Report on Comicseekers Long Box

[joe_collector]

The assertions that Sergio made was that he removed ALL the water damaged books.

 

And got a big credit from Adam on these "unsellable" books.

[The Question?]

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., and you can even evaluate the quality of the information you get based on what other posts the person has made.

 

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

 

PS have 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.

 

 

 

Of course it sets off warning bells for most. However, as you wrote, you cannot negate the human nature part of you post, and that's why people gamble. (thumbs u

[mackenzie999]

that's why people gamble. (thumbs u

 

I thought I was the only one who played the "I know this looks way too good to be true, but what if it IS true?" game.

 

Good luck to the OP, and seriously, mold can be dangerous, keep that stuff away from everyone and everything.

[ChasingKingKirby]

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., and you can even evaluate the quality of the information you get based on what other posts the person has made.

 

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

 

PS have 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.

 

 

 

Of course it sets off warning bells for most. However, as you wrote, you cannot negate the human nature part of you post, and that's why people gamble. (thumbs u

 

True. The reason that the whole "mystery" box thing is so successful is the whole intrigue of taking a gamble. I'm not naive and I fell for it in this case. Sergio used several "hooks" that got me. 1. Using Adam's good name to make the boxes seem like more than they were. 2. Saying the boxes were unsearched. 3. Providing pics of books that were supposedly representative of the boxes contents.

 

Honestly, I've never bought a mystery box before and definitely wouldn't ever again. My expectation was to receive a box of non-key unread bronze. Let's face it, even top-tier non-key bronze books in less than top condition are a hard sell, but they have SOME value. These books, outside of the non-water damaged books that pose a health risk, are readers. And I'm not a fan of Shogun Warriors or Howard the Duck.

[MyNameIsLegion]

I got the same offer of $25 per box (I got 4) and $10 per box after returning the Heroes Inc. IF I were to return the Heroes, I would then have gotten less than 300 comics per box. I got about 940 comics in 3 boxes (4th hasn't arrived) I got 80 copies of Heroes out of those 3. That's the only book I could possibly get a buck for. If I return them, I'd get 38 cents.

 

Shin is right about the mold and dirt. "water damage" extends far beyond just the ones that were in water. I won't even take these in the house. they're airing out on a table in the garage.

 

I suggested to Sergio, since he's selling stuff, that if he's strapped for cash, he should offer even more in restitution in the form of merchandize. Some raw high grade books or a few slabs might close the gap pretty quick without him having to shell out money he may already not have. these comics aren't worth his time our ours, just toss most of them.

[PrismaticSmoke]

He claims to have removed water damaged books from the boxes in one point, but in the other he claims they are unsearched.

 

Right there is a massive red flag. Honestly I wouldn't donate any smelly moldy books due to the risk involved. I doubt the money will be returned it is best to recycle the bad ones, donate the better copies that are not water/mold damaged.

[PrismaticSmoke]

I got the same offer of $25 per box (I got 4) and $10 per box after returning the Heroes Inc. IF I were to return the Heroes, I would then have gotten less than 300 comics per box. I got about 940 comics in 3 boxes (4th hasn't arrived) I got 80 copies of Heroes out of those 3. That's the only book I could possibly get a buck for. If I return them, I'd get 38 cents.

 

Shin is right about the mold and dirt. "water damage" extends far beyond just the ones that were in water. I won't even take these in the house. they're airing out on a table in the garage.

 

I suggested to Sergio, since he's selling stuff, that if he's strapped for cash, he should offer even more in restitution in the form of merchandize. Some raw high grade books or a few slabs might close the gap pretty quick without him having to shell out money he may already not have. these comics aren't worth his time our ours, just toss most of them.

 

How can one be strapped for cash, and yet pay over 2 k for these boxes to start with?

