• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

ASM #252 CGC 9.8 Record Sale - something fishy going on? - Holder Tampering Incident confirmed by CGC
50 50

Started by spidermanbeyond,

9,030 posts in this topic

  • Popular Post
silent06

silent06

Posted
  • Popular Post
Posted
On 12/24/2023 at 9:27 PM, VintageComics said:

The information I have received, which I have shared with a boardie in this thread who is on top of the discussion, is a very different name.

What I suspect, and this is just a guess, is that when the seller allegedly found this way of gaming the system they possibly started using a pseudonym. 

The name from the information I received is linked to an older eBay account and not the newer accounts, and they may have changed the registered name on eBay at some point at roughly the same time the alleged gaming began. 

That's just a spitball guess at this point. 

You are correct. Brees is the name used in shipping of the books. However, in a conversation, I had with briva3. I was told that this individual is someone he has a relationship with. He identified himself by another name during the course of that conversation. However, the recent information I received from Ebay for the return of the ASM 238 books identifies him by another name.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MAR1979

MAR1979

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 12/24/2023 at 10:43 PM, VintageComics said:

Do you have any proof of this or are you just guessing?

 

4 Decades of experience with Comic Dealers, Flippers and Speculators makes my tongue in cheek comment well within plausible range.  The cries of "It's a Newsstand baby" from those folks tonight will drown out Santa...

Edited by MAR1979
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Nick Furious

Nick Furious

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 12/24/2023 at 5:38 PM, silent06 said:

This concerns me as I now don't believe Ebay is aware that this is a case of the seller defrauding buyers and subsequently attempt to take action against the seller. If that is in fact the situation, it ties into my other concern of the books from buyers requesting returns being shipped back to the seller and used later in some new manner to defraud collectors in the future. While I want to be made whole financially, if possible. I don't want the books to be returned to briva3 only to be used in some nefarious manner down the line because of lack recourse or actions that allow briva3 to slip through the cracks.

If you don't send the books back to him, he keeps the money and wins that way.  I would send the books back, and I would do it quickly while he is likely in a panic over being outed.  If he doesn't willingly refund the money after getting the books, it puts Ebay right in the middle of it.  Also, when he tries to resell the tainted slabs, it could work out poorly for him.  Having another chance to sell the slabs might just be enough rope for him to hang himself with.  Not sending the books back to him lets him off the hook. 

Edited by Nick Furious
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Changer

Changer

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 12/24/2023 at 4:51 PM, silent06 said:

Hello. I am the Ebay buyer that purchase the two Amazing Spider-Man 238s Newsstand from briva3 or Comic Selects  and possibly by way of ComicLink  an Incredible Hulk 340. I became aware of this scam via the negative feedback left on briva3 Ebay seller account and the podcast provided by West Coast Davengers and 9.9 Newsstand.  I also believe the New Mutants 98 book that was part of the New Mutants Mark Jewler scam that was discussed in one of the podcast is possible a regular Newsstand edition I won in an auction from briva3 prior to the New Mutants Mark Jewelers auction by him. I suspect at last minute he needed the regular NM 98 newsstand as after I successfully won the auction he canceled the purchase through Ebay.  There has been a question of briva3 real name, location and possible contact information. Based on the shipments of the ASM 238s, a conversation I had personally with him as well as messages exchanged and most recently information provided to me by Ebay for the return of the ASM 238 books to him, I have contact information for him.

In my attempt make a claim with Ebay, I also submitted a return request, as that was the only option available, through their resolution center noting that the seller had been identified as defrauding buyers and that I would like to file a fraud claim. My hope was that  using the term fraud would trigger a keyword alert in their system and that someone from Ebay would reach out to me directly. It was to my surprise on Friday that I received a response from Ebay stating that the seller, briva3, had responded and approved my return request for the ASM 238 books. This concerns me as I now don't believe Ebay is aware that this is a case of the seller defrauding buyers and subsequently attempt to take action against the seller. If that is in fact the situation, it ties into my other concern of the books from buyers requesting returns being shipped back to the seller and used later in some new manner to defraud collectors in the future. While I want to be made whole financially, if possible. I don't want the books to be returned to briva3 only to be used in some nefarious manner down the line because of lack recourse or actions that allow briva3 to slip through the cracks. From the perspective of being one of the buyer's impacted by this scam, I would much rather CGC request the books forward to them, make the concessions to the buyers and either retain the books or regrade them accurately to possibly be sold at a later date at the new correct grade. In conjunction with that effort, enact new security measures that prevent a scam like this and the defrauding of buyers, in this manner, from occurring in the future. 

