Done With Metro

[Sqeggs]

Not to minimize problems people have raised on this thread, but I've never had any problems with Metro. They've been responsive in supplying back cover scans or answering questions about potential problems that may not be visible on a scan. They have been amenable to offers (particularly on multiple book purchases). They pretty clearly have the best selection of GA books in the hobby.

 

Wish they'd send me catalogs to the CC auctions, though.

[mrmyst]

The silence is deafening.

[mmastran]

Exactly the type of non-disclosure that I have been plagued with in dealing with them. Clearly the book is shipped out in a broken cgc slab and now you deal with the aftermath.

It is amazing what some disclosure would mean to their future and current business. Imagine if you were contacted:

 

Dear Sir,

 

in pulling your purchased comics we noted the CGC slab was in fact broken. We have sent it for reholdering, and this is the delay in shipping your book.

 

Or give you the option of sending for re-holder.

 

Storms did this for me. Emailed me to let me know the case was cracked when he found the book in his stock. Told me he could send it as is or if I was ok waiting he would send to CGC and have it shipped direct to me. This was all done on his dime. The book was relatively cheap as well. It was an FF 67 in CGC 8.5. Might see an up tick due to Warlock appearing in future Marvel movies but it's not a huge book.

 

Storms (highradecomics.com) has always done right by me - that's why I look forward to doing business with him, and I will never do business with Metropolis again.

 

+1. Bob is a great dealer. Never had an issue with him....and I've never had an issue with Metro either.

[Randall Dowling]

I've also had good success with Metropolis and have friends that have bought many books from them. Sometimes there are issues but they always take returns. Of all the dealers that I've bought books from over the years, due to selection, and interacting with them over the phone and at cons, they're probably in the top 5 for me.

 

 

Sounds like Vincent is intent on addressing any concerns for people that have outstanding issues.

[jimbo_707]

I've only purchased four books through Metro, and I haven't had any issues with customer service, shipping, etc. I still intend to bid on slabbed books in CConnect auctions.

 

The biggest issue for me has been that I've seen previously-slabbed books show up on their site with higher grades than what they'd had when slabbed. For instance, the Recil Macon copy of Marvel Mystery #7 used to be slabbed as a 7.5. When it sold in the Nicholas Cage auction, the description included a comment that the book was downgraded due to light staining on the back cover.

 

The book is now on CConnect as a raw 8.5 with no back cover scan and no mention of the staining. When I see things like that, it makes it difficult for me to trust the grades on Metro's raw books. Inclusion of back cover scans on all books would help a lot. For slabbed books, maybe Metro could even purchase and post the graders' notes for people to see, at least on 4+ figure books.

[Artboy99]

12. In regards to Artboy99's post, Hello Karl in Canada,

The scan of the Witchcraft 2 shows spine splits on the book. If it got more damaged in transit I am very sorry but it wasn't our intention to deceive you. Sometimes that happens.

http://www.metropoliscomics.com/data/Image/gallery/wit1.90a.jpg

The Startling Terror Tale 11s front cover is gorgeous (looks like a 7.5-8.0) but has some problems with it. I believe that is why it was graded a 6.5. I am not 100% sure if the stain was taken into account when it was graded but it may have been. If you don't like the book please send it back.

http://www.metropoliscomics.com/data/Image/gallery/sta4.79a.jpg

The Menace #9 was listed with color touch (ct spine; ow pgs is the exact description) in the description and on the label itself CT means color touch so it wasn't sold as without mention of restoration.

http://www.metropoliscomics.com/data/Image/gallery/men2.127a.jpg

I reviewed the front scan of the Planet but can't tell what you are referring to. The front cover scan look better than a 6.5 to me (maybe the grader did see the printer creases and that is why he graded it a 6.5) . Several other posters have mentioned the defect you are referring to isn't really a defect though I agree eye appeal is important. I hope you can see that if it is not easily seen in a high resolution scan that maybe one of our graders missed it or took it into account. If you are unhappy with the book please return it.

http://www.metropoliscomics.com/data/Image/gallery/pla1.717a.jpg

You've bought over 40 books from us and had issues with 2 (I will not count the Menace as it was plainly described as having color touch and I will not count the Planet either). Also, I am not sure if you contacted my company about any of your concerns. If you did please email at vincentz@metropoliscomics.com to let me know how they handled the situation. I am sure they told you that you could return the books. If you didn't how could we make the situation right?

