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Vince Greck , a new Australian dealer on CAF

Started by Terry Doyle,

179 posts in this topic

Brian Peck

Brian Peck

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Posted

Terry,

Looks like you were right Vince is either Richard Rae or is working with him. The Al Williamson piece that was just posted http://cafurl.com?i=18728, was shown to me by Richard a while back, said Al had given it to Stanley and Richard then owned it. Plus the Silver Starr #1 http://cafurl.com?i=18730, Richard also claimed he owned, never saw the scan. Last the Power Man #27 page he posted http://cafurl.com?i=18729 was just sold on Will Gabri-El's site (http://www.comicartpage.com/FeaturedDetail.asp?Piece=2249), for an estate clearing house he wouldn't be buying from a dealer.

Besides now that I think about it I was contacted out of the blue by Vince about a Stanley Pitt art he was just about to post in his new CAF. Only Royd and Richard were aware I have been seeking some Pitt art.

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Terry Doyle

Terry Doyle

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Terry,

Looks like you were right Vince is either Richard Rae or is working with him. The Al Williamson piece that was just posted http://cafurl.com?i=18728, was shown to me by Richard a while back, said Al had given it to Stanley and Richard then owned it. Plus the Silver Starr #1 http://cafurl.com?i=18730, Richard also claimed he owned, never saw the scan. Last the Power Man #27 page he posted http://cafurl.com?i=18729 was just sold on Will Gabri-El's site (http://www.comicartpage.com/FeaturedDetail.asp?Piece=2249), for an estate clearing house he wouldn't be buying from a dealer.

Besides now that I think about it I was contacted out of the blue by Vince about a Stanley Pitt art he was just about to post in his new CAF. Only Royd and Richard were aware I have been seeking some Pitt art.

 

Thanks, Brian.

 

First off, I have no downers on Australians. Someone like Royd I have the utmost respect for. It's just that Rae happens to be an Australian, which is unwelcome publicity for the good guys (dealing in comics-collectibles) over there. We all have our crooks. Yes, over here in the UK, too.

 

I also had a (UK) collector friend e-mail Greck over some art (that included some of the artists' works that Rae had swindled from a friend of mine). Guess what? Greck advised that everything will be uploaded in due course. Seemed odd, at least to me, that someone wanting to sell art would want to stall when would-be-customers land on his doorstep.

 

I e-mailed Greck myself, twice over two days, yet never received a response. As soon as I affix comments to his CAF images (politely enquiring after some of the other types of art he says he owns), my words quickly get 'deleated' (Greck even spells like Rae).

 

And, no, I never approached any of this with any 'guilty until proven innocent' stance.

 

I merely had my suspicions aroused by the similarities I noticed (prompted by an e-mail I received from a collector friend highlighting all of this to me), and I didn't want to see anyone else get burned.

 

I also had an Australian friend check out Greck's Estate Clearing business on the internet. Following a search, nothing really stood out to indicate that he fronted an established business.

 

I also considered it a little odd that anyone wanting to sell art, who had been a premier CAF subscriber since March, would only have a few pieces of his 'considerable' inventory posted.

 

And as Rae winds down his collection (down to three last pieces, so he says), Vince Greck appears. Even before Greck arrived, I wondered how Rae (given his rotten reputation) would be able to sell-off an entire collection. To whom? Who would want to do business with him??

 

Even though I was a little upset by some of the comments I subsequently read on this thread, at least I knew I could look myself in the mirror if my worst fears got realised and Rae had resurfaced.

 

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

 

And it's not as if I openly called Greck a crook. All I was suggesting was that folks should be cautious if wanting to do business with this guy - and build-in some safety measures in any would-be-deals. Not once did I say, "Don't do business with this guy".

 

As I bowed-out of Comicart-l several years ago (too boring for me), could someone do me a favour and spread the word over there, please?

 

 

 

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Terry Doyle

Terry Doyle

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He should be showing up in the CAF chat soon, unless he reads this thread.

 

Rae was active on these forums, so I'm pretty sure that he's watching.

 

Rae's a smooth talker, I'm sure he'll have a bag full of (plausible-sounding) excuses

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Royd

Royd

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Just spotted the updates to "Vince Greck's" CAF page and saw one of the pieces which I also knew was (?) owned by Richard Rae as he sent me scans a couple of years back (I still have the e-mails).

 

I also checked out "Estate Clearing" and Vince Greck's name here - http://www.abr.business.gov.au/Index.aspx which, in and of itself, is not damning but an indicator at least.

 

*Sigh* Warm regards,

 

Royd

 

PS - From memory, the Vaughn Bode Cobalt 60 page at Greck's CAF page sold at Heritage a couple of years back for around $3.8K.

 

 

 

Terry,

Looks like you were right Vince is either Richard Rae or is working with him. The Al Williamson piece that was just posted http://cafurl.com?i=18728, was shown to me by Richard a while back, said Al had given it to Stanley and Richard then owned it. Plus the Silver Starr #1 http://cafurl.com?i=18730, Richard also claimed he owned, never saw the scan. Last the Power Man #27 page he posted http://cafurl.com?i=18729 was just sold on Will Gabri-El's site (http://www.comicartpage.com/FeaturedDetail.asp?Piece=2249), for an estate clearing house he wouldn't be buying from a dealer.

