Don't you just hate being two seconds too late! Ugg

[Robot Man]

I personally don't believe in taking that kind of advantage of someone, at the risk of being accused of being petty, jealous, miserable, a tool, a troll, and umm, lemesee what else, oh ya, a buttinski.

 

I didn't HAVE to post here as to what I did, by contacting the seller. Interesting that I smoked out how many of you act like sharks.

 

Flame away.

 

Was a nice walk in the sunshine yesterday...

 

I've got a question for you fifties...

 

If you were Kazoo what would you have really done?

 

And, do you think what the seller did to him is ethical?

 

I'm not here to call you names or judge your ethics. We all live by different moral codes. Me, I am in the camp that I would have paid him what he wanted and sweated out the mailman and sleep dreaming of lovely PCH that this seller obviously thought was junk. Doesn't make either of us wrong. Although I still say it was none of your business sticking your nose where it doesn't belong...

[Doohickamabob]

I was at the Rose Bowl one Sunday. It was early in the morning. I saw Peanuts animation cells on a vendors table. I was like The Flash. I picked up one and asked how much. The person at the side of me said, they are sold. I watched him pay the man 300 bucks. There was around 50 of them. I didn't think once about sabotaging his deal. It's just the code of the collectors world. On a happy note of that Day. I found 3 Zippo lighters for $5 that I sold for over $600 and a Casper Die cut pez, I paid 5 bucks I sold for a $150. It wasn't a 15k profit but it eased the pain.

 

I was at the Rose Bowl one Sunday when a dealer friend walked up with a killer box of SA books he paid very little for. He had no idea what they were. In the box were an FF4 #5, Daredevil #1 and more. The last handful at the bottom was a Spidey #1. Could I have taken advantage of him? Maybe, but he is a bro and has always done me right. I got very excited and told him he scored. He wanted to know what they were worth and I said after the show I would help him grade and price them. He ended up selling them to another of his collector friends who I'm sure paid him fairly as I would have. Was I pissed? No, maybe a little envious but this guy has always been friendly to me as was the guy that bought them. I was happy for both of them. I was kind of sorry, I missed them myself but that's how it goes.

 

Would I have paid my friend's asking price to the dealer he bought them from? In a heartbeat. I have worked hard, spent 1000's of hours doing research, getting up long before the crack of dawn and working hard to find a deal. The seller probably got them cheap some where and flipped them for a quick profit and was happy. He didn't do any work or research. Why is it my problem to do his work if he doesn't care?

 

If I am asked what it is worth, I feel it is ethical to come clean and make a fair offer. I have passed on a lot of stuff because I wasn't willing to do so. I have made fair offers on stuff and the seller usually turns me down thinking I am trying to screw him.

 

I once bought a photo from a guy I regularly deal with for a steal. I didn't ask for a discount and just paid him. I sent it to auction and sold it for a large amount of money. Next time I saw the dealer, I handed him about 25% of what it sold for (a considerable sum). He asked why and I told him I had bought something from him, sold it and wanted to do the right thing and give him something back. I didn't tell him what it was or what it sold for but the money was a thank you. Know what I got from him? Now he won't sell me anything because he is nervous he will sell it too cheap. So much for being "ethical"...

 

So do I have any problem getting a good or even great deal? No, I do it all the time. It could be comics, an old sign, a toy, sports stuff ect. You put a price on it that you are happy with and I buy it. What's the problem. I even do it at a comic show to seasoned dealers who maybe don't do their homework. They would do it to me and it's cool. If they make money off me, they will probably come back and buy more later.

 

Great post!

 

I have learned the hard way that one of the most useful behaviors in effective buying/selling for collectibles is simply to hold your cards close and not talk too much until after the deal is done -- and even then, be careful who you tell things to.

