Is sneaky marketing ok as long as it brings in the comic buyers?

[jsilverjanet]

Speaking of which, I was going to post this when Chris gave that award.

 

Previous winner perhaps?

 

 

Also, I avoid selling via auction style like the bubonic plague.If you really want to be on the receiving end of taking a hard one, I'd suggest trolling Craigslist for a transsexual and getting it done with, minus the 7 day wait.

 

 

::ca-ching:: :: Hi-hat::

(STUDIO AUDIENCE APPLAUSE lights flashing)

 

 

[wombat]

Let's not discourage any discussion about boobs.

 

When they are about boobs on dudes, discourage away.

 

It's a slippery slope.

[comix4fun]

Kind of like a tease.

 

If a guy gets boobs and takes some pictures of the boobs and asks you to come over wouldn't you assume it was a girl and be pissed when it was a guy. You made the assumption that it was a girl since they never said it out loud but isn't the fault on the other person since all the evidence was presented in a manner to trick you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nice! I'm sure the previous winner is pissed to give up the title.

 

 

He's going to have to step up his game to compete.

[loadstone]

Whether it was intentional or not is debatable though I always expect the worst and hope for the best, the part that would be wrong is if they didn't respond to inquiries about whether the variant was the Hughes or Mexican variant or requests for a full cover shot of the comic. If you flat out asked them and they didn't respond then I would say it's a sketchy situation and you should have just avoided them. Your mistake was in buying from them if your purchase was in any way contingent upon the variant being the Hughes variant.

 

This assumed representation marketing tactic is used all the time by various industries. It's not a bait and switch. Instead it relies on percieved representation to get buyers into the store or to shop around. It's up to us to determine if it's worth our time or effort in finding out if the deal really exists.

[bababooey]

Speaking of which, I was going to post this when Chris gave that award.

 

Previous winner perhaps?

 

 

Also, I avoid selling via auction style like the bubonic plague.If you really want to be on the receiving end of taking a hard one, I'd suggest trolling Craigslist for a transsexual and getting it done with, minus the 7 day wait.

 

 

::ca-ching:: :: Hi-hat::

(STUDIO AUDIENCE APPLAUSE lights flashing)

 

 

I think he retracted that post.

[1Cool]

This is a recent variant? ... advertising to the younger demographic is different than to the vintage buyers, I'd say. It is Facebook too... If you're going fishing in that hole, suck it up.

 

As you and other have said - its Facebook so buyer beware. Probably why I should have just let it drop but it got under my skin.

 

Would this type of sales tactic fly on the boards. If I posted up a group picture and said all of these books will be posted up for sale tonight and included a half picture of a hot book like Werewolf By Night 32 or a X-Men 1. I then waited all the way to the end of the sales thread and posted up a book with mold all over the side that was hidden in the picture. People of course would be PMing me like crazy to find out the price and condition of the book but I just ignore the PMs and kept on posting up my random books. I'd expect some pissed off buyers at the end of that sales thread. Or am I to understand people would say "oh well - he never said it was in good condition" and let it drop?

[zuulioso]

This is a recent variant? ... advertising to the younger demographic is different than to the vintage buyers, I'd say. It is Facebook too... If you're going fishing in that hole, suck it up.

 

As you and other have said - its Facebook so buyer beware. Probably why I should have just let it drop but it got under my skin.

 

Would this type of sales tactic fly on the boards. If I posted up a group picture and said all of these books will be posted up for sale tonight and included a half picture of a hot book like Werewolf By Night 32 or a X-Men 1. I then waited all the way to the end of the sales thread and posted up a book with mold all over the side that was hidden in the picture. People of course would be PMing me like crazy to find out the price and condition of the book but I just ignore the PMs and kept on posting up my random books. I'd expect some pissed off buyers at the end of that sales thread. Or am I to understand people would say "oh well - he never said it was in good condition" and let it drop?

 

Is that different then providing a list of books that will be in the thread with no grade or price? Is that wrong? Because I do that.

[1Cool]

This is a recent variant? ... advertising to the younger demographic is different than to the vintage buyers, I'd say. It is Facebook too... If you're going fishing in that hole, suck it up.

 

As you and other have said - its Facebook so buyer beware. Probably why I should have just let it drop but it got under my skin.

