express myself clearly. I was responding to your question about why didn't we correct the issue rather than post as-is.. We check scans on the computer before posting auctions and they seemed fine. 

Yes, there is clearly an issue with the scans.

We do have a very lenient return policy and, of course, anyone who is not pleased with the book they receive can return it.

I'm not sure what happened, but thankfully someone took me up on my request to continue this discussion directly and reached out to me.. With his help we have already implemented changes that should hopefully fix this. We will do our best to be more diligent in the future. 

Thank you for your post, I believe my previous response, the one directly preceding your post, covers this. To reiterate, We didn't "fix" the scans because they appeared to be fine when we reviewed them before posting. We did check and they looked good before being posted. Not sure what happened, but thankfully someone took me up on my request to continue this discussion directly and reached out to me.. With his help we have already implemented changes that should hopefully fix this. We will do our best to be more diligent. Any further discussion, please contact me directly... I won't be responding to anymore comments here: brian@sparklecitycomics.com 

Good luck with your sales!

37 minutes ago, batman_fan said:

I guess I will jump in the discussion, but I have to ask why, if you are scanning books and the scans don't look like the book, don't you correct the issue rather than post the inaccurate scans and expect potential bidder to let you know if they look off?  You have the books in hand, you have the scan, why can't you do the QC on what you are posting before posting?

This will be my last post. I'm more than happy to answer questions or discuss business practices, etc..  but directly: brian@sparklecitycomics.com

We did look at them before they went up, they looked fine. We even re-checked the settings because the scans last week weren't great. In addition we're in the middle of a massive Star Wars auction event through our Neat Stuff Collectibles account, so not a lot of extra time to triple check, etc... 

1 minute ago, october said:

I am not offended and I am sorry if my original post was harsh. It stemmed from some personal frustration at seeing the Seven Seas you recently sold or not being able to bid because I didn't feel comfortable with the scans. 

Next time please email me directly and ask for new pics! I'll never know how to accommodate you unless you notify me. Worst case I'll take some pics with my phone or call you and describe it.

Side note: If there are any Scanner experts that want to help me trouble shoot this issue I'd be more than happy to compensate you for your efforts (in money or comics). Please email me: brian@sparklecitycomics.com

1 hour ago, october said:

No one accused you of doing it on purpose, so the only "accusation" was that your scans are amped...which isn't an accusation at at, simply a fact. 

Why does someone have to email you to tell you that your scans should reflect reality? That's pretty basic selling. 

I had 2 friends contact me to let me know that "they're smearing you on the boards"... I log in and see this exchange:

On 3/26/2018 at 6:54 PM, october said:

Their scans are amped to the point of ridiculousness. Not only do I have no idea what the colors are like, it also makes it next to impossible to see defects. I automatically pass on everything they list. 

On 3/26/2018 at 10:13 PM, Gotham Kid said:

This I did not know and as for this I will not bid. On anything.

While it may not have been your intention for your comment to come across as an accusation, clearly some of interpreted it as such. To such an end that one reader claims he will never bid "on anything"... Not "I'll never bid on CGC books"... He will never do business with us because he believes we are intentionally doctoring images to deceive people... on graded books.

I apologize if I have offended you with my post. I do not post here to call anyone out or anything of the sort.. Simply to set the record straight. If your remarks were not an accusation, I will take your word for that but let you know that it doesn't read so clearly for myself or the others who alerted me to this thread.

I care very much about customer feedback and I want our customers to be happy with every aspect of our offerings, but the way to share any criticisms or concerns is direct with the person in question. Not on a public message board where they may or may not ever see it (but anyone who google searches their business for the next 50 years will)...

35 minutes ago, originalisbest said:

I disagree -- what's bad for business was his "let me come out swinging at the potential customer base" post. A more enlightened approach would have been for him to take an apologetic/neutral tone, mention the scanner issues (nothing wrong there, no one is perfect) and that they would be working to improve it, maybe a "hey thanks for the feedback." As it stands, my Francis reply is quite fitting.

I'm sorry you feel this way, but having witnessed sellers getting dragged through the mud here over and over (and having been victim to this myself many times) I'm admittedly not so neutral on such public and damaging discussions. 

I ABSOLUTELY want customer feedback and want to provide the most accurate and comforting scans possible, but a public forum is not the way or place to do that... Direct communication is more efficient and appropriate. I never would have even seen this if 2 different people didn't send me the link because "the boards are smearing you".......

Sorry if my tone or approach rubbed you the wrong way, but it was not directed towards you in any way. I hope this explanation provides a bit of context. 

On 3/26/2018 at 10:13 PM, Gotham Kid said:

This I did not know and as for this I will not bid. On anything.

Our scans are not intentionally "amped up"  These are CGC graded books and for some reason we had issues with our current scanner and hard plastic encapsulation. 

This seems to only happen on CGC books.. If we were manipulating scans to make books look better (which we are not), why would we only do it on the books that have 3rd party grades already established...  They are 3rd party graded so that should help reassure buyers as to what they are getting....

Perhaps one day someone will reach out to us directly with this feedback rather than launch public accusations on a message board. 

The first advice I ever received when I got into collection OA was "buy what you like and don't look back".  These are unique pieces so if it's something I really want OR part of a deal with someone I really like, I don't mind stepping up and paying a premium.. It may be the only chance I get.