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

43 minutes ago, The Lions Den said:

I suppose everyone here has gotten burned a time or two...I know I have.  :flamed:

 

 

First time I got burned, I blamed the seller. After that, I have only myself to blame.

If only there had been a way for a buyer to closely examine the book..........

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5 minutes ago, gadzukes said:

So..... by any chance....... when you saw the CF was detached, did you look at the staple placements of the CF as compared to the rest of the comic?

Sounds simple, but easier said than done. It’s easy sometimes, and not so easy other times, to draw definitive conclusions 

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9 minutes ago, GreatCaesarsGhost said:
16 minutes ago, gadzukes said:

So..... by any chance....... when you saw the CF was detached, did you look at the staple placements of the CF as compared to the rest of the comic?

 

 

9 minutes ago, GreatCaesarsGhost said:

Sounds simple, but easier said than done. It’s easy sometimes, and not so easy other times, to draw definitive conclusions 

I agree.  The OP just showed me a pic of the CF and it is not the easiest case to identify in this instance.  From the photo he showed me the PQ looks the same and the staple holes look similar.  You can't tell from the photo if the edge trims match up.  But the "page gripper holes" at the bottom margin might be the biggest clue that it's married.

Maybe we can get the OP to post the pic here, for discussion.

After all.... the boards are here to help us all educate ourselves.

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1 minute ago, gadzukes said:

 

I agree.  The OP just showed me a pic of the CF and it is not the easiest case to identify in this instance.  From the photo he showed me the PQ looks the same and the staple holes look similar.  You can't tell from the photo if the edge trims match up.  But the "page gripper holes" at the bottom margin might be the biggest clue that it's married.

Maybe we can get the OP to post the pic here, for discussion.

After all.... the boards are here to help us all educate ourselves.

Absolutely, and thank you for your help. Can never hurt to be more educated and I now am. Here is the photo for discussion. The page quality looked very good to me:

https://imgur.com/a/zxtmxqu

 

I also don't want to take away from the point that overwhelmingly the boards agree that the seller should take a return or offer a refund for this book as he sold something that was not what he said it was. I appreciate everyone's input on all matters

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11 hours ago, comicwiz said:

My experience has been that it almost always get qualified, but my perception of this policy might be more representative of a certain era of comics, and it is very possible that GA gets the same exceptional treatment on this type of defect as they do with glue on the spine getting blue label.

+1

Especially on "1 staple" WWII comics.  Detached CFs on "1 staple" comics usually get Blue labels

Edited by gadzukes
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57 minutes ago, gadzukes said:

I believe GA comics are the easiest to detect Married CFs because:

1) pages were trimmed wonky during the GA so it's very rare for CF edges to match up exactly on GA comics.

2) staple placement can be somewhat wonky on GA comics.  

3) because of the age of the paper for GA comics, you get the biggest variance of PQ for GA comics, which can make it easy to spot married wraps.

If I were the OP and discovered the CF was detached I would have immediately looked at the staple placement to see if it matched up.

All of us collectors should attempt to educate ourselves at least a little on what to look for when shelling out large sums of money for raw comics.

Having said all of this, once the comic has been to CGC and a "married CF" has been detected, I believe a reputable dealer should offer a full refund (minus the $200 he already refunded).  

Some dealers might even go the extra yard and refund the CGC fee, or give an in-store discount off of merch... after all, if you're dealing high end comics, isn't one of the goals to build trust with your clients?

If the page qualify has similar color, check all wraps to see if there are any staple holes that are little away from the staples. That is a married wrap. Check the cover if the staples are not in the same position.  That is how I got Green Label.

Edited by JollyComics
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17 minutes ago, comicwiz said:

Is it always the case that the "gripper holes" are on every page?

I can't answer that with 100% accuracy.  But it seems from personal experience, that "gripper marks" might run for at least 4 to 5 pages at a time.

Maybe one of our boardies with printing experience can answer this better.

I HATE when a gripper mark lands within a millimeter of the bottom free edge corner, because those corners usually end up ripping out (or bending out sideways) and leaving a bad corner for many pages.

Edited by gadzukes
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6 hours ago, JollyComics said:

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.

 

I know the comic, I have one.  Anyways, I've disputed items over a year after purchase, never had an issue. It's your call, but you have credit card protections. Should you not want to use them, well, that's on you.  It's there if you want to.

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27 minutes ago, intlnews said:

 

I know the comic, I have one.  Anyways, I've disputed items over a year after purchase, never had an issue. It's your call, but you have credit card protections. Should you not want to use them, well, that's on you.  It's there if you want to.

Today is much better even the technologies.  Two disputes were back in 2003 and 2004. PayPal was only few years old.

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1 hour ago, JollyComics said:

Today is much better even the technologies.  Two disputes were back in 2003 and 2004. PayPal was only few years old.

Based on my experience with both Chase and Citi in 2018 and 2019, you are incorrect. Cannot say with Paypal.

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If this is the Brett Putnam Fantasy Comics Unlimited site he should probably change his mission statement now...:nyah:

 

BUSINESS INFO
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Founded in 1976
 
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Mission
Quality customer service, personal attention, guaranteed grading, careful packaging, no-hassle money-back guarantee. Your satisfaction is my top priority.
 
 
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2 minutes ago, James J Johnson said:

This.  It's not arcane knowledge or alien technology. The most important piece of equipment of paramount importance to being a hobbyist is our eyes. If you're going to cap your spending at $10 per book, what you buy, as long as you enjoy it, is of secondary importance. But if you're going to embark upon and embrace the hobby by making substantial investment, it's imperative to train your eyes and acquire the visual skills necessary to determine exactly what it is that you're spending your money on. Use CGC grading as an extra set of eyes, not as a pair of crutches. Acquire the skills and the tools to augment those skills to be 95% sure of what it is that you're submitting.

Probably the best advice you're ever going to hear about collecting comics...  (worship)

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9 minutes ago, The Lions Den said:

Probably the best advice you're ever going to hear about collecting comics...  (worship)

 

18 minutes ago, James J Johnson said:

This.  It's not arcane knowledge or alien technology. The most important piece of equipment of paramount importance to being a hobbyist is our eyes. If you're going to cap your spending at $10 per book, what you buy, as long as you enjoy it, is of secondary importance. But if you're going to embark upon and embrace the hobby by making substantial investment, it's imperative to train your eyes and acquire the visual skills necessary to determine exactly what it is that you're spending your money on. Use CGC grading as an extra set of eyes, not as a pair of crutches. Acquire the skills and the tools to augment those skills to be 95% sure of what it is that you're submitting.

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1 hour ago, intlnews said:

Based on my experience with both Chase and Citi in 2018 and 2019, you are incorrect. Cannot say with Paypal.

That is pretty new.  PayPal is much better today even Chase and Citi are dramastically improved ever since even other CC companies.  More security and better service than 15 years ago.

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