eBay embellisher

[meherenow]

Thought you might like to hear about some trouble I've had with an eBay embellisher.

Now I don't consider myself a serious collector by any means, I have some comic boxes and a few plastic wallets sure, but for the most part I've got a lot of old comics so my sons can enjoy them when they feel ready to tackle them.

However I've noticed I've gained a little fetish over the years for the summer/holiday specials, so I've slowly but surely been filling these in. As we are all aware some are rarer than others given the throwaway nature of them, being bought on holiday etc.

Anyway, I am always on the lookout for nice condition ones to add to my growing (more serious) collection, so I spotted this Buster & Monster Fun one I was missing and sat back for the big snipe at the end (and hope I didn't get distracted as I have done on numerous other sniping missions ) (in fact I just realised it was the Cor!! special I was sniping on, see later...)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0742080300

These are the main things that drew me to it in the description:

"these are in very good condition ( maybe excellent as no rips ( small ragg tears only) and no marks).

No folds as they have always been kept flat...

A real genuine find for the collector."(this line in red and large font for effect)


All well and good you may think, although maybe I should have gleaned more from the photo. Imagine my disappointment this morning when my £12 buy arrives and I find a large roll to the spine which has caused a fold to appear near the spine on the last 8 pages, a folded over page corner next to the inside back cover and worst of all pencil marks on 5 of the puzzle pages and the centre pages detached from the staples.

Now obviously I didn't expect the comic to be perfect but I can only go by what the description said and I'm pretty sure I didn't get the comic the guy described. So I emailed him to tell him of the problems and he agreed to sell me the comic for £4 - all well and good again I suppose, I fill a hole in my collection and get to read it while keeping an eye out for a better copy. However it's at this point he started getting a bit flippant, basically calling me a liar ("I find it hard to believe that the comic that was sent to you bears any relationship to that which you describe which quite honestly I would not have even bothered to place on sale in the first place") - and mistaking my serious email pointing out the problems as being aggressive to him. He complains that he has received the email from me out of the blue (er, we did a transaction on eBay remember).

I was looking at one of his other auctions, 2 x Frankie Stein specials, I'm sure I saw them a few weeks ago when he was asking less money and they didn't sell then. Well, I ask you, no wonder when you see the photo of them, and then try to match that up with the description - OK, he does mention pencil inside on the puzzle pages but is he just ever so slightly embellishing his opinion of the condition of them? Maybe I should have seen the warning signs then, but the guy has decent feedback for a new user, even on the dreaded stars (although I'm glad now I missed out on his Cor!! Special - £28 was too rich for me, especially if it was worse than it looked in the photo) .

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ultra-Rare-Wh ... 2a15721465

I've never left negative feedback for anyone (a couple of deserved neutrals), but after a bit of email to-ing and fro-ing with this guy I am seriously considering it - he accuses me of having a bee in my bonnet "about something" (I wonder what that could be?), insults my grasp of English (he talks about my "abreviated (sic) style") and my "use of numerous exclamation marks" (I used TWO in three emails to him)

Why should I not be upset; he sold me a turkey that any fool could see was an old knackered turkey?

[Raven]

You should have gone to the Paypal Resolution centre (if you paid by Paypal, as most do) and set up a dispute straight away, got a full refund from him which Paypal will award you, then tell him you'll happily return the comic if he sends you an SAE within two weeks. You shouldn't lose a penny. The fact it said no marks, but has lots of marks is grounds for this alone, let alone the folds and loose centre pages.

That kind of seller relies on buyers not wanting to cause a fuss.

You shouldn't hesitate to leave a negative either, as you're warning and protecting other trusting buyers.

There are sellers who come up with all kinds of rubbish: "oh, I was putting so many comics up on eBay I didn't have time to check inside them all ... ", but if they blatantly lie in their listings, make sure you get a full refund and that they pay for its return.

[meherenow]

I thought about just returning it, but ebay and paypal are annoyingly clear that it is me who should send it back, and by a trackable system, and that sellers are not obligated to pay any return postage, even for misrepresented items, so I would have been £3 or so out of pocket on that! Of course if I didn't send it back trackable he could just say he didn't receive it.... that's why when he asked me how much I thought it was worth I just said £4, and he agreed on that. I was happy with that as my son and I wanted to read our "new" special (X-Ray Specs being a real favourite).

