How to Stop Dishonest Comic Book Sellers?

[comicmartusa]

I am an experienced comic book collector and I know grading very well - and can easily distinguish a comic book in poor condition from a comic book in VF to Near Mint condition. However, it irritates me when I see dishonest comic book sellers jacking up prices of comic books that do not line up with the price of the comic book or books far above the actual value listed in the comic book price guide.

( apart from CGC graded comic books).

For example: here and on Amazon I was looking for a copy of Avengers #57 ( 1st App. of Vision) whose condition is around 6.0 to 8.0 (Non-CGC).

Now the Current Comic Book Price Guide (CBPG) indicates that this particular issue is priced between $68 and $245. The seller revealed that the Non-CGC copy was established at 7.0 and I would expect to pay a reasonable price between $100 and $235.

(I comprehend that such a seller needs to make a bottom line so I  assume that the seller tacks-on additional charges to the price of about $20 or $25 dollars - at most 30. - Plus shipping and state taxes etc.)

But the post also indicated FREE Shipping (included in the price. The price was $650.00! And I can, perhaps gain some leeway to sentimental value as well - but this was just rediculous! The seller was attempting to take advantage of uninitiated buyers and acquire $415 dollars more that the actual value of the book itself.

Fact of the matter is - is when I am hunting for various issues that I might want to buy or am considering purchasing -  I encounter dishonest sellers like this plastered almost everywhere and I am damned fed-up with these MoFos -- seriously!

The pricing should be gleened with respect to the current CBPG (comic book price guide) prices. (But for BUY-IT- NOW ITEMS ONLY - NOT AUCTIONS).

I want to Blow the Whistle on these creeps because they ARE Taking advantage of ignorant buyers and I am just sickened by it - and it makes me mad!

I would like to know if there is some tyoe of reporting system here on eBay or way to PUT an END or STOP to these dishonest sellers who overprice comic books and magazines against CBPC prices. In addition to this there is no real reason why CGC prices also do not correspond to CBPG prices since there is no mention of them ANYWHERE in current CBPG price listings. I can understand that the comics graded by CGC are fairly expensive to get GCG`ed and they do a fair job as well as with resored comics, etc. However Non-CGC comic books and magazines can be fairly garded simply by examining them closely (minus actually takeing images of each inner page) - that it`s details should be accurate according to the seller and should NOT be taked out of the bagged and boarded comic book copy and phtographed as this irritaes collectors who do not want the prospective issue to be handled before reception as it could add devalument, spine damage or further damage inadvertently. 

The main question then becomes how to Report / Stop or Ban dishonest Comic Book/magazine sellers who overprice such books and magazines above the actual CBPG prices - not only on eBay but also on Amazon and other selling arenas.

PLEASE DO NOT INFORM me I am wrong on this issue - or that it is OK somehow because a "New Movie" is coming out which may feature the vision as Tales to Astonish is overpriced because of the Gaurdians of the Galaxy movie features "Groot"  which is in TTA #13 and expalin it away with Supply and - Demand stories because I just know better.

Ty for your attention:

= Mark =

[comicmartusa]

Who is "we" are you 2 people in one? is that you Stan? You`ve missed the point entirely.

[seemystuffonline]

Why do you want Avengers 57? Is it because the Vision is going to be in a movie and you think it will now be a good investment? Well, you are not the only person who thinks that way. This makes the price go up doesn't it?

I don't think you get it, no one is getting ripped off. All you see is some sellers trying to take advantage of the market as it is today.

A year or two down the road there will be different hot books.

[comicmartusa]

Good Point....Very Good Point. Obviously I am making little headway here concerning the seller who don`t have a moral clue about selling products absent of knowingly ripping people off. I guess it is true - everyone will undercut everyone else`s prices until it all reaches zero.

[buyfeybelle]

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@comicmartusa wrote:
Who is "we" are you 2 people in one? is that you Stan? You`ve missed the point entirely.

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In the context it was used, "we" is pretty clear.

I'm not sure I'd say that it's felifoll who is missing anything here.

[comicmartusa]

Actually I am NOT the ONLY PERSON who thinks this way - it`s just the fact that I am forced to reply to individuals who haven`t the slightest inkling of what doing good business practices without **bleep**ting on others head to make money off of people deceived by liars as can be clearly seen by advertisers on TV who constantly try and keep buyers IGNORANT of the TRUTH..

