Stolen X-Men #94 - CGC 9.6 5 5

[MustEatBrains]

2 minutes ago, Bomber-Bob said:

It looks like the book successfully sold in auction so it is now with a new owner. If this has been documented as stolen property, the new owner has to give it back. I just don't know how the overseas aspects muddles this up from a law perspective.

BTW, regarding USPS not getting a signature. Perhaps a courtesy tip was negotiated ?

Did it?  Thought it had a reserve that was not met.

[Bomber-Bob]

2 minutes ago, MustEatBrains said:

Did it?  Thought it had a reserve that was not met.

You're right. The thief doesn't want to leave any money on the table. What a tool.

[fastballspecial]

This guy is unreal doesn't even bother to hide the serial number either.

 

[Diamonddave]

reported

[999ghosts]

With all the evidence, this has to get a happy end, right?!

crossing all my fingers and toes it does.

[01TheDude]

While them listing the same book using your same pictures seems a bit suspect, I'm not convinced that this is 100% proof of fraud occurring. If for some reason the item was intercepted by someone other than the buyer, it would not be out of the realm of possibility that they were planning to try to flip this book immediately and started that process prior to receiving the item itself. Granted that it likely is true that they are scam artists but the facts don't exactly make it open and shut. Had they created new images of the books-- then yes-- clearly they had them at some point.

Probably not a great idea to try to sell something not in your possession yet but I can imagine some people do this on high dollar books. If they had their reserve set well above the amount they paid ($3200) then never got the book, the listing would die (short of a new person meeting that reserve  )and not be relisted (which is the current case IIRC).

Wonder what kind of reply you might get if you had someone else make an offer on the book of say $3000. Still under what they paid BUT if they are scamming, they might jump at that money and basically confess in the process.

Hope this guy doesn't get away with whatever scam they might be trying because it sure smells fishy regardless.

Edited July 8, 2017 by 01TheDude

[Gotham Kid]

On 7/7/2017 at 5:03 PM, chrisco37 said:

As others have said, please out this guy.  Real name and all. 

+1

Sorry to hear this Nik.

Edited July 9, 2017 by Gotham Kid

[comicwiz]

On 2017-07-08 at 6:14 PM, 01TheDude said:

While them listing the same book using your same pictures seems a bit suspect, I'm not convinced that this is 100% proof of fraud occurring. If for some reason the item was intercepted by someone other than the buyer, it would not be out of the realm of possibility that they were planning to try to flip this book immediately and started that process prior to receiving the item itself. Granted that it likely is true that they are scam artists but the facts don't exactly make it open and shut. Had they created new images of the books-- then yes-- clearly they had them at some point.

Probably not a great idea to try to sell something not in your possession yet but I can imagine some people do this on high dollar books. If they had their reserve set well above the amount they paid ($3200) then never got the book, the listing would die (short of a new person meeting that reserve  )and not be relisted (which is the current case IIRC).

Wonder what kind of reply you might get if you had someone else make an offer on the book of say $3000. Still under what they paid BUT if they are scamming, they might jump at that money and basically confess in the process.

Hope this guy doesn't get away with whatever scam they might be trying because it sure smells fishy regardless.

Here's the thing. The person deliberately did this KNOWING regional restrictions would not allow a UK seller to even catch the listing.

Nick had to post it here, and even when a board member provided a link of search results, Nik couldn't see the listing.

The only way Nick could see a US-only listing is if someone direct linked him to the listing, or provided him the item number. Even if someone provided a link to the sellers listings, he wouldn't see it.

That to me seems way too convenient and coincidental.

I actually brought up the potential for this scam when eBay started this whole regional restriction b.s., and now we have a scammer who evidently used it. 

Good on Nik to have posted it here, and for the boards to have helped.

Good luck with getting your money back Nick, and I agree with the others that this scammer should be named/shamed

Edited July 10, 2017 by comicwiz

[SteppinRazor]

Hopefully, there is a way to get the guy arrested, so might have to wait on his name for a while.