 

One example that comes to mind was from several years ago, when I spotted a really great eBay auction for a lot-grouping of items that were very appealing. The auction was poorly described and it was in the wrong category, ending at a bad time of day/week for an auction. I had an online collector friend and we liked to share findings and stories about eBay stuff. I messaged him and said "Check out this cool lot that I'm going to try to win" because I was excited about it and thought he'd find it interesting. He wrote me back with something like, "Wow. Sorry man, but that lot is too cool to pass by -- I am going to bid on it too." As a result of me not keeping my stinking trap shut, I ended up paying more than $100 extra to win the auction, with him as the underbidder.

[nearmint]

I bet everyone here would cancel a sell if they had made a mistake in pricing although this particular seller made an ignorant mistake.

 

Several years ago, a board member hit a $400 BIN on an Action Comics #10. The seller was made aware that the book was worth five figures, but responded that a deal's a deal, and didn't cancel the transaction.

[Robot Man]

I have a great story of one of my best finds out in the wild. Maybe the best. One I still think about once in a while. Was obviously a situation where I knew more than the seller. He shot me a price that about buckled my knees and I took it. It was for comics, VERY nice comics. My wife still laughs at me because I am usually real composed. I will never tell it here publicly though. Not that I care at all, but I don't want the hassle of dealing with the "moral police"

[Cimm]

TL:DR

 

Buyer (Kazoo) got great deal on eBay from uninformed seller. Jealous post-emptive buyer (fifties/retrocomics, one before the other due to simple timing, not moral or ethical superiority) emailed seller, explaining just how much he had "lost" by not educating himself. Post-emptive buyer (fifties) urged seller to renege on the deal. Seller promptly took this advice, Kazoo loses due to another boardie interfering in a completed deal.

 

the moral of this story. Post-emptive buyers are unethical dew-schnozzles, and should be avoided in all transactions of any type going forward.

[Doohickamabob]

I bet everyone here would cancel a sell if they had made a mistake in pricing although this particular seller made an ignorant mistake.

 

Several years ago, a board member hit a $400 BIN on an Action Comics #10. The seller was made aware that the book was worth five figures, but responded that a deal's a deal, and didn't cancel the transaction.

It was a $200 BIN. I was one of the people who contacted the seller, and I don't feel great about having done so, but that was before I was very active in the CGC community and I didn't yet know the buyer (who is now a friend and a well-known boardie). The seller was not told the actual value of the comic, only that their BIN price was low and that they should consider auctioning any future comics they might have (turned out they only had 2 comics, found in their late uncle's storage cabinet). They also weren't contacted about their pricing of the comic until they had already shipped it to the buyer, and there was no suggestion (or implication) that they should cancel the deal if they hadn't shipped yet. The seller's response was that they didn't care, and a very cheerful "My mistake but someone else's good fortune." I hope they never found out what the book actually sold for after it was CGC graded and auctioned, because they lost out on about $20,000 (before fees). The seller also had a Superman #17 that looked like it was in VG+ condition. I am still kicking myself a little for not picking that up. (I missed buying the Action Comics #10 by a few minutes; it was listed around 10 a.m. PST on a Wednesday and sold after about 7 minutes...)

[Gotham Kid]

I bet everyone here would cancel a sell if they had made a mistake in pricing although this particular seller made an ignorant mistake.

 

Several years ago, a board member hit a $400 BIN on an Action Comics #10. The seller was made aware that the book was worth five figures, but responded that a deal's a deal, and didn't cancel the transaction.

It was a $200 BIN. The seller was not told the actual value of the comic, only that their BIN price was low and that they should consider auctioning any future comics they might have (turned out they only had 2 comics, found in their late uncle's storage cabinet). They also weren't contacted about their pricing of the comic until they had already shipped it to the buyer, and there was no suggestion (or implication) that they should cancel the deal if they hadn't shipped yet. The seller's response was that they didn't care, and a very cheerful "Our loss is the buyer's gain." I hope they never found out what the book actually sold for after it was CGC graded and auctioned, because they lost out on about $20,000 (before fees). The seller also had a Superman #17 that looked like it was in VG+ condition, which they listed for a $500 BIN. I am still kicking myself a little for not picking that up. (I missed buying the Action Comics #10 by about 2 minutes; it was listed around 10 a.m. PST on a Wednesday...)

