Long Time suspected FAKE baggies scam / seller

Star Wars Forum UK - British Fan Community for Toys, Movies & Collecting

Help Support Star Wars Forum UK:

laurencedyer said:
to then get home to find my house bloody burgled :evil:

Oh hell, sorry to hear about this Laurence. Awful situation, and I am sure I speak for others when I thank you for making time to post this when you obviously have other **** going on.

One thing I noticed with Laurence's text images, which I may have missed earlier in the thread, is Jeff knows his baggies well enough to identify them by type. That can only mean he has spent time looking at them all for identification purposes, so I just don't buy any reasoning that he didn't notice especially some of the more glaring issues in authenticity. :(

Ian
 
I wanted to say a few words about the pod cast to make clear my position regarding it & the team.

First & foremost - they do not deserve any negative messages or personal attacks & the finger of blame being pointed, they did what they felt was right & I regard many of them as good collecting friends, please stop it folks, they did what they thought was right at the time end of.

Though done with the best of intentions I disagree with it having been done for a number of reasons which I think are well justified which I will list below -

1. the OP on here was just the preliminary finding & more info was being gathered to back up the initial post, before that could happen the onslaught started about wording & he said she said which turned the whole thread in to a mess & only further delayed more evidence being presented & yes there is more still, so in short the pod cast was done before 90% of the information needed was even addressed.

2. Jeff spoke to myself on the phone I even helped him to the point of saying what evidence he would need to present to clear this up if indeed he is innocent, he agreed to come on here & put his information forward & I do believe if the podcast had not gone ahead he would have had no option but to have come on to face the music & subsequently all the folks on here would have had the same chance to either vindicate him on his evidence or further investigate him accordingly in the same written manor that they have with myself, this was about hard facts not if he or I are nice guys, & I made the choice of it being on a platform that is more permanent then face book or a spoken interview for the plain & simple reason that everyone can look at/digest & make their minds up about it & comment on both sides easily, Jeff saying he is not tech savvy is a total fabrication, he has been using ebay for a number of years easily & it's a more problematic format that a forum by a big margin when you start to consider paypal/returns & dealing with off ebay sales & returns via email to boot.

3. the biggest issue for me was that although the podcast could well have been an acceptable format for his reply to this even if not ideal it was not due to insufficient information at hand for the team to go on for adequate & repellent questions in the form of directed bullet points, below are a few straight off the top of my head that ideally should have been thought about & exactly what I have told Richard myself via FB message -

1. have you got some proof in photo form of all the returned fakes that you have taken out of circulation.

2. Have you got any records & or screen shots of payments made on bulk lots, with lists & photos of the fakes being offered to you.

3. can you comment on where all the trash monster & commando suspect baggies came from.

4. whats the story behind the fake Bossk mailers boxes & paperwork.

5.some time ago a member on RS called you out about fake paperwork on an EB set & also a fake box on a boba fett mailer can you explain.

6. may we ask how long you have had the palitoy POTF baggies which are in question & do you remember where they came from.

7.we see you have a genuine ESB-b baggie in your own collection, how come you have been selling others in multiples which are clearly different than the one in your own collection - the list goes on & on.

So in short if the podcast team had has the forethought to simple contact the investigations team prior to the interview many of these points could have been raised & a clearer picture come to in the interview.

As said I am in no way knocking what they did or any of them personally, I think they were "trying" do do the right thing, though I am knocking the way it was hastily & haphazardly mangled together without any serious consideration beforehand.
 
Ian_C said:
One thing I noticed with Laurence's text images, which I may have missed earlier in the thread, is Jeff knows his baggies well enough to identify them by type. That can only mean he has spent time looking at them all for identification purposes, so I just don't buy any reasoning that he didn't notice especially some of the more glaring issues in authenticity. :(

Ian

I know Jeff uses SWFUK all the time for my guide as a reference to I.D his baggies, oddly enough not a single one of those Palitoy-i yaks were for sale in the until recently confirmed open baggies types till I added them to the guide, I will also go a step further to say that although they have been confirmed as a baggie type, with the simple nature of the baggie (it having never been sealed & open one end) it is the perfect target for a simple figure swap, something I have said many times not just on here, although a known & confirmed baggie, there is simple no way to authenticate one as being put up for sale as having the correct figure & as such a type no grading company would authenticate less grade.

