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Hello everyone,
I'm not a Comic collector or expert and I need your opinion(s) on this matter regarding an X-Men comic I sold for someone on E-Bay. Now I have to travel 600 km (480 miles) to go to court regarding this matter. Please give me your opinions.
Sale of Comic on E-Bay
On May 9, 2001, I listed a X-Men Comic #1 from 1963 Auction Ended on: May 16, 2001
Rated Item as very good condition with no major flaws. No statement was ever made regarding any restorations made to this comic other than some flattening of some pages. Also some slight staining, possible moisture damage was visible, on a few pages. Comic received 10 different bidders ranging from first bid of $70.00 to $725.00 U.S., with the winning bid of $899.00 U.S. Bidding ended with $899.00 US bid, which was the exact amount of the reserve. A bank draft was received for the amount plus shipping, and the comic was sent to the buyer by courier.
On the 24th of May 2001, the buyer replied the item was received in good order, as stated below.
'I received X-Men no 1 yesterday, and the book was as expected. Thank-you for your quick shipping. I will leave appropriate feedback. As I write this the book is on its way to New Jersey for CGC grading - I will let you know how it does: I'm expecting somewhere between 4.0 - 5.0..........Thanks Buyers Name'
After receiving the e-mail from the buyer I replied, later the same day as follows:
'Thanks for letting me know that it arrived safely. I'm not a comic book collector I was actually asked to sell it for someone which puts me in a bit of a disadvantage, so before I listed this item I checked with a shop (Future Past Times) just around the corner from my office to get some advice and get some education about comics. My expertise is in collector stamps, and camera equipment, not necessarily in that order. How does the rating system work what's the best or highest number. So often when you get Fair, Good, VG, Excellent, Mint etc. it's the views of a person and not a standard. In selling antique/collector cameras I've always been told that I described or rated the item as it is or under rated it, but I guess that's better than over rating and have a disappointed buyer. Looks like you are a real avid collector, or is this business? Thanks again and yes let me know how the rating goes.'
On May 25th I received the following e-mail from the buyer:
'Sorry for not replying sooner. There is a third party arbitrer in the comic world known by dealers and collectors as CGC - which stands for Comic Guarantee Company.You submit comics to them and they grade them out of 10; 4.0 is 'good'. 6.0 is 'fine', 7.0 is 'very fine', 9.2 is 'near mint'. The grading is based on a number of factors, high gloss cover, flat & tight to staples - shiney staples, square corners, rips, spine stress lines, etc. There is also a value out of 10 for the interior, called the OWL factor - 10 is completely white, as new. In our case the exterior looks like it would qualify as 'fine' 6.0; but the interior has a fair amount of tanning which will probably knock that fine down to a 4.5 - 5.0......That's about it in a nutshell. On Ebay if you had for example a Spiderman No 1 and listed it as Near Mint (but not graded for GCG) it would proably fetch somewhere in the region of 10,000 - 15,000. If you had it graded by CGC as 9.2; one went approximately a month ago for 56,000 - This is the importance of having better comics CGC graded - but only if you are sure that they will grade well. As far as the other question - I am both a collector and somewhat of a reluctant dealer who sells basically only comics which I have to buy as part of a lot - and I do so on Ebay. As a collector I collect Spiderman and X-Men, but do sell those titles from time to time when upgrading (finding a better copy).....Anyway, I'll keep you upgraded, but the process takes about three months.....Name of Buyer'
On June 14th I received this e-mail requesting a refund for the comic for the rating was not as favourable as the buyer expected:
'I cut and paste the copy of your listing below which clearly states 'no major flaws'. The comic has been 'extensively rebuilt' which did not come to light until graded by CGC. The person who gave it to you must have known this, and yet let you list it described as' no major flaws.' Unfortunately in the eyes of an arbitrer the vendor is responsible for the validity of his description.I therefore am entitled to a refund. I have a number of options if you don't agree - the item was grossly mis-represented, even though you yourself were unawares, as I was when first receiving it. But the fact that the owner had to know this would constitute fraud in many people's eyes. I unfortunately will have to proceed on this basis if I do not receive a refund - First through Ebay's appropriate department, and as a last resort through legal procedure. I don;t want to lodge a complaint through Ebay's 'fair Trade' department as I would have to fill out an 'internet fraud ' report - available to any buyer on a purchase of more than $500. I would hope you would do the correct thing, which I would do if in your place....I would be sending back the book in the CGC plastic folder ( which as I've already mentioned has cost me $100, including the two way courier). The details of the comics 'reconstruction' are clearly marked. The extent and nature of the reconstruction clearly points to the intent.......Please advise.........Name of Buyer'
Your Listing: The X-MEN First Issue 1963 Condition: VG+ to VF This copy looks great no major flaws************************************************ Some staining noted (see picture) on top inside Very minor creases on cover which appear to have been flattened and are barely visible Date stamp on front cover (Jun 27 1963) which does not cover any text or images (see picture)
I did not feel obligated to refund any money to the buyer for I feel he verified that he was satisfied with his purchase, when he received the item.
My question is which I guess everyone will answer the same way. If the value of the item was more than the purchase price what would the purchaser do?
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