Besides now that I think about it I was contacted out of the blue by Vince about a Stanley Pitt art he was just about to post in his new CAF. Only Royd and Richard were aware I have been seeking some Pitt art.

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thehumantorch

thehumantorch

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Terry,

Looks like you were right Vince is either Richard Rae or is working with him. The Al Williamson piece that was just posted http://cafurl.com?i=18728, was shown to me by Richard a while back, said Al had given it to Stanley and Richard then owned it. Plus the Silver Starr #1 http://cafurl.com?i=18730, Richard also claimed he owned, never saw the scan. Last the Power Man #27 page he posted http://cafurl.com?i=18729 was just sold on Will Gabri-El's site (http://www.comicartpage.com/FeaturedDetail.asp?Piece=2249), for an estate clearing house he wouldn't be buying from a dealer.

Besides now that I think about it I was contacted out of the blue by Vince about a Stanley Pitt art he was just about to post in his new CAF. Only Royd and Richard were aware I have been seeking some Pitt art.

 

Thanks, Brian.

 

First off, I have no downers on Australians. Someone like Royd I have the utmost respect for. It's just that Rae happens to be an Australian, which is unwelcome publicity for the good guys (dealing in comics-collectibles) over there. We all have our crooks. Yes, over here in the UK, too.

 

I also had a (UK) collector friend e-mail Greck over some art (that included some of the artists' works that Rae had swindled from a friend of mine). Guess what? Greck advised that everything will be uploaded in due course. Seemed odd, at least to me, that someone wanting to sell art would want to stall when would-be-customers land on his doorstep.

 

I e-mailed Greck myself, twice over two days, yet never received a response. As soon as I affix comments to his CAF images (politely enquiring after some of the other types of art he says he owns), my words quickly get 'deleated' (Greck even spells like Rae).

 

And, no, I never approached any of this with any 'guilty until proven innocent' stance.

 

I merely had my suspicions aroused by the similarities I noticed (prompted by an e-mail I received from a collector friend highlighting all of this to me), and I didn't want to see anyone else get burned.

 

I also had an Australian friend check out Greck's Estate Clearing business on the internet. Following a search, nothing really stood out to indicate that he fronted an established business.

 

I also considered it a little odd that anyone wanting to sell art, who had been a premier CAF subscriber since March, would only have a few pieces of his 'considerable' inventory posted.

 

And as Rae winds down his collection (down to three last pieces, so he says), Vince Greck appears. Even before Greck arrived, I wondered how Rae (given his rotten reputation) would be able to sell-off an entire collection. To whom? Who would want to do business with him??

 

Even though I was a little upset by some of the comments I subsequently read on this thread, at least I knew I could look myself in the mirror if my worst fears got realised and Rae had resurfaced.

 

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

 

And it's not as if I openly called Greck a crook. All I was suggesting was that folks should be cautious if wanting to do business with this guy - and build-in some safety measures in any would-be-deals. Not once did I say, "Don't do business with this guy".

 

As I bowed-out of Comicart-l several years ago (too boring for me), could someone do me a favour and spread the word over there, please?

 

 

 

Terry, thanks for the warning. While I'm not absolutely convinced this is Mr Rae it seems likely it is and I will avoid.

 

As far as comments in this thread, the only really negative comments were regarding accusing someone of something that you can't prove, which is pretty reasonable.

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Terry Doyle

Terry Doyle

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Terry,

Looks like you were right Vince is either Richard Rae or is working with him. The Al Williamson piece that was just posted http://cafurl.com?i=18728, was shown to me by Richard a while back, said Al had given it to Stanley and Richard then owned it. Plus the Silver Starr #1 http://cafurl.com?i=18730, Richard also claimed he owned, never saw the scan. Last the Power Man #27 page he posted http://cafurl.com?i=18729 was just sold on Will Gabri-El's site (http://www.comicartpage.com/FeaturedDetail.asp?Piece=2249), for an estate clearing house he wouldn't be buying from a dealer.

Besides now that I think about it I was contacted out of the blue by Vince about a Stanley Pitt art he was just about to post in his new CAF. Only Royd and Richard were aware I have been seeking some Pitt art.

 

Thanks, Brian.

 

First off, I have no downers on Australians. Someone like Royd I have the utmost respect for. It's just that Rae happens to be an Australian, which is unwelcome publicity for the good guys (dealing in comics-collectibles) over there. We all have our crooks. Yes, over here in the UK, too.

 

I also had a (UK) collector friend e-mail Greck over some art (that included some of the artists' works that Rae had swindled from a friend of mine). Guess what? Greck advised that everything will be uploaded in due course. Seemed odd, at least to me, that someone wanting to sell art would want to stall when would-be-customers land on his doorstep.

 

I e-mailed Greck myself, twice over two days, yet never received a response. As soon as I affix comments to his CAF images (politely enquiring after some of the other types of art he says he owns), my words quickly get 'deleated' (Greck even spells like Rae).

