Metropolis/ComicConnect auction house missed restoration problem

[thehumantorch]

You left out the part where you told us you wanted a full refund and you wanted to keep the book. Can you clarify that?

 

Rob Reynolds

Director of Consignments

 

snap

[comicdonna]

I am starting to see double. I had better go to bed.

 

Really? If you're seeing double you should see a doctor as soon as possible.

 

Really? If you're seeing double you should see a doctor as soon as possible.

 

[jimjum12]

I am starting to see double. I had better go to bed.

 

Really? If you're seeing double you should see a doctor as soon as possible.

 

Really? If you're seeing double you should see a doctor as soon as possible.

 

 

....wow, this might be turning into an infinity thread....GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

 

I am starting to see double. I had better go to bed.

 

Really? If you're seeing double you should see a doctor as soon as possible.

 

Really? If you're seeing double you should see a doctor as soon as possible.

 

 

....wow, this might be turning into an infinity thread....GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

[namisgr]

[jimjum12]

 

.....someone call Dale, it's a golf ball with legs ! Just kidding....I love animals and that image is going to the files....GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

 

P.S. I think it may be time for me to buy another book from Metro....i, for one, LIKE them.

[Mark 1]

wasn't how to best title this, but I've had problems like this in the past. To their credit Heritage House has in the past taken 2 books back I bought in their auctions, had graded and came back with the purple label. They refunded all the costs: lot price, shipping and slabbing costs. Comiclink also has been great at refunding or making up costs if they made a mistake. But not the mighty Metropolis comics, who auctions comics as ComicConnect. I bought an Action #80, certified by them as a 3.5, came back as a 3.5 but with trimmed covers. So somebody got lazy. they offered to refund the $110 auction price but not the shipping or slabbing costs. Not only that when I asked to speak to the manager they wouldn't even do me the courtesy of connecting me. We are talking maybe $65-$75 for a company that sells comics worth millions. Shows their priorities doesn't it? They tried to say it took too long for me to contact them, but we all know that it can take over 6 months sometimes to get slabbed books back, esp. since I had turned these in right before the price increases so they were swamped. So fair warning if you buy from them, their "certified grade" doesn't mean much. Heritage charges much more in premiums but they are respectful of their customers at least.

 

If they offered to refund your money...then they did the right thing.

 

You expect them to refund you shipping costs to CGC and back and the slab costs? Get real man.

 

People make mistakes. You saw scans of the book before buying it. Could you tell it was trimmed? I guess not. When you got the book in hand could you tell? Guess not.

 

Care to explain why you would ask for a refund and to keep the comic?

[bluechip]

Although I disagree with some definitiions of resto and dislike how some abuse the designation, I have no problem with people wanting full refunds or exchanges for books that unexpectedly get purple labels, even if the "work" that gets the label is not anything that I, or anyone outside the hobby would call restoration, because it's a part of the market.

 

But those who say they don't want books at all if they come back purple need to accept and abide by the terms that were set and agreed (which generally include refund or exchange or, in some cases, even slab fees paid). But if a buyer starts by saying "I don't want it it if comes back purple" shouldn't say, afterward, that they don't want to return the book but want to keep the book and get much, most or even all their money back. (the common practice of resto "removal" makes all the above even more important)

 

But, unfortunately, many people, in all kinds of business, believe that all contracts have an unwritten clause that says, effectively, "if I decide later that I don't like parts of our agreement, I get to dishonor all the parts I don't like while holding you to all the parts I do like, even if the result is that I get back everything I gave you and keep everything you gave me."

 

[jimjum12]

wasn't how to best title this, but I've had problems like this in the past. To their credit Heritage House has in the past taken 2 books back I bought in their auctions, had graded and came back with the purple label. They refunded all the costs: lot price, shipping and slabbing costs. Comiclink also has been great at refunding or making up costs if they made a mistake. But not the mighty Metropolis comics, who auctions comics as ComicConnect. I bought an Action #80, certified by them as a 3.5, came back as a 3.5 but with trimmed covers. So somebody got lazy. they offered to refund the $110 auction price but not the shipping or slabbing costs. Not only that when I asked to speak to the manager they wouldn't even do me the courtesy of connecting me. We are talking maybe $65-$75 for a company that sells comics worth millions. Shows their priorities doesn't it? They tried to say it took too long for me to contact them, but we all know that it can take over 6 months sometimes to get slabbed books back, esp. since I had turned these in right before the price increases so they were swamped. So fair warning if you buy from them, their "certified grade" doesn't mean much. Heritage charges much more in premiums but they are respectful of their customers at least.

