Collectible Classifieds-Primarily for Stephen King Items

[ELazansky]

Clearing up some bookshelf space. Have a few anthologies if anyone is interested. All books are at least Very Fine, with the newer ones Fine. I'm thinking $5.00 each or $25.00 for the whole lot (plus shipping):

He is Legend (TOR Books edition) - F 1/1
Transgressions - 1/1
Best of the Best - 1/1
Prime Evil - 1/1 (remainder mark)
The Living Dead (BCE Hardcover - I don't think the retail edition was ever in hardcover)
Postscripts 10

[George at C-Springs]

Received my Christine proof from the Shannon-brokered big sale two weeks ago in the mail today. Was astounded to find it stuffed in my mailbox wrapped only in a protective sleeve, a single layer of small bubblewrap around the width of the book (nothing lengthwise), and brown wrapping paper. No cardboard, no foam, no extra bubblewrap, nothing really protective at all. The package's corners were bumped and torn, and the external wrapping was wet (we had a foot of snow here today). Coming from a "life-long King collector" and dealer, I was absolutely astounded that she would ship a book like this. I expect it from someone on eBay, but not I didn't expect it from this sale.

I'd like to inspect for damage (it wasn't Fine to begin with), but the photos from the sale are no longer posted (not where they were anyway). Shannon, are the photos still up anywhere?

[Tony]

ouch

[Greg]

Something a little different.
I am putting up for sale a 1st/1st set of Bloomsbury Deluxe Harry Potter Series, 7 volumes in total. These books are cloth bound hardbacks with JK Rowlings facs. sig. embossed in gold on the front board. There is currently a set up on eBay for £2200/$3475, I am asking for offers around $3000 for my set. The books are in fine unread condition and the 3rd book in the series, The Prisoner of Azkaban, was a very limited print run, so a quite rare set. Please pm me for pics and info, cheers.

I will split shipping fees and donate $100 to Haven if sold for $3000.

[Tony]

Greg's post brings up an question I had - is it okay to post about non-SK related books on this forum?

[Randall Flagg]

Greg's post brings up an question I had - is it okay to post about non-SK related books on this forum?

That is something I'll have to think about before giving a definitive answer. Also, I have to consider sales that state a portion will be donated to our fundraiser, but yet I have no way to (in advance) assure our members the funds will be sent. In all previous instances, members who pledged an amount fulfilled their promises. We are a small community here, and work on a large degree of trust. To my knowledge only one member who offered an item (with no commitment to the fundraiser) has used that trust and absconded with the money.
Thoughts from the members?

[Tony]

Yeah that's basically something that I've kinda taken for granted - I've never hesitated in conducting a purchase on this forum, I implicitly trusted the sellers and never worried about being robbed before. Obviously no one would want that to change.

[Shannon]

George, sending email now.

[Shannon]

Collectible Classifieds, Post #1, by Randall Flagg:
"Note: 'The intent of this thread is for book collectors to post items related to book collecting, with a focus on, but not limited to the world of Stephen King.'"

There ya' go.

[Merlin1958]

Greg's post brings up an question I had - is it okay to post about non-SK related books on this forum?

That is something I'll have to think about before giving a definitive answer. Also, I have to consider sales that state a portion will be donated to our fundraiser, but yet I have no way to (in advance) assure our members the funds will be sent. In all previous instances, members who pledged an amount fulfilled their promises. We are a small community here, and work on a large degree of trust. To my knowledge only one member who offered an item (with no commitment to the fundraiser) has used that trust and absconded with the money.
Thoughts from the members?

As always a wise approach, Jerome. FWIW I would think that a seperate thread may be warranted for Non-King Classified's. As to the donation angle, you're partially correct, us collector's are a tight knit group, but if you haven't noticed our ranks have grown quite a bit in recent month's. You generally want to believe in the basic "goodness" of folks, but as our membership grows that amy be ever more difficult to do. In the past, the site has always enjoyed a sterling reputation for intra-member transaction. Generally, cause we all more or less "know" one another. Yet we all started out (well maybe not you, Jerome!!! LOL) with our first post at one time or another. Maybe, a donation deposit to the widget of say 50% of the proposed donation for, IDK members with less than 1,000 posts? 500? That way you could confirm the payment and maybe get additional info? A haven commitment WILL generally help a classified sale out for most of the "Hard Core collector's here. I know it does in my case!! LOL

Just spit-balling here. Again FWIW

[Greg]

It seems I have un-wittingly opened a can of wrigglies in respect of the donation. I only put that in the listing as an afterthought, a gesture, I can remove that part if I have strained or broken some principle of the forum I am unaware of. I am not looking for any anlgle, simply want to sell some books and make a gesture.

If I made a donation to Haven would it not show on the banner?

[Shannon]

Hey Merlin, I have Stephen King in a cage that I'll sell you for two thousand bucks, one hundred percent of the proceeds will go to the Haven Foundation. Deal?