I would like to thank Dave at West Coast Davengers as after receiving the approved return response from Ebay, I reached out to him and he provided me his thoughts on the issue I am facing in returning the books to briva3 as well as recommended that I post on this forum for the perspective, thoughts and awareness of its members. 

Below are the links to the auctions for the ASM 238s I won on Ebay as well as the auction I won for the NM 98 that briva3 retracted the purchase for. If you look at the feedback of the bidding history and feedback count of the buyer for the auctions, you can see they were all won by the same buyer. Also, I have provided a link to the Incredible Hulk 340 that sold on Ebay and then was sold to me via ComicLink a few months later. The certification numbers are the same but I believe the books could possibly be different.

 

 

ASM 238s
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NM 98
 
 
 
 
IH 340
 
 
 
 
 

Reposting as a new member my post was awaiting moderator approval

include an air tag in the return package and we will do the rest. lol , also let comic link know, who knows how many books they sold for him/her. 

Edited by Changer
Link to comment
Share on other sites
paqart

paqart

Posted
Posted
On 12/24/2023 at 10:31 PM, Taxi Driver said:

LOL FBI??? Civil suit sure, but if you are dumb enough to buy something that you never verified as being real, FBI is not getting involved lol, that's a civil matter. However, if I got screwed out of the money that is allegedly involved, man I would be naming names, filing a civil suit against the scammer and CGC, and everyone would know everything about the scammer. I'm shocked at how quiet the victims and people who know the scammer have been.

The FBI deals with counterfeiting, forgery, and high end collectibles/art-related crimes. This ticks all the boxes. The only reason they wouldn't look at this is if they are too busy doing other things.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
agamoto

agamoto

Posted
Posted
On 12/24/2023 at 8:08 PM, paqart said:

The FBI deals with counterfeiting, forgery, and high end collectibles/art-related crimes. This ticks all the boxes. The only reason they wouldn't look at this is if they are too busy doing other things.

Bingo, this isn't unfamiliar territory for G-Men.

https://www.fbi.gov/history/artifacts/bullpen-babe-ruth-baseballs

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Lightning55

Lightning55

Posted
Posted
On 12/24/2023 at 10:12 PM, comeaux said:

CGC has been a complete debacle, ZERO quality control with upside down comics, incorrect labels, foreign objects inside slabs, scuffed slabs, Newton rings, puddling, swapped comics inside holders, THE COLE SCHAVE SCAM (thread was locked to protect the insiders) with inside sources and a plethora of other issues. CGC STINKS. The CGC Turd Slab has been a disaster and the only folks speaking in defense of CGC are some dealers with skin in the game and the usual CGC apologists. This current scam likely involves 1000’s of comics so expect CGC to lock this thread like they did the Cole Schave thread. Why not remove posts they think are offensive instead of lock the entire thread? You know why hm  Fortunately I dumped most of my high value slabs over the last 10 years and the remainder will be sold soon. Sure everyone can say CGC is the best out there but compared to who? CBCS or PGX???xD Also, the perpetrator of this current debacle will not be prosecuted or pursued in any manner so expect these same shenanigans to continue and get worse. Shoving comics in a plastic holder from Chinese vendors with cheap printed labels is not “high tech” regardless of how much people wish it to be so. I used to be one of those amoebas but I am no longer. 

 

Could some knowledgeable person please sum up the Cole Schave Scam in a few sentences?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Stefan_W

Stefan_W

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 12/24/2023 at 10:13 PM, sledgehammer said:

I don’t think that makes a whole lot of sense. It was pretty clear when this buyer posted yesterday, if you looked at the tracking information that the information was clear. The tracking number was shown in the eBay messages between them, in that post..It showed the post office location where the comic book was shipped from. I would put it at 1 million to one, that this is anything more than what That Incredible Hulk 340 buyer’s post, showed  it to be.

