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4,124 posts in this topic

10 hours ago, the blob said:

Why do you ask? People still leave it.

Not for me. I've had many sales this past year that no one bothered to leave feedback. Not 1 complaint yet not one positive feedback. I guess it doesn't matter. I get the money and they get the book.

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5 minutes ago, Ride the Tiger said:

Not for me. I've had many sales this past year that no one bothered to leave feedback. Not 1 complaint yet not one positive feedback. I guess it doesn't matter. I get the money and they get the book.

 

Go back through your sales history and if it’s older than a month they cannot return I think and then you can leave positive feedback and hopefully they will respond with Feedback of their own

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As a buyer, I leave feedback as soon as it is received and everything is satisfactory. 

As a seller, for the most part, I leave feedback only if feedback is left for me.
My reasoning is that the window of returns for PayPal (6 months) is greater than eBay's feedback window (60 days). The thought of possibly leaving positive feedback for someone who initiates a return 3, 4, even 5+ months after a purchase drives me nuts.

If they want feedback from me acknowledging that they they gave me money for product, then they should acknowledge that the product they gave money for is satisfactory as well... they should just do it first. 

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On 1/24/2019 at 6:34 AM, the blob said:

As an aside, while I like the gemini mailers, the space for the comics is tight so your sandwich (you still need to sandwich, unfortunately) leaves no room on the edges, so the comic is very close to the edge. The pads for the sandwich they sell are very tight, 7 x 11. I cut my own, usually 7.25 X 11.25. But now I need to rewrite all my listings and add warning language apparently because people are dumb. (This guy lives 40 minutes from me in Jersey)

As a buyer, I don't like it when there is barely any separation between the outside of the package and the stuff inside, especially if the outside has packing tape etc. that has to be cut to be opened.

In addition, I've had some problems with sellers who make a cardboard sandwich but then tape it with the sticky clear-plastic packing tape. That interior stuff shouldn't have outer-package tape on it. The interior stuff should be taped with masking tape or painter's tape, which is easy to peel off without using a knife or scissors.

Best practice is to avoid putting the buyer in a position where they need to put a sharp object close to the comic in order to un-pack the comic.

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20 minutes ago, Doohickamabob said:

As a buyer, I don't like it when there is barely any separation between the outside of the package and the stuff inside, especially if the outside has packing tape etc. that has to be cut to be opened.

In addition, I've had some problems with sellers who make a cardboard sandwich but then tape it with the sticky clear-plastic packing tape. That interior stuff shouldn't have outer-package tape on it. The interior stuff should be taped with masking tape or painter's tape, which is easy to peel off without using a knife or scissors.

Best practice is to avoid putting the buyer in a position where they need to put a sharp object close to the comic in order to un-pack the comic.

I use the heavy packing tape to secure the comics to the cardboard...it seems like masking or painters tape would not be secure if it took a drop on the edge so I use the heavy tape. I get only compliments for my packing, a lot ofthem actually, so I willcontinue. When I get comics like this I make sure to use my box cutter with only a tiny bit of the blade exposed and to cut along the ridge of the cardboard, it tears easily once cut a bit.

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On 2/1/2019 at 7:11 AM, the blob said:

Ouch. I have a bunch of auctions up, including a lot of BA FFs, and after 5 days a whole bunch have zero views. That is depressing.

Merely add to listing "Rare! CGC it! My loss is your Gain!  Mint!"

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18 hours ago, Bird said:

I use the heavy packing tape to secure the comics to the cardboard...it seems like masking or painters tape would not be secure if it took a drop on the edge so I use the heavy tape. I get only compliments for my packing, a lot ofthem actually, so I willcontinue. When I get comics like this I make sure to use my box cutter with only a tiny bit of the blade exposed and to cut along the ridge of the cardboard, it tears easily once cut a bit.

Ugh, I hate packaging tape used in this way. Removing the comic from the cardboard is difficult and risks bending the comic. Painters tape works just fine.

