• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

polished_gem_comics aka diamond_comics_llc aka silver_valley_comics CGC slab cracking and overgrading for profit
8 8

595 posts in this topic

4 hours ago, Buzzetta said:

He has a few things going for him, where despite the scenario you present, he will still find it profitable to continue.

Let's say he takes that 9.0 book, cracks it, and lists it as a 9.2-9.4.

How many of the winning bidders are actually going to file claims?  I doubt everyone will. Remember the bidders do not know one another and have no real way of reaching out to one another to compare notes.  So I envision the following scenarios:

  • Seller satiates the complainant winning bidder by offering a partial refund 
  • Seller is able to convince that eBay / PayPal that he advertised a 9.2-9.4 and since grading is subjective and CGC graded it a 9.0 that he is not far off.  We have seen stories where this has worked. 
  • Seller is able to convince the buyer that they are one of only a few issues and that maybe the buyer needs to send it in for a press or something else or that CGC was off by .2 that day. 

By no means do I approve of what he is doing but I believe that this guy will continue to do this / business as usual.  I don't see him stopping for a good long time.  

 

"Item received not as described or pictured". The exact wordig may be slightly different than that, I paraphrase, but that reason trumps all when a buyer wishes to return an item. And subjectivity aside, when a buyer's purchase has returned graded by CGC at a market value of 1/4 to 1/2 what they paid, filing a claim with that reason will be used for any time up until 6 months post payment. This thread will further exacerbate that discovery, enlightenment, and remedy process.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

53 minutes ago, Inhuman Fiend said:

Notice that he's got a big qualifier in there which should in theory keep him out of trouble with eBay:

Grade: NM (Only My Opinion Please Viewers Look At My High Definition Photo’s & See For Yourself As Grading Is Very Subjective!

Hence, once again, it's really all about BUYER BEWARE and conducting your own due diligence as he's clearly stating that the NM grade is only opinion and asking all bidders to look carefully at his high def photos as grading is very subjective which is 110% correct.  hm

Edited by lou_fine
Link to comment
Share on other sites

There's a lot of righteous indignation in this thread . . . just a word of caution (from a lawyer) as a general matter . . . be careful interfering with the commercial relationships of other people.  You don't have any standing, and you might be opening yourself up to a lawsuit.  (Not that I think the seller you are discussing likely cares much about what anybody thinks, much less a bunch of comics nerds who have nothing better to do than police third-party sales on eBay.)  This guy is not committing fraud.  I highly doubt anyone is relying on the "one owner" claim in buying the comic.  In fact, the buyers are likely just hoping to do the same thing you are complaining about . . . i.e., buying a comic and flipping it for a profit.  Why else would anyone buy a copy of Marvel Premier #1 off eBay?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Inhuman Fiend said:

I hate liars like this dirtbag seller. Spent a few minutes looking at the books he has sold...every single one was VERY recently purchased on eBay. Not all were slabbed, found this one. 

When he bought it: 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Marvel-Premier-034-The-Power-of-Warlock-034-1-April-1972-Great-Condition-/264673438414?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=6eLM13dtdan09NFs9Ss54HuArRo%3D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc

When he sold it:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Marvel-Premiere-1-High-Grade-Unread-Original-Owner-CGC-Ready-HOT-KEY-WOW-/143568407901?_trksid=p2349526.m4383.l10137.c10&nordt=true&rt=nc&orig_cvip=true

I love how he turns up the lightness so high on the back scan that you can scarcely see the tear on the upper right and that was so obvious in the pics from the auction he bought it from. 

What a tool...I think we should bombard him with annoying messages about his "original owner collection" :eyeroll:

Before pressing

491152320_ScreenShot2020-04-27at2_51_55PM.thumb.png.149a63f8bbbb3491ab0de216e6921646.png

After pressing                             I suspected this guy used Photoshop to adjust Hue/Saturation or use the level to contrast/brightness to eliminate tan edges.

1574923474_ScreenShot2020-04-27at2_49_55PM.png.d1419709c22ab27e9d8acb38c52068d0.png873480489_ScreenShot2020-04-27at2_54_40PM.png.261ad1d84810867fb0c75675d6357aa3.png

Now let's call

@joeypost

Let's see how bad he pressed this book.

 

Edited by JollyComics
Joey - I need you to observe his pressing skill.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

48 minutes ago, JollyComics said:

Before pressing

491152320_ScreenShot2020-04-27at2_51_55PM.thumb.png.149a63f8bbbb3491ab0de216e6921646.png

After pressing                             I suspected this guy used Photoshop to adjust Hue/Saturation or use the level to contrast/brightness to eliminate tan edges.

