Sof Posted August 4 Share Posted August 4 So it's an hypothetical scenario as I don't have yet the book (but I am thinking about getting it). I have my eyes on a foreign comic book in eBay, the book is not graded. The seller is a private seller (not a business) and he does not accept refund 1) Let's assume that I buy the book and assess that it is a fake when I receive it. I believe I could get refunded as long as I return it within 30 days as eBay offers some protection for counterfeit goods even if the seller does not accept refund. I understand that paying with Paypal would also provide more protection. 2) Let's now assume that I send the book to be graded when I receive it as grading the book would allow me confirm whether it is an original or not. Grading could take time and I have no guarantee to receive it within 30 days. Is there a way to receive a fast confirmation from CGC that the book is an original before the grading process is complete? If not, would there be any chances to get a refund from eBay or Paypal when I receive it back from CGC and it is found that it is a fake one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougC Posted August 5 Share Posted August 5 If you are outside of the return window Ebay will not assist you in any way, same with paypal (they may have a different window). If you take the risk of purchasing something that may be counterfeit you need to use your credit card as the payment source as it will have a much more robust claim process. You have to be very careful though, if paypal denies your claim or you are past the window and your CC does a charge back, it is possible that paypal will close your account and any account associated with your SSN. Also if you explicitly tell your CC you purchased something you though might be counterfeit they are much less likely to assist you. If I might ask, why do you think the comic is counterfeit? unless it is a high value book the likely hood (especially with foreign books) is pretty rare that someone takes the time and effort to fake something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thehumantorch Posted August 5 Share Posted August 5 A lot to unpack here. First off, is there a reason you believe the foreign book might be fake? Does it look fake or is the seller listing suspicious or his feedback suspicious or are you just worried that it's a private seller and he can't be trusted? Have you gone to grand comics database to look at their copy of the book you're interested in to compare? I don't buy a ton on ebay and there are boardies who understand the ins and outs of ebay a lot better than me but I believe anything is returnable on ebay. There's certainly a time limit. Quite likely by the time you submit a book for grading it'll be too late to return it. Depending on the quality of the seller he may or may not honor a refund I've bought a few SA foreign books from ebay, Argentina I believe, and it took months to get them. Tracking stopped and I was very worried they were lost. So if this foreign book is outside North America you may find the shipping times are extraordinary and you'll have no chance to return the book. Could you post the book here or pm the link to me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sof Posted August 6 Author Share Posted August 6 Thanks for the answers. I do not believe that the comic book is fake based on the appearance or the seller. But the specificity of this market (arabic comic books) makes it prone to fake in my opinion. There are no visible differences between a reprint or an original because the reprints have been produced by some collectors (not the publishers) and are exact copy of the original. The quality of the reprint will depend on the expertise of the collector, the quality of the paper and so on. Some people sell some reprints on eBay and advertised it as reprint. When I asked one of the seller how he would distinguish a reprint from the original he told me he would be able to recognize a reprint from an original with the quality of the paper (once he has the book in hands). I don't think I will be able to detect a fake myself as I don't have an original with which I could compare the paper quality. When I see the number of fake One Piece or Naruto manga sold on eBay for example (from seller with excellent reviews), it shows me that if you don't know your stuff (which is probably my case) then you're likely to be screwed. And recognizing that I am not expert enough on the topic to recognize an original from a reprint based on the paper touch, I am trying to find an expert like CGC which could help. There would be no way for CGC to return the book quickly in case it is a fake or to give me a heads up? Would I have to wait 3 months to have it returned in a nice slab describing it as fake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcm54 Posted August 7 Share Posted August 7 You could have CGC pre-screen the book for an acceptable grade. But you would be relying on CGC having adequate knowledge of this foreign-language market to even know if the book was legitimate. I would hope they do, and could authenticate it during a pre-screen, but I wonder if you really want to be IN this market in the first place. Sof 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revat Posted August 8 Share Posted August 8 On 8/7/2024 at 12:13 PM, kcm54 said: You could have CGC pre-screen the book for an acceptable grade. But you would be relying on CGC having adequate knowledge of this foreign-language market to even know if the book was legitimate. I would hope they do, and could authenticate it during a pre-screen, but I wonder if you really want to be IN this market in the first place. Strong agree. Call cgc and ask about authentication in the pre-screen. but also, I’d call cgc and ask about the unlimited value service. That is extremely fast and should turn around in 2 weeks. Maybe ask if they have an even faster service you can pay for. Call and ask for advice. You can get all the random stranger info in the world but you still need to call cgc anyways at some point probably Sof 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sof Posted August 18 Author Share Posted August 18 On 8/8/2024 at 2:53 AM, revat said: Strong agree. Call cgc and ask about authentication in the pre-screen. but also, I’d call cgc and ask about the unlimited value service. That is extremely fast and should turn around in 2 weeks. Maybe ask if they have an even faster service you can pay for. Call and ask for advice. You can get all the random stranger info in the world but you still need to call cgc anyways at some point probably thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudson Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 @DougC@thehumantorch@kcm54@revat Just saw this thread and thought it was really nice of you all to try and help @Sof One of the things I like about these boards is kind people (like you all) who take the time and effort to try and help a fellow collector. thehumantorch and marvelmaniac 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