[ChasingKingKirby]

I got the same offer of $25 per box (I got 4) and $10 per box after returning the Heroes Inc. IF I were to return the Heroes, I would then have gotten less than 300 comics per box. I got about 940 comics in 3 boxes (4th hasn't arrived) I got 80 copies of Heroes out of those 3. That's the only book I could possibly get a buck for. If I return them, I'd get 38 cents.

 

Shin is right about the mold and dirt. "water damage" extends far beyond just the ones that were in water. I won't even take these in the house. they're airing out on a table in the garage.

 

I suggested to Sergio, since he's selling stuff, that if he's strapped for cash, he should offer even more in restitution in the form of merchandize. Some raw high grade books or a few slabs might close the gap pretty quick without him having to shell out money he may already not have. these comics aren't worth his time our ours, just toss most of them.

 

You are 100% correct about the saleability of these books. Sounds like you got shellacked even WORSE than I did. I did get over 300 books excluding the Heroes. Of course I only got 11 of those...

[sckao]

I got the same offer of $25 per box (I got 4) and $10 per box after returning the Heroes Inc. IF I were to return the Heroes, I would then have gotten less than 300 comics per box. I got about 940 comics in 3 boxes (4th hasn't arrived) I got 80 copies of Heroes out of those 3. That's the only book I could possibly get a buck for. If I return them, I'd get 38 cents.

 

Shin is right about the mold and dirt. "water damage" extends far beyond just the ones that were in water. I won't even take these in the house. they're airing out on a table in the garage.

 

I suggested to Sergio, since he's selling stuff, that if he's strapped for cash, he should offer even more in restitution in the form of merchandize. Some raw high grade books or a few slabs might close the gap pretty quick without him having to shell out money he may already not have. these comics aren't worth his time our ours, just toss most of them.

 

How can one be strapped for cash, and yet pay over 2 k for these boxes to start with?

 

I'm pretty sure these were bought several years ago. (And then they were cherry picked to pay for the purchase on a time basis as Filter indicated.)

 

 

 

 

[ChasingKingKirby]

He claims to have removed water damaged books from the boxes in one point, but in the other he claims they are unsearched.

 

Right there is a massive red flag. Honestly I wouldn't donate any smelly moldy books due to the risk involved. I doubt the money will be returned it is best to recycle the bad ones, donate the better copies that are not water/mold damaged.

 

As someone pointed out, mold can be present regardless of whether it is apparent. I WAS going to donate these to a children's hospital, but with the possibility of mold being present, obviously that's a bad move. If Sergio doesn't want them back on the fire they go. With all the copies of Star Wars 37 I have, who knows, maybe by burning the ones I have it will make that book rare.

[burntboy]

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.

 

Well, for a relative newbie you sure have made 4 excellent points - a voice of reason, at last... (thumbs u

[PrismaticSmoke]

He claims to have removed water damaged books from the boxes in one point, but in the other he claims they are unsearched.

 

Right there is a massive red flag. Honestly I wouldn't donate any smelly moldy books due to the risk involved. I doubt the money will be returned it is best to recycle the bad ones, donate the better copies that are not water/mold damaged.

 

As someone pointed out, mold can be present regardless of whether it is apparent. I WAS going to donate these to a children's hospital, but with the possibility of mold being present, obviously that's a bad move. If Sergio doesn't want them back on the fire they go. With all the copies of Star Wars 37 I have, who knows, maybe by burning the ones I have it will make that book rare.

 

There is another avenue, probably more realistic for those who purchased multiple boxes. You could, depending on your state laws file a small claim suit in an effort to receive some form of compensation. Obviously if what was represented was grossly inaccurate and if the original seller (Adam) cooperates you may be able to recover most if not all your money. It is just up to the person if it is worth it or not. Personally on principle if I purchased 2 or more boxes I would seriously consider it.

 

And yes there are attorneys out there (Bottomfeeders) who would take the case to small claims in hopes of a positive judgment in which they can levy attorney fees and costs on the defendant.

[JohnT]

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.

