Long Time suspected FAKE baggies scam / seller

[Michael Sith]

Theres a saying it takes a wise man to act a fool.

Add to the above

"Oh! What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive"

There is always a trail to wrongdoing, and it will catch up with you in the end.

 

[Frunkstar]

Emails from Jeff about hammer head (purple text) & walrus man baaggiess, which I bought both of & returned as both turned out to be fakes, I wanted to look the purple text one over as had never seen any like it before, but both were as said clear fakes & returned as such.

Now this is the EXACT SAME baggie Jeff had on his stall for sale at the last FF event (August 2016) which was pointed out to be one of the 3 fakes spotted by Marc C (theguiltyone) on here which I am sure he will confirm.

So yet another example of a baggie that has been 100% confirmed as a fake to Jeff all the way back in 2015 & still being offered for sale :?

he also confirms he removed the figure from the baggie to be added to his loose set in the final reply :? so how did it end up on the stall aat FF in 2016 when you opened it back in 2015 ???? - I don't understand the fuzzy logic

Also a little interesting info about knowing there were indeed obviously distinguishable differences in some of the SW-a baggies he has like soft baggies (only ever came in crisp baggies) & top heat seals (never came with top heat seals) the top heat seals bit ties in with the other fake SW-a type that was listed for sale on ebay last week BTW

 

[Frunkstar]

An email where we had a discussion of the red text & red sticker (Meccano free figure offer) baggies, Jeff confirms he does not have any ass of 20/1/2015 so if he has bought them since thats only 2 years, surely there must be some records about where & whom they came from to trace back???? he also states he does not have a red text Macau baggie, but is now saying yes he has (see his thread) & has had it in his collection for years - I am confused :?

 

[theguiltyone]

Emails from Jeff about hammer head (purple text) & walrus man baaggiess, which I bought both of & returned as both turned out to be fakes, I wanted to look the purple text one over as had never seen any like it before, but both were as said clear fakes & returned as such.

Now this is the EXACT SAME baggie Jeff had on his stall for sale at the last FF event (August 2016) which was pointed out to be one of the 3 fakes spotted by Marc C (theguiltyone) on here which I am sure he will confirm.

So yet another example of a baggie that has been 100% confirmed as a fake to Jeff all the way back in 2015 & still being offered for sale :?

he also confirms he removed the figure from the baggie to be added to his loose set in the final reply :? so how did it end up on the stall aat FF in 2016 when you opened it back in 2015 ???? - I don't understand the fuzzy logic

HH warning1.png

HH pic.jpg

HH warning thanks.png

HH confirmed fake.png

HH fakes returns.png

HH opened.png

Yup, thats the same one alright.

Marc

 

[Mr-shifter]

Emails from Jeff about hammer head (purple text) & walrus man baaggiess, which I bought both of & returned as both turned out to be fakes, I wanted to look the purple text one over as had never seen any like it before, but both were as said clear fakes & returned as such.

Now this is the EXACT SAME baggie Jeff had on his stall for sale at the last FF event (August 2016) which was pointed out to be one of the 3 fakes spotted by Marc C (theguiltyone) on here which I am sure he will confirm.

So yet another example of a baggie that has been 100% confirmed as a fake to Jeff all the way back in 2015 & still being offered for sale :?

he also confirms he removed the figure from the baggie to be added to his loose set in the final reply :? so how did it end up on the stall aat FF in 2016 when you opened it back in 2015 ???? - I don't understand the fuzzy logic

HH warning1.png

HH pic.jpg

HH warning thanks.png

HH confirmed fake.png

HH fakes returns.png

HH opened.png

Yup, thats the same one alright.

Marc

The simple fact of the matter is he has told you one story to appease you and then taken the decision to sell the baggie anyway.

Either he didn't believe you, didn't think you were right or just decided to sell it anyway. Seems to be a recurring theme.

I am getting a little lost in all this evidence, which has been shocking. Please pardon this question if it is glaringly obvious elsewhere. Frank, have you confirmed that Jeff has sold or tried to sell baggies that have been refused grading by ukg?

 

[Frunkstar]

Emails from Jeff about hammer head (purple text) & walrus man baaggiess, which I bought both of & returned as both turned out to be fakes, I wanted to look the purple text one over as had never seen any like it before, but both were as said clear fakes & returned as such.

Now this is the EXACT SAME baggie Jeff had on his stall for sale at the last FF event (August 2016) which was pointed out to be one of the 3 fakes spotted by Marc C (theguiltyone) on here which I am sure he will confirm.

So yet another example of a baggie that has been 100% confirmed as a fake to Jeff all the way back in 2015 & still being offered for sale :?

he also confirms he removed the figure from the baggie to be added to his loose set in the final reply :? so how did it end up on the stall aat FF in 2016 when you opened it back in 2015 ???? - I don't understand the fuzzy logic

HH warning1.png

HH pic.jpg

HH warning thanks.png

HH confirmed fake.png

HH fakes returns.png

HH opened.png

Yup, thats the same one alright.

Marc

The simple fact of the matter is he has told you one story to appease you and then taken the decision to sell the baggie anyway.

Either he didn't believe you, didn't think you were right or just decided to sell it anyway. Seems to be a recurring theme.

I am getting a little lost in all this evidence, which has been shocking. Please pardon this question if it is glaringly obvious elsewhere. Frank, have you confirmed that Jeff has sold or tried to sell baggies that have been refused grading by ukg?

Jeff has never submitted ANY items for grading at UKG I would have to do a hell of a lot of digging & cross checking to see if any of the ones I have sent to UKG & have failed were from Jeff & were then returned & re-sold, that could take weeks as I have 4 years worth of emails we are talking about here, I am still going through the email streams now to gather further evidence, each stream comprising up to 100 messages, so it's a gargantuan task, I have 10 more to get through, but have been through 28, I also still have further evidence to put forward from the previously gone through emails

 

[jedisearcher]

Yup, thats the same one alright.

Marc

The simple fact of the matter is he has told you one story to appease you and then taken the decision to sell the baggie anyway.

