xmen 1 cgc 9.4 sells for $57K on comiclink!!!!!!!!!!

[Aman619]

I think it was unfortunate that Comoclink, in frustration, went a bit too far in his defense and into attack mode with those comments. But in fairness, hes human, and it takes a lot of self control to deal with internet critics of your business - - especiallly when they are making insinuations that your successful business (and you) are crroked. He should have stopped at answering the charges flatly and thats it.

 

I talked to dealers and collectors who have dealt wiht him as both sellers and buyers and they all agree what a valuable service he plays in todays market. For sellers AND buyers he takes the least out of each transaction and gets a huge amount of traffic of the "right" buyers. And while all acknowledged the obvious opportunity Comiclink's Josh has for 'mischief', they had seen no evidence of it, stating that Josh recognizes that he can only kill what he has built by doing so.

 

I never really understood what went wrong with that AF15....until now. Seems there shoulkd be a specific email that says you are on a waiting list, or you were not first to place the order. But further, since many of us like to contact the seller directly with a major purchase, he should have (and Im sure definitely has by now) instructed all employees to never give out ANY info on the phone w/o checking the system first!!

 

I also question how Comiclink can offer a book to someone before it gets online, unless the potential buyer meets the asking price (since that way the seller wouldnt care HOW it sold. I guess as a middleman, if seller agrees, Comiclink can sell a book offline too, right? That cant be any worse than waiting for a show only to get there and find out the books you were looking for were sold privately last week, or in the hours before the doors opened!!

[musicmeta]

I've bought some books from comiclink listed on ebay and I was EXTREMELY happy with the transactions. VERY nice to deal with and prompt delivery.

I hope to buy more books from comiclink.

[AtomicPaul-migration]

I never really understood what went wrong with that AF15....until now

 

It was all really simple to understand if you approach it like any other website that sells comics. Link is not an auction site in the traditional sense. Each book is 4-sale without a specified time of closure. Users do not bid on a book with a set objective time hanging in the balance. A book is up for sale with an asking price. Offers are made against an asking price. Time does not dictate or play a part in these offers, the only important factor is the dollar amount of the offer and at what point a consignor says (on a pre-agreed upon amount, ask and take, already established between Link and the consignor), "sell".

 

Of course, if someone wants to pony up the ask price and hit the BIN price, there is no question of "ask and take" and the book sells at the maximum ask price. It looks like an auction, having many elements of an auction, but the most important aspect missing that makes it not an auction is that each item has a BIN that a potential buyer can execute and take it out of the hands of other prospective "bidders".

 

It's not an auction site. It is like any other prime quality site that sells comics. The price is there already. Pay it and take the book (if you're the first one to hit the BIN) or make offers against the ask. Unlike auction sites, the price given is the ceiling. At that point, you cannot be overbid, only outgunned if you weren't quick enough on the draw.

 

My experiences with link have all been enthusiatically positive. From ordering on his site to understanding perfectly the way the notification and payment-invoice emails arrive to confirm the purchase, to the books arriving in a timely manner. I've never experienced a gliche.

[musicmeta]

Sorry, my mistake..I got it confused with comgeek, but I would by a book from comclink if I found something I liked and could afford.

[fantastic_four]

It's not an auction site. It is like any other prime quality site that sells comics. The price is there already. Pay it and take the book (if you're the first one to hit the BIN) or make offers against the ask. Unlike auction sites, the price given is the ceiling. At that point, you cannot be overbid, only outgunned if you weren't quick enough on the draw.

 

Do we really know that the quickest person to put a buy price in REALLY wins? All people who put a buy price in are given the exact same notification, so there's some wiggle room, isn't there? Josh could crown himself the quickest buyer, or he could give it to someone else who calls in and offers more. He could even keep the difference on that higher bid all for himself.

 

I don't really think he does any of these things, but with the way the system works, only he knows for sure what goes on after a buy. But I have gotten great service over the years and have no specific reason to suspect unethical behavior.

[JiveTurkeyMoFo]

For what its worth, I've had one transaction with Comiclink and it was very positive.

 

As for speculation on possible abuse of the system, it looks like there are enough Grassy Knoll conspiracy theorists on here to handle that topic.

[blowout]

As for speculation on possible abuse of the system, it looks like there are enough Grassy Knoll conspiracy theorists on here to handle that topic.

 

[Timely]

If I were Josh I would be pissed off to with this thread of attacks, speculation and complete guess work with the forum members. And you guy wonder why none of the heavy-hitters hang around here for very long. Let's keep with the facts folks.

 

Timely

[blowout]

If I were Josh I would be pissed off to with this thread of attacks, speculation and complete guess work with the forum members. And you guy wonder why none of the heavy-hitters hang around here for very long. Let's keep with the facts folks.

 

Last time I checked this was a discussion board, and I don't really see a problem with reasonable debate on these kind of issues.

[14 of spades]

I think it was unfortunate that Comoclink, in frustration, went a bit too far in his defense and into attack mode with those comments. But in fairness, hes human, and it takes a lot of self control to deal with internet critics of your business - - especiallly when they are making insinuations that your successful business (and you) are crroked. He should have stopped at answering the charges flatly and thats it.

