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A warning about collectorscavern....

Started by lighthouse,

108 posts in this topic

lighthouse

lighthouse

Posted
Posted

People who know me here on this forum know that I am not one to jump the gun when it comes to my opinions about other forum members. I waited a full three days before giving Bugaboo a 1-star rating, and the only public criticism I have had for Meth/Hammer was regarding his choice of strip clubs.

 

But I feel I must warn my fellow forumites about dealing with Collector's Cavern. I received a few PM's regarding them when they first arrived, which is understandable given that they described having a "personal collection" of "over one million comics". I don't know what 1,000,000 comics looks like, but I do know what 375,000 comics looks like and that's anything but a 'personal collection'. It takes a lot of work and a lot of knowledge to amass even 20,000 comics, so people claiming to have 1,000,000 should be intimately aware of the intracacies of comic dealing.

 

I ordered a VF+ copy of Adventure Comics 462 from them, and paid with PayPal.

 

Yesterday, I received the package. Well, actually package is a misnomer. I received a bubble-wrap envelope. The comic inside was in a bag and board, but there was no other protection of any kind. None. Just a bag and board in a padded envelope (with the words 'Do Not Bend' stamped on the outside and an orange 'Fragile' sticker). Nothing but the grace of the postal system to keep it from being bent in half.

 

The PayPal ID I paid is tied to a computer software company... No mention of comics at all when I visited...

Their website...

 

I don't know what's going on here. But I can say with certainty that this is not a professional comic dealer, and I doubt that anyone could amass such a fantastic inventory and still think it was a good idea to package comics like this. Even if they had never sold comics before, they surely must have purchased some and would know better.

 

The reason I took this directly public rather than contacting Derek in private is that I want to warn any forum members to make sure that they get quality packaging. If you are in the middle of a deal, by all means contact them right now and let them know what your requirements are. I did not have a problem with the pricing or the grading (although I wonder how many of the four spine stresses were there when it was shipped). But for a dealer of high grade material, this was THE WORST job of protecting a comic I have ever seen.

 

And to Derek, I am happy with the price I paid, and I am happy with the comic that arrived. But good customer service is more than that. And when I look at the envelope sitting on my desk I don't think about the success of this attempt, but the potential failure of the next one. I hope for your sake that you didn't ship anyone else's books this way, because most of the folks here spend a lot more than $22....

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tb

tb

Posted
Posted

Some sellers just don't understand comics and how to package them.

I won't soon forget the day I received a $1,500 WDC&S #2 in one of

those razor thin USPS cardboard envelopes with absolutely no backing:

it was simply put in the envelope with not even a sheet of paper to

protect it. Miraculously, it survived, but since then I've made sure to

include a detailed description of how to ship a comic every time I pay

for an item on eBay. When I buy from a rookie seller, I see it as my

responsibility to make sure they ship ok. In your case, it does sound

very strange that someone with a mio. books would screw up like that,

though.

 

----

 

Btw., I was shocked the other day to see that I actually left Bugaboo

a 5-star rating at some point?? confused.gif

 

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ArAich

ArAich

Posted
Posted

Thanks for the heads up LH and I hope that collectorscavern takes this as constructive critisizm since the only quarrel you seem to have with them is there inability to pack correctly. I am amazed at how , for whatever reason, people cannot take the time to pack a comic between two pieces of stiff cardboard.

I recently recieved a ASM #129 that was poorly packaged by a collector and am sure that the grade has been reduced because of this. It was packaged similar to the book that you describe. IT is frustrating, to say the least, and better quality packing should be a no-brainer with someone that has "supposedly" amassed a "personal collection" of 1,000,000 books.

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greggy

greggy

Posted
Posted

Still better than getting an VF/NM Wonder Woman 200 in a bubble envelope unbagged with no cardboard. Dumb preserved his books all these years to ruin it while sending it to me? What a person_having_a_hard_time_understanding_my_point! mad.gif

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ArAich

ArAich

Posted
Posted

Jaw dropping ..to be sure...

They are smart enough to use a computer, run an auction on ebay, email for payment but when it comes to shipping it's...."Hmmm..I'll just slip it into this bubble folder and the USPO will gingerly deliver it for me".

person_having_a_hard_time_understanding_my_point is being nice....