If you were a scammer, and you were sending someone a comic book that wasn’t quite worth the $5000 that the buyer thought it was , but it was actually worth $2000, Would you put fake return address information on the box, that would cost you $2000 if for some reason that package needed to come back to you? Your argument might make a lot more sense except for that.

I was talking about the name and your point (which is valid) is about the address. 

I remember seeing a point made earlier that a person who did a return had to route it through the Ebay global shipping program so no actual specific address was uncovered. I was doing family time this evening so maybe I missed something, but as far as I know we have a general area based on tracking but nothing specific so far. Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong. 

Edited by Stefan_W
Link to comment
Share on other sites
sledgehammer

sledgehammer

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 12/24/2023 at 10:51 PM, Stefan_W said:

I was talking about the name and your point (which is valid) is about the address. 

I remember seeing a point made earlier that a person who did a return had to route it through the Ebay global shipping program so no actual specific address was uncovered. I was doing family time this evening so maybe I missed something, but we have a general area based on tracking but nothing specific so far. Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong. 

I don't think you're wrong.

My first thought when all this started was that this was a big submitter, that was directing all of the fraudulent stuff to a small ebay account.

My post was only to show that a name exists in the area where the IH 340 was shipped from that is a perfect match, and also is a match for other parts of the country, that have been connected to the scamboy's ebay accounts.

I completely believe that this could turn out to be a big submitter, using someone else (probably complicitly) to launder the fraudulent stuff.

(thumbsu

Edited by sledgehammer
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Prince Namor

Prince Namor

Posted
Posted
On 12/25/2023 at 10:43 AM, VintageComics said:

Do you have any proof of this or are you just guessing?

You should read this post. 

 

Chris is saying IF all of those things are provable, they have "run afoul of the law on a federal level".

He DOESN'T say it's any kind of guarantee that something will be done.

THAT is what is in question.

We GET that it's BAD.

We DOUBT anything will happen 'on a federal level' of Criminal Charges. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Prince Namor

Prince Namor

Posted
Posted
On 12/25/2023 at 11:08 AM, paqart said:

The FBI deals with counterfeiting, forgery, and high end collectibles/art-related crimes. This ticks all the boxes. The only reason they wouldn't look at this is if they are too busy doing other things.

Who has the FBI gone after previous to this over intent to fraud a comic book?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
silent06

silent06

Posted
Posted
On 12/24/2023 at 9:59 PM, Nick Furious said:

If you don't send the books back to him, he keeps the money and wins that way.  I would send the books back, and I would do it quickly while he is likely in a panic over being outed.  If he doesn't willingly refund the money after getting the books, it puts Ebay right in the middle of it.  Also, when he tries to resell the tainted slabs, it could work out poorly for him.  Not sending the books back to him lets him off the hook. 

Thank you for your thoughts and perspective.  I had factored in the possibility that after receiving the books back, he may attempt not to refund me for the books by conveying to Ebay that the books were not received back in the same condition that they were shipped and was planning to take pictures prior to shipping the books back, if returning them is the way I decided to proceed. I was also planning to contact the credit card company I used to purchase the books and file a dispute and fraud claim as an extra layer of protection.  Alternatively, as I still believe Ebay is unaware that this is fraud, I had thought of just filing a fraud/dispute claim with my credit card company, letting them work directly with Ebay, instruct me where to forward the books to and have them refund me under fraud protections. I never considered him keeping the money as a win, though. 

On 12/24/2023 at 10:09 PM, Nick Furious said:

When you send the books back, use Registered Mail, and insure it for the full amount of the refund that you are expecting.  Registered Mail is best option when you are dealing with a squirrel.

Ebay provide me a pre-printed shipping label to return the books via USPS Priority Mail to a P.O. Box address. I thought about adding an additional signature requirement to the shipment as that would require identification and a signature at the post office counter. I hadn't considered insurance on the shipment that would be and is a necessary addition to the return shipment. I am not sure what sending it Registered Mail adds or provides. Could you educate or provide me context?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Lightning55

Lightning55

Posted
Posted
On 12/24/2023 at 11:49 PM, mjoeyoung said:

 

Thanks for the link. I had already found it on Google, and skimmed the first few pages and last couple of pages. Couldn't get the gist from that and didn't want to read 249 pages. Been there (this thread), done that. Was it just about bad pressing? Anyone got something more specific?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
50 50
Go to topic listing