So what are we looking at here? 0

[Qalyar]

The three books together in the first image are reprints. Legitimate 1940 copies of Batman #1 have a serif-font issue number. Quite a few of the reprints replace that with a sans-serif numeral. My first thought was that these are Famous First Editions with the outer cover stripped; however, it doesn't look like the DC bullet is in the right place to be the FFE Batman #1 (specifically, shifted considerably to the right from where it "belongs"). I'm not an expert on all the various other ways these books have been reprinted, to say nothing of what are effectively forgeries appearing recently on eBay.

Regardless, I suspect that first pic is what the "seller" actually has. The other images are clearly different books, several cropped from slab photos.

[CAMPER49]

Speaking of scams, I have a complete run of the original BATMAN comics.

Look how perfect the first 10 issues look in my photo, the other 703 issues plus annuals are the same.

Meet me at the far corner of that dark parking lot at 2 am and bring your payment, cash only!!!

 

[oldrover]

[BigLeagueCHEW]

55 minutes ago, CAMPER49 said:

Speaking of scams, I have a complete run of the original BATMAN comics.

Look how perfect the first 10 issues look in my photo, the other 703 issues plus annuals are the same.

Meet me at the far corner of that dark parking lot at 2 am and bring your payment, cash only!!!

 

Will Joe Chill be accompanying you? 

[The Lions Den]

2 hours ago, Mercury Man said:

Reprints?  Find of the Century?  Hard to make out some details from screen shots.  

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/387694185654388/?

 

Tis the season...

[B2D327]

1 hour ago, silversurfer275 said:

 

One of those is the Canadian variant

[porcupine48]

2 minutes ago, B2D327 said:

One of those is the Canadian variant

Pffft.I don't see the two digit barcode

[B2D327]

Just now, porcupine48 said:

Pffft.I don't see the two digit barcode

I could be mistaken. I remember reading a thread where it was brought up some time about a year ago in here and how to distinguish the rarer of the two.

[porcupine48]

8 minutes ago, B2D327 said:

I could be mistaken. I remember reading a thread where it was brought up some time about a year ago in here and how to distinguish the rarer of the two.

I'm just kidding about.Barcodes didn't come around till what the seventies?

A little jab at the Canadian price variant subject.

[lordbyroncomics]

A case of someone having replica reprints not counting on collectors noticing this post, but people semi-familiar with comics seeing this and thinking they're going to get a bargain. Seller will sell the replicas for a few grand and repeat the scam somewhere else. 

[the blob]

11 hours ago, wisbyron said:

A case of someone having replica reprints not counting on collectors noticing this post, but people semi-familiar with comics seeing this and thinking they're going to get a bargain. Seller will sell the replicas for a few grand and repeat the scam somewhere else. 

I'd like to think nobody falls for it.

[Mercury Man]

If anything posts like this should be educational.  The oddest part is meeting in person per his request.  If he’s scamming he’s doing it in your face 

[lordbyroncomics]

5 hours ago, the blob said:

I'd like to think nobody falls for it.

I'd like to think that also, but the truth is- *we* wouldn't fall for it, but that doesn't mean other people wouldn't. My girlfriend lives for antique shopping in various states where there are multiple antique stores all within a few minutes distance of each other and I can't tell you how many 80s'-90s' comics are marked up there. I asked one of the guys (as the comics weren't his, they were another seller's stall) if people ever bought those and he said yeah, and shook his head. His shaking of his head allowed me to inquire what he thought about the prices and he went on to tell me that the majority of people they get only have a vague realization of comics being "collectable" so sometimes will buy something for a nephew or a grandson or something, thinking it's worthwhile. There are people with limited exposure to the ins and outs who go off of vague mainstream coverage that was fleeting when it was contemporary, so they could indeed be tricked into thinking replica editions are the real deal.

 

Of course that also depends on the seller here. How good of a conman are they? I'm serious. Do they have touches that make it seem plausible? Did they take the time to print 5 x 10 photos of some old guy with Golden Age books so they can pull it up and claim it's their Grandfather or something? You never know. They might ask for a grand per comic and give a Laurence Olivier-esque performance about how they really DON'T want to sell their Granddad's comics at such a LOW cost, but the PANDEMIC, and their KIDS are starving... if they've got acting chops and the buyer is naive, perhaps this is what they're counting on. Obviously this is all speculation. Even if the buyer is naive and uneducated that doesn't justify them being ripped off, obviously!

