True Crime #2 is staying put after all 0

[SOTIcollector]

I typically don't buy raw books for hundreds of dollars from international sellers.  But this time I couldn't resist grabbing another copy of the most dangerous comic book ever made, True Crime #2.  I placed the winning bid on eBay, and anxiously awaited the book's arrival.  It arrived pretty quickly, for a book coming to the US from down under.  

Today I opened the package and within seconds I knew I had to send it back as significantly not as described.  I had been a little suspicious of the book all along, and in retrospect I should have known about its most significant problem.

I'll post the full details and the seller's name after I've heard from them regarding my return request.

Here's the book, advertised as FN, using the pics from eBay.  Here's a quiz for you.  What's pictured that should have told me to stay miles away from this book?

Edit 3/6:  Seller ackowledged the error and immediately sent full refund.  

 

Edited March 6, 2021 by SOTIcollector

[Jeffro.]

Those staples look awfully shiny. Married cover or a DIY cover reattachment?

Edited March 5, 2021 by Jeffro.

[rjpb]

All three pictures would make me wary of trimming. Cut and wrap can vary a lot with GA books, but with both the yellow space over the gun and the area under the brown shoe at the bottom missing, the undercut of the top of the cover looks like a trim. The wrap could explain the cut on the right edge clipping the text box, but combined with other elements looks suspicious, though there are plenty of GA books with funky vertical cuts. On the back it is unusual for there to be an angled undercut at both the top and bottom of a book. The cut at the bottom of the cover on the inside photo looks a little wonky, though that could be the photo. 

[rjpb]

Unless it's a married photocopy cover or something of that magnitude, the price wasn't bad for a restored, married  or trimmed copy. I can understand wanting to send it back for undisclosed work, but there might even be some upside on a resale with disclosure.

[GermanFan]

13 minutes ago, rjpb said:

All three pictures would make me wary of trimming. Cut and wrap can vary a lot with GA books, but with both the yellow space over the gun and the area under the brown shoe at the bottom missing, the undercut of the top of the cover looks like a trim. The wrap could explain the cut on the right edge clipping the text box, but combined with other elements looks suspicious, though there are plenty of GA books with funky vertical cuts. On the back it is unusual for there to be an angled undercut at both the top and bottom of a book. The cut at the bottom of the cover on the inside photo looks a little wonky, though that could be the photo. 

Looks trimmed. We all sense if a book is trimmed or just poorly cut.

[GermanFan]

1 minute ago, rjpb said:

Unless it's a married photocopy cover or something of that magnitude, the price wasn't bad for a restored, married  or trimmed copy. I can understand wanting to send it back for undisclosed work, but there might even be some upside on a resale with disclosure.

Maybe you can get some of the money back and keep the book. I sent 3 books back bc of resto once, an AF 15 (4.5 sl amateur r, right side trimmed, 1500 $) Flash 123 extra staple about 20 $, and the Charlton with the Ditko elec. chair, spine glued. I regret sending them back, all were great deals.

[fifties]

Here's my copy, complete with the same type of rolled spine, as a comparison.

[buttock]

2 hours ago, SOTIcollector said:

I typically don't buy raw books for hundreds of dollars from international sellers.  But this time I couldn't resist grabbing another copy of the most dangerous comic book ever made, True Crime #2.  I placed the winning bid on eBay, and anxiously awaited the book's arrival.  It arrived pretty quickly, for a book coming to the US from down under.  

Today I opened the package and within seconds I knew I had to send it back as significantly not as described.  I had been a little suspicious of the book all along, and in retrospect I should have known about its most significant problem.

I'll post the full details and the seller's name after I've heard from them regarding my return request.

Here's the book, advertised as FN, using the pics from eBay.  Here's a quiz for you.  What's pictured that should have told me to stay miles away from this book?

 

Repro cover.  I'm guessing the moire pattern is seen on the cover itself and not just the scan? 

[Robot Man]

Obviously, either the scan is bad or a repro cover. The color of the inside cover looks funny. Staples look new and too small. Like fifties, I think my copy also has a bit of a spine roll, could be trimmed on the right but most definitely at the top. Look at the right side. No matter what, looks more vg than fine either way. 

[SOTIcollector]

3 hours ago, Jeffro. said:

Those staples look awfully shiny. Married cover or a DIY cover reattachment?

Yes.

[SOTIcollector]

3 hours ago, rjpb said:

Unless it's a married photocopy cover or something of that magnitude, the price wasn't bad for a restored, married  or trimmed copy. I can understand wanting to send it back for undisclosed work, but there might even be some upside on a resale with disclosure.

Yes, at about $250US, it could have still been a good deal with minor restoration or trimming.  However, the cover is a poorly-trimmed repro, meaning it's just a coverless copy (that also has resto work and replaced staples).

[porcupine48]

Just now, SOTIcollector said:

Yes, at about $250US, it could have still been a good deal with minor restoration or trimming.  However, the cover is a poorly-trimmed repro, meaning it's just a coverless copy (that also has resto work and replaced staples).

