Rakeesh sah Tarna wrote:- like the Dragon 1-6 I bought for over $500  several weeks back.. the seller was selling for a friend and they ended up with NO staples in them.. he wouldn't refund the money (though I only wanted partial refund) .. in any case, they should never have been sold at a price like that with no staples.. I tossed the mags.. heck I tossed a 2nd print Chainmail last summer, it was in pretty bad shape.. (and hey, it helps your items go up in value if there are less still out there)
thanks for confirming my thoughts
do you have photo of mint copy?? would like to see how good is possible to get #1

the #1 that was sold in the auction at GenCon was pretty nice from memory - i would have got it if i could have afforded it, but there were other things i wanted more.

Al

ScketreWhisp wrote:

You know, everyone does this for different reasons, I collect for the heck of it, but also like to sell some things to make a few bucks...

Wait a second, you have four Dragon Magazine #1's, you bid this most recent one up to $332 and you are saying that you do this for fun??? Nah, I was born at night, just not last night....

And FWIW, I don't need anyone  to help ensure the price of my Dragon #1 goes for anything more than what its really worth. I'll pass on the artificial inflation thanks.

Douglas,  

1st off I hope your wife is OK.  I just caught the tail end of the chat conversation.

ScketreWhisp wrote:No I am not the high bidder, but I did make sure it went for a premium price

I trust this was very much said tounge in cheek.  As a collector it is frustrating when auctions are being bid up for the sake of artificially inflating the price some shop owner wants to sell them for.  I don't begrudge anyone making a dollar in fact quite the opposite.  Just know that by doing so you potentially damage your relationship with your buyers and this is important in a SMALL market.  

While I am in a minority that is able to pay a premium price (and often do).  I will pay that premium to others who are not inflating the market.  

ScketreWhisp wrote:I donate 10% of all eBay sales to The Acaeum, so your purchase helps keep a great site online
(the site is great, the owner is great, and 99% of the users are probably great, just tread carefully when visiting as the few who "bark" the loudest probably keep many at a distance)

Clearly from your own words you like the Acaeum.  Just remember the heart and soul of the site isn't the physical forum. It is the people that make up the site. Including those barking 1%

ScketreWhisp wrote:To serleran, I got burned for 2 items at $700+ last year, one I sold, one I bought and PayPal only refunded $200 in a single case... sorry but the only information I have on an ebayer is length of account and feedback... not to say even that means all transactions are safe.

Recommendation: Use Visa with your Paypal and if you get stiffed go straight for a chargeback rather than Paypal.  Your bank will look after you far better than Paypal.

by the way, that was said purely without Prejudice, so i hope you read it like that.

you seem like a cool guy and i do hope that your wife is well.

Al

I don't bid the price up to make it high, I am willing to pay the premium price for the item.. I don't mind having one more in the cabinet.

So if I like the item, I put a nice juicy price on it... if someone wants it, then they will have to pay a bit more for me not to have it. Like the Dungeon 1 from the same seller, I put over $78.00 on it, and I also have 2 in my store.. do I need a 4th (I have one still in my collection)... but it could have been in better shape than all 3 I have... someone else obviously wanted it more than I did, and they bought it.

Heck I've sold a few items in the last month for less than I paid for them, just how it goes some times, especially when the item isn't in the shape the seller said it was... 2 of the mags I bought were shipped in a plain media mail envelope after I asked the seller twice to ship in a box.. they both got folded to be stuffed in the mail box. I tossed one and the other wasn't too bad so I sold for less than I paid for it. I still bought more stuff from the same seller... I just bitched a bit that I wanted all items in a box from now on. I didn't lose any sleep over it.

Born last night or not, yes I sometimes buy on eBay for fun. Sometimes I buy so someone else can't have the item because they pissed me off as a buyer or seller and I know they want the item... heck I start new collections like that some times since I might buy something I was never interested in.

My "market" when I do sell, is not the members of the Acaeum, at least not through eBay, since I wouldn't expect anyone here to pay the prices I have listed (but I have sold to Acaeum members for way less than the eBay prices). I point to the Acaeum in all auctions, so there is no reason for any buyer to pay the prices, but they do. I really never think any price is to silly to sell or buy at, collector type items are worth whatever the buyer is willing to pay to have the item.

