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

[wombat]

At some point buyers get what they deserve with some of these listings. Paying over market value for a book with bad pictures is pretty risky. Its easy to look at this seller and see the obvious example because we see the listings he originally won and what the grades were. Now think of the thousands of books in the same exact situation where they weren't bought on ebay. I just assume this happens all the time. 

[Lightning55]

28 minutes ago, wombat said:

At some point buyers get what they deserve with some of these listings. Paying over market value for a book with bad pictures is pretty risky. Its easy to look at this seller and see the obvious example because we see the listings he originally won and what the grades were. Now think of the thousands of books in the same exact situation where they weren't bought on ebay. I just assume this happens all the time. 

That part about the buyers is true, and that it probably happens frequently.  Not much anyone can or should do about that.  The bigger problem people were having with this particular seller is that the seller was lying about the history of the comics, original owner, purchased off the rack decades ago, etc lots of hype.  In actual fact, it was purchased recently at auction on eBay.  Then there was also possible photo manipulation, changing the angle to hide defects, changing the lighting to wash out defects, who knows what other manipulations.  That all falls under misrepresentation, as the buyer is factoring these statements and doctored photos into their opinion of value.  Intentional misrepresentation is a type of fraud. 

Then there's also the probable shill bidding.  That's a huge deal.  Thanks to our wonderful "Privacy Act", it's hard to prove.  Not as transparent as it used to be.  And reporting it has no effect.  EBay is too slow to react, if it reacts at all.  Reports should hit someone's desk immediately, they look at it, weigh the claims of foul play in just a few minutes, shut the listing down, game over.  Better to shut it down and err on the side of caution than to let someone indiscriminately rip someone off.  Force them to contact eBay to explain why it SHOULDN'T be shut down.

[wombat]

And to be clear I'm not defending this seller. Completely shady and unethical and should be avoided at all costs. But people also need to take precautions to protect themselves. 

[littledoom]

I don't know how the seller has a clear conscience about this stuff

[James J Johnson]

1 hour ago, Lightning55 said:

That part about the buyers is true, and that it probably happens frequently.  Not much anyone can or should do about that.  The bigger problem people were having with this particular seller is that the seller was lying about the history of the comics, original owner, purchased off the rack decades ago, etc lots of hype.  In actual fact, it was purchased recently at auction on eBay.  Then there was also possible photo manipulation, changing the angle to hide defects, changing the lighting to wash out defects, who knows what other manipulations.  That all falls under misrepresentation, as the buyer is factoring these statements and doctored photos into their opinion of value.  Intentional misrepresentation is a type of fraud. 

Then there's also the probable shill bidding.  That's a huge deal.  Thanks to our wonderful "Privacy Act", it's hard to prove.  Not as transparent as it used to be.  And reporting it has no effect.  EBay is too slow to react, if it reacts at all.  Reports should hit someone's desk immediately, they look at it, weigh the claims of foul play in just a few minutes, shut the listing down, game over.  Better to shut it down and err on the side of caution than to let someone indiscriminately rip someone off.  Force them to contact eBay to explain why it SHOULDN'T be shut down.

Ebay and paypal will react when these unread NM gems are submitted to CGC and return 8.0s to 9.0s, as many were previously slabbed and the claims start to mount with return requests. That and/or the feedback will eventually take its toll. Buyers are looking to submit these unread gems to CGC and then flip for $$$$. They are not rat-holing them. A good portion of these will be subbed to CGC and it's a matter of turnaround time until the NM/unread chickens come home to roost. With so few overall sales, how many returns paypal will abide by before freezing his account is the question.

What's not true is the idea that one must know which sellers he's buying from. The fact that he's doing his buying and selling from the same account (up until recently), that alone, is not the only way to track his purchases.

There's a dozen to 3 dozen books he repeatedly targets. The most popular ones in the hobby constitute his regular purchases. GSX 1, AS 129, AS 101, Hulk 181, AS 194, AS 300, etc., etc.  Makes it like shooting fish in the barrel. I simply save all the images of all of these in CGC, CBCS, and PGX graded ebay sales from 7.0 to 9.2. This way, when he puts up a raw GSX 1 "unread/NM", I simply compare his images against the ones I saved previously sold on ebay!! Like shooting fish in the barrel. I can cross check for Identifiers in a few seconds!

So buying with a different account really won't solve the problem of someone tracking the crackouts for him.  And if someone shows up and they happen to need that info, I can provide the trail of the item for them if they would like.