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19 hours ago, kav said:

Merely add to listing "Rare! CGC it! My loss is your Gain!  Mint!"

Most of them wound up selling. No love for the Alan Moore swampies though. Or high grade late  70s brave and bold.

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Just curious about everyone's thoughts on seller responsibility when it comes to grading. A couple months ago I sold a raw asm14 and the potential buyer asked a bunch of questions about if it was restored and I answered completely honestly and said I bought it raw and with it being over 50 years old there was no way I could guarantee it wasn't restored. He ended up winning the auction and immediately sent it to be graded. In my mind I was a little concerned he might be immediately grading it to keep the return window open if it was restored. It turned out it got a good grade and was not restored (he was nice enough to message me back) but it just made me wonder, if you're selling a raw book would you accept a return if it came back restored?

Personally I feel like if a buyer gets the raw book from me in the mail and chooses to get it graded then at that point he owns it and had chosen to keep it and get his book graded. If on the other hand he gets it and with his own eyeballs says hey this looks restored then that is valid for a return. But in my mind if the buyer has it in hand and can't tell it's restored then it's not reasonable to think I should have known. If that makes sense.

I Know a lot of people here sell on eBay, so what are your policies and do you state the policy in the listing? 

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Luckily I have never had any of the issues you mentioned but I honestly wouldn't be able to to give someone a 100% guarantee that the old comic I was selling them is not restored. I know you see the phrase "i'm not a professional grader" in so may comic auctions and sometimes you think its just a cop out for having to learn how to grade but...… if I saw someone put "not able to detect all forms of restoration" i'd be like well of course not. How many people can actually detect restoration and be assured their book isn't coming back with the PLOD? I guess you can drive yourself crazy trying to protect yourself from all the dangers of selling comics. Just do your best. Learn how to grade. Post many HQ pictures and list all known flaws. With all that said I never make any claim about restoration. Never have and never will.

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If it is clearly the book you sold then you should probably try to work something out if they paid FMV, etc. Split the baby... What is the book worth with resto? I sold a DD 1 here I had owned since 1993 that apparently had a tiny sealed tear on the back that was not detected by our resident pressing expert either on the press. Really irritating because the book would have gotten the same grade most likely with the tear as it was a 3.5. Anyway, we worked something out. Now you can probably send it to cgc and they undo the tear seal. 

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I think it's up to the buyer to check the book and make sure it looks like what you described. At that point if they're satisfied, then the transaction is over. I think it's unreasonable for the buyer to put the seller in a position where the seller has to wait for the buyer to get the book graded, and if the grade reveals something, the seller is on the hook for whatever the seller missed, as well as having lost an entire month or more with his payment in a state of limbo.

If the buyer is going to have that high of expectations, the buyer should only purchase books that are already graded. Or better yet, the buyer should become enough of a restoration expert that he can figure things out before sending the book to a guaranty company.

The exception to the above would be if a seller were discovered to be purposely concealing restoration on an ongoing basis. If the seller had such a pattern then it wouldn't just be a case of the buyer having the right to a late refund; it would be outright fraud and the buyer would be justified in telling the comics community to avoid the seller.

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I've got a 14 day return policy on my eBay sales. Unless I reach an agreement with a buyer beforehand to extend that window, there is (almost) no way I'm taking something back months and months after the fact no matter what the reason (almost no way as I'm sure I could think of some set of circumstances that could alter my thinking on this but it certainly wouldn't be that CGC takes four months to grade a book).

I've read on here before guys saying things like I bought this x years ago from this dealer and discovered it was restored two days ago what can I do, I'm heartsick! Well, maybe be a more vigilant buyer for a start and failing that, lick your wounds and move on. Or, go back to the dealer and throw yourself on his mercy and your track record in the intervening years as a good, repeat buyer. But to expect it as a matter of course? No!

