Has Anyone Ever....

[David Swan]

Been Found to be Cheating?

 

There is a set by a collector named clarkkentdds that is SO spectacular that it seems to stretch credibility. This collector is currently ranked 39th on the strength of just ONE set, Superman #1-#423. The set is now obscured but it used to be available and I can tell you that this person has somehow amassed nearly every highest grade early issue of Superman in existence. The thought had crossed my mind that it was a fraud. It is certainly possible to discover online the registry number of high grade issues and simply plug them in whether you own it or not. If no one has the comic registered then it appears in the database as yours. Now, let me add that I do not believe clarkentdds is a fraud. The set has been up there for awhile and although I wish it weren't obscured I do believe that at this point CGC would have caught on.

 

Now let me confess to something. When I purchase a comic online I just can't WAIT to add it to my CGC set and I will plug in the number after the comic is bought and paid for but before I physically own it. However I can imagine someone just going out and plugging in numbers and giving the appearance of an awesome set. Ok, confession two. I have put in numbers for comics that I don't own at all. The reason I do this is to get the CGC census which for some reason I can't seem to access unless I'm shown as owning the comic. I immediately delete the comic but it shows how easy it is to pull a scam. mycomicshop.com also contains a census but it's often months behind. I remember putting in a number for a Western Comics graded 9.6 that I didn't own because mycomicshop.com didn't show any 9.6 in existence. In fact even the CGC census didn't show one existing but it took my number and filled it in as a 9.6. I deleted the comic after looking at the census but did eventually purchase it. It was indeed legit.

 

See more journals by David Swan

[BlowUpTheMoon]

Sure, it's happened in the past. People have taken random serial numbers they have found online and plugged them into their registry sets.

[cheetah]

There's nothing to stop it but one fellow had nothing but early Detective Comics, IIRC, and he was in the top 5 with just 49 books. He posted scans of a number of them so getting a lot of points with a few books is more than possible.

 

He removed his books from the Registry last summer.

[cheetah]

After looking at the set, the number of points/book isn't that high.

[miraclemet]

Cant you check the CGC registry via their CGC page? W/o putting in an actual comic #?

 

Go here: http://www.cgccomics.com/census/index.asp

 

and on the left hand side put in the title and issue number and it will tell you census info on the comic.

 

I would think if someone kept putting in #s that kept getting flagged as being in someone elses registry CGC would notice and investigate...

 

But then again does it really mean anything/hurt anything if it is faked? I dont support the action, but I also dont see what good or harm it does, unless CGC has started giving away cash prizes to the top registry sets.. in which case off to eBay!

[Doc Joe]

It is generally considered to be the saddest thing to cheat on registry points.

 

Having said that I am sure I have books that I have sold that I did not take off yet, but Im not sure which ones they are!

[Timmay]

It is generally considered to be the saddest thing to cheat on registry points.

 

Having said that I am sure I have books that I have sold that I did not take off yet, but Im not sure which ones they are!

 

Time to take a day off of work and do a physical inventory of your stash.

[Dark Prime 0]

It is generally considered to be the saddest thing to cheat on registry points.

 

Having said that I am sure I have books that I have sold that I did not take off yet, but Im not sure which ones they are!

 

Time to take a day off of work and do a physical inventory of your stash.

 

i'm sure it would take doc more then 1 day to do a physical inventory of his stuff

[jackowick-migration]

Ha I consider the logging of the number part of my final "package received" ritual but yes I have once or twice pre-input the number for an especially juicy book.

 

Cheating on a registry by attempting to put in numbers for big books is just sad.

[Hamlet]

If I crack a book and keep it, does anyone have a problem with my putting it in the registry?

 

[comicdonna]

Been Found to be Cheating?

 

There is a set by a collector named clarkkentdds that is SO spectacular that it seems to stretch credibility. This collector is currently ranked 39th on the strength of just ONE set, Superman #1-#423. The set is now obscured but it used to be available and I can tell you that this person has somehow amassed nearly every highest grade early issue of Superman in existence. The thought had crossed my mind that it was a fraud. It is certainly possible to discover online the registry number of high grade issues and simply plug them in whether you own it or not. If no one has the comic registered then it appears in the database as yours. Now, let me add that I do not believe clarkentdds is a fraud. The set has been up there for awhile and although I wish it weren't obscured I do believe that at this point CGC would have caught on.

 

Now let me confess to something. When I purchase a comic online I just can't WAIT to add it to my CGC set and I will plug in the number after the comic is bought and paid for but before I physically own it. However I can imagine someone just going out and plugging in numbers and giving the appearance of an awesome set. Ok, confession two. I have put in numbers for comics that I don't own at all. The reason I do this is to get the CGC census which for some reason I can't seem to access unless I'm shown as owning the comic. I immediately delete the comic but it shows how easy it is to pull a scam. mycomicshop.com also contains a census but it's often months behind. I remember putting in a number for a Western Comics graded 9.6 that I didn't own because mycomicshop.com didn't show any 9.6 in existence. In fact even the CGC census didn't show one existing but it took my number and filled it in as a 9.6. I deleted the comic after looking at the census but did eventually purchase it. It was indeed legit.

 

See more journals by David Swan

Just a few comments on your post:clarkkentdds is a respected board member. You probably didn't need to provide him as an example, seems he's not revelent to your post.For insurance purposes, if I sell a book, I don't usually remove it from my registry until the buyer has recieved it.A few people have been caught placing books that they don't own in a registry set. Personally, I don't see what is gained by doing this. (other than trying to impress someone with a fake set)

[Loki]

It's sad stuff, but there have definitely been cases of Registry fraud. There was a Registry user a few years back who was poaching numbers from eBay auctions to make one of the top two or three X-Men sets (as well as several other titles).

 

I believe BeachBum was the person to expose him after the individual_without_enough_empathy started stealing registry numbers from BB's unfinished auctions. There should be a thread about it in Comics General someplace, probably from 2 or 3 years back...

 

Once it became obvious what he was up to, Gemma yanked all his sets. Although I have suspicions that he returned a few months later with obscured sets...

 

EDIT - Link for those interested... eBay Registry Number Poacher Oh, and apparently it was dena, not Gemma, that laid the smack-down on him...