Some statistics for you.

[Guest]

Just spent the last 4 hours going over old transactions. Actually a 3 ring binder filled with pages, used as a ledger, to retain written records of transactions ON and OFF Ebay. Here's some interesting data for you:

 

The average price of each book sold appears to be somewhere between $1200 to $1300.

 

True, there are only 650 transactions made on Ebay, but the total amount of transactions I've logged since joining Ebay approx. 3 years ago is approx. 2,750.

Approx 85 to 90% of these transactions are on NON-CGCed books.

In 28 instances I have purchased RESTORED books knowingly and AUCTIONED or sold them AS RESTORED.

 

Out of 2750 transactions, I have had 33 items returned. A full refund was issued or books were replaced with others or the same book (Buyer's choice).

Of the 38 returned, 17 were returned for detected restoration (keep in mind that THIS is based on 2750 transactions..approx. 1 in 161)..a full refund was made to the buyer even if detected later on and in each case, if I couldn't return the book to MY source, it was re-offered off Ebay or on Ebay as RESTORED, unless CGC BLEW the call (in a few cases..three to be exact).

 

I think that these are remarkable figures for someone dealing inTHAT many NON-CGCed super high grade books of high dollar value.

 

Someone pointed out once a seller that had a HUGE amount of negatives, about 40 or so. What they DIDN'T take into consideration is that he had almost 25,000 POSITIVES, which amounts to 1 negative for every 625 positives...an EXEMPLORY record. The Ebayer/poster pointing this out had 221 positives and three negatives!!!!!!!! 1 negative for every 74 positives or a record about 1/10th as good as the guy he was complaining about!

 

Before jumping to conclusions, you should always view the statistics.

[JLA_ALL_THE_WAY]

If you're waiting for apologies/applause/pats on the back...ya might wanna pack a lunch. And a sleeping bag. And a comfy pillow.

 

The fact that my reply is the first & only one in the past 24 hrs since your post says a lot more than your "Stats."

 

And I'm only posting because I've never dealt with you and so am speaking objectively based on ALL the posts I've read both for & against you.

 

You've got a long way to go, baby.

 

Rick

[Guest]

A long way to go for what? Who asked you for a pat on the back? What am I nuts? You'd be looking for a place to stick the dagger even though BY YOUR OWN ADMISSION, YOU HAVE NEVER DEALT WITH ME.

[Architecht]

 

Actually, this post was put up as a response to a thread that I removed. Its first appearance in this forum was after I snipped it from the offending thread and moved it back here. Because of its strange "birth" in this forum, it appeared about 2/3rds of the way down the page and was probably missed by many people.

 

The reason I pulled it and put it back in play is that I think this discussion has over all been too light on facts and figures. This post seemed of some relevance to the discussion, and for once was not just posturing (by either side), but some actual quoted numbers etc.. So I snipped it out and put it back in play.

 

Arch

[Guest]

You are expecting most people to be good at math, statistics, and percentages. This is beyond the grasp of most.

[Guest]

Not at all confusing. The bottom line is that Shuley (who first SWORE to God that the X-Men 7 was color touched, and was so sure of it that he leaped before he looked and started a slander thread, only to be proven WRONG, then after once again was undeniably wrong by ANYONE who ever followed bodybuilding, SWORE to God that the picture I posted of ME, in various parts of MY home was Dorian Yates, only to be proven WRONG), stated that "my buyers get every book back submitted to CGC, bought as unrestored, as purple top restored issues". Whether you do the math, crunch the numbers, whatever....MY figures, from MY sales logs show a completely opposite story. He says, "ALL" (1 out of every one). Mine say "1 out of every 150 or so, give or take a few allowing for a margin of error on all three ends, mine, the buyer, and CGCs", which should be viewed as an EXCELLENT ratio of non-return based on the magnitude of the price, grade, and unslabbed states of the books in question.

Now add to these figures, the facts of my having 1 negative against 650+ positives on 80 to 85% UNSLABBED, high grade, ultra-expensive books, a negative/positive ratio in the upper 1% of all Ebayers, and that NOBODY here thusfar has said either, "That crook didn't refund my money, or the money of someone I know, on an item that I didn't like, felt was overgraded, or was restored".

Ironic thing is that I've gotten almost as many returns on the sale of CGC slabbed books, for cracks or dings in the PLASTIC HOLDERS, as I have for books with restoration!!!!

Being driven by passion and hatred, the Shuleys cannot get ANYTHING straight. From Dorian Yates being my houseguest, to color touched X-Men 7s, to all MDs advertising in the Yellow pages, to my being a male nurse, The Shuleys see demons everywhere they look where I'm concerned. They distort facts and I'll wager, actually believe in them, even with the comical dualities and contradictions. If it were 1692, they'd be the townsfolk testifying that they saw me flying around the countryside, casting spells, at my witch-trial.

