Does anyone understand Metropolis?

[snitzer]

For the last six months or so, I've been receiving want list emails from Metro about a particulat book on my want list. I finally pulled the trigger and ordered it online, plus I called Frank to confirm that the book was in stock and my online order recieved. I checked the site and they pulled the book and listed it as sold and sent me an order confirmation, the order number is #37857. This was the 20th. This morning I recieved a want list email about the exact same book, so I went to their site and sure enough the book was now listed for sale again. Is metro messing with me, or is this holiday screw up?

 

Totally feel your pain here. I posted about a similar issue a few months back. What happened in my case was book was listed for sale so I went ahead and executed a BIN. A few days later I get an email saying the book was never in stock to begin with. Ok, this was my first interaction with them so I gave them the benefit of the doubt. Then, about a week later I receive a shipment notification for the book, which of course was wrong. I thought for sure they'd offer some discount % or Free Shipping on a future purchase for my troubles, but nothing

 

In addition to the above case I've found their response on books less then adequate. For example, I left multiple voice mail messages concerning two GA books listed on their site that required you to call to get prices. Never heard back. Strike two.

 

I'm not waiting for strike three.

 

[TakinShotsToQuit]

 

I got copies of emails I sent back in January '07 pointing out discrepancy in listing i.e. wrong issues to photo and incomplete issue reference with no photos. The replies were nice; thanks with a mention of free shipping on my next order....tried calling in the free shipping and got charged full price.

 

BTW the listings I looked at now never got fixed.......the books in question I purchased elsewhere.

 

I concur, they got the books....but it's frustrating as hell trying to deal with their website, so I don't bother.

 

My money's been going elsewhere since March '07.

 

Hope this thread provides incentive for change.

[BEAUMONTS]

Hopefully Steve and Metropolis will take this criticism as creative criticism and see that there core demographic have some issues with some of there practices. Undoubtedly being one of the largest comic dealers in the world you will never be able to please everyone, but when you get consistent negative feedback on certain issues maybe it should be considered.

I found it impressive that Steve came on the boards with a quick explanation, however the idea to remove the "not yet processed" seems a little harsh and possible should be reconsidered with maybe just more aggresively trying to get the pricing accomplished.

As a collector I do not really ever "need" a comic most, not all of my purchases are visceral and impulsive. I understand the theory behind the "not yet processed" as being a sort of real time gauge of which comics are getting more interest so the price may be adjusted accordingly. But I think this is short sighted when you have the vast inventory Metropolis has, it seems like they would be losing more on the lack of volume from "impulse" purchases. They seem to be marganilizing a large part of there demographic.

[Aman619]

a book unsold today is money in the bank one day in the future.

[The Black Hand ®]

The Shadow Knows wrote: Happy Holidays to you and yours Vince.

 

Thank's, Dennis!

[Ivanko]

I hear you loud and clear. All the books that are listed as: being processed will all come off the site tomorrow morning.

 

Steve

 

Personally, I liked knowing if they had a Mile High book or not, but I suppose a phone call would answer the question just as easily.

[TeddieMercede]

I think part of the problem lies in the fact that Metropolis is known to be the highest priced dealer on the market and the fact that having the highest prices isnt enough for them by further employing this " Not Yet Processed " to gauge interest and price books upwards accordingly just leaves a bad taste in your mouth. I think at a certain point as a consumer you just shake your head and say even if they have the book you want available is it worth all the extra effort and that bitter taste ?

 

It seems almost everyone who has asked about pricing for books has been left with the same non answer in many instances also. To me this just is not the way to invite positive discussion about ones business.

 

And I dont know how it works in the comic business but in Finance a dollar today is worth a heck of a lot more then a dollar tomorrow.

[TupennyConan]

And I dont know how it works in the comic business but in Finance a dollar today is worth a heck of a lot more then a dollar tomorrow.

 

But does that mean sell at any price? Take every lowball offer the first chance you get? There must be balance in the Force correct?

[Sal]

a book unsold today is money in the bank one day in the future.

 

Minus interest, of course. Or profits one might have made using the proceeds to buy another book for resale.

 

 

Actually, except for selling at a significant loss, or being unable to replace the book that was sold, I can't think of any good reason to hold on to inventory. Metro is in a different territory than most other dealers because of their volume and access to restockable inventories.

 

There's another dealer out there with some incredible books priced at about 2-3x GPA who has been sitting on them for three plus years. Now, that money is just sitting there in a slab, because his prices aren't going to be even with the marketplace for another three years, if prices continue to rise at the rate they're rising today. If he came down to even 1.25x GPA, he'd still make a nice profit, as the books were bought closer to the lower side of the post-CGC appreciation upswing.

 

I don't understand it. An appreciating asset is great, but turnover of inventory will almost always garner you a higher profit margin in the long run

[skybolt]

I'm not upset at Metro for using whatever approach they need to to sell books and turn a profit. However, if they take more than a couple of days to respond to my make an offer e-mail, I'll just scour other sites to find the books on my want list. No harm done.

 

For instance, I've made an offer on approximately 60 books over the past couple of months, and Stephen has sent me a price on about 15-20 of them. Based on the prices listed, I've only purchased 2 of these books. The others I've decided to pass on since the price was a little too high for my liking.

[Mac Man]

I'm such a small fish in the pond here on this issue, but the few interactions I've had with Vince were nothing short of friendly and timely. In fact, he ended up point me in the direction of a book on another site with a copy at a cheaper price. Questions I had were answered quickly, concisely, and these weren't even as expensive books as I'm sure many of you are concerned about.

 

Just my

[sacentaur]

Does anyone understand Metropolis?

 

Yes, unfortunately all too well.