 

In closing, it has been a long day. I've been working the whole day grading books and writing this post. I have to be honest, reading through this thread doesn't make me happy. I think some of the comments are fair but I also think some of the things written here are not fair and I realize how poorly my company appears. Anybody reading this should understand that there are thousands upon thousands of very happy customers who love the books they buy from us, raw and CGC alike. If that wasn't the case we'd be out of business. The proof is in the pudding. And if my company was so bad we wouldn't have tripled in size and revenue over the last 5 years. I'd kindly ask you to give us the benefit of the doubt and realize there are 2 sides to every story. I really care about comics, the art form and the vintage comic market. I read comics every week. I do the best I can to promote the market as a great form of entertainment and investment. I am not perfect but I can tell you that my intention is never to stick a customer with a book that will make them unhappy. We believe in long term, positive relationships. We want to be your source for vintage comic books for the next 10, 20, 30 years. If I can be of assistance with anything please feel free to call me 212-260-4147 ext 14 or 800-229-6387 ext 14.

 

Sincerely,

 

Vincent Zurzolo

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Vincent,

 

appreciate the reply here. To comment:

 

I will say overall I am happy to deal with Metropolois and Comicconnect. As to the issues I have brought up we can go over it further here if you like.

 

1. The Witchcraft 2 is completely split the front cover is detached completely from the book. Perhaps a trained eye can spot that from the scan. My point is simply to increase the notes in the listing to say the cover is detached so I know in advance.

I contacted someone at Comicconnect regarding this book and was told I could return it no questions asked. This would be on my cost however. It was also made clear to me that I would be refunded only if the book was returned in the same condition as it left comicconnect. Since there is no mention of the cover being completely detached in the first place I decided to not even attempt returning it. My unhappiness with the book stems from lack of disclosure in the first place is my point.

2. The Startling Terror Tales 11 defects are what they are. The back cover chipping is not acceptible on a 6.5 in my opinion nor is the "spaghetti stained" interior. I will own this myself for not asking for a back cover and interior detailed explanation. That said why not just put that information on the site listing in the first place? It is through my interest in the 7.5 you have on the comicconnect site as a replacement to the 6.5 I already purchased that a back cover scan has been added for that book. Perhaps a back cover scan for the 6.5 I purchased for over 1100.00 in the first place would have allowed me as the buyer to make a better decision. Seeing the back cover chipping, I might have decided to add a few more dollars ot the purchase and go for that 7.5 in the first place. Again, I can return the 6.5 raw no questions asked but it is at my cost again and I was informed provided the book is returned in the condition it left comicconnect. Can I prove the book has several missing chips out of the back cover that did not occur after the book is now in my possession or a nasty stain to the interior?

3. The Menace book, you are correct after revisting the site your auction listing did say ct. I will own that one and apologize.

4. The Planet Comics. Since cgc and many other comic enthusiasts do not include a printers crease defect as a downgrade ok we can forget it. I still say it is an important piece of information that can easily be noted in the listing so it isn't a surprise when I get the book.

 

You only want to count 2 of my over 40 purchases as having issues. Fine, be aware my posting did not include all of the issues I had with several of my other raw book purchases from grading disagreements to severe water damage to "black" sun shadow on "VF" books. I really see no reason to list them all here but there are others. If you want to know I can email you details.

 

All of them can be resolved by improving the listing details/ notes and perhaps include back cover scans on books. So as to not overwhelm staff with work perhaps you don't need to scan the back covers of every book but maybe set a threshold of book value / warrants a back cover.

 

My learning experience is that I need to ask more questions and ask if needed to see back cover scans for my future raw book purchases.

 

Vincent, all of this said I hope to continue to purchase books from you. I think Metropolis and Comiconnect are great sources for books as frequently you have books that no one else has to offer. Take this thread for what it is, as informative and take some of these suggestions as a way to improve and become even better.

I am not trying to tell you how to run your business. I am just one of your customers.

[AnkurJ]

Thanks for writing about this Vincent!

It's good to see that Metropolis is looking to correct errors made.

[Artboy99]

Thanks for writing about this Vincent!

It's good to see that Metropolis is looking to correct errors made.

 

Agree.