Either he didn't believe you, didn't think you were right or just decided to sell it anyway. Seems to be a recurring theme.

I am getting a little lost in all this evidence, which has been shocking. Please pardon this question if it is glaringly obvious elsewhere. Frank, have you confirmed that Jeff has sold or tried to sell baggies that have been refused grading by ukg?

Jeff has never submitted ANY items for grading at UKG I would have to do a hell of a lot of digging & cross checking to see if any of the ones I have sent to UKG & have failed were from Jeff & were then returned & re-sold, that could take weeks as I have 4 years worth of emails we are talking about here, I am still going through the email streams now to gather further evidence, each stream comprising up to 100 messages, so it's a gargantuan task, I have 10 more to get through, but have been through 28, I also still have further evidence to put forward from the previously gone through emails

Frank, I think the evidence is already completely overwhelming in favour of your original allegations. If anyone is disputing it, then I think they're badly misguided and the fault is with them rather than you.

As Jeff is clearly not going to respond to direct allegations on specific examples it really comes down to what he proposes next and how people take those decisions as to whether his reputation remains anywhere near intact.

On that basis, you can probably take a well eaned break rather than breaking your neck providing more evidence that'll never be refuted, and is unlikely to change anyone's mind either way.

You and the rest of the team have done a fabulous job outing the issue.

 

[Frunkstar]

A little more to confirm the point about buying in bulk rather than just buying a little here & there to help pay for you own collection as many of us on a budget have to.

A email snippet showing bulk buys of trash monsters & probots on pre order for Mr Mullan who we all know to be a serial U grader, Jeff was fully aware that these were all going to be open'd & U-graded for maximum profit & was considering doing the same himself which I also have in my emails - shame :|

One of the lot's shown to me for sale, not just a few items here & there

4-Lom mailers in bulk

confirming only 15 EV-9D9's left :shock:

multiple MOC & Mailers coming in, also worth noting the comment about the EB set paperwork from Spain as we all know only quality stuff is available from Spain right? maybe a total coincidence but worries me considering the reproduction paperwork thats surfaced with his EB Set(s) a little more of further EB sets he has had issues with in the next post BTW

Comments pertaining to the huge haul in the email photos above as well as the mailers

Conformation of multiple trash monster baggies & probots being sold to Robbie for onward U grading as well as the aforementioned idea of just having them U graded himself to miss out the middle man & maximize profits :| & even confirming he knows this will piss me off with my anti U grade stance on opening baggies

Conformation he was also selling them in bulk to the ebay member "starwarsfigures" as I said earlier who also has them U graded & also quoting them as "overstock" rather than genuine as I said the only possible explanation if they were genuine is that they are overstock either done at Kenner or an aftermarket buyer - so never any conformation they are authentic

 

[Frunkstar]

Some further concerns when it comes to EB sets Jeff has sold after the one he sold with issues / fake items / re-sealed items ETC, so thats at least 3 affected EB sets with major issues, not like it's a low value item & ideally if you are selling this kind of thing you should know your stuff & make sure every piece is authentic & checks out before selling it & hoping for the best or that someone may not notice - just how may more sold "could have" potential issues?

Conformation of a SW-a that was confirmed as a fake, so by this time 6/8/15 he knew there were SW-a's with issues but did not look in to the matter further to weed out other possible fakes - you can lead a horse to water.

This one below also shows an 8D8 I got from Jeff & still have with IMO is a clear fake, just look at the font :? I bought it on the off chance of it being something I had not seen before as I often do, though in hand it was quite obviously incorrect, by this time I had got so fed up returning items I really could not be bothered anymore as it was relatively low value & just chucked it in my questionable/fakes box of oddities - yes still got every fake & questionable baggie I have ever bought over the years & never even contemplated opening them (baggie reference fakes section) or for that matter considered punting them on under the radar or back door for a few quid.

 

[Palifan]

The baggie scandal is certainly what this is all about but I must admit that reading these most recent emails it has made me feel a bit sick about the real lack of interest in vintage Star Wars collecting. It's seems to me about how much profit can be made by buying up cheap and then passing on for a fat profit. There's almost a feeling of Jeff laughing about making a good profit and also some of these bulk items are just getting passed onto other dealers who are marking them up even more, yeah keep it in the family and shows what a real collector Jeff is.

It's really hard to believe anything Jeff has said or written recently on this matter when looking at his emails, it really does sound like two different people and if you're reading this Jeff you need to answer the specific questions you've been asked from day one as so far you haven't really given me any reason not to believe Frank and the others on the investigation team. There are some very simple questions that you need to answer in the other thread you started with your letter, if they can't be answered then it's going to be hard for anyone to side with you.

Ian

 

[Frunkstar]

Some further info on SW-a baggies worth looking at IMO -

Above the fake baggie SW-a leia in question & confirmed as fake (email screen shot in last post) - this one was sold to Kevin (kevlad on here)

Me unequivocally stating the turtle neck in SW-a is incorrect

Jeff asking is the SW-a turtle neck is correct & me confirming that it is not - yet he went on to sell anyway WTF Jeff????? :evil:

Me confirming all my SW-a baggies of which I have quite a collection, are all the same in terms of baggie type/font type & that Iwas happy he would accept the retun of the bad one, he even (at that point) as you see had me questioning me thoughts about some of the fakes :?

