• 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.

Nominating Top City Comics
12 12

891 posts in this topic

I never thought I would have to post here, and hate that I have to. I put in an extra effort to avoid all drama, and always strive towards the smoothest and most professional transactions possible. I love these boards, and have made many spectacular friends here over the years. I have had only positive interactions, and am proud to be a seller and buyer here. I have completed hundreds of transactions here over the years, and it has been all a blast. The interactions and dealing I have had with Top City Comics over the past month have been appalling, and my worst I have had in my time of being a dealer.

Everything that has transpired is part of an extremely long, and drawn out story. I will recount several main parts of the story, and will be happy to answer any questions that may be asked of me. I appreciate that this is not a black and white simple case, and will acknowledge that I may have some fault here. My only fault is that I decided to cancel a transaction after sending a check out. This is something I have never done before, but I will explain what happened to explain my decision.

This interaction started when I posted a Want to Buy for several books, including Weird Tales of the Future #8. Adrian reached out to let me now he had a copy. At this very same time, I had a client that was very new to comics, and wanted me to purchase him about $1,000 in what I thought was some good PCH to have. I had him go through ebay to see what caught his eye. Me and my client went through ebay together, and I saw Adrian (Top City) had a few comics I thought would be good for my client. I told my client that I would be able to talk to him through to boards, and possibly make a purchase for a price better than was listed on ebay. My client was interested, and so I proceeded to attempt to put a deal together with Adrian.

Adrian and I exchanged some messages on the boards about what he had available, and potentially putting a trade together. I requested an inventory list, but he stated that his computer went down a few weeks ago, and that he did not have one ready, but would let me know what he has available. I am marking this as Red Flag #1.

I told him some of what I was looking for, and he told me some of what he had. We very quickly came to a deal where I was purchasing 3 comics from him for $1,565. These were for my client, but due to him being new, I had decided to buy items that I would not mind purchasing for myself if my client changed his mind. That was all fairly easy, but from here, it would spiral downwards, and become very frustrating quickly.

I gave him a list of comics I had available to trade, and he sent me pictures of more comics I had some interest in. We exchanged messages of comics, pictures, and prices for a few days. One thing to note that will add to more frustration later: Adrian sends me a list of everything he has, but doesn’t include any grades. Certain titles I have interest in, but only at certain grades. When he tells me a title, and I tell him I’m interested, it does not mean I am interest in it regardless of condition. He would later accuse me of playing power games with him, which is rude, unprofessional, and his own fault that he is disorganized.

Our conversation then continued for days. It dragged on forever. This is no reason for probation of coarse, but it added a lot of frustration that a conversation that I usually have over the coarse of an hour was now going on more than a week. He would disappear for a day or two at a time, and then after reappearing with the requested pictures, he would mention he had more comics. He would then disappear again, and continued this several times. After doing this several times, I could not stand it any more. I gut did tell me to cancel and move on, but I decided to continue, and just purchase the 3 books I had agreed to take a week earlier. I was not interested in continuing never ending more comics appearing out of nowhere after I thought he had offered me everything. I decided enough is enough, let me close this deal, get the books, and move on.

I told him about my client, and asked if he would be able to ship the books out tomorrow, the same day I sent the check. I do understand that this is a favor I asked of him, but based on his response, and his actions, I suspect Adrian is the type that says anything and everything to close a deal, with no intentions of maintaining integrity.

On 1/18 Adrian informed me he was in a car accident. He said he would be home that evening to finish the deal. I wished him a speedy recovery, and asked if he would still be able to ship right away. I do have sympathy, and told him to ship when he could.

 

 

 Top City Comics

Replied: January 18

  •  

Sure, I think I can do that by tomorrow.

Youre wanting to send a check instead of paypal/venmo then?

 

 

It was very nice of him to agree, but this was on 1/18. Days went by. More than a week went by, and I still had not heard anything from Adrian. I followed up on 1/27 to see what was happening. This was his answer:

 

Top City Comics

Replied: January 27

  •  

Just got the check today!  I'm waiting on mailing boxes (that I ordered 3 weeks ago!), but if they don't show up tomorrow I'll figure something else out.

 

 

 

I was now very frustrated. I thought I would have these comics over a week ago, and now I hear he has no means to ship anything, and hasn’t for 3 weeks. I could not believe what I was hearing. I REALLY wanted to cancel now, but I do no believe in canceling. This entire transaction I kept telling myself “it is almost over and you will never have to deal with him again if you do not want to.” My client backed out and purchased something else, but that is not too relevant. More days went by and still nothing. I checked my bank on 2/1 and saw no check cashed yet. I decided to cancel. This had gone on for 3 weeks, and I do not believe in doing business with someone that conducts as such. I always try to be very understanding, but I was receiving no communication about anything, and I could see he had no intention of shipping 2 weeks earlier like he said he would.