[Gotham Kid]

7 hours ago, comicwiz said:

The person deliberately did this KNOWING regional restrictions would not allow a UK seller to even catch the listing.

Nick had to post it here, and even when a board member provided a link of search results, Nik couldn't see the listing.

The only way Nick could see a US-only listing is if someone direct linked him to the listing, or provided him the item number. Even if someone provided a link to the sellers listings, he wouldn't see it.

That to me seems way too convenient and coincidental.

Too far-fetched for a scammer's mind. I am in Paris but can easily fetch a US IP. He pulled the "ebay classic" working with the added bonus of longer delivery times.

 

Edited July 10, 2017 by Gotham Kid

[Poka]

how can anyone be this stupid not thinking he would be caught

[comicwiz]

3 hours ago, Gotham Kid said:

Too far-fetched for a scammer's mind. I am in Paris but can easily fetch a US IP. He pulled the "ebay classic" working with the added bonus of longer delivery times.

 

It isn't far fetched. I've seen this very scam being worked for YEARS, not just now. It just so happened that it went down with a boardie.

The furthest thing from a sellers mind who is still reeling from a chargeback and/or has been gamed this way is to use an IP spoofing software to search eBay.

Edited July 10, 2017 by comicwiz

[Flaming_Telepath]

On 7/8/2017 at 11:14 PM, 01TheDude said:

While them listing the same book using your same pictures seems a bit suspect, I'm not convinced that this is 100% proof of fraud occurring. If for some reason the item was intercepted by someone other than the buyer, it would not be out of the realm of possibility that they were planning to try to flip this book immediately and started that process prior to receiving the item itself. Granted that it likely is true that they are scam artists but the facts don't exactly make it open and shut. Had they created new images of the books-- then yes-- clearly they had them at some point.

 

I agree there is not 100% proof here, but regarding the auction, this was listed before the book was even posted. The book wasn't bought on eBay, but rather from our web-site, so there was only one person who knew it was on its way...the buyer.

As the buyer has not disputed that he made the purchase, that auction was his.

[01TheDude]

5 hours ago, Flaming_Telepath said:

I agree there is not 100% proof here, but regarding the auction, this was listed before the book was even posted. The book wasn't bought on eBay, but rather from our web-site, so there was only one person who knew it was on its way...the buyer.

As the buyer has not disputed that he made the purchase, that auction was his.

I'm not disputing that the ebay seller and your buyer aren't the same person - sorry if that was unclear. Just that if someone were to purchase an item through a website or whatever, it would not be beyond the realm of possibility that they intended to flip it immediately-- even to the point of listing it before it arrived or was even in the mail. It is a pretty slim amount of reasonable doubt but like I said, that is what makes it hard to say this was a scam from the start with any certainty. It most likely was someone trying to screw over the original seller, but there is a slight chance it was just someone trying to cut corners on a flip too.

[lou_fine]

6 hours ago, Flaming_Telepath said:

I agree there is not 100% proof here, but regarding the auction, this was listed before the book was even posted. The book wasn't bought on eBay, but rather from our web-site, so there was only one person who knew it was on its way...the buyer.

As the buyer has not disputed that he made the purchase, that auction was his.

Have you had a chance to provide this additional evidence to PayPal, and if so, what was their response? 

Hope everything works out well in your favor in the end. 

[Flaming_Telepath]

Paypal have all the information and they have reopened the case.

They also have some additional information that has recently been provided.

Fingers crossed at this point...

[thehumantorch]

[VegasJeff]

This is crazy! Makes me wonder what the best way to ship an item over $750 internationally is to avoid this signature problem with Paypal.  Maybe we need to stick to using FedEx or UPS despite the crazy high cost?

[s14roller]

Sorry to hear and hope it works in your favor...

[Flaming_Telepath]

This morning I woke to an e-mail from Paypal, confirming that I am to be refunded in full. 

Huge thanks to everybody here for their support and kind words. However, to MustEastBrains and mr_highgrade, who gave unbelievable practical assistance...you are kings amongst men. 

The next time I'm in the US, I hope that we can meet, as the drinks are on me!