Another batch of Overgraded books from a major dealer... RANT!!!

[LordRahl]

The main question I have is if I buy a book from a dealer and get it slabbed like 6 months later and its comes back PLOD, can you prove to the dealer that you actually bought it from them? I would figure that most dealers wouldn’t give you your money back if is has been that long.

 

What works for you guys in general about returning PLOD books regardless of how long it has been?

 

Do you also feel it is the dealer’s liability to also pay for your CGC grading fees? (I feel the answer is no)

 

Just buy from Dupcak, he has a phenomenal return policy, which according to some here seems to absolve him of actually being able to grade.

[DrWatson]

Hey Arex.

 

This thread. One word: hennyclucking.

 

<3

[LordRahl]

I meant to address something in Sal's post, but I went off on a tangent and forgot what I was going to say.

 

And I do not agree that offering a generous return policy absolves a dealer from selling you overgraded books.

 

I agree in principle, but a liberal return policy does absolve a dealer to the extent that it ties the hands of a customer who may want to take action or speak out against the practice of selling over graded material. As you've seen in this thread, the response to LordRahl by several board members was along the lines of "you got a refund, what's the problem?", and many dealers take that mentality and run with it. Heck, a liberal return policy is what has kept Dupcak in business on Ebay.

 

either the seller is sloppy or has decided to systematically overgrade and bank on the fact that a lot of buyers cannot grade or won't are not sufficiently pissed to return the books. Indeed, I am pretty convined that this strategy probably works bests overall (when all you care about is $), maybe not for selling to the typical CGC board member, but for selling to the entire population of comics buyers

 

They're carving out a living in this business the best way they know how. This is why CGC is such an attractive alternative.

 

 

 

 

 

[FlyingDonut]

Not to absolve anybody, but if you buy a book from somebody as a VF, and you send it to CGC, and it comes back a 9.6, do you send that person some extra cash? Just wondering.

 

And, for what its worth, not "everybody" on eBay overgrades. I can name several big time dealers who intentionally undergrade so as not to have this sort of problem. Gets buyers in the door, keeps them, and provides a steady stream of repeat business.

[COI]

I don't buy the dealer "ignorance" thing, and I don't buy that there is any legitimacy to an "old school" way of grading that is more liberal...at least in recent times. The Overstreet grading guide is pretty strict and the 0-10 point scale has been around for a long time. At this point anyone using a scale that is more liberal than Overstreet or CGC is just willfully ignoring the accepted standards of the hobby.

 

There are dealers out there that have been doing this since well before the Overstreet grading guide since you point it out and that are using "old school" standards. Some have been trying to adjust to the stricter rules, some haven't ... I'd say Bob Beerbohm is of the "old school" and he has recently made the effort to update his grading ranges but he's not the only "old school" grader out there.

 

Maybe, but that doesn't give them a pass. You don't get 'grandfathered in' to selling over graded books. If I pay guide for a NM and get a VF, it's irrelevant to me that the book would have been considered a NM 20 years ago.

 

Most of us wouldn't keep our careers/jobs/business' moving forward if we didn't adapt along the way and a comic dealer is no exception.

[awe4one]

And, for what its worth, not "everybody" on eBay overgrades. I can name several big time dealers who intentionally undergrade so as not to have this sort of problem. Gets buyers in the door, keeps them, and provides a steady stream of repeat business.

 

Agreed. There are some really good, tight grading eBay sellers. But they are few and far between...

 

Jim

[LordRahl]

Not to absolve anybody, but if you buy a book from somebody as a VF, and you send it to CGC, and it comes back a 9.6, do you send that person some extra cash? Just wondering.

 

And, for what its worth, not "everybody" on eBay overgrades. I can name several big time dealers who intentionally undergrade so as not to have this sort of problem. Gets buyers in the door, keeps them, and provides a steady stream of repeat business.

 

No, just like when I buy a NM book and it comes back VF/NM or NM- I don't ask for a partial refund.

 

It's true that there are some ebay dealers that grade strictly, Zillaf4 comes to mind, but that's definitely the exception and not the rule.

[FlyingDonut]

And, for what its worth, not "everybody" on eBay overgrades. I can name several big time dealers who intentionally undergrade so as not to have this sort of problem. Gets buyers in the door, keeps them, and provides a steady stream of repeat business.

 

Agreed. There are some really good, tight grading eBay sellers. But they are few and far between...

