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Comic-keys, Methuselah, and Koos, Oh My

28 posts in this topic

I already know that this is not going to be a popular post BUT...

I have read and read the threads regarding this guy and I STILL don't understand what is going on. There are claims that he sells restored books, but I have not seen where ANYONE has proven to me that HE did the restoring, or even knew the books were restored.

 

There have been slams against his demeanor, but if I were unjustly accused of KNOWINGLY selling retouched books as unrestored I would probably be posting heated replies as well.

 

Some have grudgingly admitted that when made aware of the restoration problem he efficiently refunded their money. There was however some complaint that he was not refunding grading fees and postage. Come on guys, get real here. How many other sellers do not refund those expenses? A lot.

 

There was something about a book that was incorrectly listed as 9.8, when it was really a 9.4 he responded that it was an honest mistake. The guy sells a LOT of books, I can certainly see why a mistake might have been made.

 

What is really going on here? Could someone explain it for those of us that do not see, or were not around for the beginning of this mess? If all anyone has on this guy are theories, then God help anyone who posts here because they could be next on the "hit list".

 

I do not know Comic-keys, or Methuselah, or Mr. Koos or whatever. I am however concerned that simply based on the conjecture or whim of a person or persons who use this forum, that someone could be attacked this way without ANY proof.

 

I would hope that there is some proof against the guy that came out before I started visiting these boards. I readily admit that I have not been here that long. By the number of posts some of you have racked up, you must have begun posting here when Jesus was a baby. So enlighten those of us who were not here since "Way back when". Just what proof do you have against the guy?

confused.gif

 

Phil

 

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you're confusing two different people. Procustean was the guy who apparently lied about having a Daredevil 168 CGC 168 9.8 (a book that isn't in the census.) And while we're at it, I actually had a lurker forward me an email where crusty does, in fact, say he has the book (and that "sorry, it's not for sale.") That "i made a mistake excuse" is 100% bulls*|t.

 

As for comic-keys, the whole story is not told on these boards. The accusations against comc-keys actually predate the existence of these boards. Other folks can do a much better job than I in outlining what exactly constitutes "evidence" in this case. I will say, his presence on here is entertaining as all hell.

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Under this category go back in time about 13 pages to a post titled ebay related stuff and the whole comic keys story will come to life. He originally began posting as anonymous.

 

Well ... Thanks for the info, that is about an hour of my life I will never get back smirk.gif unfortunately, it doesn't answer my question. If anyone has some proof of wrongdoing on the part of Comic-keys/Methuselah there are people who would be interested in hearing it. Did Supapimp buy a book and get it graded? If so, what were the results? I am not trying to stir things back up here, just a simple bit of proof is all I am looking for.

 

Phil

 

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Aha! (Quoted from Doc in another thread)

Can you offer a reason why you are widely suspected of doctoring books?

 

Is THAT IT? Suspected? I can suspect anyone of anything I want. I can probably talk my friends into "suspecting" that same person of anything I want. That doesn't make it true. Suspects are not sent to prison until they are convicted, and then not without a trial. I don't think the guy has been properly tried and convicted. So how come everyone is treating him like he has?

 

I was falsely accused of a crime at one time. It was an accusation made by a woman who was later found to be mentally ill. I took and passed a polygraph and had witnesses to boot. Friends of the woman however will always believe that I am guilty of what I was accused of. This is just wrong, and a bit slanderous as well.

 

Phil

 

 

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there is no "proof." No smoking gun. No one has a photo of comic-keys with an exacto knife giving his books a haircut. grin.gif There is only circumstantial evidence, speculation and conjecture. For some of us, that is enough to make us steer clear of comic-keys' auctions. For others it is enough to turn this into an anti- comic-keys crusade. For still others it doesn't count for diddly since they believe comic-keys is innocent until proven guilty...

 

there are no hard answers here. you believe one thing, you believe the other or you're undecided... I'm not sure what you're looking for.

