PROBATION DISCUSSIONS 21 21

[fastballspecial]

Mangbus and Venom do the most mystery boxes of late and they seem to get nothing but good feedback

 

As I mentioned I am quite sure they can be done so everyone is happy. What I fear is we start to see more Mystery box selling threads like the guy in there now. I dont want our selling thread to end up like an Ebay mystery box auction. Just saying if it happens dont say someone didnt point this out ahead of time. Its a problem waiting to happen.

 

 

Edited February 4, 2013 by Fastballspecial

[BIG BEARD]

On the fence

[Kevin.J]

I wouldnt buy a mystery box from someone who has only been here 5 minutes, if an established regular seller was doing it, I wouldnt be concerned.

I would have the same feelings about a normal sale with some random unestablished noob

[seanfingh]

Can I suggest that we ban Mystery Box sales in the our selling forums? I realize that several of these are legit, but it in my opinion cheapens this board by even offering them. Its just my opinion, but Id like to keep our selling boards clean and I am getting concerned with a lot of new posters showing up. This might not be the correct place, but I think with a discussion here then they we could ask the Mods to modify the rules.

 

I came very close to posting this earlier today. But I have come down on the side of letting the marketplace decide. Anyone buying mystery boxes from a n00b probably deserves to have the invisible hand play tether ball with their satchel.

[Dr. Balls]

Can I suggest that we ban Mystery Box sales in the our selling forums? I realize that several of these are legit, but it in my opinion cheapens this board by even offering them. Its just my opinion, but Id like to keep our selling boards clean and I am getting concerned with a lot of new posters showing up. This might not be the correct place, but I think with a discussion here then they we could ask the Mods to modify the rules.

 

I came very close to posting this earlier today. But I have come down on the side of letting the marketplace decide. Anyone buying mystery boxes from a n00b probably deserves to have the invisible hand play tether ball with their satchel.

 

I kinda felt the same way as Fingh, however - if people feel like they got a box of krap for $50-$75, there's really no way to voice a negative opinion about the concept. Yes, the market will decide, however I don't really like the possibility of the market being decided after someone has made off with people's money for boxes full of drek. I agree with FBS, it could cheapen the image of things around here, but hey - this is coming from a guy who posts pictures of trashy women in his sales thread (me, not FBS) - so take it for what you will.

 

And this is in no way reflective of Mangbus or Venom, both sellers I have bought books from and had great experiences with. I'm just commenting about the practice of mystery boxes in general.

[Ryan.]

What about non-mystery mystery boxes?

[Bosco685]

Can I suggest that we ban Mystery Box sales in the our selling forums? I realize that several of these are legit, but it in my opinion cheapens this board by even offering them. Its just my opinion, but Id like to keep our selling boards clean and I am getting concerned with a lot of new posters showing up. This might not be the correct place, but I think with a discussion here then they we could ask the Mods to modify the rules.

 

I'm not sure if I would go down the path of eliminating them completely. If done right, with enough details, things go smoothly.

 

Some HOS members like comicseekers, on the other hand, were total clowns when it came to mystery box sales. Especially when reassuring everyone there wouldn't be mass amounts of the same book, and that they all were in brand new condition. What arrived was 20-30 copies of the same book, many waterlogged, with the front and back of the boxes loaded with the same Army PX comic.

 

 

It just depends on the seller and their clarity what may be in the box that makes the difference.

[Bio-Rupp]

All that said... the BUYER should realize that in the majority of all cases, a mystery box scenario is used to get rid of bulk, drek and abundant Valiants, Topps, Malibu etc and assorted other examples of sheeet.

 

Rule of thumb on mystery boxes... buy them for fun not value.

[Shaven Kev-migration]

You guys are harshing my buzz.

[The-Collector]

Can I suggest that we ban Mystery Box sales in the our selling forums? I realize that several of these are legit, but it in my opinion cheapens this board by even offering them. Its just my opinion, but Id like to keep our selling boards clean and I am getting concerned with a lot of new posters showing up. This might not be the correct place, but I think with a discussion here then they we could ask the Mods to modify the rules.

 

I came very close to posting this earlier today. But I have come down on the side of letting the marketplace decide. Anyone buying mystery boxes from a n00b probably deserves to have the invisible hand play tether ball with their satchel.

 

Rofl

[Venom]

All that said... the BUYER should realize that in the majority of all cases, a mystery box scenario is used to get rid of bulk, drek and abundant Valiants, Topps, Malibu etc and assorted other examples of sheeet.

 

Rule of thumb on mystery boxes... buy them for fun not value.

 

I wouldnt agree with banning them, because honestly I believe I have done them the right way. I have so many prizes above the 50 asking price per box (other 10 is shipping), if you look at modern prices around here the prizes I have thrown in above value of a box alone are : Saga 1-7 NM+ Revival 1-6 NM+, Manhattan projects 1 NM+, I have 4 sets of Nowhere men 1 and 2 NM+, 2 SS books 9.4 and 9.6, a 9.6 modern batman variant, a 9.8 ASM 692 9.8 fan expo varaint ($200 book), and many more prizes which I sure I am forgetting off the top of my head.

