tomborage

I'm interested in their supplies but they don't offer international shipping to Australia, and support hasn't responded back to my email. Just wondering if there were anyone who's used their stuff and can vouch for them.

On 12/31/2020 at 4:15 AM, kaculler said:

I've been having problems with books being shorted for the past couple of years.  They are usually Dark Horse hardcovers and trade paperbacks.  Many of these are eventually filled after a delay of 2-3 months or more.  I've had to pick up a Phantom Dailies book and an EC Archives book elsewhere.  Another EC book wasn't filled and I haven't found a decently priced copy yet.  They also cancelled a Dragon Age hardcover.  There were also a few of this year's FCBD comics that they didn't get in and a few other books with small print runs over the past few years.

I currently have 7 Dark Horse books from the last few months that I'm waiting on from them.

Some of their shipments have gone out a week or so later than they should have, but I attribute that to them being understaffed and it doesn't really bother me.  This started before the pandemic.  I've generally been satisfied with their service, except for the shortages that sometimes crop up.  If Diamond is shorting them, then I guess it really isn't their fault.  If it is something else, then I wonder what the issue is.

Glad to know another person have had experiences like this. I can understand if Diamond is shorting them and they just fill orders based on who completed their preview orders first (I'm usually slow so it's my fault). But if it's for another reason, like you said, I'd be curious as to see what the problem is. Are you usually prompt with ordering as soon as previews become available on their site, and did you ever bother to email them to ask?

Has anyone experienced DCBS cancelling some books on their orders due to this reason within their emails: shortage not replaced. I've gotten a reply from their team and they've informed me that the reason is usually because their order was shorted. This sucks because I've had a few books cancelled on me despite me placing advanced orders on those books for the February and March previews. So I struggle to understand why or how DCBS aren't picking these books for me in advance and only to have them cancel on me after like 6 months of waiting. As of this post I still have 20+ books from FEB, MAR and APR previews still waiting to be picked (and hopefully shipped). 

Eg. Still waiting on Batman The Adventure Continues #1 and Dark Nights Death Metal #1 while I've received subsequent issues already.

I'm honestly expecting them to cancel these books on me as well if they haven't picked them already. Outside of this their service has been pretty solid, especially for an international customer like myself.

5.5 - I see some spine roll unless that's just the picture, some colour breaks, and those corner blunting/damage.

I'd say 3.5.

I usually look at "Sold" listings on eBay. As the people above have stated, unsold listings are not indicative of FMV of a book. I've found best success on eBay just by directing messaging sellers and negotiating prices (especially if the listing doesn't have a best offer option). 99% of the time sellers will agree to your price just because the book has been sitting there left unsold for awhile. Remember that it's not worth anything for them if they're unable to find someone who's willing to pay what they're asking for: supply and demand baby.

On 2/24/2020 at 7:26 AM, SpeakUpSonny said:

Try Gerber 

I'm in Australia :< 1000 Mylites 2 and 1000 Fullbacks is gonna run me $605USD ~ $919AUD with shipping included. I own less than 50 books pre Modern age so using poly bags and normal backing boards for the majority of my collection will suffice for now.

17 hours ago, Tempus Fugit said:

I had the same problem a while back, now I only buy the 7.25" Silvers. Problem solved.

7 1/4" is too loose for my liking  The books move alot compared to 7 1/8"

Recently bought 1000 bags: 9 from BCW and 1 from Ultimate Guard. Both brands were bought at Silver Age sizes with these measurements: 7 1/8" x 10 1/2" or 181mm x 266mm. The quality control in the width of these bags are actually disgustingly bad. 99% of the bags from both brands range from 179mm to 180mm. The difference might sound small but it's the difference between whether or not 7" backing boards actually fit into the bag, or if they're just way too tight. The other 1% will be spot on 181mm or 182mm. 