Multiple SW-a baggies types confirmed - there is only one baggie type, though there are 2 font's you can find, both the same style, just one is a little larger than the other - this is info pending for the guide BTW (minor font variations)

Note the part about them being mint bags, no sign of yellowing on the tape or any movement which after 30+ years is most unusual, also this which on reading it back years later is worrying on retrospect quote - have hardly been handled

Photo sent via email of SW-a baggies he was offering, spot the fakes, I actually bought one of his SW-a the R5's not sure if it was the one in this picture & returned it as it was clearly fake, TBH till now I had totally forgotten about this one, date again long time ago 7/5/15, so he was fully aware there were issues surrounding SW-a baggies & they need to be looked at in close detail for red flags like the god awful font & saying he wants to quote -push them at max profit

 

[Frunkstar]

Now at this time these below are something I can not 100% confirm as being fake, but I am pretty convinced they are as I have now spoken to 2 other collectors who have both of the baggie types the rebo band came in, both those guys have stated that both the Made In Hong Konk text & no text ones they own which came out of boxed sets are the same feel in terms of thickness & have similar if not identical heat seals, mine feel really soft & flimsy, I am sure if I test the font it would also rub off very easily looking at it under a 10 X's magnifying eyepiece, I paid top dollar for these at the time, now relegated to the questionable/fakes baggies box along with that palitoy 8D8 baggies I spoke of above & many more from Jeff, the 8D8 is mentioned below in the same email reply from Jeff, so I bought 4 baggies at that time & it would "seem" that 4 for 4 were/are fake - not a great ratio really is it if these tri logo rebo baggies are indeed as I suspect fakes

I am also extremely concerned the probot baggies of which a great many have been sold by Jeff are also questionable - sadly the hole is getting no shallower is it.

 

[Caswellbot]

For someone who "doesn't need the money" he seems to bang on about profit and making maximum profit alot doesn't he? The guys full of it. I wouldn't trust a word he says.

 

[maxf]

For someone who "doesn't need the money" he seems to bang on about profit and making maximum profit alot doesn't he? The guys full of it. I wouldn't trust a word he says.

That's pretty much where I am. If there was a solid defence, he'd have stated it. Offering to send all of his baggies to UKG is a joke - who is to say he will send everything?

At this point, he needs to:

1. Offer refunds on baggies Frank confirms are fake.
2. Answer the questions regarding the ebay feedback and second account (what SW has been bought on the second account, why so many loose figures and weapons when he supposedly has 650 baggie figures).
3. Why were fake/returned baggies resold?
4. Think very carefully about where these came from and disclose it - there are a lot of fakes and likely not from multiple sellers (imo). If there isn't one source of the fakes I'd be surprised - even if Jeff didnt deal with the source directly there is somebody knocking out fakes somewhere and we need to start to work out who that is.

 

[spoons]

For someone who "doesn't need the money" he seems to bang on about profit and making maximum profit alot doesn't he? The guys full of it. I wouldn't trust a word he says.

4. Think very carefully about where these came from and disclose it - there are a lot of fakes and likely not from multiple sellers (imo). If there isn't one source of the fakes I'd be surprised - even if Jeff didnt deal with the source directly there is somebody knocking out fakes somewhere and we need to start to work out who that is.

A key point, Jeff is coming across as exceedingly untrustworthy but if anything the latest email extracts have convinced me he's buying most of these fakes in. Strikes me as someone is taking advantage of his greed. It would seem an easy way to deflect a lot of grief by naming the source - otherwsie we'd have to assume he's making them himself.

 

[lejackal]

For someone who "doesn't need the money" he seems to bang on about profit and making maximum profit alot doesn't he? The guys full of it. I wouldn't trust a word he says.

That's pretty much where I am. If there was a solid defence, he'd have stated it. Offering to send all of his baggies to UKG is a joke - who is to say he will send everything?

This is basically my thinking, it would be the equivalent of Toy Toni sending all his Meccano Jawas, Power Droids, IG-88s and Trilogos for grading to prove he isn't a scamming bastard

 

[Frunkstar]

Right sadly some further shocking discovery's with some of Jeff's baggies (shocker).

Remember the 2 Taiwan R2 baggies with correct figure but fake baggies?? the solid dome R2 never made it beyond the ESB-a baggie & no other Taiwan R2 baggie has ever been found by any collector that I have heard of & likely never will, I have them in hand (big thanks Nick) & have taken detailed close up's of them & as good an image as I can capture of the heat seals to try to find out which seal types are being used on the fakes, my suspensions about the ROTJ-a (also Taiwan) that Jeff has sole many of including on to myself are also 100% fake as the seal is unlike any other ROTJ-a I have (I have many to cross check against).

Now by all accounts the ROTJ-a fett baggie is stupidly rare, I had been after one for 3 years before I saw this one I own listed by Jeff on ebay, since I bought it I know he must have sold a bear minimum of 5 others (high value item again), I have also cross checked with Andy Raymond who is the only guy I know that owns a genuine one & also the multi pack with other baggies it came with, he has confirmed his has the exact same seal type as all his other ROTJ-a baggies, the seal type on a genuine one is slick with tiny tiny vertical lines within the seal every few mm's, unlike both the fake ROTJ-a that have come from Jeff which both have crosshatching, which looks like small squares in the photos, but with the naked eye you can see a little more detail.

Luckily Mark A Baker from jabbas court was here at the time of me getting the baggies from Nick & we both checked them both with the naked eye & a 10 X's eyepiece in good natural daylight & agreed they were identical - see seals below

R2

Fett

Also some side by side photos below as well as full frontal shots to show these are the same ones shown in the close up seal photos

& below the other ESB-h fake again with a Taiwan R2 figure, the baggie does not conform to any other known style of ESB-h baggie, nor does the heat-seal which incidentally is identical to a fake Luke X wing pilot baggie I also got from Jeff

The sheer volume of baggie types that have been tainted is becoming more & more worrying, I am in the process of working on others at the moment, luckily every single one has ways of being distinguished against the genuine article so with luck it can all be documents & eradicate them from the hobby & not affect baggie collecting any more than it already has

 

[momike]

Getting all csi Miami I see frank :lol: Looks like it's been done with standard impulse heat sealer, are the seals 2mm frank?

Jeff has sold a lot more than five of those Taiwan fetts, been selling those for years mate

The whole letting ukg look at them is a farce imo

 

[Frunkstar]

Getting all csi Miami I see frank :lol: Looks like it's been done with standard impulse heat sealer, are the seals 2mm frank?