 

And, no, I never approached any of this with any 'guilty until proven innocent' stance.

 

I merely had my suspicions aroused by the similarities I noticed (prompted by an e-mail I received from a collector friend highlighting all of this to me), and I didn't want to see anyone else get burned.

 

I also had an Australian friend check out Greck's Estate Clearing business on the internet. Following a search, nothing really stood out to indicate that he fronted an established business.

 

I also considered it a little odd that anyone wanting to sell art, who had been a premier CAF subscriber since March, would only have a few pieces of his 'considerable' inventory posted.

 

And as Rae winds down his collection (down to three last pieces, so he says), Vince Greck appears. Even before Greck arrived, I wondered how Rae (given his rotten reputation) would be able to sell-off an entire collection. To whom? Who would want to do business with him??

 

Even though I was a little upset by some of the comments I subsequently read on this thread, at least I knew I could look myself in the mirror if my worst fears got realised and Rae had resurfaced.

 

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

 

And it's not as if I openly called Greck a crook. All I was suggesting was that folks should be cautious if wanting to do business with this guy - and build-in some safety measures in any would-be-deals. Not once did I say, "Don't do business with this guy".

 

As I bowed-out of Comicart-l several years ago (too boring for me), could someone do me a favour and spread the word over there, please?

 

 

 

Terry, thanks for the warning. While I'm not absolutely convinced this is Mr Rae it seems likely it is and I will avoid.

 

As far as comments in this thread, the only really negative comments were regarding accusing someone of something that you can't prove, which is pretty reasonable.

 

I don't recall making any accusations.

 

To quote myself (which you yourself responded to):

 

. . . it's not as if I openly called Greck a crook. All I was suggesting was that folks should be cautious if wanting to do business with this guy - and build-in some safety measures in any would-be-deals. Not once did I say, "Don't do business with this guy".

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MyNameIsLegion

MyNameIsLegion

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According to "Vince Greck" they got all this art from RIchard Rae's estate in the last couple of weeks, and that he's dead. While that's most unfortunate if it's true, I can find zero evidence in public records of an obituary or funeral announcement in all of Australia, except for a Richard Rae that died in 2010. (shrug)

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BrianHoward

BrianHoward

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According to "Vince Greck" they got all this art from RIchard Rae's estate in the last couple of weeks, and that he's dead. While that's most unfortunate if it's true, I can find zero evidence in public records of an obituary or funeral announcement in all of Australia, except for a Richard Rae that died in 2010. (shrug)

 

Interesting, last I spoke to Richard Rae a few years ago, he sold his entire estate (other than a few pieces he was holding and trading with) through an Australian auction house.. He told me that he got some ridiculous price, nearly 400k if I recall correctly. Having seen pictures of his piles of stuff I didn't see that kind of value there, although he could have always been holding out.. Or more likely, it was just more lies.

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Royd

Royd

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Well, I spoke with a couple of fellow Aussies today who know Richard Rae pretty well and one of them stated that Richard (or someone using Richard's Twitter account) was sending out tweets as of yesterday.

 

As far as these people are aware Richard Rae is alive and well and they certainly haven't heard anything to suggest that he has passed away!

 

The recent additions to "Vince Greck's" CAF gallery include Gil Kane Metal Men pages which are identical to pages which Richard Rae offered to me in 2009. I passed on dealing with Richard at the time because his deals were so convoluted and frankly I didn't have the money he was asking.

 

Apparently in the chat session last night, "Vince" said that "Estate Clearing" employed something like 8 people and had been going for 3 or 4 years. I couldn't find them in the listing of Australian businesses (there was one business named Estate Clearing Services but it was located in South Australia not New South Wales) nor was there a business under that name in Sydney in the electronic white pages.

 

Look me up in the ABN listing of Australian businesses and you'll find me there and I'm a single-trader not an 8 person business. Having said all that, there is no definite proof and there may (repeat "may") be an explanation but there are a number of indicators that things are a little "off". As always, "buyer beware" Best,

 

Royd.

 

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Terry Doyle

Terry Doyle

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At this point, any doubts I may have had are now dispelled. There's now no doubt in my mind that 'Vince Greck' is either in cahoots with Rae, or is Rae himself.

 

I, too, performed an internet search for Rae's obituary and came up with zilch.

 

I also checked Rae's Facebook page and saw nothing posted there (from his network of 14 friends, which appear to be mostly family), to suggest his demise.

 

Prior to this can of worms being opened, I wondered how Rae, given his rotten reputation, would find collectors willing to do business with him (I found it stretching credulity a bit to think that he could dispose of a collection,seemingly, overnight).

 

So, he appears to have faked his own death, eh? And a company, that no-one can find any record of, suddenly appears offering Rae's old art collection.

 

Rae doesn't go in for half-measures, does he?

 

Has any of this been highlighted on Comicart-l?

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Terry Doyle

Terry Doyle

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Haha, I left a comment on the Vaughn Bode Cobalt 60 page that it had last sold at a Heritage auction in 2006 for $3.8K - my comment has now been deleted!

 

I think you must mean, 'deleated', Royd.

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