I was surprised to find this has happened to me as I previously bought 3 bags from BCW with 0 sizing trouble, but now that this has happened I'm kinda disappointed and annoyed. Has this happened to other people before? Is there a brand with 7 1/8" bags that are usually pretty spot on? Maybe Ultra-Pro?

Thanks guys.

As per title, how do you guys store your books in your boxes? Do you go about it the usual way or do you alternate the cover every book to evenly distribute the weight? I ask this question because I'm a little bit pedantic about storing it the right way to avoid any damage. I've had stacking curls happen to a few books when the pile inside one of my boxes was completely slanted. I'm not sure if this would have been prevented if I had alternated every book instead of having all the books facing in one direction, but some people have sworn by this method. I'm still undecided and would like to hear your personal ways of storing books and long how you've been doing it that way, and if there's being any damage whatsoever. And while I fret over the tiny details like this I feel like the main thing to prevent storage damage is to just keep your books upright and decently spaced out inside the boxes.

Would love to hear your responses guys!

I recently bought a CGC 5.5 Batman #99 off eBay. I couldn't help notice how badly degraded the label looked (looks like it's been left in the sun for too long). Then I noticed how the top label was slightly ripped off. I then started to doubt the book inside the slab was a 5.5. I think it looked like a 4.5 but I don't know. I did check the barcode, which showed me that it was graded in 2015 so I assume the label lost a bit of its vibrancy over the years. The slab is intact but when I compared to my other 2019 CGC slab this one just felt more 'fake' even though I know there's a 4 year difference in slab technology and labels. What do you guys think?

As per title, is there any DIY way of remove stacking curls from modern age comics (2011 onwards)? I've heard of using heavy books such as dictionaries but I'm not sure if that works. Any suggestions/solutions would be appreciated. 

PS. I got these stacking curls because I left ~200 comics on an angle inside a box without making sure each comic and its backing board were flush. Some books were out of place and I assume after years of storage the backing board imprinted itself onto the books behind it. You can see in the image what I mean by the curl.

Hey man,

Before I actually went to my first comic book store, I actually frequented my local library every week just because they would have a pretty big selection of graphic novels and single issues. That's a pretty good starting place for you to figure out everything that @marvelmaniac said. You can read some old and new storylines and see if you actually like certain characters.

I went to my first store in 2011 just as DC Comics' New 52 was starting so I was lucky to have everything rebooted back to #1. If I'm not mistaken there are a few titles right now that are finishing up arcs, getting reboots/new series or reaching landmark issues. Now seems like an alright time to jump into single issues, otherwise trade paperbacks and hardcovers will help you cover lost ground quite quickly.

And lastly, everything you don't know about this hobby you can find online somewhere in articles, videos and forums (just like this!), so if you feel like not asking people, just go wild and google everything!

2 hours ago, The Lions Den said:

I would agree with the statements above. This does appear to be a manufacturing issue which is likely related to the type of paper stock being used. 

If we go forward into the past, let's use Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine as a similar example. Many early issues of this classic magazine have notoriously weak spines which are prone to splits and wear. It's primarily due to what some folks call a "clay-coat" cover stock. In any event, it causes numerous issues with spine appearance and integrity, and collectors of these books are very familiar with this particular flaw. 

CGC graders are also painfully aware of these kinds of flaws, and usually it's not a huge deal-breaker. This would probably fall under the "they all have it" clause, which means the book could still achieve a grade as high as 9.6. (Believe it or not!) 

And oh yes, by the way...HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!  

Then I assume they use different quality paper stock for books because titles released in the same week all have varying conditions on its spines. I guess it's not a dealbreaker when you're looking at the cover directly from the front, but I'm too meticulous to ignore it

10 hours ago, marvelmaniac said:

If this is present on new books there must be other buyers seeing/saying the same thing.

Have you spoken to the proprietor of your LCS about this issue, curious what he/she would have to say about it.

