This post is a summary of the events surrounding an eBay listing of scarce high-numbered Three Investigators Gibraltar hardcover books.
First, here is an explanation. The original Three Investigators series consists of 43 books. #1-28 were issued in both hardcover and softcover trade editions. #29-43 were only offered in softcover trade editions. They were also available as Gibraltar hardcover editions, but these were primarily sold to libraries. The high-numbered hardcover editions are extremely scarce and almost always surface as library discards with at least moderate wear.
#29-43 are highly coveted in the hardcover Gibraltar binding.
In late July, a seller offered a bulk lot of 12 Three Investigators books, including seven of the high-numbered hardcover books. The listing sold via Buy It Now at $125, which was an extreme bargain.
(Click on each image in order to view in high quality.)
Right after the listing closed, someone posted about it in the Facebook Three Investigators group, saying that someone just barely beat them to the listing. That post is important, because a large number of Three Investigators fans then knew what had just happened.
Unfortunately, some people like to meddle. Apparently, someone immediately contacted the seller and let them know that they had just sold a valuable group of books for $125. The seller relisted the books with a starting bid price of $1,850. The books sold for $2,025 to the same person who had purchased them for $125. It should be noted that whoever meddled didn't get the books.
The seller then reneged on the second sale. This is the negative feedback that the buyer left for both listings.
The seller is greedy, unscrupulous, and lacking in judgment. They should have honored the $125 sale. Sometimes sellers take losses, but in the long run, they will do better when they avoid bad behavior.
The person who meddled in the situation is also at fault. Because of their actions, the seller has damaged the books by removing the library stickers. They should have stayed out of the situation.
It is understandable why the seller chose not to honor the $125 sale. After all, many people would struggle to honor the sale after learning of the true value of the books. It was wrong not to honor the sale, but I can see why that decision was made.
The subsequent decision to renege on the $2,025 sale is astonishing. That price might not be the top value possible, but it's quite a good price to get for the books. The seller made a bad decision in failing to honor the second sale.
