Mile High Chuck's place in the hobby

[dupont2005]

What I'm saying is a young teenaged kid not even old enough to drive had a comics inventory worth as much as a new car. You don't wonder where that came from? You assume it was teenaged Chuck's genius business savvy that built that when he was in middle school?

 

 

I could be convinced of that, but grown up Chuck's business savvy has me skeptical.

 

Chuck has the largest store in the US, as well as several others, one of the top two mail order/internet operations in the world, employees almost a hundred people and has for years. Question his business savvy all you want.

Let me ask you this. Dallas Stephans shows up in San Diego with a collection he is asking several hundred thousand dollars for. The price might have been ambitious but he had several six figure offers. Instead, Chuck rides away with the whole collection for not a penny down, and you question his business savvy?

 

BTW- I started wheeling and dealing in comics at 13 in 1972, did my first convention at 16, and in my freshman year in college sold my inventory and bought an 18 month old Camaro.

Within a few months I was back in the game, buying two collections of about 3,000 12 and 15 cent books for $400. Sold the AF 15 for $150. Sold Silver Surfer 1-18 for $40, and got half my money back from twenty books.

I borrowed the money from my Aunt and paid her back within a year.

All that, and all I can think of is Chuck not making money at Comicon. I wonder if any other dealers did? Are they all throwing in the towel this year? Will there be a dealers section at all next year? Because if so it sounds like other people are doing better than Chuck today. However well Chuck was doing when he was buying million dollar collections for less than a penny on the dollar, it's not happening today. Maybe when he isn't finding windfall collections he actually isn't a great businessman? That's all I'm saying, and every shred of evidence I have points to that.

 

Regarding Chuck and his early success. He opened his first store at age eighteen with an inventory of ten thousand comics. A couple questions. One, where did the comics come from? There's several possibilities, and one is he got them for pennies on the dollar from little old ladies around town. Maybe that's the business model he built his empire on. Maybe it's what kept him afloat this entire time. If that's the case, and little old ladies don't have Silver Age collections to give away to cute kids with ads in the local paper, he's not doing as well? Maybe he had a generous allowance that afforded him to accumulate a collection larger than most modern stores while he was still a child? Maybe he was just a genius businessman when he was in middle school, and worked his way from a $20 purchase at a yard sale to a comic book empire. It's possible, but unlikely. I mean, did he hit his head or something? Early onset dementia? What happened to that enterprising fifteen year old who was on top of the world? Why is it at nearly 60 years of age he has fewer locations than he did in his early twenties?

 

Chuck has built a large comic empire, there's no denying that. What I am denying is three things. One is that the only way to build such an empire is through being a good businessman. The second thing I'm denying is that things are currently going great for Chuck business wise. The third is that comics as a medium, an industry, and a hobby will change in any way, shape, or form when he retires from dealing comics.

[dupont2005]

I've gotta be honest with you guys. I still buy a lot of books from Mile High. Comiclink is my preferred dealer for graded books and Mile High is where I like to get my raw books. Some stuff is priced high, but if you make a call they will work with you.

I've found a deal on his site once or twice. I know he's had Deadworld #1 listed for a lower price than what the average eBay seller is asking for quite some time. I bought the complete collection of Fangraphix off him for about $1.50 per issue, and two came unopened in the cellophane from distribution thirty years ago. The first appearance of Ralph Snart, the first Ralph Snart cover, the first Marc Hansen published work, the first Tony Caputo published work, for bargain bin prices. That is an anomaly though. On average I find his prices on low end merchandise to be about 300% of eBay. I don't even look at high end merch in his store. And common but hot issues of modern comics are always out of stock with him.

[lizards2]

Been following the thread about Chuck's moaning newsletter with some interest, which raised a question I've had before.

 

What is his importance to the hobby, in the history of collecting? How much is legitimate and how much is self-inflated?

jagoff still owes me money from the 80's. Interest is a killer

[shadroch]

Lets see.

You close down four 1,000 square foot stores and open up two 100,000 square foot stores. You are a failure because you don't have as many shops as before.