I actually don't see anyone else other than me worry about the conditions of the books. People who do buy floppies either get the store to pull it for them or just pick the first one off the shelf. I'm literally the only person in the store who meticulously goes through the pile (I feel awkward for doing this though) and searches for the least damaged book just because I believe if I'm paying 5.28 USD (7.50 AUD) for a 3.99 USD book I, at the bare minimum, deserve something that's not defected with flaws.

I haven't talked to the owner of my LCS just because I don't frequent the store that much or engage in conversations with them. The prices have always put me off plus the amount of time required to get there (30-40 minutes by bus/car). I know supporting my LCS is extremely important especially when this store is the only standing store left in this city, but I can't bring myself to spend what I spend when I'm getting an 'inferior' product. I digress. From observations and assumptions I don't think the owner/employees care too much about the condition of the books. Just this week I saw them manhandling the new arrivals. Literally gave me a shock.

Even though this spine issue is persistent I'm still gonna buy the issues until my first DCBS order arrives. While I love my LCS shop for standing the test of time, the OCD person inside of me can't stand the handling of stock and prices. You're right though, I should probably ask them what's been going on but I guess I'm a bit afraid haha. HNY!

42 minutes ago, Krismusic said:

Hi Tom from the limited experience I have I have seen this type of damage from my own collection from when I read the books and the pages bend a lot specifically on the new 52 series as well and the book rubs against a hard surface it was a reader copy so didn’t really handle it carefully. I’ve also seen in on the rack on a select few books from my LCS I suppose some could be manufacturers defect or from shipping since I’ve only seen it a select few times on the comic racks I always assumed someone opened it and started to read or something. But it could be the books at the bottom of the box and the extra weight compressed the books and cause the spine to get damaged like that as well. 
 

just my 2cents I could be wrong but that’s what I have seen but not very often have I seen this.

Oh legit?? I guess my LCS or my luck has just been bad then...At least 25% of the new stock that I see my LCS put on the racks all have this issue (every single copy even the ones in the middle of the pack).

@The Lions Den @marvelmaniac @theCapraAegagrus @Krismusic

Hey guys, sorry for the super late response. Stuff's been hectic. I've got some pictures to show you what I mean exactly.

If you take these 'spine damaged' books and just look at it from the front, you'd probably expect them to be somewhere near 8.5 to 9.4. The corners and spine creases and other cover defects are usually non-existent on these books but then when you look at its spine, it looks hella screwed up (as seen in the other photo). And this seems like a pandemic on eBay and other marketplaces where sellers will always be state that the books are 'averaging NM.' From the front sure, but as an overall book I wouldn't personally give these higher than a 8.0 VF just because it makes the book so damn ugly. 

As stated in my original post, I see this type of defect/damage on newer books as well. I'm in Australia so there may be some damage during transit when Diamond ships their books but I've gotten some books with similar issues from DCBS in the States. Curious to see if you guys have noticed this or have an explanation if CGC overlooks this type of stuff.

Cheers and hope you guys had a good Christmas!

I've been an on and off comic collector, and ever since I started I've been really pedantic about the condition/quality of the books I purchase. I've gone to great lengths to make sure I get the best possible condition (without breaking the bank ofc) so I usually buy doubles, sometimes triples of a particular issue. And this is where I've been stumped for the longest time. I've noticed, since I started this hobby back in 2011, that a lot of the newly released comics often come with their spines damaged already. This type of damage usually runs along the entire vertical span of the spine, resembling creased paper, with spine ticks sometimes forming as well. I don't know if this is just a symptom of whatever paper stock manufacturers use or a manufacturer or what, but it'd be great if someone knew about why this is happening.

This has always been the number one thing that's bugged me when I buy floppies other than slightly dented/damaged corners. Some good examples of this type of damage is Detective Comics #5/#6 New 52 or Batman #4 New 52. All my copies of these have spine damage and I've seen CGC graded copies anywhere from 9.4-9.8 with the same issue. I'm honestly just stumped. Some input/discussion would be awesome!

Thanks guys!