COMC (Check Out My Cards) has raised eyebrows by including David ‘Gelf’ Gelfman, a previously implicated shill bidder and group break scammer, in their group breaking program. Notably, Gelfman oversees the National Sports Collectors Convention Group Break Pavilion and is the proprietor of Ripping Wax Inc. However, his beginnings into the group breaking realm was shrouded in controversy.
Gelfman teamed with a group breaker named Boomo in 2012 to break a re-pack product called Heroes of Sport. Boomo was one of the exclusive group breakers of the product. Amazingly, Gelfman and Boomo purchased spots into their own Heroes of Sport breaks and pulled one of the biggest hits.
Later in 2013, Boomo “won” a Heroes of Sport grand prize.
Gelfman and Boomo’s actions concerning Heroes of Sport weren’t isolated. By 2013, they were purportedly resorting to shill bidding in their own group breaks. Gelfman has openly acknowledged his involvement in shill bidding. He wrote in a 2013 Blowout Forum post: “If anyone wants to ask the question of why I bid on teams from associated group breaks, I have a simple answer. I am a collector, I have bid on specific teams or auctions that I wanted to win if my bid was the highest price.”
Boomo refrained from admitting to shill bidding, choosing instead to claim any shill bidding was done by his children using his computer.
eBay later banned Gelfman’s account. Although Gelfman attributes the ban to his listing of group breaks, the platform’s exact reasoning remains undisclosed.
In 2019, Gelfman threatened to sue Sports Card Radio for defamation regarding his admission to shill bidding. Not surprisingly no lawsuit was actually filed.
In July 2023, COMC launched a breaking option where customers can purchase boxes or break spots with store credit. Gelfman’s RippingWax was one of the first of three companies to partner with COMC.
COMC calls Gelfman on their website, “a true pioneer in the sports cards and collectibles industry, and the #1 source for group pack openings–also known as breaking.”
Will Boomo be added to the lineup next? In 2019 he famously told a Blowout Forum member, “Keep hiding. One day I’ll just hire a guy and I don’t care what it will cost me. I’ll find out who you are and I’ll knock on your door. I’ll say “hi”, and then we’ll see what you do.”
