ebay seller "TYBEANSTY" anybody dealt with him before?

[Bonds25]

I know I could have negged him, but I don't feel a negative was justified. He's a decent seller, just a horrible grader.

[shadroch]

sounds like my description of the seller formly known as stckwizard!

[Aces]

sounds like my description of the seller formly known as stckwizard!

 

I finally got to a point where I can remember his user name (stckwizard) and now he goes and changes it!

[goldust40]

Oh I'd buy from him. Because he has a return policy.

 

Brian

 

Right. My turn. I might be the most drunk sailor here, as I won 41 items at a grand total of $1332. I was aware of his return policy, and that's why I bid. To be fair, despite my seeming reckless here (which I unquestionably was) I didn't bid over guide on much. I didn't expect perfection. The one thing that concerns me is the allegation that shills were involved - however in my case, because I stuck to my guns on NM items and went for VFN+ books (mainly) I was outbid by FCastle easily on many items. However I wouldn't want to do a disservice to this seller as this was far from the worst experience I've had on ebay.

 

Here are the stats: Out of 41 books, 3 were undergraded, 15 were correct, 12 were overgraded by one point (i.e. 9.0 instead of 9.2), 1 was overgraded by two points, and 2 were overgraded by 3. I wasn't too unhappy with the overgrades due to prices paid on the books in question. To be fair the important books I won were okay.

 

That left 8 remaining books that were simply not good enough - two or three books graded NM were VFs or VF+s (and I'd paid NM guide for them), and one or two were considerably worse. I emailed him with the details and he refunded 50% of the price for these items and I kept the books, which I was happy with.

 

Overall, not terrible. Also his packing/shipping/email responses were very fast and professional. He also charged me $22 shipping for the books (incl. insurance) which is not bad for 41 books transatlantic. I've been charged far more for much less.

 

I could've been tougher re the 3 books that were overgraded by 2 points or more that I kept, and yep, it's irritating that 12 books (over a quarter of them) were just off. More fool me. Have to say it was out of character for me to go beserk on the bidding with an unknown seller, but doubtless I'll do it again when the red mist descends. Although only if the seller has great feedback and BIG, representative scans He who dares wins etc.............

[Darthdiesel]

judging from the bidders and number of responses on this thread - we forumites were each others worst enemy on driving prices up.

[drbanner]

My summary:

 

Purchased 10 books, 5 were overgraded by at least 2 grades and are being returned. Of the remaining 5, 4 were graded "NM" and one "F+". One "NM" book was close enough to call NM, the other 3 are good enough to keep at around VF/NM or NM-. The F+ was ok.

 

Pretty much what I've come to expect when big runs/collections like these are offered by non-comic sellers, and I certainly am not going to neg him or leave him a neutral as he met all the conditions we agreed to prior to my bidding (which is basically, return the book for a refund if you don't want it).

[goldust40]

judging from the bidders and number of responses on this thread - we forumites were each others worst enemy on driving prices up.

 

Could be. Hard as this may be to believe, I didn't read this (incredibly long) thread until today - I must have glossed over this section. After reading the entire thread I'd have to say that:

 

1) There are no buried treasures on ebay anymore.

 

2) Having a seller with a good return policy is effectively very important, both for buyer confidence and for the seller - there would have been half as much bidding otherwise.

 

3) With so many books on sale in one go, there were bound to be mistakes. This isn't an excuse, though. Grading is paramount.

 

4) Erratic grading coupled with a good return policy will still satisfy the majority. Most of this thread was about conflicting opinion re one seller.

[shadroch]

I disagree.There are hidden treasures on ebay.But you won't find them in mass collection selloffs.

Auction fever is very contagious.In my limited ebay experiance I've stolen a motto from infomercials."Set it and forget it." Once three or more regular ebayers are interested in a book,there will be no bargins.

I saw these auctions and couldn't believe who was bidding and how high they were going.Whatever hapened to the "bid based on the books being two full grades less than described" rule I hear so many advocate.

I myself think a liberal return policy is a canard.People bid more,feeling they can return it,but when faced with a less than expected book,they often eat it rather than lose the double shipping payments that will result in them having nothing to show for it.

It's a well known marketing tool that the longer and better the refund policy is,the less likely it is to be returned.

[goldust40]

It's a well known marketing tool that the longer and better the refund policy is,the less likely it is to be returned.

 

I've bid on stuff where the policy is favourable, only for the books to be overgraded badly. In those cases I always send the books back - it's a chore, but not that much of an imposition.

 

I agree with the two full points rule, but in this case (the erratic grader who was accurate half the time) the pluses outweighed the minuses, especially since he partly refunded on the books I wasn't happy with, which is less hassle than returning the items (and costly, if you're in the U.K.). However if I'd been strictly collecting, rather than dealing, I would definitely have been fussier.

 

As for finding the odd 9.2 and above unrestored early to mid Silver Marvel at a bargain price, you'd have to say that patience and plenty of time are required for any breakthrough to happen - and the chances are getting thinner as more buyers join ebay.

