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Please Inquire...

Started by DiceX,

38 posts in this topic

DiceX

DiceX

Posted
Posted

THIS is not the only website that does it. Why is almost every single piece of art on this site unpriced? Everything says "Please Inquire"! :frustrated:

Talk about something that just chaps my cheeks! :mad:

 

 

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comix4fun

comix4fun

Posted
Posted
THIS is not the only website that does it. Why is almost every single piece of art on this site unpriced? Everything says "Please Inquire"! :frustrated:

Talk about something that just chaps my cheeks! :mad:

 

 

 

I would not have as much of a problem with this practice if they didn't put out a press release to CAF that listed this incredble new collection that was all put up for "sale", not for "inquire"...FOR SALE on their site and when you clicked the link it took you to the pieces and every single one of them is marked that way.

 

Not one piece in this new collection had a price. doh!

 

C

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Royd

Royd

Posted
Posted

I tried purchasing something from them around 16 (or more) years ago when they were known as "San Mateo Comics and Baseball Cards" (or similar name) and they were impossible to deal with. I've heard numerous stories since about their dubious business practices and refuse to deal with them no matter how fabulous their art holdings.

 

There's also a famous article which Warren Ellis posted to his then CBR column circa 2000 which detailed how they ripped off British artist Liam Sharp and only coughed up with his art after being threatened with legal action. These guys are not worth the trouble although I believe it is possible to deal with them if you have something they want. Best,

 

Royd

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Rodey

Rodey

Posted
Posted

They annoyed me already. I contacted about a page several times. A page that HAD a price. For about 4 months I contacted them through email that I was interested. No word. Then one day...sold to someone else. meh

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DStorm

DStorm

Posted
Posted

I agree. Really annoying. Just about EVERYTHING is "inquire" and when you do it's usually insanely over-priced! I seriously don't know how they stay in business with their prices. Similar art to theirs is selling for 3-4-5 times the price on their site! I stopped inquiring, even if it's something I'm interested in. I just can't be bothered. I make a pretty good living and can afford a lot of "over-priced" items if I'm really looking for something, but there is a limit to my stupidity and their prices are 3 times that!

 

Sometimes I inquire just for the laugh.

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Brian Peck

Brian Peck

Posted
Posted

Royd,

I used to go down to their store in San Mateo and they kept promising to have a catalogue of the art. This was back in the early 90s. Them one day I was in and they brought in their whole collection to show to one person . So I spent time looking thru it all. I think I bought a page or two. I did eventually get a catalogue from them. 5 years later.

I have not had any bad dealings with either Rich or Steve, in fact I bought my first piece from them.

 

 

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Royd

Royd

Posted
Posted

Hey Brian,

 

I know that people (including you) have been able to deal successfully with them, however, I've not bothered since they sent me one of their first catalogues and stuffed me around when I tried to purchase something (eg. the price kept changing). It was probably around the same time you visited them in the early '90s.

 

The thing that puts me off dealing with them is that the horror stories outweigh the occasional positive ones and I've spoken personally with Val Jones (from Pacific Comics days) who used to be Steve's (?) partner and worked for them at the time and what she had to say wasn't complimentary. She also said she wished that they'd stop using her name in their ebay dealings (ie valnsteve).

 

I'm pleased to know yours wasn't one of the horror stories :-) Warm regards,

 

Royd

 

 

Royd,

I used to go down to their store in San Mateo and they kept promising to have a catalogue of the art. This was back in the early 90s. Them one day I was in and they brought in their whole collection to show to one person . So I spent time looking thru it all. I think I bought a page or two. I did eventually get a catalogue from them. 5 years later.

I have not had any bad dealings with either Rich or Steve, in fact I bought my first piece from them.

 

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artcollector9

artcollector9

Posted
Posted

25 years ago I order their San Mateo art catalog...took over 100 days to get it, when I inquired, they told me I had just missed their monthly mail out and I had to wait for the next one, and they all go out bulk rate--tough luck to me.

 

That was an example of their mindset and their 'customer service' and I don't think they have changed since then.

 

Search on eBay on any of your favorite artists--I once counted they had $700K on my favorite 4 artists...all for sale at ridiculous prices..and all listed for months or years with no takers.

 

One of them kept emailing me 3-4X after we failed to do a trade after going back and forth TOO ANY times, and I traded the art he wanted to another collector , he said 'I REALLY wanted that art, why did you do the deal with someone else?' "Because you valued it at 1/3 value in trade" I responded 3-4 times!!! That's 1/3 of value for top end art!!

 

MO: They buy all the 'bargains' at auction (e.g. low and medium end art by High end names) and immediately put 3X high end prices on each.

 

Nearly Impossible to deal with. Be prepared to grossly overpay or to give up 3 to 1 in trade.

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bocaratondefense

bocaratondefense

Posted
Posted

 

MO: They buy all the 'bargains' at auction (e.g. low and medium end art by High end names) and immediately put 3X high end prices on each.

 

Nearly Impossible to deal with. Be prepared to grossly overpay or to give up 3 to 1 in trade.

 

 

There are certain dealers that I don't think I will deal with again. I have concluded that auctions, even though full retail prices, are much better to internet dealers at 2x or 3 x full retail.

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Claudio

Claudio

Posted
Posted
Everyone talks about the "new to market" syndrome. Do you think by constantly offering the same piece the opposite is true. Do they deflate the value of some of these?

 

Most definitely. If it has been sitting for a while, people tend to think it is overpriced.

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micmack

micmack

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Posted

I was able to succesfully trade with Steve D for a piece I really wanted and thought I never would get since he had it. I had to trade 2 low end covers and a Jim Lee (no main characters) Uncanny splash to do it. I figured, if I would have taken the time and sold the three pages to raise enough to cover Steve's "asking price" (it had been on ebay with BIN's) it may have taken a while to actually sell them, but then I ran the risk of the price to magically rise well beyond the price for no apparent reason. So I was happy and lucky with the trade.

 

 

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Coach

Coach

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Posted

I can't imaging ever dealing with them. When I see any of their pieces I just move on. A couple of years ago I was browsing the comicartfans site and saw a piece of theirs and inquired about the price. They responded very quickly and politely. The price seemed high so I ended up passing on it. The e-mail had a link to their website so I looked around there and from there hit a link to their Ebay auctions. I was able to find the same page that I had inquired about but was surprised to find that the price they quoted was 15% HIGHER than their buy-it-now price on Ebay.

 

While I admit that they can asked whatever they want for their art, I felt like they were trying to take advantage of me and decided then and there that they were not the type of people I cared to do business with.

 

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