When I was a teenager there was a LCS and the owner was a terrible and horrible human being; he never did anything to me but there were multiple stories about this guy ripping people off and taking advantage of people and stealing from another store when they were loading in for a convention. We knew he was a mark for people who somehow ended up with collections who didn't know anything about it and he'd dream about sweeping in and ripping them off and he'd go on at length to an employee (who then told us) about how it was bound to happen and how he'd trick them. My buddy and I eventually prank called him, taking our time and saying our Uncle had died and was a serious collector and the lawyer handling the estate advised us to seek out an expert because "we don't know what to do with all these old things, they're all in bags and stuff". Then, after he enthusiastically responded, we proceeded to tell him we had Darkhawk and Secret Defenders #1 then argued with him, being like "but it says 'Collector's Item' on the cover! Is this just, like, negotiating? Okay, give us ten thousand for all of them." He just got so flustered but kept trying to see if we had any key books! I wish I'd recorded that. 

[the blob]

5 minutes ago, wisbyron said:

I'd like to think that also, but the truth is- *we* wouldn't fall for it, but that doesn't mean other people wouldn't. My girlfriend lives for antique shopping in various states where there are multiple antique stores all within a few minutes distance of each other and I can't tell you how many 80s'-90s' comics are marked up there. I asked one of the guys (as the comics weren't his, they were another seller's stall) if people ever bought those and he said yeah, and shook his head. His shaking of his head allowed me to inquire what he thought about the prices and he went on to tell me that the majority of people they get only have a vague realization of comics being "collectable" so sometimes will buy something for a nephew or a grandson or something, thinking it's worthwhile. There are people with limited exposure to the ins and outs who go off of vague mainstream coverage that was fleeting when it was contemporary, so they could indeed be tricked into thinking replica editions are the real deal.

 

Of course that also depends on the seller here. How good of a conman are they? I'm serious. Do they have touches that make it seem plausible? Did they take the time to print 5 x 10 photos of some old guy with Golden Age books so they can pull it up and claim it's their Grandfather or something? You never know. They might ask for a grand per comic and give a Laurence Olivier-esque performance about how they really DON'T want to sell their Granddad's comics at such a LOW cost, but the PANDEMIC, and their KIDS are starving... if they've got acting chops and the buyer is naive, perhaps this is what they're counting on. Obviously this is all speculation. Even if the buyer is naive and uneducated that doesn't justify them being ripped off, obviously!

When I was a teenager there was a LCS and the owner was a terrible and horrible human being; he never did anything to me but there were multiple stories about this guy ripping people off and taking advantage of people and stealing from another store when they were loading in for a convention. We knew he was a mark for people who somehow ended up with collections who didn't know anything about it and he'd dream about sweeping in and ripping them off and he'd go on at length to an employee (who then told us) about how it was bound to happen and how he'd trick them. My buddy and I eventually prank called him, taking our time and saying our Uncle had died and was a serious collector and the lawyer handling the estate advised us to seek out an expert because "we don't know what to do with all these old things, they're all in bags and stuff". Then, after he enthusiastically responded, we proceeded to tell him we had Darkhawk and Secret Defenders #1 then argued with him, being like "but it says 'Collector's Item' on the cover! Is this just, like, negotiating? Okay, give us ten thousand for all of them." He just got so flustered but kept trying to see if we had any key books! I wish I'd recorded that. 

I actually saw a dealer get conned on a reprint or two mixed in with a stack of real low grade GA books offered at a show for a quick sale. He flipped through them quickly, thought he was getting over getting a high grade book or two, lowballed figured he'd get the guy to take the cash accepted quick, had the lowball accepted, and the seller ran off. As he was re-bagging the books he realized he had been duped. But as for a non-comic nerd thinking they're getting the real thing ... I think they could pull that fast one for $10-$20 a pop at a yard sale or whatever, not so much a "meet me with a backpack of thousands in a parking lot" situation. Then again there are stupid people out there. Lots of them.

 

[the blob]

2 hours ago, Mercury Man said:

If anything posts like this should be educational.  The oddest part is meeting in person per his request.  If he’s scamming he’s doing it in your face 

My friend who used to own a comic shop used to bring off duty cop friends to such meet ups . Well worth buying them some beers and food afterward to have peace of mind. 

[lordbyroncomics]

8 minutes ago, the blob said:

My friend who used to own a comic shop used to bring off duty cop friends to such meet ups . Well worth buying them some beers and food afterward to have peace of mind. 

Yeah, meeting up how they describe is just red flag central. Let's say for a second that they're actually LEGIT... even though we know they're not... wouldn't they *realize* this looks shady? If anything, meet in a neutral area like a hotel lobby or something.