Till I put that type in the guide I had only ever seen tape sealed examples of the yak in that baggie & only maybe 5 or 6 confirmed to exist worldwide - suddenly there are loads of examples available for sale, not just from Jeff may I add.
 
Frunkstar said:
Ian_C said:
One thing I noticed with Laurence's text images, which I may have missed earlier in the thread, is Jeff knows his baggies well enough to identify them by type. That can only mean he has spent time looking at them all for identification purposes, so I just don't buy any reasoning that he didn't notice especially some of the more glaring issues in authenticity. :(

Ian

I know Jeff uses SWFUK all the time for my guide as a reference to I.D his baggies, oddly enough not a single one of those Palitoy-i yaks were for sale in the until recently confirmed open baggies types till I added them to the guide, I will also go a step further to say that although they have been confirmed as a baggie type, with the simple nature of the baggie (it having never been sealed & open one end) it is the perfect target for a simple figure swap, something I have said many times not just on here, although a known & confirmed baggie, there is simple no way to authenticate one as being put up for sale as having the correct figure & as such a type no grading company would authenticate less grade.

Till I put that type in the guide I had only ever seen tape sealed examples of the yak in that baggie & only maybe 5 or 6 confirmed to exist worldwide - suddenly there are loads of examples available for sale, not just from Jeff may I add.

EDIT: & always in the open ended baggies
 
Funnily enough, Jeff responded to me with this communication whilst I was on my Amanaman run.
I pasted a copy of my research thread from this very forum and his responce was Wow and that he would read it in his spare time, which to me suggested that he had opened it up and took an initial view.

Not so tech unsavvy I'd suggest.

The art of an illusionist is in the misdirection!!!
 

Attachments

  • 20170114_161415.png
    20170114_161415.png
    39.2 KB
I'm far from defending the guy but not entirely sure its fair to post his phone number on a public forum
 
lejackal said:
I'm far from defending the guy but not entirely sure its fair to post his phone number on a public forum


You are totally correct and I hadn't noticed it was in the screen shot.
I have temporarily removed it and will edit the screen shot and repost.
 
I'm going to put a transcript of comments from the podcast here for historical purposes. This may take a while (I've lots to do) so bear with me. It will just be the facts and not the waffle. Here's the first question I will tackle as it's the most damning at the moment.

Q. (58:25) 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.

End 1:02:03
 
First I have to salute Edd for his shift yesterday you deserve a medal mate ; )

Sending personnel attacks towards people via pm is not cool, I think it's clear the PC team jumped the gun and rushed the PC, and I stand by the fact I thought it was tacky, I think there hearts were probably in the right place and the fact jeff was found to be lieing on record Is the one positive to be taking from it....not that there is anything positive about any of this

Some of the posts on here do not make for good reading and are rather embaressing tbh, I've heard people referring to us as "the team" as if it's some kind of them and us type situation and that's not how it is and it's sad that people would think that as all this has been about is getting to the bottom of what's going on regarding these fake baggies and the person they are coming from who has far from straight arrows

Despite the rocky start hope we can all come together as one big team and nail these fakes down as that was the intention from the beginning
 
Mike, I'll accept that as your viewpoint.

Now see it from most of us neutrals. Look back at the OP - think about 'jumped the gun' what we had, only Edd and yourself posting with regularity and then look at what we were given a few days later. Can you see why most of us were not wanting to jump in line? Some of us have known about this investigation for months. We were waiting for good evidence.

However, you're correct and we need to unite and move on to get the facts.
 
This communication is why I always believed that Jeff had a supply source down south and is possibly a front man for a bigger operation. I always believed there was someone down south sitting on a large cache of baggies that was not Jeff, I also believe and that is all it is my own belief that someone is using him to pump these newer fakes into the market. Let's face it the watering hole in the desert has to dry up at some point but the camel's still need watering.

