Ranking the Dealers

[VintageComics]

One thing missing from this discussion to date is the dealers flexibility and capability to provide liquidity in the market.

 

There are 2 areas where Metro probably exceed the others and therefore probably deserve to be rated number 1:

 

Buying Power:

 

Liquidity on the buy side (especially in the current market) as well as the sell side.

 

Where Metro has outperformed many of the other dealers and auction houses listed above is on the buy side.

 

They can and do pay top dollar for books. I'm thinking in particularly of my experience with GA keys but presume they must do this in SA as well.

 

They have bought books from me at retail price levels without always having the expectation that they will be able to sell them immediately. In fact there are a number of books they have held for over a year now that they bought at retail from me.

 

This may be an indicator of why they are deemed more expensive that others and books don't sell quickly.

 

They have even bought books back from me for substantially higher prices than I bought them from Metro.

 

This brings greater stability to the market as they have the financial strength to be able to hold books for a longer period of time

 

 

 

Capability to source books others can't find:

 

They are able to leverage their contacts to provide books that others can't find.

 

This is easily reflected by their capability to source Action #1s amongst other things.

 

 

 

I'll will say this positive about Metro: When I was found to be in possession of a book that was previously stolen from Metro (I bought it unknowingly from a seller on eBay) Vinnie cut me a check for the book to reimburse me so that I wouldn't be out of pocket anything and went after the seller/thief for damages. That is the extent of my dealings with them.

 

George, to be fair and keep this in perspective you are and have been one of their better clients. You've owned 3 Detective #27's (or more) alone in the 3 years I've known you and I know you've bought many other books from them.

 

How do you explain experiences like having email communication cut off (on their end, not mine) with no reply, having books for sale pulled out from under they buyer (because they figure you want the book it's worth more than they're asking) and books being severely overgraded and resto missed on a regular basis?

 

It's not just one instance, it's got to be literally dozens if not hundreds of complaints that I have personally heard or read on these boards.

 

I never bad mouthed Metro in the past and so had no reason to get "mistreated" and yet got shut down twice on my only two tries with them a few years ago. Fine, I went and put together a Marvel Comics/Marvel Mystery run without their help.

 

I'm very principle driven and I guess it irks me that in this day and age a business can still thrive, and not only thrive but surpass many other business with such a dichotomy in their customer service reputation. Money definitely talks.

 

[BEAUMONTS]

One thing missing from this discussion to date is the dealers flexibility and capability to provide liquidity in the market.

 

There are 2 areas where Metro probably exceed the others and therefore probably deserve to be rated number 1:

 

Buying Power:

 

Liquidity on the buy side (especially in the current market) as well as the sell side.

 

Where Metro has outperformed many of the other dealers and auction houses listed above is on the buy side.

 

They can and do pay top dollar for books. I'm thinking in particularly of my experience with GA keys but presume they must do this in SA as well.

 

They have bought books from me at retail price levels without always having the expectation that they will be able to sell them immediately. In fact there are a number of books they have held for over a year now that they bought at retail from me.

 

This may be an indicator of why they are deemed more expensive that others and books don't sell quickly.

 

They have even bought books back from me for substantially higher prices than I bought them from Metro.

 

This brings greater stability to the market as they have the financial strength to be able to hold books for a longer period of time

 

 

 

Capability to source books others can't find:

 

They are able to leverage their contacts to provide books that others can't find.

 

This is easily reflected by their capability to source Action #1s amongst other things.

 

 

 

I'll will say this positive about Metro: When I was found to be in possession of a book that was previously stolen from Metro (I bought it unknowingly from a seller on eBay) Vinnie cut me a check for the book to reimburse me so that I wouldn't be out of pocket anything and went after the seller/thief for damages. That is the extent of my dealings with them.

 

George, to be fair and keep this in perspective you are and have been one of their better clients. You've owned 3 Detective #27's (or more) alone in the 3 years I've known you and I know you've bought many other books from them.

