Approaches for dealing with overly-high prices set by consignors

[cloud cloddie]

Make an offer feature like Comic link has.

+1 and set a listing time frame . I month no takers, charge a fee or send the book back and seller pays shipping. If a books GPA is 100 bucks and the book is rare and not for sale everywhere the seller might get his 200 or be able to take 150 for it with the offer feature.

 

I think a month is too short an amount of time. As a seller, I've had stuff listed on eBay for BIN. They sat for the entire first month. When the cycle was done and the second month started, over half sold within a week. Even if the price is fair, a lot of buyers have learned to wait to see if there is a price drop. I think 3 months would be a more reasonable time frame. If no bites after 3 months, more than likely it's too high and needs to come down.

[mycomicshop]

[font:Book Antiqua]

Off topic:

 

But could you please add a Button that lead to all the CGC SS books?

 

Thank you...

[/font]

 

 

I've added it to the Advanced Search page:

 

http://www.mycomicshop.com/advancedsearch

 

New option for filtering by Signature Series, and you can optionally put in a name to view SS books with a particular signer.

 

Examples:

 

Search results for Spider-Man signature series issues:

http://www.mycomicshop.com/search?q=Spider-Man&ss=1

 

Search results for Spider-Man signature series issues signed by McFarlane:

http://www.mycomicshop.com/search?q=Spider-Man&ss=1&ssq=McFarlane

 

Note that the search results return a lot faster if you search for the signature series option *and* a regular search (Spider-Man in my examples above). If you just want to view all signature series books of any title, the search will work, but it's very slow. I'd have to make some much more major changes to our search system to make that search run faster.

[jimjum12]

Make an offer feature like Comic link has.

+1 and set a listing time frame . I month no takers, charge a fee or send the book back and seller pays shipping. If a books GPA is 100 bucks and the book is rare and not for sale everywhere the seller might get his 200 or be able to take 150 for it with the offer feature.

 

I think a month is too short an amount of time. As a seller, I've had stuff listed on eBay for BIN. They sat for the entire first month. When the cycle was done and the second month started, over half sold within a week. Even if the price is fair, a lot of buyers have learned to wait to see if there is a price drop. I think 3 months would be a more reasonable time frame. If no bites after 3 months, more than likely it's too high and needs to come down.

 

....I'm with the 6 month timeframe..... but in all honesty, I've had my best luck with achieving record prices for a given book/grade with items that were nearing (or had exceeded) the 9-12 month timeframe on a fixed price consignment site. GOD BLESS....

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

[kav]

ebay should clear stuff that hasn't sold in 5 years. I can think of a few. Allow them to relist at 1/2 asking. Then every year halve it again till it sells. I know of one item worth $200 that asking is 18K and it's been there for years and years....a Romita/Romita/Lee signed scribble by a little kid.

[01TheDude]

sometimes you have to stick to your guns and the right person will come along and buy the weirdest things. I'm not referring to comics though.

[RockMyAmadeus]

sometimes you have to stick to your guns and the right person will come along and buy the weirdest things. I'm not referring to comics though.

 

Dude.

 

DUDE.

 

The off-topic police are roaming the halls this week, looking for offenders. Do you wanna be next?? I hear they even make threads about it!

 

They're brutal, man, BRU-TAL.

 

You run out the back; I'll cover you.

 

[RockMyAmadeus]

sometimes you have to stick to your guns and the right person will come along and buy the weirdest things. I'm not referring to comics though.

 

Dude.

 

DUDE.

 

The off-topic police are roaming the halls this week, looking for offenders. Do you wanna be next?? I hear they even make threads about it!

 

They're brutal, man, BRU-TAL.

 

You run out the back; I'll cover you.

 

 

Wait...ah, mess, man, now I'M off-topic...AGAIN!

 

You cover for me, I'll run out the back...

 

[Dr Chaos]

Make an offer feature like Comic link has.

+1 and set a listing time frame . I month no takers, charge a fee or send the book back and seller pays shipping. If a books GPA is 100 bucks and the book is rare and not for sale everywhere the seller might get his 200 or be able to take 150 for it with the offer feature.

 

As someone who has consigned many books I would have to say that even for books priced to move one month is a very short time frame. Unless you are selling a key book, the right seller does not come along right away for every book.

 

With a one month return policy and the prospect of paying shipping both ways for a book that is not sold you will not get too many customers.

 

Last December I listed a golden age book for $829 on consignment. After a year with no offers I dropped the price to $819. Less than a week later I accepted an $800 offer on the book. If I had priced that book $100 lower at the outset I do not think it would have sold any faster.

[FineCollector]

I think a small storage fee as a percentage of the book's value after 9 months would be a fair compromise, and keep things cycling through. Alternatively, you could offer a yearly subscription fee or a surcharge per book where there are no fees after your given expiry.

[Rommin]

The only way to address it is to charge for unsold items.

 

This.

 

With the present setup, MCS is storing (and assuming all the liability) for comics that, with a ridiculous asking price, the "consignor" seems to have very little interest in selling.