You go from having seven fulltime workers to almost a hundred, but you still are failing because you no longer have those four shops.

You go from four stores dong $150,000 a year in sales to two shops doing 5,000,000 but you are still a failure because you don't have as many shops as you once did.

You have a warehouse with two million books, but you just can't escape the fact you no longer have as many retail shops as you did.

I get it . I didn't, but now I do.

[HighStakesComics]

I've gotta be honest with you guys. I still buy a lot of books from Mile High. Comiclink is my preferred dealer for graded books and Mile High is where I like to get my raw books. Some stuff is priced high, but if you make a call they will work with you.

I've found a deal on his site once or twice. I know he's had Deadworld #1 listed for a lower price than what the average eBay seller is asking for quite some time. I bought the complete collection of Fangraphix off him for about $1.50 per issue, and two came unopened in the cellophane from distribution thirty years ago. The first appearance of Ralph Snart, the first Ralph Snart cover, the first Marc Hansen published work, the first Tony Caputo published work, for bargain bin prices. That is an anomaly though. On average I find his prices on low end merchandise to be about 300% of eBay. I don't even look at high end merch in his store. And common but hot issues of modern comics are always out of stock with him.

 

I like that he doesn't press his books, DuPont. What you get from him is a raw comic in every sense of the word. Not that I'm in the anti-pressing camp, but when I get a book in the mail it's nice to have a little upside. Plus they are always well packed. If I'm buying something for my personal stash, I have done much, much worse than what Ive received from Mile High Comics.

[Prince Namor]

Chuck's real problem is he keeps buying these huge inventory collections and the hobby's readers are moving more and more towards tpb's. If he doesn't readjust the way he's purchasing, he's going to soon have the largest inventory of unsellable product.

[dupont2005]

Lets see.

You close down four 1,000 square foot stores and open up two 100,000 square foot stores. You are a failure because you don't have as many shops as before.

You go from having seven fulltime workers to almost a hundred, but you still are failing because you no longer have those four shops.

You go from four stores dong $150,000 a year in sales to two shops doing 5,000,000 but you are still a failure because you don't have as many shops as you once did.

You have a warehouse with two million books, but you just can't escape the fact you no longer have as many retail shops as you did.

I get it . I didn't, but now I do.

Having a larger warehouse, more overhead, and more employees does not mean he's doing better. I'm of the opinion he's probably stretching himself pretty thin and not operating as efficiently as he could be. I'm betting that although he has the largest known inventory and the highest known overhead he's probably not generating the most revenue. That is bad business. I'm thinking he possibly refinanced everything, used everything else for collateral, is having trouble staying above water, and despite all that will not change his business model until it's too late. Just checking his offerings at his marketplace, I'm thinking that although he has the largest inventory, it might also be the most worthless and cherry picked inventory made up of overgraded common stuff.

 

Those are just things I think. Things I know are this. He makes a fool out of himself every month in his newsletter. He claims to not be doing well. There are rumors from people closer to him than either me or you saying he's probably not doing well. His prices are out of touch with reality. His website is out of date and not up to the standard of his competition. His booths are not getting traffic. He didn't have a great time at CGC. His Valentines day codeword sale lasted over five months. Despite having a longtime head start in comics retail, and even online comics retail, he missed his opportunity to be the king of online comics retail, handing that over to DCBS and Amazon.

[dupont2005]

I've gotta be honest with you guys. I still buy a lot of books from Mile High. Comiclink is my preferred dealer for graded books and Mile High is where I like to get my raw books. Some stuff is priced high, but if you make a call they will work with you.

I've found a deal on his site once or twice. I know he's had Deadworld #1 listed for a lower price than what the average eBay seller is asking for quite some time. I bought the complete collection of Fangraphix off him for about $1.50 per issue, and two came unopened in the cellophane from distribution thirty years ago. The first appearance of Ralph Snart, the first Ralph Snart cover, the first Marc Hansen published work, the first Tony Caputo published work, for bargain bin prices. That is an anomaly though. On average I find his prices on low end merchandise to be about 300% of eBay. I don't even look at high end merch in his store. And common but hot issues of modern comics are always out of stock with him.