Jeff has sold a lot more than five of those Taiwan fetts, been selling those for years mate

The whole letting ukg look at them is a farce imo

CSI to your service mike, seals look to be 1.85mm so pretty much 2mm is that important??

sorry the gauge is not over the seal in the bottom photo as bag moved when I was trying to take the picture, but it was measure bang on

 

[momike]

It's pretty much 2mm then, impulse heaters are your box standard heat sealers that come with a standard 2mm element

 

[Frunkstar]

Podcast Transcript

(waffle and indecipherable comments cut)


1:18
Q.  How would you describe yourself as SW collector?
Pretty fun really…collecting over 20 years, mainly baggies…I've recently been collecting cards…got mailers, a lot of loose figures…  it's just a bit of a hobby really… I really enjoy the whole genre of SW the whole craze really.
2:13
Q.  How long you been a seller on ebay?
For about 10 years I've had an account roughly
Q.  and primarily baggies?
Primarily baggies but I also do loose figures…smaller vehicles, just started doing carded figures… I buy cards in order to build a full set
3.00
Q.  Can I ask you to set the scene for baggies.  It's very unusual we have a collector who has such a huge amount of baggies. What is it about baggies that has interested you when most collectors go down the loose route or the carded route first.
I sold my original SW that I had from home…then I realised how much money it was worth so I… started collecting SW figures in a bag, and I noticed that baggies at the time when I was doing this, probably about 15 years ago, I had family in the States and when I was out there I come across quite  few toys out there they were a lot cheaper than the UK, we're talking probably about half the cost, and baggies was something I come across out there and I actually loved the idea of the different varieties of baggies they look lovely mint and crispy in their bags so I just started collecting them, bringing them back to the UK and I started collecting baggies on ebay but they were a lot cheaper back then…until recently ½ price cheaper than they are in the UK because there's so many more of them.  So that started my craze of baggies.  I started them up, put them in a box, displaying them and started collecting all variants… bit of a craze or an addiction as they'd say.
4.52
Q.  How many baggies do you think you've sold?  How many do you think you own?
I have boxes of baggies all over the place.  I've basically got one display of baggies on my wall in my garage of all the nice variants that are more appealing to the eye which people have seen I take nice photographs of that.  I've got boxes of baggies where I've collect doublers, triplers, quadruplers, just because I thought a bit further down the line these are going to be worth some money.  And I've got a big collection… at one point I was over 1000 baggies… most people from the States and I just bought them.
6:05
Q.  As you've got these baggies coming in, you said you'd spot duplicates, possibly put the best examples to one side for display, the rest would go out for sale.  Is that correct?
Yes.  Best examples go in one box, some in my wall for my display.  I've never gone down the route of grading…  (edit – lots of waffle about grading, prefer to have in hand, doesn't like graded loose, baggies, cards)
6.51
Q.  Did you do a lot of research on them for example, on theswca an article on Kenner baggies by Bill Wills and Todd DeMartino?
Yes, yes, that was my bible for the first 6 or 7 years.  I would look at that and see what other baggies were out there.  There were baggies coming out that I didn't know, that were on that guide.  So I bought them anyway because they were saying they were genuine and at the time I didn't realise these could be faked and it was back in 2002/2004.  It wasn't until I met a certain person in the baggie world that really… I'd say was a friend… I used to ask a lot about baggies and he taught me a lot about baggies.  Can't say any names unfortunately apparently.  (edit – he was not told this by me.  This is believed to be Frank Mewes.  He uses names later) 
8.22
Q.  So to set a context on how you see yourself as a baggie collector.   Would you say you've been someone who has contributed to baggie guide, for example new discoveries of baggies, or are you someone who has always gone to the experts for advice?
I always generally went to the Kenner MIHK baggies and didn't have much interest in the standard MIHK baggies…too plain…I thought the ones with the Kenner logo would be worth more money down the line because of the whole look of the baggies because of the tape seal and the heat seal… tape seals are not to collect really, the heat seals are the way to go… obviously I don't really realise the consequences of the tape seal a long time ago…many baggies where tape has dried up and come away from the baggie.  Didn't really make it worth what a baggie is so, another reason why I started selling some of my collection off.  I had to really as I'm coming a bit of a hoarder.  This is why for the last 3 or 4 years I've been sell off large quantities of my baggies
10:10
Q.  You know the reason you're on here….post on swfuk…accusing you of being a manufacturer and distributor of fake baggies…this is your one chance to get your message across… will invite your accusers the same opportunity to respond…we will not be the Jerry Springer show going back and forth.  Likened to ToyToni, McWilliams, Billybob, we want you to be honest and we will be completely impartial.  Can you explain your relationship with us the podcasters.
I know some of your names from someone local.  He buys SW items off me and I drop items off with him for posting…friendly with him…I'm not a media person.  Although I have a FB page my wife set this up.  I don't use it.  I'm not one of these…doing these silly accounts… my life is pretty hectic… when I have a spare hour I'm on the phone or computer looking for baggies on ebay or any SW deals I can find… as I said I buy from the States, I copy all the item numbers…send them to my cousin in the States.  He collects them once every month or 2 depending on how many and that's how I get around postage costs.  Marc Hockley and Grant Criddle is the guys who knows you guys.  Grant's idea for me to come on and put my ideas to you guys…  (edit – we interrupted here off on a tangent)
14.45
Some are saying your silence is a sign of no smoke without fire.   Have you been manufacturing fake baggies?