It was only when he started being snide that I got a bit annoyed. Instead of just holding his hands up to the condition of the comic vs his description (and I point you in the direction of his other auctions for clarification, especially the Frankie Stein one) he decided to take offence by mistaking my seriousness for aggressiveness.

Still time to start a dispute right enough, he hasn't came forth with the promised refund yet, and I will be at least leaving neutral feedback so I can leave appropriate star ratings for him.

[colcool007]

Just had a look at his current items and he does push the boundaries. Some of the stuff he has is very nice and would have most of our wallets going Ooooh! But his grading is usually one level up from what I would class the comics as. As in his Great is my Good. But grading is usually subjective, but you can do worse than follow the nostalgia zone grading system

The special that you bought already showed signs of rolling as if it was flat, the top edge would be a straight line and not an concave line, so you can get him on that if nothing else! So most likely, the box was too small for the comic. So sucks boo to his No folds as they have always been kept flat at the very least.

The saddest part is that I can tell all this from one photo.

[meherenow]

I did kick myself for not studying the photo enough, especially considering his other items - he said to me he is just clearing his loft but he has at least tried to gen up on some of the terminology (I had never heard about "foxing" before I started looking into getting some old comics a decade ago).

In saying that, here's another gem from one of his emails:

"I have also checked the Whoopee Frankie Stein summer Specials and the pictures are very clear. Yes there is one small bend, some ragging and a spine rolling but these are all issues that can be dealt with.....there are no tears, no rips and certainly no loose pages. This is catergerised as very good( maybe excellent)but not Mint, Super Fine or Fine"

Ah, that well known comic grading of "excellent"

Oh, and my jaw dropped at this one...

"The comics were all stored flat and I am sorry that there is a roll to the spine ( something that is very common with the thicker copies). I have sorted this in the past by using an iron and a cloth....which to be fair I could have done this time but I wanted to send the comics as they had been stored. As you have said this is a roll and is not a fold which is much harder to solve.This was not noted on the description as i did not think it was an issue. I have spoken to dealers since and they all state that it is such a simple thing to remedy and does not affect the value in any way."

[Raven]

I thought about just returning it, but ebay and paypal are annoyingly clear that it is me who should send it back, and by a trackable system, and that sellers are not obligated to pay any return postage, even for misrepresented items, so I would have been £3 or so out of pocket on that! Of course if I didn't send it back trackable he could just say he didn't receive it.... that's why when he asked me how much I thought it was worth I just said £4, and he agreed on that. I was happy with that as my son and I wanted to read our "new" special (X-Ray Specs being a real favourite).

Yes, but if the description was full of lies, it is really his moral obligation to refund return postage. If you list all the faults in the Resolution centre and his unprofessional attitude, too (keeping your correspondence to forward if necessary - though if you'd done it through the Resolution Centre from the start, he probably wouldn't have dared respond in that way), him saying you're lying when you have the item in front of you as *evidence*, I think you'd have worried him and received a swift refund before anything had to be returned. Then the ball is rather in your court about returning it, isn't it? The item was worth nothing like £4 in that condition.

It was only when he started being snide that I got a bit annoyed.
Still time to start a dispute right enough, he hasn't came forth with the promised refund yet, and I will be at least leaving neutral feedback so I can leave appropriate star ratings for him.

Neutrals don't really mean anything to them. It's the threatened (and justly deserved) negative that gives you the bargaining power, and would have the impact on them. If I were you I'd have made it clear he was on track for getting one if he didn't refund and pay return postage. Too late now as you've accepted the item at £4 - unless that larger-portion-of-the-cost refund isn't forthcoming.

A spine roll certainly affects the value!

I liked the "the puzzle pages are filled in, but that's what they were there for."

[meherenow]

LOL, I know, I know, I kick myself again!

I did actually say to him "I really believe the comic is not worth much more than £4.00 (and I feel I am being generous here)". I was willing to let it go there, but his attitude just stank after that.

[Lew Stringer]

LOL, I know, I know, I kick myself again!

I did actually say to him "I really believe the comic is not worth much more than £4.00 (and I feel I am being generous here)". I was willing to let it go there, but his attitude just stank after that.