He then told me on 2/1 that he had just received a ride to deposit the check. He then asked me to verify if my address was a “4” or a “9”. What a joke. He was supposed to ship 2 weeks ago, and now he’s asking my address. Even if he had not shipped right away, he still received my check, sat with it for about 2 weeks, and then told me he would ship 2 days after the check cleared. I was done, and nothing was saving this deal. I told him to send me my money back. He then told me about lawyer’s fees, and the hole he was in. I did what I thought was a kind thing to do, and told him to take 3 weeks to do what he had to, and then to pay me by 2/20. My plan was to just leave it alone until then, at which point I was going to reach out to him, and tell him I needed it by 3/1 at the latest.

My plan changed when I saw on Instagram all the comics Adrian was selling, and also posting new ones he was purchasing. I had given him the 3 weeks to get himself cleaned up, not run around buying things with my money. I reached out and wrote a message to him which I consider the most firm message I have ever had to write to anyone in the hobby. I will post below. The message he wrote back is appealing. It is beyond terrible. It is so out there and rude, that I can not believe someone that would say such things is considered a reputable dealer here, or anywhere, and it is sickening. I do not get offended easily, but this is next level low in my opinion.

 

Polonsky

Replied: 6 hours ago

  •  

I just wanted to follow up to see if you have been able to send a check to me. I did tell you that you can have until 2/20 to, and I will still stick with that. In this day and age there are no secrets, and I see you selling many items on Instagram, and I see you posting new items you received for mail call just yesterday. If you are making new purchases before sending me my refund, I would find that absolutely unacceptable and taking advantage of my kindness. Please let me know what the situation is by the end of today, or I will be forced to take further action, which is the last thing I want to do.

-Lee

  •  

 

Top City Comics

Replied: 3 hours ago

  •  

 Cool, ya, most of the stuff I post as bought or sold on Instagram has been at least partial trades, and most of the new stuff is incoming via said trades...I have been able to pull some cash off the top here & there, but, as I said, I have been scrambling to come up with lawyer fees & pay medical bills...not to mention that I owe Comiclink over $20k that I'm trying to come up with as fast as possible...which is why I am selling books in the first place...to pay down my debts.  I have not been able to spare any extra right now, & will do my best to get you refunded in a timely manner...the problem is that I just don't have it...your check was spent before it even got here...and you waiting until the day I cashed it to nix this whole thing has definitely thrown a wrench into things. (I could've just torn it up if it didn't play out that way) 

I am behind the 8-ball by a good amount, & am playing the toughest game of catch-up I have ever gone thru before...sorry you got caught up in this, but if you had just let me ship your books we wouldn't be in this predicament.

 And trust me, I totally understand about the whole "time-wasting" thing...as you literally had me pull out like 25-30 books THAT YOU CHOSE FROM THE LIST, take pictures of them all, & price them all....just to tell me they "weren't up to your grading standards", which, I think we both know was total BS, as there were high grades & low grades, & everything in-between....

 You literally had me do hours worth of work and line up a bunch of books I was wanting to trade for with books you picked from my list & then instantly shot down every single one of them without a second look...I'm not sure if that's a "power-trip" thing....but it's definitely a "look how much of your time I can waste for no good reason" thing on one level or another...but I'm leaning towards the power trip thing after you backed out of our deal within a week of sending the check and refused to let me complete the deal while demanding that things would play out exactly how you wanted even after I explained my financial situation in depth....that combined with expecting me to send the books before even receiving said check, or making sure it would post, definitely signals a bit of a superiority complex my good sir.

 

 

 

I can only imagine someone new to the boards, attempting to buy some comics, and running into this nonsense. I wanted to buy comics from him, and he is being very insulting to me because I asked him to send me a list of what he had, and asked for some pictures. I will not apologize for asking a dealer to do their job, but I will bring Adrian up for probation, because I find this drastically unprofessional. He is attempting to sell items that he no means to ship, which I still don’t get, but that is an entire other issue. I am left feeling like I was lied to, taken advantage of, and then told off by an angry teen ager.

