Problem with a dishonest Ebay comic dealer

[BassGMan]

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 [!@#%^&^].

 

Thanks Donut for the quick reply. Although what you say makes sense, I also have to keep this fairly practical. If this was for Action #1 then the expense of an attorney and expert witnesses may make sense. Although I agree that suing the guy on principal alone is worth it, I also have to consider the expense involved and my main concern was to recoup my losses, not just to "get the guy", although I want to do that as well. I do pay for a legal insurance system through work called The Arag Group that covers attorney expenses for their members (kind of like medical insurance) but they will not take a case that is appropriate for small claims court, although I am still able to get free legal advice over the phone for something like this. In addition to the help I get from my fellow posters (you guys) I will also call The Arag Group to see what they have to say. It is a pretty nice system and I will see if I can get in touch with an attorney familiar with investment collectibles, or at least something close.

Geez, in a way I am excited to get going on this but at the same time my stomach is really grumbling and knotted up over it. -----Sid

[murph0]

You should take it to small claims court. The first step would be to get it appraised by industry professionals. Perhaps have a couple restoration experts look at it, and get an independant grade from a few well-known comic dealers. At which point you THEN file the complaint with Small Claims Court. The accused then has a certain period of time to respond to the complaint. Keep all documentation of YOUR cost for the book, and all emails between parties.

 

Brian

[shadroch]

This is not a statement of fact,but rather an inquiry.

 

In the ebay agreements all buyers and sellers agree to,isn't there something that sets a course to be followed in the event of a legal dispute.For example,when dealing with Teletrade,it specifies that all disputes will be handled by NY courts. Maestronet used to say all agreements were bound by the courts of Ill. I don't know if this is mumbo-jumbo or if it would stand up in court.

Also, now that he has referred you to his attorney,you should look into whether or not further attempts to contact him will prove bad for your case.

Perhaps a letter fom your legal group to his attorney will be sufficent.

For all that it is worth,you have my moral support.

[Mephisto]

This is not a statement of fact,but rather an inquiry.

 

In the ebay agreements all buyers and sellers agree to,isn't there something that sets a course to be followed in the event of a legal dispute.For example,when dealing with Teletrade,it specifies that all disputes will be handled by NY courts.

 

Shad I was wondering if Teletrade still has that. I read recently that they were leaving the NY operations and heading to CA.

[murph0]

Good idea, Shadroch. I would agree that sending a written letter from your attourney to both the accused and his lawyer would be a great idea. It might spook them into settling out of court and saving you the time. At this point he doesn't know how serious you are until you make a move. It's likely that your cheapest move would be to have your lawyer author such a letter with verbage that will allow his client to understand the severity of his discretion. (yes, I have been reading the dictionary )

 

Brian

[BassGMan]

Good idea, Shadroch. I would agree that sending a written letter from your attourney to both the accused and his lawyer would be a great idea. It might spook them into settling out of court and saving you the time. At this point he doesn't know how serious you are until you make a move. It's likely that your cheapest move would be to have your lawyer author such a letter with verbage that will allow his client to understand the severity of his discretion. (yes, I have been reading the dictionary )

 

Brian

 

Sounds good guys. I am hoping that I can get a letter like this from my legal service from a phone-in case. As I said before, I can't actually "see" an attorney for a small claims case but when calling in a few times before to ask general legal questions they have always been very helpful. If nothing else they will tell me what I need to do on my own if I choose to take it to small claims. In addition I will ask them about the FTC filing as well. Maybe I can do both. I won't be contacting the seller anymore directly. No reason to.-----Sid

[Aman619]

here's a better idea. Im assuming this guy is a pretty well-known dealer. So better than an attorney who will quickly cost you more than the $1200 or so you would ever collect, you should contact a reputable and powerful dealer who knows him. And try to induce him to contact this guy and make it right. You might have to become a client of this dealer to convince him to help you and buy a few books, but that'sokay right?

 

Try Vinnie for instance - - Metropolis knows everybody in the business.

Well, Let the big boys duke it out to make you whole.

...just a suggestion.

[Mephisto]

 

Try Vinnie for instance - - Metropolis knows everybody in the business.

Well, Let the big boys duke it out to make you whole.

...just a suggestion.

 

Yes I agree, Vinnie can "Put the Wheels in Motion".....sorry I couldn't resist.

[BassGMan]

here's a better idea. Im assuming this guy is a pretty well-known dealer. So better than an attorney who will quickly cost you more than the $1200 or so you would ever collect, you should contact a reputable and powerful dealer who knows him. And try to induce him to contact this guy and make it right. You might have to become a client of this dealer to convince him to help you and buy a few books, but that'sokay right?