[Dark Knight]

Kudos to Vincent for addressing any concerns and problems made by some of the boardies. As you can see, Metro/CC does care about customer satisfaction. Hope everything can be solved.

 

I wanted to put in my here as well. I've been a customer of Metro for about 12 years now when I got back to collecting comic books. Since then, I've never had a problem with any of the books I have purchased from them whether through their Metro site or CC. Each time I ask a question about a book or want more scans, I would receive a reply promptly (give or take 2 days). There grading is fair and sometimes their pricing depending on how sought after the book is which I can understand. If for some reason you urgently need to reach Metro about a book or have any lingering problems, I'd give them a call.

 

Will be looking forward to the next CC auction. Hope I can win more books.

[southerncross]

Since 2005 I've bought over 50 books from them, Cleaned them out of their old label TTA Boston's with sub-mariner. In that time 2 books came to me not right.

Raw Avengers #4 gd- that had colour touch, I got in touch with metro and they replaced it with a higher grade copy that when I had sub-mitted to CGC came back blue label 3.5. Another was a Sub-mariner book from the 70's with coupon clipped. And they gave me store credit for that as it would cost me more in postage to ship back the book then it's value.

 

These 2 problems were solved with just one contact with them. I did not need to hound them and found their customer service of the highest quality.

 

 

[BEAUMONTS]

Good form to respond directly (thumbs u Kudos

[Badger]

I've dealt with Metropolis since 1991 or 1992; I forget which. They sold me my first ASM #1 which I loved to death until I sold it during the run-up for the first spider-man movie.

 

I've spent some money with Metro through the years, money not MONEY, and they have always treated me well with grades with which I agreed. Vincent even spent some time talking through email with me, back in 2009, about the HT#12 in my sig, I bought from Metro, and other Timely books Metro had listed. I was very impressed with the attitude he expressed and I wish I could have afforded more books, at the time, than just the HT #12.

 

My 2 cents.

[keever]

I don't know if Jeff has made his peace with Metropolis but the post by Vince has suggested that is the case. Before this thread fades away, I wanted to say I agree with Jeff re: their grading based on my various dealings with Metro over the years, i.e. most books tend to be overgraded but with pressing you can get up to the listed grade in many cases. Pressing wasn't an option when I first did business with them, but my last transaction was 13 mo. ago for 5 books and I had Matt press them all: Metro's 8.5 came back 7.0, their 9.0 came back 8.5, their 8.5 came back 8.0, a 7.0 came back 7.0, and a 6.0 came back 7.0. Knowing this, I have continued and will continue to do business with them if their price is right, and certainly will bid on the slabbed offerings in their auctions. Their inventory is indeed vast.

[southerncross]

The last raw book I bought off metro was Tales to astonish #82 Boston pedigree. Metro graded it 9.2, I graded it 9.2 and I sent it in to CGC it came back 9.2 blue label with Boston name on the label.

 

[mrmyst]

I don't know if Jeff has made his peace with Metropolis but the post by Vince has suggested that is the case. Before this thread fades away, I wanted to say I agree with Jeff re: their grading based on my various dealings with Metro over the years, i.e. most books tend to be overgraded but with pressing you can get up to the listed grade in many cases. Pressing wasn't an option when I first did business with them, but my last transaction was 13 mo. ago for 5 books and I had Matt press them all: Metro's 8.5 came back 7.0, their 9.0 came back 8.5, their 8.5 came back 8.0, a 7.0 came back 7.0, and a 6.0 came back 7.0. Knowing this, I have continued and will continue to do business with them if their price is right, and certainly will bid on the slabbed offerings in their auctions. Their inventory is indeed vast.

 

Even after pressing CGC's grades were lower than Metro's?

[cheetah]

Hope everybody had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I read the posts from the last few days and wow, I feel like my company was thrown into a meat grinder. For those of you with constructive criticism I thank you. I'd like to address the posts as best I can.