 

If they offered to refund your money...then they did the right thing.

 

You expect them to refund you shipping costs to CGC and back and the slab costs? Get real man.

 

People make mistakes. You saw scans of the book before buying it. Could you tell it was trimmed? I guess not. When you got the book in hand could you tell? Guess not.

 

Care to explain why you would ask for a refund and to keep the comic?

 

.....the part of the O.P.'s post that bothered me was the insinuation that Metro was "lazy" in relation to the trimming. Detecting trimming is NOT a science, and at the end of the day, all can be expected is a good faith attempt. Many books "look" trimmed and aren't.....others look legit, but ARE trimmed. It's a consensus among professionals that it is the most difficult form of resto to detect. Adding to the difficulty is the fact that all books COME from the factory trimmed. My advice to the OP is to stick to Blue Label CGC slabbed books if trimming bothers you. Anything else is a shoot unless we're talking about an uber obvious franken-trim. There is no guarantee even with CGC....but how often can we really expect a guarantee with an opinion. GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

[roulette44]

Although I disagree with some definitiions of resto and dislike how some abuse the designation, I have no problem with people wanting full refunds or exchanges for books that unexpectedly get purple labels, even if the "work" that gets the label is not anything that I, or anyone outside the hobby would call restoration, because it's a part of the market.

 

But those who say they don't want books at all if they come back purple need to accept and abide by the terms that were set and agreed (which generally include refund or exchange or, in some cases, even slab fees paid). But if a buyer starts by saying "I don't want it it if comes back purple" shouldn't say, afterward, that they don't want to return the book but want to keep the book and get much, most or even all their money back. (the common practice of resto "removal" makes all the above even more important)

 

But, unfortunately, many people, in all kinds of business, believe that all contracts have an unwritten clause that says, effectively, "if I decide later that I don't like parts of our agreement, I get to dishonor all the parts I don't like while holding you to all the parts I do like, even if the result is that I get back everything I gave you and keep everything you gave me."

 

Item 10.51 in the terms & conditions - the "IGETTOBEABLOODYCHILDPROVISION"

[Junkdrawer]

You left out the part where you told us you wanted a full refund and you wanted to keep the book. Can you clarify that?

 

Rob Reynolds

Director of Consignments

I hate when they leave out the good parts

[TC33]

Yes, I had a bad experience with an undisclosed restored book and a couple vastly overgraded books with missed major defects. I think I had just barely missed the 10 day complaint period or something on some, so it was "my fault for not catching it sooner" or something. I kept fighting until I got some minor concession. They blamed it on some bad grader that was let go and was no longer there etc. I have still seen significantly overgraded raw books too many times. I still worry that if the restoration is not obvious at first glance, it could be missed (or other important defects worth noting), so I would be careful on any raw book of major significance/cost. Still some decent deals to be had for CGC graded books there though!

 

[Aman619]

wait. if he returns the book for a full refund, buyer is still out the shipping and slabbing costs. At that point Metro has their book back at zero cost but buyer is still out $50 bucks or so.

 

is that a fair result? Isn't the customer supposed to get the benefit of the doubt?

 

So Im thinking thats how the idea that buyer keep the now devalued trimmed book came about, to make the deal end up more evenly. Buyer now owns a $25 book he paid $50 for, losing 25 bucks, and Metro lost $25 (the value of the now trimmed book when back in its inventory... assuming it goes back in as a trimmed copy.

 

right?

[FFB]

wait. if he returns the book for a full refund, buyer is still out the shipping and slabbing costs. At that point Metro has their book back at zero cost but buyer is still out $50 bucks or so.

 

is that a fair result? Isn't the customer supposed to get the benefit of the doubt?

 

So Im thinking thats how the idea that buyer keep the now devalued trimmed book came about, to make the deal end up more evenly. Buyer now owns a $25 book he paid $50 for, losing 25 bucks, and Metro lost $25 (the value of the now trimmed book when back in its inventory... assuming it goes back in as a trimmed copy.