 

Try Vinnie for instance - - Metropolis knows everybody in the business.

Well, Let the big boys duke it out to make you whole.

...just a suggestion.

 

Thanks for the idea but unfortunately this guy is not a big dealer. I do not know his history but from what I gather he is not dealing with that many books. My theory is that he just aquired a stash somewhere or "inherited them from his uncle" that includes many restored copies of some key books. I am guessing that from time to time he just tries to pass one of these books off as "whole". At least that is what he did to me and according to CGC they are aware of him trying to do this at least one other time. However, I would have been happy to have Vinnie mediate this for us but the thief won't have any part of any mediation. He just sticks to his version of the story and that's it.

I just thought of something, and this is just straight off the cuff. What if I had someone contact the seller on my behalf asking for his side of the story and then offer his opinion to the seller after hearing both sides? But I don't want to play any games with the guy, and as I stated above I will be starting with legal action on monday, but would this be a good attempt for one last try? Would the seller be able to claim that I invaded his privacy by giving out his e-mail address to this person? Someone here could do it, or someone that one of us knows that may have the recognition and reputation and experience of an honest unbiased comic book expert. I don't know, just trying to brainstorm a little. ----Sid

[murph0]

I wouldn't play any games. You either make the move towards claim court, or you try to get it out of him otherwise. To have your attourney write the letter it shouldn't cost more than 200-300 dollars. And you can represent yourself in a small claims court because there's no discovery period. All evidence rules are relaxed (to a point..) and you only need to know how to present your side of a story. That's all they ask for.

 

Brian

[ablue]

I wouldn't play any games. You either make the move towards claim court, or you try to get it out of him otherwise. To have your attourney write the letter it shouldn't cost more than 200-300 dollars. And you can represent yourself in a small claims court because there's no discovery period. All evidence rules are relaxed (to a point..) and you only need to know how to present your side of a story. That's all they ask for.

 

Brian

 

Your only recourse would probably be Small Claims.

However as I pointed out before through my personal experience, you may get judgment but collecting is a whole different issue.

You have to lay claim against a car, or a bank acct. These things are easily hidden through shell corporations if the seller is smart and gives you little right against them if his possessions are listed as part of the corporation. Such as Limited liability, where you can sue the seller but cant touch the corporations assets.

Like I said it can and probably will take years to collect as the defendant has the right to appeal his case to the judge, thus extending the case months.

I am not trying to discourage you but realistically it will cost more to get your funds back through the court system. You may not even get anything back unless you can really do some detective work on this guy and see what he owns and what you can lay claim on.

Good Luck.

[Rickdogg]

All I can say is good luck! I honestly hope you pursue this to the point where the SOB pays!

[shadroch]

While I don't think YOU should publish this guys name or e-mail,phone number,ect.,Perhaps one of his other buyers(cough,cough) might suddenly register for the forum,blow off some smoke, pass along his info and then never be heard from again.

[kahml]

I'm picking up this thread kind of late in the game, but for what it's worth - here's eBay's fraud protection information page:

 

eBay Fraud Protection: Overview

 

Larry

[BassGMan]

Hello, after thinking about it for a long time I finally just now left the guy the negative feedback that he deserved. Just in case anyone is curious about my own dealings on Ebay and my own customer service level you can "check me out" with Ebay user ID: sansc57803. Thanks-----Sid

[fantastic_four]

So finally, we can find the auction in question based upon your username!

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2202571026

 

Wonder if him putting the phrase "a return policy of seven days if not absolutely satisfied" in the auction makes a legal difference? I would think so, but I'm not sure.

[BassGMan]

So finally, we can find the auction in question based upon your username!

 

 

Wonder if him putting the phrase "a return policy of seven days if not absolutely satisfied" in the auction makes a legal difference? I would think so, but I'm not sure.

 

The request for a refund was made immediately upon receiving the item and all correspondence with this seller has been saved. ------Sid

[the_Greatest]

If that charity he mentions is legitimate, and I have my doubts( my ignorance, I just don't know) , you should contact them and send all of your correspondence.

[BassGMan]

After seeing my recently left negative feedback for this seller a gentleman just contacted me who had also won a comic from this guy, ASM #6. This guy was far luckier than me as he was ready to pay for the item but "GM" refused to get back to him in any way. So for some reason, in his case this seller is refusing to finish this transaction. Why? I don't know. Maybe this was a restored issue as well and he doesn't want to get caught again. I informed this buyer of these boards and maybe he will join us to add his story. Thanks for contacting me ASM #6 buyer!!!!! ---Sid