Article on buyer beware for comics

[comix4fun]

Wait, wasn't the lady that did THIS considered a legit art conservationist (or whatever the title is)

 

 

I think quality and education have to be balanced in most cases. Even the best trained people might still suck.

 

 

No, no she wasn't.

[Doktor]

Sorry.. forgot the "joke" tag on the 1st half of that post.

[comix4fun]

Sorry.. forgot the "joke" tag on the 1st half of that post.

 

 

If she had been an expert she would have been paddled out of the profession by now.

[Robot Man]

I agree with all of you concerning Ritchie. He is one of a kind! There are dealers that have been doing this so long that they are pretty jaded and he is one of them. He can be very friendly if he wants to or rude as hell if he wants to. I've kind of learned how to deal with him I guess. If interested in a book at a show I always ask him "if there has been any work done to it?" I don't say the "R" word. He is always honest and tells me. Just his ideas and the rest of us are pretty far off. Just got to know what you are buying to make a good decision. I don't buy much from him because of this and his high prices but have gotton a few good books if I play his game. There are other dealers that I won't mention by name that also seem to have a bit of an attitude or outragous prices. I usually just pass them by...

 

I do look through his cheap table books though. I have found some cool stuff in his $10 or $20 piles. He knows I am picking the books he salts the pile with. He loves to put archival tape on spines and tears on these but if it's a cool book at a good price I'll take it. Here's on of those $10. books. I hate that tape. I would rather he just left it alone but for a 10 spot, I was all over it.

 

[kazoo]

Muchin is a "character", but despite the gruff manner I have found him to be honest and upfront about work done to books if you ask him.

 

He knows a LOT about comics, especially obscure Golden Age, and will talk your ear off about it if you're interested (or even if you're not!).

 

Interesting to me is that his "controversial" opinion on conservation vs. restoration has been vindicated by CGC's reversal of their earlier stance. I have always agreed with him that a tear seal is VERY different from a piece added and painted to replace something missing. Funny how those who ridiculed him are quiet now that CGC "evolved" to agree....

[dupont2005]

Except the point of the thread is that things he still considers conservation are ruled as restoration by CGC, and he is misleading customers into thinking his restoration is conservation to this day. Unless I missed something.

[Robot Man]

As I've said. I do not defend Ritchie or any other dealer's actions. This hobby has always been "buyer beware". Always, ask questions and if it doesn't feel right pass. It's too bad you can't trust dealers, especially big dealers but I've been burned by all pretty many of them at one time or another weather an honest mistake or downright lying. Any one who spends more than they feel comfortable losing better do their homework. Ritchie usually only delvuges resto when asked. So, therefore, I deal with him with a lot of caution.

 

And never get into a conversation with him other than the negoation. You will never get loose...

[NP_Gresham]

Muchin is a "character", but despite the gruff manner I have found him to be honest and upfront about work done to books if you ask him.

 

He knows a LOT about comics, especially obscure Golden Age, and will talk your ear off about it if you're interested (or even if you're not!).

 

Interesting to me is that his "controversial" opinion on conservation vs. restoration has been vindicated by CGC's reversal of their earlier stance. I have always agreed with him that a tear seal is VERY different from a piece added and painted to replace something missing. Funny how those who ridiculed him are quiet now that CGC "evolved" to agree....

He has NEVER answered a question I sent him on his eBay listings.

If he objects to eBay like he does to CGC, maybe he should stop listing there instead ignoring questions.

[Robot Man]

I would NEVER buy from one of his ebay listings ESPECIALLY if he does not answer your questions. I ONLY buy from him at a show where I can examine the book personally and talk face to face. If he gives me attitude, I hand him back the book and walk away. Funny part is, he doesn't really seem to care. How you stay in buisness like that is way beyond me...

[the blob]

he usually has some good $1-$5-$10books at shows though. i'd hate to think they're restored at that price. well, i guess the ones with tape on them, but i avoid those usually.

