Report on Comicseekers Long Box

[ChasingKingKirby]

Just for fun I've copied Comicseekers reply to my paypal dispute. Enjoy.

 

6/23/2009 09:25 PDT - Seller: I sold 18 of these boxes and they ARE EXACTLY as I described!Comics range from VG - VF/NM and they were all MARVEL and DCThere were well over 300 COMICS in the collection and ALL FROM 1970's!I added about 30 HEROES INC #1 AS STUFFING FOR THE BOX, those were all in NM/MT condition and retail for about $15 each!The buyer KEN sent me emails requesting that I send him quality items when he knew full well that this was a mixed lot of Marvel and DC's My opinin is that the buyer picked through the box for items he wanted and now wants to return the box!I WILL NOT REFUND HIM!Sergio

 

 

 

This gets a triple WTF?!?!?!

 

Heroes Inc #1 sells for about 15 pesos....not dollars.

 

 

That last highlighted comment is just totally out of line.

C

 

 

Look, I bought a box and have a horse in this race... but let's be fair. Overstreet #39 (page 648) guides Heroes, Inc. #1 in NM- for $15.00

 

We know that it's not worth that... but there it is.

 

(He should have said "GUIDES for $15" and not "RETAILS for about $15 each". That's where he erred.)

 

 

 

You realize that even if he had put "guides at $15 each" that the intent would still be the same - to deceive. He knows full well that those books have little value but he decided to include that lie in the response anyway.

 

You shouldn't be defending that statement.

 

To an outside entity like Paypal, they would most likely accept the valuation placed by an accepted standard like the Overstreet Guide.

 

GPA lists 90 transactions involving slabbed sales of Heroes, Inc. since 2002

The CGC Census lists 158 copies slabbed.

 

That's more than X-Force #1, Youngblood #1, or Bloodshot #1. (Other "worthless" books.)

 

eBay lists COMPLETED sales of Heroes, Inc. even in the last two weeks. Some sold for $9.99. A 5x Lot sold for $12.99 plus shipping.

 

Yes, they have little value... but it's incorrect to say they have NO VALUE.

 

It seems to me that you're a little too close to the situation and you need to step back a little.

 

What if one of those Heroes, Inc miraculously grades out at 9.8 or higher? (Just being a bit facetious here...)

 

 

Though I do have a stake in this, a relatively small one as I only bought one box, I think I'm fairly impartial in this whole thing, and just for the record, I "only" received 11 copies of Heroes. But MY point is that it is totally irrelevant. I didn't ask for, know about or care about the inclusion of those books. To me they were a throw-in. How does that factor in? I still don't get it.

[ChasingKingKirby]

Lest we forget the "treasure" that I found in MY box:

 

 

 

[Mutant Manatee]

I think all of your claims are legitimate and your dissatisfaction valid. However, I don't see any mold in the photos. (Unless I'm missing something, my eyes aren't what they used to be.) That blue stuff is distributor's ink. Several years ago I bought a bunch of warehouse comics from the inventory of Robert Bell when he was unloading everything. (Remember his ads in the back of back of comics?) Almost all of the comics I bought in that deal had that same blue ink on them, sometimes in moderation just on the edge, sometimes heavily applied and oversprayed onto the face or back of the comic.

[nik]

Would be great use for fireplaces during cold winters

[seanfingh]

So what's it take to get this guy banned from selling here?

 

Nobody can actually get banned from selling here. You can get banned from the site, but not banned from selling.

 

And you can't get banned from the site for selling infractions.

 

I suggested some time ago, and repeated it earlier this year, that there should be some system whereby sellers are vetted and only the vetted boarders get posting rights to start threads in the Marketplace.

 

There would be lots of details to work out, but given what we're seeing, I think a bit of pain at the front end would be preferable to all the pain we're getting after the money has been lost.

 

I have always been adamantly against this idea. I am not against it anymore. People are getting hosed down all the time lately. It is killing the positive energy of the marketplace.

[sckao]

I think all of your claims are legitimate and your dissatisfaction valid. However, I don't see any mold in the photos. (Unless I'm missing something, my eyes aren't what they used to be.) That blue stuff is distributor's ink. Several years ago I bought a bunch of warehouse comics from the inventory of Robert Bell when he was unloading everything. (Remember his ads in the back of back of comics?) Almost all of the comics I bought in that deal had that same blue ink on them, sometimes in moderation just on the edge, sometimes heavily applied and oversprayed onto the face or back of the comic.