[Randall Flagg]

It seems I have un-wittingly opened a can of wrigglies in respect of the donation. I only put that in the listing as an afterthought, a gesture, I can remove that part if I have strained or broken some principle of the forum I am unaware of. I am not looking for any anlgle, simply want to sell some books and make a gesture.

If I made a donation to Haven would it not show on the banner?

No trouble at all. We are just discussing in an open forum the vagaries of members posting something for sale.

Shannon-I'll work on editing the first post. Hopefully you will work on shipping the items members paid for-promptly, and in excellent condition.

[Merlin1958]

Hey Merlin, I have Stephen King in a cage that I'll sell you for two thousand bucks, one hundred percent of the proceeds will go to the Haven Foundation. Deal?

???????????????????

As an "Old-Timer" I guess I am missing something here???

[Tony]

Collectible Classifieds, Post #1, by Randall Flagg:
"Note: 'The intent of this thread is for book collectors to post items related to book collecting, with a focus on, but not limited to the world of Stephen King.'"

There ya' go.

Never actually occurred to me to check the first post, good point!

[Randall Flagg]

Collectible Classifieds, Post #1, by Randall Flagg:
"Note: 'The intent of this thread is for book collectors to post items related to book collecting, with a focus on, but not limited to the world of Stephen King.'"

There ya' go.

Never actually occurred to me to check the first post, good point!

I will likely be changing that.

[Randall Flagg]

Received my Christine proof from the Shannon-brokered big sale two weeks ago in the mail today. Was astounded to find it stuffed in my mailbox wrapped only in a protective sleeve, a single layer of small bubblewrap around the width of the book (nothing lengthwise), and brown wrapping paper. No cardboard, no foam, no extra bubblewrap, nothing really protective at all. The package's corners were bumped and torn, and the external wrapping was wet (we had a foot of snow here today). Coming from a "life-long King collector" and dealer, I was absolutely astounded that she would ship a book like this. I expect it from someone on eBay, but not I didn't expect it from this sale.

I'd like to inspect for damage (it wasn't Fine to begin with), but the photos from the sale are no longer posted (not where they were anyway). Shannon, are the photos still up anywhere?

Very disconcerting.

[George at C-Springs]

I just wanted to say that Shannon provided me w/photos immediately after my post (I just wasn't able to respond asap) and made it clear that he would providing a severe scolding at the earliest opportunity. My proof made it just fine, no damage from shipping (I wasn't sure about a bent corner, but it was there in the photos), but I attribute that to at least partially to luck. When I opened the mailbox and saw raw red bubble wrap hanging out I knew I was in trouble. Also, I should state for clarity, that she did wrap the brown paper twice, so it wasn't a single layer ... but that still doesn't really make me feel much better. For $295 (plus $4 shipping) I expect a little cardboard, a little more bubblewrap, and UPS to be quite honest. It didn't occur to me to ask about shipping or packing ahead of time, I really did just assume based on the seller and the broker (I'm not blaming you at all Shannon, just stating ...) that everything would be packaged top-notch and sent UPS. So, my bad, won't happen again. I got lucky and am thankful for that. I mean, it's not like it's a DTI 1st, but still ...

So folks, I'd just suggest contacting the seller either directly or through Shannon to formally request proper packaging and shipping. It certainly can't hurt.

[Merlin1958]

Received my Christine proof from the Shannon-brokered big sale two weeks ago in the mail today. Was astounded to find it stuffed in my mailbox wrapped only in a protective sleeve, a single layer of small bubblewrap around the width of the book (nothing lengthwise), and brown wrapping paper. No cardboard, no foam, no extra bubblewrap, nothing really protective at all. The package's corners were bumped and torn, and the external wrapping was wet (we had a foot of snow here today). Coming from a "life-long King collector" and dealer, I was absolutely astounded that she would ship a book like this. I expect it from someone on eBay, but not I didn't expect it from this sale.

I'd like to inspect for damage (it wasn't Fine to begin with), but the photos from the sale are no longer posted (not where they were anyway). Shannon, are the photos still up anywhere?

Very disconcerting.

Have to agree. Shannon, you're an upstanding guy. You need to address this, no? I'm sure you're on it like "white on rice"!!!!

[Shannon]

Regarding the Unveiling, both the sale and the shipment of items:

It was recommended to me to speak publically about the shipping of the Unveiling items. I would much rather do so on an individual basis with each buyer that has any problem whatsoever, but I feel that maybe the wrong message has gotten across somehow.

I put together the Unveiling from start to finish. I cataloged the items, took an almost infinite (double infinite, lol) amount of pictures, made the ads, researched the market value, so on and so on. Sharon was the one that ultimately set the final price, some of which I felt were too high, some of which I felt were too low. I was the one that communicated with each and every potential buyer, reserving items, wheeling and dealing with prices, answering questions, taking MORE pictures, etc. After this was done, I passed all the information onto Sharon. I segregated each order so there would be no errors. I had wanted to ship them myself, but Sharon wanted to ship them. Ultimately, this is her collection and I am just the middle man. I had mistakenly assumed that each and every order would arrive in the condition that I last left it as.