[comicmartusa]

I don`t think I am the ONLY one at all. I completely comprehend the trade, but my original post has NOTHING to do with BIDDING on auctions. It has to do with buy it now sellers who "TRY" to sell books to potential buyers in opposition to the actual value according to the CBPG prices. I already know there are lower prices, I am just fed-up with the crooks who sell here and on amazon who knowingly take advantage of ignorant buyers - it really needs to end. It IS bad business practice.

[felifoll]

And who decides what fair market value is? Collectors, based on what they are willing to pay. You seem to be under the impression that fair market value should be determined by a group of self-proclaimed experts who publish a guide and not by the buyers who are willing to part with their hard earned money to purchase these items. I don't understand the logic.

[felifoll]

You are concerned that a buyer who spends hundreds or even thousands of dollars on a comic book might not know what it's worth according to your preferred price guide publisher? I suppose it happens. About as often as somebody paying $50 for a gallon of milk because they don't know it's supposed to cost around $4.

And if your belief that only fixed price sellers are crooks and not auction sellers, , did it occur to you that they are pricing their items based on recent completed ebay sales, including the auctions? If an item is consistently selling for $200 more than your guide value at auction, then that is the ACTUAL current secondary market value. And it might change daily based on too many factors to list. As a collector, you should know this.

[fshardy]

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@comicmartusa wrote:
Obviously I am making little headway here concerning ... who don`t have a moral clue ...

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I don't know.  That picture you posted seemed a pretty good clue about you.

Let's say someone lists a comic book at $700, and no-one buys.  Who was harmed?

Let's say someone lists a comic book at $700, and someone does buy.  Where is the proof that buyer suffered harm for engaging in a willing act?  Even if one were to allow the act was simply dumb, who are you to be running around trying to save others from their own stupidity?

How is limiting the price at which something may be listed (what you've stated you want) any different to price control? 

[mistwomandancing]

I am trying to understand exactly what would make comicmartusa happier when viewing listings here and elsewhere, and from what

I can gather, it would be if all the comic books were held to prices listed out in the price guide books.  Is that it?  Or at least part of it?

And then, when would those prices change?  Is a new price guide book issued annually, so sellers and buyers would know what the new pricing for the year had to be held to.. until the next price guide told everyone how much the prices had been changed and what they were now?

I guess I thought that what people were found to be willing to pay was somewhat how the price guide books came up with their price ranges.  

I know I wouldn't know remotely how to grade and rate an old comic book if I came across a pile of them up in grandma's attic... all I'd be able to do would be to take pictures and look up what people seemed to be willing to pay on eBay, etc., and then start my auctions in that area.... or set a BIN price even higher and sit and wait.

Even after reading all of this discussion, I can't quite figure out why the OP is experiencing such ire.. why he is so obviously outraged because comics are selling for more than he thinks they are remotely worth.  Although, I wouldn't give you 2¢ for a lot of the collector cars we saw out in Reno, and yet I know there are folks with the money who would be willing to pay even more than some of those cars are currently valued at.  Obviously, value.. like beauty.. is in the eye of the beholder!

[winteriscoming]

And poof, moved by a mod with no bread crumb.

Why do they keep moving things with no notice?

BTW, how do you get to this board?  I cannot find it on any of the giant-hover-panel-of-awesomeness at the top of every page.

[buyfeybelle]

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@winteriscoming wrote:

And poof, moved by a mod with no bread crumb.

Why do they keep moving things with no notice?

BTW, how do you get to this board?  I cannot find it on any of the giant-hover-panel-of-awesomeness at the top of every page.

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lol winter

Yeah there does not seem to be any visible subcategories anywhere that I could find either.

However, and you are going to love this method, if you go through the eBay Community link and scroll through the miasma of great big picto-links, this post shows up. Not the board though.

Jeez I hope new buyers have better eBay navigation skills than I do.

[buyfeybelle]

Too late to edit.

It's under Groups >eBay Categories. Then lots of scrolling.

[winteriscoming]

So I stand partially corrected.  There was a moved notice.

crimsonleopard on ‎09-21-2014 08:37 PM  moved the thread.  Of course, that was the date stamp of the OP and quite a number of responses had occured since then.  The thread was active all morning.  Then it was moved this afternoon.

But it does seem that they did leave a moved notice on the topic list in the time place that the OP would have been posted.  

Yup, makes perfect ebay sense.

[cocky_cpa]

I'll be damned. I don't think I've seen a new post here hit 3 pages of discussion in the last 5 years.