To address what started this thread I'd like to explain the situation. Steve had asked Rob to pull all Mile Highs and Rob, thinking that Steve meant pull them off the site did just that. What Steve meant was to physically pull the books. We have a very tight schedule for our auctions because of our catalog print deadlines. Steve wanted to review all the books for CGC grading, CGC reviews, review grades and to see which ones we'd like to put into upcoming auctions in 2014. I wasn't aware of the discrepancy between what Steve asked and Rob did so when I was told that Jeff didn't want to do business with us I wasn't happy to hear it but out of respect for Jeff I told Rob that if that is what Jeff wanted then we should close his accounts. So we didn't simply "terminate" his accounts for no reason. He said he didn't want to do business with us. I would like you all to know that several hours after he told us he didn't want to do business with us he was calling Rob on a book Rob had been diligently working to acquire for Jeff for several months. I am happy to say I believe Rob was able to acquire it. Bottom line is that I think we all get excited and let our emotions get the best of us sometimes. None of us are perfect. I am glad we got everything straightened out. Jeff is a good customer and we appreciate his business.

The thing that saddens me when my company gets lambasted on the forum from time to time is that customers who don't know us must think we are terrible people who treat our customers poorly. I think almost anybody who knows me can you tell you this is the furthest thing from the truth. I love comic books and appreciate the passion our customers have for them. From my days selling dollar comics at local shows, to setting up on the streets of Manhattan's Financial District I have never forgotten once how lucky I am to be doing something I am very passionate about. I do not rest on my laurels and work to improve my business every week

Are we a perfect company? No. Is there always room for improvement? Yes. There always is room for improvement. I strive for 100% customer satisfaction every day (that doesn't mean I will always agree with a customer though, these are two different things). The other thing that is upsetting is that it is very easy to reach out to us if there are issues. The way it comes off in some of the posts is that we are not reachable. It also would appear that from this thread that the problems posted are every day common occurrences. I assure you they are not. Again, can we do a better job? Yes. But someone reading this thread might believe every order we send out is incorrectly graded, all CGC holders get delivered scratched or in a million pieces. Once again this is not true. We deal with thousands of customers on a monthly basis. We get thank you emails and phone calls, and an occasional post here on the boards about how good our grading, pricing, packaging, how fast our shipping is and what an amazing inventory we have. Hardly any of this comes out on the boards and it is sad. I have worked my tail off to build a strong company. Anybody out there who is a business owner can surely understand how I am feeling right now.

Now, I don't want you to think that the constructive criticism expressed on the boards is falling on deaf ears. I know there are places for improvement but I would like to address a few things.

 

 

1. In general finding a credit for a customer is very easy. Also, any consignor to our auctions receives a consignment payment report when a check is cut to them. If anybody has a question about their account they can talk with our financial officer, Tamara Canin, who is a very knowledgeable and helpful part of our team. I am not an accountant, Rob is not an accountant, we don't always have the answers people are asking and that is why we have Tamara. I have not seen a situation where a customer had a question about their account that she couldn't answer to the very last penny.

2. We grade our comics by our interpretation of the Overstreet Grading Guide. CGC doesn't have a published set of standards and as any of you will attest, as good a job as they do, 3 graders in a room all day doing nothing but grading sometimes make a mistake. Our books are normally graded by 1 grader to the best of their ability. We want to convey through our grades and scans what we think the book is so someone will buy it and be happy with it. If someone has a question about the grade of a book, wants a description or wants to know what we think CGC will grade it, we are happy to help. We don't always agree with CGC and if someone is concerned only about what CGC will think we don't want them wasting their time and money buying a book that won't grade at the same level.

3. I believe we have a solid return policy. We do not pay for shipping and handling or CGC fees. We don't try to hide this. It is on our website. Please read our return policy- http://www.metropoliscomics.com/orderinfo.php#returnpolicy

4. Every week I have books pulled from inventory as a form of quality control. I check old and new books alike to make sure grading is solid. It is true that over time books can get damaged in boxes. This happens with every dealer's stock. It is unavoidable. Also, some older books were graded at a time when grading standards were different. Also, get ready for it folks, sometimes we make mistakes. We are only human. We have the largest inventory of vintage comic books on the face of the planet at over 150,000. Is it possible that sometimes we get it wrong? Yes. Again, with all due respect to CGC, they have 3 guys grading every book, that is their only job, and they make mistakes too. I've traveled to thousands of cons over the last 25 years and see under and over-grading by every single dealer's booth I have ever stopped by.

