Help! Trying to find out if an eBay buyer is scamming me!

[seandb07]

Hi everyone, first forum post here!

 

I'm looking for some 2nd and 3rd opinions on a book I sold on eBay.

 

Here are the scans of the book: https://www.flickr.com/photos/149206627@N06/

 

Currently having an issue with the buyer who purchased the book from me about a month and a half ago. It is not professionally graded or certified, but I have had actual work experience grading comic books, and I always try to give my absolute best estimate of a book before listing it with a particular grade. My estimates are based on the CGC scale, of course.

 

The comic in question is a copy of X-Men #9 (silver age), which I estimated to be around a 6.0 to 6.5. It was priced at 170.00 USD, which admittedly leans more toward 6.5 (current Overstreet value of a 6.0 is 129.00). My ebay listing contains hi res scans of the front and back covers.

 

Massive oversight on my part: I forgot to check the inside of this book thoroughly, but at least checked the color of the pages and made sure they weren't stained/water damaged, etc.

 

So someone made me an offer for 125.00, which I accepted. They paid me, I shipped it. done and done.

 

A week later. I receive a return request with a message from the buyer saying "This is listed as a 6.0/6.5+, but I speculate that it will be graded a 3.5 (VG-) through my experience with Lone Star Comics". I apologized, and offered to accept a return or give a partial refund. The buyer took me up on an agreed upon partial refund of 25.00.

 

A month later. I receive the following message from the buyer:

 

"The comic above has been graded by Lone Star Comics as a .5 Poor. The last page of the comic was torn out. It may be an honest mistake. Both of us missed it. The comic is worth $20. Do I have any recourse with you?"

 

I did not catch the missing page. My bad. I was going to make the same offer; either accept a return for a full refund, or a partial refund of 80.00. Unfortunately, the buyer has already left me negative feedback for the transaction. The more I think about it, the more I'm questioning the whole thing. So that's why I'm here. To my understanding, a grade of .5 would denote a book that is REALLY messed up. Like, crumpled up, torn, moldy, water damaged, makes you sad looking at it kind of bad. I've sent a book to CGC which turned out to have a missing page, but was otherwise a 4.0, and they gave it a 4.0 Qualified grade, NOT a .5! So while I understand the missing page would take the value down considerably, I cannot look at this book and agree on that grade. Am I mistaken? Is this guy for real?

 

Also, he said nothing about having the book professionally certified, he just stated he had it graded by Lone Star Comics. I'd be inclined to trust them, however I'm still skeptical.

 

Any help or opinions would be massively appreciated! Sorry for the crazy long post!

[kevhtx]

Hi everyone, first forum post here!

 

I'm looking for some 2nd and 3rd opinions on a book I sold on eBay.

 

Here are the scans of the book: https://www.flickr.com/photos/149206627@N06/

 

Currently having an issue with the buyer who purchased the book from me about a month and a half ago. It is not professionally graded or certified, but I have had actual work experience grading comic books, and I always try to give my absolute best estimate of a book before listing it with a particular grade. My estimates are based on the CGC scale, of course.

 

The comic in question is a copy of X-Men #9 (silver age), which I estimated to be around a 6.0 to 6.5. It was priced at 170.00 USD, which admittedly leans more toward 6.5 (current Overstreet value of a 6.0 is 129.00). My ebay listing contains hi res scans of the front and back covers.

 

Massive oversight on my part: I forgot to check the inside of this book thoroughly, but at least checked the color of the pages and made sure they weren't stained/water damaged, etc.

 

So someone made me an offer for 125.00, which I accepted. They paid me, I shipped it. done and done.

 

A week later. I receive a return request with a message from the buyer saying "This is listed as a 6.0/6.5+, but I speculate that it will be graded a 3.5 (VG-) through my experience with Lone Star Comics". I apologized, and offered to accept a return or give a partial refund. The buyer took me up on an agreed upon partial refund of 25.00.

 

A month later. I receive the following message from the buyer:

 

"The comic above has been graded by Lone Star Comics as a .5 Poor. The last page of the comic was torn out. It may be an honest mistake. Both of us missed it. The comic is worth $20. Do I have any recourse with you?"

 

I did not catch the missing page. My bad. I was going to make the same offer; either accept a return for a full refund, or a partial refund of 80.00. Unfortunately, the buyer has already left me negative feedback for the transaction. The more I think about it, the more I'm questioning the whole thing. So that's why I'm here. To my understanding, a grade of .5 would denote a book that is REALLY messed up. Like, crumpled up, torn, moldy, water damaged, makes you sad looking at it kind of bad. I've sent a book to CGC which turned out to have a missing page, but was otherwise a 4.0, and they gave it a 4.0 Qualified grade, NOT a .5! So while I understand the missing page would take the value down considerably, I cannot look at this book and agree on that grade. Am I mistaken? Is this guy for real?

 

Also, he said nothing about having the book professionally certified, he just stated he had it graded by Lone Star Comics. I'd be inclined to trust them, however I'm still skeptical.

 

Any help or opinions would be massively appreciated! Sorry for the crazy long post!

 

IMO, If he has a great rating on eBay, then as a seller accept him at his word. You even said that you weren't sure since you didn't fully check.

 

In the end, he very well might be screwing you over. But, unless you see something blatant that shows he is scamming you, just give him the benefit of the doubt and refund him. Most likely, you will get a great review out of it and potentially a customer who will buy things in the future. Conversely, you will probably get a negative review if you do not and what is that worth to you?

 

I recently had a similar situation on eBay. I bought a comic that was $12 (after shipping). It was supposed to be near mint. Well, when it showed up, I left it bagged/borarded and put it away. A couple days later, I opened it up and there was a huge tear on the back. The seller must not have checked the book before sending to me. I asked for a refund. Initially, he said he would refund and that it came from a distributor. He apologized.

 

Well, after I sent it back, he said because I didn't return it in his original mailing box and that the bag/board didn't look like his, he didn't want to refund me. I told him that I get a lot of comics and regularly throw boxes away. I just used what I had on hand at the time. I don't think he believed me or he didn't want to.

 

In the end, he did refund me, but it was a bad experience for me. As a buyer, I want to trust the people that I buy from and if I can, I am most likely going to buy from them again. Ebay is filled with dishonest sellers and buyers are swimming in water with sharks. When I find a good seller, I add them to my "watch" list and I buy from them when I can.

 

Good sellers should err on the side of good customer service. In the long run, it will benefit you.