 

good post. i agree.

 

i think it was unfortunate that comiclink, further, decided to take the "High Ground" and start making indirect accusations that people who post certain things on message boards obviously have issues in their lives. it's one thing to name call, but then, to go ahead and immediately make large generalizations on the human psyche... if he's so learned on the topic - he shouldn't be in comics - he should be making his millions in psychology.

[tth2]

Do we really know that the quickest person to put a buy price in REALLY wins? All people who put a buy price in are given the exact same notification, so there's some wiggle room, isn't there? Josh could crown himself the quickest buyer, or he could give it to someone else who calls in and offers more. He could even keep the difference on that higher bid all for himself.

 

I don't understand why Josh and Comiclink are being held to a higher standard than any other dealer's site. I assume people have previously contacted Bob Storms or PGCMint or Metropolis or JP about a book that was listed on their site, only to find out it was gone already. And yet, I don't recall seeing any threads on these boards alleging that the dealer was lying to them and really had the book but didn't want to sell to them for some reason, or that the dealer was lying about the posted sales price.

 

And yet, people were quick to jump on the Comiclink conspiracy bandwagon, when there has not been one iota of evidence on this thread that Josh and Comiclink have acted dishonestly, now or in the past, in a way that would lead to the kind of allegations and suspicions that have been raised. Yes, they acted negligently in the case of the 9.6 AF 15 and Josh probably could have offered some better compensation to the guy than what was offered, but I doubt anyone here can really say that what happened was done with bad intent.

 

For the record, I hold Josh and Comiclink in high regard, have probably spent more money with him than any other single dealer and plan to continue doing business with him. If others don't want to do business with him because they've been deterred by grassy knolls and other manifestations of paranoia, that's their loss.

[Rip]

If I were Josh I would be pissed off to with this thread of attacks, speculation and complete guess work with the forum members. And you guy wonder why none of the heavy-hitters hang around here for very long. Let's keep with the facts folks.

 

[FFB]

Josh,

 

I don't know why you posted this, but there was absolutely no need to bring me into your fight with Brian and I do not appreciate your doing so in the manner that you did.

 

It is true that I was not happy about the Amazing Fantasy 15 transaction, but I don't "blame" Comiclink because someone else beat me to the punch. My problem with Comiclink is that I think it would be relatively easy to have the system indicate in real time that a bidder is no longer the "first" bidder to place a buy order, yet you have chosen not to do this. Your current set up leaves a lot of opportunity for YOUR customers to be disappointed when they think they've bought a book, only to find out later that they haven't. (Then there is the fact that your customer service guy, who was looking at the computer, told me that I was the only bidder on the book when I placed my buy order. But never mind that.) Anyway, look around, because I am not the only person who has complained about the "multiple buy orders" aspect of your service. Furthermore, I do not believe that I questioned your integrity after you and I spoke about the AF 15 on the telephone.

 

I may very well bid on books from Comiclink in the future if I see something I want. But I think that you need to think twice before bad mouthing potential customers on a message board because it shows incredibly poor judgment and it is not worth the bad feelings you cause in doing it.

 

..."The ability for manipulation is here as well as the motivation to make a

sh**load of money. e.g. Has the 'real buyer' of the restored AF #15 9.6 been

determined yet, or this book sitting in vaults of ComicLink?"

 

In addition, the person that wanted to purchase the Amazing Fantasy #15 CGC

9.6 restored was told (TRUTHFULLY) that three buy orders were placed for the

book, as well as the exact times up to the second that each buy order was

purchased. His buy order was the second to to be placed. I am not sure,

but I believe his complaints on the chat board about possible impropriety

were prior to learning this and prior to learning how the ComicLink system

works in general. It was his first order (and probably his last considering

it appears he still has sour grapes and blames the ComicLink system itself

and not the fact that another buyer beat him to the book). What would the

first buyer to place the order say if ComicLink gave it to the second buyer

instead? Would that make sense? Maybe instead of a first-come-first served

system, the system should be automated to recognize which buyers would be

most abusive to ComicLink on the CGC forums and give them first priority

 

Of course, regarding suggestions for enhancements to the site - they are

always welcome, and all enhancement suggestions are considered.

 

Josh

[FFB]

Just to be clear, Josh: at no time did I ask you to sell me the book if I was not the first person to place an order. My displeasure with the transaction was from being told that I won the book and then later being told that I was on the waiting list. It was a bummer and I think that your system could easily be fixed to prevent this from happening, but I am not going to let it ruin my day if you don't want to fix it.

 

I also hope you're not lumping me in with the "most pissed off" who are "failures in their line of work." I think you need to chill out and think about the public image that you are portraying here. Why don't you take a step back, re-read the criticism that has actually been given in this thread and elsewhere, and try to improve Comiclink to address these things, rather than picking fights with the people to whom you want to sell comics?