 

Jim

 

True, but that's the same with every business. .

[Old Fashion PB and J]

Grading is sucha pain in the . And each person does it somewhat different. I dont knock people for being off by half points, but when its supposed to be VF+ and you get F- then its a problem. If I get a book marked as VF and its a F+ I dont flip, I may be dissapointed . This is just one issue people will Never see eye to eye on. CGC books is the way to go, but most people wont slab a (EX:) Thor 245 in 7.5. So if you dont buy HG's CGC may not be for you. Its like that old saying your damned if you do, damned if you dont. OR Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

[FlyingDonut]

Not to absolve anybody, but if you buy a book from somebody as a VF, and you send it to CGC, and it comes back a 9.6, do you send that person some extra cash? Just wondering.

 

And, for what its worth, not "everybody" on eBay overgrades. I can name several big time dealers who intentionally undergrade so as not to have this sort of problem. Gets buyers in the door, keeps them, and provides a steady stream of repeat business.

 

No, just like when I buy a NM book and it comes back VF/NM or NM- I don't ask for a partial refund.

 

It's true that there are some ebay dealers that grade strictly, Zillaf4 comes to mind, but that's definitely the exception and not the rule.

 

If you buy a NM book and it comes back a VF/NM, do you send it back to the seller? What's your cut off for missing?

[arexcrooke]

Hey Arex.

 

This thread. One word: hennyclucking.

 

<3

Hennyclucking

[COI]

Not to absolve anybody, but if you buy a book from somebody as a VF, and you send it to CGC, and it comes back a 9.6, do you send that person some extra cash? Just wondering.

 

Do dealers who make many times their investment on a collection compensate the original owners? Let's ask Chucky...

 

If I paid the price that was asked of me for this magical VF, that's called dumb luck. The difference is, I paid what was asked, thereby fulfilling my end of the deal, whereas when I buy a NM and it's really a VF, the dealer is not fulfilling his end of the deal.

[Monstro]

i'm surprised that a dealer is responsible for a book coming back as a plod if the customer looked over the book as well.

 

i mean if the dealer looks at it, doesn't detect any resto and the buyer looks at it and doesn’t detect and resto then why should it be the dealers burden

 

 

[cd4ever]

i'm surprised that a dealer is responsible for a book coming back as a plod if the customer looked over the book as well.

 

i mean if the dealer looks at it, doesn't detect any resto and the buyer looks at it and doesn’t detect and resto then why should it be the dealers burden

 

Because unless otherwise specified, the book was sold as 'unrestored'. It wasn't sold as 'i can't see any restoration'.

 

[Monstro]

i'm surprised that a dealer is responsible for a book coming back as a plod if the customer looked over the book as well.

 

i mean if the dealer looks at it, doesn't detect any resto and the buyer looks at it and doesn’t detect and resto then why should it be the dealers burden

 

Because unless otherwise specified, the book was sold as 'unrestored'. It wasn't sold as 'i can't see any restoration'.

 

 

man that sucks for a dealer

[Monstro]

i think i would sell them as, "i don't think there is any resto" hahaha

[Monstro]

whats the Statute of Limitations on something like that?

[Monstro]

actually i would sell as, "NM- with no resto detected"

[LordRahl]

Not to absolve anybody, but if you buy a book from somebody as a VF, and you send it to CGC, and it comes back a 9.6, do you send that person some extra cash? Just wondering.

 

And, for what its worth, not "everybody" on eBay overgrades. I can name several big time dealers who intentionally undergrade so as not to have this sort of problem. Gets buyers in the door, keeps them, and provides a steady stream of repeat business.

 

No, just like when I buy a NM book and it comes back VF/NM or NM- I don't ask for a partial refund.

 

It's true that there are some ebay dealers that grade strictly, Zillaf4 comes to mind, but that's definitely the exception and not the rule.

 

If you buy a NM book and it comes back a VF/NM, do you send it back to the seller? What's your cut off for missing?

 

I have no cut-off for missing. If I buy a NM book and I agree with the seller on the grade and then it comes back a FN+ from CGC, I guess it's my bad. If I buy a NM book at multiples of guide and I think the book is a VF/NM which should sell for half of what I just paid, I'd return it. I don't base it on what the book eventually slabs out at.

[LordRahl]

actually i would sell as, "NM- with no resto detected"

 

Glad you're not a dealer.