 

Actually, the comics smell... pretty badly. Enough to make me sick enough that I had to take them out of the room. (Not all have water damage, but enough that the smell is probably dangerous in enclosed spaces.) They're also dirty and I had to wash my hands over two dozen times when handling them.

 

I'm certainly not pleased with my box.

 

My point about the Heroes is that even though they don't COUNT TOWARDS the total of the 300 Marvel/DC, they're still Comic Books. They're freebies and they still have a valuation, albeit low. (What if he padded the box with Timelys?)

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ChasingKingKirby]

I think all of your claims are legitimate and your dissatisfaction valid. However, I don't see any mold in the photos. (Unless I'm missing something, my eyes aren't what they used to be.) That blue stuff is distributor's ink. Several years ago I bought a bunch of warehouse comics from the inventory of Robert Bell when he was unloading everything. (Remember his ads in the back of back of comics?) Almost all of the comics I bought in that deal had that same blue ink on them, sometimes in moderation just on the edge, sometimes heavily applied and oversprayed onto the face or back of the comic.

 

I never said that the ink was mold. Here is what I said:

 

"Overall condition of the books is a little musty, many books appear to have mold. And fully 20 to 30% have moisture damage at some level. Whether it be waviness, mold or both. Total count of the box was 350+ books."

 

That picture was taken to show the water damage. However, mold is DEFINITELY present. You don't get books that wet without mold being present, and the odor emanating from the box ain't roses and lilies. There is definitely a fungus among us. The assertions that Sergio made was that he removed ALL the water damaged books. A guarantee of no more than 5 copies of a book and that the books had not been cherry-picked. I'm not pleading a case, draw your own conclusions.

 

 

[ChasingKingKirby]

So what's it take to get this guy banned from selling here?

 

Nobody can actually get banned from selling here. You can get banned from the site, but not banned from selling.

 

And you can't get banned from the site for selling infractions.

 

I suggested some time ago, and repeated it earlier this year, that there should be some system whereby sellers are vetted and only the vetted boarders get posting rights to start threads in the Marketplace.

 

There would be lots of details to work out, but given what we're seeing, I think a bit of pain at the front end would be preferable to all the pain we're getting after the money has been lost.

 

I have always been adamantly against this idea. I am not against it anymore. People are getting hosed down all the time lately. It is killing the positive energy of the marketplace.

 

+1

[Sal]

I think all of your claims are legitimate and your dissatisfaction valid. However, I don't see any mold in the photos. (Unless I'm missing something, my eyes aren't what they used to be.) That blue stuff is distributor's ink. Several years ago I bought a bunch of warehouse comics from the inventory of Robert Bell when he was unloading everything. (Remember his ads in the back of back of comics?) Almost all of the comics I bought in that deal had that same blue ink on them, sometimes in moderation just on the edge, sometimes heavily applied and oversprayed onto the face or back of the comic.

 

Actually, the comics smell... pretty badly. Enough to make me sick enough that I had to take them out of the room. (Not all have water damage, but enough that the smell is probably dangerous in enclosed spaces.) They're also dirty and I had to wash my hands over two dozen times when handling them.

 

I'm certainly not pleased with my box.

 

My point about the Heroes is that even though they don't COUNT TOWARDS the total of the 300 Marvel/DC, they're still Comic Books. They're freebies and they still have a valuation, albeit low. (What if he padded the box with Timelys?)

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think you're getting caught up in semantics.

 

The INTENT of Sergio's PP response was to remove his own culpability and place blame at the feet of the buyers.

 

Which a rather large and ridiculous bit of douchebaggery. Not to mention just this side of criminal.

 

 

My bet is that he can't refund money because of whatever personal issues he has, the nature of which I leave to others to speculate

[Bosco685]

I have always been adamantly against this idea. I am not against it anymore. People are getting hosed down all the time lately. It is killing the positive energy of the marketplace.

Although I hate to say this, glad you are seeing the light. I don't like this either, but action has to be taken in order to establish some level of calm.

[Bosco685]

[Lest we forget the "treasure" that I found in MY box:

 

Those are solid PGX 9.8 books. You should submit them.

 

 

Just trying to keep your spirits up, as it is never fun to deal with a seller that plays the system in order to keep your money. This Sergio is real scum for doing this.

[seanfingh]

I have always been adamantly against this idea. I am not against it anymore. People are getting hosed down all the time lately. It is killing the positive energy of the marketplace.

Although I hate to say this, glad you are seeing the light. I don't like this either, but action has to be taken in order to establish some level of calm.