His attitude sounds very arrogant from his listings. "Try finding them elsewhere" he proclaims. Yeah, good advice. Let's hope people do, and ignore his lists.

[Phoenix]

Fortunately not all dealers are like yours, meherenow. Yesterday I received two early issues of The New Hotspur, one from 1960 at £5, the other from 1961 at £4, with free p&p. They arrived in a stiff envelope and are exactly as described by the seller. I'm delighted with their VG condition.

[meherenow]

Hmm, for someone who said to me that he "did not appreciate the analysing of my other listings which you have resorted to.." I notice he has added some detail to the Frankie Stein listing.

"these are in good condition ( small ragg tears only) " so a bit of a climbdown from very good (maybe excellent).

and

"There are a couple of slight bends and a roll to a spine that can be sorted easily." Will he be recommending the cloth and iron again? He contradicts this new statement by still maintaining there are no folds as they have always been kept flat, oh dear. Don't forget he will roll them up like a cheap poster to post them if that is what you require yes, a real genuine find for the collector indeed.

Still no partial refund to my PayPal account yet, I'll give him until tomorrow morning and then raise a case.

[klakadak-ploobadoof]

I thought about just returning it, but ebay and paypal are annoyingly clear that it is me who should send it back, and by a trackable system, and that sellers are not obligated to pay any return postage, even for misrepresented items, so I would have been £3 or so out of pocket on that! Of course if I didn't send it back trackable he could just say he didn't receive it....

I remember having once bought a holiday special that was supposed to be very good from the seller‘s description but when it arrived I was quite surprised to see mustaches and black eyes drawn on some of the front cover characters. I sent it back immediately via regular mail and he then told me it never arrived, thus no refund. I should have followed it up with ebay and paypal but then other things came up and I somehow let it pass; I doubt it would have done me any good because I didn‘t have proof of posting. But I've learned my lesson and there will be no more untracked returns from me in the future.

[big bad bri]

I remember i won a near complete set of dr who weeklys for only a couple of quid & then the seller said he was hoping for money & wanted more,i said to him no & he was obligated to fufill his part & send me the comics as i had done my part fair & square,then i noticed his feedback & one paticular bad comment so i contacted the guy who left it & he told me the seller had tried the same trick on him so needless to say i contacted paypal & told them what he said to me & the other buyer & got a full refund & he was banned, i had no qualms about leaving the avoid this seller like the plague feedback.some people seem to think just because comics are from the 70s & 80s they are worth a fortune like american titles such as xmen but they are only worth what people are willing to pay for them.But I do think british titles should be worth a load more as not many survive as as kids we just threw the comics away.

[Digifiend]

Right, here's an idea. Name and shame any dodgy dealers. I'm sure these three losers (posts 1, 11 and 12) aren't the only ones.

[meherenow]

Felt I had no choice but to open a case as his refund wasn't forthcoming, fifty minutes later lo and behold:

"Refund information:
The seller has offered a partial refund of £8.35.

Seller's note:
'It is a shame that novice Ebayer is treated in this manner. To my understanding the matter was closed as I had agreed a refund. It leaves a bad taste.'"


Well buddy, we had agreed a refund, you just hadn't given me it

I accepted the refund thus:

"Seller offered a refund but was not forthcoming, hence the only option left was to open a case. I also have a bad taste left by the sellers embellishment of this auction. I can't help but notice he has amended his other auctions to add more clarity that was missing from the auction I won yet the seller felt my bringing this to his attention was an unwanted intrusion."



And he's only new to selling, according to his feedback he joined in 2002.

So I name and shame "jamseyboy1964"

Now to be as concise as possible for my 80 characters feedback

[Tin Can Tommy]

So I name and shame "jamseyboy1964"

I wouldnt be surprised if he were born in 1964 as alot of internet users conciously or unconsciously use the year of their birth as part of the username.

On a more ontopic note I have never been victim to an ebay embellisher but I have seen stuff on there, and not bought, which is clearly being embellished eg pull outs from comics being sold for as much as the main comic but I have been victim to items from Amazon being in a worse condition than I thought but at least they were very cheap and I did leave neutral feedback.