I bring Adrian up for probation, as I am appalled to be a part of this community, that would allow someone like this to go unchecked, beating to his own drum, while disregarding the values that make the Boards and Comic collecting/ dealing great. I have never had anything resembling this take place, here, or anywhere. Everyone else I interact with here is super awesome, and that makes me happy to be part of this community. I would like resolution and my money back. I also want justice. I want smooth and easy transactions for all that come to shop and sell here, and this has been so far from that.

I thank you for reading my case. I know it is a complex situation, one that I hope is over soon. If anyone feels I did anything in the wrong, please let me know. I hate drama, and I hate I am even here on probation threads, but I was not able to let this go without speaking up. I am here to answer any questions, and can paste the entire conversation, or any part if needed.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow...for real bro?

I thought about nominating you too...for backing out of a deal...which I'd say is pretty un-precidentally non-professional, but I didn't want to sink that low...guess you wanna fight dirty instead of working this out between us, eh?

 

Make sure you provide ALL the details buddy...like how you wasted so much of my time but then blamed me FOR WASTING YOUR TIME???  And how you backed out AFTER the check was deposited...and refused to give me your address to ship the book after your writing was UNPRECEDENTALLY ILLEGIBLE ...and how you've been short, entitled, & rude ever since.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, JollyComics said:

Adrian has two years old son.

What does that have to do with any of this?

@Polonsky while I appreciate the detailed account, it’s quite a bit to sift through.  I’m sure other’s will chime in, but I think for a nomination to go forward you might have to boil this down to it’s bare-bones - what he would need to do to make things right to avoid nomination. 
 

While I understand your frustration with the repeated delays, I get the impression (I could be wrong) that you perhaps should have been more clear and firm about your expectations on minimum grade, deadlines, etc.  That probably would have avoided a lot of back-and-forth  

Asking for for the books to be shipped the same day you put a check in the mail - before he get’s the check and has time to cash it - is a pretty big ask.  Wanting to cancel the deal when the seller was still willing to send the books and there doesn’t seem to be clear communication that shipping the books by a certain date was a make-or-break part of the deal before it was consummated, instead more of a “favor” is probably going to complicate this. 
 

If I understand correctly, some or all of the books were initially for your client (sorry, I lost track) but if I’m reading this right these are books that you would also be ok with personally owning. 
 

Sorry if I got some of this wrong, again, it’s a lot to sort through. 
 

Honestly, if what you presented of his current financial situation is correct, it’s seems you’d be more likely to get the books far sooner than the refund on your payment. 
 

If your ok with still having the books, perhaps setting a drop-dead deadline for when they need to be shipped is the way forward. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, Polonsky said:

I find all of this disgusting. I would like people in charge to step in please and say how they feel about this situation. I am happy to answer any questions and provide any details.

 If you find it so disgusting why are you creating all this unnecessary drama??? I literally said in my response earlier that I WOULD REFUND YOU...JUST LIKE I STATED IN PREVIOUS MESSAGES...BUT IT MIGHT TAKE ME A BIT OF TIME...AND YOUR "DEADLINE" HASN'T EVEN BEEN HIT YET...so it seems to me you just like to whine and are looking for a platform...I hear Facebook is great for creating turmoil & conflict these days...maybe try your hand over there with the other trolls...

 If anyone has been rude throughout this exchange it's been you.  Yes, I got in a car wreck (WHICH MAYBE I DIDN'T WANT THE WHOLE WORLD TO KNOW?!?!?) and had no vehicle for a while, & was attempting to work with broken collarbone...so I couldn't use my arm to package very well, and that's no excuse on my end, as I should've had someone helping me during that time to get the books out quicker...but literally backing out of the deal AFTER I had deposited your check was NOT PROFESSIONAL...as was the request for me to send your books out the same day you "mailed the check"...let alone anytime before it had cleared...as most people WILL NOT SHIP UNTIL THE CHECK HAS CLEARED...and then refusing to give me your correct address when I was ready & willing to ship your books THE SAME DAY I DEPOSITED YOUR CHECK...NOT WHEN IT CLEARED...because YOU had written it like a 3-year old and I couldn't decipher your "9" from a "4" on your on the note...ALL SUPER NON-PROFESSIONAL....now you pull this ?  I literally wrote in my response earlier today that I'd get you refunded...and you said you were good for a couple weeks, SOOOO, what I do with my credit cards and paypal credit accounts in the meantime is actually NONE OF YOUR DA#N BUSINESS...because I'm not actually your , and I don't appreciate the way you've felt entitled to treat me as such thus far.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

38 minutes ago, Number 6 said:

What does that have to do with any of this?

