Need advice on dealing with a Presser who lost two of my books- where to post this? 6 6

[Bird]

On 3/23/2022 at 2:17 PM, iexx said:

Later, on June 24^th he emailed me those comics were not lost, he had misplaced them instead and they were working on them.  Later on the phone He said he would submit the two without charging me because of the mix-up.  I said thank you for the kind gesture.

This part concerns me; what would lead him to confirm that they had the books at this time? We can't find them, they were stolen, we misplaced them and are working on them and then lost/stolen (again?).

I am somewhat contrary to the rest of the posts...I find $950 somewhat reasonable and $2000+ a bit harsh. These values are based on post-pressing, so in reality lower grade books were lost and he is attempting to somewhat compensate you for lost potential as well. So that seems relevant to me. What is right and what is fair may be different things here. BBB is not an option for recovery, they are powerless in the end I believe. Court means costs, and where do you sue if you are in different states? Take a low 2021 value and move on. You may find yourself totally SOL if he decides to act in bad faith.

 

[Bird]

Another option is tell him that you want replacement raw copies. Values are arbitrary but you want your comics replaced within a reasonable grade range. You want your books back and they are not hard to replace, so he needs to replace them.

Edited March 23, 2022 by Bird

[revat]

On 3/23/2022 at 12:15 PM, Bird said:

Another option is tell him that you want replacement raw copies. Values are arbitrary but you want your comics replaced within a reasonable grade range. You avoid legalese and negotiating...you want our books back and they are not hard to replace, so he needs to replace them.

yah if he thinks thats how much those comics are worth (high, low, or in the middle), THEN HE CAN GO FIND THEM HIMSELF and give them to you.

[BlowUpTheMoon]

On 3/23/2022 at 2:17 PM, iexx said:

The comics are Hulk #180 and X-Men #94.

In April of last year I sent 48 books to X for pressing and forwarding to CGC

Were those the best two books of the 48 you sent? 

[iexx]

On 3/23/2022 at 11:58 AM, Tnexus said:

I would also request a copy of the police report to make sure they actually were stolen.

He said they were stolen, but then said he had them, then he lost them.

[iexx]

On 3/23/2022 at 12:24 PM, BlowUpTheMoon said:

Were those the best two books of the 48 you sent? 

Yes

[Funnybooks]

On 3/23/2022 at 3:39 PM, iexx said:

He said they were stolen, but then said he had them, then he lost them.

[Bird]

get out while you can

 

[jsilverjanet]

the proper reimbursement should be getting you the same two books today, or the money for you to purchase the books today.

 

[Lpgk]

A part of me wishes you don't resolve this so you can out the presser here so others can avoid him/her. 

However, even with the sketchy details from his end, it would probably behoove you to settle. You want 2021 slabbed prices, he is offering 2020 raw prices. I would compromise to some level that you could go out in the marketplace and just replace these books, even with a slight loss if need be. 

I seriously doubt this guy has any insurance, and what insurance company would take a policy on this? What business policy would cover the liability of thousands of dollars of books with this type of business? It sounds like a smokescreen to give him some legitimacy. If you push him and even win in small claims, collecting is another matter entirely. Are you going to hire a lawyer and go to another state for small claims for a couple grand? 

In the big picture here, you may have to settle for close to raw prices, if you're lucky. If you have a take a small L, move on. Lesson learned. 

[Tnexus]

On 3/23/2022 at 12:39 PM, iexx said:

He said they were stolen, but then said he had them, then he lost them.

I guess if it's possible, I would find out what insurance claim he had in the first place, and how it relates to your comics. If damages were in the 60K plus range, that pretty much limits it to a fire or theft. If it was water damage, they still would exist. I could maybe see that stuff was stolen, but then your comics weren't listed in the theft, then discovering they actually were stolen well after the fact. However, it still seems fishy. Something really doesn't add up.

Edited March 23, 2022 by Tnexus

[shadroch]

The books were stolen. You should get the value of the books on the day they were stolen. Not todays value, nor the value when you sent them. 

Look up GPA for the day on the police report or on his insurance claim.  If you were happy with the 46 books he did, why not take some future credit as part of the deal. 

He offered 900. You want 2100.  Would $1500 and $500 in credit work for you?  Something along those lines? 

[Beige]

One things for sure:

This thread has 20 pages and a lock in it's future  

[iexx]

On 3/23/2022 at 1:10 PM, jsilverjanet said:

the proper reimbursement should be getting you the same two books today, or the money for you to purchase the books today.

 

I agree.

 

[iexx]

On 3/23/2022 at 2:19 PM, Lpgk said:

A part of me wishes you don't resolve this so you can out the presser here so others can avoid him/her. 

However, even with the sketchy details from his end, it would probably behoove you to settle. You want 2021 slabbed prices, he is offering 2020 raw prices. I would compromise to some level that you could go out in the marketplace and just replace these books, even with a slight loss if need be. 

I seriously doubt this guy has any insurance, and what insurance company would take a policy on this? What business policy would cover the liability of thousands of dollars of books with this type of business? It sounds like a smokescreen to give him some legitimacy. If you push him and even win in small claims, collecting is another matter entirely. Are you going to hire a lawyer and go to another state for small claims for a couple grand? 

In the big picture here, you may have to settle for close to raw prices, if you're lucky. If you have a take a small L, move on. Lesson learned. 

Thanks for the thoughtful post Lpgk,  small claims court is a hassle and collecting (if I win)  could be a problem- good point.

[iexx]

On 3/23/2022 at 2:29 PM, Tnexus said:

I guess if it's possible, I would find out what insurance claim he had in the first place, and how it relates to your comics. If damages were in the 60K plus range, that pretty much limits it to a fire or theft. If it was water damage, they still would exist. I could maybe see that stuff was stolen, but then your comics weren't listed in the theft, then discovering they actually were stolen well after the fact. However, it still seems fishy. Something really doesn't add up.

I think I will reach out to his  attorney who was handling the stolen books and tell them that I need settlement because they were stolen/lost.

[Lpgk]

On 3/23/2022 at 12:13 PM, iexx said:

Thanks for the thoughtful post Lpgk,  small claims court is a hassle and collecting (if I win)  could be a problem- good point.

as someone outside the loop, it's an outsiders perspective. might not be worth chasing this guy down, only to win and never be able to recover anything. take the L and move on with your life. 

and please post him here on the boards so we know to avoid him. at best, he is unorganized and unprofessional. at worst, he pulled a fast one and kept the books for himself or "misplaced" them. 

[iexx]

On 3/23/2022 at 2:47 PM, shadroch said:

The books were stolen. You should get the value of the books on the day they were stolen. Not todays value, nor the value when you sent them. 

Look up GPA for the day on the police report or on his insurance claim.  If you were happy with the 46 books he did, why not take some future credit as part of the deal. 

He offered 900. You want 2100.  Would $1500 and $500 in credit work for you?  Something along those lines? 

That's resaonable.  The 46 are with CGC so I haven't seen his work, but he has a very good reputation.

[shadroch]

On 3/23/2022 at 3:18 PM, iexx said:

That's resaonable.  The 46 are with CGC so I haven't seen his work, but he has a very good reputation.

Remember that if you sold them on ebay, MCS or just about anywhere, you have expenses. $2150 sold on MCs would net you around $1900. 

If you sell on the boards, I wouldn't expect full gpa. 

[JollyComics]

Who?