Edited May 3, 2020 by James J Johnson

[littledoom]

19 minutes ago, James J Johnson said:

Ebay and paypal will react when these unread NM gems are submitted to CGC and return 8.0s to 9.0s, as many were previously slabbed and the claims start to mount with return requests. That and/or the feedback will eventually take its toll. Buyers are looking to submit these unread gems to CGC and then flip for $$$$. They are not rat-holing them. A good portion of these will be subbed to CGC and it's a matter of turnaround time until the NM/unread chickens come home to roost. With so few overall sales, how many returns paypal will abide by before freezing his account is the question.

What's not true is the idea that one must know which sellers he's buying from. The fact that he's doing his buying and selling from the same account (up until recently), that alone, is not the only way to track his purchases.

There's a dozen to 3 dozen books he repeatedly targets. The most popular ones in the hobby constitute his regular purchases. GSX 1, AS 129, AS 101, Hulk 181, AS 194, AS 300, etc., etc.  Makes it like shooting fish in the barrel. I simply save all the images of all of these in CGC, CBCS, and PGX graded ebay sales from 7.0 to 9.2. This way, when he puts up a raw GSX 1 "unread/NM", I simply compare his images against the ones I saved previously sold on ebay!! Like shooting fish in the barrel. I can cross check for Identifiers in a few seconds!

So buying with a different account really won't solve the problem of someone tracking the crackouts for him.  And if someone shows up and they happen to need that info, I can provide the trail of the item for them if they would like.

The problem is when the item gets delivered he's only responsible for 30 business days after. And that's it.. Those looking to send their books in might not get them back until the end of this year or next

I've always referred to the title as ASM :]

Edited May 3, 2020 by littledoom

[mattn792]

Credit to @Rich_Henn for the best wisdom I’ve heard in regard to vintage books that are supposedly super high grade - “If it’s really that nice, why isn’t it in a slab already?”

[kav]

3 minutes ago, mattn792 said:

Credit to @Rich_Henn for the best wisdom I’ve heard in regard to vintage books that are supposedly super high grade - “If it’s really that nice, why isn’t it in a slab already?”

BOOM goes the dynamite

[James J Johnson]

1 hour ago, littledoom said:

The problem is when the item gets delivered he's only responsible for 30 business days after. And that's it.. Those looking to send their books in might not get them back until the end of this year or next

I've always referred to the title as ASM :]

180 days. If paypal or a credit card were used to fund the transaction, an item isn't technically sold until 180 days have elapsed. Not 30.

[Myowncollector]

4 hours ago, littledoom said:

 

If he has the balls to get away with it I actually think he should .. this is wrong practice but if buyers are paying then I can't say it's wrong... he's remixing / enhancing

 

Idk sure you feel a type of way cause he's getting crazy $ for raw books. that makes me envious but everything you mentioned I agree with

If people are forging signatures or not disclosing restored books then that isn't ethical. But if people are willing to pay cgc prices or above, or buy solely based on his grades, I don't feel any sorrow for them. Part of becoming a comic collector is learning to grade and know values of books. If they can find his listings on ebay they can search for other books and compare price and condition. Shill bidding doesn't bother me any. I am going to pay the price I want to pay, not like I am going to get caught up in the excitement of a bidding war. If you cant contain yourself from that then that's on you. 

Not envious of him at all. Love this guy. I know if I tried it the results wouldn't be the same. Some people just have that luck or mojo. Keep the updates coming though. Very interesting. Who says you need to be smart to make money? His buyers certainly have a lil cheddar.

[LordRahl]

45 minutes ago, mattn792 said:

Credit to @Rich_Henn for the best wisdom I’ve heard in regard to vintage books that are supposedly super high grade - “If it’s really that nice, why isn’t it in a slab already?”

Because...

1) Some dealers get prices equivalent to a slabbed book for same grade raw books. See comics4less

2) Some dealers just go through too much inventory and don't have the time/desire to wait for CGC. See jscomics

3) Some people don't like CGC, don't understand it, don't know the upside etc. See all kinds of random sellers on feebay

There are plenty of super high grade books being sold raw on feebay, here, even Heritage sometimes. Mega keys like ASM 1 or FF 5, probably not. GSX 1 and ASM 194... absolutely.

[LordRahl]

The price for the ASM 194 is absolutely ludicrous. Too many people with way more money than sense. And by the way... I thought the comic crash had arrived with this whole Covid thing

[kav]

4 minutes ago, Myowncollector said:

Shill bidding doesn't bother me any. I am going to pay the price I want to pay, not like I am going to get caught up in the excitement of a bidding war. If you cant contain yourself from that then that's on you. 