 

The thing about this community is that there are so many people who are so passionate about the books and there are active purchasers of comics from all ages. I used to think it was what made this place so great. Now I feel like it is just chum in the waters for the scumbags, dirtbags and dooshbags.

[ChasingKingKirby]

[Lest we forget the "treasure" that I found in MY box:

 

Those are solid PGX 9.8 books. You should submit them.

 

 

Just trying to keep your spirits up, as it is never fun to deal with a seller that plays the system in order to keep your money. This Sergio is real scum for doing this.

 

 

That is pretty funny, actually. Sergio knows what he did. Either he's man enough to fix it or he's not. He MAY still be able to salvage his reputation, though the PP response he gave Poe is sickening and makes me want to kick him in the nads.

[Bosco685]

The thing about this community is that there are so many people who are so passionate about the books and there are active purchasers of comics from all ages. I used to think it was what made this place so great. Now I feel like it is just chum in the waters for the scumbags, dirtbags and dooshbags.

You've been here a lot longer than me, but I am hoping it is just a few bad apples that get identified, flushed out, and banned. I'm hoping that is the case.

 

Maybe folks are being too easily let go from the Probation List, and it should be a tougher standard to come off once you are on.

[ChasingKingKirby]

I have always been adamantly against this idea. I am not against it anymore. People are getting hosed down all the time lately. It is killing the positive energy of the marketplace.

Although I hate to say this, glad you are seeing the light. I don't like this either, but action has to be taken in order to establish some level of calm.

 

The thing about this community is that there are so many people who are so passionate about the books and there are active purchasers of comics from all ages. I used to think it was what made this place so great. Now I feel like it is just chum in the waters for the scumbags, dirtbags and dooshbags.

 

I'm with you bro. I've only been here a short time, but I've met some awesome people. Sergio won't ruin that for me, but it does take a little bit of the blush off the rose.

[Comic_Diva]

I have always been adamantly against this idea. I am not against it anymore. People are getting hosed down all the time lately. It is killing the positive energy of the marketplace.

Although I hate to say this, glad you are seeing the light. I don't like this either, but action has to be taken in order to establish some level of calm.

 

The thing about this community is that there are so many people who are so passionate about the books and there are active purchasers of comics from all ages. I used to think it was what made this place so great. Now I feel like it is just chum in the waters for the scumbags, dirtbags and dooshbags.

 

It wasn't always like this... however the situation is... the bad economy has come to the boards. It is a very sad day (days considering the events).

 

For whatever reasons, good boardies have gone bad in the effort to make a little extra cash.

[PrismaticSmoke]

What needs to happen is there needs to be a real probation thread that includes buyers and sellers alike who either fail to pay, attempt to deceive, lie scam, cheat whatever. The current thread is to narrow and pretty much useless if it cannot be used to discuss stuff like this.

 

I suggest a thread that puts up the name of person who committed the wrong and a reported by and reason for reporting. The incident should be discussed and if consensus is the person committed a wrong then that person should be added to the list.

 

This will replace the current thread which is to narrowly construed and not all inclusive for all potential incidents There is no need for multiple probation threads, no need for threads all over the forums discussing these incidents.

 

Also I suggest the thread be policed by the community any wrong can and should be discussed.

 

my 2 cents.

 

 

 

[BlowUpTheMoon]

There is definitely a fungus among us.

 

 

[Bosco685]

It wasn't always like this... however the situation is... the bad economy has come to the boards. It is a very sad day (days considering the events).

 

For whatever reasons, good boardies have gone bad in the effort to make a little extra cash.

You are probably right, Babs.

 

I just like to be an optimist, and hope the folks ending on the list permanently were just passers in the night, and not long-term board members. That would be sad to see people giving up their morals over greed.

 

But I guess I am assuming they had morals and high values to begin with, versus putting on a good show.

[mackenzie999]

I'm relatively new here too, so I guess I don't remember the good old days, but it's still one heckuva lot better than Ebay.

 

Wherever there is money to be made there will be people trying to cheat the system, that's just an unfortunate byproduct of the combination of capitalism and human nature. At least here on the boards there is an active and genuinely concerned population offering good advice, insight, warnings etc..

 

I'm sorry for you longtimers who see this place declining, I for one still think it's pretty great and am very grateful for having stumbled upon it.

 

PS has anyone ever had what they would consider a successful mystery longbox purchase? I'm pretty naive but that sets off all sorts of warning bells even to me.