Motor City sketch...with a difference

[Stan Sakai]

Here is a link to a seller with one of my free sketches from the Motor City Con. This one is different than the other sketches that has appeared on e-bay. Can you guess what it is?

eBay Auction


Spoiler alert!



It looks like this one was altered with that "pigma india ink" to cover up the personalization. The grass doesn't even look like mine. I guess this isn't really a counterfeit--just half a counterfeit.

For the record, what I was using at Motor City was the Uniball Vision fine and micro points.

Here is one by Sergio, but the top of the drawing, where the person's name in the thought balloon would be, is cropped off. It is from the same seller as mine.

eBay Auction

[Steve Hubbell]

I actually saw this earlier today, and sent the seller a question about it, kind of...

Item: stan sakai original art usagi yojimbo (330122485809)
This message was sent while the listing was active.
usagigaijin is a potential buyer.


I take it the black "grassy" looking scribble between Usagi and Stan Sakai's signature is where Stan had originally written the the name of the recipient of the free sketch.

It is pretty pathetic to deface the artwork like that just to cover up the fact that the sketch was personalized to try and prevent it from ending up on ebay. It is also pretty pathetic how the convention scavengers misrepresent themselves as fans just to profit off artwork which they received for free.

[shaxper]

This sort of thing just makes me sick. It's funny that I had stopped to look at my convention sketch (now lovingly displayed on my wall) right before reading this post.

I always feel a little guilty about taking up Stan's time at the convention. I wish these scavengers had a little more humility.

Stan: any recollections on who this guy was?

[MikeM]

That's absolutely wrong.

I dont believe that person defaced the artwork in an attempt to cover up the name so he could sell it?

Some people.

MikeM

[Stan Sakai]

Stan: any recollections on who this guy was?

I have no idea. Sergio and I did a lot of drawings that weekend.

It may not be fully counterfeit, but it certainly is fraud. I really feel sorry for the person who may buy this piece, thinking it really is my original. I saw that Sergio already had a couple of bidders, so I e-mailed him to make him aware of it.

We talked about this e-bay thing on the way home, and Motor City may have been the last time we did these free sketches.

[shaxper]

We talked about this e-bay thing on the way home, and Motor City may have been the last time we did these free sketches.

I sincerely hope that the actions of one or two unscrupulous people won't sour you on the whole experience. I wonder if there's any recourse we can take through ebay to get this seller shut down.

I'll look into it, myself and report back...

[shaxper]

Made some progress. Check out the bold-faced passage below:


“Code of Conduct" for Selling Art on eBay, Inc.

This Code of Conduct has been drawn from specific terms of sale that are considered "general trade practice" within the organized art community. It neither replaces nor supplants eBay's User Agreement or general seller policies, but rather, supplements those policies. Sellers are encouraged to abide by these guidelines when selling works of art on eBay:

*

I agree not to knowingly sell, exhibit, trade, produce, or advertise any unauthorized copy or reproduction of any work of art.
*

I agree that a reproduction (in the form of a poster, print, or exact replica painting) is authorized only if it does not violate any applicable laws, copyrights, or trademarks.
*

I agree to the following conditions when listing an exact replica painting:
1.

The words "Reproduction" or "Repro" are included in the title.
2.

The item description clearly states that the work is a reproduction.

*

I agree that I may include the artist's name in the title of the listing only when listing a work by the artist him/herself or an exact replica of the artist's work. I may not include the artist's name when listing a work done "in the style of" an artist.
*

I agree not to disclaim knowledge of, or responsibility for, the authenticity or legality of an item that I describe as genuine. I further agree not to describe or market any item as genuine if I cannot provide reasonable evidence to prove its authenticity.
*

I agree to fully disclose any information concerning alterations, conservation, or repairs performed on the work of art in a clear and prominent manner within the item description.
*

I agree not to knowingly participate in any way in the advertisement or sale of any work of art using any deceptive practices, including, but not limited to, false or misleading claims of the item's scarcity, value, provenance, condition or investment potential.
*

I agree to abide by all laws relating to the sale of works of art and to assist in the prosecution of violators of the law in this respect.

----------------


I wish there were a clause about selling free art, but we can probably still get him on the alteration issue.

Stan, I think this will only be effective if you make the complaint yourself, since only you can testify that the piece has been modified. If you follow the link below and cite the bold-faced passage above, I think we can stop this guy for good. I know it's an annoying process to go through, but I think some good can come of it.

Report Listing

Your best bet is to choose the "Counterfeits and Copyright Violations" sub-category and select from there. I would suggest either:

Counterfeits and Copyright Violations / Potential Trademark Infringement / Disclaimers about the authenticity or legality of an item, or

Counterfeits and Copyright Violations / Other Potential Infringements / Unauthorized usage of celebrity names, faces, or signatures

[morna-san]

grrrrrrr... ! This makes me so angry. I hope you do report this Stan, I think it's worth it to try at least.

go get 'im tiger

[Todd Shogun]

Unbelievably pathetic. Great email, Steve. This guy's gotta go..can't we send some ninjas over to deal with him??? GRAAAHHH!!!!

I've decided to send a mass email out to the entire UYD, informing them of this deception and to urge them not to bid on free sketches.

[morna-san]

David sent in a similar e-mail this morning - the guy knows people are on to him if nothing else

[MikeM]

I just don't understand how someone can deface artwork just to make a quick buck. That floors me. If you didn't want to keep it for yourself, why did you even bother getting the sketch and wating Stan's time and the time of the person behind you?

