Comicvendor.com,...

[Senormac]

[mschmidt]

I've done one order with comicvendor.

 

I ordered 12 "NM" books all in stock on their site. Got a paypal refund a couple days later for about 1/3 of the order (because those books were now out of stock). That kinda sucked seeing that one of those books was the primary reason I did the order in the first place.

 

Received the books, and not a single NM in sight - some were VF/NM, some were VF, and one was a F at best. Complete junk.

[CheezyWhiz]

Got my order today.

 

I ordered 37 books. I received only 6.

No bags or boards.

All the books are over-graded a notch or two.. or three.

 

The one positive is that the three of the books they shipped are hard-to-find Whitmans. Amazing that those were the ones they had in-stock and the common books were not.

 

I won't be buying from them again.

[thirdgreenham]

....however, I have a sneaky suspicion I'll be a loser....

 

update:

 

Out of 20 books, I received 4. All 20 were originally on his site at VF. The books I received were horrible and I've included lovely scans for all of you to see.

 

OFF 64 (he changed his VF grade to F+ and lowered his price to $5 from $7.50) The book is a VG

 

OFF 70 (he bumped his grade from VF to VF+ and raised his price to $12 from $6) The book is a VG+

 

OFF 79 (he believed he graded this one correctly at VF, I was charged $3) The book is a VG+

 

OFF 81 (he bumped his grade from VF to VF/NM, and raised his price to $6 from $3) The book is a VG-

 

Here's the cherry on top: With my original order, I was given free shipping. After his refund of the books that I didn't get, he decided to add $6 for shipping.

 

For those of you that didn't order from him, thank your lucky stars. Please take this advice from a fellow collector and friend, "let the buyer beware".

 

Andy

[drewincanada]

For those of you that didn't order from him, thank your lucky stars. Please take this advice from a fellow collector and friend, "let the buyer beware".

 

Andy

 

Ouch. I feel for you, Andy.

 

How could anyone think that OFF 81 was anywhere close to approximating a VF/NM?

 

Did he adjust those prices arbitrarily after you placed the order?

[thirdgreenham]

For those of you that didn't order from him, thank your lucky stars. Please take this advice from a fellow collector and friend, "let the buyer beware".

 

Andy

 

Ouch. I feel for you, Andy.

 

How could anyone think that OFF 81 was anywhere close to approximating a VF/NM?

 

Did he adjust those prices arbitrarily after you placed the order?

 

Bingo (thumbs u

[mschmidt]

For those of you that didn't order from him, thank your lucky stars. Please take this advice from a fellow collector and friend, "let the buyer beware".

 

Andy

 

Ouch. I feel for you, Andy.

 

How could anyone think that OFF 81 was anywhere close to approximating a VF/NM?

 

Did he adjust those prices arbitrarily after you placed the order?

 

Bingo (thumbs u

 

He did the same to me - changed the grade on a book from "NM" to "NM/M" and charged me 150% of the original price. And the book I received was a VF at best.

[Marvelfangirl]

Should I know who Comicvendors are?

[Bumble Kitty]

I hate saying anything bad about anyone, but the Old Comic Vendor's grading is old school, at best.

 

I went into his store a while back and a high school kid (who was an employee) was going through his back stock and removing each comic from the bag and backing board. I thought nothing of it and continued browsing. After a few minutes, I noticed he was not rebagging each comic. Instead, all the comic books were being placed back into the boxes WITHOUT bags and boards.

 

I couldn't believe this! I politely asked the kid why he was doing this. He seemed like a nice and respectful kid and said he did not know. He was hired to remove each comic from the bag and board and then put them back.

 

So I walked over to the counter, waited my turn in line and asked Mr. Comic Book Store Owner why he was doing this. He said he could fit more comics into each box if they didn't have bags and boards. I stood there for a couple of seconds trying to comprehend what he told me. The comic book kid in me wanted to yell out, "you stupid #@&$%", but the adult in me was in charge, so I didn't say anything. I turned around and walked out.

 

I made a mental note to never go back there again and never, ever, order any book from him, regardless of the price. The sad part is he might have some books that are truly near mint, or at least, they use to be, before they were de-bagged and stuffed back into boxes.

[nocutename]

....however, I have a sneaky suspicion I'll be a loser....

 

update:

 

Out of 20 books, I received 4. All 20 were originally on his site at VF. The books I received were horrible and I've included lovely scans for all of you to see.

 

Here's the cherry on top: With my original order, I was given free shipping. After his refund of the books that I didn't get, he decided to add $6 for shipping.

 

For those of you that didn't order from him, thank your lucky stars. Please take this advice from a fellow collector and friend, "let the buyer beware".

 

Andy

 

I am sorry to hear about your transaction but thanks for sharing it. I was wondering if he charged you full price for the shipping too. Classic.

