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Potential Comic Art Fans Scam Alert
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Started by AnkurJ,

199 posts in this topic

Terry Doyle

Terry Doyle

Posted
Posted
I attribute the growth trend by year to the simple fact that CAF exposed a great number of people over a few short years to either start to collect original art, or having a place to enjoy or share it. It coincides with the explosion in comic art prices as well. Like I mentioned, we still get over 200k unique people each month on CAF, and 55% + visits are from returning people - so a very regular loyal viewership. We still get 20+ signups every day so it isn't like it isn't growing.

 

Bill, I am not a member, but have thought about finally joining after reading through some of your posts. I've received recommendations from members of these boards in the past, but just have never gone through the motions. One thing I can definitely see being of value is the classifieds section. Although I did want to ask about something I noticed - after performing a search, I noticed several pieces I was interested in having "NFS" under the selling status. I'm not sure I understand what the person is attempting to accomplish by listing a piece in the classified section that isn't for sale. Are certain members using the classifieds as an extension of their gallery, or using it to get eyes on their art? I had intentions of messaging the person, but when I saw the "NFS" I didn't bother. Also, does the classifieds show past sales information? Is the reporting of a final sale price made mandatory, or is it left to the discretion of the buyer and seller? Appreciate your time in responding.

 

I wouldn't be deterred by the NFS designation. Could be that the lister hasn't fully-updated all the description fields. Nothing to lose by enquiring.

 

Thanks, I appreciate it. I didn't want to make an missteps even before becoming a member. In other collecting communities I'm a part of, it's fairly taboo to contact someone if they post NFS. It's mostly relating to sharing convention being founded on anti-pitch, anti-selling, and how annoying it can be when you are just sharing something and you get bombarded with comments or PM's asking "how much?" The other thing is I noticed a pattern of all this members listings having that NFS so I thought it was too deliberate to chalk it down to a situation where he hasn't updated the listing, unless he does his listings in batches.

 

I can't see the person in question being upset by a line of enquiry if the art you're interested in has been listed under the classifieds. I lean towards the idea that the art actually is available. Under these circumstances I wouldn't consider you being discourteous with such an approach.

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comicwiz

comicwiz

Posted
Posted
I attribute the growth trend by year to the simple fact that CAF exposed a great number of people over a few short years to either start to collect original art, or having a place to enjoy or share it. It coincides with the explosion in comic art prices as well. Like I mentioned, we still get over 200k unique people each month on CAF, and 55% + visits are from returning people - so a very regular loyal viewership. We still get 20+ signups every day so it isn't like it isn't growing.

 

Bill, I am not a member, but have thought about finally joining after reading through some of your posts. I've received recommendations from members of these boards in the past, but just have never gone through the motions. One thing I can definitely see being of value is the classifieds section. Although I did want to ask about something I noticed - after performing a search, I noticed several pieces I was interested in having "NFS" under the selling status. I'm not sure I understand what the person is attempting to accomplish by listing a piece in the classified section that isn't for sale. Are certain members using the classifieds as an extension of their gallery, or using it to get eyes on their art? I had intentions of messaging the person, but when I saw the "NFS" I didn't bother. Also, does the classifieds show past sales information? Is the reporting of a final sale price made mandatory, or is it left to the discretion of the buyer and seller? Appreciate your time in responding.

 

I wouldn't be deterred by the NFS designation. Could be that the lister hasn't fully-updated all the description fields. Nothing to lose by enquiring.

 

Thanks, I appreciate it. I didn't want to make an missteps even before becoming a member. In other collecting communities I'm a part of, it's fairly taboo to contact someone if they post NFS. It's mostly relating to sharing convention being founded on anti-pitch, anti-selling, and how annoying it can be when you are just sharing something and you get bombarded with comments or PM's asking "how much?" The other thing is I noticed a pattern of all this members listings having that NFS so I thought it was too deliberate to chalk it down to a situation where he hasn't updated the listing, unless he does his listings in batches.

 

I can't see the person in question being upset by a line of enquiry if the art you're interested in has been listed under the classifieds. I lean towards the idea that the art actually is available. Under these circumstances I wouldn't consider you being discourteous with such an approach.