[fantastic_four]

The numbers aren't all that surprising. My estimate is that out of the 2750 sales--assuming there were 2750 unique customers, which obviously there weren't, but just assuming--around 2745 wouldn't be able to find restoration if it were there. The biggest thing that will work in your favor is if you know of many of them who sent their comics off to CGC and they came back unrestored.

 

Nobody expects that you would know whether all 2700 or so that weren't returned were professionally checked, but I know that you talk with people a LOT in e-mail, so you must have heard of a few...care to share them, or encourage them to post on your behalf?

[Guest]

The numbers ARE surprising. I would think that with all the bandying about you do with my name, that there would be 1000 instances of returned books found restored by CGC that you have first-hand knowledge of. I've heard things from you, with a Shuleyesque mentality applied, like:

 

"I don't know of ANYONE who got a decent book from him".

"Every book is restored"

"Auctioned MANY file copies on Ebay"

"he HAS to give refunds, or else"

etc. etc. etc.

 

Every time I present pictures, scans, facts or figures to DEBUNK you and the Shuley's JUNK, you just head off in a different direction or change the angle and "English" on the cue ball, but either way you play, you never seem to "pocket the nine-ball".

 

Assumptions. That's it. There was even a LAWYER on this forum (I forget which post out of this Anti-Koos Hate Forum) who said that I had expressed an interest in his RESTORED CGC 7.5 Showcase 4 PROBABLY (P R O B A B L Y), because I wanted to unslab it and sell it as unrestored. How's that for an assumption, Jamie? Do you think he knew EXACTLY what was in my mind when I expressed an interest in it? Are you personally familiar with everyone who has EVER purchased a book from me and the final outcome of the transaction? Do you have a Popeil pocket Telepath device that you can read my thoughts with, just like the guy that assumed I wanted to unslab and trick someone with his book? If you think you CAN know all, see all, you're wasting your time here, trust me. Let me take you to the Flats. PLEASE. Puh-leese come with me and pick some horses for us at the race-track!! I'll front the bet money, we'll split the profits 50/50. Then, we'll RAID the Heritage auction (Drool, drool).

[fantastic_four]

I've claimed all along that your modus operandi is to rely upon the fact that 99% of collectors can't detect restoration, beginning in the "EBay related stuff" thread where you first came out on these boards. Feel free to change the subject all you like, but that's the way the market is--the overwhelming majority of collectors can't detect restoration. I've sure said THAT no less than two dozen times across different threads, both in discussions about you and discussions about why the restored comics market sucks so badly.

 

I'll give you a real shot at clearing up your name again--I know that you talk with people a LOT in e-mail, so you must have heard of a few people who have certified their comics as unrestored...care to share them, or encourage them to post on your behalf?

[Guest]

One of the things i've noticed about his work, is that he always trims the right edge and the bottom edge.It makes sense, since the human mind, neurologically being mostly right handed in orientation, naturally looks a book over from spine (for those CGC damning stresses!, to the top , then towards the right edge, then down, so the book looks superficially square when you look at it that way. When you look at the lower right hand corner out into the lower left spine first, then up towards the upper right corner, you realize that the lower right corner is cut, severely square, and the upper left corner looks natural, and the top edge has been left with its natural slight " softness". Very subtle, but look closely at the four books he has up right now and you'll see what I mean. Nice technique, but it fails when scrutinized.

[Guest]

I'd like to offer an apology for our earlier altercation.

 

I'd also like to second the request for some positive references. A seller of items as fine as you have must have a multitude of happy buyers.

I'll give you a real shot at clearing up your name again--I know that you talk with people a LOT in e-mail, so you must have heard of a few people who have certified their comics as unrestored...care to share them, or encourage them to post on your behalf?

 

[read_em-migration]

I'd also like to second the request for some positive references. A seller of items as fine as you have must have a multitude of happy buyers.

 

Yes, make your feedback public and let us see all the satisfied buyers.

[Guest]

You must all realize, that providing references is the one thing I will NOT do. First off, can you just imagine the barrage of emails, the hysteria that would have been generated, that all my past buyers and bidders would have received if my feedback WEREN'T private? The Shuleys would have quit their day jobs and re-dedicate their lives to interrogations of my buyers. Whoever I revealed would soon curse me and think I was his/her worst enemy for subjecting them to an endless volley of depositions. Please THINK about that before you read on.