No.  Not at all.  I wouldn't know where to start.
15:20
Q.  But you've certainly been a distributor.  Sold a vast amount of baggies.  Why were these previously outed baggies been reposted or resold as legit?
I don't quite get you.  Anyone who said they weren't happy. Maybe fake…. I've never sold them on ebay or to anyone else.  I put them in a box here and that's where they stay.   If I look at them and think something isn't right here I normally take them out their baggies and put them in my collection of loose figures.  Someone told me I was reselling them but I don't know which one these are?
16:15
Q.  So when people return.  You inspect them in your hand.  Talk me through the process
I look at it… and if I think they're correct I put them to onside I don't resell them.   I put them aside.   It's my loss.  I don't know how much I paid for them.  I don't know if it was a long, long time ago, or just recent, I only sent the item number to my mate in the States.  As far as I know I don't know where they come… just from ebay.  However, I know where the ones mentioned have come from if I can mention the name… Rob Glaxon (I think) sw a, b and d came from him…spent £4000 on him over a year or 2…. Had a fire in his house…not a nice guy…. Bought lots of baggies from him where were graded and I sold on and they've been fine so I can assume these 'a' ones come from him.  Another guy called Chris  (Murray?  Mottey) … palitoy ones from… he said if they were wrong he'd give me my money back. So I'm asking people if they're wrong…I want to take all my baggie collection.  I want to take them to Frank Mewes in Wales…he can personally inspect them all…I'm really, really stressed out today to be honest with you…posted on FB…Frank thanked me…I posted it wrong or something.  He wants it on the forum apparently…think I need to join or something…spent me an hour putting it on there.
19:13
Q.  Categorically deny making.  If someone sends a baggie back to you and not happy such as FF, you'll put them away.  Are you organised and would have one box with certain fake baggies, or could you put a baggie down in a wrong place and could mix them up?
No.  They are all in different boxes, correct boxes…different variants in different boxes…sold best part of 400 or 500 baggies on ebay in last year… lot of these have been AFA and UKG graded… I'm unaware if they're going to be graded…if I was faking surely I'd be asking people if they'd be grading them?  Then I'd send the real ones for graders, and fake ones for people who only collect them?  I just simply do not know… I get very few back from graders who say they can't grade them for fake.  AFA have been very…?.... palitoy A trilogo Fett… they won't grade in the bag but are happy to grade out of the bag.  But UKGthe guy there Steve he grades quite a few that I've sold to people.  The amount I've sold and graded….very few not happy with tape or font…Ive said send them back and I'll refund.  I've even sold some of these baggies to people who are supposed to be baggie experts and they accepted them and over the moon with them  and I've just assumed, well not assumed, but the baggies I've got which are similar to them are fine.  If I had been told…there was a couple where he said I don't like the look of this one but I may have had only two of them.   I put them to one side…. I've got nearly 13 sets of SW figures that I collect and like putting them together and I've sold quite a sets on ebay and recently I've sold some last 17 sets as well
23:31
Q.  I've bought 3 baggies off you, 2 were fine, 1 I sent back as I already owned it and you refunded.  If I had said Jeff this is fake.  You would accept as refund and then where would the baggie go?
All depends why it was returned…tape seal resealed is problematic from AFA…tape comes away and someone puts a tape over to restick it, I've collected baggies for a long time.  I know what to look for.  I know to look for the top seal, the cross hatching across the top, some have got them, some haven't got them.  Some are just one bag with tape at the bottom.  Some are heat seal with tape at the bottom.   Again I also measure baggies.  I knew about people who cut baggies at the top.  All my baggies which have been returned to me..they conform to top and bottom…tape comes away because they're old.  Where is the reseal?  I can't get to grips with that.  Some of the people said that the font's wrong.  And they put it up with another baggie that similar it…it's blotching.  That could be a print error or something. :? :?
 26:11
Q.  I want to get to the forum post. Have you read it?
It's awful.  Absolutely awful….what these people ..so called my friends. .met at shows… done this and not informed me…didn't ask to meet or go through my collection…. Most of my collection is here in my garage.  Got some stuff in the loft.  Got some stuff in my parent's house.  I've got stuff here there and everywhere…. I'm more than happy showing my entire baggie collection.
27.19
Q. If I turned up to your house now.  Could you show me where the fakes are.  Do you have fake baggies in your collection?
The only fake baggies what I'm aware of are these ones which have been pulled by Frank.  But Frank's not said 100% these are fake.  He's obviously looked at them.  I've actually gone through them and pulled all the ones with the funny text on.  I've probably got about 20-25 of them in total which are pulled out on the site which I have here in my collection and I'm not selling.  They're in my collection.  Why would I keep baggies I know are fake or sell them on?  It makes no sense.  It's pretty bad… naughty really when there's no real evidence.  Some have photographed me dealing… I've just got these whole heartedly and then sold them on down the line.  I remember buying these WA (?) white text logos.  I remember them.  I just put them away.  I sold them in the past and nobody said there was a problem.  Now they're looking at them and saying they're possibly fake.  Bit late guys.  Should have told me way back… we didn't you tell me about investigation…supposed to be my friends… I've just really lost interest in… got all my stuff here…selling these baggies are they're starting to perish…tape drying…invest in carded stuff so selling baggies.  Using these baggies to fund.  I don't really need cash money.  Not as though I'm a poor person I have a successful business.  Houses that I buy and sell on, 3 out on rent.  I don't make baggies for a buck or 2.  I haven't got time… this is just crazy.
END OR PART ONE.
 