 

A fellow boardie bought the AC10

[mrmyst]

I personally don't believe in taking that kind of advantage of someone, at the risk of being accused of being petty, jealous, miserable, a tool, a troll, and umm, lemesee what else, oh ya, a buttinski.

 

I didn't HAVE to post here as to what I did, by contacting the seller. Interesting that I smoked out how many of you act like sharks.

 

Flame away.

 

. It would follow, then, that every time you've gotten a book for a "steal" price on Ebay (for who hasn't from time to time over the past 20 years), you sent the seller the extra money to ensure he got FMV for his goods. Just so you weren't acting like a "shark." If so perhaps you could share those experiences with all here who you've "smoked out."

[Sqeggs]

I personally don't believe in taking that kind of advantage of someone, at the risk of being accused of being petty, jealous, miserable, a tool, a troll, and umm, lemesee what else, oh ya, a buttinski.

 

I didn't HAVE to post here as to what I did, by contacting the seller. Interesting that I smoked out how many of you act like sharks.

 

Flame away.

 

Was a nice walk in the sunshine yesterday...

 

I've got a question for you fifties...

 

If you were Kazoo what would you have really done?

 

And, do you think what the seller did to him is ethical?

 

I'm not here to call you names or judge your ethics. We all live by different moral codes. Me, I am in the camp that I would have paid him what he wanted and sweated out the mailman and sleep dreaming of lovely PCH that this seller obviously thought was junk. Doesn't make either of us wrong. Although I still say it was none of your business sticking your nose where it doesn't belong...

 

Sure it does. Fifties was wrong to contact a seller on eBay and tell him to cheat a buyer by canceling a sale.

[Sqeggs]

I bet everyone here would cancel a sell if they had made a mistake in pricing although this particular seller made an ignorant mistake.

 

Several years ago, a board member hit a $400 BIN on an Action Comics #10. The seller was made aware that the book was worth five figures, but responded that a deal's a deal, and didn't cancel the transaction.

It was a $200 BIN. The seller was not told the actual value of the comic, only that their BIN price was low and that they should consider auctioning any future comics they might have (turned out they only had 2 comics, found in their late uncle's storage cabinet). They also weren't contacted about their pricing of the comic until they had already shipped it to the buyer, and there was no suggestion (or implication) that they should cancel the deal if they hadn't shipped yet. The seller's response was that they didn't care, and a very cheerful "Our loss is the buyer's gain." I hope they never found out what the book actually sold for after it was CGC graded and auctioned, because they lost out on about $20,000 (before fees). The seller also had a Superman #17 that looked like it was in VG+ condition, which they listed for a $500 BIN. I am still kicking myself a little for not picking that up. (I missed buying the Action Comics #10 by about 2 minutes; it was listed around 10 a.m. PST on a Wednesday...)

 

A fellow boardie bought the AC10

 

I kinda remember this episode. Again, how obtuse do you have to be as a seller not to spend a little time investigating the value of an old comic before listing it as a BIN? Given all the publicity through the years about the potential value of old comics, the seller must be oblivious -- or was working off a copy of Overstreet from the 1970s!

 

The seller's attitude on this one was commendable. He screwed up but he wasn't going to cheat the buyer and violate his agreement with eBay by canceling a legitimate sale.

[Robot Man]

Yes, he was without a doubt. None of his business.

 

What I was trying to say was that he and I have a different code of ethics and each of us is right to our own beliefs.

 

I am still waiting to hear from him...

[Robot Man]

Interesting, looks like retro edited his initial post deleting the auction. Maybe, he didn't want us horning in on his deal? Sounds slimey all the way around.

 

Too late, because I already copied the auction so I could see if those books turn up later. Or...not

 

Just shady. Good to know who I will be buying from or selling to in the future.

[The_SandMan]

Interesting, looks like retro edited his initial post deleting the auction. Maybe, he didn't want us horning in on his deal? Sounds slimey all the way around.

