Thomas Killeen "Tombocombo" And His 52 Topps? Weird Bids - Ending Tonight on Ebay

[Leon]

Interesting bidding. Hopefully Thomas can explain the situations. I was shown this on another forum (BO) through a PM.

[Republicaninmass]

thannks Leon, ive been cancelling bids to leave him holding the bag.

[Schlesinj]

I have bid on 4 of his cards (and currently winning a few) and saw a user name several accounts with 1,063 feedback with s**l user name, interesting...

How do you even cancel a bid? Does that hurt my meager less than 200 feedback?

[doug.goodman]

Originally Posted by Schlesinj

I have bid on 4 of his cards (and currently winning a few) and saw a user name several accounts with 1,063 feedback with s**l user name, interesting...

How do you even cancel a bid? Does that hurt my meager less than 200 feedback?

Check the bid history, the shilling is pretty obvious (usually).

Nothing will hurt your feedback, because as a buyer nobody really cares.

I'm the reason that high bidder on the Howie Fox card has the 13 highest bids.

If somebody were to bid $2991 it would not be quite enough to become the high bidder...

Although in 24 minutes I wouldn't be surprised if the current high bidder were to cancel his bids

[irv]

Things that make you go, Hmm.

[hammertime]

It's possible someone with the same feedback score bid on it right? I'm pretty sure ebay won't let you bid on your own auctions.

[doug.goodman]

Originally Posted by hammertime

It's possible someone with the same feedback score bid on it right? I'm pretty sure ebay won't let you bid on your own auctions.

Well, anything is "possible", I have friends who tell me March 4 is when Trump becomes the president again.

The auctions are via probstein, so not "his own" auctions exactly.

The seller has two ebay handles of their own, yet uses a known shill seller for his collection, that's a couple red flags already, in my mind.

The "coincidence" of a shared feedback rating is a bit too much for my tastes.

Doug "but hey, maybe, could be. You should bid $2991 on the Fox" Goodman

[swarmee]

Originally Posted by hammertime

It's possible someone with the same feedback score bid on it right? I'm pretty sure ebay won't let you bid on your own auctions.

That's why he submitted them to Probstein... consignors shilling their auctions there or on PWCC is commonplace. But no, eBay doesn't do shit about it.

Has anyone notified Rick to see if he'll cancel the auctions?

[tombocombo]

1952 topps bids
tck6286

Fri, Jan 22, 2:46 AM (2 days ago)

to Hank

I wish to have transparency as always in my life. Yes I did bid on a few of the cards for these specific reasons.
1) my decision was quick and regretted the Leo Durocher
2) none of the cards that directly affect the registry were bid on as the top pops will be bid in an open manner. Most of the top pops have zero or 1 or 2 bids presently.
3) a father and son team with an eBay rating of 1 were upset i was selling and can only bid on 10 items. They called and asked for bids on HOF cards and Red Sox which I did. ( they do not affect any other bids.) None of you need $20 commons in a PSA 1
4) putting a bid of 20% to 30% of value a few cards to stimulate bidding in general i do not see as detrimental to bidding outcome.
5) if Ted will tell me what cards he likes I will make every effort to see they sell as high as possible to repay all he has done to me and the group inflating and years of shillings and market manipulation. So please ask him to specifically state what cards he wants as I thought he liked overinflated prices to protect his assets.
6) I see the auction as very beneficial to the signed set community as it is bringing attention this esoteric market.
7) the three top set holders have a 209 Howie Fox and this attention only brings value to
theirs.
8) I will sincerely miss the camaraderie of Hank, Tom. In a perverse way Ted will be missed also as I believe the set is truly important to him. He just needs a better understanding of rules of engagement and civility.
9) Had another man ask tonight if I would bid a few cards for him tonight and I would have; however he was disappointed as I just don't think it is worth it.
Tom killeen

Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

this is an email i sent to another collector of signed 1952 topps set on Friday January 22nd. Of course i regret my decision and can not undo it. In reality had second thoughts on my decision selling off my set so quickly. Yes this is aslo not the publicity or reputation one wishes to not to have garnered; however I did do these things. tom killeen

[Lorewalker]

Originally Posted by swarmee

That's why he submitted them to Probstein... consignors shilling their auctions there or on PWCC is commonplace. But no, eBay doesn't do shit about it.