PART TWO
30:30
Q.  How long what you say you've known Frank?  Frank has mentioned he's contact you in the past and told you some are fake over 4 years.  Do you have any collection of that?
Yes.  I remember that…I've sent stuff to Frank to check if they're ok… Frank has even bought stuff off me  and said Jeff mate, this is not right and I've said ok and taken it out … he obviously knows his stuff… he bought some stuff off me and accepted it as genuine.  So I'm unaware that stuff I'm selling is supposed to be fake..Stevie from UKG disagrees with a lot of it.  A lot of my stuff goes through him and it's rare something that's not right.  People come to me and say have you got this, have you got that and I have a look.  Sometimes I haven't got all of them, most of the times I have genuine ones, a lot of the people want top end ones and I'm not sell those again.  If I was faking I'd have loads of top end ones… Blue Snaggletooths I was collecting many of them.  I sorted of had at one stage 60 (could be 16) of them.  I've probably got about 4 now that I don't want to sell anymore as they're getting quite rare now and they're in my sets.  Frank I've known probably about 5 years and he's contacted me on many occasions and he's been a real good go to guy and this is why I just can't understand why he didn't contact me about this.
33:07
Q.  SO 4 years ago you've sent baggies to Frank.  He's looked at them and no these aren't right.  Where are those baggies now?
No longer in baggies any more.  They're taken out and in loose sets.  But if I think they're ok there's a box where all the baggies have come back … and I will not resell that…. It's like I have an issue with these Mecanno baggies bought 3 Boba Fett and 3 Dengar…sold a Dengar and 2 BF, kept the rest for myself.  The guy who bought the Dengar has come back and said they're fake… I said oh dear and didn't realise…when put next to the original one you could see it was a lot darker and I had nothing to compare it to I then obviously contacted the guy I sent the Boba Fett to and I said it could be fake do you want money back and he said no give me £250 off it and I said ok.  I can't remember the guy I sold the other ones regarding the fakes… couldn't remember his name…that baggie came up on the forum and one of my friends said that baggie…I remember asking Frank… the guy got back to me and said it's a fake.  I said yes, he sent it back and I refunded him.  Now this morning my paypal is frozen…. I put a post on FB, my email address is there and if anyone has any problems please contact me and I will deal with it the best I can… I've had people contact me to refund all of the baggies they bought off me and that's really unfair because these ones that Frank mentioned is only a small amount of what I sold… can't tar all of them with the same brush.  People are obviously panicking and now saying they want all of their money back but I will do my best to refund people if they are not happy to a degree. .  they have to prove to me… take them to Frank and he can tell me these ones are fake, these ones are genuine and I just want to get on with my life.
36:43
Q.  To not contact you first was I think a mistake.  A lot of people will disagree with that.  But I do understand that Frank is a very knowledge person who is very passionate and he must have been dismayed and angry… a lot of people are…invested money with you…not all of us are rich… you have to appreciate there's a lot of anger out there.  I'm not convinced a fake baggie someone's bought off you… I want to hear you say I will rip it open… I want to hear your intention of these fake baggies.  I worried you've sold them on, or other people have.  I want to hear you're going to stamp this out.
I've put my email up there.  I had my phone number but a lot of people said no as I'll have people phoning all of the time day and night from other countries … the reason why I don't take them out is because it's a baggie that's fake but at least I've got proof of what a fake baggie looks like.  I will never sell a baggie further on to someone that I know is fake…. I want to take these fake baggies…Frank to look at them… he's only seen some of these in photos.. I want him to look at them not rip them up and destroy them.  I would never sell these on for profit, no, definitely not.
39:36
Q.  I understand that but keep all the fake baggies?  Surely a couple of samples would be enough?
Ive kept a sample of each one yeah.  There's quite a few different ones that people have said are not right, or retaped, I've put to one side because the figure inside… hand on heart I would never sell them on.  Never intentionally sell them on.  I have enough baggies here I can sell on ebay and offload and… I sell to lots of people.  Not happy with them I'll give them their money back.  What more can I do?
Q.  Mark the baggies.  Stick a hole in them.  What happens if your kids sell your collection?  Where is the future proofing?
I did say to Frank I'd take 400 or 500 and if he can prove their fake… Frank said he'd ripped them up… I said yes that's fine.  The amount of money I've paid for these baggies going back years now is probably the same cost or more if I got these figures graded.  The figures are new, they smell new.  They're not some old figure which has just been bunged in there.  I can't see  how these are just taken from some kids play box and put into a baggie
42:30
Q.  Have you ever sent off a baggie that you knew had been rejected by someone else
No.  I've sold these baggies on the post to baggie collectors and they've never said there was a problem and this is going back 3 or 4 years and Frank was one of them and the white ones… I had 16?  Of those.  Not a huge amount… they reckon I have 100 baggies which are fake?  I just the height of 16.5 and the heat seal at the top was different to the bottom… and people said not right but Frank said that's rubbish mate there are difference with top and bottom and ROTJ Boba Fetts had a different seal with a cross hatch.  I've measured mine here at 16.5.  If someone cut them and put a different figure in it'd be shorter.  4 or 5 mm and be under 16.5.  These aren't cut to reseal.  I'm confused.
44:30
Q.  You've said only a few.  At FF you had a whole load there
150 baggies, a baggie of almost every figure I had.  I took one of my Fetts… one guy that was really nice to me that I sold lots of baggies too… he spent half an hour going through all my baggies and found 3 that are not right.  Why would I bring fake baggies to a place like that with people knowing what they're looking for.  Frank says he's got photographs of swe's that aren't right.  2 a Luke and a Gamorrean Guard or something… taken them out and put them to one side and I want Frank to check them and tell me what to look for…. Drive to wales… long call last night and I was nearly in tears and he's meant to be my friend
46:50
Q.  You were very open to allow people rummage through your baggies for a considerable amount of time.  You looked like someone with nothing to hide and yet some were found.  Where are these now?
They're here in a separate box.  I won't open them until someone comes and takes a look.  The SW a, b and d… drive to wales… or come here.  I had 2 sw c that are quite rare but I thought they'd look worn and looked naff and they're all come back to me because the graders said fake and they said why they're not right and they're in the box too.  I'm more than happy to give money back.. don't need to collect money I'm not desperate…sold these to people who know about baggies but they never complained so I assume the rest are fine…I'm concerned about baggie tape…drying up… especially ones in loft so I've taken them down. Put them in steel containers… I've got baggies (trash monster?) ex-factory stock and I sent them to Frank and he's like hmmm. Don't know if they're from Kenner or a load of new ones… I just kept them as I know a trash monster (I think that's what he's saying) can go for £50 or £60 and I just bought these for $20 each so I'm making money selling these loose you know
50:00
Q.  You tend to turn a baggie up.  For example, I need a palitoy m.  Have all your baggies come from your collection or do you reach out to another person who supplies them?  Are you the middle man or has all of the baggies come from you?
I've got quite a few plaitoy K baggies… C3PO, 3 of them… can't remember so many… generally people tell me what they want and I do go on the sites ebay in America and I genuinely pick them up.  3 or 4 weeks for certain  baggies as they're cheaper as I don't pay all the postage and the tax to come through as I get it sent in a bulk lot… sometimes help people out sourcing them… not a lot come that way most of what they ask me I have in my collection…some things I haven't got so if I was faking them I'd say ok I can get that for you and that I would fake them wouldn't I… I say I haven't got it… can't understand… I have a lot and lot of baggies… I'm always getting baggies sent to the office from uK or states in job lot… for years… I have a baggie on ebay and some guy says fake… R5 from a damaged popy box and it's tape sealed in ESB c and it's sealed and that's how it comes so I emailed him back and said it's not fake that's how they come
53:06
Q  You saw the post.  Describe your relationship with the accusers
They've been buying baggies off me for the last 4 or 5 years… met some at FF… only time Ive met them through Marc… lovely show and I love doing it… first few times I barely sold a baggie it was loose and carded and boxed and nobody was interested… sold 25 baggies at the last show.  Didn't sleep last night to be honest with you. … dreadful night…never had this about what people think of me… happy to speak to anyone… 
Q.  Why do you think they've done this if you've a good relationship with them?
I've been selling baggies to other people in other countries and they got rejected for grading  and these obviously contacted these and it's got back to them that it calls come from me.. but there's a lot of people for me… who say it has been dealt wrong… a lot of people think I'm a faker doing this for money… these have been in my possession for a long time and it's only recently I've decided to let them go.  Some of these people bought them… I contacted Frank about a guy who I bought from who bought the mecanno Dengar off me and I spent £400 for a lot of baggies and he said I was a faker and not on the level about me.  I phoned Frank and asked him if he knew this guy to talk some sense into him and said I'd refund him.  I knew about the Dengar… he just didn't believe me…Why would I do that?  Frank… you never told me there was a problem.  I heard on the grapevine there was a conspiracy against me… jealous I'm selling these baggies I don't know .  I phoned Frank and said is there any issues and he said no mate everything's cool and I said fair enough …  I was honest with Frank.  I said there was some fake ones and he can check them… I wont run away I want people to hear my story.
58:25
Q. I'm going to ask you a question that's specific about baggies with red text.......