 

How do you explain experiences like having email communication cut off (on their end, not mine) with no reply, having books for sale pulled out from under they buyer (because they figure you want the book it's worth more than they're asking) and books being severely overgraded and resto missed on a regular basis?

 

It's not just one instance, it's got to be literally dozens if not hundreds of complaints that I have personally heard or read on these boards.

 

I never bad mouthed Metro in the past and so had no reason to get "mistreated" and yet got shut down twice on my only two tries with them a few years ago. Fine, I went and put together a Marvel Comics/Marvel Mystery run without their help.

 

I'm very principle driven and I guess it irks me that in this day and age a business can still thrive, and not only thrive but surpass many other business with such a dichotomy in their customer service reputation. Money definitely talks.

 

It almost seems like a two tier system with the people who purchase the "big" comics are well taken care of. That being said, they also seem to "take care" of Metropolis by either loyalty or knowing if they step out of line in any perceived way the "soup nazi" customer service representative will step in. And when, like "they" say Metropolis's extraordinary "stock" is involved do many of the larger collectors want to take that chance?

 

[G.A.tor]

Your on my ten best, actually you would be in my top five. Reason being is you respond quickly to inquiries, you take trades, you haggle, you have excellent grading skills plus your a good looking man, and don't think we haven't noticed either.

A man crush on Dale Roberts. Now, I've seen everything.

I told dale this weekend I wanted to be just like him, only better looking, richer and better with the ladies (thumbs u

 

uhhhh, who was it that had the Action #1 on his wall, and the Superman #1. I hope to be like Rick, only with better taste in sports teams. Go Cats.

If you ever show up in Gator crocs, I'm having you committed.

I am still a little heart broken that my gator crocs were broken...first con in 3 years I didn't have them

And yet it was your fourth most successful show.

 

true, but my best show, last SDCC, I wore my crocs all 4 days

[DrWatson]

Fluke.

[G.A.tor]

Fluke.

[Foolkiller]

One thing missing from this discussion to date is the dealers flexibility and capability to provide liquidity in the market.

 

There are 2 areas where Metro probably exceed the others and therefore probably deserve to be rated number 1:

 

Buying Power:

 

Liquidity on the buy side (especially in the current market) as well as the sell side.

 

Where Metro has outperformed many of the other dealers and auction houses listed above is on the buy side.

 

They can and do pay top dollar for books. I'm thinking in particularly of my experience with GA keys but presume they must do this in SA as well.

 

They have bought books from me at retail price levels without always having the expectation that they will be able to sell them immediately. In fact there are a number of books they have held for over a year now that they bought at retail from me.

 

This may be an indicator of why they are deemed more expensive that others and books don't sell quickly.

 

They have even bought books back from me for substantially higher prices than I bought them from Metro.

 

This brings greater stability to the market as they have the financial strength to be able to hold books for a longer period of time

 

 

 

Capability to source books others can't find:

 

They are able to leverage their contacts to provide books that others can't find.

 

This is easily reflected by their capability to source Action #1s amongst other things.

 

 

 

I'll will say this positive about Metro: When I was found to be in possession of a book that was previously stolen from Metro (I bought it unknowingly from a seller on eBay) Vinnie cut me a check for the book to reimburse me so that I wouldn't be out of pocket anything and went after the seller/thief for damages. That is the extent of my dealings with them.

 

George, to be fair and keep this in perspective you are and have been one of their better clients. You've owned 3 Detective #27's (or more) alone in the 3 years I've known you and I know you've bought many other books from them.

 

How do you explain experiences like having email communication cut off (on their end, not mine) with no reply, having books for sale pulled out from under they buyer (because they figure you want the book it's worth more than they're asking) and books being severely overgraded and resto missed on a regular basis?

 

It's not just one instance, it's got to be literally dozens if not hundreds of complaints that I have personally heard or read on these boards.

 

I never bad mouthed Metro in the past and so had no reason to get "mistreated" and yet got shut down twice on my only two tries with them a few years ago. Fine, I went and put together a Marvel Comics/Marvel Mystery run without their help.

