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Fool that I am...

Started by jools&jim,

37 posts in this topic

jools&jim

jools&jim

Posted
Posted

 

...I often pay more (sometimes a lot more) than FMV via mail order for relatively common SA & BA books in low/mid-grade for my personal collection, but if and only if the following conditions hold:

 

(1) I can get a LARGE lot (~ 50 - 100 books) sent to me w/discounted Priority Mail shipping;

 

(2) ALL of the books on any given want list I send to a dealer are in-stock and available for immediate shipping (i.e., I'm guaranteed a 100% fill rate);

 

and...

 

(3) [correlative to (2)] COMPLETE runs--if desired--of any given title can be ordered in the requested grades. (That the grading should be fairly accurate and consistent--within reason for books of this caliber--goes without saying.)

 

I also give extra credit (i.e., future business) to dealers who satisfy all of the above, and who also fill and ship orders quickly (i.e., within a day or two of the receipt of my payment) and pack the books sturdily; and double super-secret extra credit to dealers who answer e-mails promptly and are, in general, super easy to work with.

 

Sooo...am I alone in this, or are there other shoppers out there who balance fill rates and the ease of ordering and receiving books from a single source (and for a single shipping charge) against a per-book price which might be higher (sometimes MUCH higher) than average?

 

 

 

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jools&jim

jools&jim

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Marc at House of Comics is awesome if you have not dealt with him.

Just saying.

(thumbs u

 

Agreed. I've ordered from Marc may times, and he is all aces -- his fill rates (and accuracy when filling big orders...another big consideration) are top-notch.

 

 

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jools&jim

jools&jim

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Glad you agree,thought I would give a shout out.

I am happy to pay for quality in bulk orders.Cannot spend all my time in boxes,bad on the darn back! :foryou:

Amen to that!

 

I enjoy going to the one (and only) con I attend every year, and that certainly counts for something, as does seeing the books up front before I buy them. But the bottom line financially is that the "dollar box" books I buy at a con add up to a lot more than a buck each when I factor in my food & fuel costs, admission, parking, etc. And even then I very rarely achieve a 100% fill rate on my want list...

 

 

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joecgcmaniac

joecgcmaniac

Posted
Posted
I miss media mail, and your sales threads.

 

Media Mail is still around...

 

:shrug:

 

 

 

-slym

 

If you want to risk getting busted using it. It's really bad when your customer gets stuck paying the upcharge because a lot of postal employees won't let comics slide under media mail.

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slym2none

slym2none

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I only stated the fact - Media Mail is still around.

 

:shrug:

 

I will give a hint though - don't let the PO counter ever see the package. Print out labels from PayPal at home and hand the package to your mailperson. It is usually the counter people at the PO near the sender/seller that wants to inspect packages. Mailpersons in the truck don't care, and I don't think a "counter" person sees it on the receiving end.

 

 

 

-slym

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jools&jim

jools&jim

Posted
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I will give a hint though - don't let the PO counter ever see the package. Print out labels from PayPal at home and hand the package to your mailperson. It is usually the counter people at the PO near the sender/seller that wants to inspect packages. Mailpersons in the truck don't care, and I don't think a "counter" person sees it on the receiving end.

Here's another hint from a former USPS employee: Media Mail IS a target for inspection, and has been for several years now, and this is true at ANY point along the delivery chain.

 

This includes counter clerks and (to a much lesser extent, I'm sure) carriers, but also spot checks by sorting clerks and their (multiple) supervisors behind the scenes on the sorting room floors, and anyone else with a dog in the hunt who suspects abuse and thinks that he/she can save the PO--which is bleeding money for a variety of reasons--a few bucks along the way.

 

Given the sheer volume of packages processed every day, many senders will probably get away with it of course. Then again, is it worth it if YOUR box--either the one you sent or the one you're expecting--is the one among hundreds (thousands?) which gets rifled, and the contents damaged, by some back-room goon?

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again: sending comics which are valuable or in-grade (or both) via Media Mail is a shoot these days, and is just asking for trouble.

 

 

 

 

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slym2none

slym2none

Posted
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I save Media Mail for low-cost or free stuff, like the PIF thread. I would never send a book worth more than $25 via Media Mail, really, single books always get sent 1st Class anyway, as it is within a few cents of Media for a 1-pound package.

 

 

 

-slym

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joecgcmaniac

joecgcmaniac

Posted
Posted
I only stated the fact - Media Mail is still around.

 

:shrug:

 

I will give a hint though - don't let the PO counter ever see the package. Print out labels from PayPal at home and hand the package to your mailperson. It is usually the counter people at the PO near the sender/seller that wants to inspect packages. Mailpersons in the truck don't care, and I don't think a "counter" person sees it on the receiving end.

 

 

 

-slym

 

Just don't be surprised if one day you hand a media mail package to your carrier and they proceed to open it right in front of you. I've actually seen some mail carriers do it. lol

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slym2none

slym2none

Posted
Posted
I only stated the fact - Media Mail is still around.

 

:shrug:

 

I will give a hint though - don't let the PO counter ever see the package. Print out labels from PayPal at home and hand the package to your mailperson. It is usually the counter people at the PO near the sender/seller that wants to inspect packages. Mailpersons in the truck don't care, and I don't think a "counter" person sees it on the receiving end.

 

Just don't be surprised if one day you hand a media mail package to your carrier and they proceed to open it right in front of you. I've actually seen some mail carriers do it. lol

 

I will say, how can the PO get their upgraded postage fees if a mail carrier does that? If that happened, I'd just take the package away from them, as it isn't theirs to keep.

 

 

 

-slym

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GIJOEISAWESOME-migration

GIJOEISAWESOME-migration

Posted
Posted
I only stated the fact - Media Mail is still around.

 

:shrug:

 

I will give a hint though - don't let the PO counter ever see the package. Print out labels from PayPal at home and hand the package to your mailperson. It is usually the counter people at the PO near the sender/seller that wants to inspect packages. Mailpersons in the truck don't care, and I don't think a "counter" person sees it on the receiving end.

 

 

 

-slym

 

I've asked my mail person many times. he says comics are media-so I send them that way. His definition of media is

 

1. Is it educational

2. Can I learn something from it (Quite different than #1)

 

 

I have never had but 1 package damaged media out of 100+. I have however in those priority envelopes doh!

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VintageComics

VintageComics

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Sooo...am I alone in this, or are there other shoppers out there who balance fill rates and the ease of ordering and receiving books from a single source (and for a single shipping charge) against a per-book price which might be higher (sometimes MUCH higher) than average?

 

 

 

Time is money and I find so few people factor in time in their calculations.

 

(thumbs u

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chrisco37

chrisco37

Posted
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Sooo...am I alone in this, or are there other shoppers out there who balance fill rates and the ease of ordering and receiving books from a single source (and for a single shipping charge) against a per-book price which might be higher (sometimes MUCH higher) than average?

 

 

 

Time is money and I find so few people factor in time in their calculations.

 

(thumbs u

 

I don't usually buy a lot of books at once (so fill rate not a concern), but yes, I don't mind paying a little extra for piece of mind/convenience. I'd prefer to buy from one of the big boys than to crapshoot on eBay.

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