I can understand if someone bought a piece of artwork from Stan, and now for some reason or other had to sell it. But this is a sketch that someone did for free and personalized it!

Some people are jerks and need to grow up.

MikeM

[Petersen]

He ended the auction due to an 'error in the listing'

[Todd Shogun]

Here's what I sent:

UYD Members,

Many of you out there are aware of a growing problem in the Usagi Yojimbo original art market appearing on eBay. Sellers profiteering off of Stan Sakai's generosity by attempting to sell convention sketches that Stan did for free as gifts for fans. The Dojo has been keeping it's eye on the activities of online comic book retailers and other exploiters of Stan's work, and have been trying to increase the awareness of these unscrupulous activities. While not illegal, requesting a free sketch from Stan at conventions with the sole purpose of auctioning it off on eBay is a rude and insulting gesture to him and his fans. Stan himself, realizing the problem, began personalizing his free sketches to deter these individuals from their activities, but this has not stopped them.

Even now, just days after Motor City Comic Con, where Stan did many free sketches for fans, these "art scalpers" have since posted their auctions, often at high starting prices to guarantee a hefty profit. Some have even resorted to defacing the art by attempting to hide the personalization that Stan does in order to twhart these activities in the first place. Here's an example of one such case:

eBay Auction #1

In the sketch in the auction above, the personalization was sketched out as "grass". Says Stan: "It looks like this one was altered with that 'pigma india ink' to cover up the personalization. The grass doesn't even look like mine. I guess this isn't really a counterfeit--just half a counterfeit. For the record, what I was using at Motor City was the Uniball Vision fine and micro points." The alteration of this sketch and nondisclosure by the seller is actually in violation of eBay policy and has been reported. This is a case of pure deception.

The same seller, comicman182, did something similar to a free sketch by Sergio Aragones of Groo. Says Stan: "Here is one by Sergio, but the top of the drawing, where the person's name in the thought balloon would be, is cropped off. It is from the same seller as mine."

eBay Auction #2

Other sellers, like thecomicmonster, have resorted to packaging these free sketches with other Usagi merchandise.

eBay Auction #3

Comicmonster is a long time scalper of free sketches and he, along with others in the sketchhound community, have made a lot of money off of Stan's generosity.

Here are just some of their ended auctions:

eBay Auction #4

eBay Auction #5

On behalf of Mr. Sakai, we at the Usagi Yojimbo Dojo urge you to not bid on such items. Please join us in battling these exploiters of not only Stan's work, but others in the comic book industry.

For more info, check out these discussions at the UY DojoBoard:

http://usagiyojimbo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2951

http://usagiyojimbo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3027

Thank You

The Usagi Yojimbo Dojo

[Stan Sakai]

I wrote about this in my Live Journal, and e-mailed a few people.

Heidi MacDonald wrote about it in her Publishers Weekly blog:

Publishers Weekly Link

The seller has withdrawn the item early "due to an error in listing".

Thank you, guys.

I notice he has quite a few other sketches for sale from people like Guy Davis, Jay Lynch, and Ken Kelly. They also happened to be guests at Motor City.

[shaxper]

Here's what I sent:

UYD Members,

Many of you out there are aware of a growing problem in the Usagi Yojimbo original art market appearing on eBay. Sellers profiteering off of Stan Sakai's generosity by attempting to sell convention sketches that Stan did for free as gifts for fans. The Dojo has been keeping it's eye on the activities of online comic book retailers and other exploiters of Stan's work, and have been trying to increase the awareness of these unscrupulous activities. While not illegal, requesting a free sketch from Stan at conventions with the sole purpose of auctioning it off on eBay is a rude and insulting gesture to him and his fans. Stan himself, realizing the problem, began personalizing his free sketches to deter these individuals from their activities, but this has not stopped them.

Even now, just days after Motor City Comic Con, where Stan did many free sketches for fans, these "art scalpers" have since posted their auctions, often at high starting prices to guarantee a hefty profit. Some have even resorted to defacing the art by attempting to hide the personalization that Stan does in order to twhart these activities in the first place. Here's an example of one such case:

eBay Auction #1

In the sketch in the auction above, the personalization was sketched out as "grass". Says Stan: "It looks like this one was altered with that 'pigma india ink' to cover up the personalization. The grass doesn't even look like mine. I guess this isn't really a counterfeit--just half a counterfeit. For the record, what I was using at Motor City was the Uniball Vision fine and micro points." The alteration of this sketch and nondisclosure by the seller is actually in violation of eBay policy and has been reported. This is a case of pure deception.

The same seller, comicman182, did something similar to a free sketch by Sergio Aragones of Groo. Says Stan: "Here is one by Sergio, but the top of the drawing, where the person's name in the thought balloon would be, is cropped off. It is from the same seller as mine."

eBay Auction #2

Other sellers, like thecomicmonster, have resorted to packaging these free sketches with other Usagi merchandise.

eBay Auction #3

Comicmonster is a long time scalper of free sketches and he, along with others in the sketchhound community, have made a lot of money off of Stan's generosity.

Here are just some of their ended auctions:

eBay Auction #4

eBay Auction #5

On behalf of Mr. Sakai, we at the Usagi Yojimbo Dojo urge you to not bid on such items. Please join us in battling these exploiters of not only Stan's work, but others in the comic book industry.

For more info, check out these discussions at the UY DojoBoard:

http://usagiyojimbo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2951

http://usagiyojimbo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3027

Thank You

The Usagi Yojimbo Dojo

Todd,

This was a great move. If you can't eliminate the seller, eliminate his buyers. kudos!