Buying on ebay is like gambling in a foreign country. Even when you win sometimes you lose. I would rather pay more for an item on the Board than get a better deal on ebay and get stuck with some nightmare to come later. It is a shame that ebay has limited what kind of feedback and warnings we can provide to future buyers. I've seen so many cons from people its disgusting.

IMO, ebay is actually pretty safe for buyers. Paypal has your back and if that fails, your credit card company offers even more protection. Sure it's a PITA going through the process, but it's not so much of a PITA that it prevents me from picking up the occasional book from ebay.

As a seller, ebay terrifies me. There are so many ways for buyers to screw you over, it's ridiculous.

Yeah, I almost bought it before I saw the feedback. Regardless of ebay policy, I'm glad comiconart!! was able to leave that feedback before I had to waste my time going through the same thing.

Thank you comiconart!!, whoever you are.

Here is what comiconart!! told me about the transaction...

As far as I can tell, it's the same one. Not only was it poorly packaged and badly bent in transit(plain manila envelope between two thin pieces of cardboard), it also had two very visible FINGERPRINTS on her nose (as if someone had pinched it hard enough to remove the ink, and then left that ink fingerprint elsewhere on the cover). I contacted the seller as soon as I received it, and sent him pictures detailing the damage. He responded with, "sorry, we only accept refunds if the item is returned to us in the same condition as when we shipped it out". He then went on to explain that his local "comic book guy" shipped the book, and he's been in the business for over 20 years, so he's sure it couldn't possibly be their fault.

I opened a complaint with eBay, and he said that he would accept a return for a refund. I sent the book back, and then he tells me that this mysterious "comic book guy" of his is now telling him that I have swapped the book out on them, and it's not the same copy that they sent me. He then asked if I could have gotten it confused with another copy, and that he doesn't want to believe it, but it's Steve's opinion (that ever-mysterious "comic book guy" once more) that I am in the business of cornering the market on lesser copies to then buy mint copies off of eBay and swap them out in returns in order to make a profit. As if that wasn't bad enough, he also told me that the fingerprints weren't there when they sent it to me (even though I specifically pointed the fingerprints out to him, and he said he'd take it back).

I was livid. First of all, the very idea is ridiculous. We are talking about a book with a print run of 500. Where does one go to "corner the market" on low-grade copies...? How much money is there to be made this way?

I opened a claim, he refunded my money, and then I saw he relisted the book while carefully failing to mention the condition issues so he could cheat someone else. Wasn't about to let that happen.

- comiconart!!

That's the scummiest *spoon* behavior I've read about in a while and I sue corporate scum for a living. What a creep! I'm glad you were able to get your refund. It's a shame you can't make a claim for annoyance and inconvenience through ebay when there is intentional misconduct on the part of a seller. That's why I'll say it again - I'd rather pay more on the boards and not have to deal with con artists. I think it's ironic that his username is comiconart

Saga #3 is only two weeks away!

You are totally misunderstanding what is going on here. "comicconart" was the one who got scammed, not the scammer. Apparently, this is the story as relayed FROM comicconart TO sclemons.

Agree, but to be clear, it wasn't me but 'comiconart!!' who was getting scammed by 'the-alientuna'. The Saga RRP copy to be avoided is below, which looks like he simply relisted it...

http://Support-the-Collectors-Society.com/itm/150808224552?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

My appologies to comiconart. I apparently didn't follow the conversation well and misunderstood who was the victim (potential and/or actual) and who was the perp. Thank you for correcting my error and setting the record straigt. Please edit my comment so that there is no further confusion regarding who is the perpetrator and who was the injured party. I'm afraid my disgust over the behavior was so severe that I didn't spend the necessary time to identify who was at fault and who was attempting to scam board memebrs. Thank you again for pointing out my mistake.