 

Also, if a book hasn't been processed yet, why put it on the site at all?

 

For the same reason a fisherman casts a baited line into the water.

 

...however the idea to remove the "not yet processed" seems a little harsh

 

Smacks of picking up all your toys and stomping out of the sandbox while pouting on the way home, doesn't it?

 

 

 

 

[Sal]

I'm not upset at Metro for using whatever approach they need to to sell books and turn a profit. However, if they take more than a couple of days to respond to my make an offer e-mail, I'll just scour other sites to find the books on my want list. No harm done.

 

For instance, I've made an offer on approximately 60 books over the past couple of months, and Stephen has sent me a price on about 15-20 of them. Based on the prices listed, I've only purchased 2 of these books. The others I've decided to pass on since the price was a little too high for my liking.

 

For the record, I'm not upset, either. I was very pleased with my first Metro transaction. I wish there were opportunities to repeat the experience, is all I am saying

[AussieRuss]

Great thread.

 

Some excellent opportunity's for Metro's website have been raised.

 

It got me looking at the site & I have found a few books that have been on the site for what seems like a few years & would be well suited in my Pedigree'd #1's collection.

 

Problem that I now have is do I,

A: Make a realistic offer for the books that may be 30% lower than Metro list price or

B: Not say anything as the low but realitic price may be taken as an insult by Metro.

 

 

Anyway, as I said great thread.

 

Russ...

 

 

[skybolt]

I'm not upset at Metro for using whatever approach they need to to sell books and turn a profit. However, if they take more than a couple of days to respond to my make an offer e-mail, I'll just scour other sites to find the books on my want list. No harm done.

 

For instance, I've made an offer on approximately 60 books over the past couple of months, and Stephen has sent me a price on about 15-20 of them. Based on the prices listed, I've only purchased 2 of these books. The others I've decided to pass on since the price was a little too high for my liking.

 

For the record, I'm not upset, either. I was very pleased with my first Metro transaction. I wish there were opportunities to repeat the experience, is all I am saying

 

Sorry Sal, I was just making a comment regarding the entire thread. Your name just happened to be the one I clicked when I used the quote button.

[PovertyRow]

The best I can work out is that Metropolis is set in the future. There are two classes: thinkers and laborers. The two groups live independently of each other but without one the other would cease to exist. There is also a hot robotrix.

[G.A.tor]

 

 

I was thinking the same thing which is why I don't call about books I'm interested in!!! If they get a lot of interest in a book I would imagine when they DO price it, it's going to cost more than a book with little interest. Metro already charges well over Guide already for most of their books!!!

 

In the long run I think this hurts their business. I was buying a book every couple of Months or so (as I knew how much the book was, and was not having to call to find out "How Much").

Now I haven't bought a book in 6 mos. (and believe me I see multitudes of books I want), and evidently I'm not alone in that!!!

 

I think they should NOT put them on their site until they are processed.

 

One Last thing, I also noticed there were a few books I was watching daily and they were NOT PROCESSED, all of a sudden the book I'm watching disappears. I imagine it was sold to someone who offered them big money over the phone. This book by the way was a RARE Centaur that was a Gerber 8 and a book I'd NEVER seen for sale before!!!! It would have been great if everybody followed the rules like I was doing waiting for the book to be processed!!!! That's what I get for being a nice guy!!! But I think they should give all a chance at books they post instead of selling them before they are even priced (Processed)!!!!

if it was me,

[G.A.tor]

On the subject of Metropolis' pricing, what's up with the Batman #1 VG going for $17,750? Is it really worth that much?

for a VG 4.0 with ow pages, I would happily pay that...it is actually a cheap price for a 4.0 (IMO)...a cgc 4.5 was recently offered by someone else at $25K, I believe (though not sure if it sold, I do know there was a lot of interest over $20K for it)

gator

[GreatEscape]

I found it impressive that Steve came on the boards with a quick explanation, however the idea to remove the "not yet processed" seems a little harsh and possible should be reconsidered with maybe just more aggresively trying to get the pricing accomplished...

 

One suggestion is for Metropolis to hold a regular quarterly auctions (similar to Comiclink Focused Auctions) for alot of their "Not Yet Processed" books.

 

Some important advantages:

 

(1) For collectors, books will hit the market sooner and with regularity.

 

(2) For Metro, they get highest pricing-- leverage their huge customer list-- and a reduced pricing burden for Steve (he and staff can focus on finding more books and key customer service matters). Bidders will know to bid aggressively for desired books given the competition. Metro optimizes timing, pricing, inventory and cash flow.

 

(3) For its website, Auctions would drives more customer traffic and publicity to Metropolis's website...or give a "killer app" for their Comicconnect site. Also, "key" books for each auction can be highlighted at Metro's convention tables.

 

(4) For the hobby, this would bring another "Must See" event and marketplace. Although Metro's books are mostly raw (vs. Comiclink auctions which are primarily CGC/PGX certified), they have big scans and internal grades. Bidders make their own assessments and bid accordingly, but understand those who "grade" and "price" highest will win the books.

 

(5) For CGC, Metro could offer to send books directly to CGC in behalf of auction winners and, perhaps, secure volume pricing from CGC to offer a Metro-only 20% discount again for these special auctions (gaining a unique competitive advantage!)

 

...just a few thoughts.

 

GE

[Silver]

The "Not yet processed" thing doesnt bother me if they respond to my request for a price within a reasonable time. What bugs me is when I put in a request and weeks later still have no response, and then read comments here on the boards like "I have no problem with Metro, I put in a request, got a price right away"

 

This is nothing more than a customer service issue. It justs frustrates people and I hope that's what they get out of this thread. Sounds like we all want to do business with Metro.