This Dealer is Horrible Stuff

Neat Stuff Collectibles is just the worst.

This dealer is so incompetent, it borders on a scam. If an organization lists far more items than any reasonable person would think they could efficiently and accurately handle, mistakes are going to happen in volume.

Now, are they really "mistakes" if they would be foreseen by any reasonable person? Are they really "mistakes" when the same problems keep happening over and over again?

Or are these foreseeable events that Neat Stuff considers acceptable "margins of error?" They know that they will get enough positive feedbacks to cover the "margin of error" and maintain their eBay status.

I've ordered from them 3 times. The first order took months to arrive and I had to email them numerous times to get them to mail my order.

I would have never ordered from them again, but they made some statements online that they were improving their service, so I gave them another chance. The second order was delivered promptly with no problems.

The third order, however, will be the last.

I received the order after several weeks. It was 100% incorrect. None of the books I ordered were enclosed... I had obviously received someone else's order.

I wrote numerous emails with zero response. I called and left messages with no response. (Do you think if they sent me an Amazing Fantasy #15 in error they would have answered my emails and calls?)

Finally, a CGC Board member gave me another number to call. I spoke to a gentlemen that promised to issue a full refund, send the correct books and give me additional credit to make up for the error. I sent back the books I received in error and never heard from them again. I never got my credit, never got the correct books and never got a refund.

They had strung me along for so long, and so much time had elapsed that I couldn't even neg them. (Interestingly, other collectors have reported that leaving a retaliatory negative is the ONLY thing NeatStuff does quickly and efficiently.)

Learn from my example and avoid this dealer.

Farewell Luna!

Quintessential New York City band Luna played its final shows this past weekend at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend.

However, I contacted the band's bassist, Britta Phillips, and she kindly agreed to have the band sign a few items that I would send.

This photo means a lot to me. I took this photograph when Luna played at the World Trade Center in August 2001. You can see the banner in the background says, "Center Stage at the Twin Towers." Now that it's signed, it is a treasure to me.

They also signed a Les Paul pickguard for me...

These great mementos take some of the sting out of not being able to attend their last shows.

Farewell to a wonderful band...

FF Mission Accomplished!

Yesterday's mail brought me FF 13, which now makes my FF run complete. I have every regular issue of Fantastic Four -- Vol 1 to the present.

I've been looking for FF 13 since last summer and kept turning up snake-eyes. All I could find were very high grade copies for sick money or low grade beaters. My goal was to get a 6.0 - 7.0 book. This book was listed as a 5.0, but it has good eye appeal and was priced right, so I was willing to go a bit below my original goal of 6.0 - 7.0. Other than the edge toning and the rough top overhang, the book is very solid. (The toning looks worse on the scan than it does in hand.) This book is notorious for Marvel Chipping and having long creases, so it was nice to find a midgrade copy without those flaws.

Now I have a few annuals to pick up and my FF collection will be complete.

A Red Flag That Screams, "Scam Artist!"

Often eBay scammers give you way more information than you need. If it's a fake autograph, the crooked seller will provide you with reams of unnecessary biographical information on the subject. If it's a stolen comic scan auction, they will provide you with a synopsis of the book and the key first appearances. Like anyone bidding on a Babe Ruth autograph needs to read his entire biography or anyone bidding on an Amazing Fantasy 15 isn't going to know it's the first appearance of Spider-Man and Aunt May?

Often the scammer will also provide worthless information regarding his or her collecting habits and why he or she is selling this item. "My late grandfather collected for years," or "Another baby is one the way so I'll have to sell this at a loss if need be."

As a general rule of thumb, sellers that offer long narratives of biographical information are probably trying to distract your attention from scrutinizing the item itself.

Scammers are operating from a subconsciously defensive position, so they tend to offer much more information than is necessary in a transparent effort to bolster their "credibility" and "likeability."

Death of a Playwright

Arthur Miller, 1915 - 2005.

This is my signed copy...

Meet Jeff Albertson

February 6, 2005... a historic day... The Simpsons finally reveal the Comic Book Guy's name: Jeff Albertson.