Jeff - I've never sold a baggie with red text....I've sent pictures... I've still got them in my collection. I've never sold any.

Follow up Q. Ok, because Frank says that he's seen them listed on your ebay account even though you knew that they were not correct and he told you 6 months ago (edit - should be 6 months before hand) that they weren't correct. You're saying that's not true and they weren't on your ebay account?

Jeff - No. I haven't sold a red text baggie on my account. I can't remember... I've got 3 red text baggies....this was about 5, maybe 4 years ago and I bought them all. I said to Frank, "have you seen these before?" and he said "I think they're fake". And I said ok. I've still got them. I've still got them in a box. But I've not sold them on. Because.. you know. I'm a little bit dubious sometimes because Frank says sometimes that something may be fake or not legit then all of a sudden it pops up on his site, actually these are determined legit... I don't like taking them out their bag really because just in case that bag was legit..... somebody said I should destroy them just in case they got in the wrong hands, it's a good point.... I didn't think it that way.

Follow up Q. So, I'm going to clarify that because a couple of people have asked about the red text baggies... you're saying about 4-5 years ago you contacted Frank about these red text baggies... he said they're either fake or rebagged from another toy line.... and then he said 6 months after that date they were listed on the ebay account. You're saying no, that's not true.

Jeff - I can't remember ever selling these erm.. they're folded....their almost rolled, someone tapped them and then they've stamped MIHK over the top, and they've gone over the top of the cellotape as well, when you take the cellotape off the actual Hong Kong stamp is on the cellotape. There's (indeciperhable) on the bag first it's been taped over... I've never sold. Did anyone show me where I've sold that on ebay? I've never sold one on ebay as far as I can remember.

Follow up Q - that's a good point. If any of our listeners is aware or has any evidence at all of a red text baggie being sold on ebay we'd like to see the picture.

