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Can you guess why you probably shouldn't buy this "Jack Kirby" piece?
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Started by glendgold,

376 posts in this topic

Unca Ben

Unca Ben

Posted
Posted
On 1/26/2019 at 5:26 AM, dichotomy said:

Hey everyone. I was tracking this and I was also very curious so I purchased the Hulk just to see. The buyer accepts returns and my plan was to have it assessed here in Boston.  I did some internet research of course and saw another website in German that also calls out the Thor piece. Anyway, after I won I contacted the seller to follow up on shipping. Immediately the language of the reply was markedly different from the listing in grammar/syntax. 

After a week I followed up and the seller says

“Below are the tracking info of the item you purchased from me, due to christmas shipping rush, your item has been rerouted from uk,i apologize for the inconvenince this may have cuased you.”

So now I’m really curious. Shipping from Canada via the UK? I gave him a 5% benefit of the doubt because shipping over the holidays was absolutely insane, and I had a lot of other mail that was heavily delayed. 

A week later I get a call from UK customs. Was I expecting anything? I blanked for a moment and then remembered this piece and filled the guy in. He tells me that they’ve opened the mail because it was invoiced at $4 and it shipped from PAKISTAN. The was the customs guy was speaking, I could tell they thought it was a fake (IMO).

I contacted the seller and told him the jig is up and please cancel and refund, which he did after asking me not to inform eBay. 

I received the refund today. PayPal name was Robert Lubber. 

Curiouser and curiouser...

 

I'd be suprised that a customs guy would determine the authenticity of a comic character sketch.  (Mebbe he's a fan?  Just seems unlikely.)  The Pakistan part is interesting.  The name Robert Lubber rings a bell, I think?

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Pete Marino

Pete Marino

Posted
Posted
On 1/26/2019 at 8:26 AM, dichotomy said:

Hey everyone. I was tracking this and I was also very curious so I purchased the Hulk just to see. The buyer accepts returns and my plan was to have it assessed here in Boston.  I did some internet research of course and saw another website in German that also calls out the Thor piece. Anyway, after I won I contacted the seller to follow up on shipping. Immediately the language of the reply was markedly different from the listing in grammar/syntax. 

After a week I followed up and the seller says

“Below are the tracking info of the item you purchased from me, due to christmas shipping rush, your item has been rerouted from uk,i apologize for the inconvenince this may have cuased you.”

So now I’m really curious. Shipping from Canada via the UK? I gave him a 5% benefit of the doubt because shipping over the holidays was absolutely insane, and I had a lot of other mail that was heavily delayed. 

A week later I get a call from UK customs. Was I expecting anything? I blanked for a moment and then remembered this piece and filled the guy in. He tells me that they’ve opened the mail because it was invoiced at $4 and it shipped from PAKISTAN. The was the customs guy was speaking, I could tell they thought it was a fake (IMO).

I contacted the seller and told him the jig is up and please cancel and refund, which he did after asking me not to inform eBay. 

I received the refund today. PayPal name was Robert Lubber. 

Curiouser and curiouser...

 

Tell me he did this all through eBay messaging....

if he did, you should report right away, he'll be shutdown.  Plus they'll see him admitting it's a fake and asking you to not report it.

Of course, he may just start a new account next week, eBay is really good like that.

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dichotomy

dichotomy

Posted
Posted
On 1/28/2019 at 7:45 PM, Pete Marino said:

Tell me he did this all through eBay messaging....

if he did, you should report right away, he'll be shutdown.  Plus they'll see him admitting it's a fake and asking you to not report it.

Of course, he may just start a new account next week, eBay is really good like that.

Yes everything through eBay messenger. He doesn't admit it's a fake. 

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dichotomy

dichotomy

Posted
Posted
On 1/28/2019 at 7:36 PM, Unca Ben said:

I'd be suprised that a customs guy would determine the authenticity of a comic character sketch.  (Mebbe he's a fan?  Just seems unlikely.)  The Pakistan part is interesting.  The name Robert Lubber rings a bell, I think?

The customs guy didn't say it was a fake, but the questions he was asking definitely suggested that they had considered it. He did tell me "we do know this artist" (i.e. Jack Kirby). Their main issue was that the piece was invoiced at a value of $4. 

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dichotomy

dichotomy

Posted
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On 1/28/2019 at 6:07 PM, Blastaar said:

So the big question is.....do you get to keep the fake or do you have to return it? 😀

If it even shows up. The tracking number the guy sent me just shows it stuck in the UK. And certainly I'll have no incentive to pay anything in customs tax, so I'll refuse delivery if that's the case. 

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glendgold

glendgold

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Here we go again: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1969-Captain-America-by-Jack-Kirby-109-Provenance-Signed-Stamped-No-Res-Auc/273682551875

I feel bad for the guy who read my posting of the Hulk piece and was "curious" enough to bid, so let me be really specific: this is a forgery.  It's not by Jack Kirby.  If you read this thread and then you bid on it, you're bidding on a forgery sold by a guy with a track record of selling forgeries.  It's not a hidden treasure.  

(I'm discouraged, btw, by how pointing this stuff out is going -- it seems to in fact be encouraging bidders -- I posted this piece to some Facebook groups and the piece immediately started getting more bids.  I don't understand the psychology behind deliberately choosing the wax piece of fruit, but if anyone else does, please explain it so I don't keep making the same mistake.) 

 G

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glendgold

glendgold

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The piece I was referring to in the above post is no longer on eBay, so I'm showing it below.  Also the Hulk auction from p. 6 of this thread has vanished -- I'm not sure how that works, as it should be in the eBay archives, but it's not. 

 

 

 

fake kirby canada.jpg

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dichotomy

dichotomy

Posted
Posted
On 2/2/2019 at 3:10 PM, glendgold said:

Here we go again: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1969-Captain-America-by-Jack-Kirby-109-Provenance-Signed-Stamped-No-Res-Auc/273682551875

I feel bad for the guy who read my posting of the Hulk piece and was "curious" enough to bid, so let me be really specific: this is a forgery.  It's not by Jack Kirby.  If you read this thread and then you bid on it, you're bidding on a forgery sold by a guy with a track record of selling forgeries.  It's not a hidden treasure.  

(I'm discouraged, btw, by how pointing this stuff out is going -- it seems to in fact be encouraging bidders -- I posted this piece to some Facebook groups and the piece immediately started getting more bids.  I don't understand the psychology behind deliberately choosing the wax piece of fruit, but if anyone else does, please explain it so I don't keep making the same mistake.) 

 G

Rest easy, I didn't bid after seeing your post. I found your post after the fact when I wanted to post about the whole experience. 

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glendgold

glendgold

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D Man?  Weirdly accurate name.  https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/69196214_jack-kirby-sketch-for-d-man

This is a forgery traced from the Daredevil -- excuse me -- D Man -- 1 cover.

Oh, and this one, too, goes without saying right?  Same auction house.

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/69195930_john-byrne-sketch-for-wolverine

 

 

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glendgold

glendgold

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29 minutes ago, Pontoon said:

Don't tell me this one was forged! :insane:

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/70751860_-the-black-hole-signed-drawing-by-jack-kirby

Without seeing it in person I  have no opinion about that one -- wouldn't be surprised either way.  Instinct says "probably good," and awkward because it's done in felt tip pen, but WHO KNOWS. 

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