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Are these auctions real or a scam?

Started by ericc123,

59 posts in this topic

COI

COI

Posted
Posted

Yeah, because he used the Heritage scan, so it would look "fine".

 

The bar code matches. You want backround on the book?

 

It was listed in the December auction. The consignor had a huge HG Spidey collection with incredible books/grades. This copy reached over 125K with the reserve not being met. So if he owned this copy, why would he consign it to Heritage with a reserve set over 125K, then list it now using a "0" id and a private auction, with an opening bid of 35K with no reserve?

 

Not to mention the fact that as soon as this book hit the Heritage database, this insufficiently_thoughtful_person tried listing it on ebay, WHILE THE HERITAGE AUCTION WAS STILL GOING ON. Did you catch that? If he did own this book, how could he auction of this copy while consigning it at Heritage at the same time, using the same scan?

 

Is this not enough damning evidence for you? This is a small hobby, and people who are aware of the market know the score. We're not posting these things for the sake of slander, we're posting to expose these fraud @ssholes. To say "leave it to the buyer" is such a weak attitude. Just because someone acts foolishly, dosen't mean they deserve punishment. We all make mistakes. If a girl dresses provocatively and gets a little drunk, that's a mistake. But does that mean she deserves to be raped?

 

This hobby is highly un-regulated, and we are trying to act like a nieghborhood watch to try to prevent people from getting burned and turning away from the hobby. Your passive attitude is disturbing.

 

 

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BachelorOfComix

BachelorOfComix

Posted
Posted

Serials are merely one aspect of many which must be considered. The serials are clearly visible in the Heritage scans so anyone has access to them. Other things to consider:

 

1. will the seller accept escrow? I don't think any legitimate seller will turn down escrow particularly on an expensive item.

 

2. payment methods accepted by the seller: the Australian seller only accepts direct wire transfer which is VERY, VERY risky.

 

3. low feedback

 

There are many other considerations, but it's late & I'm sure the other board members can fill you in.

 

Cheers,

 

Bachelor of Comics

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Joanna

Joanna

Posted
Posted

Lisa,

 

I was talking to a good friend of mine on the phone yesterday and she casually asked me if I had gotten the ebay message to update ID information. I all but screamed, "Don't do it! It's a fraud!" With just a couple of words, how did I know that it was a fraud? My friend is very intelligent, but she was uncertain. How did I know so quickly and certainly?

 

Because it was a thread on this forum, that's how. Everyone was alerted to the fraud, a copy of the message was posted and thus, valuable information was shared.

 

She forwarded the message to me, I recognized it and corroborated that yes, this was the fraud email. In other words, my initial reaction had been corroborated, even though I had very little to go on. The reason is simple - I recognized the danger signs, because of that thread.

 

Should I have kept quiet? Should I have let her push that link and enter her ebay password, credit card info, etc. "just in case it was legit?" Should I send my bank info to every Nigerian who writes to me about secret millions?

 

You might think so, but I don't. I think that if you are aware of a fraud, you should tell people. So if someone here looks at an auction and sees CGC books with fake labels, I think it is a GOOD thing that they tell everyone else. I think if they see someone in another country selling a book that they know belongs to someone else, they should mention it.

 

The guys here don't shout fraud about every auction on ebay. Many of us here are ebay sellers,and we spend our days posting legitimate auctions. It wouldn't be very nice if our auctions were called fraudulent, so we would never condone injudicious claims against all sellers.

 

But the auctions where the evidence is there? Call it. The Australian seller is selling a book he doesn't own. The guy who was the subject of this thread, was selling books with bogus CGC labels. Feel free to send them thousands of dollars.

 

Lisa, you accused everyone here of jumping to conclusions, and called that wrong. Yet you jumped to the conclusion that the guys here were slinging false accusations without any knowledge or proof of the subject. You're living in a glass house, sounding self-riteous as you toss your stones. Please do as you told everyone here to do -- know your facts before tossing accusations.

