When is your comic your comic? posted by JMoses

[CSJournals-migration]

When you buy it, it's yours!

 

On more than one occasion I have made a comic purchase via ebay in which the seller of the comic refuses to relinquish ownership (i.e. in the Registry) until the comic has physically arrived in my hands. Despite my emailing them personally with a courteous request to remove the book from their set, nothing happens until after the tracking info shows a successful delivery.

 

This is nonsense.

 

When a person buys something -- anything -- it is the property of that person from the moment the money changes hands. When my cash goes into your Paypal account, it becomes your cash. At that instant, the comic is mine. I have paid for it, and you have accepted my payment. Where the comic is physically at that moment is irrelevant. I now own it. It is now your, the seller's, responsibility to deliver my property to me safely, but it is not your comic you are shipping, it is my comic.

 

Think of it this way: when you've checked out at the grocery store, your groceries belong to you. They no longer belong to the store, and people cannot come by and shop from your cart as you make your way to the car. Once paid for, the groceries are yours, despite the fact that you're still in the store.

 

The same principle is at work with CGC comics, with a car, a piece of furniture, with ANY purchase.

 

The moral is this: Be courteous to your fellow collectors: when you've sold a comic from your set, and the buyer has paid, release the cert number so that the new owner may put their new comic in their set. It's just common courtesy. Remember: once you've sold it AND it's been paid for, it is not yours, no matter where it is.

 

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[surfer99]

It only bothers me when the book has arrived and the seller still won't remove it from their registry so then CGC has to get involved. To me, that is nonsense right there. I don't care if they want to keep it in their set until I get it in my hands. I can see if the comic gets lost maybe, or the buyer changes their mind, or whatever and then, unlike other purchases the buyer files a claim with PayPal and instantly gets their money back...it happens. So hang in there man, have a little patience, and enjoy your book when it arrives.

 

 

[eMTe]

Unfortunately there are some people on eBay who are less than honest. I never transfer the comic till the shipping number shows that it has been delivered or positive feedback is left. Because more than once I had transferred a comic to a buyer once they paid and either the tracking number was not scanned delivered or it was lost, they filed a claim and eBay took the money back and the buyer now has the book registered and my money! Once I even had a guy buy a 9.8 from me and returned a 9.6 and said that is what I sold them! So im sure that the buyer you bought from has had similar problems with eBay and is just protecting themselves because eBay doesn't protect the seller from the shady people.

[JMoses]

Unfortunately there are some people on eBay who are less than honest. I never transfer the comic till the shipping number shows that it has been delivered or positive feedback is left. Because more than once I had transferred a comic to a buyer once they paid and either the tracking number was not scanned delivered or it was lost, they filed a claim and eBay took the money back and the buyer now has the book registered and my money! Once I even had a guy buy a 9.8 from me and returned a 9.6 and said that is what I sold them! So I'm sure that the buyer you bought from has had similar problems with eBay and is just protecting themselves because eBay doesn't protect the seller from the shady people.

 

With respect, what does either positive feedback or a delivery confirmation have to do with the question of ownership? Once payment is accepted, the item is sold. That's it. What good does keeping the cert number for a few extra days do for a comic that -- no matter what exigent circumstances later arise -- no longer belongs to you? Whether it's safely delivered (vast majority), lost, or a scam, you can't keep the comic in your set.

 

The only question I wanted to raise here was the quick transfer of cert numbers from one collector to another. I'd say that 99% of the time (certainly in my experience), there's no problem. It's the less than 1% of people who feel they have to exert some kind of last-ditch control, who think it's OK to make me wait to register my own comic after I've promptly paid them, that bug the hell out of me. Like I said before, if you take my money, the comic is mine. Period.

 

[revat]

Unfortunately there are some people on eBay who are less than honest. I never transfer the comic till the shipping number shows that it has been delivered or positive feedback is left. Because more than once I had transferred a comic to a buyer once they paid and either the tracking number was not scanned delivered or it was lost, they filed a claim and eBay took the money back and the buyer now has the book registered and my money! Once I even had a guy buy a 9.8 from me and returned a 9.6 and said that is what I sold them! So I'm sure that the buyer you bought from has had similar problems with eBay and is just protecting themselves because eBay doesn't protect the seller from the shady people.

 

With respect, what does either positive feedback or a delivery confirmation have to do with the question of ownership? Once payment is accepted, the item is sold. That's it. What good does keeping the cert number for a few extra days do for a comic that -- no matter what exigent circumstances later arise -- no longer belongs to you? Whether it's safely delivered (vast majority), lost, or a scam, you can't keep the comic in your set.

