Think I just got ripped off on ebay 0

[BlowUpTheMoon]

Since then all-things-comics have started disclosing resto in the body of SOME of their listings.

 

That used to be robojo's MO too.

[Accursed Arachnid-migratio]

This guy is hilariously bad. He has an AF #15 that looks like it's been put through a ringer then brought back from the brink with scissors, crayola markers and a lot of glue. "FN/VF 7.0" indeed.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Amazing-Fantasy-15-Vol-1-Very-Nice-Original-1962-F-VF-7-0-1st-App-Spider-Man-/201217155725?pt=US_Comic_Books&hash=item2ed97a228d

 

 

VF+ 8.5???

 

 

If you lifted that comic by one side of the cover, it would rip in half.

 

 

How does this guy have 100% feedback? He must throw everything against the wall and just give away the farm when(not if) one doesn't stick(I know, I'm mixing metaphors).

 

Are people really this gullible???

[FormerReader]

Thank you for posting this thread. I read this awhile back and the name was fresh in my head. I was looking at some books of his that looked be to the grade listed and then I checked the feedback and everything checked out. I then remembered hearing the name and searched here. I appreciate it!

 

 

How does this guy have 100% feedback? He must throw everything against the wall and just give away the farm when(not if) one doesn't stick(I know, I'm mixing metaphors).

 

Are people really this gullible???

 

I won't attribute it to being gullible. For many this is only a hobby and may not invest the time required. In my case I'm looking to replace several copper books I sold off when I was a kid. You can search through dozens of copies of a book trying to find one in the grade you want. You find one that appears to be the grade they have listed based on the scans provided. You check the price of sold listings to make sure you're in the ballpark and then you check their feedback to make sure they are a reputable seller. For me as a self admitted novice, I see 100% feedback and I feel I'm making a fairly low risk decision. If it wasn't for the Blocker buyers thread I would have bought from the seller.

 

Right or wrong, 100% feedback gives the warm and fuzzy that the seller is on the up and up.

[BoatsX-migration]

I bought ASM 40 from this guy in late 2012 after I found the little thing you do with old books called CGC grading. I was pretty much fresh off the boat and I bought from this guy on Ebay. Well he had 100% on the feedbacks so with him stating the book is around 9.0, I was the sucker to take his words for it and bought it. Needless to say the book came back from CGC as a 5.0. Two years later, I came up to another auction, won, and paid. It was from a different "seller" but when I looked at my paypal account, it was under All things comics and I messaged him so fast to cancel the transaction. To make the story short, stay away from this guy.

[trmoore54]

I know it's not popular to say, but you can get good books at good prices from dealers like this.

 

Not all of the books they sell have been altered. Their reputation results in many fine books selling on the low side of the price curve. You just need to be capable of evaluating for resto yourself or get such done before the 45 day eBay Buyer protection period is up.

 

That said, I decided to look at the book. I think it is unlikely to grade the 8.5 it is listed at. Edge tanning, and some small chips out the FC. Along top there is a chip out and a bit of the top corner is gone.

 

GPA on this book in 7.0/7.5 is around $500/$550. It sold for $381. An illustration of my point.

 

I personally would pay and look it over closely. If I didn't see resto then I'd send it to CGC to be graded. Within a month I'd know if the grade was way off and there was any resto. Get my refund if there was big problem. If there isn't any problem and the book grades the 7.0/7.5 I think it will, you got a decent deal. The savings from purchasing raw paid for the grading, shipping and you had money left over for lunch. Should it get 8.0 your easily a couple of hundred bucks ahead after grading costs.

 

You can't tell if a book has been trimmed just from a few pics. FF 48 is notorious for miswraps and funky cuts from the printer.

 

 

 

What you are saying is I have no problem dealing with shady crooks and filling their pockets with funds to perpetrate their scams ad infinitum. Nice.

[trmoore54]

Seller with known habit of selling undisclosed resto and name changes. Some question about rt edge.

Do you really want to roll the dice and be out grading and shipping fees?

 

A very appropriate question - and one that cuts to the real issue here.

 

It's the sort of question each person has to answer for themselves. The answer has a lot to do with your level of income, your aversion to risk, your level of expertise in detecting problems in a comic book that is in hand and even your personality type.