You realize if you get shilled you pay more than you would have regardless of what you were 'willing to pay', right?

 

5 minutes ago, Myowncollector said:

His buyers certainly have a lil cheddar.

 If the mark has the money, then it's not a con.  
Rationalization 101.

[littledoom]

17 minutes ago, LordRahl said:

The price for the ASM 194 is absolutely ludicrous. Too many people with way more money than sense. And by the way... I thought the comic crash had arrived with this whole Covid thing

 

I considered selling one of my raw high grade copies if they're selling for that much.. but if Black Cat is in a movie I can see that book going bonkers since it's all black

[Lightning55]

You tell 'em, @kav.  Some people just don't get it.

[kav]

12 minutes ago, Lightning55 said:

You tell 'em, @kav.  Some people just don't get it.

No matter what the behavior, someone will say it's great.

[Myowncollector]

1 hour ago, kav said:

You realize if you get shilled you pay more than you would have regardless of what you were 'willing to pay', right?

The seller is going to shill the bid up more than I am willing to pay. My max is nowhere close to gpa. If I wanted to pay gpa I would do buy it now obo. 

And if I do get shilled I won't mind. I would rather get the book at a great price then have the seller cancel my order because they didn't get enough for the book. 

And yes if a buyer pays over market value of a slabbed book for a raw because they dont want to do any research then that is on them. If they believe the guys fairy tale about wife's dad's books well oh well. Hopefully they wise up before they take fish tank cleaner or cash that check for the Nigerian Prince. Seller is full of it, but people do need to take personal responsibility.

[kav]

17 minutes ago, Myowncollector said:

The seller is going to shill the bid up more than I am willing to pay. My max is nowhere close to gpa. If I wanted to pay gpa I would do buy it now obo. 

And if I do get shilled I won't mind. I would rather get the book at a great price then have the seller cancel my order because they didn't get enough for the book. 

And yes if a buyer pays over market value of a slabbed book for a raw because they dont want to do any research then that is on them. If they believe the guys fairy tale about wife's dad's books well oh well. Hopefully they wise up before they take fish tank cleaner or cash that check for the Nigerian Prince. Seller is full of it, but people do need to take personal responsibility.

yep.  someone gets mugged for wallet-well they shoulda learned karate.
That's on them.

[Hollywood1892]

2 hours ago, LordRahl said:

Because...

1) Some dealers get prices equivalent to a slabbed book for same grade raw books. See comics4less

2) Some dealers just go through too much inventory and don't have the time/desire to wait for CGC. See jscomics

3) Some people don't like CGC, don't understand it, don't know the upside etc. See all kinds of random sellers on feebay

There are plenty of super high grade books being sold raw on feebay, here, even Heritage sometimes. Mega keys like ASM 1 or FF 5, probably not. GSX 1 and ASM 194... absolutely.

This is true...but more to the point Sellers sell as though they are proffessional graders at the price of a slabbed book when it's not in a slab yet...and they aren't held accountable when the book doesn't come back in the grade they said it was

This also goes back to the ignorance of the buyer too for not being able to grade books themselves....

But as for the seller

If they think it's a 9.4

Sell it for the price of a 9.4 minus grading costs, shipping costs from point of sale and to CGC and whatever other "hidden" costs there might be.

GPA or Gocollect (probably the most reputable pricing platforms at the moment) don't put a FMVGST (fair market value grading shipping tracking) as a price for a book, and sellers aren't going to say "my bad I'll take off all those extra fees and sell my book well under FMV (at least most won't)

Edited May 4, 2020 by Hollywood1892

[Myowncollector]

2 minutes ago, kav said:

yep.  someone gets mugged for wallet-well they shoulda learned karate.
That's on them.

Really great analogy. Same exact thing. You changed my opinion on it now. Well done. 

For real. Buyers should be able to believe every seller is telling the truth. People shouldn't have to learn how to grade. Shouldn't have to pay for gpa or look at other sales, sellers should be forced to only sell items at fair market value. 

For the record. The seller is a liar. Lying about the grades and how he acquired the books. What seller on ebay doesn't lie about grades though, majority do. But the prices he gets are impressive. And the way he does it. To buy a ugly cgc 9.4, crack it sell it raw for a grand more is crazy.

Ps. If you happen to read this polished_gem_comics you should add to your listings that the money from selling these books goes towards your kids life saving surgery or to open a non kill animal shelter or something. What's the saying in for a inch in for a mile.