Edit to add: I realize the 14 day return window is subject to expansion by Paypal and credit card rules, but that enlarged window still doesn't give a buyer enough time to get something CGC graded and then return it, save for the expensive walk through rates. Under those circumstances, a buyer would be better off getting a local professional to inspect and offer an opinion as to restoration (if not grade) in time to make the return.

Edited by mrwoogieman
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3 hours ago, Doohickamabob said:

I think it's up to the buyer to check the book and make sure it looks like what you described. At that point if they're satisfied, then the transaction is over. I think it's unreasonable for the buyer to put the seller in a position where the seller has to wait for the buyer to get the book graded, and if the grade reveals something, the seller is on the hook for whatever the seller missed, as well as having lost an entire month or more with his payment in a state of limbo.

If the buyer is going to have that high of expectations, the buyer should only purchase books that are already graded. Or better yet, the buyer should become enough of a restoration expert that he can figure things out before sending the book to a guaranty company.

The exception to the above would be if a seller were discovered to be purposely concealing restoration on an ongoing basis. If the seller had such a pattern then it wouldn't just be a case of the buyer having the right to a late refund; it would be outright fraud and the buyer would be justified in telling the comics community to avoid the seller.

Totally agree. If a buyer wants the seller to be responsible when a book is found to be restored does he also want the seller to be credited when the book grades higher than expected and is worth much more than the price paid?  The point being, I don't like the idea of some buyers buying raw books and expecting to be able to "test the value" to see if they got a deal by sending it to be graded and then wanting to return if it doesn't work out.  I agree that if a buyer wants a guarantee on a book then he should buy an already graded book. There's an inherent risk in buying a raw book. There is also a potential reward. If you buy a raw book and it grades well you can end up with much more value than what you paid for. It just doesn't seem right that someone wants to only be onboard for the reward part but wants a guaranteed backout clause for the risk part. If the risk part is a blocker, then buying already graded is probably the best bet.

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On 2/7/2019 at 4:35 PM, serling1978 said:

Just curious about everyone's thoughts on seller responsibility when it comes to grading. A couple months ago I sold a raw asm14 and the potential buyer asked a bunch of questions about if it was restored and I answered completely honestly and said I bought it raw and with it being over 50 years old there was no way I could guarantee it wasn't restored. He ended up winning the auction and immediately sent it to be graded. In my mind I was a little concerned he might be immediately grading it to keep the return window open if it was restored. It turned out it got a good grade and was not restored (he was nice enough to message me back) but it just made me wonder, if you're selling a raw book would you accept a return if it came back restored?

Personally I feel like if a buyer gets the raw book from me in the mail and chooses to get it graded then at that point he owns it and had chosen to keep it and get his book graded. If on the other hand he gets it and with his own eyeballs says hey this looks restored then that is valid for a return. But in my mind if the buyer has it in hand and can't tell it's restored then it's not reasonable to think I should have known. If that makes sense.

I Know a lot of people here sell on eBay, so what are your policies and do you state the policy in the listing? 

You, the seller, are responsible. 

If you're not sure if something is restored or not...submit it yourself.

Getting a book graded...and, I fully believe the legal system will agree with me when and if they ever catch up in this area...is merely obtaining an appraisal. If you take a car you are planning to purchase to a mechanic to have it's condition appraised, the buyer isn't obligated to buy the car. Same with comic book grading: someone is seeking a professional, third party opinion.

It's why the idea of the slabbed book being a "package" is, and always has been, utter hogwash. "You cracked the book out! Now it's not what I sold you!" No, barring any changes to the actual book, you sold me a book with a condition appraisal attached to it. It is the book inside...and nothing but the book inside...that has any actual value.

Don't believe me....? Try and sell an empty slab on eBay...any empty slab...tell me how much you get for it. Try it with an empty slab that has a label for a 9.4 AF #15.

Besides....no one, not even CGC, can guarantee that something isn't restored. There have been, on occasion, books that went through the "restored - not restored" revolving door. They do very well...but they aren't perfect, and neither is anyone else.

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