Problem with a dishonest Ebay comic dealer

[Aces]

Yeah...

 

I bet it was a 1.5/1.8 copy with moderate P or A.

 

Too much chipping front and back to get out of the VG range I'm afraid.

 

If I had to hazzard a guess I say PLOD 4.0 M(P/A).

I might be generious here since I feel sorry for you.

Some tougher grader's here might call it an apparent VG-/GVG.

I think you better work on getting your money back.

Selling it won't get you more than a $1000 I'd say.

 

Boy what a lousy Christmas for a comic collector.

A grail book that was doctored...

[BassGMan]

Thanks again to Jak for posting those scans. The remarks that he added for me are the notes that I sent this seller, along with these scans when I tried to point out the restoration to him, the restoration that he "would swear on his life is not there". I have toyed with the idea of inviting this guy to this thread. I am pretty sure he does not use these boards as he is very against CGC and their services. But I am not sure that this would make anything easier as far as getting my refund. Thank you ComicWiz for your detailed and intelligent posts regarding the FTC claim. I may contact you personally and may want to start on that process next week. Someone asked above how I paid for the item. Unfortunately it was with a bank cashier's check so I am unable to get credit card protection. I feel as if I should send a "thank you note" to everyone that has responded so far. If you read this, thank you guys immensely. I just wish I had discovered these boards years ago rather than a week ago. -----Sid

[Timely]

Of course he is against these CGC services! He knows CGC will "out" him and his "unrestored" books. I would be against CGC too if I had lots of restored books to sell as unrestored. Damn you CGC!

 

Timely

[kryptonitecomics]

Invite him to this thread my butt, I would invite him to my house and hit him upside the head with a pack of backing boards

[ablue]

What a restored POS!

 

Timely

 

Cover Looks trimmed on the right hand side.

[Rickdogg]

trimmed is the way to go!

[Aces]

trimmed is the way to go!

 

I thought cleaned and pressed was the way to go...?

[fantastic_four]

I have toyed with the idea of inviting this guy to this thread. I am pretty sure he does not use these boards as he is very against CGC and their services. But I am not sure that this would make anything easier as far as getting my refund.

 

It's clear this guy has no intention of giving a refund...I can't think of any realistically useful angle as to how sending him to this board would change his mind. It sounds like the only thing that will change his mind is if you can create negative consequences for his actions, and following up on ComicWiz's suggestions is your best shot at getting that done.

 

These guys need to be strung up by their nuts...keep us informed, I'm extremely curious as to how helpful law enforcement can be in cases like this.

[ablue]

trimmed is the way to go!

 

I thought cleaned and pressed was the way to go...?

 

Still is, and will be soon.

[ablue]

I have toyed with the idea of inviting this guy to this thread. I am pretty sure he does not use these boards as he is very against CGC and their services. But I am not sure that this would make anything easier as far as getting my refund.

 

It's clear this guy has no intention of giving a refund...I can't think of any realistically useful angle as to how sending him to this board would change his mind. It sounds like the only thing that will change his mind is if you can create negative consequences for his actions, and following up on ComicWiz's suggestions is your best shot at getting that done.

 

These guys need to be strung up by their nuts...keep us informed, I'm extremely curious as to how helpful law enforcement can be in cases like this.

 

Honestly, and no offense but you cant get your money back unless you want to spend more on legal issues.

Sure you can take this person to Small Claims but, even if you show up at court, he may not and have someone else in his presence and ask the judge for an

extension. This extension can be sickness lawyer issues ect... The judge will then issue a new date which you will have to return, thus, costing more in travel lodging ect...

This can go on for years.

[BassGMan]

Hello, I don't know why I didn't do this earlier but I thought for everyone to make a fair judgment of this guy's thievery that I would list the guy's complete item description from Ebay. It is copied and pasted below exactly from the ad however I blanked out his e-mail address. Another very helpful poster PMed me and pointed out (after seeing the complete ad) that he does not actually mention restoration or lack of restoration. True. But isn't that something that a seller is obligated to disclose clearly up front? AND, doesn't the description below imply that there is nothing abnormal about the book, in which of course restoration is clearly very abnormal? Also, if he wasn't skilled enough to notice the very visible restoration on his own, why does he still refuse to acknowlede it when I sent him my above posted notes (posted on Jak's post) along with the scans? What I am trying to say, is due to his behavior and lack of interest in pursuing a neutral professional third party to judge for themself, I KNOW that this guy is lying and not just stupid. I could just send it off to a professional myself for his opinion but I am afraid the seller will accuse me of paying off the pro for judging in my favor. Really, the guy has accused me for other equally ridiculous things. Stalling tactic? Probably. I agree, the guy has already planned on not refunding for any reason so I will be proceeding with legal action starting next week. I will certainly keep you all informed on this thread although I imagine that it may be a lengthy process. ----Sid

 

P.S. I thought about it more and my idea of bringing him to this board would be a bad idea. I just thought momentarily if he saw what all you guys were saying that he would finally fess up and refund.