5. In terms of our packing, I have watched my shipping dept pack packages and I believe they are doing a very good job at it. I know we use a ton of cardboard and bubble wrap to pack our packages. I was unaware that books on Jeff's recent orders were getting damaged. I will absolutely look into how and why this is happening If anybody has some feedback please email me at vincentz@metropoliscomics.com

6. The notion that we send out damaged CGC holders on purpose is simply not true. Brian referred to a Green Mask 6 being damaged. Here is the scan http://www.metropoliscomics.com/data/Image/gallery/gre4.69a.jpg. As far as I know this is the way the book looked when it went out.

It is absolutely true that you could receive a box that has no evidence of being damaged and a CGC holder could still be broken. The CGC holders are very fragile and are made that way on purpose. It is fragile so any tampering is immediately evident. While I know we ship CGC books with cracked holders from time to time to have them re-holdered (and have asked customers to be patient until we get them back) I will have a talk with my shipping dept to make sure they are more attentive to this. My team is very attentive to shipping and I can't believe that any one of them would purposefully send a cracked holder out on purpose. CGC holders get scratched very easily. Hearing complaints about scratched holders makes me think I should start a grading company that grades the holders. Now, of course I am joking, but I will also look into ways we can better protect our CGC holders. I do see the bags tearing a bit and we try to replace them but perhaps there is another way. We've tried Hot Flips bags and Mylites too but sometimes it feels like if you look at the holder the wrong way it can get damaged. We will work on it.

7. Stephen Fishler, my partner, has his hands full with 4 children at home but is still very attentive and involved with the businesses. He has been known to enter books into our database into the wee hours of the morning.

8. I'd like to thank all of the bidders in our auctions who had interest in Mile Highs. I can assure you there are many more than just two. These are amazing one of a kind books, they are highly coveted and once they are gone they are very hard to ever get back.

9. Because of how vast our inventory is it is sometimes not until someone brings a book to our attention that has a CALL on it instead of a price that we may decide we'd be better off putting that book into an auction. Instead of being honest we could just put a huge price on it and make it impossible to buy for the inquiring party. Still, I can see how this would upset someone and I will do my best to remedy this situation. I will say this, CALL has lead to many sales for us so I know it works.

10. Steve Carey (sacentaur). I'd like to clear the air with you Steve. Last time we talked I believe was about a dozen years ago when you called to apologize for all the horrible things you had been saying about my partner. It was a very welcome call for me as you and I had never had a single problem in all the years we had known one another. After that call I remember you wanting to buy a book. It was the Planet 3 Larson with notes on the Metropolis label that stated separated Siamese pages. We, on good faith, sent it to you on approval. You didn't like the grade because of the tears and chips from the separated Siamese pages and started making accusations about the only reason we sent it to you on approval was because we knew you'd want to buy it and that was wrong for us to do. We tried to do something good, there was no mal-intent and we didn't quite understand what all the vitriol was about. Anybody who has ever seen separated Siamese pages knows that it is possible (and likely) that there will be jagged edges, chips etc. To make sure you were 100% happy we sent a $6,000 comic to you on approval. There was no game being played here. We asked that if you didn't like the book that you simply send it back. You didn't have to keep it but you did. Since then it has been non-stop bashing Metropolis. Do me a favor I'd really like to put this all behind us, give me a call on Monday 1-800-229-6387 ext 14. Maybe there is something I am missing about what went on with that book but regardless I'd like to talk. I am not saying we need to start doing business or be best pals but I'd like to talk and hopefully move forward. I don’t want to think badly of you when I see you and I'd like for us to be able to say hello and chat at a con like we did years ago. Life is too short.

11. In regards to Mile Highs being trimmed, many were color touched so it is not impossible that someone trimmed a Mile High. I am sorry we missed it, but even more sorry someone did that in the first place. Very sad. In regards to the Junior, all I can say is that we must have missed it. I am glad the other 80+ books Jeff ordered were ok. I am very sorry we missed a trimmed book. We will try to do better.