 

Would this type of sales tactic fly on the boards. If I posted up a group picture and said all of these books will be posted up for sale tonight and included a half picture of a hot book like Werewolf By Night 32 or a X-Men 1. I then waited all the way to the end of the sales thread and posted up a book with mold all over the side that was hidden in the picture. People of course would be PMing me like crazy to find out the price and condition of the book but I just ignore the PMs and kept on posting up my random books. I'd expect some pissed off buyers at the end of that sales thread. Or am I to understand people would say "oh well - he never said it was in good condition" and let it drop?

 

Is that different then providing a list of books that will be in the thread with no grade or price? Is that wrong? Because I do that.

 

Good point. I would say no since you are giving no information about the book at all. The person really has no idea what grade the book could be. By taking a picture of the "good" side of the book you are in my opinion trying to trick someone into assuming the book is a much higher grade than it actually is in the hopes of getting people to hang out in your thread.

[Gsims718]

if it was the American copy, and just had a really ragged spine, would you still cancel your transaction?

 

[jsilverjanet]

Speaking of which, I was going to post this when Chris gave that award.

 

Previous winner perhaps?

 

 

Also, I avoid selling via auction style like the bubonic plague.If you really want to be on the receiving end of taking a hard one, I'd suggest trolling Craigslist for a transsexual and getting it done with, minus the 7 day wait.

 

 

::ca-ching:: :: Hi-hat::

(STUDIO AUDIENCE APPLAUSE lights flashing)

 

 

I think he retracted that post.

 

It's still there :shrug:

[Jeffro.]

So my takeaway from all this is that Mexican variants are just like trannies.

 

Is it his birthday again?

[Jeffro.]

 

So, you see something that that you can potentially flip for phat stacks in a picture. You lie in wait for that to be posted, hoping it is cheap enough to allow for sufficient stack phatness. When it turns out to be a reprint, even though the seller made no mention of what it was or wasn't, you assume that he hid it on purpose, get pissed, cancel other purchases, and then make a thread about it on the Internet?

 

via Imgflip Meme Maker

 

Here is the picture he posted which is why I feel he intentionally covered up the Mexico logo on the left side. Did I assume incorrectly?

 

 

 

I would have agreed with you that it looks like he's hiding the wording on that variant, but it looks like the book next to it has 2 autographs on the front cover and one is near the right hand border...so that book gets shown without overlap.

 

Could be intentional to hide the variant or he could be trying to show off the sigs.

 

Either way you've got as much to assume he did nothing wrong as that he did something wrong. 50-50 propositions tell me I should keep my assumptions to myself.

 

It would be naïve to think he didn't know what he was doing. He covered up the logo on the book. He repeatedly did not answer questions about the price of the book. His prices were dead on FMV. I'm comfortable saying he knew what he was doing. The question is was it right.

 

I asked him to let me out of buying his book and he agreed so we are good but I'm most concerned about the idea that it's ok to blatantly be sneaky to draw in customers. Maybe its common practice and I just do not notice it.

 

 

I thought you were asking a real question and fielding honest opinions. If you just wanted people to agree with you then you shouldn't ask the question so open ended.

 

I don't think I've shot down anyone's opinion but I will present additional info that may have been over looked or may help back up my own opinion. I'm definitely the type to say when I'm wrong but in this case I still feel he was misleading by how he took the picture.

 

Be that as it may. Is Sean on target here?

 

It's not. This is an irrational temper tantrum over not scoring a flip target. And finishing the job of throwing all the toys out of the pram by cancelling another sale.

 

[Transplant]

So my takeaway from all this is that Mexican variants are just like trannies.

 

Is it his birthday again?

I do NOT approve of this thread.

[EC ed]

My wife (and several people on Facebook) sided with the seller

 

I agree with them. Seller did nothing wrong.

 

I also agree with seanfingh

[1Cool]

My wife (and several people on Facebook) sided with the seller

 

I agree with them. Seller did nothing wrong.

 

I also agree with seanfingh

 

The fact that you are agreeing with him holds a lot of weight. I'll let me wife know you guys agree with her since it will make her day.

[1Cool]

if it was the American copy, and just had a really ragged spine, would you still cancel your transaction?

 

Probably if it looked like he covered up the spine intentionally and left the perfect rest of book in the picture. It also was the way he went about it. The autograph books which are in front were the first and second books offered. He waited until the last book to lay the book on the group. Several people made comments like "I knew it had to be the Mexico variant" or joked about waiting for the book. Sounds like the majority of people think its a perfectly valid sales tactic. Who knew.

[VintageComics]

'Right' and 'wrong' come down to intent on the part of the seller.

 

Did the seller intend to deceive?

 

Maybe yes and maybe no.