 

 

 

Amazing Spiderman #1 F/VF(7.0) This is a nice flat, clean, original Spiderman issue from 1963. The colors are vibrant with very minor wear. There is a couple of very small stres lines under the (on) in the word "Chameleon", also, corners are not square like a new copy, but they're not chipped or blunted. Very minor chip at top of cover.The spine is flat, strong at both staples, with no rolling. The interior is in great shape, very clean, slighly off-white. There is absolutely no writing, inks, pencil, stamps, arrival dates, or markers. No stains, foxing, or oxidation on or in the book. This book is a true gem and must be considered being professionally graded. Grading was done by myself and a friend using the Overstreet 100 point system meticulously to all of the books to be auctioned. This issue is better than the one illustrated on page 214 of the Oversteet gradng guide which shows a book at F/VF 7.0, so this in my opinion would grade higher. We have made every effort not to over grade the books. This is one of many books that was left to me by my uncle, I am auctioning about 1/3 of the collection to assist with bills and will be donating up to 10% of the final bid price on each auction to the Imus Ranch in New Mexico(A working cattle ranch for kids with Cancer and other terminal illness). These comic books were very well taken care of like most of his possessions. I am placing a very reasonable reserve and high bidder shall pay $3 for shipping, insurance will be additional. Any questions please email me **********@aol.com A return policy of seven days if not absolutely satisfied, Thanks and good luck. God bless

[shadroch]

I think Don Imus might be very interested to find out someone is using his ranch to rip people off.I'd send a copy of all of this to his office in NYC,another to his ranch and another to Fred Imus.Wonder how much he's "donated" so far?

I'd certainly invite GM on this thread,you have nothing to lose and maybe he might say something that will help your lawsuit. Try to get him to come on at a certain time and pre-warn us.

[Rickdogg]

This is one of many books that was left to me by my uncle, I am auctioning about 1/3 of the collection to assist with bills and will be donating up to 10% of the final bid price on each auction to the Imus Ranch in New Mexico(A working cattle ranch for kids with Cancer and other terminal illness).

 

Nothing but scam written all over this one

[Aman619]

good idea pasting the full auction description here. But sadly, it has all the earmarks of a scam in it: donations to cancer, a comics collection handed down etc. Sorry you bit on this auction anbd have gotten chewed up in the process...

 

I can understand your reluctance to name names for fear of retribution or at least shutting off all avenues of settlement. But at some point, when you have finished with all your efforts to collect, please let the forum know his identity so others here will stay away from this guy. And I hope you will have good news to report too!

[BassGMan]

good idea pasting the full auction description here. But sadly, it has all the earmarks of a scam in it: donations to cancer, a comics collection handed down etc. Sorry you bit on this auction anbd have gotten chewed up in the process...

 

I can understand your reluctance to name names for fear of retribution or at least shutting off all avenues of settlement. But at some point, when you have finished with all your efforts to collect, please let the forum know his identity so others here will stay away from this guy. And I hope you will have good news to report too!

 

I agree, it does have "scam" clues within the description. Also, I should have realized that anyone legitimately donating to a charity (unless it is a large business) usually has no reason to advertise it. This guy is not a large dealer and currently has no listings posted, and has not for several weeks. When he did have comics listed it was just a few at a time of a much lessor value than the one I bought. In one of the e-mails that he sent me he also noted his displeasure with Ebay, so he may not be listing anymore. So add Ebay, along with CGC, to the list of businesses this guy does not feel comfortable with.

I have still not left the guy any feedback although he left me a positive within a day or two of receiving payment. I really want to leave the guy a seriously negative statement but I have just been holding off hoping that he would come through with a refund.-----Sid

[burntboy]

Sid - this is freakin' unbelievable!!!

 

this dude has the nerve to call this POS a "GEM"!!!!!