 

I'm very principle driven and I guess it irks me that in this day and age a business can still thrive, and not only thrive but surpass many other business with such a dichotomy in their customer service reputation. Money definitely talks.

 

It almost seems like a two tier system with the people who purchase the "big" comics are well taken care of. That being said, they also seem to "take care" of Metropolis by either loyalty or knowing if they step out of line in any perceived way the "soup nazi" customer service representative will step in. And when, like "they" say Metropolis's extraordinary "stock" is involved do many of the larger collectors want to take that chance?

 

Vinny and I have many exchanges about their policies, some more vociferous than others. He's yelled at me for asking too much when selling him books. I've told him I thought they were crazy on their discount policies and how thought it was short sighted.

 

I still do business with them, they still do business with me.

 

I'm probably way, way down on the list of total dollars spent with them too.

[comicwiz]

What line of business are you in? Small mom and pop business may very well not do things this way but most big businesses certainly do pay a lot more attention to their larger customers.

 

I own a business, and my clients include top 100 global brands. This notion of paying "more" attention according to profiles or rankings created for clients is severely flawed. The best way to break the news to companies who use this philosophy or approach (especially if they have used online environments as part of their marketing strategy) is to cross their fingers, and hope they don't get anyone taking their negative service experience to the news, or worse, to the corners of the social Web.

 

Because when this happens to top 100 companies/brands, it means weeks and sometimes months dealing with returns, complaints, customer in-person inquiries/calls/emails/online support, all simultaneously overwhelming infrastructure and human capital, in a rapid, continous and unrelenting manner. Then there is the obscene time/expense allocated towards corrective action (which could mean anything from a voluntary recall, right through to costly litigation/settlement) and I've seen years pass before things get properly reconciled, to say nothing of the time and costs associated to rebuilding their reputation.

 

Show me a company that doesn't care about voices of opposition or consumer feedback, with customers willing to share their negative experiences at whim and taking every shot possible to attack them on legitimate service grounds, and I'll show you a company that is mismanaged, ill-prepared for a reputation nightmare, and on track to join the ranks of the illustrious bailout crew that shamed Wall Street.

[1koko]

One thing missing from this discussion to date is the dealers flexibility and capability to provide liquidity in the market.

 

There are 2 areas where Metro probably exceed the others and therefore probably deserve to be rated number 1:

 

Buying Power:

 

Liquidity on the buy side (especially in the current market) as well as the sell side.

 

Where Metro has outperformed many of the other dealers and auction houses listed above is on the buy side.

 

They can and do pay top dollar for books. I'm thinking in particularly of my experience with GA keys but presume they must do this in SA as well.

 

They have bought books from me at retail price levels without always having the expectation that they will be able to sell them immediately. In fact there are a number of books they have held for over a year now that they bought at retail from me.

 

This may be an indicator of why they are deemed more expensive that others and books don't sell quickly.

 

They have even bought books back from me for substantially higher prices than I bought them from Metro.

 

This brings greater stability to the market as they have the financial strength to be able to hold books for a longer period of time

 

 

 

Capability to source books others can't find:

 

They are able to leverage their contacts to provide books that others can't find.

 

This is easily reflected by their capability to source Action #1s amongst other things.

 

 

 

I'll will say this positive about Metro: When I was found to be in possession of a book that was previously stolen from Metro (I bought it unknowingly from a seller on eBay) Vinnie cut me a check for the book to reimburse me so that I wouldn't be out of pocket anything and went after the seller/thief for damages. That is the extent of my dealings with them.

 

George, to be fair and keep this in perspective you are and have been one of their better clients. You've owned 3 Detective #27's (or more) alone in the 3 years I've known you and I know you've bought many other books from them.

 

How do you explain experiences like having email communication cut off (on their end, not mine) with no reply, having books for sale pulled out from under they buyer (because they figure you want the book it's worth more than they're asking) and books being severely overgraded and resto missed on a regular basis?