Just one slip of the tongue, but at 21.15 in the evening he is surely at home and refers to picking it up tomorrow. Not conclusive or incriminating by any means but picking it up from where? The baggie factory guy's?
 

Attachments

  • 20170114_162224.png
    20170114_162224.png
    54.1 KB
I see where you are coming from Richard and I don't think anyone was ever expected to jump into line as people are going to make there own mind up and come to there own conclusion and express own opinions it's clear there was always going to be a **** storm with this how ever it came out

I say you jumped the gun and at the same time we were prob to slow to react, truth be told it all spiralled very quickly

I don't see the point in going over and over the way this all came out, i think everyone has given there opinion on that, I think we should be taking steps forward instead of backwards at this point
 
I still haven't heard Jeffs interview could someone please put up a link thanks.
 
http://swtvrpodcast.podbean.com/e/microcast-a-baggie-report-part-one/
 
Just curious have you guys looked at his recent sales to see if any of those are questionable baggies? Not being a baggie guy I really don't have the skill to look them over but you can go to his feedback and see all the way back to a Yoda baggie probably 15-20 sales there of baggie figures. Also he still has two for sale now, are those correct? Just curious with this breaking it would be pretty bold of him to sell fakes on while we are discussing his sales.

http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=j10e5f6f6&ftab=AllFeedback
 
Not sure what to click to edit my post, but you can also go to his sales and hit completed items and see a lot of items he had had recently and there are a ton of baggies in there also.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/j10e5f6f6/m.html?LH_Complete=1&rt=nc&_trksid=p2046732.m1684

*I figured out how to edit so I can add these posts together if you want or leave them seperate.
 
It's a good point, I did notice that he pulled this baggie listing following the accusations:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/401256528425

However he didn't end the others still running. Implies he knew this one was fake IMO. I think it was glossed over in the torrent of posts, but I counted 499 baggies sold by Jeff on eBay.
 
One thing I don't think many have focused on yet is the ease with which Jeff gave people refunds. Initially, folks cited that as evidence of what a "good guy" Jeff is. As I have heard these refunds discussed over and over, it sounds more to me that he HALF EXPECTED these refund requests to occur (half requested perhaps if he wasn't making these but did have a strong suspicion he was selling on fakes made by someone else) or maybe even FULLY expected the refund requests (as in if he was in fact the one making the fakes so knew they would be noticed by at least a few buyers).

In order to save face and make sure no one made a big commotion, the refunds flowed quickly, no questions asked.

Even the nicest seller at least will occasionally press a buyer asking for a refund request to make sure the buyer isn't being shady himself by doing a bait and switch, etc.

That didn't happen here. Quite the contrary; if a seller knows he is selling fakes, he is taking a risk that the buyer doesn't notice the fake. If the buyer doesn't notice, then the fraud is complete. If the buyer does notice, then the seller can issue a quick refund, get the item back, and sell it on to a new buyer he hopes won't be as detail oriented as the next buyer.

Just my $.02 on an angle I am not sure anyone else has discussed. I'm not so sure Jeff issued refunds quickly with no questions asked because he is a "swell guy." Based on all said so far it's just as likely he was doing so both to cover his track and also because he could just pay to get the item back and pass it on to another buyer he hoped was a schmuck that wouldn't notice the issue. Perhaps that's why he didn't want to send the SW-a bag Han Solo for Andrew Neo through Frank.

My advice is that instead of continuing to fault Frank or the VR guys for the initial presentation of either side, let's focus on where we go from here and continuing to discuss the evidence that has been presented so far. Such as I did above.
 
edd_jedi said:
It's a good point, I did notice that he pulled this baggie listing following the accusations:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/401256528425

However he didn't end the others still running. Implies he knew this one was fake IMO. I think it was glossed over in the torrent of posts, but I counted 499 baggies sold by Jeff on eBay.

