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

[cloud cloddie]

This is all about your agenda, not his.

Mexican variant is a $50 - $60 book and the English version is several hundred dollar book and big money if its a 9.6/9.8.

A $50/$60 modern means someone finds it desirable. And 9.6/9.8 from a photo is still a crapshoot at best. So, yeah, it seems like someone's greedometer got pegged for a halfhour by an internet photo. Along with the luck of a good wife to help keep their head on straight.

 

Yep. Basically sums up this thread.

[Gatchaman]

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.

 

Hello Andrew, I agree with you on this. There is a hint of dishonesty by misleading you to think of something that is not. That comic was placed to do exactly what you thought it was to do. I bought a graphic novel off of an eBay seller who was putting thin ones on top of thicker ones to give the illusion that it was thicker than it was. In all reality he was taking a book that reprints four books, putting it on top of one 2-3 times it's own thickness, and taking the picture at an angle to give the illusion that is was a thick book. Since then I usually look up the book in Amazon to get more information on the book.

 

Even though this may be a minor infraction in some people's minds it can still stick of dishonesty and who knows if the seller will choose to use the same practices in other areas of his business dealings.

[kav]

What about the guys that fiddle with the color controls and make a book look better.....

[comix4fun]

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.

 

This isn't whining and a temper tantrum.

This is calling out a *spoon* seller.

 

 

I don't think anyone's agreeing with the seller. They aren't seeing enough to divine his intent.

 

Did you notice the book before the Hughes appears to be signed? And that one of the sigs would be covered if he put the Hughes in front?

 

While it's possible he was hiding what the book was, it's also possible he was trying NOT to hide the sigs on the other book.

 

Without some more affirmative act or statement from the seller it's guessing.

 

No one's agreeing with the seller, but no one seems to know for sure what he meant one way or the other.

[EC ed]

There is a hint of dishonesty by misleading you to think of something that is not. That comic was placed to do exactly what you thought it was to do. I bought a graphic novel off of an eBay seller who was putting thin ones on top of thicker ones to give the illusion that it was thicker than it was. In all reality he was taking a book that reprints four books, putting it on top of one 2-3 times it's own thickness, and taking the picture at an angle to give the illusion that is was a thick book.

 

Your situation and Andrew's situation are fundamentally different.

 

In Andrew's case, the seller posted a group shot of a bunch of books, and said he'd be selling those later, etc. No representation was made about the book in question at that point. If I understand correctly, when the seller focused attention on actually selling that particular book, no misrepresentation was made about it at that point either.

 

In your case, in the context of the eBay seller selling that particular item (that is, when seller presented that specific item listing with its description and price) the seller took actions that made the item look like something it was not (arguably). That is indeed a problem.

 

If, when Andrew's seller got around to listing that Mexican variant...that is, when he posted it up specifically with a price and description...if at that point the seller had made it look like something it was not, that would be a different matter, and more comparable to your example. However, that's not what happened.

 

 

[wombat]

I would have maybe been slightly annoyed. Some at myself and some at the seller. I definitely wouldn't have backed out of buying the other books.

[vaillant]

Sounds misleading to me.

But it all depends whether he did it on purpose or not. That’s the point.

If he deliberately misrepresented the book in the picture, it’s clear that it’s dishonest.

[1Cool]

Sounds misleading to me.

But it all depends whether he did it on purpose or not. That’s the point.

If he deliberately misrepresented the book in the picture, it’s clear that it’s dishonest.

 

I can't be 100% certain he meant to hide the Mexico logo but I think a judge or jury would convict him with the evidence. I think the picture is damning but if you believe he randomly just happened to pick that book to be in that spot then why not answer question about the book when he is updating sold items and answering other questions about other books.

[HarveySwick]

Do we need a 1Cool's musings subforum?

[HarveySwick]

u me

 

[1Cool]

Here is what the seller said when I said he was being misleading by covering the logo:

 

"Is a lot sale not an action. Didn't think is was a big deal. My apologies"

[1Cool]

Here are the responses from the great people on Facebook who were there for the sale:

 

What babies who cares it's not a big deal was it deliberate I'm sure it was but it did exactly what he wanted it to do! 99% of the people buying probably don't have enough money for it anyways ????

 

Oh I'm totally sure it was deliberate . As a matter of fact, it's ingenious! But yeah they probably wouldn't have to cheddar to throw at it anyways if they are so concerned with canceling their comics they bought for $5

 

Exactly ...oh I guarantee it butt hurt over something they weren't even gonna buy...only mad cuz they fell for it

 

Just scroll up and read some of the comments . People thought there was gonna be a Harley Quinn Adam Hughes variant (I'll admit I was only following the post cause that's what I was holding out for too) but it ended up being the Mexico variant and people got butt hurt

 

[comix4fun]

Here are the responses from the great people on Facebook who were there for the sale:

 

What babies who cares it's not a big deal was it deliberate I'm sure it was but it did exactly what he wanted it to do! 99% of the people buying probably don't have enough money for it anyways ????

 

Oh I'm totally sure it was deliberate . As a matter of fact, it's ingenious! But yeah they probably wouldn't have to cheddar to throw at it anyways if they are so concerned with canceling their comics they bought for $5

 

Exactly ...oh I guarantee it butt hurt over something they weren't even gonna buy...only mad cuz they fell for it

 

Just scroll up and read some of the comments . People thought there was gonna be a Harley Quinn Adam Hughes variant (I'll admit I was only following the post cause that's what I was holding out for too) but it ended up being the Mexico variant and people got butt hurt

 

 

If the seller saw the comments, or posted in the comments thread after people commented thought it was the American Hughes variant then I think he had a duty to clear up the confusion.

 

When he sold it did he give individual pics or describe as anything but the Mexican Variant that it is?

[1Cool]

Here are the responses from the great people on Facebook who were there for the sale:

 

What babies who cares it's not a big deal was it deliberate I'm sure it was but it did exactly what he wanted it to do! 99% of the people buying probably don't have enough money for it anyways ????

 

Oh I'm totally sure it was deliberate . As a matter of fact, it's ingenious! But yeah they probably wouldn't have to cheddar to throw at it anyways if they are so concerned with canceling their comics they bought for $5

 

Exactly ...oh I guarantee it butt hurt over something they weren't even gonna buy...only mad cuz they fell for it

 

Just scroll up and read some of the comments . People thought there was gonna be a Harley Quinn Adam Hughes variant (I'll admit I was only following the post cause that's what I was holding out for too) but it ended up being the Mexico variant and people got butt hurt

 

 

If the seller saw the comments, or posted in the comments thread after people commented thought it was the American Hughes variant then I think he had a duty to clear up the confusion.

 

When he sold it did he give individual pics or describe as anything but the Mexican Variant that it is?

 

Whole other thread if he had since that would definitely be way beyond being sneaky. He posted a picture of the book with the Mexico logo and tried to sell it as a Mexican variant. No one thought it was a American version when he tried to sell it but everyone thought it was the American version when he posted the picture (which was obviously his intent).

[VintageComics]

(which was obviously his intent).

 

How do you know what his intent was?

[Park]

(which was obviously his intent).

 

How do you know what his intent was?

 

He doesn't.

[1Cool]

(which was obviously his intent).

 

How do you know what his intent was?

 

By looking at the picture, looking at the fact he did not answer multiple questions about the book and the fact he said he did not think it was a big deal when I said I was not happy about him being deceptive. I'll probably not get him to come explain himself on this thread so it sounds like some people will not be convinced he meant to be deceptive. Fair enough.

[seanfingh]

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[bababooey]

[EC ed]