I can't sad react but here's a big Bronx cheer to that.Ugh,sorry this happened.

[SOTIcollector]

3 hours ago, GermanFan said:

Maybe you can get some of the money back and keep the book. I sent 3 books back bc of resto once, an AF 15 (4.5 sl amateur r, right side trimmed, 1500 $) Flash 123 extra staple about 20 $, and the Charlton with the Ditko elec. chair, spine glued. I regret sending them back, all were great deals.

If it were just restoration, that might be feasible.  But I can't imagine the seller would want to give, say, an 80% to 90% refund for a book that's coverless, with replacement staples and sloppy tear seals.

[rjpb]

3 minutes ago, SOTIcollector said:

Yes, at about $250US, it could have still been a good deal with minor restoration or trimming.  However, the cover is a poorly-trimmed repro, meaning it's just a coverless copy (that also has resto work and replaced staples).

Does the repro actually have the moire pattern, or is that photo artifacting?

Edited March 5, 2021 by rjpb

[woowoo]

Just now, SOTIcollector said:

If it were just restoration, that might be feasible.  But I can't imagine the seller would want to give, say, an 80% to 90% refund for a book that's coverless, with replacement staples and sloppy tear seals.

Send it back. I was out bid on a copy from ebay few weeks ago. This book is only worth 40 bucks just to read sorry 

[SOTIcollector]

2 hours ago, buttock said:

Repro cover.  I'm guessing the moire pattern is seen on the cover itself and not just the scan? 

Actually, no.  The moire pattern is just on the scan. 

It did get me wondering, though...

Perhaps somebody with more familiarity with moire patterns can answer this.  As I understand it in this context, the moire pattern is the result of a digital scan of a digital reproduction, where basically the scan lines don't align 100%.  If something is scanned and the scan shows the moire pattern, does that mean that by definition the item being scanned must have been produced digitally?  Could the fact that the moire pattern shows up on the scan have actually been considered as proof that it's a digital print? 

[SOTIcollector]

Lots of great responses here, but so far nobody has pointed out the thing that I missed in the original photos on eBay, and I feel I should have spotted.  It's the white dots at the staples . In retrospect, I should have noticed them.  There's no way that aged, yellowed, 70+ year old paper will have bone white insides. The white is the result of poking staples through a photocopy on white paper.

Of course, with the book in hand there are lots of other dead giveaways and problems.  White edges to the cover, a really sloppy reassembly of the book that has the leaves very uneven, an uneven cut on the top edge.  The staples are likely replaced, but do look to me like the correct size.  And there are tear seals (with rice paper?) to rips on the last page.  Somebody put a lot of time and effort into this piece of garbage.  

It's pictured below along with one of my copies for reference.  In the last picture, there's a backing board behind the cover to show the sloppy cut to the top edge of the FC.

 

Edited March 6, 2021 by SOTIcollector

[Mmehdy]

it is a shame when sellers think that the inconvience of returinng this book will act as a deterant to a refund. I wish you all the best, the book is one of my all time favorites. This book exploded many many years ago when Bob Overstreet featured it in the color section of the price guide.....hope you can get another copy....

Edited March 5, 2021 by Mmehdy

[The Lions Den]

31 minutes ago, SOTIcollector said:

Lots of great responses here, but so far nobody has pointed out the thing that I missed in the original photos on eBay, and I feel I should have spotted.  It's the white dots at the staples . In retrospect, I should have noticed them.  There's no way that aged, yellowed, 70+ year old paper will have bone white insides. The white is the result of poking staples through a photocopy on white paper.

Of course, with the book in hand there are lots of other dead giveaways and problems.  White edges to the cover, a really sloppy reassembly of the book that has the leaves very uneven, an uneven cut on the top edge.  The staples are likely replaced, but do look to me like the correct size.  And there are tear seals (with rice paper?) to rips on the last page.  Somebody put a lot of time and effort into this piece of garbage.  

It's pictured below along with one of my copies for reference.

 

It really is truly criminal...   

Edited March 5, 2021 by The Lions Den

[SOTIcollector]

1 hour ago, Mmehdy said:

it is a shame when sellers think that the inconvience of returinng this book will act as a deterant to a refund. I wish you all the best, the book is one of my all time favorites. This book exploded many many years ago when Bob Overstreet featured it in the color section of the price guide.....hope you can get another copy....

Thanks.  It's definitely my favorite crime book, given that it was THE book that was criticized more than any other single book back in the day:  It's the only book that rated mentions in SOTI and Love & Death and Parade of Pleasure and the 1951 NY Legislature document and Ladies' Home Journal and the Saturday Review of Literature... and the list goes on.  

I'm interested to see how the seller responds.  Judging by their unsold and sold auctions, it's somebody who sells a lot of books, but rarely (if ever) anything of this caliber.  They sell mostly Australian editions of US books, selling for around $15 a pop.  It's plausible that they are just inexperienced and had no clue what to look for on a repro cover.