ComicsAndCode

I see the benefit of a newsstand indicator for both MCS and buyers, but adding that property to comic books where applicable is no small feat. It requires a proper cost/benefit analysis. To put it into perspective, seeing that the online store is database driven, one or more table fields have to be introduced and queried for. Then the UI has to be updated to display the indicator where appropriate (eg. title in search results, on product page, etc.). Plus visitors might want to filter their search by 'newsstand' which means modifying the search functionality - a critical component business might be very hesitant to touch at all. Finally, assuming business doesn't test new development in production, then you add all the QA work that goes with it. MCS has to be sure all the time and money poured into the project is quantifiably worth it.

That didn't occur to me until you mentioned it! But makes total sense given the publication date. Very powerful.

I was browsing through the Gerber guide the other day and got to Master #25...immediately struck by the composition!

New Arrivals [10/12/2022] This week, we've added a great selection of graded and bargain raw comics plus original art by Don Perlin featuring the X-Men, Avengers and the Fantastic Four (click below images for details). Check out all the new arrivals in our What's New? section. . . . . . . . . . . Consign With Us We are accepting consignments of CGC graded comic books, AFA grade vintage toys and original comic art. Commission rate is 8% (only 7% for auction listings) and payouts are issued weekly. Click here for more info and to tell us what you are interested in consigning. Don't Miss Our eBay Auctions! Be sure to checkout our auctions running on eBay this week. Bid on over 50 CGC graded modern era comics books and a few AFA graded vintage Star Wars action figures. Ends Sunday, October 16. Shipping We offer combined shipping rates and free shipping on orders of $200 or more! All items are packaged and ready to go within 1 business day. Follow Us

New Arrivals [9/22/2022] This week, we've added the 1st Punisher signed by Marvel writer / editor Roy Thomas and a few other CGC graded books at bargain prices. And for those who cross over to vintage toys, we are accepting offers for a very nice sample of a Boba Fett on ESB 48-Back C card (click below images for details). Check out all the new arrivals in our What's New? section. . . . . . Don't Miss Our eBay Auctions! Be sure to checkout our auctions running on eBay this week. Bid on over 110 CGC graded modern era comics books. Ends Sunday, September 25. Consign With Us We are accepting consignments of CGC graded comic books, AFA grade vintage toys and original comic art. Commission rate is 8% (only 7% for auction listings) and payouts are issued weekly. Click here for more info and to tell us what you are interested in consigning. Shipping We offer combined shipping rates and free shipping on orders of $200 or more! All items are packaged and ready to go within 1 business day. Follow Us

New Arrivals [9/8/2022] This week, we've got just two new offerings but boy are they a pair to behold! How about Young Allies #1 featuring a classic WWII / Red Skull / Hitler cover by Jack Kirby. This one doesn't come to market very often. And for those who cross over to vintage toys, it is the most sought after vintage Star Wars figure - a Boba Fett on ESB 48-Back C card (click below images for details). . Shipping We offer combined shipping rates and free shipping on orders of $200 or more! All items are packaged and ready to go within 1 business day. Consign With Us We are accepting consignments of CGC graded comic books, AFA grade vintage toys and original comic art. Commission rate is 8% and payouts are issued weekly. Click here for more info and to tell us what you are interested in consigning. Follow Us

New Arrivals [8/31/2022] This week, we've added a great selection of graded and raw comics and for those of you who cross-over to vintage toys, an Obi-Wan on 12-Back A card! See below for highlights (click images for details). Visit our What's New section for the entire list. . . . . Shipping We offer combined shipping rates and free shipping on orders of $200 or more! All items are packaged and ready to go within 1 business day. Consign With Us We are accepting consignments of CGC graded comic books, AFA grade vintage toys and original comic art. Commission rate is 8% and payouts are issued weekly. Click here for more info and to tell us what you are interested in consigning. Follow Us

Man if I brought this up to family and friends, it'll end up with them asking me why I'm still in this hobby. I really don't want to go down that rabbit hole.

I'm just really pissed off that they call themselves Black Flag, one of my favorite bands and roach killing products.

She was in Sarasota last month attending the CGC Grading Academy - any one with even the slightest business sense would take that opportunity to meet with the c-suites. Just saying. Black Flag there too? Other "influencers?"

Ironically, yet another IG/YouTube influencer...or aspiring one I suppose

New Arrivals [8/3/2022] We've just added a great selection of raw and graded bronze books plus a couple toys for those of you who cross-over to that hobby! See below for highlights (click images for details). Visit our What's New section for the entire list. . . . . Shipping We offer combined shipping rates and free shipping on orders of $200 or more! All items are packaged and ready to go within 1 business day. Register With Us Have you registered with us yet? Creating an account is free and unlocks the following features that we think you will find useful: Speed up your checkout process Make an offer on an item View your order history Follow Us

Yes! Glad to know that this happened. I think most of us can come up with a pretty decent list of contributors in our hobby who are far more worthy OS advisor candidates.

