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INVESTMENT COLLECTIBLES does it again!!

145 posts in this topic

Eeek, worm, that does sound pretty tacky indeed. It bugs me no end when sellers devalue their own wares in these types of in-limbo-transactions with buyers AFTER they've received their money. The way I see it, comics are a luxury item, and in these economically troubled times even a one dollar purchase should be treated with respect and gratitude. If it's not worth a seller's time to treat a low-dollar purchaser with respect, then that seller shouldn't be hocking low dollar items!

 

 

Shrunk, VERY well said. I agree 100%.

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Worm,

Take a chill pill it was a 40 dollar order. The guy is probably bombarded with emails like that. I am sure if you buy some of his Superman books you will not have the same problem.

 

Absolutely pathetic attitude. This guy sounds like the dealer in question. foreheadslap.gif

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I agree, treat all customers the same, fairly, as you like to be treated when you are a customer, price of order is irrelvant. If, as a dealer, you don't want to deal with small orders, don't sell any books that are that cheap. Don't take it out on the customer. The customer is king. The customer is what enables you to make a living or nice part time income in something you presumably enjoy.

 

Always do your best to describe defects you know about and it may cost you slightly in prices realized on ebay (in the short run) but as word gets around that you deal fairly and your grades are on the conservative side you will be repaid, over time, with the respect of your customers and higher prices realized.

 

'Nuff said.

 

Excelsior,

 

Bruce

Quasar Comics

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Worm,

Take a chill pill it was a 40 dollar order. The guy is probably bombarded with emails like that. I am sure if you buy some of his Superman books you will not have the same problem.

 

Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, annoys me more than this kind of attitude. I run across it all the time. When dealers are too "busy" to take a minute or two with me to discuss a few low dollar books, I make note of it. Not only do I not buy from them again, I spread the word. On the other hand, I go out of my way to purchase from dealers who are kind people. As an infrequent seller myself, I make a point of returning scan requests promptly and answering all questions with patience, even if the book only goes for a couple of dollars. Big time dealers, and several come to mind immediately, need to rethink their crapppy attitudes....they never know who is just trying them out with a low dollar purchase before spending the big money.

 

 

sign-rantpost.gif

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Worm,

Take a chill pill it was a 40 dollar order. The guy is probably bombarded with emails like that. I am sure if you buy some of his Superman books you will not have the same problem.

 

I treat all customers the same, if they buy $5 or $500. First of all, it makes economic sense. You simply don't know if the person who spends $5 now will not spend $500 down the road if treated right.

 

Second, it's the right thing to do. makepoint.gif

 

It really doesn't take that much more effort.

 

893scratchchin-thumb.gifplain and simple, plain and simple...in the end everyone (would) win 893applaud-thumb.gifthumbsup2.gif

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Worm,

Take a chill pill it was a 40 dollar order. The guy is probably bombarded with emails like that. I am sure if you buy some of his Superman books you will not have the same problem.

 

I treat all customers the same, if they buy $5 or $500. First of all, it makes economic sense. You simply don't know if the person who spends $5 now will not spend $500 down the road if treated right.

 

Second, it's the right thing to do. makepoint.gif

 

It really doesn't take that much more effort.

 

Absolutely spot-on, Pete.

 

A case in point...a low feedback eBayer recently bids and wins a restored Thor #163 from me for $3.99. I deal quickly and with care. I leave feedback as soon as I get payment. He gets the book within days, in bullet-proof packing.

 

And for the next six weeks, he spends anything between $100 and $300 a week on my auctions! thumbsup2.gif

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. Big time dealers, and several come to mind immediately, need to rethink their crapppy attitudes....

 

sign-rantpost.gif

 

Yup. I've seen a number of dealers refuse to supply scans for books that don't trade in the hundreds of dollars. If it's not worth the trouble to throw a book on a scanner for a grand total of 90 seconds, then why the heck would you try to sell the blasted thing in the first place?

 

Oh, wait, to make a cheap and fast buck. I forgot.