 

Too late, because I already copied the auction so I could see if those books turn up later. Or...not

 

Just shady. Good to know who I will be buying from or selling to in the future.

 

 

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/26-Vintage-Horror-and-Space-Adventure-Comics-1950s-/302100998218?hash=item46569f684a:g:p9QAAOSwNRdX-bYM

 

[retrocomics]

Interesting, looks like retro edited his initial post deleting the auction. Maybe, he didn't want us horning in on his deal? Sounds slimey all the way around.

 

Too late, because I already copied the auction so I could see if those books turn up later. Or...not

 

Just shady. Good to know who I will be buying from or selling to in the future.

I did edit it. This thread has gotten out of hand. For the record, I never told the seller to cancel the sell. I sent him two messages. The first to tell him to do his homework next time. His reply came and I fully thought he was going to honor the sell the way he talked. I even said it was the honorable thing to do in my final message of the two. That was the extent of our conversation. Never did I try to swoop in on the books or talk him out of it or make an offer. Never. The books are not going to me I assure you. He may have not done the right thing by cancelling the sell but I can only fault him for being naive who didn't do the best in his situation but maybe the best for his situation. I haven't gone about things the right way and I apologize to kazoo who is a great boardie. I also apologize for the way this has all went down.

[retrocomics]

And also for full disclosure, I did ask him where he got the books and if he had anymore. That was as slimey as I got but never tried to get the sold books.

[thecopperagekids]

I was at the Rose Bowl one Sunday. It was early in the morning. I saw Peanuts animation cells on a vendors table. I was like The Flash. I picked up one and asked how much. The person at the side of me said, they are sold. I watched him pay the man 300 bucks. There was around 50 of them. I didn't think once about sabotaging his deal. It's just the code of the collectors world. On a happy note of that Day. I found 3 Zippo lighters for $5 that I sold for over $600 and a Casper Die cut pez, I paid 5 bucks I sold for a $150. It wasn't a 15k profit but it eased the pain.

 

I was at the Rose Bowl one Sunday when a dealer friend walked up with a killer box of SA books he paid very little for. He had no idea what they were. In the box were an FF4 #5, Daredevil #1 and more. The last handful at the bottom was a Spidey #1. Could I have taken advantage of him? Maybe, but he is a bro and has always done me right. I got very excited and told him he scored. He wanted to know what they were worth and I said after the show I would help him grade and price them. He ended up selling them to another of his collector friends who I'm sure paid him fairly as I would have. Was I pissed? No, maybe a little envious but this guy has always been friendly to me as was the guy that bought them. I was happy for both of them. I was kind of sorry, I missed them myself but that's how it goes.

 

Would I have paid my friend's asking price to the dealer he bought them from? In a heartbeat. I have worked hard, spent 1000's of hours doing research, getting up long before the crack of dawn and working hard to find a deal. The seller probably got them cheap some where and flipped them for a quick profit and was happy. He didn't do any work or research. Why is it my problem to do his work if he doesn't care?

 

If I am asked what it is worth, I feel it is ethical to come clean and make a fair offer. I have passed on a lot of stuff because I wasn't willing to do so. I have made fair offers on stuff and the seller usually turns me down thinking I am trying to screw him.

 

I once bought a photo from a guy I regularly deal with for a steal. I didn't ask for a discount and just paid him. I sent it to auction and sold it for a large amount of money. Next time I saw the dealer, I handed him about 25% of what it sold for (a considerable sum). He asked why and I told him I had bought something from him, sold it and wanted to do the right thing and give him something back. I didn't tell him what it was or what it sold for but the money was a thank you. Know what I got from him? Now he won't sell me anything because he is nervous he will sell it too cheap. So much for being "ethical"...

 

So do I have any problem getting a good or even great deal? No, I do it all the time. It could be comics, an old sign, a toy, sports stuff ect. You put a price on it that you are happy with and I buy it. What's the problem. I even do it at a comic show to seasoned dealers who maybe don't do their homework. They would do it to me and it's cool. If they make money off me, they will probably come back and buy more later.

