Turtlemania gold on ebay?
 

i came across these two turtlemania golds on ebay and thought it was too good to be true. two copies, #4 of 10 and #6 of 10. both copies were sold by the same person for $450 each, however due to the extreme rarity of these items i figured they were fakes. i did a lot of research on these and the only thing that i could find was that on the first inside page (the only white page that is pictured in this auction) is slightly see through, which i dont believe is the case with the white and silver versions. only one of these copies had signatures from both eastman and laird on it, which i didnt find odd because that is the case with number #8 of 10, where as #1 and #2 of 10 did not have signatures. the links for the ended auctions are below, can anyone else offer some insight on these copies? my gut tells me they're fake, however if someone can offer some reasons why, that would be great. lastly if anyone knows how to tell the difference between a real and a fake so that in the future i can be well informed on the matter, that would be greatly helpful and appreciated.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...#ht_500wt_1258

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...#ht_500wt_1258

I'm heartbroken I missed these auctions. They were already sold by the time I got the email. I would have pulled the trigger in a second had i seen them in time.

Anyway, to answer your question, there have been no known counterfeits of this particular book. The only counterfeits I have seen in relation to Turtlemania Special #1 are people taking whites and having them signed, then trying to sell them as silvers.

And as someone who considers himself an expert on being able to recognize Kevin and Peter's work (and as a Turtlemania Gold owner), I can tell you without a doubt, that they are both authentic.

This now makes 6 out of the 10 known to collectors. There are still 4 copies out there somewhere :-)

thank you for the information, i really appreciate it

These are 5 of the 6 we know about. There is one missing from the album (if anyone has a picture of the missing one, let me know)

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v2...mania%20Golds/

The missing photo is 9/10. So we (as a community) now have:
1/10
2/10
4/10
6/10
8/10
9/10

Leaving 3, 5, 7, and 10 still out there somewhere.

WOW that is crazy... Alton, IL is a small town, not even 3 min away from where I live... how did this lady end up with these?!?!?!?

Damn, 1 person had 2 of these things all this time!

Wonder if the buyer resides on the Drome?

the profile pic looks like a little old lady, and her past and current auctions look like... furniture.. I don't get it.

Maybe they belonged to her son or something.

Wow, I would have gotten at least one of those too had I seen them in time. Too bad I was at a party all day! Oh well. Hope they went to a good home. I would also agree with a good percentage of certainty that these are authentic.

Yeah, I saw these quite early after being listed, and was wondering if they were authentic, especially as someone said, they seemed to being sold for quite a low price compared to what I was expecting. Evidently I should have pulled the trigger on one of them then... bugger.

Damn I'm pissed I missed my chance!

I wonder how long it will take the people who bought them to CGC them and relist them.......

The buyer is actually a Turtle collector. So I'm not sure you'll see these relisted. If they sell, they will most likely go to someone else within the circle.

I'm glad to know that almost all 10 of these copies belong to fans from this forum even if I don't own one personally it's like we all do because we're all connected through this site and share any info with eachother this is why I like the Technodrome Forum.

Wish I would have seen this earlier too. Quick question. If they did not have a "buy it now price" how much do you think these things could have went for. I know they are worth whatever people are willing to pay, but I have never seen one of these for sale at any price since only 10 exist.

I believe high price so far for one is 4k.

And once again the wildly divergent pendulum of TMNT comic values swings.

Seriously though, wasn't the 4k book graded/slabbed?

are there any scans about? would love to read..

No, it wasn't.

I hope he decides to sell at least one :D

...holy shnikes!! These are both as REAL as they get...this is crazy on so many levels.

First off, how in the world did I miss these auctions? :tcry: Anyone know how long were they up? Couldn't have been more than just an hour...and $450 for them? Hands down, these have to be the biggest steals the TMNT world has ever seen.

