Where to Report/Request Assistance with Possible Grading Error/Fake I Purchased? 4 4

[Ryan1983]

On 5/24/2022 at 7:06 PM, Sigur Ros said:

End of story. 

[rjpb]

On 5/24/2022 at 12:21 PM, Ryan1983 said:

 

Oh, and after blowing me off with that first, dismissive "Good Luck" message, the original seller has, daily/politely, emailed me to instead advise that their easy refund policy will take care of a return on this ASAP... 

The bar for forcing a return is pretty low on ebay, I just had a seller respond they didn't accept returns, and I filed for one anyway when I was unhappy with their description vs. undisclosed issue. I filed for one anyway, got the label and returned the book. I got a notice that the seller had contacted ebay after receiving the return, but was refunded the same day.

[Ryan1983]

On 5/24/2022 at 7:06 PM, Sigur Ros said:

Then you're all set? 

Good.  End of story. 

This guy's done, but I will say I have been contacted again several times in the last 24 hours by both parties, via email, as well a few randoms in my store inbox and I'm really wondering if this may actually be something interesting after all, partially because of the fact that, as I have been told now in two separate instances by dealers who don't know each other, USM#1 goes through the rigors as one of the most misidentified raw books of the modern age at the shop/shopper level. There are MANY of these that don't have the obvious FCBD banners or other glaring markers for the layman to immediately differentiate (collectors know, many don't), so I learned that this has been one of the premiere books of the modern age with many easy instances of customers being ripped off at cons or online. 

The second dealer also mentioned that there are several of these infamous "problem books" that certain grading companies hang their hats on as having a provable record of never allowing fakes through the system. Is Ultimate Spider-Man #1 one of these particular books, in the eyes of the CGC? I don't know, and neither did they, but I was told that while this dealer has had nearly a dozen books they have submitted come back with minor errors on the tags that they had fixed without a problem (misspelling "Kieth Giffen" on a Justice League #3 or "Conner Kent" on a 52 #1, as examples), he said he has never been contacted on a daily basis for nearly a week by anyone offering, as the emails call it, "complimentary reholder service" for any of his books. He said neither he, his partner or anyone he submits piles of raw books with has ever been messaged directly by the company repeatedly, either...

A common thread from everyone who takes a second to send me something is just "how easy" it will be for everyone involved "do this for [me] as soon as possible." Nothing in the official correspondence asks me if I want to cooperate, it just speaks as if it's a done deal ("submit your item..." and "after you submit this form..." etc.) and I was instructed to select, in my paperwork, that this was a "Mechanical Error under "Special/Return Services" with this as the guide. Unless I'm wrong here, three separate quality control groups (as I'm told every new, slabbed book must pass before it is labeled for return) allowing a fake to go through the very system that is designed specifically against this should be a big deal for them. Yes, buyer beware is always a thing, but the very guys who authenticate and that's their entire business model should not be making mistakes like this, or at the very least stop playing the self-victimizing "we're human" card (one person is a human; many, many checkpoints along the way is a system).

Edited May 26, 2022 by Ryan1983

[Sigur Ros]

On 5/25/2022 at 7:35 PM, Ryan1983 said:

This guy's done, but I will say I have been contacted again several times in the last 24 hours by both parties, via email, as well a few randoms in my store inbox and I'm really wondering if this may actually be something interesting after all, partially because of the fact that, as I have been told now in two separate instances by dealers who don't know each other, USM#1 goes through the rigors as one of the most misidentified raw books of the modern age. There are MANY of these that don't have the obvious FCBD banners or other glaring markers for the layman to immediately differentiate (collectors know, many don't), so I learned that this has been one of the premiere books of the modern age with many easy instances of customers being ripped off at cons or online. 

The second dealer also mentioned that there are several of these infamous "problem books" that certain grading companies hang their hats on as having a provable record of never allowing fakes through the system. Is Ultimate Spider-Man #1 one of these particular books, in the eyes of the CGC? I don't know, and neither did they, but I was told that while this dealer has had nearly a dozen books they have submitted come back with minor errors on the tags that they had fixed without a problem, he said he has never been contacted on a daily basis for nearly a week by anyone offering, as the emails call it, "complimentary reholder service" for any of his books.

A common thread from everyone who takes a second to send me something is just "how easy" it will be for everyone involved "do this for [me] as soon as possible." Nothing asks me if I want to cooperate, it just speaks as if it's a done deal ("submit your item..." and "after you submit this form..." etc.) and I was instructed to select, in my paperwork, that this was a "Mechanical Error under "Special/Return Services" with this as the guide:

You're just trying real hard to find value in this bad label. Incorrect labels are not in demand.

Good luck. 

[Axe Elf]

On 5/25/2022 at 6:45 PM, Sigur Ros said:

You're just trying real hard to find value in this bad label. Incorrect labels are not in demand.

Maybe not now, but CGC just hired a new QC guru, so incorrect labels are about to become as rare as hen's teeth.

I'd hold...

[Ryan1983]

On 5/25/2022 at 5:45 PM, Sigur Ros said:

You're just trying real hard to find value in this bad label. Incorrect labels are not in demand.

Good luck. 

Hoping a graded book increases in value...who would ever? Starting to think I've left too many clues lying about during this caper...

[Devilla06]

I had this happen with a Batman new 52 #1. I bought it signed by Capullo and Synder and when I got it I noticed it was the Walmart variant since it didn’t look like my #1 first print. It doesn’t say it’s a Walmart variant anywhere and I found out it’s actually a 2nd print.

 

was pretty furious. It was on short boxed and I couldn’t find a way to contact the seller or return it. I put it on eBay and it sold.

i obviously stated it was a Walmart variant and was labeled incorrectly. When the buyer bought it I again had them confirm they understood. 
 

but yea super annoyed. Since the reason I buy graded books is to make sure signatures are real and the book is what it’s suppose to be

[Ryan1983]

Just a blanket update to those who have messaged me on my email, store, or elsewhere: yes, I plan to sell this eventually but the novelty behind the oddity hasn't worn off on me just yet and I don't know when. I have noticed (or, should I say, it has been repeatedly brought to my attention ...) that CGC wants this book back, yes I know this already, but it's been stated to me by yet another person that keeping it may be "bad for the hobby," which seems extreme. How does the error of the company diminish the value of the copies that were slabbed accurately? I have several myself and the last thing I want to do is have them lose their worth.

Edited June 10, 2022 by Ryan1983

[revat]

On 6/10/2022 at 9:41 AM, Ryan1983 said:

Just a blanket update to those who have messaged me on my email, store, or elsewhere: yes, I plan to sell this eventually but the novelty behind the oddity hasn't worn off on me just yet and I don't know when. I have noticed (or, should I say, it has been repeatedly brought to my attention ...) that CGC wants this book back, yes I know this already, but it's been stated to me by yet another person that keeping it may be "bad for the hobby," which seems extreme. How is the error of the company diminish the value of the copies that were slabbed accurately?

well on a macro high level scale, the more error slabs that there are out there in the wild, the less trust people generally have in CGC, which overall lowers the realizable prices for ALL CGC slabs.  Now of course any single error may not make a huge impact, but that would be a pretty reasonable economic theory.