 

It's not just one instance, it's got to be literally dozens if not hundreds of complaints that I have personally heard or read on these boards.

 

I never bad mouthed Metro in the past and so had no reason to get "mistreated" and yet got shut down twice on my only two tries with them a few years ago. Fine, I went and put together a Marvel Comics/Marvel Mystery run without their help.

 

I'm very principle driven and I guess it irks me that in this day and age a business can still thrive, and not only thrive but surpass many other business with such a dichotomy in their customer service reputation. Money definitely talks.

 

 

Customer service is a difficult one to call and you may have noted not one I discussed in my post as it can definetly be spotty.

 

My point focused on their capability to source books and the buying power that allows them to bring some stability to prices.

 

My buying experience may have been "lucky" initially (first purchase was10 odd pre-Hero Tecs sold raw through e-bay that all came back unrestored from CGC).

 

As I don't buy low to mid value books from Metro (there are cheaper sources elsewhere) I can only focus on my buying experience with them on higher value comics.

 

Any raw books I have bought from Metro with high value have had a minimum CGC grade and page quality agreement as a condition of sale and they have been pretty consistent with their estimates - grade either same or a notch lower than Metro had given and page quality either at or better than their view.

 

I can imagine that for lower value books this buying strategy is likely to get a negative response from Metro so those not comfortable with buying from Metro should look to alternate sellers (of which there are many).

 

 

 

[1koko]

 

It almost seems like a two tier system with the people who purchase the "big" comics are well taken care of. That being said, they also seem to "take care" of Metropolis by either loyalty or knowing if they step out of line in any perceived way the "soup nazi" customer service representative will step in. And when, like "they" say Metropolis's extraordinary "stock" is involved do many of the larger collectors want to take that chance?

 

I'm sorry but I'm scared of the "soup nazi" customer service rep or give blind loyalty

 

I buy from all dealers as I would buy anything else.

 

I ask questions. If book is not in hand I will ask for reassurances regarding returns policy if book not conistent with my requirements.

 

I learn with experience of a dealer what their grading is like and pay a price based on what I'm prepared to pay for my expectation of the grade of the book (whether raw or CGC graded).

 

With Metro I generally assume that the raw comic will when graded by CGC be a notch lower than a Metro grade and pay accordingly.

 

 

[LordRahl]

What line of business are you in? Small mom and pop business may very well not do things this way but most big businesses certainly do pay a lot more attention to their larger customers.

 

I own a business, and my clients include top 100 global brands. This notion of paying "more" attention according to profiles or rankings created for clients is severely flawed. The best way to break the news to companies who use this philosophy or approach (especially if they have used online environments as part of their marketing strategy) is to cross their fingers, and hope they don't get anyone taking their negative service experience to the news, or worse, to the corners of the social Web.

 

Because when this happens to top 100 companies/brands, it means weeks and sometimes months dealing with returns, complaints, customer in-person inquiries/calls/emails/online support, all simultaneously overwhelming infrastructure and human capital, in a rapid, continous and unrelenting manner. Then there is the obscene time/expense allocated towards corrective action (which could mean anything from a voluntary recall, right through to costly litigation/settlement) and I've seen years pass before things get properly reconciled, to say nothing of the time and costs associated to rebuilding their reputation.

 

Show me a company that doesn't care about voices of opposition or consumer feedback, with customers willing to share their negative experiences at whim and taking every shot possible to attack them on legitimate service grounds, and I'll show you a company that is mismanaged, ill-prepared for a reputation nightmare, and on track to join the ranks of the illustrious bailout crew that shamed Wall Street.

 

Oracle, IBM, HP, SAP etc

 

It's not that they don't care about consumer feedback, it's just that they care a lot more about feedback from customers spending $1Mil a year vs those spending $50-100K.

[capt_comics]

One thing missing from this discussion to date is the dealers flexibility and capability to provide liquidity in the market.

 

There are 2 areas where Metro probably exceed the others and therefore probably deserve to be rated number 1:

 

Buying Power:

 

Liquidity on the buy side (especially in the current market) as well as the sell side.