 

I have several other books in each box I have thrown in on top of what is pictured, about 100 ASM books from 100-300 have been added to peoples boxes as well, including an ASM 239 MG, and an ASM 194 MG. So if a person is unfortinate not to get a big prize as shown above there are smaller books which are FMV for them add up to approximnately $50. I am not looking to dump any crappy books in the thread. I think it speaks volumes to the prizes I am giving out that 7 boxes in my 2nd round were sold to people who purchased boxes in the first.

 

If there is any better way I could be handling these threads for mystery boxes, please let me know.

[@Captain_Sawyer]

All that said... the BUYER should realize that in the majority of all cases, a mystery box scenario is used to get rid of bulk, drek and abundant Valiants, Topps, Malibu etc and assorted other examples of sheeet.

 

Rule of thumb on mystery boxes... buy them for fun not value.

 

I wouldnt agree with banning them, because honestly I believe I have done them the right way. I have so many prizes above the 50 asking price per box (other 10 is shipping), if you look at modern prices around here the prizes I have thrown in above value of a box alone are : Saga 1-7 NM+ Revival 1-6 NM+, Manhattan projects 1 NM+, I have 4 sets of Nowhere men 1 and 2 NM+, 2 SS books 9.4 and 9.6, a 9.6 modern batman variant, a 9.8 ASM 692 9.8 fan expo varaint ($200 book), and many more prizes which I sure I am forgetting off the top of my head.

 

I have several other books in each box I have thrown in on top of what is pictured, about 100 ASM books from 100-300 have been added to peoples boxes as well, including an ASM 239 MG, and an ASM 194 MG. So if a person is unfortinate not to get a big prize as shown above there are smaller books which are FMV for them add up to approximnately $50. I am not looking to dump any crappy books in the thread. I think it speaks volumes to the prizes I am giving out that 7 boxes in my 2nd round were sold to people who purchased boxes in the first.

 

If there is any better way I could be handling these threads for mystery boxes, please let me know.

 

I bought a mystery box from Venom and I must admit, It was a great transaction

 

Mystery boxes are exactly that, a mystery. It's an automatic buyer beware but as a buyer you gotta make sure you do your homework from whom you're buying from.

 

If you want to make a noob mistake and buy from someone that's barely been on the boards for like 5 mins, well than thats on you.

 

Trying to impose a ban on mystery boxes without even trying them is a head scratcher for me. Yeah I understand that the forums are looking for the best interest of the people and making sure that transaction go smoothly but it's like parenting your kids: you can only tell/warn them so much but in the end, you gotta trust them and hope for the best.

[miraclemet]

"Jackpot" style mystery boxes are ripe for shenanagins.

(i.e. one box will include an Action Comics #1) because it ups the amount people are willing to pay for a "chance" at an outlier high price book. You get 30 people paying $100 a box, and then everyone who checks back in says "nope didnt get the Action" and the one guy who seems shilly says "oh yeah I got it, but I dont have a camera" or posts a stock picture? Shenanagins.

 

More evenly distributed mystery boxes (value wise) are less apt to have that type of stuff pulled. Because every box has value to make it worth the price of playing.

 

But trying to manage that is tough, and considering CGC didnt want to get into determining valid digital code sales vs invalid, I'd imagine they're going to err on the side of sweeping rule in one way or the other (all good, or all banned).

 

Also if someone was pulling a fast one with mystery boxes how could they get PL nominated? How do the "make it right"? I could see it getting pretty "pitchfork"-y pretty fast if people think they've been had.

 

Basic rules for Mystery Box listings:

 

1. Include picture of all items that will be distributed among boxes with your username & date.

2. Take pictures in your process of dividing up boxes/lots. What books ended up in what lots?

3. Be ready to reveal who got what if requested.

4. This is a mystery, not a raffle, not a lottery. No one should be expecting to "win big", just get items as described.

 

Granted #4 is the most up for interpretation... but 1-3 should be pretty easy to make the stadard for mystery boxes, and still allow them to occur.

 

[miraclemet]

and yeah I agree buying a mystery box from someone with no history, or little history, especially in a mystery box listing that is more lottery than mystery is a dumb decision on the buyers part too...

[Bio-Rupp]

All that said... the BUYER should realize that in the majority of all cases, a mystery box scenario is used to get rid of bulk, drek and abundant Valiants, Topps, Malibu etc and assorted other examples of sheeet.

 

Rule of thumb on mystery boxes... buy them for fun not value.

 

I wouldnt agree with banning them, because honestly I believe I have done them the right way. I have so many prizes above the 50 asking price per box (other 10 is shipping), if you look at modern prices around here the prizes I have thrown in above value of a box alone are : Saga 1-7 NM+ Revival 1-6 NM+, Manhattan projects 1 NM+, I have 4 sets of Nowhere men 1 and 2 NM+, 2 SS books 9.4 and 9.6, a 9.6 modern batman variant, a 9.8 ASM 692 9.8 fan expo varaint ($200 book), and many more prizes which I sure I am forgetting off the top of my head.