@Polonsky while I appreciate the detailed account, it’s quite a bit to sift through.  I’m sure other’s will chime in, but I think for a nomination to go forward you might have to boil this down to it’s bare-bones - what he would need to do to make things right to avoid nomination. 
 

While I understand your frustration with the repeated delays, I get the impression (I could be wrong) that you perhaps should have been more clear and firm about your expectations on minimum grade, deadlines, etc.  That probably would have avoided a lot of back-and-forth  

Asking for for the books to be shipped the same day you put a check in the mail - before he get’s the check and has time to cash it - is a pretty big ask.  Wanting to cancel the deal when the seller was still willing to send the books and there doesn’t seem to be clear communication that shipping the books by a certain date was a make-or-break part of the deal before it was consummated, instead more of a “favor” is probably going to complicate this. 
 

If I understand correctly, some or all of the books were initially for your client (sorry, I lost track) but if I’m reading this right these are books that you would also be ok with personally owning. 
 

Sorry if I got some of this wrong, again, it’s a lot to sort through. 
 

Honestly, if what you presented of his current financial situation is correct, it’s seems you’d be more likely to get the books far sooner than the refund on your payment. 
 

If your ok with still having the books, perhaps setting a drop-dead deadline for when they need to be shipped is the way forward. 

 I literally tried to ship his books out the SAME DAY I deposited his check...I didn't even wait for it to clear...he wrote his address illegibly & I couldn't decipher it...I asked for his address & he decided that day to demand a refund...I have since begged him to let me ship the books out, even going so far as to offer to add a bonus book or 2 for not having them out sooner...and he had literally refused to give me his actual verified address until just Wednesday of this week (I read it yesterday)...so I'm not exactly sure how I was supposed to mail him any book OR a check up to this point... lollollol

Edited by Top City Comics
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Top City Comics said:

 I literally tried to ship his books out the SAME DAY I deposited his check...I didn't even wait for it to clear...he wrote his address illegibly & I couldn't decipher it...I asked for his address & he decided that day to demand a refund...I have since begged him to let me ship the books out, even going so far as to offer to add a bonus book or 2 for not having them out sooner...and he had literally refused to give me his actual verified address until just yesterday...so I'm not exactly sure how I was supposed to mail him any book OR a check up to this point... lollollol

@Polonsky While I understand your frustration according to your side of the story; however, I have not seen a reason for you to ask for a refund. While these books may have been intended to go to your own customer, that is not relevant to your transaction. I would suggest that you agree to accept the books and move on to the next transaction.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Red84 said:

QUESTION - @Polonsky are you willing to accept the books or do you only want a refund?

QUESTION - @Top City Comics by what date could you send the books or the refund?

 I have tried on numerous occasions to ship his books, including the very same day I deposited his check (wasn't even going to wait for it to clear)...he has refused to accept them...literally never giving me his address until he sent it in a message on Wednesday (WHICH I BELIEVE HE FAILED TO MENTION IN ALL OF THIS)...even though his demands were that I send a check for the refund...not sure where I was gonna send that too...but I do now have the address as of yesterday...so that's progress I guess (shrug)

Edited by Top City Comics
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Polonsky @Top City Comics Sometimes transactions don't work out as we planned, but this one can be resolved rather simply. @Polonsky send @Top City Comics your address and then let Top ship you the books. Then you both can agree to never deal with each other again and move on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Red84 said:

@Polonsky While I understand your frustration according to your side of the story; however, I have not seen a reason for you to ask for a refund. While these books may have been intended to go to your own customer, that is not relevant to your transaction. I would suggest that you agree to accept the books and move on to the next transaction.

 Now that I have his address (as of his message on WEDS), I am 100% willing to ship them out as soon as humanly possible just to get this in the rear-view!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Top City Comics said:

 Now that I have his address (as of his message on WEDS), I am 100% willing to ship them out as soon as humanly possible just to get this in the rear-view!!

@Polonsky Do you agree to receive the books if @Top City Comics ships this week?

@Top City Comics Can you ship the books this week?

Edited by Red84
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Red84 said:

@Polonsky @Top City Comics Sometimes transactions don't work out as we planned, but this one can be resolved rather simply. @Polonsky send @Top City Comics your address and then let Top ship you the books. Then you both can agree to never deal with each other again and move on.

He sent me the address on Weds of this week (I stated yesterday in a previous post, but that's actually just when I read it for the first time)...so I do have the correct address now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

50 minutes ago, comicdonna said:

As a moderator, I will say this discussion needs to remain civil.  That means no name calling, and keep within the posting guidelines of this forum.  

What are you doing, trying to kill a potential great thread?

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
12 12