 

Where Metro has outperformed many of the other dealers and auction houses listed above is on the buy side.

 

They can and do pay top dollar for books. I'm thinking in particularly of my experience with GA keys but presume they must do this in SA as well.

 

They have bought books from me at retail price levels without always having the expectation that they will be able to sell them immediately. In fact there are a number of books they have held for over a year now that they bought at retail from me.

 

This may be an indicator of why they are deemed more expensive that others and books don't sell quickly.

 

They have even bought books back from me for substantially higher prices than I bought them from Metro.

 

This brings greater stability to the market as they have the financial strength to be able to hold books for a longer period of time

 

 

 

Capability to source books others can't find:

 

They are able to leverage their contacts to provide books that others can't find.

 

This is easily reflected by their capability to source Action #1s amongst other things.

 

 

 

I'll will say this positive about Metro: When I was found to be in possession of a book that was previously stolen from Metro (I bought it unknowingly from a seller on eBay) Vinnie cut me a check for the book to reimburse me so that I wouldn't be out of pocket anything and went after the seller/thief for damages. That is the extent of my dealings with them.

 

George, to be fair and keep this in perspective you are and have been one of their better clients. You've owned 3 Detective #27's (or more) alone in the 3 years I've known you and I know you've bought many other books from them.

 

How do you explain experiences like having email communication cut off (on their end, not mine) with no reply, having books for sale pulled out from under they buyer (because they figure you want the book it's worth more than they're asking) and books being severely overgraded and resto missed on a regular basis?

 

It's not just one instance, it's got to be literally dozens if not hundreds of complaints that I have personally heard or read on these boards.

 

I never bad mouthed Metro in the past and so had no reason to get "mistreated" and yet got shut down twice on my only two tries with them a few years ago. Fine, I went and put together a Marvel Comics/Marvel Mystery run without their help.

 

I'm very principle driven and I guess it irks me that in this day and age a business can still thrive, and not only thrive but surpass many other business with such a dichotomy in their customer service reputation. Money definitely talks.

 

It almost seems like a two tier system with the people who purchase the "big" comics are well taken care of. That being said, they also seem to "take care" of Metropolis by either loyalty or knowing if they step out of line in any perceived way the "soup nazi" customer service representative will step in. And when, like "they" say Metropolis's extraordinary "stock" is involved do many of the larger collectors want to take that chance?

 

Vinny and I have many exchanges about their policies, some more vociferous than others. He's yelled at me for asking too much when selling him books. I've told him I thought they were crazy on their discount policies and how thought it was short sighted.

 

I still do business with them, they still do business with me.

 

I'm probably way, way down on the list of total dollars spent with them too.

 

I've always loved that word

 

 

[JohnT]

I have only bought from a few on that list but I would like to post my beef with Metropolis..

 

When you buy a book on time pay even though you have never seen it other then the scan you CANT return it.. .In my case I had Frank have the book in hand and give his opinion on it.I bit and made payments on the book.

 

Once I received the book I was very upset that there was a 2 inch spine tear that was NOT disclosed after I asked about the book in great detail..

 

I called him and told him I was very unhappy with the book and wanted a refund.His answer was we dont return books that were on a payment plan

 

I was like WTF??? I never saw the book so why no returns? Policy was the answer..PITIFUL customer service Just a joke..

 

Well I have never and will never buy from them EVER again Granted it was only a thousand dollar book but boy was I mad about it..

 

My beef with metro is, why have make a offer for a book when they tell you that they will not discount the book at all. I inquired about 3 books over the last couple of years and I got the same response "we cant discount that book but we will give you free shipping " even though it has make a offer!

 

Better yet you want to buy a book from them but they won't sell it to you.

 

 

Fishler has deep pockets and deep inventory (maybe deeper inventory than anyone else on the planet) and he's in the nice position of not needing to make a sale if he doesn't want to...that makes for poor customer service for many people, unfortunately.

