Is $35-$40 too much for a facilitator for 1 book?

[Transplant]

Background: Recently, I decided to celebrate a friend's 40th birthday by having a modern ASM book signed by Stan Lee. Seeing as I could not make it to upcoming signings and not wanting to wait forever for a mail off opportunity, another friend agreed to drop it off for me at NYCC. Now this second friend cracked the book, filled out all the paperwork and prepped it like the SS boss he is. I even had the book prepared to be submitted on my dealer account.

 

I'm no dummy. Thanks to the information here on the boards, I know that if you want a Stan Lee SS book at a con, that means going through Desertwind. I bit the bullet and asked my friend to sub it for me.

 

Mind you, at this point the book is in bomb-proof boards and bags. The invoice is ready to go. The only issue if $$.

 

I've done some looking at DWC and asked for feedback on the boards. From what I can tell, if you order a ticket in advance to have any generic item signed by Stan at a show (book, poster, photo, etc.) it will cost $45. If you get it onsite, expect to pay $50 cash or $55 credit. As far as I can tell, even these autographs have to go through DWC. The DWC site lists $90 as the starting price for a book that you mail in to them to have signed by Stan. Not SS, just signed and returned. If you want SS, it will cost $110. In each case, you have to pay for return shipping in addition.

 

So my friend writes back and says that DWC charged him $90 to submit this book for SS. $90 for a book prepped with the invoice already filled out. By the way, that $90 does NOT include CGC fees nor does it include return shipping. As far as I can tell, the premium paid for the walking over of the book and handing it to the witness/CGC afterwards.

 

I ask you, dear reader. In your opinion, is $35-40 too much for a facilitator to charge someone in the above scenario? Would it be possible for such pricing to exist but for the EXCLUSIVE arrangement between Stan Lee and Desertwind Comics? An arrangement which is, de facto, sanctioned by CGC?

 

By way of comparison, my experience in the past is that facilitators, even ones traveling cross country to shows, charge around $5-10/book.

 

Should CGC permit anyone a monopoly over any creator at a convention? Should DWC use that monopoly to charge such prices? I'll take my answer off the air.

[Ryan.]

Does DWC really have a monopoly though?

[Transplant]

Does DWC really have a monopoly though?

At cons, for SS books, yes. In fact, as far as I can tell, they do all the tickets for Stan at a show, SS or not.

[Ryan.]

Does DWC really have a monopoly though?

At cons, for SS books, yes. In fact, as far as I can tell, they do all the tickets for Stan at a show, SS or not.

 

Stan is set to sign at a show in Boston next month. I had fully intended to use a local facilitator to handle that. Still do intend, actually. If it turns out that I cannot use my preferred facilitator then I will not be subbing for Stan's sig because monopolies be wack.

[Transplant]

Does DWC really have a monopoly though?

At cons, for SS books, yes. In fact, as far as I can tell, they do all the tickets for Stan at a show, SS or not.

 

Stan is set to sign at a show in Boston next month. I had fully intended to use a local facilitator to handle that. Still do intend, actually. If it turns out that I cannot use my preferred facilitator then I will not be subbing for Stan's sig because monopolies be wack.

You can use your facilitator. They just have to pay a "wet the beak" fee to DWC to do so. That's assuming DWC is there. Not sure what happens if they aren't.

[plasticmoz]

This seems very specific to Stan Lee - regular rates for most creators (outside of creator fees) fall into the range you mentioned. Then again, not much choice if you want a Stan SS (with varying levels of convenience to you).

[shadroch]

When you go to a show, isn't it a shoot that you'll be able to get a Stan autograph? I think it comes down to you can either stand on line and get it for one price or go thru DWC and be done with it. I'd go for the extra bucks and be free to do the other things one does at a con.

Stan and DWC charge what they charge because the market can bear it.

Neither of them is a non-profit, and both have tremendous expenses involved in getting your your signed book.

[somewhereintexas]

Did you bring this matter to DWC's attention before you started this thread? NYCC was hectic, and DWC probably had to use people other than their regulars to help out, and whoever helped out your friend only knew the basic rules and tried to make his submission fit within those parameters. It's a different story if your friend questioned the charge and after talking to Chandler or Sharon was told that $90 was the correct amount.

[comix4fun]

When you go to a show, isn't it a shoot that you'll be able to get a Stan autograph? I think it comes down to you can either stand on line and get it for one price or go thru DWC and be done with it.

 

 

I don't think that's accurate.

[Transplant]

Did you bring this matter to DWC's attention before you started this thread? NYCC was hectic, and DWC probably had to use people other than their regulars to help out, and whoever helped out your friend only knew the basic rules and tried to make his submission fit within those parameters. It's a different story if your friend questioned the charge and after talking to Chandler or Sharon was told that $90 was the correct amount.

(thumbs u

[Webhead1981]

I've always had great experiences with DWC.

 

Something i've lived by in this hobby. Something is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it. If people will pay $35-40 then someone will charge it.

[mschmidt]

It's pretty impressive how many people are actually missing the point of the OP's question.

 

It's not a matter of whether it costs money to get a Stan Lee signature on a SS book - it does.

 

If you are mailing the book to DWC, it's $110 for a modern Stan Lee SS book (excluding the CGC return shipping fees). If you are bringing the book to a show where Stan is appearing, the cost is $95-100, depending on whether you pay by credit card or cash. Both of those scenarios involve the book being subbed under DWC's account, not yours.

 

If you want to sub the book under your own account, DWC usually charges you $20 on top of the Stan Lee signing fee (which is $50-55, again depending on how you pay), for a total of $70-75.