 

Thanks again, I appreciate you taking the time to give your opinion :)

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alxjhnsn

alxjhnsn

Posted
Posted
People are often lazy or less than diligent. :)

 

Hey! I resemble that remark ... at least when it comes to posting artwork ... but I like the latter and will now say that I am less than diligent when it comes to updating my CAF gallery!

 

"less than diligent" and "insufficiently thoughtful" are two of my favorite euphemisms. :)

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Madman1138

Madman1138

Posted
Posted
I agree with Terry. People are often lazy or less than diligent. :)

 

Another common reason for the NFS in the Classifieds is Premium members can "activate" their gallery rooms as "For Sale" which puts everything in that particular gallery/room into the Classifieds and their Comic Art Shop, even the pieces that aren't actually for sale. I come across this fairly often as I will always email and ask if it's in a For Sale gallery, no matter what it says under for sale status. The worst you'll get is no reply or a quick and kind reply saying no. No one ever seems to get mad, in my experience.

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eltigre15

eltigre15

Posted
Posted

I did indeed have to go the credit card route. It was a big circus and they fought til the end. I just wanted to let everyone know I noticed on the comicartfans site Paula Gonzalez is selling some of the same items that this scammer was selling so apparently she is trying the same scam... again...

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staffman

staffman

Posted
Posted (edited)

Thanks for the heads up. I saw a piece in their gallery for a very good price and it seemed too good to be true. I had a feeling just for that price alone this would not be a good deal to make, especially when someone comes right out the gate with an account and everything is for sale.

Edited by staffman
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eltigre15

eltigre15

Posted
Posted

Yup, that's the one. She (he, it?) even had the decency to take new pictures. Now instead of the Hildebrandt being propped up by a coke bottle on the floor it is luxuriously sprawled out on the bed. Judging by her statement of "Oh I gave it so much thought and I could never sell it at that price" never came around pretty damn quick.

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zhamlau

zhamlau

Posted
Posted

Again, if you see a womans name on a comic art or high end comic book gallery...sadly you have to be suspicious. It's very rare you find women who collect and deal in this stuff. Scammers use female ID's to lure guys into a false sense of security. It seems odd, but ive noticed this pattern over and over for the last 15 years online.

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Rekani

Rekani

Posted
Posted

I spent a bit of time reading through this over my morning coffee today.

Good points to know as a new(ish) collector of Art in regards to scams, but also a great push for me to sign up for a premium account. I'm glad there is a community of people to talk to about these situations, nice to know people are keeping an eye out for sketchy people and letting the group at large know about it.

 

Happy you both got your money back eventually.

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eltigre15

eltigre15

Posted
Posted (edited)
Again, if you see a womans name on a comic art or high end comic book gallery...sadly you have to be suspicious. It's very rare you find women who collect and deal in this stuff. Scammers use female ID's to lure guys into a false sense of security. It seems odd, but ive noticed this pattern over and over for the last 15 years online.

 

It's not just women- by the pictures I saw, it's hot young 20-something women. I can't believe people wouldn't see a big red flag with these accounts.

 

There were many reasons why I attempted it...

 

1. The price was good but not completely insane to think it was definitely a scam.

2. The picture of what I wanted wasn't stock. It was the actual art in a house setting.

3. If you look up supergirlbatgirlravager online you can see they have a hat business that has many followers on instagram (although they are also following the same number so there is some strangeness there). Also you can see they portray a husband and wife with kids - she even said they didn't want to sell but needed money for the new baby blah blah blah plus it was just Julie Johnston then and not these conflicting names. The instagram is definitely theirs as the Square payment is the same address for both.

4. The biggest reason though is I couldn't see what they would get out of this except for a small float as it was protected by my credit card and not using Moneygram/Western Union. The amount of hassle (they actually mailed an empty envelope with a slightly wrong address to my post office to try to delay me and I wound up getting it because my post office knows me (so they wound up losing $8 on this lol)) for so little gain if it was a scam made it so I thought it was worth the risk.

 

In the end only time was lost and I have an interesting story.

Edited by eltigre15
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zhamlau

zhamlau

Posted
Posted

Honestly I know of I think two woman who collect original art...since 1986...two...When i see a womans name on a art gallery, or on a posting for higher end Movie Props/Star Wars material I honestly assume its not legit. Its sad, but you have to because its just so rare and almost always ends up with scamyness.

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