 

They'll take care of the deep pocketed buyers because he's not a dummy (Action #1 anybody), but it seems that customer service only applies to about half their clientele. The unlucky ones have enough stories to tell until the cows come home and that's too bad because great inventory + great customer service would = greatest dealer in the world. At this point, they simply have the greatest inventory in the world.

 

I actually find it funny that someone like Brian would put Metro at the top of the list knowing all of this but then Brian is high profile enough to get good service.

 

I've said this before, I really wish Metro wanted my business because they have tons of books that I'd love to buy but unfortunately they don't.

 

 

I've only tried to buy one book from them. I made an offer on a book, and they came back with a very slight discount on the posted price. No big deal, I really wanted the book, so I took it. Well, a couple days later I get an email saying that the book had already sold.

 

Okay, things happen, although it was a book I was really looking for and it was a nice copy and I was pretty disappointed. The thing that bugged me about the whole thing was the lack of a real apology. If I did that (actually I have done that) I'd be apologizing all over the place and working hard to make it up to the person. But they didn't even really acknowledge that they had screwed up and that I might be disappointed. Nor did they offer to try to find another copy. So I just left the transaction--or attempted transaction--with a bad taste in my mouth and I've never gone back.

[VintageComics]

 

Okay, things happen, although it was a book I was really looking for and it was a nice copy and I was pretty disappointed. The thing that bugged me about the whole thing was the lack of a real apology. If I did that (actually I have done that) I'd be apologizing all over the place and working hard to make it up to the person. But they didn't even really acknowledge that they had screwed up and that I might be disappointed. Nor did they offer to try to find another copy. So I just left the transaction--or attempted transaction--with a bad taste in my mouth and I've never gone back.

 

You got lucky. With me the book never sold, it just wasn't for sale any more.

 

[AtlasFan]

I have only bought from a few on that list but I would like to post my beef with Metropolis..

 

When you buy a book on time pay even though you have never seen it other then the scan you CANT return it.. .In my case I had Frank have the book in hand and give his opinion on it.I bit and made payments on the book.

 

Once I received the book I was very upset that there was a 2 inch spine tear that was NOT disclosed after I asked about the book in great detail..

 

I called him and told him I was very unhappy with the book and wanted a refund.His answer was we dont return books that were on a payment plan

 

I was like WTF??? I never saw the book so why no returns? Policy was the answer..PITIFUL customer service Just a joke..

 

Well I have never and will never buy from them EVER again Granted it was only a thousand dollar book but boy was I mad about it..

 

My beef with metro is, why have make a offer for a book when they tell you that they will not discount the book at all. I inquired about 3 books over the last couple of years and I got the same response "we cant discount that book but we will give you free shipping " even though it has make a offer!

 

Better yet you want to buy a book from them but they won't sell it to you.

 

 

Fishler has deep pockets and deep inventory (maybe deeper inventory than anyone else on the planet) and he's in the nice position of not needing to make a sale if he doesn't want to...that makes for poor customer service for many people, unfortunately.

 

They'll take care of the deep pocketed buyers because he's not a dummy (Action #1 anybody), but it seems that customer service only applies to about half their clientele. The unlucky ones have enough stories to tell until the cows come home and that's too bad because great inventory + great customer service would = greatest dealer in the world. At this point, they simply have the greatest inventory in the world.

 

I actually find it funny that someone like Brian would put Metro at the top of the list knowing all of this but then Brian is high profile enough to get good service.

 

I've said this before, I really wish Metro wanted my business because they have tons of books that I'd love to buy but unfortunately they don't.

 

 

I've only tried to buy one book from them. I made an offer on a book, and they came back with a very slight discount on the posted price. No big deal, I really wanted the book, so I took it. Well, a couple days later I get an email saying that the book had already sold.