I am also of the firm mind the power droid is a fake & it was pulled due to being so, though the ROTJ-a thats still listed (wait for it to disappear) is another that is in question but has not yet been dealt with in detail, but it will be, I have cross checked it against confirmed legit examples & there is an issue with it, pointless it being removed as I have one here I bought from him when he listed the first, I jumped on it as its one I had been trying to track down for many a year & it being insanely difficult to get with it only making one confirmed appearance n a MP, maybe 2 but thats not confirmed, so when another turned up the following week from the same seller I was like wow another, then another & another &,well you get the picture.

I will post my finding about this particular baggie type as soon as I am able, I have not been as active as I would like, but have a few things going on, which include a stinking cold & no water at all or heating of any kind in the home due to a back boiler leak, so please consider this if you are wondering WTF I am with further evidence, I will try to start digesting all the emails between myself & Jeff tomorrow, one thing is certain, he is not just selling things from his own collection of 1000 baggies he has had from many years from his own collection, I have multiple emails with him sharing this large batch & that large next batch he has coming in from the states for onward sale & yes I will get all the screen shots on here in due time to back up what I am saying, i am as I have said only one man though & I can't be on here for 60 hours a day when there's only 24 & many of those house taken up by other commitments like family.

Please be patient folks, more is soon to be forthcoming, though as has been clearly stated by others on here - no concrete proof he is actually making them himself, as short of photos of him painting them himself it's a point that may well never be confirmed nor disproved unless he would like to come on & shown us some evidence to the contrary which I would suggest is the way forward as there must be some kind of paper-trail with the sum's involved surely??
 
edd_jedi said:
Although this is just a theory, I also think the recent posts by the other accusers discredit Jeff's claim in the podcast that there is no financial incentive for either selling or potentially making fake baggies. Andrew's example above, two loose figures worth a total of £30 are suddenly worth £500+ when in the correct baggie type. The blue Fetts Frank posted, £750+ each for figures worth £100 loose. Palitoy Yak Face baggies, £400+ for £100 figures. Saying there is no financial incentive here is nonsense regardless of how well off you are.

This had me thinking there was plenty of Tri Fetts knocking around on TT cards and have obviously taken a hit in price since the scandal, when did these Tri Fett baggies start appearing? They were pretty much a grail item a few years back.
At £750 a pop that would be an incentive..
 
Question please guys as I am no I.T wiz, how do I search my ebay feedback from further back & see what the item was as it just says "more than a year ago & the item number", no description & the number links don't work after so long & no view item link as it would help me.
 
Bootyhunter said:
edd_jedi said:
Although this is just a theory, I also think the recent posts by the other accusers discredit Jeff's claim in the podcast that there is no financial incentive for either selling or potentially making fake baggies. Andrew's example above, two loose figures worth a total of £30 are suddenly worth £500+ when in the correct baggie type. The blue Fetts Frank posted, £750+ each for figures worth £100 loose. Palitoy Yak Face baggies, £400+ for £100 figures. Saying there is no financial incentive here is nonsense regardless of how well off you are.

This had me thinking there was plenty of Tri Fetts knocking around on TT cards and have obviously taken a hit in price since the scandal, when did these Tri Fett baggies start appearing? They were pretty much a grail item a few years back.
At £750 a pop that would be an incentive..

The idea that faked baggies could be being manufactured from old TT or Billy Boy stock is of a huge worry, after all what did TT do with all his remaining stock of carded & mint figures once his goose was cooked & what did Billy Boy do all those years back with his stockpile of mint unused genuine palitoy baggies he was doing all his fakes in?. I am not inferring Jeff is making them form this kind of stock, but I have been worried for a long time that someone could well be.
 
Frunkstar said:
Question please guys as I am no I.T wiz, how do I search my ebay feedback from further back & see what the item was as it just says "more than a year ago & the item number", no description & the number links don't work after so long & no view item link as it would help me.