I have received word of three orders arriving at their destination so far. The first one came back with a "excellent packaging" note. The second buyer was extremely disappointed, showing me pictures of a HORRIBLY destroyed package. Luckily, the items were untouched. The third order that I have heard word of its arrival is on this board, from George. I immediately responded back to him with the original pictures so he could compare the conditions, a request to thoroughly inspect his item (his proof was luckily untouched by the damaged packaging), and a promise to issue a full refund if there was anything at all wrong with his item. I emailed him instead of responding through the forum because, in all reality, the issue is between him and I. Buyer and broker/seller. You wouldn't expect David to have a private conversation through his website with his customers that have issues, would you? Of course not.

I am a fair person, and if someone received a damaged item due to shoddy packaging, they would get a full refund. If for whatever reason Sharon did not want to issue a refund, I would send them a refund with my own money, immediately and without question. When everyone was ordering from me, I kept in constant communication with everyone. Verifying orders. Verifying addresses. If something arrived damaged, I would expect you to email me immediately. I can't know about a problem if you don't tell me about it. If anyone here has had a problem with their order, please contact me. I would have hoped that you would have done so already, but maybe it needs to be said publically.

If anyone has a problem with their order, contact me. I will fix it immediately. If anyone has a problem with me asking for the money to be sent to me as a gift, contact me. I will send you your PayPal fee back immediately. I always send my money through PayPal as a gift. I feel that the seller should receive the exact amount that the item was sold for. Maybe other people do it differently? If so, that's FINE by me. It's my own fault for not stating so in the rules. And because it's my own fault, I am taking responsibility. This is the same exact thing I would have (and have) offered in a private message or email if you had sent one. I'm not saying things publically and acting different away from the message boards, lol.

I am sorry I assumed the items would be packaged professionally. I am sorry that I assumed that everyone would be sending the money as a gift through PayPal. Most people did, some did not. When I asked for it from those people, all of them except one (which again, is completely fine) sent it to me without any issue whatsoever. No one is getting screwed in the slightest. If you want a refund, you'll get it. I'll even include your shipping and PayPal fees. It'll be like it never happened. If someone feels cheated or "talked into" sending me a PayPal fee, I will give it back. I sent the same exact messages to everyone. Copy and paste, copy and paste. Everyone heard pretty much the same things from me.

Thank you for reading, and I'm sorry one last time for any inconveniences. I hope to hear from each and everyone involved, either publically or privately, about their Unveiling experience.

Shannon

[neosatus]

It amazes me how poorly some people package things--especially things that can be easily damaged. I'll always have my first 1/1 Gunslinger story to tell


The thing about Paypal gift, which I recently found out the hard way, is that it offers zero protection for buyers. You can't even file a claim against a "gift" transaction.

As a seller who accepts electronic funds there's always going to be that cost of doing business.

[biomieg]

I haven't actually received my package yet but I saw it yesterday and it looked fine to me - a pretty large and sturdy box with more than enough room to accomodate the three books inside. I have to pick it up at the Post Office today as I need to pay €20 customs tax and I didn't have any cash on me when the mailman delivered the package but I'll report back once I have it in my possession. I just wanted to give Shannon and the group a heads up because I think he did the best he could within the construction that Sharon and he set up for the sale. Thank you Shannon!

*edit: I just picked it up and the books survived the trip to Europe in perfect condition.

[Randall Flagg]

Thanks you Shannon for a thorough explanation, and giving assurances to our members/your customers.

[George at C-Springs]

I just wrote this to Shannon, but thought I'd like to say it separately here as well. As an afterthought, I should have written to Shannon first before posting but I was on my way out the door and just wanted to let folks know what I'd gotten. Honestly I wasn't thinking about him at all, but the seller (whose name was on the package received), and it wasn't until I got back and saw that I'd received a few e-mails myself that it occured to me that it might have reflected badly on him.

I knew about the eBay "Gift" payment not being covered by their protection, but again because it was Shannon working the sale I didn't worry about it ... but yes, I normally don't use that except with people I know because it's easy to get burned ... I'd never use it for a normal eBay purchase. I do hope that Sharron will work with whomever is affected without any issues; I don't see why she wouldn't, but then again I don't know her.

My real concern is for the TDT community in general; if things end up finishing badly with this sale, even for just a few customers, it could leave a bad taste in everybody's mouth and might deter others from doing the same (or RF not allowing it) which is bad for everyone looking to add new titles to their collection. I hope this doesn't end up being the case! I like what Shannon did and don't fault him for the sellers choices, whether it be prices or packaging.

And, like I told Shannon, I hope that for all the work and trouble that he was compensated nicely either with a rare title missing from the collection or a nice wad of cash!

[Merlin1958]

Hey Shannon, that was an extremely well done response an unfortunate situation. You have proven once again to be the stand up guy I have always thought you to be!!!!