[kingofwhales]

I think the Comicvendor used to be a store at the Old Town Mall in the los angeles South bay area back in the late 70`s early 80`s.

I used to go there when i was a kid to look at the comics because store workers were a little rude and books pricey for the time.

Loved that mall though.

[PokerKid]

I think the Comicvendor used to be a store at the Old Town Mall in the los angeles South bay area back in the late 70`s early 80`s.

I used to go there when i was a kid to look at the comics because store workers were a little rude and books pricey for the time.

Loved that mall though.

 

God, was he the rip-off artist in the mall? I thought he was a differnet guy. I kept that price list from the guy in the mall for a very long time - he sold my dad our first two GA Blackhawks in about 1980. I don't know if the VG books were worth what he paid even 10 years later in NM condition. We didn't know about OSPG or any dealers and just got burned.

[kingofwhales]

Yep,i used to get that price list too.

I`m surprised they even lasted as long they did there,but it was before the internet and to me being young that price list was my OSPG.

[sterlingcomics]

For those of you that didn't order from him, thank your lucky stars. Please take this advice from a fellow collector and friend, "let the buyer beware".

 

Andy

 

Ouch. I feel for you, Andy.

 

How could anyone think that OFF 81 was anywhere close to approximating a VF/NM?

 

Did he adjust those prices arbitrarily after you placed the order?

 

Bingo (thumbs u

 

That doesn't make sense. You made an order for a book at a specific grade at a specific price. The law and order side of me would say that you no longer had a commitment to purchase once the seller changed the terms.

[PokerKid]

For those of you that didn't order from him, thank your lucky stars. Please take this advice from a fellow collector and friend, "let the buyer beware".

 

Andy

 

Ouch. I feel for you, Andy.

 

How could anyone think that OFF 81 was anywhere close to approximating a VF/NM?

 

Did he adjust those prices arbitrarily after you placed the order?

 

Bingo (thumbs u

 

That doesn't make sense. You made an order for a book at a specific grade at a specific price. The law and order side of me would say that you no longer had a commitment to purchase once the seller changed the terms.

 

I agree, but he gets away with it on most of the stuff because of the price vs. hassle over getting the refund. The guy nickles and dimes you until you'd rather just get ripped off for $8-$10 than try to go through the a big back and forth argument. Of course, just like most crooked businesses, he rips you off once, but doesn't get too many repeat customers.

[Senormac]

I think the Comicvendor used to be a store at the Old Town Mall in the los angeles South bay area back in the late 70`s early 80`s.

I used to go there when i was a kid to look at the comics because store workers were a little rude and books pricey for the time.

Loved that mall though.

 

God, was he the rip-off artist in the mall? I thought he was a differnet guy. I kept that price list from the guy in the mall for a very long time - he sold my dad our first two GA Blackhawks in about 1980. I don't know if the VG books were worth what he paid even 10 years later in NM condition. We didn't know about OSPG or any dealers and just got burned.

 

Yup.....same guy. Before that he used to have a store on Crenshaw out in Gardena. Before that......I don't know

[Hamlet]

What is really strange about this is that he's charging prices that make sense for the grades you've given them, and not the ones he's given them, for the most part.

 

$7.50 for an OFF 64 in VF sounds too good to be true, but the $5 for a VG is 25% of OSPG. Not a terrible deal. It's a nice VG.

 

Likewise, the $3 for OFF 79 in VG+ isn't a bad deal either.

 

It's like he's using pricing and grading from 20 years ago. Those books could have been VF's in a lot of shops in the 80s. I know I bought a lot of F+ books at NM prices.

 

It's a good reminder of how far we've come in expectations for service in this area. I remember buying books mail order from guys like these by sending lists of books and alternates if they were sold out. I always had annoying changes in my order, and books that looked nothing like the grade I was sold.

 

The internet has really made comic collecting much better, although it has also made it more expensive for the high grade collector.

 

 

....however, I have a sneaky suspicion I'll be a loser....

 

update:

 

Out of 20 books, I received 4. All 20 were originally on his site at VF. The books I received were horrible and I've included lovely scans for all of you to see.

 

OFF 64 (he changed his VF grade to F+ and lowered his price to $5 from $7.50) The book is a VG

 

OFF 70 (he bumped his grade from VF to VF+ and raised his price to $12 from $6) The book is a VG+

 

 

OFF 79 (he believed he graded this one correctly at VF, I was charged $3) The book is a VG+

 

 

OFF 81 (he bumped his grade from VF to VF/NM, and raised his price to $6 from $3) The book is a VG-

 

 

Here's the cherry on top: With my original order, I was given free shipping. After his refund of the books that I didn't get, he decided to add $6 for shipping.

 

For those of you that didn't order from him, thank your lucky stars. Please take this advice from a fellow collector and friend, "let the buyer beware".

 

Andy