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That's just it...allegations are allegations. In the law field, they are what separates the suspects from the jailhouse. There are many allegations made on these boards about comickeys/koos/meth/allegedly dupchak (an alleged dealer who ran an alleged business allegedly called fantazia years back who ran famous pictures in the Overstreet with multiple copies of every golden age key, allegedly in high grades) which allegedly went out of business for reasons alleged to be related to "doctoring" books (how ironic)), most or all of which are denied by the current poster on these boards, which is his/her right as a citizen of these free United States. Other posters feel it to be their duty to other citizens of the free states to exercise their duty to warn of suspected nefarious acts of alleged "doctors" of books offered for sale in still uncharted internet waters. Said posters also may wish to raise public consiousness of the money-making potential of a volume business where the return rate on books sold to the uninformed or simply hoodwinked arms-length buyer is low, especially when large amounts of legitimate lower value books are sold to create an illusion of propriety, and the multiples of guide $ factor on the big $, ultra-high grade scam books is considered. If all is as alleged, it is a beautiful scam, well worthy of a name so closely related to the "ducat" - allegedly an old unit of currency! wink.gif

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Other posters feel it to be their duty to other citizens of the free states to exercise their duty to warn of suspected nefarious acts of alleged "doctors" of books offered for sale in still uncharted internet waters.

 

I don't see a problem with someone stating an opinion. When a HUGE group pile on though, it seems a bit unfair. Some of the accusations are along the lines of "My Brother's, neighbors, Daughter's, best friend said that she heard from her cousin".

 

If someone wants to level allegations then they should have first hand knowledge. For example, someone in the looooong thread had a direct interaction with someone named Matt. This Matt is apparently a member here and was able to respond directly to his accuser. I have not seen a single person who has dealt directly with Comic-keys as one of his accusers. It is all second or third hand information. Oops, I just remembered one person did deal with him directly, but that person said his money was refunded without a problem. Sounds like a good transaction.

 

I just don't understand the rage toward this guy, it all seems to be based on what someone else says, and that is called hearsay.

 

Phil

 

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snizzenfixit - I like you do not know Comic-Keys - I do know that I would pay $3800. for a CGC 9.8 X-Men No 7 Unrestored. You might want to ask Comic-Keys if he would like to take me up on this and send his present 9.8 ungraded one in for grading since it's seems to be stuck at $1000. I'll even refund the grading fee!

 

He has to the most benevolent comic book dealer ever - and I can't understand why these people on this Board don't think he's an absolute Saint. When have you ever experienced a person who constantly gives the general public the opportunity to grab so many books (he seems to have an endless supply) at a fraction of their actual worth by not having them graded? He obviously is not in it for the money.

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Homer;

I am not sure what you are saying here. What exactly do you think he should do? Are you saying the book is restored? Are you saying he is overgrading the book? There is a 7 day money back guarantee. Buy it and if you don't think it is "as described", then send it back. The auction is at $1025.00 right now with a bid today, and nearly a week left of bidding, I wouldn't call that "stuck".

 

Phil

 

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There is another current thread going right now where a poster bought several high end books and I think just about all were restored - I think it is under a thread about comic keys X-men 7 9.8 on ebay right now. The probelm is that all books are listed as unrestored gems and given very specific descriptions and cgc type grades. Someone with that much experience who is able to grade books in increments of .2 can't recognize restoration and says in the ad that it is in fact unrestored? I am an attorney myself and circumstantial evidence is most often what convicts folks - eyewitnesses are not needed and often unrealiable. And there are many folks who know this guy. If you like high end books, buy some from him and test it out. The posts on here began as a red flag to other potential buyers to watch out like many other fraud warnings on here. I started buying only cgc highend comics 2 years because of the restoration problem - and if the books he has are so great, why not get them graded and put this debate to rest?

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If you bought the book, would you be able to tell whether it was restored within a 7-day period? How many people would be able to find very slight color touch and very minor trimming by themselves at all? Less than 1% of collectors.

 

If the only way these books of his can be verified unrestored is to send them to CGC, then you've got to ask the question--why doesn't he send them to CGC himself? I have talked to at least ten people who have bought books from him and done exactly that. Every single one of them came back restored. I have yet to meet someone who has bought a certified unrestored comic from comic-keys. I would very much like to talk to people who have bought certified unrestored comics from comic-keys, but I can't find any, he won't give the names of any out, and his feedback is private.

 

The reason he's able to operate as he does is because he accepts returns on the comics that are found to be restored. This is the exact reason E-Bay allows him to stay on their system, and it's the reason he hasn't been arrested already. However, it's the books that AREN'T sent to CGC that keep him going. The people who still don't know they've bought a comic worth far less on the marketplace than they paid.

