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Bad experience with Brett/Fantasy Comics Unlimited, book came back qualified
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105 posts in this topic

 Unfortunate that I had to post this, and I really hate this kind of drama but this is really my first true bad experience with a "reputable" seller so decided to post here for the community. 

 

Purchased a book at the Big Apple Con in December from Brett/Fantasy Comics Unlimited who had an awesome table full of GA books. I asked Brett to open the bag for the book and to thumb through the pages, which he did lightly and he confirmed it was complete. I made the purchase of Young Allies 2, with part trade and part credit card payment. When I got home I took it out and found that the centerfold was detached. I reached out to Brett via Facebook, informing him of the defect in which he offered me $200 as a refund for the obvious drop in grade. He had offered a full refund but I found the partial agreeable given what I knew and agreed as I still wanted to keep it. The next day I submitted the book to CGC and it came back qualified. The centerfold was married. I again reached out to Brett, however this time, there was really no response until he wrote this: 

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Sometimes grading companies pick up something subtle that was unknown to the buyer or seller prior to submission. I had no idea that the centerfold appears to be married. This was not part of the listing when I bought the comic. I have had disappointing news from CGC like this as well. They have given some of my submissions a purple label where there was a tiny color touch which was unknown and invisible to the naked eye. Just part of the grading process.

No offer of a refund or a return. I responded again asking what the next steps would be, as sitting on a book worth half of what I paid for it is not what I expected especially when the seller guaranteed a complete book. He again responded, days later: 

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I don’t see that there is anything more to settle. I offered to give you a refund. You declined. I then offered to give you $200 for the loose centerfold, and you accepted. At that point, my involvement was closed. I gave you a generous refund which I doubt many retailers would have done.

When you send a comic to a grading service, you roll the dice and accept whatever grade and defects they find. You may get what you think is a good grade, and you may be disappointed. You may even get a green or purple label. It’s a risk you take. As I said before, I have received a purple label when CGC found a color touch I had not seen. But this disappointment does not mean you can go back to the prior seller and obtain a refund. Grading companies have technology and professional skills unavailable to the seller, and the seller cannot be held responsible for a grading made by a third party.

Now, obviously, this response pissed me off. If I had known the book was qualified I wouldnt have purchased it in the first place and certainly would have taken the refund after the detached page was found. I once had a similar situation and Ted from Superworld literally offered me a fair refund to the updated value of the book and within 20 minutes it was in my paypal. His words clearly shows he does not stand by the book he sells, and that someone else would have been suckered in the future if it hadnt been me. The seller has not responded in the last week.   

 

Now, I'm asking the board, given what has been posted here (I have screenshots of the convo, as well), and given how unhelpful the seller has been, if I am in the right to submit a chargeback on my credit card to get back the lost value of the book? Is there any other remedy I should try for?  Thank you all

Edited by Pokecollectoramy
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36 minutes ago, comicquant said:

Most dealers I know would give a full refund and take the book back...  If they can be sure the book wasn’t tampered with in any way.  At least the dealers I deal with would.

This.  An adjustment was made on something discovered soon after purchase. But at a later time a second issue was discovered though that related to the first remedied issue is something different altogether and in need of further remedy (adjustment or refund).

1) a part was not attached as it should have been = addressed and remedied

2) it's the wrong part altogether = also needs to be addressed and remedied as well.

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21 minutes ago, James J Johnson said:

This.  An adjustment was made on something discovered soon after purchase. But at a later time a second issue was discovered though that related to the first remedied issue is something different altogether and in need of further remedy (adjustment or refund).

1) a part was not attached as it should have been = addressed and remedied

2) it's the wrong part altogether = also needs to be addressed and remedied as well.

I agree completely but it does not appear the seller is willing to make this right. Do you believe a credit card dispute is the best route to go? Thank you to all three comments

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38 minutes ago, Pokecollectoramy said:

I agree completely but it does not appear the seller is willing to make this right. Do you believe a credit card dispute is the best route to go? Thank you to all three comments

The item is defective. It's not what you thought you were buying. A unit with all of its original parts. Aside from that, the value in relation to your paid price is impacted due to this. A loss. If any buyer or any item is met with resistance for remedy by the merchant in this type of scenario, seek the appropriate remedy through your payment source.