12. In regards to Artboy99's post, Hello Karl in Canada,

The scan of the Witchcraft 2 shows spine splits on the book. If it got more damaged in transit I am very sorry but it wasn't our intention to deceive you. Sometimes that happens.

http://www.metropoliscomics.com/data/Image/gallery/wit1.90a.jpg

The Startling Terror Tale 11s front cover is gorgeous (looks like a 7.5-8.0) but has some problems with it. I believe that is why it was graded a 6.5. I am not 100% sure if the stain was taken into account when it was graded but it may have been. If you don't like the book please send it back.

http://www.metropoliscomics.com/data/Image/gallery/sta4.79a.jpg

The Menace #9 was listed with color touch (ct spine; ow pgs is the exact description) in the description and on the label itself CT means color touch so it wasn't sold as without mention of restoration.

http://www.metropoliscomics.com/data/Image/gallery/men2.127a.jpg

I reviewed the front scan of the Planet but can't tell what you are referring to. The front cover scan look better than a 6.5 to me (maybe the grader did see the printer creases and that is why he graded it a 6.5) . Several other posters have mentioned the defect you are referring to isn't really a defect though I agree eye appeal is important. I hope you can see that if it is not easily seen in a high resolution scan that maybe one of our graders missed it or took it into account. If you are unhappy with the book please return it.

http://www.metropoliscomics.com/data/Image/gallery/pla1.717a.jpg

You've bought over 40 books from us and had issues with 2 (I will not count the Menace as it was plainly described as having color touch and I will not count the Planet either). Also, I am not sure if you contacted my company about any of your concerns. If you did please email at vincentz@metropoliscomics.com to let me know how they handled the situation. I am sure they told you that you could return the books. If you didn't how could we make the situation right?

 

In closing, it has been a long day. I've been working the whole day grading books and writing this post. I have to be honest, reading through this thread doesn't make me happy. I think some of the comments are fair but I also think some of the things written here are not fair and I realize how poorly my company appears. Anybody reading this should understand that there are thousands upon thousands of very happy customers who love the books they buy from us, raw and CGC alike. If that wasn't the case we'd be out of business. The proof is in the pudding. And if my company was so bad we wouldn't have tripled in size and revenue over the last 5 years. I'd kindly ask you to give us the benefit of the doubt and realize there are 2 sides to every story. I really care about comics, the art form and the vintage comic market. I read comics every week. I do the best I can to promote the market as a great form of entertainment and investment. I am not perfect but I can tell you that my intention is never to stick a customer with a book that will make them unhappy. We believe in long term, positive relationships. We want to be your source for vintage comic books for the next 10, 20, 30 years. If I can be of assistance with anything please feel free to call me 212-260-4147 ext 14 or 800-229-6387 ext 14.

 

Sincerely,

 

Vincent Zurzolo

 

 

 

 

 

I appreciate Vincent addressing all of this here. Just to clarify a point, though, I haven't spoken to anyone except Fishler and didn't call anyone back about a book. I do appreciate Rob Reynolds keeping track, though, and emailing me about it.

[cheetah]

I don't know if Jeff has made his peace with Metropolis but the post by Vince has suggested that is the case. Before this thread fades away, I wanted to say I agree with Jeff re: their grading based on my various dealings with Metro over the years, i.e. most books tend to be overgraded but with pressing you can get up to the listed grade in many cases. Pressing wasn't an option when I first did business with them, but my last transaction was 13 mo. ago for 5 books and I had Matt press them all: Metro's 8.5 came back 7.0, their 9.0 came back 8.5, their 8.5 came back 8.0, a 7.0 came back 7.0, and a 6.0 came back 7.0. Knowing this, I have continued and will continue to do business with them if their price is right, and certainly will bid on the slabbed offerings in their auctions. Their inventory is indeed vast.

 

Even after pressing CGC's grades were lower than Metro's?

 

Somewhere at my office I have a spreadsheet where I kept track of vendors' grades vs CGC grades. The results were surprising. I will get that out sometime and post it.

[DavidTheDavid]

FWIW, I've had no issues at all buying slabbed (Silver Age) books from CC. I have had a Metro book that was grossly overgraded (9.4 claimed, 8.0 graded). I have bids in on three CC books right now and despite what I've read, feel comfortable continuing with that business. Not to discount what any of you might have experienced--will keep my fingers crossed that I continue to have good interactions with them.

[Doohickamabob]

My two cents (actually 1 cent because I don't even merit a full two cents) is that Metro has often had some kick- displays at various Comic conventions I've attended, and the people manning the displays were friendly.

[MrBedrock]

I've waited to weigh in....but here goes....

Those Metro fellas are snappy dressers (sort of Metro-sexual you might say), Frank is very tall - taller then me even, and Vinnie's wife smells good. (thumbs u