Has anyone notified Rick to see if he'll cancel the auctions?

Sadly it goes on with auction sites outside of ebay, still, much more than one would think and not just by dealers but lots of collectors too, protecting their cards.

[Leon]

Thanks for the explanation...

Originally Posted by tombocombo

1952 topps bids
tck6286

Fri, Jan 22, 2:46 AM (2 days ago)

to Hank

I wish to have transparency as always in my life. Yes I did bid on a few of the cards for these specific reasons.
1) my decision was quick and regretted the Leo Durocher
2) none of the cards that directly affect the registry were bid on as the top pops will be bid in an open manner. Most of the top pops have zero or 1 or 2 bids presently.
3) a father and son team with an eBay rating of 1 were upset i was selling and can only bid on 10 items. They called and asked for bids on HOF cards and Red Sox which I did. ( they do not affect any other bids.) None of you need $20 commons in a PSA 1
4) putting a bid of 20% to 30% of value a few cards to stimulate bidding in general i do not see as detrimental to bidding outcome.
5) if Ted will tell me what cards he likes I will make every effort to see they sell as high as possible to repay all he has done to me and the group inflating and years of shillings and market manipulation. So please ask him to specifically state what cards he wants as I thought he liked overinflated prices to protect his assets.
6) I see the auction as very beneficial to the signed set community as it is bringing attention this esoteric market.
7) the three top set holders have a 209 Howie Fox and this attention only brings value to
theirs.
8) I will sincerely miss the camaraderie of Hank, Tom. In a perverse way Ted will be missed also as I believe the set is truly important to him. He just needs a better understanding of rules of engagement and civility.
9) Had another man ask tonight if I would bid a few cards for him tonight and I would have; however he was disappointed as I just don't think it is worth it.
Tom killeen

Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

this is an email i sent to another collector of signed 1952 topps set on Friday January 22nd. Of course i regret my decision and can not undo it. In reality had second thoughts on my decision selling off my set so quickly. Yes this is aslo not the publicity or reputation one wishes to not to have garnered; however I did do these things. tom killeen

[doug.goodman]

Good of him to send you that message Leon

The bidding pattern for Howie Fox is still not good...

[Leon]

Originally Posted by doug.goodman

Good of him to send you that message Leon

The bidding pattern for Howie Fox is still not good...

In that message from Thomas above, it says it was to Hank. I was just thanking Thomas for responding. Nothing more or less.

.

[tombocombo]

It was an email i had sent two days ago to another board member expressing my regrets, actions, and general feelings.

[Republicaninmass]

if Ted will tell me what cards he likes I will make every effort to see they sell as high as possible to repay all he has done to me and the group inflating and years of shillings and market manipulation. So please ask him to specifically state what cards he wants as I thought he liked overinflated prices to protect his assets.


I just have to laugh. Usually I wouldnt engage, but this is classic. Did you try all morning to come with this, and that's the best you could do? You acted the fool and got caught. You are bidding on 100 of you OWN auctions.


There was a total of ONE signed 52 topps card I didnt pay for,and i bought it for half the next week. However, I will string bid your tired ebay IDs up to just before your silly .88 on the end. Well you did .22 a few times and I had to buy the card. It was worth it.

Btw a little birdies told me about your Mantle deal. You are not "serving the community" buy dumping them all at once, you are trying to avoid sales tax in the psa 6oc mantle you paid 50k for from probstein by, using consignments. The single WORST way to dump a set.

You ALWAYS could have cancelled you bid. In this hobby, you are now six feet under a snakes belly.

[Rhotchkiss]

Not a good look to bid on your own auctions, period.

[Republicaninmass]

Just as a note, I dont need any of the cards you are shilling, ahem, selling.