I get hate mail. Get it EVERY damned day. Some of it is misdirected and really meant for Fantazia, but I get it, just the same. The overall, prevailing climate is NOT good for me. The hobby believes in their heart, all these rumors of me, even though I can dispell many of them here and have been making a concerted effort to by answering whatever I see, when questioned.

Now with THIS prevailing mood, do any of you think that it would be WISE of me to reveal some of my best buyers so that they can receive email after email of, "We're SURE this guy is a crook"?

Originally, contrary to what the Shuleys say, my reason for private feedback and auctions was because a BIG buyer of mine, who for the very reason of what happened (I'll explain, bear with me), would rather have been anonymous. As a buyer of multiple $10,000 and over books from me, he started to receive spam emails from an Ebay seller on the order of, "I just saw that you purchased a Spiderman 1 for $10,000. I have one you can buy, just like it for $7500, etc, etc, etc. After a solid week of this he asked the spammer to please cease and desist the solicitations or he would notify his ISP of the continued spam harrassments. The next morning, as his child was opening an email that he thought was from one of his Internet buddies, he was greeted by the image of two nude men, one with his hand stuffed _____ (I'll leave it up to your imagination...yes, you're correct..it was that!) and the salutation F*** You, F****t. It was sent from one of those anonymizer ISP intermediary companies and there was little that Safe Harbor or the buyer's ISP could pursue. THAT is why I originally made my feedback private. NOT because of the Shuleys.

Think of it as this way, With 650+ Ebay positive transactions, and 2750 transactions in total (including those 650+) you don't think there's at least a FEW happy campers? You guys know full well there are happy campers and any effort to procure names is just for people to question needlessly.

What have we REALLY learned of me. I DON'T BULLS**T, what I say CAN and usually is able to be backed up with actual proof, and if you deal with me, you're safe!!!!! If you don't like the piece or it's EVER found to have resto, for the duration of ownership, I STAND BEHIND IT, with a full money back guarantee, and nobody here can dispute that.

Also, let me pose an interesting counter argument here. Thnk about this. In baseball cards, it is a VERY common occurrence that PSA will be sent a card cracked out of an SGC slab, and won't grade it because it's altered, and vice-versa.

How many Blue tops, if re-submitted to a new grading service for a second opinion on grade, may come back RESTORED, a few years from now. How many slight color touch, or glue on spine, or staples replaced, or cleaned and pressed labeled as such by CGC may come back UNRESTORED, a few years from now, if there is MORE than one grading service.

Anyone here ever buy a BLUE top that they would bet the farm had something done to it?

Anyone here ever buy a purple top that NOBODY, not even the best paper restorers in the world could find a lick of alteration on?

[Guest]

And Doc, thank you for your apology. And please accept mine, as I was already in the middle of "attack mode programming", arms flailing and lips flapping when we first capitulated on the Forum.

[fantastic_four]

I certainly wouldn't expect you to post references without the permission of the person whose name you're giving out. However, what's the problem with asking some of your best customers to post here? If they say no, then oh well--but it's extremely far-fetched to believe that out of 2750 transactions, you don't have at least a few people willing to vouch for you.

 

Usually, at least 3 out of 4 people are willing to vouch for a seller in hobby-related areas. If that applied to you, you'd have hundreds or possibly thousands of people to vouch for you, at which time all these questions would go away. If you could even get 1 out of 10 customers to vouch for you--which would be dozens if not hundreds of people--it would help your reputation tremendously. You're already hiding your WHOLE customer list; it's too incredible to believe that an honest seller can't cherry-pick a few customers from that hidden list!

 

I'm not sure if you're just ignoring the facts about your reputation, or you've just got your head buried in the sand about it. The number of collectors who have heard you're unscrupulous is at least into the hundreds. Virtually every national dealer believes the worst about you. After all your posting in these forums and the external e-mail, convention, and in-person buddy chatter that goes on related to what's read here, it might be over a THOUSAND people who believe you're a crook now! The statistics offered in this thread are the first serious attempt I've seen from you to address your rep; surely there's more you can do.

 

You've chosen a very public place to defend yourself...many of the people reading and posting here are willing to listen to objective evidence. This is a golden opportunity to clear your name--seize it!