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I really can't get down on a Dealer who advertises some of his raw books as restored. I don't like the idea of pressing but you are over the top on the Naivete meter if you think it's not the norm in the Hobby. Less NY attitude more NY acumen Tom(no offense meant). Relax, Pressing is here to stay. Even if CGC could start detecting it 100% tommorow they wouldn't. It would invalidate yrs of Slabs and bring tremendous pressure from the dealers who have been PAYING CGC and pressing books. I think it more likely there are unfound WMD in Iraq than no presses at Heritage or no CGC/Heritage connection....or maybe i watched too many X-files episodes

 

Pressing is not the norm in the hobby. Regretably, it is done more than most of us prefer and in a disohonest manner. Respectfully, this is the wrong type of attitude to take. We should not let those who merely seek to gain profit to ruin a hobby for the rest of us. If we don't like something that is being done, whether it is pressing or something else, then we should say so and do something about it. To do nothing is just as bad because we are merely giving a signal to the money grubbers that it is permissible and, worse, acceptable.

 

And I am a born and bred NYer with major attitude so I can say that! flowerred.gif

 

It's even more complicated than that. Not everyone agrees that those pressing books are "ruining the hobby for the rest of us." Some, like the author of the post previous to this one, have no problem with pressing at all.

 

It's hard to solve a problem when a signifcant % of the hobby doesn't think there is a problem to begin with. What also makes it difficult, is that the vast majority of collectors opposed to pressing have not changed their buying habits to reflect their opinion.

 

I admittedly overgeneralized. Let me be more specific. Not sure if it is accurate to say that a significant % doesn't think there is a problem, but I trust we can agree that to many collectors/dealers they view it as ruining it for many within the hobby. That much is clear from the boards, as is the fact that many don't care.

 

I should also clarify that I meant "undisclosed pressing" rather than simply "pressing". Big difference to me.

 

Personally, I dislike pressing.

 

Professionally, I condemn undisclosed pressing as unethical and dishonest.

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Mark, I understanding what you're saying, but here's the rub...

 

Those who are suspected of pressing, be they a particular auction house, or certain well known dealers, continue to be extremely successful. In fact, they are consistently some of the most successful sellers in the hobby.

 

How is anything going to change if the anti-pressing crowd does not change their buying habits to reflect their opinion?

 

I don't like paying $2.50 for a gallon of gas, and I complain about it all the time, but I still buy the gas. Should I expect the gas companies to lower their prices when I haven't changed my buying habits?

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I understand your point but some collectors, myself included, have changed their buying habits in response to pressing in the hobby. Am I making a difference? Probably not...but I feel a whole lot better about myself and collecting in general due to the changes I've made...

 

Jim

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Jim, I know you have, and that's great. But as a whole, there has not been a perceptable change in buying habits as a result of the pressing controversy, or the dealers/auction houses in question would not continue to do as well as they are.

 

As in any other arena, actions speak so much louder than words. So far, the actions of the anti-pressing contingent have not amounted to a blip on the radar of these dealers/auction houses...giving them no reason to change the way they do business.

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I understand your point but some collectors, myself included, have changed their buying habits in response to pressing in the hobby. Am I making a difference? Probably not...but I feel a whole lot better about myself and collecting in general due to the changes I've made...

 

Jim

 

There may not be a perceptable change in general, but I have changed my buying habits. I no longer pay high premiums for uber graded books that I perceive may have been pressed. I have no impact on the hobby but it sure has helped my pocket book. gossip.gif

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I'm just wondering for those people that have changed their buying habits because of pressing, just what exactly have you changed? I see that Harvey no longer pays premiums for books he thinks might be pressed, but if even CGC cannot tell for sure, how can he? And how has this changed anything? Is it that you guys no longer buy anything from dealers that you believe to have sold undisclosed pressed books in the past? That certainly WOULD send a message if enough people did that.

 

My whole point is, if pro pressing is so hard to detect, how can we avoid these books even if we want to? Or to make it simple, how do you avoid undetectable restoration? If every collector in the world changed their buying habits because of this, what exactly would that do? I'm usually an optimist, but I see this as a losing battle. As I see it, the ONLY thing we can do is to completely avoid ALL books from dealers whom we can PROVE have sold undisclosed pressed books. Other than that, everything is the same and will not change no matter how many phantoms we think we see and avoid.

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I agree, Sid. The problem is, very few collectors are going to avoid all books from dealers with a rep for pressing. Comics that are good pressing candidates are still a small %, so even when buying from that kind of dealer, chances are much better than not that you're getting an unpressed book.

 

In other words, the problem isn't big enough for a large % of collectors to react strongly against it. Getting the books they need is more important to them.

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