If you think about it real hard... I have been using The Acaeum for about 6+ years to read up on items and prices... never even paid attention to the forums...  never posted to this site... never had a an eBay store... something "pissed me off" at one point and now I do all 3... got me into something I never had time for in the past... and maybe I won't have time again down the road and it won't matter... at least The Acaeum will benefit to some extent while I do have time to sell items since I have donated over $290.00 here in the last few months... overall I am sure I've spent way more than I've sold of late

All I know is that if an item seems to be consistently overpriced, I'll look for it somewhere else. The internet is a big place, and eBay is not the only option - its just the most common. Then again, my definition of "value" and that of others is often quite askew...

ScketreWhisp wrote:
Also, I have pulled many items from my store and taken them off eBay to sell to a couple of Acaeum members at better prices (ask CenterStage or Smarmy)

For what it is worth, as I still consider myself a newbie to these forums, Doug offered me a fantastic deal on the item I purchased from him, a shrinkwrapped H1.  In fact Doug only knew I was looking for an H1 because another member, CenterStage, was buying some items from him.  As his deal with Doug involved some of the other Bloodstone modules, CenterStage just happened to mention that I had been trying to find a nice copy of H1 for sometime without success.  As it transpired, Doug contacted me unsolicited via the Acaeum and we arranged a deal.  Now some may read this as a purely capitalist endeavour (Doug was trying to unload his H1); however, he could have made far more had he sold it in his store or in an Ebay auction.  Certainly this is true with the modules and OCE's he sold CenterStage. Doug even offered if I saw anything else to let him know and he would give me a great price.  I prefer to read his actions as another example of why I enjoy being part of the Acaeum community (people helping people who also happen to be D&D collectors) not just someone out for a fast buck nor someone inflating the value of items for their own purposes.  Doug is certainly not unique in this respect as many other Acaeum members have done much the same because we are Acaeum members and not just random strangers.

I return time and time again to this forum, the weekly chat, and even some weekly, online gaming because I enjoy the collecting community that has grown up around the Acaeum site.  I realize that Doug's start here was rocky to say the least; however, I thought he had come to be an accepted member whatever that means.  Over the past months, he has certainly provided monetary support to the Acaeum via his Ebay store, offered additionaly publicity via his mention of the Acaeum in his Ebay listings, participated in the forums and weekly chats, had parties inviting Acaeum members, and even sweetheart deals to those Acaeumites he has never even met.  Every group or community has its rules some written, many unspoken.  Now as members of the Acaeum, particularly those of you who have been here for far longer than myself, if you feel Doug or any of us for that matter, have done or said something in bad form, please let us know.  I would just suggest that it be done in a private message and not in the forum itself; no one likes to be called out or admonished in public.  Please reserve that for the truly shady dealers, shillers, and Cougs that are out there.

This post is not meant to antagonize anyone and no offense was implied.  Perhaps I prefer the simplistic philosophy of Rodney King,  "Can't we all just get along."  The world certainly has enough strife, conflict, and drama without it manifesting itself in what I consider my hobby.  

Please, everyone have a great weekend!    

Thanks,
smarmy1

Rakeesh sah Tarna wrote:- http://medievalgames.com/ebay/Drag1/dscn1346.jpg
- http://medievalgames.com/ebay/Drag1/dscn1347.jpg
- http://medievalgames.com/ebay/Drag1/dscn1348.jpg
sweet copy getting into hypercritical comics grading territory little bit of staple rust only??

What would be nice for the acaeum grading scale is that instead of just the word description there were accompanying close-up sample photos.

Hear, hear, smarmy. I have to agree with your post. So far, I've found nothing but great people on this forum and truthfully, it's the only AD&D forum I frequent.

Let me chalk up a "good guy" vote in Doug's column. He not only saved me HUNDREDS of dollars in completing my collection, but he also went out of his way to send me quality products very quickly and for FAR less than he had them listed for on eBay.

I know everybody is different...and sometimes personalities clash...but I've got to say that Doug's been nothing to me but a stand-up guy.

For what this rookie's opinion is worth...