 

 

 

Yes, a better probation thread is what we need. That's been discussed over in the selling forum, but it doesn't look like it's going anywhere yet. As things stand right now Comicseekers is not on the list, and won't be for this scam. Granted his reputation is trashed, but for new people who join the boards he's still a potential problem...or for veterans like me who have a memory like a sieve and only know who the bad sellers are by referring to the list.

[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.

 

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.

 

 

Understood. My comment wasn't really meant to be directed at anything you said about the mold. It was actually more in response to this comment:

 

Man, that mold looks NASTY. Thanks for taking the time to do this, and present facts with picture evidence.

 

I didn't really make that clear, sorry. I thought maybe people were mistaking the distributor's ink for mold, and nobody had addressed that misconception.

 

That mildew smell is the worst defect comics can have, in my opinion. I really hate that odor, it makes me nauseous.

[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.

 

 

Understood. My comment wasn't really meant to be directed at anything you said about the mold. It was actually more in response to this comment:

 

Man, that mold looks NASTY. Thanks for taking the time to do this, and present facts with picture evidence.

 

I didn't really make that clear, sorry. I thought maybe people were mistaking the distributor's ink for mold, and nobody had addressed that misconception.

 

That mildew smell is the worst defect comics can have, in my opinion. I really hate that odor, it makes me nauseous.

 

(thumbs u

[TupennyConan]

I was asked by multiple members well over a year ago to place Sergio on the probation list. I chose not to. It was a mistake I regret. I'm sorry for it.

[comicseekers-migration]

Michael,

 

I will not accept returns on this because I believe that I did NOT deceive anyone! This all started with Poe who kept PMing me requesting that he did not want a box of beaters. I suspect he had his expectations high as to get bronze keys and not just regular issues.

 

Once he received the box he clearly was not happy with and filed a paypal claim before even addressing the issue with me and threatened to start a thread to slander my name. At this point it was clear to me that he was trying to destroy my reputation and start a lynching if he did not get his ways. His actions raised red flags and I suspect that he more than likely would cherry pick the good titles and return the rest for a full refund. I told him I would not accept a return due to his actions.

 

The accusations by board members that were not involved in this transaction stating I cherry picked and scammed the buyers are absolutely beyond belief. Especially after at least 3 buyers received the boxes and were very happy with their purchase.

 

How is it that a few members have received their boxes and are very happy with them and posted kudo's, these member's received their boxes BEFORE POE started this accusation of Scam which led to a lynching!

 

It also amazes me why the buyers who are dissapointed with their boxes and demand refunds only posted pics of a handful of comics that had distributors ink and string indentations from being packed in cases by the distributors. I still yet have to see a picture of the ENTIRE contents of the boxes and furthermore of water damaged comics.

 

As I stated before, I am addressing these issues with the buyers who are unhappy via pm, but felt that I needed to bring up some points.

 

And as for me coming on these boards trying to scam buyers. That is my goal in life! I just wanted to intentially scam the board members who I have dealt all these years so that I can ruin my reputation and never sell on here again. That is my motive! And for those members who actually believe that is what I do and who I am, then so be it. Ignorance is bliss! I guess that all the buyers who posted KUDO's to me as recently as yesterday just love to be scammed!

 

PM's have been sent to the buyers.

[mrwoogieman]

I was asked by multiple members well over a year ago to place Sergio on the probation list. I chose not to. It was a mistake I regret. I'm sorry for it.

 

"It's not your fault. It's not your fault. It's not your fault...."

 

 

[Comicsarefun]

He claims to have removed water damaged books from the boxes in one point, but in the other he claims they are unsearched.

 

Right there is a massive red flag. Honestly I wouldn't donate any smelly moldy books due to the risk involved. I doubt the money will be returned it is best to recycle the bad ones, donate the better copies that are not water/mold damaged.

 

As someone pointed out, mold can be present regardless of whether it is apparent. I WAS going to donate these to a children's hospital, but with the possibility of mold being present, obviously that's a bad move. If Sergio doesn't want them back on the fire they go. With all the copies of Star Wars 37 I have, who knows, maybe by burning the ones I have it will make that book rare.