Jeff - I've never seen the red baggie being sold on ebay. I do know I have a red text made in macou (sp?) baggie which is on Frank's site there... and that's got red text on it and I asked Frank about that and he said that's genuine... (then goes into a description of baggie with O and U)... and I want to show Frank...I wouldn't know the value of that.. I put things a higher value to see if they sell, if they don't sell I drop it by £10 or £15. If they don't sell I take them off and put them back in the box. I just see what sort of interest there are on it. It's not that I need to sell them
1:02:05
Q.  With regards to previous baggie scandals… bullyboy.. do you believe that you own any of his stuff?
I've got a feelling… palitoy a with last 17… sold to some guy in the States and Frank said they look like BB baggies… and again I've got some here.  The guy sent them back.. last 17 mint in bag I can get them graded no problem at all…  happy to refund…take to Frank… BB did it back in 90s so tape will look old now… resealed ones don't appear to be bagged very well… I know what to look for.  You can't fake that.  I double check these things.
Q.  Frank spoke with you for 1.5 hours but was fairly guarded.  How did it go?
I was contacted by a couple of people… seen what is on forum.. urgent… contact me.. phone was on charge in car and I was going to bed… phoned Grant and he told me and read it to me… I said I need to phone Frank.. I just spoke to him a week or two ago and asked him if there were any issues…  and he said no, no not at all.  So I called him and said what's going on?.... you can speak to me anytime…. He said there's a lot of people saying baggies from you aren't right
1:06:06
Q.  The Mecanno baggies.  The ones with red sticker… what do you know about them and did they come from one source together?
Yes I bought them from one source from the states.  3 trilogo Fetts and 4 Dengars… Dengars were stapled with a rusty staple… I got excited as they looked old.. other ones were heat sealed in a crispy bag… didn't have the made in macu sticker which I did flag up … Jason Joiner at FF last time  ( I believe he means FF from further back as the rest makes no sense otherwise) … he had a baggie mailer… he had a Boba Fett and that was in a heat sealed baggie and sticker had come off so I do remember they came in heat sealed baggies but Frank said they don't so I don't know if Jason Joiner has a fake … but I did ask Jason at the last FF and I wanted to check against his.. he sold his set on and I wanted to check the material to see if it was the same from the one I saw in his collection and I was disappointed with that
1:08:10
Q.  Do you believe somebody is selling you fake baggies on puporse knowing you are an ebay seller that can't be traced back to them?
I don't know… I see a lot of baggies on ebay.. I do a deal off ebay… I know lots of people with contacts… I don't want to name names but I have mailers in the past.. boxes of 4 LOM baggies in the lost which I wont sell… I do a deal which gets sent to my cousin in states but it can take 2 or 3 months before I fill a box so I forget who I get them off … I do have a PayPal transaction but that goes to my cousin and he pays it and I'm trying to chase the red mecanno guy up… I have refunded everyone…  why would I fake them… they're not even the right size… they are slightly bigger… again something I just can't understand
1:10:20
Q.  Where do you see your position in the future?
To be honest with you it all depends if they'll have me.  Some people for me, some aren't… I understand… I don't know… I've got a load of baggies I won't sell as they're my collection but I have a load here I will sell… this is why I want to go to Frank… then I can go on ebay and sell them and be completely reassured they're not a problem and that's what I want to do
1:11:46
Q.  At the next FF I want you to be there.  You've been open and honest and you've made it clear you want to make things right.  If you were at FF and if people brought baggies you're happy to check, chat and not hide anything here?
I'm the lowest I've ever been… this is not the Jeff people know…
1:12:46
Q.  to be honest you're coming on and talking to us says what the type of guy you are.  You're not hiding.  With TT nobody could get a hold of.  You've come on here… you've made a few mistakes and you want to make amends and not hide.  Not hope it goes away.  It's not done in the best way … you want to sort this out.  You have to accept you have to sort this… come to FF and address everyone with a concern.  I don't get the impression you're not a mastermind of evil… get this sorted… it can end well. 
I have nothing to hide.  I'm a collector of baggies and sold about 5 or 600 of them.  I keep buying them but not as much.  I lost enthusiasm this last year.. hope people still buy them off me… the graders are there to help… sure I'll ask people are you grading or collecting… then I could send fake to collectors and genuine for grading…  some of the text on the baggies from Frank (assuming pics on swfuk) they're blotchy.. but some of the ones I have are not.  They're perfect and I've sold 4 batches of SW ones and 3 batches of ESB ones… sold sets, kept sets… take them to Frank.  He can be judge and jury… then Frank can say right guys I've checked them all and all Jeff's are correct and I can sell them knowing Frank has checked and I'd be happy with that…. A lot of people are baying for my blood… I'm not that type of person.  I'm open to questions. Email me.  I put a thread on FB but I've told it's in the wrong place and I can't find it out.  Grant said this is the best place to get your message across
1:17:36
Q.  The post you put on FB is in a pinned post… kind of hidden but however what you've written has now been transferred onto the forum
Oh thanks… wouldn't have a clue.. don't do a lot of that…
Q.  Thanks for your time
Thanks for having me
Q.  Our pleasure to have you on.  Were you manufacturing baggies?
No.
Q. Were previously identified fake baggies sold by you… we've asked you time and time again
No… I haven't purposefully sold… especially not on ebay… they're in the box… biggest problem I get is split baggies or tape coming away and it's common issue….
Q.  This has been your side.  A one side story so far
I have baggies in my collection that Frank said is now right that I will not sell.  I do not agree with him as I've checked them and they look right to me… take them to Frank.  Me and Grant go to meet him together… amount of baggies I've sold compared to fake is small… got 300 left…
Q.  We will get the other side one and ask them to reply
Sure
Q.  Thanks for coming on.

 

[newswseller]

I found this on the web, it shows some of the fetts he was selling at FF in Q1 2016

Source
http://www.pictaram.com/media/1235544268820189858_466379867

 

[edd_jedi]

If anybody reading this thread has sold a loose or loose graded light blue Fett to Jeff, please can you post photos of them in this thread or even just let us know you sold them. Matching a loose figure he has personally bought to a baggie he has later sold is the easiest way of confirming he is making the fakes.

 

[Cymonguk]

Here is a question related to the above that concerns me, that someone has mentioned in passing, but I have not collected any baggies so I don't know the scene. What proportion of baggies come through Jeff? On one hand if he is the major seller then of course he will sell more fakes (by sheer numbers alone), on the other hand it points to a serious worry.

Generally when someone has a successful business model, in this case buying up baggie collections/sets, and selling for profit that model is often ripped off unless there is a specific barrier to entry. In this case Jeff tells us he just buys up US stuff (mainly from ebay in his interview and letters) and imports in big lots to avoid shipping problems. There seems to be no reason another buyer couldn't do this, hence I would expect some competition.

a) If there is competition who are the big sellers, and what is their rate of fakes, have we missed ones coming from those people?

b) If there is no competition, why not, I could set up the same model with the appropriate investment. So why has nobody done this, what is the barrier that is stopping people. As an example I am sure I could talk to Iainitfc and agree a model for him to ship stuff over from the US in lots that I had bought for a handling cost. Is the barrier something else (i.e. a specific contact(s) who is selling lots of these items to jeff)

I do understand that as per the claim that some of these were bought a long time ago, and he is continuously selling them off, but it concerns me that Jeff seems to be the major source of baggies and fakes.

Other people have mentioned that this indeed seems unlikely in the response thread, I am moving it here so Edd can clear up the response thread

 

[SideShow]

Images of a Snowtropper Sw-A which Jeff had in his collection for which he was trying to gauge my interest in buying. Photo received: 04/17/14

EDIT - to add date.

 

[SideShow]

Image of Boba Fett baggies sent to me from Jeff when talking through SW-A / SW- B baggies. Guess he was trying to gauge my interest. Date: 09/08/14

 

[edd_jedi]

Too busy running his business to answer questions on the forum. Plenty of time to list stuff for sale on eBay though...

 

[newswseller]

Imagine he needs the cash to pay back all those that bought his baggies..

He's logged on and viewed the forum every day though....

 

[indianawars]

I'm no expert (Although I am a little bit more clued up because of this)

I'm 90% sure that this could be one of Jeff's suspect baggies? The letters in "MADE" looks to be a lot thicker than other examples of genuine ones in this thread.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Star-Wars-D...647646?hash=item3f747337de:g:zXoAAOSwLEtYi2kB

 

[Cymonguk]

Acrylic case is flawless and will come in its original plastic wrapping. Just removed it once to take pictures.

Huh?? Am I missing something here?