 

right?

 

The answer is that if the customer wants to have the guarantee of no restoration, he should buy a copy already CGC graded. Metro's policy is clear and it is what it is. If you or anyone else does not like their policy, then the option is not to buy from them. There is risk to the buyer and the seller with an unslabbed copy and it is between the buyer and the seller to allocate risk before entering into the transaction, and then to live with whatever the arrangement was after the fact. Metro is not an insurance company that guarantees CGC grades or guarantees no restoration will ever be found at any time in the future beyond 10 days. If they have a 10-day return policy, then the buyer needs to abide by the policy or not buy the books.

 

Metro has rights too in a transaction, and just because they are the dealer does not mean that they have to alter the terms of the sale merely because the buyer does not know how to spot restoration or does not get the book looked at by someone who does prior to the expiration of the return period.

 

My firm belief is that if people are buying raw, expensive books without knowing how to spot restoration, then the risk they are taking is their own. You can't blame it on Metro for not catching everything, nor can you fault Metro when someone decided to spend a lot of money on raw books without learning how to protect his own interests by spotting restoration or grading accurately first.

[Aman619]

 

customer service pays off in the end in nearly all businesses, the law excluded perhaps. For 20 bucks in this case, creating a happy customer --- even if ( by your estimation) an uneducated foolish raw comics buyer who can't spot trimming, (as though nearly everyone else can}, is a potential REPEAT customer.

[FFB]

 

customer service pays off in the end in nearly all businesses, the law excluded perhaps. For 20 bucks in this case, creating a happy customer --- even if ( by your estimation) an uneducated foolish raw comics buyer who can't spot trimming, (as though nearly everyone else can}, is a potential REPEAT customer.

 

Since we're talking about "this" case, they guy wanted a full refund AND to keep the book. If I am Metro, I don't want this guy as a repeat customer.

 

And thanks for the douchey comment about my profession.

[Mephisto]

 

customer service pays off in the end in nearly all businesses, the law excluded perhaps. For 20 bucks in this case, creating a happy customer --- even if ( by your estimation) an uneducated foolish raw comics buyer who can't spot trimming, (as though nearly everyone else can}, is a potential REPEAT customer.

 

Since we're talking about "this" case, they guy wanted a full refund AND to keep the book. If I am Metro, I don't want this guy as a repeat customer.

 

And thanks for the douchey comment about my profession.

 

Hmm I would have thought he was talking about law enforcement officers, cops, etc...not lawyers.

[Buzzetta]

I have dealt with the people that run Metropolis before they even formed Metropolis. They are a group of people that have lasted so long in selling comic books due to their diligence in providing quality books with excellent customer service.

 

Now, while I have made quite a few purchases from them over the years, the majority of my collection is not even built from books that they have sold me. This is due to the high demand of people that WANT to buy from them. I keep getting outbid!!! When you are in the market for a book, Metropolis immediately comes to mind along with some of the other big players such as Yee and Reece. Their market longevity and repeat customer base clearly indicates an overall majority of satisfied customers.

 

If they missed restoration, it was not due to any intent to defraud nor squeeze extra money out of their customer base. This thread should have ended awhile ago once it was revealed that the original poster wanted a refund as well as keep the book.

 

Sounds like the same type of buffoon who would eat half a steak then loudly complain that they want their money back because it was not cooked to their liking. These type of people are very harmful to all hobbies.

[nochips]

OK, lets try it this way. You buy a book from Metro as a raw 8.5 VF+..You send it to CGC and they call it a NM 9.2...do you call Metro and volunteer to give them more money? After all the book was better than described?

 

I think it's great that Metro wanted to do something here. What if that buyer bought the book on ebay? Bought is an VF+ 8.5 and it comes back 9.4...Do we email the ebay seller and offer to pay him or her more money? When is the book yours and no longer theirs? When are you the "owner" assuming full responsibility for that which you bought?

[B-Smooth]

Any credibility the OP may have had was destroyed with Metro's rebuttal.

[Lethal_Collector]

This thread is the pinnacle example as to why I love CGC. Their grading system is a bonus, but restoration detection is why CGC rocks

 

Now there is no excuse to avoid this situation, if you are concerned about resto, buy a slabbed book and be done with it.

 

 

Jerome