 

I like that he doesn't press his books, DuPont. What you get from him is a raw comic in every sense of the word. Not that I'm in the anti-pressing camp, but when I get a book in the mail it's nice to have a little upside. Plus they are always well packed. If I'm buying something for my personal stash, I have done much, much worse than what Ive received from Mile High Comics.

I'm not a stickler for grade, so when I buy a NM comic and it comes with four or five spine dings I'm not going to freak out, but it's happened.

[DavidTheDavid]

I just wanna say, this is my first successful CG thread!

 

First, I'd like to thank the board members who've contributed to this thread and made this possible. Second, I have to thank Chuck for inspiring this thread. And I have to thank my mother who let me purchase those first Thor comics off the spinner rack at Reeves Sain Drug Store, not to mention my cousin and his stash of Plop! comics, Kubert war comics, and Witching Hour comics that scared the bejeezus out of me. Last, I'd like to thank God. And the Internet. And my baby for screwing up my sleep schedule so badly that I'm making loony posts at almost 2 AM . I hope to be back next year with more successful CG threads. Thank you, all, thank you!

 

[oakman29]

I just wanna say, this is my first successful CG thread!

 

First, I'd like to thank the board members who've contributed to this thread and made this possible. Second, I have to thank Chuck for inspiring this thread. And I have to thank my mother who let me purchase those first Thor comics off the spinner rack at Reeves Sain Drug Store, not to mention my cousin and his stash of Plop! comics, Kubert war comics, and Witching Hour comics that scared the bejeezus out of me. Last, I'd like to thank God. And the Internet. And my baby for screwing up my sleep schedule so badly that I'm making loony posts at almost 2 AM . I hope to be back next year with more successful CG threads. Thank you, all, thank you!

 

 

I'm so proud.

[ttfitz]

Lets see.

You close down four 1,000 square foot stores and open up two 100,000 square foot stores. You are a failure because you don't have as many shops as before.

You go from having seven fulltime workers to almost a hundred, but you still are failing because you no longer have those four shops.

You go from four stores dong $150,000 a year in sales to two shops doing 5,000,000 but you are still a failure because you don't have as many shops as you once did.

You have a warehouse with two million books, but you just can't escape the fact you no longer have as many retail shops as you did.

I get it . I didn't, but now I do.

 

You are wasting your time with the facts - it's what he THINKS is going on that really matters.

[sharkbait]

My Grandfather is in his late 80's. He does not care to read Overstreet or check Ebay and does not care to be involved with the online community.

 

With that said, we have a shady local "dealer" that my Grandfather will buy grossly overpriced books from. He's not really concerned with price because in his view these books are not regularly available through any other sources so he'll gladly pay high prices for overgraded books, including some PGX slabs.

 

I can imagine how a dealer with a long time presence like Mile High with an unmatched inventory can stay afloat with customers like my Grandfather. He can walk in, pick something off the wall, and pay whatever is being asked.

[JollyComics]

He found a valuable comic collection. The proceeds floated him for a while but looks like that's coming to an end. Since he made multiple millions of dollars off one deal he's never had to have competitive prices, a website from this millennium, or reasonable overhead. He just had to write big fat checks for dealers inventory then up the price a thousand percent and watch people who didn't know any better buy it all.

 

 

First off, he didn't make millions off the Church collection. I'd wager he made more off the final figures with MH2 than he did with MH1.

His prices thru the early 90s were quite competitive and dealers used to hate when MH did a show. His mail order prices were pretty good, too. He offered a decent volume discount and many dealers bought from him.

At some point, he must have realized it was dumb to sell stuff at cheap prices when he could no longer replace the material and prices were always rising. That business plan no longer works, but he still has a flourishing store, mailorder and internet company.

He's forgotten more about this business than most of us will ever learn.

He's become a bit of a joke, but he wasn't always one.

In the late 1980s, Marvel and DC paid good money to have Buddy Saunders and Chuck come to their dealer seminars and anyone who listened learned a good bit.