 

 

I agree with all you've said here.

 

If I had the opportunity to buy the lot in question at $75, I would have hit the BIN immediately.I'll add that with all of the time I spend on researching books, scouting out buys and collections, I would be over the moon with a score like this.

 

On the same token, it is ridiculous to call the seller out as "unethical".

 

It is unethical to have bought the lot at what is basically an outright steal at $75?

 

I don't think it is.However, the decent thing to do would be to send the seller $200 or so via paypal gift, after the books were received.

 

All an inexperienced seller needs to do to get top dollar for their books is to send them in to a vomic link or comic connect auction and let CC/CL handle the sale...for a 10% commision and 3% CC fee.

 

Hell, he could list each book individually on eBay via auction and walk away with 2 grand.

 

If paying $75 for $3000 worth of books is not unethical, you cannot fault the seller for canceling the transaction.

 

Using terms like "unethical" , ""breach of contract" is ridiculous, considering the buyer would have been making out like a bandit.

 

I while back I won a lot in auction for a slew of Marvel chromium classics (ASM 300, Spider-Man 1 etc) that was woefully mislisted.Ater paying immediately, the seller cancelled the sale with a BS line, issued a refund.I called and was told the obvious; eBay cannot force a seller to ship goods.

 

 

 

 

 

[MustEatBrains]

Interesting, looks like retro edited his initial post deleting the auction. Maybe, he didn't want us horning in on his deal? Sounds slimey all the way around.

 

Too late, because I already copied the auction so I could see if those books turn up later. Or...not

 

Just shady. Good to know who I will be buying from or selling to in the future.

I did edit it. This thread has gotten out of hand. For the record, I never told the seller to cancel the sell. I sent him two messages. The first to tell him to do his homework next time. His reply came and I fully thought he was going to honor the sell the way he talked. I even said it was the honorable thing to do in my final message of the two. That was the extent of our conversation. Never did I try to swoop in on the books or talk him out of it or make an offer. Never. The books are not going to me I assure you. He may have not done the right thing by cancelling the sell but I can only fault him for being naive who didn't do the best in his situation but maybe the best for his situation. I haven't gone about things the right way and I apologize to kazoo who is a great boardie. I also apologize for the way this has all went down.

 

Cool, so you and fifties can kick the buyer $75 a piece for his troubles?

[hhwolfman]

 

Just shady. Good to know who I will be buying from or selling to in the future.

 

Yes very good to know.

[Ricksneatstuff]

Interesting, looks like retro edited his initial post deleting the auction. Maybe, he didn't want us horning in on his deal? Sounds slimey all the way around.

 

Too late, because I already copied the auction so I could see if those books turn up later. Or...not

 

Just shady. Good to know who I will be buying from or selling to in the future.

I did edit it. This thread has gotten out of hand. For the record, I never told the seller to cancel the sell. I sent him two messages. The first to tell him to do his homework next time. His reply came and I fully thought he was going to honor the sell the way he talked. I even said it was the honorable thing to do in my final message of the two. That was the extent of our conversation. Never did I try to swoop in on the books or talk him out of it or make an offer. Never. The books are not going to me I assure you. He may have not done the right thing by cancelling the sell but I can only fault him for being naive who didn't do the best in his situation but maybe the best for his situation. I haven't gone about things the right way and I apologize to kazoo who is a great boardie. I also apologize for the way this has all went down.

 

For my retro has been cool with me and I think we should all accept this apology (even though it is only due to kazoo) and let it be bygones with him. He obviously feels and anyone who does not have the ability to let it go has a bigger issue than the person who handled it wrong in the first place. I have no motivation to say this other than the person who shows mercy to people gets mercy

[sacentaur]

I haven't gone about things the right way and I apologize to kazoo who is a great boardie. I also apologize for the way this has all went down.

 

It's not easy to apologize over the 'net after such a battle, but I for one appreciate your doing so.

 

Lesson learned.