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Interesting that Brett couldn't tell that the centerfold was married; the detachment would be the first clue. ;)

It sounds like he's trying his best to pass along his oversight...to you. Moreover, he either doesn't thoroughly inspect the material he sells (always a possibility) or he does inspect the material and still misses things (this second scenario is reinforced by his admitting to missing color touch on a different book).

And the part about grading companies having technology that regular folks don't have is somewhat erroneous, IMO. These days, anyone can purchase an inexpensive jeweler's loupe and venture into the micro-world, which is all that would normally be required to help determine either of the aforementioned flaws.

In any event, I think he should take the book back and give you a full refund. 

 

 

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Many dealers still maintain a dislike of slabs and the related grading process, and will often wash their hands of a transaction once a comic has been slabbed. I have a similar story to the OPs with a dealer from my area. Unfortunately, unless you really know the dealer well or trust his reputation completely, buying slabs, even when books are in hand, is the only failsafe. 

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1 hour ago, Buzzetta said:

Good chance he already sold the book you traded which could also be slowing down his response and secretly and severely limiting his options. 

If that's the case, and that strong possibility certainly exists, then perhaps a return of the defective book for a full credit (minus the $200 already received) towards another book may be a resolution option, unless there's nothing else the seller has that's of interest to the buyer. Then again, I can easily imagine the buyer not wanting to chance anoter incident with another book, at this point my confidence in the seller would certainly be shaken, the lack of communication at this point being of equal concern to me as the issue with the book itself.

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19 minutes ago, shadroch said:

Let's flip the situation. Suppose the book you bought came back in a blue label and the book you traded came back in a purple or green label. How would you handle it?

This all could have been avoided if you took the time to examine the book.  Is there a dollar amount below which you don't examine a book before buying?

I understand it's a minority opinion here but you bought an expensive raw book without doing any due diligence, were unhappy when you did check it out and accepted a $200 settlement. Don't be surprised if the CC company sees the settlement as final.

If you are going to slab a book, discuss the dealers policy on refunds for a book that comes back green or purple. 

 

The traded book was slabbed. There is no reverse situation here. As said, the dealer thumbed through the book. There was no signs of color touch or trim from a review of the cover. What more due diligence could be done? Are you suggesting I deserved to be ripped off because I didn't take out a loupe and go page by page while at a con? That's absolutely silly. 

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3 hours ago, Ryan. said:

Many dealers still maintain a dislike of slabs and the related grading process, and will often wash their hands of a transaction once a comic has been slabbed. buying slabs, even when books are in hand, is the only failsafe. 

Sorry but slabs are not fail-safe if you crack them to read or press the comic. Unfortunately, CGC has missed trimming on all 3 sides and small amounts of color touch before when de-slabbed comics are re-slabbed.

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I see both sides of the situation .  Sadly, it sucks on both ends.

Often sellers try to maintain a good reputation, so they will take refunds.  However,this doesn't seem to be his prerogative in your case. 

That being said, you did buy it and I assume inspect it.  You had some responsibility in the interaction as well.  Anything I buy over 100 dollars these days, I use a Loupe  after dealing with a similar issue in the past. 

@The Lions Den  Gave me good advice on how to use the Loupe ... it's all about the dots

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4 hours ago, intlnews said:

Simple. Contact the credit card company and file a dispute. Reason, the item I purchased was not as described. You contacted the seller and he basically told you to pound off. It's not optimal, but at least you'd get something back.

Big Apple Con - December 14th 2019 - he purchased the book.

This post - February 8th 2020 - after he disagreed with the dealer.

That is 56 days.  It is over 30 days of purchase.  Probably, the dispute will not be made.

Young Allies #2 is 79 years old book - not a new product.  I don't think it is a guarantee to get the money back.  It's a risk purchase.

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6 hours ago, aardvark88 said:

Sorry but slabs are not fail-safe if you crack them to read or press the comic. Unfortunately, CGC has missed trimming on all 3 sides and small amounts of color touch before when de-slabbed comics are re-slabbed.

Err, okay. If you want to use outliers as a baseline. In that case, abstinence is 100% safe. Don't buy comics if you don't want to risk little baby comics running around using up all your short boxes. 

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