 

i think VG would been about right and that might be generous considering the number of tears and missing little chunks on the back cover, and the chipping.

glad you brought this one to the boards attention. like you, i've been burned and am very grateful for all of the excellent tips from the members. also, like you, i wish i'd have checked in a couple of years ago.

 

this really reminds me of my EXCESSIVELY (1/3inch) trimmed X-men #4 that our mutual friend (comix32) touted as f/vf 7.0 and came back professionally graded as 4.0.

 

i'm not Burntboy for nothing..........

[BachelorOfComix]

Report him to the IRS while you're at it.

[BassGMan]

Hello, for anyone that may be interested I am pasting below the e-mail that I just sent to the seller. A few times in the past I had threatened legal action but this is the first time that I stated that I was going to proceed. I mention in this e-mail about a few of his stalling tactics (ding, insurance slip, etc) of which there were many. His biggest complaint overall is that I accepted a package that was damaged. The oh-so-well protected Priority envelope with additional thin cardboard on each side of the book, not even taped around the book, just on both sides of it. Shocking! Shipping a $2,325 book in an envelope with only some thin cardboard extra. The envelope was somewhat beat up going cross country but luckily the book looked untouched by any damage except what maybe was a tiny 1/16" ding (on a restored corner no less, lower left corner of front cover). I mentioned this to him and that has been his focus the whole time. Like it was my fault or I did something wrong or should not have accepted the package (it was left in a locked box) and so on and so on. Plus I told him that his original scans were not clear enough to see if this tiny ding was there in the first place or not. Anyway, this was a typical arguement for us, among many others. So, it has all come to this, as detailed below. I will paste any response that he comes up with (if he responds) but expect to see alot of excuses and accusations of things that I "did wrong" or "lied about". Should be interesting. ------Sid

 

 

"GM", don't worry, this is not another e-mail filled with details and facts and opinions. We have been over this and over this so many times that we have both obviously wasted alot of our time. We are just not going to agree on things. You think I lied and am just plain wrong. I think you lied and are wrong. We are like Israel and Palestine, we just cannot agree. I brought to your attention several times the idea of bringing in an unbiased neutral professional source to state their professional opinion of the grade of the book, and state the fact of if it contains restoration or not. You refuse to even acknowledge this idea which I have suggested several different times. I even suggested that you could pick this third party.

I have discussed this matter with other comic professionals, many that know more about grading and restoration than me, and they are in full agreement that this book was greatly overgraded as well as being restored. These guys have all seen the ad and the high quality scans. The consensus that I am getting as far as a value on this book is about $1,000 as a restored G/VG to VG.

Instead of focusing on the major issues here you have decided to focus on the insignificant details such as a tiny 1/16" "ding" that may have been caused by shipping as well as your accusation that I lied about the signing of the insurance slip.

I have decided that I am done trying to reason with you and will now proceed with filing legal papers. This was my last resort but this is what it has come to. At 40 years old I have never filed a lawsuit before. But you "GM" will be my first and I will proceed with this starting early next week. I will have professional help to make sure that every step is followed "by the book". I don't know how long it will take but whether it is a week, or a month you will be served. ------Sid

[BassGMan]

WE'RE ON!!!!!

OK, that was pretty quick. I just received a response to the above e-mail that was sent to the seller. He only repiled with his name and address (which I already had) and his family attorney's phone number. That's it. No other words. Now, what is the first step? I think that following comicwiz's advice about an FTC investment claim is the way that I would like to proceed but my concern is the book itself. This is not a washing machine or car that I bought that won't work, something much easier for most people to understand. This, as you know is a comic book that needs experienced comic professionals to evaluate. I guess I should just send it off to CGC and who cares how the seller feels about CGC, right? Any other ideas or tips on handling the book itself before proceeding with legal action? Is there any advantage to NOT slabbing the book at this time? Would slabbing the book hurt me in any way? I will PM comicwiz to see if I can get a little help getting started. I will keep you informed here. Thank you-----Sid

[FlyingDonut]

I would do the following:

 

1) Contact an attorney who will handle the case. You might want to check with one of the larger comic shops in your area for THEIR attorney, as the attorney will be versed in the industry and terminology.

 

2) I believe you under NO CIRCUMSTANCES can "alter" the book, which includes getting it slabbed. Once you find the attorney, find an expert in the field with legitimate bonafides (not sure who that would be in Seattle) to go over the book and give his expert opinion. Get that notarized.

 

3) And then SUE THE [!@#%^&^].