Not sure if anyone has seen this but Heritage Auctions are deeply involved in a scandal about price fixing graded video games. Wonder if this will trickle down or anyway effect their comic auctions.
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I read that article earlier in the week. I really want to watch the video, but 52 minutes is a lifetime.
I can’t see them doing the same with comics (conspiring with CGC and others) but I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some corruption going on elsewhere with their auctions. If true, I doubt they’d just focus on video games only…
1 Timothy 6:10: For the love of money is the root of all of evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, *and pierced themselves through with many sorrows . 
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Ok, I’m 13 minutes in and this fraud looks real (can a fraud be real?), open, and obvious. The principals with stakes in these companies don’t even try to hide it.
From the 26 min onwards, there was a mention of possible comic manipulation in the comic book market too.
Ok. Watched the video. There is enough circumstantial evidence and overlap of ownership, control, and interests to make me avoid Heritage Auctions, Wata gaming, and Go Collect. They may not have engaged until the same fraudulent price manipulation when it comes to comics, but from my experience, fraudsters continue defrauding people. All it takes is opportunity and means and each of these players has those at their fingertips. Motive is easy=money.
There is even hearsay evidence in the video from the son of a former employee of Heritage Auctions saying they are manipulating graded silver age comic prices.
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And the alleged perpetrator of the comic book price manipulation is the Co-Chairman and co-owner of Heritage Auctions, Jim Halperin. Could it help to explain, in part, the huge jumps in comic book prices in the last few years?
shocking. I thought Heritage were stand up folks 
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I’m no believer in hell but it’s times like this I wish there was a hell cause there’s a very special corner in hell for folks like these guys… 
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Who is the same person fined $1.2M by the FTC for manipulating the 1980s coin bubble.
It’s definitely been astronomical these past several months. I’ll have to make time to watch this video.
I think there is more of an established market, community of collectors, sphere of content producers and “researchers.”
There is definitely some price manipulation in the market, but the vast majority of these astronomical increases in comic books are happening on eBay. This video is mainly aimed at exposing the Heritage Video Game market of sales as a sham. He even goes about showing how these games are not reselling on eBay successfully.
So if all of the record sales of countless comics from all the different publishers, all the different variants, characters, and eras were part of a massive price manipulation bubble, it would have to be a really far-reaching conspiracy. One so big that it defies reason that we haven’t seen leaks from those involved. Simply because it would have to involve so many people.
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Been saying Go collect is a bunch of fraudsters and pump and dumpers for years since the day they started.
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Yeah, his involvement here is pretty shameful as well.
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This is very disappointing to hear but to be honest not all that surprising.
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The difference, in this scenario, between comics and video games would be that the comics market has been established. There is a general consensus how much of any given book is available, and what its value is within the community. The video game market was ripe for early entry manipulation. M2c.
But, yes, it is still not good at having Halperin up bid his own books, in his own auctions.
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Update and good summary of the lawsuit underway against WATA and Collectors Universe.
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Interesting that Hertiage Auction and James Halperin are not named as defendants.
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yeah, this seems limited to just targeting WATA.
There’s nothing preventing them from amending the complaint to add defendants. It will be interesting to see what information arises during discovery. Maybe some links between unnamed defendants come out at that point.
They are probably playing it conservative and taking the process step-by-step.
It’s just interesting because Halperin is named in the complaint.
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