Frank - I haven't done it myself but the bottom post here may help: http://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Buying-on-eBay/how-do-I-view-my-purchase-history-from-more-than-12-months/qaq-p/3708815

PayPal goes back much further than eBay, so you may have some details hidden in there too.
 
I just want to say that it's great everyone who has been affected by this are now working together to at least start to try and piece things together.

I don't know anyone on this forum and have watched this thread spiral into the abyss, then slowly gain some common sense again. I read the OP and didn't need any other explanation, Frank had nothing to gain and lots to loose. He's spent years putting his baggy guide together why should he sit back and watch someone completely ruin a part of the hobby he is so passionate about.

Frank there was nothing wrong with the way the OP was put together, it's not your fault it took Edd 2 days of slapping everyone around the face and saying wake up and smell the coffee for the tide to turn.

I really hope Frank, Edd and the others have had plenty of PM's with the subject 'I apologise'. :?
 
I wanted to thank Frank AFA and CAS for their help with this. I just hope Jeff doesn't disappear like Scott McWilliams and makes this right not just with me but everyone he took advantage of. I sent in one of the two Fett pieces I bought from Jeff into CAS. I have new information from CAS here -

Hi Marty -

I received your Boba Fett figure and just examined it. Unfortunately I do have to agree with AFA on their outcome with this piece. It has had paint touch-up at some point in time both on the nose and the belt. It is tough to see with the naked eye but under an 800x microscope it is very clear. I also noticed and believe the rocket has been replaced on this one as well. There are small pry marks on the top of the rocket holder and with the Palitoy Fetts the rocket can be removed since they aren't sonic welded in like the US versions. I've attached a few pics from our scope, take a look at them and I think you'll see the touch-ups for yourself.
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20170114-154715.png
    Screenshot_20170114-154715.png
    173.4 KB
  • Screenshot_20170114-154728.png
    Screenshot_20170114-154728.png
    182.2 KB
Sorry to hear you have been had with two of these Marty, i also had one of these (wasn't cheap) of jeff, one of my favorite pieces i had on display which i have recently chucked in a draw and don't fancy looking at again anytime soon
 
Frank, et al.,

As you guys look at these baggies you may also inspect for paint touched figures. If varying baggie types have repaints in them then that lends more credence to one creator/source as it is hard to believe that baggies found in the US and baggies found in the UK would be from varying sources but all also have retouched figures. Just a suggestion anyway.
 
Hello Folks

Although i have had an account for several years this is my first post on the forum so i may not get it quite right. i am part of the investigation group i havent been able to respond until now due to an ongoing illness for the past few weeks and due to this haven't been as involved as i would like in the investigation group. I have had at least 30 baggies from Jeff over the past 4 years and agree that he has been very friendly and never refuses to refund when i have sent back baggies that were not right or were clearly 100% fake

Although i have purchased many genuine baggies mailers from Jeff i have however shared concerns with Frank over the past couple of years discussing certain baggies that i purchased from Jeff or have been offered by him that were either out n out Fake or were highly odd or suspisious. I Im not one to ramble so lets get down to the evidence i will provide this over several posts

Firstly The Solo baggie

I contacted Frank on 22/09/2015 with regards this Han baggie which he has on the guide as it remained unconfirmed.

i purchased it off ebay around 2014 but cant find it in the ebay purchases as i cant go back further than 2015 i am however looking through paypal records so cant confirm it came directly from Jeff but was purchased from ebay however the crease in the baggie is identical to the one in the guide in length angle etc also its such a dam unusual baggie unlike anything i have previously seen before the material is fairly crisp but very thin with no print it is clearly the same baggie Frank confirmed he had purchased and sent back to jeff for a refund previously

i sent the pictures of it to Frank at the time and his very words were "Let me guess, you bought it from Jeff?" pic of email attached

Frank confirmed he had previously he bought from Jeff and returned it as Frank stated I bought it, checked it & also asked Steve about it, sent it straight back for a refund as I can not confirm it & it does not conform to any other baggies types I have identified".

SAM_3253.JPG

SAM_3254.JPG

file.php
 

Latest posts

Back
Top