Why I won't buy from Jamie Graham...and why I love these boards!

[the blob]

 

And there is no excuse for such a vmail from a business owner even if he has had it forever. Why does that matter? He should be ashamed of himself for acting like a child on a vmail. It's business. He would be better off not having a vmail. Instead he is clearly amused at treating people like that.

 

 

Unless, of course, that is his private phone and he has umpteen business lines that people can call and leave a detailed message at.

 

If he had been the one to give you the number he would have told you upfront to not leave a message on it. He does that with everyone else, but you got it 2nd hand, so you would not know that.

 

 

Ok, excuses excuses. I have a personal like and a business line. I would never think to even have that message even if it's funny, or whatever. When you are dealing in business...have a nice attitude and treat customers with respect. He must know someone might get his cell number to buy something from him. It's immature and not needed. This dealer is exactly what is wrong with our hobby.

 

A bit harsh. Presumably he sold you an unrestored book at a fair price. No? Sounds like hems fulfilled about 80% of what we hope for. Not a scammer just lazy re: customer service. And douchie that nobody contacted you about him not coming back. Dumb for him in this market. Heck I haven't responded to an ebay query asking me to count the pages on a $6 comic for 4 months. I'm bad.

[comix4fun]

Let me get this straight. Is there something wrong with the books? Did you pay too much for them? He sold you the books and you admit that you made the mistake of purchasing the book(s) that you already own. How is this shady?

 

It's shady to avoid a customer who has called your store 4 times when they were promised an exchange and then not one call back. It's shady to tell a customer to drive a long way and to not show up.

 

I love how some here will try to twist things.

 

Plus, there is other evidence in the search on this forum that can show how this person has had some interesting deals with forum members (the search button was helpful after all this went down with me).

 

 

I am sure he closed down his multi thousand dollar cost booth just to not give you an exchange of books that it was totally in his discretion whether to exchange.

 

The truth is, you need to talk to Jamie. If you called his shop in Chicago when he was on the road back from Florida it might not have been the easiest thing to do for him to get to the bottom of for you.

 

Honestly, you don't know why he left the show early, you don't know why did didn't set up the last day, and to assume that he bailed on an entire day of a convention that he paid for in booth costs, salaries, income and expenses JUST to not take an exchange from you has passed into the Tim Burton level of self-absorption.

 

I think you need to practice patience and you will get to where you want to be, especially since the initial problem with the books had nothing to do with the seller.

 

When did Mark say anything even remotely close to "assuming " that jaime closed down to avoid taking the comic back???

 

He never said anything of the sort, just that he was annoyed that he was a no-show after being told no problem and now hasnt gotten so much as a return phone call despite repeated efforts.

 

It aint rocket science (thumbs u

 

 

Read the bolded and enlarged section above.

 

He was talking about not meeting up with Jamie and said "It's shady to avoid a customer" "to not show up". Using SHADY imputes intentional dishonest action on the part of the dealer. If he's intentionally not showing up then he's saying that he closed down to avoid him. If he wasn't talking about Jamie leaving the show early maybe it should be made more clear, or maybe not use words that impute dishonest intentional action on the seller.

 

That turns a dealer voluntarily and gratuitously agreeing to undo a transaction that was a mistake on the buyer's part into something sinister and that's incredibly unfair.

 

It ain't rocket science in the least.

[agro23]

I've yet to meet anyone in this hobby who treats their customers worse.

How long have you been collecting exactly?

 

First of all you bought the book so he doesn't owe you a refund based on your mistake. Yeah it sucks he doesn't return calls but what's his incentive?

 

Now, I admit if I'd had a similar experience I would also be bummed. I just think I'd be a lot less shocked than you seem.

[DrWatson]

It's only Monday.

 

It's manic.

I wish it was Sunday.

 

Everyday is like Sunday.

Share some grease tea with me.

[rodan57]

i think its the inks but it seems like 99.9 percent of the people who own comic shops or even work in comic shops are dix. most shops i have been in.

This is something I can deal with. What I can't deal with is undisclosed restoration. I feel that this is a form of dishonesty. From what I have heard, Jamie is an honest dealer.

 

Did you see the thread where he sold a TOS 39 that was trimmed to a fellow boardie? It took the boardie a month to reach Jamie even after leaving tons of messages...still not a word from Jamie....only after the boardie posted on this forum did the issue get resolved. I also think I recall another boardie also saying they bought a trimmed comic from Graham.

 

Did Jamie know they were trimmed?

 

It's worth reading carefully ... all of it. If you read just parts of it, you'll miss the subtleties of what is being said.

 

Trimmed Books

 

If I might throw in my two cents.

 

Buying a wrong book and asking for a return seems to me to be an unremarkable event. How hard is that to accommodate?

 

Driving to and from an event after a no-show would burn me up and about $20 of gas in my Jeep.