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Darthdiesel

Darthdiesel

Posted
Posted

Yesterday, I received the package. Well, actually package is a misnomer. I received a bubble-wrap envelope. The comic inside was in a bag and board, but there was no other protection of any kind. None. Just a bag and board in a padded envelope (with the words 'Do Not Bend' stamped on the outside and an orange 'Fragile' sticker).

 

House - quit your whining! He used a bubble wrap envelope, the book was in there and after all he wrote "Do Not Bend" on it AND included that omnipotent orange "Fragile" sticker. I swear in this day and age we are used to getting coddled so much that now we expect way too much to go our way when dealing with others. smirk.gifwink.giftongue.gifgrin.gif

 

Nothing but the grace of the postal system to keep it from being bent in half.

 

That's it! You have done nothing but but put down our postal system since day one on the boards. First it was the "Down with Media Mail" campaign and now this potshot. mad.gif You should be ashamed of yourself. Putting down the postal system. You very well know that you can take a slabbed CGC comic and just label that and put stamps on it, send it thru the mainl and it would get to its buyer in "PRESTINE" condition tongue.gif

 

Actually I was thrown off by the title of your thread. I thought you were outing them for suspicious flipping of a national dealer's stock....

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BachelorOfComix

BachelorOfComix

Posted
Posted
Actually I was thrown off by the title of your thread. I thought you were outing them for suspicious flipping of a national dealer's stock....

LMFAO! I suppose all the forum insiders know the deal with this guy.

 

Cheers,

 

Bachelor of Comics

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lighthouse

lighthouse

Posted
  • Author
Posted

House - quit your whining! He used a bubble wrap envelope, the book was in there and after all he wrote "Do Not Bend" on it AND included that omnipotent orange "Fragile" sticker. I swear in this day and age we are used to getting coddled so much that now we expect way too much to go our way when dealing with others.

 

I should scan the envelope so you can see that the fragile sticker has an inch long crease in it... blush.gif

 

You very well know that you can take a slabbed CGC comic and just label that and put stamps on it, send it thru the mainl and it would get to its buyer in "PRESTINE" condition

How do you think I sent Ricky his Marvel Team-Up? blush.gif The "bombproof" packaging he was referring to was protecting the Cherry Poptart TPB...

 

Actually I was thrown off by the title of your thread. I thought you were outing them for suspicious flipping of a national dealer's stock....

I don't have any proof of that, so I made no mention of it... When I have proof of something (like Khaos' part-time job as a male escort for the handicapped) then I'll shout to the treetops (which isn't much of a stretch at my height). Here, the only proof I had was of terrible packaging...

 

Besides, counting shipping I paid less than what I would have paid to the national dealer... blush.gifblush.gifcool.gif

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lighthouse

lighthouse

Posted
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BTW, BOC...

 

Dunno if you picked up a copy of the Daredevil Movie Adaptation, but your avatar looks to have a pretty small part in the film...

 

Still don't know why Marvel is putting out the comic versions of its movies a month before their release...

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Illiterati-migration

Illiterati-migration

Posted
Posted

When I have proof of something (like Khaos' part-time job as a male escort for the handicapped) then I'll shout to the treetops (which isn't much of a stretch at my height).

 

Hey Lurch, are you saying that the handicapped don't need a little man-whore lovin' from time to time?!?!? shocked.gifblush.gif So, it's okay for YOU to go out and pick up yo-- wait, wait. In the spirit of the fabled Box Treaty of 2002, I will just end this post right here. And I won't say anything about your penchant for pre-ops. blush.gif

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Bugaboo-migration

Bugaboo-migration

Posted
Posted

lighthouse said:

I waited a full three days before giving Bugaboo a 1-star rating

hkp said:

Btw., I was shocked the other day to see that I actually left Bugaboo

a 5-star rating at some point??

 

All right ! ! !.......both of you moe foe's........I haven't rated either one of you haters.......................YET. mad.gif

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lighthouse

lighthouse

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Don't bother rating Brian... there are mystical forces at work that prevent his rating from ever being anything but 2-stars...

 

As for my rating of you... if you go back and take a look at your posts from November 27th-29th, I think you will see why... cool.gif

 

Besides, three of my employees (including the Halloween Goth Princess) rated you 5-stars so that more than makes up for it... blush.gif

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