I Hate People That Bid Against Me on eBay

eBay item Incredible Hulk #5 CGC 6.5

I put a snipe in on this Hulk 5 hoping to upgrade my current issue. It's the Nick Cage copy that sold at Heritage 2 years ago for $368.

Well, some dingleberry bid it up to $569. Nice profit for the seller. Why do I see so many bargains on eBay, except when it's a book I'm going to bid on?!?

It would be cool to have a Nick Cage book, bit I'm not going to pay double guide for a midgrade book just because Nick Cage owned it. Obviously though, someone was willing to pay almost double guide value. Anyone that pays more than guide for a midgrade Silver Age book is a fool.

Is He Man or Machine or Monster?

Ok, this book won't be vying for best in census, but I did get it for $5 from my local comic shop today. Maybe if the movie is a big hit, I'll be able to flip it for million$.

Greed + Ego = Needless Alteration

In a recent message board thread, someone mentioned a CGC 9.0 copy of Batman 1 that had penciled writing removed.

One thing that's never really touched on in all the restoration debates is the "ethics" of certain procedures. Does it bother anyone else that something like an arrival date is removed for purely financial reasons (e.g., to make the book more saleable?)

In my view, an arrival date (or even the original owner's name) is part of the history and charm of a book, and something is taken away from the book when the arrival date is removed. There is no legitimate "conservation" reason to remove penciled writing -- it will never harm the book.

To draw a comparison, in autograph collecting, it is unethical to "wash" the personalization off of a signed photo. (A photo that is signed, but not personalized to a recipient, is typically worth more on the secondary market... so some dealers have been known to remove the personalization "To Joe Blow" leaving only the autographed signature.) Of course, it would be unethical to alter a historical document to make it more appealing for sale.

It really makes me wonder how much the big-shot dealers and collectors really love comics. If they truly loved the history of the books -- and just weren't obsessed with having the best copy to inflate their egos -- they wouldn't tolerate needless cosmetic alteration of these treasures.

Preservation of Archival Materials Manual

The Northeast Document Conservation Center has a superb manual on the conservation of archival materials. This 514 page manual is of great value to collectors of all types of paper memorabilia -- from comic books to autographed photos and books.

Best of all, the manual is available free in .pdf format. I've already downloaded a copy, what are you waiting for?!?

Daredevil: The Streak is Over

In a streak that rivals the legendary Joe DiMaggio, Marvel has released a countless string of indistiguishable, and yawn-inducing, Daredevil covers.

I'm glad to report, the streak is over beginning with issue 71.

[Image of issue 71 lost]

Enter: Steve Ditko

Make no mistake, I am a huge fan of Steve Ditko.

But not on the Hulk.

Something about Ditko's square-headed, sunken-eyed Hulk just doesn't do it for me. That said, I think Hulk 6 is a great cover with a masterful color scheme.

The Incredible Hulk 6 was purchased over 10 years ago from Richard Muchin of Tomorrow's Treasures. This book had undisclosed restoration (that I discovered years after the purchase.) For those familiar with Mr. Muchin's reputation, this should not surprise you. Had I known then what I know now, I would have never entered his booth.

Like the Hulk 3, this book had 2 or 3 razor thin bleedthroughs along the spine that were very difficult to see unless the spine was spread wide open. Worst of all, there was a glue tear seal to a small bindery chip on the top edge. Over the years, the glue started to shrivel, and the chip that it was meant to fix was turning black! Obviously, archival glue was not used.

Given that a small chip was turning black and ready to fall off like an overripe raisin -- and the book was already restored -- I sent the book to Matt Nelson to get it fixed. Matt fixed the chip and did a clean and press. The result, in my opinion, is great. Now, it's a 7.0 with super eye appeal.

I hope you enjoyed Hulk Week as much as I did. I like hearing other collectors' collecting stories, so let me know if you have a collecting blog.

Perhaps when I get that one more issue to complete my Fantastic Four run, I'll have a Fantastic Four year and a half!