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COLLECTOR WARNING - Enrico Niederberger!
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Started by glenbru,

33 posts in this topic

glenbru

glenbru

Posted
Posted (edited)

COLLECTOR WARNING - Enrico Niederberger

 

On February 10th, I purchased the Kindred 1 cover by Brett Booth from Enrico who lives in Germany for $5000.

I sent him PayPal friends and family as he requested. He confirmed in an email that he received funds and would send the cover to me in a few days and get me tracking when it shipped.

A week went by with no tracking info. I wrote him a number of times with no response.

After a month, he finally responded and said he was terribly sorry. He had forgotten to send the cover and apologized. He claimed he would send it right away.

It’s now been over 2 months and he has stopped returning emails and it seems has no intention of sending me the cover at all.

 

I’m hoping someone in the art community can reach out to him, if you know him, and urge him to do the right thing.

 

In the meantime, I would suggest that you do NOT do any business with this collector as he is not to be trusted to come through at his end.

Here is a link to his CAF:

https://www.comicartfans.com/gallerydetail.asp?gcat=8571

 

An image of the cover he sold me is attached…

Kindred 1 Cover (1st Mini Series).jpeg

Edited by glenbru
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Guest Race

Guest Race

Posted
Posted (edited)

For the less informed:

Be Careful Using PayPal Friends and Family Payments | Fraud Prevention Unit

"There is only one case in which you should use Friends and Family: when you’re sending money to an actual friend or family member. Why? Because this payment option doesn’t have the same protections. Once you send money, it’s gone. There are no claims or disputes. It’s like wiring money or using peer-to-peer money transfer apps like Venmo or CashApp."

For Glen: The German civil court system is effective, easily accessible for Americans (there are a ton of English-speaking online firms catering to the US expat community in Berlin) and cheap (atty fee + suit cost should run you around 1000 euros). Best of all, the German civil system only requires filings -- so no depositions or need to fly to Germany to appear in court. It's not the best option, but it is an option to recover some of your money.

Edited by Race
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glenbru

glenbru

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  • Author
Posted

I recognize that sending PayPal friends and family is not the smart thing to do.  I have never had a problem before after trusting many collectors in the hobby over the years. This is the very first time I've had an issue. Lesson learned going forward.

I appreciate the advice, Race. I will consider it.

Glen

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fenip

fenip

Posted
Posted
On 4/18/2022 at 12:35 AM, glenbru said:

I recognize that sending PayPal friends and family is not the smart thing to do.  I have never had a problem before after trusting many collectors in the hobby over the years. This is the very first time I've had an issue. Lesson learned going forward.

I appreciate the advice, Race. I will consider it.

Glen

It's a bummer how some rotten apples can spoil it for the rest. I'm also naive in that regard but didn't have problems with it yet. 

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fenip

fenip

Posted
Posted
On 4/18/2022 at 3:41 AM, grapeape said:

Glen due to the seller’s  presence on CAF I recommend reaching out to Bill Cox to inform him of the situation. I hope it gets straightened out.

🍇 🦍 in ☀️ so cal

On 2DG there's a feature where paying members can recommend other members (giving a thumbs up). Also not fail proof but it can give an indication. 

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The Voord

The Voord

Posted
Posted

Negative comments on his CAF image are starting to build-up, I've just added mine.  Maybe more people here should do the same.  If he's not answering Glen's e-mails, it's a good way of reminding him that he needs to put this right.

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Timely

Timely

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 4/19/2022 at 1:41 AM, The Voord said:

Negative comments on his CAF image are starting to build-up, I've just added mine.  Maybe more people here should do the same.  If he's not answering Glen's e-mails, it's a good way of reminding him that he needs to put this right.

:wishluck:

Edited by Timely
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Grendel72

Grendel72

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Posted

As someone living overseas , this just pisses me off. Many of us can't buy or sell cos there is so much distrust dealing with people living overseas. And then this happens. Hope it gets resolved to Glen's satisfaction.  I dont know Enrico but looking at his collection , makes no sense to do this for 5k. Nonetheless it is what it is, and its unacceptable. 

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gumbydarnit

gumbydarnit

Posted
Posted (edited)

I feel for you Glen, I hope you'll eventually get your artwork!

For all of us collectors, next time someone requests a buyer to pay via friends and family, send them a link to this thread, and tell them you'd prefer to have recourse if the art doesn't get shipped for whatever the reason. Think about it, we have a company that will basically make you whole if you run into a bad seller, and all you have to do is pay 4%. 

If they wont do the deal without you using friends and family. Ask them to send you the art first and you'll pay them with friends and family after receiving the art ... "No?!? What's the matter don't you trust me?" 

Edited by gumbydarnit
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MAR1979

MAR1979

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 4/19/2022 at 11:45 AM, Grendel72 said:

As someone living overseas , this just pisses me off. Many of us can't buy or sell cos there is so much distrust dealing with people living overseas. And then this happens. Hope it gets resolved to Glen's satisfaction.  I dont know Enrico but looking at his collection , makes no sense to do this for 5k. Nonetheless it is what it is, and its unacceptable. 

You do have good reason to be upset.  Horror stories and personal experience (luckily only on a $150 item 15 years back from France) are the reason I NEVER buy or sell outside of USA.  Only exception being Canadian seller I have established "relationships" with. 

Agreed to ruin a previous reputation over a 5K + some other sales on the surface make no sense. But desperate times might have dictated it and Enrico like many realize they can so very easily get away with it. 

Edited by MAR1979
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Michael Browning

Michael Browning

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Posted

This very same thing nearly happened to me last year. I had been asking to buy a piece of art from a CAF member for a couple of years and he had agreed to sell it to me when we first started discussing it, but said he was in the process of a big move and needed until later in the year when he would be settled in. I agreed because he seemed rather trustworthy and had been seemingly up front about everything from the start.

I emailed him via CAF at the time that he specified and didn’t hear back from him. So, I gave him more time and waited almost a full year and messaged him again. When he finally replied, he said he wanted to sell me the art, but the price had almost doubled since it had been two years since we made the deal and prices had escalated on cover art. I wasn’t happy about that because a deal should be a deal, but I wanted it and agreed on his new price. I then asked him to send me a PayPal invoice and I’d pay immediately. He went silent. Several days later, I get a message from a weird email and he’s asking me for my bank account information because he wants me to do a bank transfer because his PayPal is acting strange and he also tells me his CAF email no longer works so he would have to email through the new email from that point on.

I got suspicious and investigated the email account and it was from a website that no longer existed and every email I sent was kicked back to me as non-deliverable. I emailed his CAF account again that I could only do PayPal and got another message from the deactivated email account saying he would only do the deal through a bank transfer or if I’d send him cash. He also said, again, that his CAF email wasn’t working (then how did he get my responses that he was replying to?). There was no way I was sending this guy cash money to Germany (he was from there, just like Enrico). I sent him the message that I just couldn’t do that and never heard from him again. He’s on Facebook, but has never replied to my messages and has never accepted my friend request.

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