 

The first-hand knowledge and direct evidence against comic-keys is out there. Until it becomes public, he surely can answer a few important questions that could go very far towards clearing up some of the doubts about him:

  • Comic-keys only buys 7.0 to 9.2 comics on E-Bay, yet he sells mostly 9.0 to 9.9 comics. He says he has only been collecting comics for about three years and that he has only been to one convention in his life. Where is he getting all of this incredible material? Estate sales, I guess? I know dealers who watch the estate sales in his area, and they're convinced he's not getting them there. So from where? He told me he bought over 200 early Marvels, along with multiples of each key, at that one convention he went to from one of the fans at the convention. That's the LUCKIEST find in the history of comics if it's true! And it sounds far too incredible to be true. Comic-keys sells more unslabbed high-grade than anyone in the history of E-Bay. And his comics have straighter edges than anybody else's. How does he do it?
  • Why doesn't comic-keys send books to CGC? I've heard his reasoning on this, but it'd be helpful if everybody else heard that reasoning also.
  • Why won't he go to conventions in his own area to sell comics worth $20,000+? He has been offered this before by people who want his books but know of the rumors that he and Dupcak are the same person. Some of the dealers at the New York conventions knew Dupcak and would recognize him again in person. Why won't he go to those conventions to sell high-dollar books and clear up all this confusion that he and Dupcak are the same person? What honest seller wouldn't drive a few miles from his house to make tens of thousands of dollars in a direct, pre-arranged sale?

Comic-keys has some compelling knowledge and facets to his personality that would be a great asset to the comic collecting community. Would it help if I said "please?" PLEASE come back to the fold! It's not too late, and you've already gained so much...do you really need more at the expense of others?

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OK Here is proof of Comic-Keys,I bought a book from Mr Koos a while back,it was a ASM #14 NM/MT so he said,I paid $3000 for this "Mint" copy.I overnighted it to CGC and when i got it back the purple label said "NM- 9.2 (SA) Restoration includes: 2 Edges Trimmed,small color touch on cover,glue on spine.I have spoken to may people who bought books from this insufficiently_thoughtful_person and same thing happening,more trimming and color touches,so you see you can't take a chance with this guy.I got a refund minus my grading fee..but what if i never graded it? that's how he rips you off.

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Dr. Richard Koos is NOT a Doctor.He is a Male Nurse...RN to be exact,he is not listed as a registered Surgeon or a doctor for that matter in the registery of phyicains in all of NY,you can go and look him up.He became a RN in 1983

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Phil - It's as clear as the nose on your face - So clear in fact that I am beginning to think you are in some way connected to the seller. NOBODY, but NOBODY sells real 9.6 and 9.8's ungraded - His '7-day' return is not enough time for the average buyer to detect professional restoration - I would bet that a CGC 9.8 graded X-Men no 7 would well in excess of $5000. His feedback is private, not for any other reason other than to prevent potential buyers emailing some of his previous transactions. His bidder list is 'private' to prevent those who have had bad experiences from warning unwary bidders. The largest comic dealers in America who take four full-page ads in the Overstreet, and have numerous outlets, and attend all the major conventions do not have the amount of 9.8 keys that this individual comes up with - and when they do find such 'perfect' books ALL OF THEM have them graded.....You don't have to ne a brain surgeon to realize that there is something not above board here.

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I wouldn't criticize snizzle for protesting comic-keys' innocence. In this country, we're innocent until proven guilty, and he's right, there has been no first-hand or direct evidence presented here that he is or ever has been a criminal. However, the circumstantial evidence is becoming overwhelming.

 

Two points of clarification in the spirit of giving comic-keys a full, fair shot at his defense:

  • Of the ten people I mentioned above who bought restored comics from comic-keys, nine of them received refunds well beyond a 7-day time period. Also, he himself mentioned in another thread this week that he will accept returns on comics that come back from CGC as restored. I fully believe this is by necessity; if he didn't accept returns, his facade would come crashing down as the buyers went to the police.
  • I previously stated that I hadn't found anyone who had received a certified unrestored comic from comic-keys. That wasn't correct; I do know of one. However, I'm sure the buyer would rather I didn't name him or the comic, because it was a key Bronze Age comic that came back as an unrestored CGC 9.8, the highest grade given to that issue. CGC has been known to miss trims from time to time; it's possible that book is restored, although it's just as possible that it isn't. The owner of that comic is actually a high-profile member of these forums, so if he wants to share his experience, he will.

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