I see. I'm coming from an online business perspective so I admit to a limited understanding of the sort of traditional in-person / convention dealer experience. This seems advantageous for buyers, maybe less for the seller. I would think the seller runs the numbers (cost of goods, CGC fees, time invested in restocking, etc.) before they enter into negotiation to realize an acceptable net? Otherwise, it could be a bad proposition for them.

+1 for more data. But reliable and digestible data. While of course not perfect, best option to date is GPA. I am curious what reasons do dealers give for choosing not to report to GPA. I'm sure some are valid. I do know first hand that there can be a technical barrier to reporting to GPA. The data has to be rolled into a file in a specific format and structure as prescribed by them. Ideally the file is produced programmatically. It can certainly be done manually but that's typically prone to human error. I would think that some of the dealers and auction houses submit their data as text or in a spreadsheet and let the folks at GPA then process it. When I had just launched my online store a little over a year ago, I felt it was important for me to disclose all CGC sales, unfiltered. I got in touch with George at GPA shortly after and with his and the support team's help (so grateful for that!), I became a reporting partner. Producing the data feed manually was absolutely not an option. I've got too much on my plate. So I built a service that grabs recently sold and live items and delivers it to the GPA system on a daily basis. (I benefit from 20+ years of software engineer experience and so I was able to write and now manage the service myself.) Other dealers can and are welcome to the service too if they're looking for a streamlined way of onboarding with GPA. So yes, MORE data!

Yes! And glad you qualified GA books with "HTF" as even in that category, there are a lot of common or I should say, less desirable books, even with the flagship Timely titles that tend to sit on the shelf longer.

Having books in hand is the best approach if your business goal is to strengthen buyer's trust.

I will be at that show. Jim and Tauni do a great job running it.

Would that be the All-American Collectors Show in Glendale?

Great insight. Thanks. And now I know whose information to take with a grain of salt (referring to the source of the the dealer buyout comment). I hope it comes back next year too - I'll be there. Nice to be at a show devoid of all the extra fluff. On a separate note, I'd love to see more dealers at the show offering vintage toys. I think there was one last year. Maybe I should exhibit next year

Just found this thread, but I've known about the cancelation for a while now. I agree. The explanation seems to be just for PR purposes, but can't say for sure. I attended last year. Brought the whole family, was a lot fun! What I wonder though is why would dealers choose to exhibit at and in many cases, travel long distance for a show like Torpedo where competition for attendees' business is rather stiff? Also, these same dealers are likely also exhibiting at SDCC which means they have to stay in So Cal a lot longer, incurring more cost. So to me, Torpedo Con is great for buyers and not so much for dealers. Could that be the reason dealers backed out? Maybe it's because I am strictly an online store and doing the convention circuit is not part of my business model, but it just doesn't make much sense to me. Or maybe I'm just totally niave and need to get with the program called 'misery loves company.' And on a total tangent, and granted this is just hearsay, but I was told the show became sort of a shark tank, where a major dealer swept up the entire inventory of one or more smaller dealers. Is that a desirable scenario for some dealers? Not a rhetorical question.

Nice pick up. Whitman AND Anderson cover art!

Well said. I was thinking the same. The enforcing part doesn't seem very straightforward to me. And there are 3 parties involved with consignments - can get really complicated.

New Arrivals [7/12/2022] We've just added a great selection of CGC graded Copper and Modern books. See below for highlights (click images for details). Visit our What's New section for the entire list. . . . . . Shipping We offer combined shipping rates and free shipping on orders of $200 or more! All items are packaged and ready to go within 1 business day. Register With Us Have you registered with us yet? Creating an account is free and unlocks the following features that we think you will find useful: Speed up your checkout process Make an offer on an item View your order history Follow Us

..by the way, sorry to hear you and our wife had to go through that b*llsh*t. What an utter waste of time! Exactly. Any comic dealers or exchange out there that do collect a penalty fee? I'm not aware. As a dealer, I require items be shipped in advance to avoid this sort of mess, but in the future, if I let them hold, then I'll be enforcing a penalty fee. Also perhaps worth noting, a similar situation happened to me about a year ago with Comic Connect / Metropolis Comics and as a result, I won't be doing business with them again. It was for an ASM #3 listed in their market or exchange section. Sent check, they cashed it. Dealt with a Jeff Maza who never responded to my request for tracking info over a two-week period. I reached out to Rob Reynolds who finally bore the news to me that the seller backed out. Within a couple days, I received my refund check. In my case, I didn't bother finding out who the seller was. Simply too time-consuming. But maybe I should have. I suspect it was as you mentioned, one of those IG sellers who made their way into Comic Connect. So I do believe this is a bigger problem in the industry and clearly not isolated to just Comic Link. And I think the consignee should be held fully accountable because they are providing the service. In my opinion, I have my doubts that they will ever effectively address the problem, either because A) it's too costly to change a broken process, B) requires a skill set that they do not possess in-house, C) a fear of losing consignors' business or D) all of the above.