Did you email Hank about the nippy jones you outbid him on. A friggin psa 3MC Nippy jones?? really trying to MAX out those prices eh? Hw long did it take you see go through the sets and see who needed upgrades? You are so transparent.


I honestly wouldnt pee on your cards if they were on fire. Although I would hope the fire wouldn't spread, there are better uses for my urine.

You left a virtual footprint a mile long. For someone who claims they play chess, this wasnt exactly the Queen's gambit, it was child's play, a ROOKie move.

Check Mate, and really sad to see you go

[Republicaninmass]

Originally Posted by tombocombo

It was an email i had sent two days ago to another board member expressing my regrets, actions, and general feelings.

I alerted Hank you were doing this, and he didnt respond... on 1/22

HA, just spoke to Hank! He told me how he saw my email WHILE HE WAS ON THE PHONE WITH YOU, and AFTER he told you, you sent your apology!


You CANT make this shit up!

[7nohitter]

Originally Posted by tombocombo

1952 topps bids
tck6286

Fri, Jan 22, 2:46 AM (2 days ago)

to Hank

I wish to have transparency as always in my life. Yes I did bid on a few of the cards for these specific reasons.
1) my decision was quick and regretted the Leo Durocher
2) none of the cards that directly affect the registry were bid on as the top pops will be bid in an open manner. Most of the top pops have zero or 1 or 2 bids presently.
3) a father and son team with an eBay rating of 1 were upset i was selling and can only bid on 10 items. They called and asked for bids on HOF cards and Red Sox which I did. ( they do not affect any other bids.) None of you need $20 commons in a PSA 1
4) putting a bid of 20% to 30% of value a few cards to stimulate bidding in general i do not see as detrimental to bidding outcome.
5) if Ted will tell me what cards he likes I will make every effort to see they sell as high as possible to repay all he has done to me and the group inflating and years of shillings and market manipulation. So please ask him to specifically state what cards he wants as I thought he liked overinflated prices to protect his assets.
6) I see the auction as very beneficial to the signed set community as it is bringing attention this esoteric market.
7) the three top set holders have a 209 Howie Fox and this attention only brings value to
theirs.
8) I will sincerely miss the camaraderie of Hank, Tom. In a perverse way Ted will be missed also as I believe the set is truly important to him. He just needs a better understanding of rules of engagement and civility.
9) Had another man ask tonight if I would bid a few cards for him tonight and I would have; however he was disappointed as I just don't think it is worth it.
Tom killeen

Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

this is an email i sent to another collector of signed 1952 topps set on Friday January 22nd. Of course i regret my decision and can not undo it. In reality had second thoughts on my decision selling off my set so quickly. Yes this is aslo not the publicity or reputation one wishes to not to have garnered; however I did do these things. tom killeen

Friggin Idiot.

[swarmee]

Don't see any mention of this on Collector's Universe PSA message board. Anyone want to post it over there to warn them?

Or on that other message board?

I already informed the Sports Collectors Daily Facebook page; maybe they'll update their article from last week.

[7nohitter]

Originally Posted by swarmee

Don't see any mention of this on Collector's Universe PSA message board. Anyone want to post it over there to warn them?

Or on that other message board?

I already informed the Sports Collectors Daily Facebook page; maybe they'll update their article from last week.

It's been posted on BO

[roarfrom34]

and Hank is????

[swarmee]

Looks like it's Henry Levy:
https://www.psacard.com/psasetregist...hs-basic/13985

So Tom, why didn't you just get Rick to remove your items from sale instead of shilling them if you had a change of heart?
And why shill with multiple accounts; to avoid being caught longer?

[Schlesinj]

IMG_2768.jpg

Another person with 186 feedback? Sorry it is Warren Spahn if interested. Not skilled with this phone.

[swarmee]

Images waaaay too small to read.