 

That they charged Mike's friend $90 at the show can only mean one of two things:

 

A) They drastically raised their prices for NYCC.

 

or

 

B) There was a miscommunication between Mike's friend and DWC and they overcharged him by mistake.

[mysterio]

Does DWC really have a monopoly though?

At cons, for SS books, yes. In fact, as far as I can tell, they do all the tickets for Stan at a show, SS or not.

 

At the Dallas show this past weekend you bought the Stan tickets through OfficialPix, who ran the show. DWC did all the signing/SS stuff at the show, but the ticket was actually purchased through the show organizer/promoter. At WW NO this past January (last time I bought Stan tickets and only time onsite) I bought them directly from Sharon.

[Comic Book Guy]

Your right that is not the normal pricing from DWC...

 

I don't want to speak for DWC but my best guess is that the high price quoted to your friend was for the 1 Stan Signature as you said and the rest was a charge to put the book on your own account.

 

It is my understanding that any Stan signing handled by DWC must be submitted under the DWC account. This has been acknowledged and approved by CGC so the only way to have the books subbed under your own dealer account would be to pay a fee to DWC which I believe DWC has suggested in a previous post as being $30-$40 (which would explain your situation).

 

 

[mysterio]

Your right that is not the normal pricing from DWC...

 

I don't want to speak for DWC but my best guess is that the high price quoted to your friend was for the 1 Stan Signature as you said and the rest was a charge to put the book on your own account.

 

It is my understanding that any Stan signing handled by DWC must be submitted under the DWC account. This has been acknowledged and approved by CGC so the only way to have the books subbed under your own dealer account would be to pay a fee to DWC which I believe DWC has been suggested as being $30-$40 which would explain your situation.

 

 

This sounds right, as I have been told the same thing and have always just subbed under their account to save the extra money. That being said, $35-40 sounds awfully high for this extra fee as that would easily pay for the modern sub all by itself, so as a fee tacked on to a modern sub that would mean roughly a 100% fee...

 

$90 sounds about right for the signing fee, SS sub, and return shipping when I have submitted in the past. Are you sure that the $90 quote was without the sub fees and shipping added in? If they have the invoice the charges should all be itemized by DWC.

[plasticmoz]

My post was more that the thread title indicated something a bit more general - however, I still fail to see how CGC has any say over arrangements between a specific creator (Stan Lee) and facilitator (DWC in this case), given there are more than one of these.

 

[Comic Book Guy]

Your right that is not the normal pricing from DWC...

 

I don't want to speak for DWC but my best guess is that the high price quoted to your friend was for the 1 Stan Signature as you said and the rest was a charge to put the book on your own account.

 

It is my understanding that any Stan signing handled by DWC must be submitted under the DWC account. This has been acknowledged and approved by CGC so the only way to have the books subbed under your own dealer account would be to pay a fee to DWC which I believe DWC has been suggested as being $30-$40 which would explain your situation.

 

 

This sounds right, as I have been told the same thing and have always just subbed under their account to save the extra money. That being said, $35-40 sounds awfully high for this extra fee as that would easily pay for the modern sub all by itself, so as a fee tacked on to a modern sub that would mean roughly a 100% fee...

 

$90 sounds about right for the signing fee, SS sub, and return shipping when I have submitted in the past. Are you sure that the $90 quote was without the sub fees and shipping added in? If they have the invoice the charges should all be itemized by DWC.

 

Yeah I agree that the extra fee is way high but I think it is intentional to make it an "easy" decision for us at shows to sub under their account. I think subbing books under our own accounts just goes against their business model, which is fine by me but I know it upsets others.

 

I am pretty small time so the extra fee definitely isn't worth it to me and I am happy to let them handle it but I think it is a one time per event charge so if you had like 50 books to sub under your own account then I guess maybe it would be worth it at the end of the day.

[mschmidt]

Your right that is not the normal pricing from DWC...

 

I don't want to speak for DWC but my best guess is that the high price quoted to your friend was for the 1 Stan Signature as you said and the rest was a charge to put the book on your own account.

 

It is my understanding that any Stan signing handled by DWC must be submitted under the DWC account. This has been acknowledged and approved by CGC so the only way to have the books subbed under your own dealer account would be to pay a fee to DWC which I believe DWC has suggested in a previous post as being $30-$40 (which would explain your situation).

 

 

Unless it changed very recently, the fee is $20.

[MedicAR]

First, yeah, the price was pretty outrageous. I'm guessing something was lost in translation at the show, but I since I wasn't there I don't know.

 

Second, DWC does not have a monopoly on Stan Lee. They do have one on shows that both he and they attend. If you want a Stan Lee CGC SS at a show they are attending, it has to go through them. I'm not seeing any Boston shows on their schedule, so I assume that they won't be attending that show. This means you don't have to go through them for a Stan Lee CGC SS at that show.

[mschmidt]

First, yeah, the price was pretty outrageous. I'm guessing something was lost in translation at the show, but I since I wasn't there I don't know.

 

Second, DWC does not have a monopoly on Stan Lee. They do have one on shows that both he and they attend. If you want a Stan Lee CGC SS at a show they are attending, it has to go through them. I'm not seeing any Boston shows on their schedule, so I assume that they won't be attending that show. This means you don't have to go through them for a Stan Lee CGC SS at that show.

 

Are you talking about the Boston show in April? If Stan Lee has been announced for that, I'd say the only reason it isn't on DWC's calendar is because it's about 6 months out - I mean, they don't have C2E2 on their calendar either, but it's a pretty safe bet they'll be there ...