 

-- Joanna

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Mushroom

Mushroom

Posted
Posted

On the basis of your argument I should be left out of pocket nearly $1000 US for my stupidity. How absurd is that. I am not a rookie, I simply fell into the old trap of not paying attention due to the shortage of time (work related). This forum only alerted the high bidders that there may be an issue here about the legitimacy of the books. As a result I was able to make enquiries with the following results:

 

Asked for both CGC codes........ after two days received only one

Had the code checked with CGC ................ invalid code.

 

One of the other high bidders offered to meet this guy to view the books. After originally agreeing to do so he then reneged.

 

Given the only facts I can deal with I am extremely thankful that I did not fork over my money. We gave this guy every chance to prove the validity of his auctions but he failed.

 

 

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14 of spades

14 of spades

Posted
Posted

as someone caught in the "scam", i can now count a list of things that makes me weary of the whole situation.

 

1. demands that we pay by MO or CC to a PO Box

2. provides no home address

3. fuzzy scans on the auctions that provide little to no detail on the items sold

4. in the scans, where the items COULD be made out, the comics did not appear to be consistent with the assigned grade (e.g. a NM comic should not have damage all along the top of the comic)

5. failure to reply to emails requesting serial numbers. and if he did reply, the numbers were either non-existent, or for the wrong book

6. the guy can't spell

7. his only communication to us has been in the way of ultimatums

8. 3-day auctions with no reserves on such things as X Men 14 CGC 9.4

9. absolutely turned down an offer by one of the high bidders to pay in person and pick up the books

10. the scans provided left no room b/w the comic and the slab - an impossible situation with regards to a CGC holder

11. subsequent close-up scans of the slabs sent to some of the high bidders were in the wrong font size (too large)

12. his auctions were discussed on a comic-collector's discussion board (this one) as being almost definitely fraudulent (i.e. according to expert opinion)

 

though not all the above items i would deem INDICATIVE of a scam, some of the items by themselves ARE INDICATIVE of a scam and would cast doubt on the authenticity of the auctions (such as points 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12). so if you consider the SUM of all the doubts - the likelihood of the auctions being authentic is left at a very very slim margin.

 

i am not being cynical. i'm just not being so blatantly stupid as to send some guy an $800 check for a comic that doesn't exist. given the above points, who would do otherwise?

 

 

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COI

COI

Posted
Posted

Ubiquiti, I love that avatar. It keeps catching my eye and I can't concentrate. One of those ladies is my favorite *cough* actress. wink.gif

 

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Mushroom

Mushroom

Posted
Posted

Sorry for the length of the post but can somebody tell me what the #$%*&^% point is of trying to deal with ebay over these issues. They ask for feedback about their response which in itself seems like some sort of sick joke.

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----

From: eBay Customer Support [mailto:rswebform@ebay.com]

Sent: Thursday, 13 February 2003 1:39 AM

To: Billington, John (AU - Melb)

Subject: Re: Reply from eBay (KMM71275338V8801L0KM)

 

Hello,

 

Thank you for writing in. I am sorry to hear about the situation.

 

I understand your concern in this situation. Sometimes problems do arise

in completing an eBay transaction with your seller. In these situations,

I encourage you to maintain an open, professional dialogue with the

seller and to do whatever you can to resolve the issues. I've found that

one of the best ways to come to a mutually beneficial agreement with

your Seller is to give the Seller a telephone call. You can obtain a

Seller's phone number by clicking the link below:

 

http://cgi3.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?MemberSearchShow

 

You can also obtain a seller's contact information by clicking on the

"Search" link at the top of most eBay pages and then clicking on the

"Find Members" link that appears below. Please note that you must have

an item number in order to obtain this information.