 

Okay, things happen, although it was a book I was really looking for and it was a nice copy and I was pretty disappointed. The thing that bugged me about the whole thing was the lack of a real apology. If I did that (actually I have done that) I'd be apologizing all over the place and working hard to make it up to the person. But they didn't even really acknowledge that they had screwed up and that I might be disappointed. Nor did they offer to try to find another copy. So I just left the transaction--or attempted transaction--with a bad taste in my mouth and I've never gone back.

 

Probably someone pulled the trigger for the full-price before they had a chance to process your order and update their website...so you got shafted. Can't blame a company for wanting to maximize their profits...

[chrisco37]

 

You got lucky. With me the book never sold, it just wasn't for sale any more.

 

 

The wheels are in motion....

[sckao]

People should realize that the database for a website may not be current. (Books sell at conventions, in person, eBay, via consignment, Atomic Avenue, etc.)

 

There are many other venues where a book can sell these days.

 

Things happen and it may take a while to update.

 

 

 

 

[JohnT]

I have only bought from a few on that list but I would like to post my beef with Metropolis..

 

When you buy a book on time pay even though you have never seen it other then the scan you CANT return it.. .In my case I had Frank have the book in hand and give his opinion on it.I bit and made payments on the book.

 

Once I received the book I was very upset that there was a 2 inch spine tear that was NOT disclosed after I asked about the book in great detail..

 

I called him and told him I was very unhappy with the book and wanted a refund.His answer was we dont return books that were on a payment plan

 

I was like WTF??? I never saw the book so why no returns? Policy was the answer..PITIFUL customer service Just a joke..

 

Well I have never and will never buy from them EVER again Granted it was only a thousand dollar book but boy was I mad about it..

 

My beef with metro is, why have make a offer for a book when they tell you that they will not discount the book at all. I inquired about 3 books over the last couple of years and I got the same response "we cant discount that book but we will give you free shipping " even though it has make a offer!

 

Better yet you want to buy a book from them but they won't sell it to you.

 

 

Fishler has deep pockets and deep inventory (maybe deeper inventory than anyone else on the planet) and he's in the nice position of not needing to make a sale if he doesn't want to...that makes for poor customer service for many people, unfortunately.

 

They'll take care of the deep pocketed buyers because he's not a dummy (Action #1 anybody), but it seems that customer service only applies to about half their clientele. The unlucky ones have enough stories to tell until the cows come home and that's too bad because great inventory + great customer service would = greatest dealer in the world. At this point, they simply have the greatest inventory in the world.

 

I actually find it funny that someone like Brian would put Metro at the top of the list knowing all of this but then Brian is high profile enough to get good service.

 

I've said this before, I really wish Metro wanted my business because they have tons of books that I'd love to buy but unfortunately they don't.

 

 

I've only tried to buy one book from them. I made an offer on a book, and they came back with a very slight discount on the posted price. No big deal, I really wanted the book, so I took it. Well, a couple days later I get an email saying that the book had already sold.

 

Okay, things happen, although it was a book I was really looking for and it was a nice copy and I was pretty disappointed. The thing that bugged me about the whole thing was the lack of a real apology. If I did that (actually I have done that) I'd be apologizing all over the place and working hard to make it up to the person. But they didn't even really acknowledge that they had screwed up and that I might be disappointed. Nor did they offer to try to find another copy. So I just left the transaction--or attempted transaction--with a bad taste in my mouth and I've never gone back.

 

Probably someone pulled the trigger for the full-price before they had a chance to process your order and update their website...so you got shafted. Can't blame a company for wanting to maximize their profits...

 

Well, the thought did cross my mind, but I was paying pretty close to full price and it wasn't a high demand book, so it's pretty unlikely they got another offer. I just chalked it up to sloppiness.

[JohnT]

People should realize that the database for a website may not be current. (Books sell at conventions, in person, eBay, via consignment, Atomic Avenue, etc.)

 

There are many other venues where a book can sell these days.

 

Things happen and it may take a while to update.

 

 

 

 

It doesn't take a while to update if you have a competent system to track sales. We do live in the computer age, after all.

 

But like I said, I could excuse the mistake if they had shown a little sympathy.