[Republicaninmass]

Originally Posted by swarmee

Looks like it's Henry Levy:
https://www.psacard.com/psasetregist...hs-basic/13985

So Tom, why didn't you just get Rick to remove your items from sale instead of shilling them if you had a change of heart?
And why shill with multiple accounts; to avoid being caught longer?

Yes, that Hank and his son Scott. Both members here whom I alerted

Jan 21, 2021, 3:08 PM to Thomas actions.


a day before Tom sent him the supposed email. To reiterate, he was on the phone with Tom when it was recieved!


Why spread the bids 60% on each account?

[swarmee]

Originally Posted by Schlesinj

Attachment 437232

Another person with 186 feedback? Sorry it is Warren Spahn if interested. Not skilled with this phone.

eBay changed the way their obscure the usernames multiple ways in the past year, seemingly to make it harder for people to find shilling. Kind of like PWCC now has every auction set as Private listing, where you can no longer see any information about bidders. You know, that Salt of the Earth Brent and his band of fellow tax-evaders.

[Flintboy]

So is it acceptable for me to call up a consigner and have that person bid their auctions up on a third party platform? Just place the bid yourself or don’t bid. It really isn’t that difficult.

[swarmee]

Originally Posted by Flintboy

So is it acceptable for me to call up a consigner and have that person bid their auctions up on a third party platform? Just place the bid yourself or don’t bid. It really isn’t that difficult.

Shill bidding is unacceptable on eBay, given that it's against their Terms of Service. Doesn't matter if it's a friend or a coworker or your buying account or the consignment firm themselves.
Shill bidding/hidden reserve bidding is illegal in most states. It is not illegal in Texas if you're informed it could happen, so that is why Heritage Auctions is headquartered in Texas and has Rule 21 in their Terms.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by swarmee

Shill bidding is unacceptable on eBay, given that it's against their Terms of Service. Doesn't matter if it's a friend or a coworker or your buying account or the consignment firm themselves.
Shill bidding/hidden reserve bidding is illegal in most states. It is not illegal in Texas if you're informed it could happen, so that is why Heritage Auctions is headquartered in Texas and has Rule 21 in their Terms.

Isn't it OK as long as you pay for the item and eBay gets their fees? Pretty sure this has been discussed on here several times.

[swarmee]

Originally Posted by bnorth

Isn't it OK as long as you pay for the item and eBay gets their fees? Pretty sure this has been discussed on here several times.

Not according to law or the eBay TOS, AFAIK. Whether or not people do it is different than whether or not it's legally acceptable. And that's how I explain acceptable. This explanation seems like something PWCC would be on board with, though.

Again, if it's written into the auction house's terms of service (which I realize most people don't read), then it's acceptable. If not, it's a slippery slope which culminates in fraud.

[Republicaninmass]

So tom how can people out bid you

At a glance... stimulating bidding on

Actually YOU ARE winning

Posedale at 102.50
Burgess at 202.50
Meyer 119.50
Abram at 92
Black 355


That was out 5 of 6 I checked you are winning You actually bid on the 6th I checked,
adcock with oldstuffsells at 213, now a bidder with 1 feedback Is in the lead.

You apology email to Hank, notice none to the community, had one truth. You ARE transparent!

[doug.goodman]

Originally Posted by bnorth

Isn't it OK as long as you pay for the item and eBay gets their fees? Pretty sure this has been discussed on here several times.

It might be ok, but it's wrong.

[bks14sr]

Well damn, was watching the Joe Black, soured with it’s quick increase. I wonder how often this BS happens. Likely getting dimed on every buy it seems.

[Schlesinj]

Actually I am losing on the Enos Slaughter by the S**L (1,063). I am sure someone will outbid that one.

[Republicaninmass]

Joe black, tom in the lead at 415

[doug.goodman]

never mind

[Republicaninmass]

Tom, you are STILL in the lead on YOIR consignments. Why havent you cancelled your bids?

[jchcollins]

Wow. This is really bad. If Tombo had sellers regret, why wouldn't he call up Rick and cancel? I was not naive enough to think that all shilling on eBay was a thing of the past, but this is just way obvious. Bad...