[Guest]

Man, Congratulations! You've just described EXACTLY how the books were cut, manufactured at the factory, in my estimation. None of the edges on these books you are citing as an example, are ALL worn the EXACT same way. I'm the one that is supposed to be doing it and I have NO idea how you are tying in what you are observing to HUMAN procedure. The FF26 has OBVIOUS factory edges, all dissimilar in every way if you examine it, BOOK-IN-HAND. The FF ann2 edges bear NO resemblance whatsoever to the X-Men 7, the annual being a SQUAREBOUND and NOT having the interior pages extend beyond the limits of the edges of the covers, etc. etc. You are citing a constructional, factory affect and crediting ME with it. This is as if YOU were auctioning proof coins and I said, "Wow, look at the mirror finish on all of this sellers proof coins. Notice how similar. He obviously used the same buffing wheel and polishing compound on all of them". It's good BS, mind you. Better BS than the Shuleys, but still BS, just the same.

You can do better than this! I have the biggest (without being too big), clearest, cleanest, well illuminated, accurate scans on Ebay because I WANT all the fine details to be seen, NOT because I'm hiding things on the books.

[read_em-migration]

You're right Meth, making your feedback public would give people too much ammo, too many past buyers getting a barrage of emails. So I have a different idea.

 

Since you have access to your own feedback, why don't you copy and paste all of your feedback comments here on the Board? Take out the buyers' IDs and the auction numbers, of course. I don't think this would take you too long to do (especially since you spent 4 hours to come up with the stats for this thread!)

 

If it's all actually good feedback, it would only help your reputation, no? (And don't leave any out, I'll be counting them up to 658

[Guest]

New, how does one go about doing that? I still can't even get the hang of posting a link here!!! Also, what can be gained, as you know there are 658 positives against 1 neutral and 1 negative. Do you think any of the positives would have in their content, "Seller sent me restored books"? Of course not. I'd be willing to wager BIG money (and I mean BIG) that every one of the positives is enthusiastic with no mention at all even alluding to restoration, alteration, ripping off, etc. Do you think Ebay's computer made a mistake and I was given positives instead of negatives? Is THAT the issue? Do you think that all or some of the positives were supposed to be negatives, as some would lead you to believe for their OWN financial reasons? Curious.

 

You know, seems as though I can keep pointing out these common sense observations forever and it wouldn't make a difference. I don't believe I even have to explain this for someone who has sufficient brainpower to compose a sentient post but here goes:

 

**NONE of my positive feedbacks have negative comments! Positive feedbacks DON'T HAVE negative comments. NEGATIVE feedbacks have negative comments. Positive feedbacks have positive comments or they would have been given a negative feedback by the buyer to go along with negative comments.

 

To recap:

Positive feedback = positive comment

Negative feedback = negative comment

 

658 Positives = 658 positive comments

1 neutral = 1 neutral comment

1 negative = 1 negative comment

 

**I wouldn't think that ANYONE could possibly think that a positive comment would contain a statement like some are hoping for, "The seller is a total crook, a fraud, and should be purged". None of MY positives, or for that matter, any other seller on Ebay has positives that contain anything of that sort (or it would be a NEGATIVE).

Not a difficult concept for a thinking individual.

 

 

[read_em-migration]

"how does one go about doing that? "

 

C'mon, you're telling me you don't know how to copy and paste? You insult my intelligence, sir!

 

"Do you think any of the positives would have in their content, "Seller sent me restored books"?"

 

Yes, that is exactly what I think. I think you have many feedbacks that say "Sent me restored books, but returned my money," so they gave you a positive. Please, prove me wrong.

 

"Positive feedbacks DON'T HAVE negative comments. NEGATIVE feedbacks have negative comments."

 

I guess that depends on what you think is "positive". Any positive feedback you have that says "sent restored books" is a negative in my book.

 

"Positive feedbacks have positive comments or they would have been given a negative feedback by the buyer to go along with negative comments."

 

If you didn't have over 600 feedbacks on Ebay, I'd think you were a newbie! You've never seen a positive that read like a neutral or negative? I've seen 'em; hell, I've given 'em out! Example: I had a comic arrive with no protection, but by a miracle, arrived safely to me. Do I give the seller a negative? No, the book arrived fine. But do I mention terrible packaging in the positive I gave him, to warn others? Yes. That's what I'd call a "backhanded positive".

 

None of MY positives, or for that matter, any other seller on Ebay has positives that contain anything of that sort (or it would be a NEGATIVE). Not a difficult concept for a thinking individual.

 

Wow, I'm surprised by how naive you are. You actually believe this blanket statement you made?

 

[Darthdiesel]

Just my 2 cents...I have absentmindedly left someone a positive feedback while meaning to leave a negative and in the text, totally "negging" them. All because I forgot to check the negative circle. Pretty funny read for a positive: NO COMMS, NO PAY AFTER 60 DAYS, BAD EBAYER!

 

ebay, if you leave a neg or neutral, gives you a chance to check yourself to verify that you really want to neg this person. When leaving positives, it just goes thru after the first click.