1574923474_ScreenShot2020-04-27at2_49_55PM.png.d1419709c22ab27e9d8acb38c52068d0.png873480489_ScreenShot2020-04-27at2_54_40PM.png.261ad1d84810867fb0c75675d6357aa3.png

Now let's call

@joeypost

Unless my eyes deceive me, the guy Photoshopped in a missing piece from the back cover.  THAT is fraud.

And he still got positive feedback?  Who the (*&# is buying this junk AND being happy with it??????

Edited by mattn792
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Bax77 said:

You're a real people person (thumbsu

If you think I exclude myself from the "comic nerd" moniker you are gravely mistaken. :bigsmile:

Edit:  And if you think about it, I've got nothing better to do than comment on this topic.  So there's that.

Edited by OuterboroGuy
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That GSX#1 just sold for 9.4+ 9.6 money.  I guess there's no shortage of crazy buying right now.  Is that rust or paper tear on the rear bottom staple?  With knowing how hard giant-sized books are to grade, who really takes a chance like that.   You would basically have to press it and get a 9.6 back just to break even.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, mattn792 said:

Unless my eyes deceive me, the guy Photoshopped in a missing piece from the back cover.  THAT is fraud.

And he still got positive feedback?  Who the (*&# is buying this junk AND being happy with it??????

Correct. Photoshop enhancement is being used to disguise flaws on this and others. Both the color/brightness settings and filling in chips, creases, stresses.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

50 minutes ago, goodrockrich said:

I'm not defending him but I think that chip was folded over not photoshopped in.

That is correct, referring to the physical repositioning of the chip. But then, the back cover was photoshopped to obscure the borderlines of the chip and make it blend into the margin and edge more seamlessly than it will appear without the cosmetic photo cleansing. .

And of course, jacking up the intensity of the whites also helps eliminate any rifts in the paper show that border around that repositioned chip. It also downplays the edge toning. Look how much he juiced the whites. Look at the faded out pink and blue streaks in the fat track lettering of the back cover! The intensity is so jacked, to eliminate the edge tone, that the blues and pinks that streak the inside of that lettering have almost faded altogether!

Edited by James J Johnson
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, 90sChild said:

That GSX#1 just sold for 9.4+ 9.6 money.  I guess there's no shortage of crazy buying right now.  Is that rust or paper tear on the rear bottom staple?  With knowing how hard giant-sized books are to grade, who really takes a chance like that.   You would basically have to press it and get a 9.6 back just to break even.  

Someone buying for a quick flip, after an express pit stop at CGC, my guess. CGC is open for business and running on schedule. My guess is that the seller has less than 3 weeks before he gets an email notification from ebay, automatically approving the buyer's return of this GSX 1 and upon logging into paypal noting that the funds for the transaction are being held aside pending refund once he gets the book back.

The buyer may be naively sympathetic when he feigns ignorance and expresses surprise, unless the buyer stumbles upon this thread, in which case chance dictates the buyer being less sympathetic and more forthright with appropriate neutral or negative feedback once read.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I must say this person is the greatest comic seller I have seen. To buy a book well over the going rate with a production flaw and to even think you can sell it for more amazes me. Then to actually do it. I bow down to your greatness. Most I would pay for that book would be 1500 and only for purpose of resale cause production creases get no pass from me. Crease is a crease I don't care how it got there. This person is going to sell it for 3300 plus. Bidders are dumb enough to pay that much money yet smart enough to know how production flaws are graded. Incredible. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Myowncollector said:

I must say this person is the greatest comic seller I have seen. To buy a book well over the going rate with a production flaw and to even think you can sell it for more amazes me. Then to actually do it. I bow down to your greatness. Most I would pay for that book would be 1500 and only for purpose of resale cause production creases get no pass from me. Crease is a crease I don't care how it got there. This person is going to sell it for 3300 plus. Bidders are dumb enough to pay that much money yet smart enough to know how production flaws are graded. Incredible. 

Well, the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. On ebay, Paypal is the Lord, and buyers know it. It's one thing to ply deceptive practices and rake it in, like Diamond is doing, but it's another thing altogether in keeping it. Payment is a 2-way street on ebay with paypal, and buyers know they're in the driver's seat, no sale funded by paypal or a credit card final until 6 months have passed. A buyer has 6 months to initiate a case/claim/chargeback for an ebay purchase, and that's the hidden fly in the ointment, the Achilles heel for all sellers, decent or indecent, honest or dishonest.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
8 8