 

So each of us can really only speak for ourselves. Would I want to be out the grading and shipping fees? No, not really. That is the risk you take. That risk for me is substantially reduced once I have book in hand, but it is still there as I'm only "fairly good" at detecting resto. Would I roll the dice on this book at this price? Yes I would.

 

The OP is the winning bidder. Ultimately they have to decide. They probably owe you thanks for posting the "con" side effectively.

 

Dude

There are a lot of us here in the hobby where it is not just about the book! It's about ethics and establishing certain minimum protocols about how you do business in the collecting hobby. And in this case, choosing not to deal with creeps like this consortium...who exist under the shadiest of visages to sell bum books to the uneducated for profit.

[mattinglymint23]

I unfortunately purchased an ASM 129 from this seller before finding this thread. Book was listed as a 9.2 but sold at a 7.0 price. I plan to sub it but haven't yet. Too late for any type of refund so this can serve as my lesson learned. Will post results here at some point. Unfortunate as I like purchasing SA and BA raw books and not a lot of options for me to do so.

[Chip Cataldo]

Too late for any type of refund so this can serve as my lesson learned.

You know that Paypal now has a 180-day window for filing claims, right?

[techtre2003]

I unfortunately purchased an ASM 129 from this seller before finding this thread. Book was listed as a 9.2 but sold at a 7.0 price. I plan to sub it but haven't yet. Too late for any type of refund so this can serve as my lesson learned. Will post results here at some point. Unfortunate as I like purchasing SA and BA raw books and not a lot of options for me to do so.

 

I'd be willing to bet if you asked around here you'd be able to find someone that will either have any SA or BA book you'd want, or know where to get it.

[TrayKnight]

On 10/16/2014 at 9:26 PM, mdean2437 said:

I bought a FF 48 from all_things_comics on a whim as the auction was closing. Now that I have had time to google his name apparently he is a popular scam artist that has sold under many different names. It looks like he sales restored comics as non restored..GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

 

Sorry just thought I would vent.

 

On 10/16/2014 at 9:26 PM, mdean2437 said:

I bought a FF 48 from all_things_comics on a whim as the auction was closing. Now that I have had time to google his name apparently he is a popular scam artist that has sold under many different names. It looks like he sales restored comics as non restored..GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

 

Sorry just thought I would vent.

I’ve purchased from this guys a few times and have yet to find his grading accurate, but he has 100% positive feedback....I don’t understand why people continue to give him positive reviews. The books that I’ve purchased were pressed and way over graded.....and I know that I can’t be the only person he’s screwed over.

[Buzzetta]

On 5/14/2015 at 6:57 AM, mattinglymint23 said:

I unfortunately purchased an ASM 129 from this seller before finding this thread. Book was listed as a 9.2 but sold at a 7.0 price. I plan to sub it but haven't yet. Too late for any type of refund so this can serve as my lesson learned. Will post results here at some point. Unfortunate as I like purchasing SA and BA raw books and not a lot of options for me to do so.

I’m going to ask the Shadroch question... 

If the book was advertised at 9.2

You get the book at a 7.0 price 

What did the book come back at?

what happens if the book came back a 8.0-8.5?

[kav]

2 hours ago, Buzzetta said:

I’m going to ask the Shadroch question... 

If the book was advertised at 9.2

You get the book at a 7.0 price 

What did the book come back at?

what happens if the book came back a 8.0-8.5?

I'm gunna start another CGC thread.

[RockMyAmadeus]

4 hours ago, tray night said:

I’ve purchased from this guys a few times and have yet to find his grading accurate, but he has 100% positive feedback....I don’t understand why people continue to give him positive reviews. The books that I’ve purchased were pressed and way over graded.....and I know that I can’t be the only person he’s screwed over.

Because people don't complain. For a variety of reasons, people just choose not to complain about all sorts of things. It's not worth their time, they don't want to burn a bridge, they don't want to be thought of as a complainer, they don't want people complaining about them (that's the big one.)

Something usually has to be realllly wrong for most people to complain. If I had a dollar for every time I've heard "you're the first/only person to complain!", I'd be rich....and yet, I have no doubt that's absolutely true.

[wiparker824]

5 minutes ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

Because people don't complain. For a variety of reasons, people just choose not to complain about all sorts of things. It's not worth their time, they don't want to burn a bridge, they don't want to be thought of as a complainer, they don't want people complaining about them (that's the big one.)

Something usually has to be realllly wrong for most people to complain. If I had a dollar for every time I've heard "you're the first/only person to complain!", I'd be rich....and yet, I have no doubt that's absolutely true.

