I suppose it's possible that it's stolen property from a warehouse or store. 

Then again, doing a completed search for the Absolutes you mentioned, they're all by the same seller who has ZERO feedback and he's only been listing auctions for the past 2 weeks.  I don't know.  If I were a thief and had come across a cache of Absolutes, I probably would sell them for a lot higher than $20 especially when you consider he's also offering free shipping.  I also noticed that he supposedly offered 1st prints of Invincible #1 for only $20 and Walking Dead #1-3 for $18?!   Personally, I'd be really suspicious which is probably why many of his auctions didn't even get a bid. 

Hopefully it turns out real, but I would keep a close eye on the 45-day deadline for contesting e-bay auctions if I were you.  Hopefully you paid via credit card with your Paypal account.  High-priced items for cheap, free shipping, stock images, multiple copies, new seller with no feedback-- it just seems fishy.   Other things to worry about:  His first auction ended on June 10th, but he set up his account on the 15th?  Plus, his bio said he used to work at a comic shop.  Maybe that's where he got them although he must've been working for an incredibly stupid retailer if he stole them all and wasn't found out.  Even if his boss did let him legitimately order the books wholesale, the price would've been a lot higher than $20.  The final nail in the coffin?  He says he's moving to Brazil in a month-- which would give him enough time to run with the $ before people start Paypal inquiries.  Sure, people often sell stuff when they move but I'm always leery of these auctions because if the move is real and they are scammers, you can kiss your $ goodbye.  You know what they say if a deal sounds too good to be true. . . 

Some of the other low-priced HCs that you mentioned could be some of that massive clearance overstock that showed up at places like B&N or were offered to retailers.  

Last Edited By: leveret1 Jul 24 10 8:12 PM. Edited 3 times.