 

For more serious disagreements, please consider the dispute resolution

services that are available to you and the Seller. If you'd like more

information concerning this option, please see the following URL:

 

http://pages.ebay.com/services/buyandsell/disputeres.html

 

In order to avoid similar situations in the future, please report any

selling offenses made by the seller. The following URL provides a list

of these offenses and a links to report any of these violations:

 

http://pages.ebay.com/help/community/investigates.html#selling

 

Also, in my experience, one of the best resources available to you is

the advice of other eBay Members. The easiest way to ask other members

for some advice is to go to our Q&A Board and ask for tips on how to

handle your situation. Chances are one or more of our users have

experienced what you're experiencing and can assist you. This Q&A board

can be accessed at this link:

 

http://cgi3.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBoard&name=qa

 

You can also reach the Q&A board and many other services provided to

assist you by clicking on the "site map" link found at the top of any

page on the site.

 

We are happy to have you be part of our community and wish you luck on

all your future eBay experiences.

 

Regards,

 

Merlee M.S.

eBay Customer Support

 

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Original Message Follows:

-------------------------

 

Form Message

Subject: I want to file a Fraud Complaint. 43140001 #AU RD2 US

Item:

Message:

rustysstarwars

Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.5; Windows NT 5.0; Hotbar 4.1.8.0)

 

Please note that this complaint relates to ebay items:

2155743025

2155744774

 

I was the high bidder on the above two items. At close of auction I

requested the seller to provide me with the CGC reference codes so that

I could get the items verified (due to the scans being unreadable). The

seller (after 2 days) came back with only one reference number. I had

the code checked with Comic Guaranty (CGC) who advised that it was an

invalid code. I have refused to pay on the basis that I do not believe

that these books exist. One of the high bidders on another of his

auctions offered to come and view the books in person. After originally

agreeing to let this happen he reneged. I have attached a number of

emails related to this transaction.

 

-----Original Message-----

From: Billington, John (AU - Sydney)

Sent: Thursday, 30 January 2003 10:12 AM

To: 'rustysstarwars@aol.com'

Subject: FW: Question from eBay Member

 

Hi,

 

Was just wondering if you had had the chance to get the cgc id codes

yet?

 

John

 

-----Original Message-----

From: Billington, John (AU - Sydney)

Sent: Wednesday, 29 January 2003 1:03 PM

To: 'rustysstarwars@aol.com'

Subject: Question from eBay Member

 

 

Hello

 

I was the successful bidder on two of your ebay auctions and would like

to inquire about the serial numbers of the CGC items. The ebay auctions

in question were:

 

2155743025

2155744774

 

As the images of the items were unclear it is just prudent business

practice to obtain the numbers so that I can have them verified with

CGC.

 

Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

 

John

 

--------------------

 

-----Original Message-----

From: Rustysstarwars@aol.com [mailto:Rustysstarwars@aol.com]

Sent: Saturday, 1 February 2003 1:00 PM

To: Billington, John (AU - Sydney)

Subject: Re: FW: Question from eBay Member

THE # ON THE COMIC IS 0112803012.AND I WILL SEND A CLOSE UP OF THE #

SINCE THIS SEEMS TO BE A BIG DEAL WITH THESE COMICS.

THANKS RUSTY

-----Original Message-----

From: Billington, John (AU - Sydney)

Sent: Wednesday, 5 February 2003 9:52 AM

To: 'Rustysstarwars@aol.com'

Subject: RE: FW: Question from eBay Member

Rusty,

 

I must say that I am in a bit of a dilemma. Firstly you only gave me one

CGC reference code even though I won two books. Besides that, I checked

the reference code that you did give me with CGC and they have informed

me that that reference code is not valid. I am not saying that this is

your issue and that you have done anything deliberate but I have to

seriously doubt the validity of the items that you have obtained.

 

As you know these comic books are seriously high grade and I have a lot

of money at stake. Unless I can be certain of their provenance then I

have to assume that the goods I bid for were incorrectly represented on

ebay.

 

I would appreciate your views.