[Buzzetta]

Guy was always nice to me as a kid and took the time to answer my questions, knowing I did not have the money to buy the big books from him. For that, I am always appreciative.

 

However with that said, there was a time period when many dealers at those LI shows in the early 90's and late 80's, lined the spine with a sharpie if you know what I mean.

 

Hell I remember watching my LCS owner doing it to new releases in order to get rid of some spine tics on the copies that remained by the end of the month.

 

 

[MrBedrock]

The guy got a purple label and of course Tomorrow's Treasures is selling restored books. He adds rice paper to the comics (basically leaf casting in some way) and says he is conserving them.

Just for clarity...adding rice paper (to seal tears or support weak spine paper) and leaf casting (actually immersing segments of paper in a liquid pulp solution to mend or replace entire missing sections of paper) are two radically different processes. Richie does not do leaf-casting, at least as of now.

[Robot Man]

How about that ugly archival tape he uses? I saw him do it to a very rough Suspense #3. Totally ruined it.

 

And Richard, you are one of the "good" dealers!

[MrBedrock]

How about that ugly archival tape he uses? I saw him do it to a very rough Suspense #3. Totally ruined it.

 

And Richard, you are one of the "good" dealers!

Thanks Bob.

 

The one good thing about archival tape is that the adhesive is water soluble and therefore easily reversible. But it isn't transparent and it looks ugly as hell, especially when applied on the exterior of the cover.

[jimjum12]

For those who don't know Richie M...... he carries a nice 20 dollar gold piece.... you can make him an offer on a book and request the "coin toss"..... if he agrees and loses the toss... you get the discount, if he wins, however, it's full price for you. GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

[Robot Man]

Is it a two headed gold piece?

[skypinkblu]

I stopped buying from him because he kept trying to sell me the same book as a 6.5 and I'd take it out and see a 2" spine split ...and he's say "whoops I missed that", but he's put it back in the same place and by the next show when I'd forget I saw it at his table and looked again (finding the same split) he'd repeat the process...I figured eventually I'd forget to look.

 

Other than that...he was always very informative and talkative. He had my husband pinned behind his table for about an hour once. My husband knows nothing about comics (nor does he care very much) but he loves the METS and so does Richie.

 

I'm guessing when you were a kid, you didn't mind the METS;)

 

So I avoid him and Crazy Ed...I will walk around 2 aisles to miss them...but Richie knows his stuff. Ed talks so much, I have no idea what he really knows;)

[Unca Ben]

I agree with all of you concerning Ritchie. He is one of a kind! There are dealers that have been doing this so long that they are pretty jaded and he is one of them. He can be very friendly if he wants to or rude as hell if he wants to. I've kind of learned how to deal with him I guess. If interested in a book at a show I always ask him "if there has been any work done to it?" I don't say the "R" word. He is always honest and tells me. Just his ideas and the rest of us are pretty far off. Just got to know what you are buying to make a good decision. I don't buy much from him because of this and his high prices but have gotton a few good books if I play his game. There are other dealers that I won't mention by name that also seem to have a bit of an attitude or outragous prices. I usually just pass them by...

 

I do look through his cheap table books though. I have found some cool stuff in his $10 or $20 piles. He knows I am picking the books he salts the pile with. He loves to put archival tape on spines and tears on these but if it's a cool book at a good price I'll take it. Here's on of those $10. books. I hate that tape. I would rather he just left it alone but for a 10 spot, I was all over it.

 

 

John Rosenberger cover

[Wall-Crawler]

I started lurking on the GA forum here (and still do from time to time), thought I would pick up a few GA books with some cool horror and sci-fi covers and I came across his site on eBay.

 

I sent him a few questions about a couple of books...Not a single reply. Nothing. These were pretty basic questions too. Someone who can't be "bothered" to answer a simple question on some items they are selling, won't get my business.

 

I just don't understand how some people can operate like that.