Chuck sez: he's a victim of Hurricane Sandy!

[thehumantorch]

Chuck, you're using the misfortune of others to shill your inventory. For shame.

[bababooey]

I can't believe the effing codeword is "FRANKENSTORM."

 

He's not the only one, other companies pulled some boneheaded moves too.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/01/business/media/marketers-ride-the-coattails-of-a-storm-not-all-successfully.html

[dgarthwaite-migration]

You mean the fact that he charges 10X's the value of every book didn't do for you?

 

But they're on SALE now!!

 

See - check it out for yourself --

 

MH sale price:

 

vs.

 

Other store regular price:

 

 

 

His prices are high on this stuff because he has no problem selling it. He has customers that will pay above market prices for the opportunity to do one stop shopping. He can't offer one-stop shopping if he sells out of all the good stuff and has only Bloodshot #1's in stock. You do see that he doesn't have any in stock? He likely has want lists waiting to be filled the moment a key book comes in the door. He's just balancing the demand.

 

DG

[BEAUMONTS]

I think Chuck fit's:

 

Definition : narcissist

 

"An individual with narcissistic personality disorder exhibits extreme self-importance, inability to empathize with others and heightened sensitivity to criticism. Self-involvement and lack of empathy characterize this personality disorder.

 

People with narcissistic personality disorder are frequently perfectionists and need to be the center of attention, receiving affection and admiration, and controlling the situation. To get the attention he craves, he may try to create crises that return the focus to him. Like patients with antisocial personality disorder, this person places entitlement issues at the fore. He feels that the world owes him, regardless of whether he makes a contribution. "

[skinny_white_boy]

[sterlingcomics]

His prices are high on this stuff because he has no problem selling it. He has customers that will pay above market prices for the opportunity to do one stop shopping. He can't offer one-stop shopping if he sells out of all the good stuff and has only Bloodshot #1's in stock. You do see that he doesn't have any in stock? He likely has want lists waiting to be filled the moment a key book comes in the door. He's just balancing the demand.

 

DG

 

Actually, and I do believe this, I think everyone's FIRST buying experiences is through folks like Chuck. Once they wise-up I'm betting they move on, either to other sellers or out of the hobby in disgust.

 

There are a zillion dealers willing to offer buyers personal service for those type of gaps in prices.

[ChiSoxFan]

Actually, and I do believe this, I think everyone's FIRST buying experience is through folks like Chuck. Once they wise-up I'm betting they move on, either to other sellers or out of the hobby in disgust.

 

Mine was.

 

Back in the late 1980's (when I was still a teenager), I desperately wanted to read the Hobgoblin origin story and ordered an ASM 238 and a 239 from Mile High. Neither came cheaply, and both arrived in a condition far from what was I expecting when I ordered. It was my first -- and last -- time I ordered books from Mile High.

[sterlingcomics]

Actually, and I do believe this, I think everyone's FIRST buying experience is through folks like Chuck. Once they wise-up I'm betting they move on, either to other sellers or out of the hobby in disgust.

 

Mine was.

 

Back in the late 1980's (when I was still a teenager), I desperately wanted to read the Hobgoblin origin story and ordered an ASM 238 and a 239 from Mile High. Neither came cheaply, and both arrived in a condition far from what was I expecting when I ordered. It was my first -- and last -- time I ordered books from Mile High.

I believe one of my first comic purchases was through MH...I actually made several, thinking if I kept trying I'd get the grade I wanted. :doh: To my chagrin, I've now come to realize you don't go to high volume dealers and expect accurate grades. I'm actually fine using Chuck as a reader source, although frankly I can buy TPBs Masterworks/DC Presents, download source via torrents and/or Comixology for that.

[Bomfy]

This type of move is just as scuzzy as the people who increase prices by a factor of 10 after a natural disaster strikes and claim supply and demand warrants it.

 

Sure, he could see a negative impact of business, but those things happen and you should be more prepared for their eventuality if you are a sound business person. Claiming you are a victim of it when you in fact aren't wading into your business to see what is salvageable is pretty pathetic, in my opinion.

 

 

[500Club]

His prices are high on this stuff because he has no problem selling it. He has customers that will pay above market prices for the opportunity to do one stop shopping. He can't offer one-stop shopping if he sells out of all the good stuff and has only Bloodshot #1's in stock. You do see that he doesn't have any in stock? He likely has want lists waiting to be filled the moment a key book comes in the door. He's just balancing the demand.

 

DG

His prices are high on this stuff because he has no problem selling it - because he's always got a 50% off sale on, plus, in this case, 30% off of that. THAT is why he has none in stock.

 

The suckers buy at full price. The educated hobbyist buys at a ridiculous discount off a ridiculous sticker price. The problem is, some of the suckers may be new collectors who end up being soured on the hobby.

 

And, in the end, if you're justifying his business model, he really shouldn't be having a crisis at this moment and crassly asking for 'assistance' now, should he?

[aszumilo]

This goes to show where Chuck's priorities lie. I have bought from them in the past, but, will not again. Even though I no longer live in NYC he lost a customer, not due to the hurricane, but due to his crappy business practices.

You mean the fact that he charges 10X's the value of every book didn't do for you?

 

I only bought a few low priced books from him. Nothing high priced, just some cheap books that I needed to complete a run or two.

[Kahnadah]

When you buy a comic for $5.00 and offer it for sale for $300.00, you can afford to give a 65 percent discount for Chuck's, I mean A worthy cause! Have any of you ever looked at his "Buy" prices on his website? "Spooning" laughable!!