 

The only question I wanted to raise here was the quick transfer of cert numbers from one collector to another. I'd say that 99% of the time (certainly in my experience), there's no problem. It's the less than 1% of people who feel they have to exert some kind of last-ditch control, who think it's OK to make me wait to register my own comic after I've promptly paid them, that bug the hell out of me. Like I said before, if you take my money, the comic is mine. Period.

 

who bears the risk if the comic is lost in the mail? just because you've given money for something doesn't mean the comic is yours in every case. Once, you've given someone the money, he OWES you the comic, and you have a right to it, but it is not exactly the same thing as actually owning it.

 

Most sellers want to make sure the deal is done completely before changing the registry status, because of returns, shady customers, and just because its less hassle. I think many (if not most) would disagree with your like of thinking.

 

 

[David Swan]

The only question I wanted to raise here was the quick transfer of cert numbers from one collector to another. I'd say that 99% of the time (certainly in my experience), there's no problem. It's the less than 1% of people who feel they have to exert some kind of last-ditch control, who think it's OK to make me wait to register my own comic after I've promptly paid them, that bug the hell out of me. Like I said before, if you take my money, the comic is mine. Period.

 

I've been in your situation and I always assumed the comic wasn't being removed out of laziness rather than malice. I've actually wondered whether it's ethical to add a comic to a registry prior to receiving it although generally I add them ASAP. If someone doesn't remove it I guess I don't really care that much. In the grand scheme of things whether I add a comic to my registry today or next week in two weeks I won't remember or care. If someone really is not giving it up CGC will remove it in about a week if they get no response. I've never heard of a collector actually refusing to give up a comic they know they don't own. Usually the collector just isn't paying attention.

 

My bigger bugaboo is collectors who sell off a collection or parts of a collection but don't remove them from the registry as most people who buy from them don't EVER add them to the registry. I have a feeling there are more than a few number one sets that have long since been sold off. I have one in mind that I won't mention because I've griped about it enough in the past.

[JMoses]

The only question I wanted to raise here was the quick transfer of cert numbers from one collector to another. I'd say that 99% of the time (certainly in my experience), there's no problem. It's the less than 1% of people who feel they have to exert some kind of last-ditch control, who think it's OK to make me wait to register my own comic after I've promptly paid them, that bug the hell out of me. Like I said before, if you take my money, the comic is mine. Period.

 

I've been in your situation and I always assumed the comic wasn't being removed out of laziness rather than malice. I've actually wondered whether it's ethical to add a comic to a registry prior to receiving it although generally I add them ASAP. If someone doesn't remove it I guess I don't really care that much. In the grand scheme of things whether I add a comic to my registry today or next week in two weeks I won't remember or care. If someone really is not giving it up CGC will remove it in about a week if they get no response. I've never heard of a collector actually refusing to give up a comic they know they don't own. Usually the collector just isn't paying attention.

 

My bigger bugaboo is collectors who sell off a collection or parts of a collection but don't remove them from the registry as most people who buy from them don't EVER add them to the registry. I have a feeling there are more than a few number one sets that have long since been sold off. I have one in mind that I won't mention because I've griped about it enough in the past.

 

I agree with what you say. Probably unwise on my part to attempt to ascribe motive to it. It probably is just laziness or inattention to emails. I'm just an impatient guy. I don't like sellers who assume all of their customers are up to something, either. I always pay immediately upon purchase with ebay, and expect prompt action at the other end.

 

But I hold to my original position. Even if a person does return a comic, it's that person's until it's returned, cert number and all.

[Ronnylama]

I must input here that it will be in your favor. Some people might not see the email for it could be sent to spam. Trust the CGC folk. They might ask you to send the ebay sale and it will get to you....I understand yje frustrations

[oakman29]

I just don't give a rats azz about the registry,and I still have my book.Who cares how many points I get for an AF15 in 5.0,I don't.

[newshane]

I agree. The book is the buyer's property once the seller is paid.

 

As a seller, I don't mind releasing the registry number as soon as the money is in my account. I've never held a serial number for any reason and I don't understand the impetus to do so. If it's no longer your book, it doesn't belong on your registry.

 

As a buyer, I try to be patient enough to give the seller time to remove it from their registry. Not everyone is a registry user, so I try to keep that in mind. On the other hand, I am a registry fanatic so I also know how it feels to deal with problems regarding transfers.

 

The important thing is to follow the OP's advice - be courteous. Think about the other person involved in the deal and treat them as you'd want to be treated if you were on the other side of the deal. For example, I expect to get paid immediately. That's why I'm sure to make immediate payments without hassle. I want my books shipped tight, so when I pack other people's books, I try to do the best possible job.

[Griff]

as a buyer it's never even occurred to me to ask for the release of the number till it was in my possession.

 

As a seller I would release it if the buyer has paid and requested I do so, otherwise I just remove it from my sets the next time I think about it