 

So I would probably shrug it off and not buy any more books from that dealer -- but we do "owe" each other here a duty of care, in my opinion.

 

Sometimes, I do think I'd do a deal with the Devil just hoping that that one time would get me a book I had been "dying" for -- but I'd also like to think that after mistreatment I'd take my business elsewhere and be able to hold to that decision. His book but my dollar.

 

I appreciate getting a heads up on transactions that might turn out to be problematical. (thumbs u

[MagnetoWasRight]

Ok, its been mentioned a ton of times so no point in beating around the bush here. I'm the guy who bought a Trimmed TOS 39 from Jamie. Fun part is, over a period of months, never once through this entire ordeal did I ever hear from him regarding the issue with my book. He didn't even respond to a prominent boardie, one far more seasoned than I. Only after I finally got fed up and put all the information on the boards did my issue get resolved...and again, never once did Jamie ever call me back, apologize, or anything. I was ignored and fingers were crossed that I'd go away...

 

This thread below doesn't scream good business practices...it says I'll take your money and leave you hanging dry. Seems maybe the OA's concerns aren't so unwarranted, IMHO of course.

 

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=4724071

 

[Kirk Kenobi]

Thanks Mark! These types of threads spark controversy, but have value.

 

They:

 

1) Help customers select businesses who are interested in offering the best buying experience to them. This includes before, during and after a sale.

 

2) Influence the person being critiqued to think about how they do their work. This doesn't always apply, but in some cases people see an opportunity like this to improve.

 

3) Provide guidance to those of us just starting to sell books learn what not to do.

 

"The old restaurant industry mantra is that a happy customer tells five people about a positive restaurant experience, and an unhappy customer tells 50 people about a bad experience."

 

Something for everyone who is selling goods or services should remember.

 

 

 

 

[Bunky Brian]

I've never really liked hockey; boy 13 beers would be refreshing right now.

[Bomber-Bob]

Jamie is local with multiple stores in the Chicagoland area. I have known him for 20 years. Jamie has always been a little gruff, barks at his employees, sometimes barks at customers including me on occasion. However, his bark is worse than his bite and he is an honest dealer. It doesn't surprise me that the employees at the store knew nothing of his plans. I am 100% sure he will make it right with you if you give him the opportunity.

BTW, I think you have every right to be upset and be annoyed. I know I would be. However, if you want the situation to be rectified, just contact Jamie. He'll make it right.

 

Tell me how to do that? For a business owner, he doesn't seem to get messages from him employees? He doesn't check vmail? He doesn't care about customer messages? Seems I've run out of options besides flying to Chicago to pay him a visit.

 

 

The employee you refer to as 'angry John' is probably John Robinson. John is a partner in the business and is very pleasant to deal with. John should be able to advise or take care of you without getting Jamie's approval.

So..... instead of asking to have Jamie call you I would just work through John.

[lizards2]

These Boards

 

and then we'll have

 

 

 

 

 

and then everyone will kiss and make up

 

 

 

 

 

bromance is a wonderful thing...,

[sufunk]

Let me get this straight. Is there something wrong with the books? Did you pay too much for them? He sold you the books and you admit that you made the mistake of purchasing the book(s) that you already own. How is this shady?

 

It's shady to avoid a customer who has called your store 4 times when they were promised an exchange and then not one call back. It's shady to tell a customer to drive a long way and to not show up.

 

I love how some here will try to twist things.

 

Plus, there is other evidence in the search on this forum that can show how this person has had some interesting deals with forum members (the search button was helpful after all this went down with me).

 

 

I am sure he closed down his multi thousand dollar cost booth just to not give you an exchange of books that it was totally in his discretion whether to exchange.

 

The truth is, you need to talk to Jamie. If you called his shop in Chicago when he was on the road back from Florida it might not have been the easiest thing to do for him to get to the bottom of for you.

 

Honestly, you don't know why he left the show early, you don't know why did didn't set up the last day, and to assume that he bailed on an entire day of a convention that he paid for in booth costs, salaries, income and expenses JUST to not take an exchange from you has passed into the Tim Burton level of self-absorption.

 

I think you need to practice patience and you will get to where you want to be, especially since the initial problem with the books had nothing to do with the seller.

 

When did Mark say anything even remotely close to "assuming " that jaime closed down to avoid taking the comic back???

 

He never said anything of the sort, just that he was annoyed that he was a no-show after being told no problem and now hasnt gotten so much as a return phone call despite repeated efforts.

 

It aint rocket science (thumbs u

 

 

Read the bolded and enlarged section above.

 

He was talking about not meeting up with Jamie and said "It's shady to avoid a customer" "to not show up". Using SHADY imputes intentional dishonest action on the part of the dealer. If he's intentionally not showing up then he's saying that he closed down to avoid him. If he wasn't talking about Jamie leaving the show early maybe it should be made more clear, or maybe not use words that impute dishonest intentional action on the seller.