 

If it was a yes, I personally consider it wrong but it's impossible to prove unless you can either read minds or he admits to it.

 

But it happens all the time. People dangle carrots all the time in business, in marketing and especially in small niche hobbies where emotions run high.

 

A favorite tactic of some show dealers when uncovering a new collection is to have everyone attack the boxes at once. That buying frenzy gets people swept up and often people buy more than they regularly would without the pressure.

 

In sales it's called introducing 'fear of loss' and it introduces an urgency that normally wouldn't be there.

 

What is wrong in my opinion is to commit to a sale and then back out of it because you didn't score something bigger that you were hoping to score. It's no different than someone bidding on a book and winning it and then trying to pair it up with another purchase to save on shipping but they lose on the second purchase. Do they now back out of the first deal?

 

You eat your wins and your losses. That's the way it goes when you gamble.

 

 

 

 

[1Cool]

 

So, you see something that that you can potentially flip for phat stacks in a picture. You lie in wait for that to be posted, hoping it is cheap enough to allow for sufficient stack phatness. When it turns out to be a reprint, even though the seller made no mention of what it was or wasn't, you assume that he hid it on purpose, get pissed, cancel other purchases, and then make a thread about it on the Internet?

 

via Imgflip Meme Maker

 

Here is the picture he posted which is why I feel he intentionally covered up the Mexico logo on the left side. Did I assume incorrectly?

 

 

 

I would have agreed with you that it looks like he's hiding the wording on that variant, but it looks like the book next to it has 2 autographs on the front cover and one is near the right hand border...so that book gets shown without overlap.

 

Could be intentional to hide the variant or he could be trying to show off the sigs.

 

Either way you've got as much to assume he did nothing wrong as that he did something wrong. 50-50 propositions tell me I should keep my assumptions to myself.

 

It would be naïve to think he didn't know what he was doing. He covered up the logo on the book. He repeatedly did not answer questions about the price of the book. His prices were dead on FMV. I'm comfortable saying he knew what he was doing. The question is was it right.

 

I asked him to let me out of buying his book and he agreed so we are good but I'm most concerned about the idea that it's ok to blatantly be sneaky to draw in customers. Maybe its common practice and I just do not notice it.

 

 

I thought you were asking a real question and fielding honest opinions. If you just wanted people to agree with you then you shouldn't ask the question so open ended.

 

I don't think I've shot down anyone's opinion but I will present additional info that may have been over looked or may help back up my own opinion. I'm definitely the type to say when I'm wrong but in this case I still feel he was misleading by how he took the picture.

 

Be that as it may. Is Sean on target here?

 

It's not. This is an irrational temper tantrum over not scoring a flip target. And finishing the job of throwing all the toys out of the pram by cancelling another sale.

 

 

Had to think about this one. Did I have a hissy fit about not having the opportunity to buy the Hughes Variant. I don't think so because I didn't think my chances were good of getting the book since books were getting grabbed in minutes after they were posted. And his prices seemed pretty high so I wasn't going to pull the trigger without seeing some really good pictures and other may grab it without caring.

 

Did I react badly to feeling like I had been jerked around and "tricked" into wasting some of my time - I can agree to that. The book I had grabbed before he posted the Mexico Variant was a $10 Harley and Ivy #2 that would have gone well with my #1 and I would have been happy getting it by itself at that price. I essentially stormed out of the room because I really do not like feeling like I've been tricked and everything about the end of his sales thread reeked of it.

[Antpark]

I'm actually surprised that people are agreeing with this seller.

 

Was it a misrepresentation?

I don't know what the legal definition is, so . .

 

Was it misleading?

Definitely

 

Was it a wildly_fanciful_statement way to pimp a sale?

Absolutely!

 

The seller obviously was trying to hide the fact that it was the Mexican variant because every other book standing up is fanned with it's spine showing, except that one.

I don't care whether 1Cool was trying to score a sweet deal to flip or if he was going to wipe his with it, no one likes to be tricked into having their time wasted and I'd be just as pissed too.

I think he has every right to cancel the previous transaction -- if the seller was being dishonest hiding something on that book, then what else might he be hiding with the others.

I'd do the same if I walked into a store advertising this:

 

X-Men #1

 

but selling this:

 

X-Men #1

 

and any books that I may have had in hand would be left on the sales counter while I told the guy what a person_who_is_obnoxiously_self-impressed he was and left the store.

 

This isn't whining and a temper tantrum.

This is calling out a *spoon* seller.

[Turtle]

Sufficient stack phatness