[Republicaninmass]

cards he didnt shill up literally did 10% of last sales. clearly backlash from signed set collectors.


This did NOTHING to benefit the signed set community. It was away for Tom of AVOID (evade) sales tax on the 52 Mantle psa 6oc he purchased for 49,999 from Probstein weeks earlier.

[Flintboy]

Originally Posted by Republicaninmass

Tom, you are STILL in the lead on YOIR consignments. Why havent you cancelled your bids?

Maybe more people called him up and asked him to place bids on their behalf....

[Republicaninmass]

Zing! People havebasled why I would care, since it would "lift " prices. Simply put , it just ain't right, and it obviously NO way to sell a whole set

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[griffon512]

Originally Posted by Schlesinj

Attachment 437232

Another person with 186 feedback? Sorry it is Warren Spahn if interested. Not skilled with this phone.

That bidder with 186 feedback on eBay was me, and I can assure you I'm not in cahoots with anyone. I happen to have 186 feedback on eBay, and there are many more on eBay that have 186 feedback. Maybe tomorrow it will be 187. I also bid on the Bob Feller if you see someone with 186 feedback in the bidding history there.

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

[Republicaninmass]

Yes, the other ID was same feedback number.


I spoke to rick and had both IDs blocked from further bidding before this went viral

[swarmee]

According to a post on Blowout by the guy who first posted, he contacted Rick Probstein to notify him before his posts and Rick responded.

So Rick was aware of the shilling in his auction and did nothing to stop it, after being directly notified. No cancellations of the auctions, no cancellations of the seller bids, nothing.

Vintagecollect
In Rick's defense (covering my head on my knees for incoming mortars) I email him to ask to block the IDs before I went public. He did so in a matter of minutes, and sent me a screen shot of it done

Pitiful.

[Republicaninmass]

He wrote that he contacted rick and rick blocked both Tom's IDs. But bids werent cancelled

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[Republicaninmass]

And that's just with one seller

Shilling ends tonight



SmartSelect_20210126-152937_Seeking Alpha.jpg

[timzcardz]

Originally Posted by tombocombo

1952 topps bids
tck6286

Fri, Jan 22, 2:46 AM (2 days ago)

to Hank

I wish to have transparency as always in my life. Yes I did bid on a few of the cards for these specific reasons.
1) my decision was quick and regretted the Leo Durocher
2) none of the cards that directly affect the registry were bid on as the top pops will be bid in an open manner. Most of the top pops have zero or 1 or 2 bids presently.
3) a father and son team with an eBay rating of 1 were upset i was selling and can only bid on 10 items. They called and asked for bids on HOF cards and Red Sox which I did. ( they do not affect any other bids.) None of you need $20 commons in a PSA 1
4) putting a bid of 20% to 30% of value a few cards to stimulate bidding in general i do not see as detrimental to bidding outcome.
5) if Ted will tell me what cards he likes I will make every effort to see they sell as high as possible to repay all he has done to me and the group inflating and years of shillings and market manipulation. So please ask him to specifically state what cards he wants as I thought he liked overinflated prices to protect his assets.
6) I see the auction as very beneficial to the signed set community as it is bringing attention this esoteric market.
7) the three top set holders have a 209 Howie Fox and this attention only brings value to
theirs.
8) I will sincerely miss the camaraderie of Hank, Tom. In a perverse way Ted will be missed also as I believe the set is truly important to him. He just needs a better understanding of rules of engagement and civility.
9) Had another man ask tonight if I would bid a few cards for him tonight and I would have; however he was disappointed as I just don't think it is worth it.
Tom killeen

Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

this is an email i sent to another collector of signed 1952 topps set on Friday January 22nd. Of course i regret my decision and can not undo it. In reality had second thoughts on my decision selling off my set so quickly. Yes this is aslo not the publicity or reputation one wishes to not to have garnered; however I did do these things. tom killeen

10) No animals were harmed in the bidding on these cards.




Now THAT'S better!