 

There is another avenue, probably more realistic for those who purchased multiple boxes. You could, depending on your state laws file a small claim suit in an effort to receive some form of compensation. Obviously if what was represented was grossly inaccurate and if the original seller (Adam) cooperates you may be able to recover most if not all your money. It is just up to the person if it is worth it or not. Personally on principle if I purchased 2 or more boxes I would seriously consider it.

 

And yes there are attorneys out there (Bottomfeeders) who would take the case to small claims in hopes of a positive judgment in which they can levy attorney fees and costs on the defendant.

 

 

I am not defending the seller of this garbage, but legal action? Come on , these were pig in poke long boxes! The seller will take returns (I think he offered that) or some kind of discount, so just send them back and do not buy from him anymore. We all get burned on occasion in this crazy hobby, and the "hunt" is all part of the fun. If you have hundreds of dollars to gamble on mystery boxes, then it should not be too big a deal to have to manage the fall-out when the deal turns to poop (literally).

 

 

[ChasingKingKirby]

Michael,

 

I will not accept returns on this because I believe that I did NOT deceive anyone! This all started with Poe who kept PMing me requesting that he did not want a box of beaters. I suspect he had his expectations high as to get bronze keys and not just regular issues.

 

Once he received the box he clearly was not happy with and filed a paypal claim before even addressing the issue with me and threatened to start a thread to slander my name. At this point it was clear to me that he was trying to destroy my reputation and start a lynching if he did not get his ways. His actions raised red flags and I suspect that he more than likely would cherry pick the good titles and return the rest for a full refund. I told him I would not accept a return due to his actions.

 

The accusations by board members that were not involved in this transaction stating I cherry picked and scammed the buyers are absolutely beyond belief. Especially after at least 3 buyers received the boxes and were very happy with their purchase.

 

How is it that a few members have received their boxes and are very happy with them and posted kudo's, these member's received their boxes BEFORE POE started this accusation of Scam which led to a lynching!

 

It also amazes me why the buyers who are dissapointed with their boxes and demand refunds only posted pics of a handful of comics that had distributors ink and string indentations from being packed in cases by the distributors. I still yet have to see a picture of the ENTIRE contents of the boxes and furthermore of water damaged comics.

 

As I stated before, I am addressing these issues with the buyers who are unhappy via pm, but felt that I needed to bring up some points.

 

And as for me coming on these boards trying to scam buyers. That is my goal in life! I just wanted to intentially scam the board members who I have dealt all these years so that I can ruin my reputation and never sell on here again. That is my motive! And for those members who actually believe that is what I do and who I am, then so be it. Ignorance is bliss! I guess that all the buyers who posted KUDO's to me as recently as yesterday just love to be scammed!

 

PM's have been sent to the buyers.

 

Sergio,

 

Is THIS Water Damage or do I HAVE brain damage?

 

Water damage:

 

 

 

 

I'm bringing a little humor to this, but I'm honestly asking. I've been collecting comics for 30 years and I thought I knew what water damage was, but maybe I don't. Are you saying that the pictures that I have provided do NOT indicate water damage. (Other boardies please chime in, I'm not so arrogant as to think that I know everything.) I have given a very fair accounting of what was in the box. I'll happily post more pictures if you want, but honestly, it doesn't really help your case much, but what the heck. I can do that. To recap:

 

You said that you guaranteed no more than 5 of any issue. Look at my pics, is that a true statement?

 

You said in a posting, that you took all of the water damaged books out of the boxes. Is that a true statement?

 

You said that you were selling the boxes for what you paid for them. Adam refutes this? Is Adam lying?

 

Enough with the obfuscation, clear it up for us. My point from the beginning of the thread is this, the buyer is always right. If they ain't happy, take you're merchandise back, refund their money and resell it. Easy enough, right?