Second, (and very intriguing) is that I went to college in Lincoln, IL. Alton, IL is the same city where I found all my original Gobbledygooks, my yellow and blue counterfeit Gobbledygooks, and literally TONS of other TMNT comics I'd never even seen before...and that was nearly 20 years ago. I bought that stuff for cheap at the time and I can't help but think these Turtlemania Gold appearances from the exact same city is not just a coincidence. This seller is somehow related to the guy I bought so much TMNT stuff from...

I have some investigating to do.

That seller's completed listing page on ebay shows three turtlemania golds, with 4/10 being listed twice, with different buyers.

http://www.ebay.com/csc/ladyhawke170...mplete=1&rt=nc

I'm not an expert ebayer, but that looks fishy to me. Maybe one of the duplicates was a canceled auction? Anyone have any ideas on what that might be about?

This seller is not nice. I found the same thing you did with that 3rd auction. Sent the seller a message but the response was rude.

These are the kind of things I cry about at night.

you and i both, if anyone knows the person who bought these copies and could put me in contact with them, id love to make an offer

Contacted seller...here is the response
---------------------------------------
Dear *******,

Yes, the second listing for #4 was a mistake. Had to refund the money ASAP. No, I don't have anymore turtlemania gold issues. There were only 10. Check out my listings for the other turtle mags I have listed. I did not buy the turtlemania special #1 anywhere near here. It was a long time ago, and I don't even remember the bookstore. Wish I had researched them better before I sold them. OUCH!!! Sorry, I can't help you get more.

- ladyhawke170169

______________________________

I knew there wouldnt be any others, but I wanted to sound nice and like I was interested so she wouldn't be a turd.

Nice detective work. Thanks! You received a MUCH nicer response than I did. In the seller's defense, I'm guessing our emails weren't the only ones she received about this. Plus, realizing you lost out on thousands of dollars probably doesn't make for a pleasant day either. :ohwell:

Just got a second response....


It was an accidental duplicate listing. The problem has been corrected. I have no more turtlemanias left.

- ladyhawke170169


I am assuming that since she accidentally double replied to me that she is getting inundated by mails and wasn't able to remember she had already replied. This pic is of an old lady...maybe Alzheimers?

It could be I suppose...however, I still think something's off about this whole thing...I just can't put my finger on it. I definitely touched a nerve with her when I tried to ask about the history of these. All the other questions I asked she responded to nicely. But when I inquired if she was related to the person (or was related to the person) I bought all my rare TMNT stuff from in Alton, IL her response to me was, "It's none of your business where they came from." Kinda touchy about that specific "origin / history" subject for sure. I do realize that it really is none of my business but why the attitude about where they came from? This is some major TMNT history being made here and it would be nice to know the story behind them. I would think that someone that knew what these were (which she claims she does) would care about relaying the history behind them and wouldn't mind sharing a bit about their original acquisition with collectors.

The other odd thing is that she claims she can't remember where she bought these or anything about acquiring them except she just bought them a long time ago. Her quote to me was, "They were genuine when I bought them years ago." That indicates she bought them years ago knowing full well what they were. I would argue that, even "years ago," someone that knew what these were would have paid way more than $450. 20 years ago I paid much more than that for certain TMNT grails with significantly higher print runs.

Additionally, by her statement that she knew what they were when she bought them and that they were genuine, wouldn't that mean you'd HAVE to know they were worth much more than she listed them for? Maybe not...maybe she's just not a good Google searcher given she has other TMNT comics for sale right now that wouldn't go for half of what she's asking (a TMNT #1 3rd printing for $375...a #3 1st print for $600).

The way she responded to me about the history of these I've almost wondered if these were acquired in a way that was...well, not something she'd want to be public info. There's just something about this that rings odd to me. I mean, just look at this from the most obvious perspective...Turtlemania Gold copies are limited to 10 and they turn up SO rarely. However, she has 2 of them, can't remember (or won't reveal) where she got them, and just "didn't realize their value." :roll:

I totally think these are authentic but I don't think we're getting the full story about them. It may be that she's just simply off her rocker or it may be she's lying...in the end I guess it really doesn't matter and someone got the deal of lifetime...because, full story or not, I'd have totally bought these had I seen the auction in time. :D