But people do complain. All the time actually. I see plenty of sellers on eBay with neutral/negative reviews of just that - people complaining. I’ve not bought from this seller, but if you have over 1000 reviews in the past year and not a single negative or neutral it’s not a coincidence, you didn’t just happen to get lucky to only have buyers who aren’t willing to complain. It just doesn’t work that way, especially when you’re selling high dollar books like this seller often does - people investing hundreds or thousands into raw books will certainly be willing to take the 2 seconds to complain if you rip them off. 

[lizards2]

37 minutes ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

Because people don't complain. For a variety of reasons, people just choose not to complain about all sorts of things. It's not worth their time, they don't want to burn a bridge, they don't want to be thought of as a complainer, they don't want people complaining about them (that's the big one.)

Something usually has to be realllly wrong for most people to complain. If I had a dollar for every time I've heard "you're the first/only person to complain!", I'd be rich....and yet, I have no doubt that's absolutely true.

That's the typical response to carppy packing which results in shipping-related damage.

Personally, it takes a lot for me to complain.  I usually just eat the loss, and don't buy from the seller again.

[mattn792]

Isn’t all_things_comics another Cupcake account?

[Larryw7]

I don't think it's Dupcak. Here's an old thread with info.

 

[kav]

1 hour ago, wiparker824 said:

But people do complain. All the time actually. I see plenty of sellers on eBay with neutral/negative reviews of just that - people complaining. I’ve not bought from this seller, but if you have over 1000 reviews in the past year and not a single negative or neutral it’s not a coincidence, you didn’t just happen to get lucky to only have buyers who aren’t willing to complain. It just doesn’t work that way, especially when you’re selling high dollar books like this seller often does - people investing hundreds or thousands into raw books will certainly be willing to take the 2 seconds to complain if you rip them off. 

Yes.  If people "didnt complain" then no one would ever complain.  But there are lots of people that complain.  I've seen sellers with 20 neg feedbacks.  Those are complaints.

[James J Johnson]

3 hours ago, Buzzetta said:

I’m going to ask the Shadroch question... 

If the book was advertised at 9.2

You get the book at a 7.0 price 

What did the book come back at?

what happens if the book came back a 8.0-8.5?

The math involved answers this question. If you pay a 7.0 price for an 8.5, in most cases you've doubled your money, even if the seller called that 8.5 a 9.2. You can be opposed to and morally outraged by that seller calling a book that grades 8.5 a 9.2, I don't like it much either, but with a little basic skill in grading and a decent scan, you should be able to tell that 9.2 is out of the question and that 8.5 is pushing it, thus your 7.0 money max bid. I go by scans anyway, not what the seller says. The book sells itself independent of what the seller calls it.

[RockMyAmadeus]

2 hours ago, wiparker824 said:

But people do complain. All the time actually. I see plenty of sellers on eBay with neutral/negative reviews of just that - people complaining. I’ve not bought from this seller, but if you have over 1000 reviews in the past year and not a single negative or neutral it’s not a coincidence, you didn’t just happen to get lucky to only have buyers who aren’t willing to complain. It just doesn’t work that way, especially when you’re selling high dollar books like this seller often does - people investing hundreds or thousands into raw books will certainly be willing to take the 2 seconds to complain if you rip them off. 

I don't think you're understanding. There are complainers in the world, who will complain at the drop of a hat. I'm one of them. There are several others here, too. But the vast, vast majority of people do not complain. It's why eBay's "naughty" list is (or was) set at 98%. Below 98% positive put you on the "below standard" list. It's why, when companies tout a "97% positive feedback!" rating, people rightfully roll their eyes: 97% isn't that hot.

Why? Because people in general do not complain. For every 1 negative or neutral, there are perhaps 5-10 that just decided it wasn't worth it. Some studies say it's even worse: for every 1 customer that complains, as many as 26 do not. Most of the time, you have to really, really screw up to get a negative AND be hostile, too.

And this isn't just my opinion...this has been scientifically studied for decades:

https://reputationrefinery.com/96-of-unhappy-customers-wont-complain-to-you-but-will-tell-15-friends-infographic

https://www.providesupport.com/blog/5-reasons-unhappy-customers-dont-complain/

https://www.toistersolutions.com/blog/2013/8/19/5-reasons-why-angry-customers-dont-complain