 

John

-----Original Message-----

From: Rustysstarwars@aol.com [mailto:Rustysstarwars@aol.com]

Sent: Tuesday, 4 February 2003 4:53 PM

To: Billington, John (AU - Sydney)

Subject: Re: FW: Question from eBay Member

are you sending payment for the auction(s) that you won. yes or no will

do.

please let me know, rusty

 

-----Original Message-----

From: Billington, John (AU - Sydney)

Sent: Wednesday, 5 February 2003 12:42 PM

To: 'Rustysstarwars@aol.com'

Subject: RE: FW: Question from eBay Member

 

Rusty,

 

You will do what you have to do. On the basis of the reference number

for the CGC comic you provided me being incorrect and the fact that you

only provided one of the two numbers I asked for then this amounts to

misrepresentation of an item and subsequently is regarded as fraud if

the deal proceeds. Ignorance is not an excuse.

 

I am not saying that you have deliberately attempted to mislead any of

the auctions but knowing that the comics are not what you were putting

up is in my mind wrong if you expect us to pay. You should crack the

slabs and sell them as raw comics and see what the market determines

their worth as. Having a CGC label brings a premium in the market for

the relevant grade and I will not pay this premium on the basis of the

evidence I have.

 

You can get your final auction fee refunded and therefore should not be

out of pocket.

 

If you file a neg against me for non paying then I will be forced to

file a fraud alert against you as well as respond with a negative

feedback. I do not want to do this and would hope that common sense will

prevail.

 

John

-----Original Message-----

From: Rustysstarwars@aol.com [mailto:Rustysstarwars@aol.com]

Sent: Wednesday, 5 February 2003 11:17 AM

To: Billington, John (AU - Sydney)

Subject: Re: FW: Question from eBay Member

THEY WERE DISCRIBED TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE AND IF PAYMENT IS NOT

RECIEVED I WILL BE FORCED INTO FILING NON-PAYING BIDDER

 

-----Original Message-----

From: Billington, John (AU - Melb)

Sent: Monday, 10 February 2003 9:34 AM

To: 'Rustysstarwars@aol.com'

Subject: RE: FW: Question from eBay Member

 

What is your problem? You are trying to perpetrate a fraud by selling

goods under a false and misleading description. Do you realize that mail

fraud in the USA is a jailable offence? You cannot prove you have the

correct goods, you won t let somebody come and inspect them and the

numbers you give are incorrect. I WILL be lodging a fraud complaint

against you if you continue this ridiculous situation.

 

John

 

-----Original Message-----

From: Rustysstarwars@aol.com [mailto:Rustysstarwars@aol.com]

Sent: Saturday, 8 February 2003 11:54 AM

To: Billington, John (AU - Melb)

Subject: Re: FW: Question from eBay Member

 

i stated in an earlier e-mail that all money orders must be in by the

14th and any that are not will be held as non-paying bidder and

appropriate feedback will be given.if you intend to pay let me know if

not still let me know so i can begin the process of filing.a yes or no

will be fine.

 

thanks..... rusty wars

 

-----Original Message-----

From: Rustysstarwars@aol.com [mailto:Rustysstarwars@aol.com]

Sent: Monday, 10 February 2003 11:25 AM

To: Billington, John (AU - Melb)

Subject: Re: FW: Question from eBay Member

 

well i am finished with the games

 

 

 

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Tomega

Tomega

Posted
Posted

And this is a result because nobody was willing to give him negative feedbacks for selling fraudulent CGC material. I was the one ( probably more people as well) that emailed his buyers to check the legitimacy of his auctions. It turned out the CGC's were fake - and not a single person left him a negative feedback. Another example of people being afraid of retaliatory feedback. Now there is still no help or "protection" for future buyers of this sellers auctions. This is why eBay a bad place sometimes and it is not just bad sellers.

Tom

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Rickdogg

Rickdogg

Posted
Posted

That is so true! I just leave the negatives! mad.gif If people continue to do this, then what is the point of the feedback system? People need to take a deep breath, grab their balls, and flip off these types of sellers grin.gif

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Mushroom

Mushroom

Posted
Posted

Guys,

 

On the one hand (in other threads) you say to hit with a neg just before the 90 days to avoid retaliation but now you say nobody has the balls to neg this guy. Sounds like double standards.

 

Check his feedback now.

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