 

That turns a dealer voluntarily and gratuitously agreeing to undo a transaction that was a mistake on the buyer's part into something sinister and that's incredibly unfair.

 

It ain't rocket science in the least.

 

Man, you must be the limbo KING the way you are able to bend over backwards to stick up for this guy!

 

Longtime people here immediately knew who he was talking about and said its VERY common for him to not show up the last day of a convention. Is that not true? If thats true, i'm sure he had some notion that he may not be there the next day. If thats the case, to tell someone "sure no problem come back tomorrow" when he has a decent idea he wont be there, i'd agree thats shady.

 

Just not good business. Double gpa (which was what the few books i looked at on his website were) would be more than enough for me to never do business with him. Add horrible customer service into the mix and i definitely wont be making any orders.

 

Really, how hard is a freaking phone call from SOMEONE, anyone??? The guy has umpteen stores and cant have any lackey at 1 of the stores return a phone call? Sorry, like that pisses me off. I dont care if youre spending a million dollars or $50, EVERY customer deserves to get at least a return phone call in less than a week.

 

I guess i have high standards

[the blob]

i think its the inks but it seems like 99.9 percent of the people who own comic shops or even work in comic shops are dix. most shops i have been in.

This is something I can deal with. What I can't deal with is undisclosed restoration. I feel that this is a form of dishonesty. From what I have heard, Jamie is an honest dealer.

 

Did you see the thread where he sold a TOS 39 that was trimmed to a fellow boardie? It took the boardie a month to reach Jamie even after leaving tons of messages...still not a word from Jamie....only after the boardie posted on this forum did the issue get resolved. I also think I recall another boardie also saying they bought a trimmed comic from Graham.

 

 

There's nothing unethical about selling a trimmed book. A lot of trimming is hard to detect. The issue is how he handles it after it is brought to his attention.

[Domo Arigato]

You do realise that you're going to be hassled all through this thread until you come out with names, don't you?

Yep, I figured...I just don't want to start a big battle among the "dealer supporters".

It's a good thing that didn't happen.

 

 

[MagnetoWasRight]

i think its the inks but it seems like 99.9 percent of the people who own comic shops or even work in comic shops are dix. most shops i have been in.

This is something I can deal with. What I can't deal with is undisclosed restoration. I feel that this is a form of dishonesty. From what I have heard, Jamie is an honest dealer.

 

Did you see the thread where he sold a TOS 39 that was trimmed to a fellow boardie? It took the boardie a month to reach Jamie even after leaving tons of messages...still not a word from Jamie....only after the boardie posted on this forum did the issue get resolved. I also think I recall another boardie also saying they bought a trimmed comic from Graham.

 

 

There's nothing unethical about selling a trimmed book. A lot of trimming is hard to detect. The issue is how he handles it after it is brought to his attention.

 

Exactly, see my previous post in this thread.

[KingOfRulers]

I like Jaimie.

 

I've never had a problem with him. We always have fun conversation at conventions.

[Monkeyman]

I guess that people who don't mind being treated with disrespect should continue dealing with Jamie. For me, I'm glad this topic was posted and that the other links where included so now I know to avoid him. It's all about have the info to make your own decisions.

 

Mike

[tortoise]

I have never given a cent to GC, and I never will.

[DrWatson]

I guess that people who don't mind being treated with disrespect should continue dealing with Jamie. For me, I'm glad this topic was posted and that the other links where included so now I know to avoid him. It's all about have the info to make your own decisions.

 

Mike

Just out of curiosity, and you of course can decline to answer as it really isn't any of my business, but how often did you do business with Graham Crackers Comics before reading any of these threads?

[lizards2]

I guess that people who don't mind being treated with disrespect should continue dealing with Jamie. For me, I'm glad this topic was posted and that the other links where included so now I know to avoid him. It's all about have the info to make your own decisions.

 

Mike

Just out of curiosity, and you of course can decline to answer as it really isn't any of my business, but how often did you do business with Graham Crackers Comics before reading any of these threads?

 

I was told by an early eBay seller that I trusted, that GCCs grading was really good, but that they rarely had anything in HG. Turns out, he was right, at least about HG books through the eBay venue, because I looked and looked at their auctions, and there was never anything I ever wanted. :shrug:

[MR SigS]

In Mark 1's defense, I'm getting exactly what he's angry about and think he's justified. Bottom line is...

 

1) He admits he goofed and he bought a dupicate.

 

2) He calls the shop and asks if he can exchange it.

 

3) The shop calls JG and then calls Mark 1 back saying "NO PROBLEM."

 

4) Mark 1 travels to do the approved exchange.

 

5) Nobody shows up to meet him.

 

That's all I'm gonna comment on because I've had no transactions with GCC.