 

First of all, one way I can usually tell if a user is not a player in the comic book market, is if he or she curses on a public forum. I would actually like to know your name, as you have me at a disadvantage. I'd be interested to know if you've ever purchased anything of substance from the ComicLink web site - do you have a reason to be so abrasive? In any case, I believe it was previously explained in this forum by the user that Jason, a new employee at ComicLink, did not know how the system worked in this respect and erroneously confirmed that the user did get the book when he did not. I think that is because the user told Jason he placed a buy order for the book and Jason assumed that he was the only one to do so. Big mistake! It mislead the user into thinking that the book was his. Jason did this without first researching the buy order history of the book. After researching the buy order history on the book, I learned that this user was not the first buyer to place an order for the book, and I was horrified. I told Jason that he made a mistake and I knew we'd have an unsatisfied customer on our hands. I spoke with the user to inform him that Jason made a mistake and apologized for the error. I told him that if the buyer that placed the order first defaulted on payment, it would be his. Further, I asked him if there was anything else that I could provide him with now or find for him in place of that book. I gave him advance notice of another Amazing Fantasy 15 that was to be posted on the site and if he was interested, I would have given him the opportunity to purchase it directly off of the site. He was not interested, and it was not much of a consolation I know, but that was the only thing I could do. The only other thing I could do was to take the book out of the hands of the rightful buyer that placed the order first. That would be immoral, so I did not do that. Would any of you have handled it differently from me?

 

It was not a problem with the ComicLink system; it was a mistake made by a person. The system did not confirm to the user that he was the buyer on record for the book. On the contrary, it generated an email to the user stating that a subsequent email would let him know whether that was the case or not. The only person to get the confirming email that the book was his, and requesting payment, was the first buyer to order the book. Employees make mistakes - an unfortunate (and sometimes costly) fact of life. I am sorry that it happened but I can't control what comes out of the mouth of others (as is obvious by the fact that I am on this forum on the defensive here ).

 

Why don't some more of the clients that actually like the service ComicLink provides, and know that I am personally credible and honest, give me some support here? Sheesh. It always seems like the most pissed off are the most vocal. Whether they are pissed off at the state of the comic book market or the state of their own lives is what I question. Do you know what they say about critics? They often are failures at the same line of work within which they like to criticize others. Find something more productive to do to better your own lives! Get into the positive, guys! Why waste time with the conspiracy theories and hateful comments? END OF RANT

 

All that said, I do encourage CONSTRUCTIVE criticism . Learning from it is the best way to improve! That differs from slanderous or destructive criticism, gentlemen.

[FFB]

Thanks FF. This and the illegal 3% credit card surcharge are my only complaints about Comiclink.

 

Employees make mistakes - an unfortunate (and sometimes costly) fact of life. I am sorry that it happened but I can't control what comes out of the mouth of others (as is obvious by the fact that I am on this forum on the defensive here ).

 

Why don't some more of the clients that actually like the service ComicLink provides, and know that I am personally credible and honest, give me some support here?

 

I am a client and I like your service, so here's some constructive criticism--the reason your employee made the mistake and the reason your customer was ticked off is because your buy order response system is unclear. If a person isn't the first one to place a buy order on a book, the system should tell them. Ideally, it should tell them how many people have placed buy orders ahead of them.

 

As a web developer/programmer myself, I estimate that this shouldn't take your programmer more than an hour or two to implement if you were so inclined to ask him to do so. I could probably do it in 5 or 10 minutes if I was already familiar with the site's architecture.

[sterlingcomics]

Cough...Cough...reading thread. Please wait

[sterlingcomics]

The reason your employee made the mistake and the reason your customer was ticked off is because your buy order response system is unclear. If a person isn't the first one to place a buy order on a book, the system should tell them. Ideally, it should tell them how many people have placed buy orders ahead of them.

 

Bingo. My thoughts exactly as an IT dude.

[COMICLINK]

Fantastic Four - please identify yourself as well. I would like to know who I am corresponding with. Regarding response time delays - please do not jump to negative conclusions if you don't receive a response. I am not at the computer on the CGC forums 24/7, and I do other things besides read this thread.

 

Regarding your suggestions, and others, I will keep all of them in mind and incorporate the changes that I think are appropriate. There are many improvements for ComicLink in the works and I intend to keep making the site better and less confusing for users. Your suggestions do help and I do appreciate it.

[COMICLINK]

Mushroom and Foolkiller - please identify yourselves (first and last name) so I know who it is that I am corresponding with. It can give me a frame or reference for your comments. Mushroom - you say you have not received a comic book that you ordered in February and you were charged for it. The only way that seems possible is if the book is lost in the mail, because we only charge customers right before sending out their order. Give me your first and last name and I will look up your order, if you actually did place one. Otherwise, we will have to assume this is merely another unjustified pot shot at ComicLink.

 

Also, Foolkiller - have you purchased any ungraded books from ComicLink? We have many repeat customer for ungraded books who are very satisfied with the conditions received.

[OldGuy]

Fantastic Four - please identify yourself as well. I would like to know who I am corresponding with.

 

I know you're not at your computer or on this thread 24/7, but all you have to do is look at his profile to see all of his personal information. Not everyone lists their personal info, but James, myself, and some others don't hide behind a forum alias, we prefer to remain transparent.