In the NYCC thread ai mentioned a purchase at the Whatnot Liveplex that didn’t go so well for me….and the saga continues.
The purchase was the Spawn (#379) Diablo Immortal X Spawn variant. Cover art by McFarlane. Signed by McFarlane. It’s a set of two, for $200. I purchased two sets.
These were not at the booth on Thursday. They showed up for Friday’s show. I know this because I had a Thursday order form, and they handed people in line an updated form on Friday and made the announcement it was added.
What I didn’t know was that this book was supposed to be a whatnot only exclusive…at least that’s how it was originally advertised.
Clearly they did not sell out. Sales must’ve been poor (guessing) and they pivoted, opening these up to the Whatnot booth Friday. Apparently they still had copies as of Saturday closing.
Spawn collectors are fanatics, and this is not a large print run. And having it in hand, it’s a pretty sweet cover.
Maybe because it wasn’t pitched being a variant to issue 379 collectors aren’t looking at it the same. Perhaps making these books a set, and asking $100/book rubbed people the wrong way. Which seems odd to me because people pay $150-200 for a Todd signature on any stupid book he’s associated with. And it’s associated with the gaming community (Diablo Immortal). Maybe it’ll be a slow burn.
But why it’s not popular is just a layer on top of the real problem I’m having with this purchase. So table that for now.
So my thought process was to buy two sets, and one would likely pay for the other (or close). They were selling for $350 online on ebay at the time. So that’s what I did. That was Friday morning. I continue my con experience through Saturday without taking the books out to examine them or list them.
Come Sunday morning I decide to post one set for $350. This is the first time taking the books out. And when taking pictures, I notice multiple corners had significant creases on the back cover. The front cover has them too, but very difficult to spot unless you’re in the right light due to the cover art (both B&W and color).
I immediately examine the bag and boards they were provide with wondering if this was something I did, despite being so careful. The board are crisp with no signs of stress….same with the bags.
It was very obvious. These comics were sold to me this way. Someone dropped these at some point before they were bagged, and knowingly kept them in the pool for selling at the inflated price. Intentionally hiding or ignorant that they devalued it significantly.
So here’s problem. Since I discovered this Sunday and I was home, I could not physically return them. My immediate thought was “chargeback” but I felt they still had some value…I want to do the right thing. So I contacted Whatnot through email. Was factual, straightforward and provided pictures, never demanding anything but giving them the opportunity to do the right thing and either take a return, or even a partial refund that was fair. Surely they would see their error in quality control, or take accountability for the lack of it, and not expect the buyer to literally have to examine the books on the spot holding up the hundreds of people behind them and validate their quality right then and there.
After some clarification these were sold at a booth (not through the app)…they provided their official reponse.
$20. Seriously, $20? They clearly have no idea how insulting that was for a $400+ purchase of a collectible.
Needless to say I rejected the offer. Explained why I felt it wasn’t close to being fair, and far from goodwill. That their “terms” are not identified at the booth that customers are expected to hold up the line to examine the condition of every collectible they are selling. Basically do their qaulitt control. That’s not what I paid for.
So I left the communication at that. I’m not expecting any further response in the positive. And initiated a chargeback for the full amount.
Unfortunately they did not provide an itemized receipt. And on some level it’s my word vs theirs. I do have a good and long standing with my credit card I used so hoping that will provide some leverage in my favor.
Ultimately, I should have held up the line and examined everything on the spot to protect myself. But for them to make it as if it were my fault” they sold me a damaged product in spite of the evidence to to the contrary makes me livid.
So this is somewhat of a vent, gripe, and PSA to those making purchases at the Whatnot booths at cons.