 

That said, you can find the odd deal in other areas of the hobby, such as low to mid-grade G.A. and Atom Age............

[comicmankev]

WOW! I asked him for a 90% refund as it was all a POS, and in my mail was the refund

[WilQuon-migration]

I won the following from him:

 

ASM # 60, listed as NM, more like VF- (request adjtmt of $80)

 

Flash #178, listed as NM-, more like VF+ (request adjtmt of $15)

 

Phantom Stranger #1, listed as NM-, more like VF (request adjtmt of $65)

 

Sabrina #1, listed as NM-, more like VF+ (request adjtmt of $65)

 

World's Finest #198, listed as NM-, more like VF+ (request adjtmt of $15)

 

The Banana Splits #1, listed as NM, more like VF+ (request adjtmt of $50)

 

 

I got my credit of $290, NO QUESTIONS asked.

 

That's a 40% credit on my purchase. Even though the books were clearly overstated, I'm happy with the adjustment I got.

 

Wil

[Bonds25]

Were you happy with them being VF books, or did you buy them hoping to have them be NMs so you could CGC them?

[WilQuon-migration]

Were you happy with them being VF books, or did you buy them hoping to have them be NMs so you could CGC them?

 

 

Yes! Bummer they weren't in NM condition! But I'm pleased with the transaction even though I struck out 6 out of 7 auctions. They are still in the shape that I would keep for my collection.

 

Wil

[Guest]

I believe the feedback system on eBay is hopelessly flawed. Most sellers, especially bad ones will not leave feedback until after the buyer has left feedback. This leaves the door for retaliatory feedback wide open. Until the seller is required to give feedback first, as they ought to, this will never be properly solved as buyers don't want undeserved negative feedback. Why should sellers be required to give feedback first? Because the buyer has really only one job: PAY THE MONEY OWED. Once money is paid the buyer has completed their obligation, they should be given immediate feedback as to how this worked out. The buyers side of the equation is fraught with peril. Bad packaging, bad shipping, bad grading...etc.

 

I'm quite surprised at the comments here as to how the guy does not deserve nuetral or even negative feedback. Of course he deserves nuetral or negative feedback, poor grading is reason alone for this action. How else do future customers know to be wary?

 

But like me, most posters here are afraid to leave negative feedback and screw up their own. A good return policy is no substitute for poor grading. The scariest part ties into my experience with actual CGC grdaed comics. Having submitted over 600 books, I still find that comics are overgraded by at least a half a grade even when graded by people I know well from this forum and elsewhere.

 

Therefore the stuff sold by Ty is probably even worse than is being described here by actual buyers.

[Rickdogg]

Bonds25 was the man with balls and left a neutral!

 

 

[goldust40]

Therefore the stuff sold by Ty is probably even worse than is being described here by actual buyers.

 

I'd disagree there. From my experience, about half the books were spot on (maybe I got lucky) and the ones I wasn't happy with I negotiated on. I have definitely had worse experiences on ebay - thankfully these days I only buy from those sellers who take returns and aren't snotty and sensitive about their "grading". Nevertheless I have sent many books back, even recently. And I'm at a disadvantage living in the U.K. where it costs much more to return items.

 

On the other hand, maybe I've become so inured to overgrading and carelessness that the fact that getting half the books in the condition stated seems pretty good. I should be less lenient here, and if I was exclusively a collector I would be.

 

The fact remains that I'm often disappointed even with established sellers on ebay who know how to sell a book and post a large scan.

 

It's daft, really - I know what to expect, but I pull the trigger anyway. Nevertheless, I told it like it was re Tybeansty, and I regard myself as as strict a grader as Dr. Banner.

 

So...when's Banner putting up some more books? Any pre- '72 stuff?

[shadroch]

Something seems very wrong here.Would someone with more e-Bay experiance than me please explain:

1)Assuming there was competitive bidding why a seller would give refunds of up to 90% instead of insisting the book was returned and offering it to the next high bidder?

2) With all the refunds he is giving back,how does this affect the FVF that he must pay? Is there a form that a seller must fill out that deducts refunds from the FVF. If I sell a book for $2500,whats to stop me from going back and telling ebay I made a $1000 adjustment after the fact?Small adjustments I can understand but here we are talkng 90% to one buyer,40% to another.

[joe_collector]

1) He knew he was overgrading on some issues when he listed them. It's the old "toss spaghetti on the wall and see what sticks" kind of deal.

 

2) Yes, EBay has a "Partial Refund" form to fill out, that applies credits to the FMV fees.

[Bronty]

Apologies if this has been covered before in this thread, but anybody know who fcastle187 is? Brand new user bidding on everything in sight including some tybeansty iron man auctions... just curious as I'm wondering if these auctions will end up getting paid for.. not many new users go this nuts right from the get-go.

 

Dan

[comicmankev]

He never paid for any of TYs auctions, gussing a shill