 

I have several other books in each box I have thrown in on top of what is pictured, about 100 ASM books from 100-300 have been added to peoples boxes as well, including an ASM 239 MG, and an ASM 194 MG. So if a person is unfortinate not to get a big prize as shown above there are smaller books which are FMV for them add up to approximnately $50. I am not looking to dump any crappy books in the thread. I think it speaks volumes to the prizes I am giving out that 7 boxes in my 2nd round were sold to people who purchased boxes in the first.

 

If there is any better way I could be handling these threads for mystery boxes, please let me know.

 

I agree... in no way should they be banned. I feel that the idea behind them is a lot of fun.

 

You (Venom) and few other sellers have went above and beyond giving value to your lots.

 

Miraclemet hit on the head, just make sure you know who you are buying from and have a general idea as to what you might be getting.

 

And just don't "expect" to win big...that way if you do (win big)... then its that much more of a surprise

[Shaven Kev-migration]

I fully intend to make sure each box is a good value. I wouldn't do it if I was just going to send out . People would hate you forever.

 

I guess I was unaware of the shenanigans that have gone on before. I had only noticed Venom doing it a couple of times and people seemed to dig it a lot and I had similar hot items to be the cool stuff to get with recent image hotness and adventure time and death of the family etc. The idea for me was to make it fun to do for me and the board members who choose to participate.

 

Part of the reason I did this was also to save time and not have to scan every book I wanted to sell. The vast majority is modern and in NM condition. Some is maybe copper age but also in great condition and runs not just random and not garbage.

 

As far as accountability I thought that's why we had this discussion area and also feedback threads. If I cant come to a satisfactory resolutions with someone, first I would be shocked, and second I would hope they would come here just like I would if it was me having an issue.

 

I would encourage people to post what they got in my feedback thread so that others could see and that way it would not clutter up the sales thread after the sale was ended. You obviously cant expect everyone to post so I guess that does leave a loophole for someone who wants to try and rip people off.

 

If there is any other way to add more accountability I'm all for it as long as it still leaves room for the randomness involved. The only thing I can think of is to draw names for the lots before shipping so people would then know what they were supposed to get. To me that is not quite as fun as the surprise of getting a box and opening it up and again people could call shenanigans in who gets what if they dont like the lot they got. I would hope people that were that particular would know better than participate in this type of thing.

 

Anyway I'm open to feedback if anyone has any they can post here or PM.

[Awax]

All that said... the BUYER should realize that in the majority of all cases, a mystery box scenario is used to get rid of bulk, drek and abundant Valiants, Topps, Malibu etc and assorted other examples of sheeet.

 

Rule of thumb on mystery boxes... buy them for fun not value.

 

I wouldnt agree with banning them, because honestly I believe I have done them the right way. I have so many prizes above the 50 asking price per box (other 10 is shipping), if you look at modern prices around here the prizes I have thrown in above value of a box alone are : Saga 1-7 NM+ Revival 1-6 NM+, Manhattan projects 1 NM+, I have 4 sets of Nowhere men 1 and 2 NM+, 2 SS books 9.4 and 9.6, a 9.6 modern batman variant, a 9.8 ASM 692 9.8 fan expo varaint ($200 book), and many more prizes which I sure I am forgetting off the top of my head.

 

I have several other books in each box I have thrown in on top of what is pictured, about 100 ASM books from 100-300 have been added to peoples boxes as well, including an ASM 239 MG, and an ASM 194 MG. So if a person is unfortinate not to get a big prize as shown above there are smaller books which are FMV for them add up to approximnately $50. I am not looking to dump any crappy books in the thread. I think it speaks volumes to the prizes I am giving out that 7 boxes in my 2nd round were sold to people who purchased boxes in the first.

 

If there is any better way I could be handling these threads for mystery boxes, please let me know.

 

I agree... in no way should they be banned. I feel that the idea behind them is a lot of fun.

 

You (Venom) and few other sellers have went above and beyond giving value to your lots.

 

Miraclemet hit on the head, just make sure you know who you are buying from and have a general idea as to what you might be getting.

 

And just don't "expect" to win big...that way if you do (win big)... then its that much more of a surprise

 

 

Do I smell a ClooneyBox coming?

[PEP]

No one is holding a banana to anyones head forcing them to buy the mystery boxes. We're all adults here right?

 

I like the idea.

[Venom]

Before each box is given away I do take pictures of each box which I only do not release until after the majority of people have gotten their boxes to not ruin any surprises, I ask each person in my invoice if they wish to recieve a picture of the box before they receive it and a majority of people decline this because they want the surprise opening the box

[Shaven Kev-migration]

The way I'm doing it is more random than that. I wont know what each person is getting. I did this so no one could claim I sent my buddy the good stuff or something like that. I further removed myself from the process by involving my wife to put the labels on. I could take pictures of the stuff before it went in each box and make those available somehow after all the DLC showed delivered or something.