 

Chuck's goal has been to be a one-stop shopping site. He wants to have the comics you are looking for in stock when you go to his web site. His goal has added costs for himself and the consumer. Can you get a better deal on comics? Sure. Will you have to look for years to individually find the specific comics you want if his store doesn't have it? In many cases, yes. There are countless comics that his store has in stock that I'd NEVER be able to find locally. I'd probably have a hard time finding a lot of them on eBay also. I haven't bought anything from him in over 17 years. Regardless, he does have things I've never seen anyone else offer.

 

DG

 

All of that has nothing to due with trying to profit from a horrible tragedy.

 

All he's trying to do is convert inventory to cash to pay his bills.

If you were paying your house note and then had your income cut in half, you'd consider selling off your possessions to get your cash flow back to normal also.

With most people, it doesn't matter how much they make, they find a way to spend it. The more you are used to making it, the harder it is to go back to making less.

Right now he's willing to sacrifice inventory to get his income back to where it was.

 

DG

 

I wonder if you'd be going to the wall for Chuck if this was a 9/11 plane-crash sale, or a Rwanda genocide 25% off sale, or a Fukashima meltdown madness offer...?

 

When I read that mailer I threw up in my mouth a little. I didn't know who he was before this thread but I can tell you, he's not getting one thin dime from me. Ever. Sick American Apparel nonsense. I don't think he realised that all the press from that little stunt was bad...

 

James

[Point Five]

I guess in fairness to Chuck, I should add that the newsletter does have a P.S. at the very bottom, where there is vague talk about fundraising at some future date to help the relief effort. But the sales pitch at the top just had me shaking my head in wonder.

 

I can't believe the effing codeword is "FRANKENSTORM."

I think that's about where I lost it too.

 

 

[Jeffro.]

Well Chuckles isn't getting any of my business. Between his pot induced pricing and his "dart board" grading, I'll go someplace else thank you. This latest attempt at drumming up business for himself is not helping.

 

According to him, a good deal of his business comes from the affected area. Maybe he should be doing something to help these people.

[Babygorilla-migration]

he lost a customer, not due to the hurricane, but due to his crappy business practices.

 

I live in NJ and I feel the same way. I would probably get banned if I typed out what I felt when I read this. People lost everything they had. I know people who lost homes and to read this makes me sick. NJ will never be the same again and he's the one who is a victim? What a real POS. No one should buy from this guy I don't care if he has every book ever made for $1 each.

[COI]

You mean the fact that he charges 10X's the value of every book didn't do for you?

 

But they're on SALE now!!

 

See - check it out for yourself --

 

MH sale price:

 

vs.

 

Other store regular price:

 

 

 

His prices are high on this stuff because he has no problem selling it. He has customers that will pay above market prices for the opportunity to do one stop shopping. He can't offer one-stop shopping if he sells out of all the good stuff and has only Bloodshot #1's in stock. You do see that he doesn't have any in stock? He likely has want lists waiting to be filled the moment a key book comes in the door. He's just balancing the demand.

 

DG

 

How much does Chuck pay you? I can assure you, it's not enough.

[COI]

I think Chuck fit's:

 

Definition : narcissist

 

"An individual with narcissistic personality disorder exhibits extreme self-importance, inability to empathize with others and heightened sensitivity to criticism. Self-involvement and lack of empathy characterize this personality disorder.

 

People with narcissistic personality disorder are frequently perfectionists and need to be the center of attention, receiving affection and admiration, and controlling the situation. To get the attention he craves, he may try to create crises that return the focus to him. Like patients with antisocial personality disorder, this person places entitlement issues at the fore. He feels that the world owes him, regardless of whether he makes a contribution. "

 

Yep. It's textbook.

[Point Five]

Well, I wasn't intending to bump this thread again, but I felt I had to do so to be fair after getting a new email from Mile High just now. Kudos for finding the right tone and stepping up, even if he did take the scenic route to get there.

 

---

 

Free Comics For Hurricane Sandy Victims

Howdy!

 

I want to start off today by thanking everyone who has helped us to keep our sales intact during the disruptions of Hurricane Sandy. Thanks to your generous support, we have been able to maintain our operations even though a significant percentage of our clientele were without power for the past week. That having been said, we are now in a position to begin helping those who were affected by the storm. I am going to start off by offering to give away for free 10,000 of our comics from our reserve stock to those in the path of Sandy who may have lost part, or all, of their personal collections. Send us proof of your losses, and we will help you to replace at least a few of the your comics that were destroyed by the storm. We will even pay the shipping costs of delivering these free comics to your home...

 

So you know, we already know that this is going to be a difficult program to administer, as we are going to have to first verify claims, and then try to provide individual help based upon case-by case considerations. If you are among those who lost comics in the storm, please feel free to let us know the extent of your losses. Our reserve stocks generally do not contain very many high-demand back issues, but we can definitely help you out with your replacement of runs of issues on many bread-and-butter titles. Receiving a free long box of back issues clearly cannot make up for the devastation you may have suffered, but we do want to help you to the extent that we can.

 

This same offer of free back issues is available to comics retailers who may have suffered flood damage. If receiving a couple of free long boxes of our reserve back issues and extra TPB's might help you to get back on your feet, please write to me at chuck@milehighcomics.com. I will gladly help you, just as so many other have helped us to overcome unexpected difficulties in the past.

 

My only other news note for today is to let everyone else who reads this newsletter know that I am changing the name of our current 30% off codeword sale on all of our back issue comics and magazines to SANDYRELIEF. A percentage of the funds received from this sale will help us to cover the costs of shipping the free comics to the folks in the Northeast who present claims to us. If we continue to receive additional support through SANDYRELIEF, I will add another 10,000 of our reserve comics into our contributions.

 

Sincerely,

 

Chuck Rozanski

[devilsrain]

That would be pretty cool. Id like to see pics of the people with their free long boxes

[oakman29]

He's still a tool.