 

Buddy Saunders is a true businessman and is a winner.

 

I bought many books from mycomicshop.com. Their website is the best tool. Their consistent grading. Best customer service. Their business has been expanded. Much more. I am always coming back.

 

Mile High website is badly outdated. Their price is outrageous. Lousy customer service. Nothing more. That is the reason of their business being failing. Great rise and great fall for Chuck.

[shadroch]

He found a valuable comic collection. The proceeds floated him for a while but looks like that's coming to an end. Since he made multiple millions of dollars off one deal he's never had to have competitive prices, a website from this millennium, or reasonable overhead. He just had to write big fat checks for dealers inventory then up the price a thousand percent and watch people who didn't know any better buy it all.

 

 

First off, he didn't make millions off the Church collection. I'd wager he made more off the final figures with MH2 than he did with MH1.

His prices thru the early 90s were quite competitive and dealers used to hate when MH did a show. His mail order prices were pretty good, too. He offered a decent volume discount and many dealers bought from him.

At some point, he must have realized it was dumb to sell stuff at cheap prices when he could no longer replace the material and prices were always rising. That business plan no longer works, but he still has a flourishing store, mailorder and internet company.

He's forgotten more about this business than most of us will ever learn.

He's become a bit of a joke, but he wasn't always one.

In the late 1980s, Marvel and DC paid good money to have Buddy Saunders and Chuck come to their dealer seminars and anyone who listened learned a good bit.

 

Buddy Saunders is a true businessman and is a winner.

 

Doesn't he have less stores than he used to? That seems to be the criteria some folks use.

[chrisco37]

I used to sell them quite a bit. His prices were pretty low, but sometimes I'd get stuff cheap and pass it on to him. At one point, he was paying stupid money for the UK Action Force and Transformers weeklies. Many store owners still get by by sending their excess inventory to either him or Lone Star.

 

I know that over the years he probably saved a few guys from lousy shows by buying up all their junk. I know this happened at Heroes and B'more before.

[VintageComics]

Chuck's real problem is he keeps buying these huge inventory collections and the hobby's readers are moving more and more towards tpb's. If he doesn't readjust the way he's purchasing, he's going to soon have the largest inventory of unsellable product.

 

He can light them on fire and keep America warm for months.

 

Or cause global warming.

[dupont2005]

You are wasting your time with the facts - it's what he THINKS is going on that really matters.

 

Chuck says he's losing money, nobody believe him though, he's not a credible source of information regarding his finances.

 

 

 

You are though.

[dupont2005]

Doesn't he have less stores than he used to? That seems to be the criteria some folks use.

My criteria is "Did you make a profit the last time you set up at a con?"

 

and

 

"Do you have a single correctly graded book with any sort of value listed for sale in your store?"

 

and

 

"Does ANYBODY actually buy off you?"

[RCheli]

Doesn't he have less stores than he used to? That seems to be the criteria some folks use.

My criteria is "Did you make a profit the last time you set up at a con?"

 

and

 

"Do you have a single correctly graded book with any sort of value listed for sale in your store?"

 

and

 

"Does ANYBODY actually buy off you?"

 

I think the answer is yes to all three of your questions.

 

You're really making yourself look bad here, digging a larger and larger hole. I think it's time to wave the white flag.

[dupont2005]

Doesn't he have less stores than he used to? That seems to be the criteria some folks use.

My criteria is "Did you make a profit the last time you set up at a con?"

 

and

 

"Do you have a single correctly graded book with any sort of value listed for sale in your store?"

 

and

 

"Does ANYBODY actually buy off you?"

 

I think the answer is yes to all three of your questions.

 

You're really making yourself look bad here, digging a larger and larger hole. I think it's time to wave the white flag.

Show me a correctly graded key at market price in stock and available to purchase on his site right now.

 

And the answer to the first question is definitively a "no" unless Chuck lied in his newsletter. If that's the case, am I really the one looking bad because Chuck is a liar? He either lost money or lied, those are the only two options here. Neither one is making me look bad.