 

Solution?

 

Difficult, but perhaps a fee for storage should the book(s) go unsold after a specified time, or (in lieu of that) an agreement to reduce the asking price by a specific percentage (5%, 10%, X%) in order to reset the "time on sale" clock. Yes, a variation on a Dutch auction.

 

Consignor doesn't agree? They are welcome to retrieve their consignments, at their (shipping) expense.

 

My 10c

I agree that charging for consignment books that don't sell after a set period of time would motivate sellers to price their books to sell.

 

+42

 

I'm late to the conversation, and just piling on, but this definitely. Especially since scanning some titles gives the appearance that I'm on Mile High's website instead of one that I would actually buy from.

 

Hopefully you will figure something out soon .. and before new visitors are turned off by some crazy prices not realizing you guys didn't set them.

 

[joeypost]

Since you asked for examples here are a few.

 

Hulk 2

 

GPA is $800

 

Consignor is asking 6.0 prices.

 

Where Monsters Dwell 26

 

GPA is $100. Granted it is from 2010 but surrounding issues seem to ceiling out at $125.00 in 9.6 according to recent sales.

 

IG #1 SS

 

GPA is $350.00

 

IG #1

 

GPA is $198.00

 

With no make an offer option it is highly doubtful anyone would hit a BIN at those prices. Especially with similar copies for sale on eBay selling for much, much less.

 

 

 

 

[01TheDude]

sometimes you have to stick to your guns and the right person will come along and buy the weirdest things. I'm not referring to comics though.

 

Dude.

 

DUDE.

 

The off-topic police are roaming the halls this week, looking for offenders. Do you wanna be next?? I hear they even make threads about it!

 

They're brutal, man, BRU-TAL.

 

You run out the back; I'll cover you.

 

 

Wait...ah, mess, man, now I'M off-topic...AGAIN!

 

You cover for me, I'll run out the back...

 

 

when in doubt, stand your ground and let jeebus sort it all out

[jaeldubyoo]

sometimes you have to stick to your guns and the right person will come along and buy the weirdest things. I'm not referring to comics though.

 

Dude.

 

DUDE.

 

The off-topic police are roaming the halls this week, looking for offenders. Do you wanna be next?? I hear they even make threads about it!

 

They're brutal, man, BRU-TAL.

 

You run out the back; I'll cover you.

 

 

Wait...ah, mess, man, now I'M off-topic...AGAIN!

 

You cover for me, I'll run out the back...

 

 

when in doubt, stand your ground and let jeebus sort it all out

 

You're all off topic. Run and I'll cover you with a rolled up comic. Don't look back and never return.

[Doc Joe]

I would give a time period and then start charging after that.

 

Having said that I had a book that did not meet reserve on Comiclink, when it does not then it goes into the general for sale section at the reserve price. I sort of forgot about it being there then maybe 9-12 months later got a BIN at full asking price.

 

I agree even if the seller is setting the high price it still looks like you are setting it and at the very least condoning it. Still suddenly a book can get hot and a price that seems high becomes a bargain.

 

PS: I just hit the Bin for what probably was an overpriced book from you this morning - but was happy to do it since I have been looking for one for 5 years!

[jaeldubyoo]

I would give a time period and then start charging after that.

 

Having said that I had a book that did not meet reserve on Comiclink, when it does not then it goes into the general for sale section at the reserve price. I sort of forgot about it being there then maybe 9-12 months later got a BIN at full asking price.

 

I agree even if the seller is setting the high price it still looks like you are setting it and at the very least condoning it. Still suddenly a book can get hot and a price that seems high becomes a bargain.

 

PS: I just hit the Bin for what probably was an overpriced book from you this morning - but was happy to do it since I have been looking for one for 5 years!

 

But aren't those the exceptions and not the rule? Even if a comic suddenly gets hot, if it was taken off and put up later you'd still get as much, if not more.

[Wally's Comics]

First off, Conan I appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to show the folks here that you care.

 

Especially since every other week someone here seemingly wants to tar and feather MCS over one minuscule reason or another.

 

In my experience for every book that might be aggressively priced there are about 300 others that are solid pick ups so honestly I find it sad that there is an argument of high cosigns across the board.

 

People need to remember that are living in a very robust market folks! Where supposedly dollar box fodder becomes a $500 book over night! So I can't blame someone for cadillac prices - especially if the census is low!

 

Heck 3 years ago a ST 110 CGC 4.0 was about $180 and I'm sure folks would balk at a $400 price, but fast forward it today and you can't buy one for under $2k!!!

 

 

This thread did do me a favor though. I checked all of my significant consignments and gave a 10% drop on some prices and in doing so I sold more just a few minutes ago!

 

So Cheers All Around!

 

And thanks again Conan and your staff for all your time and efforts.

 

[Doc Joe]

I would give a time period and then start charging after that.

 

Having said that I had a book that did not meet reserve on Comiclink, when it does not then it goes into the general for sale section at the reserve price. I sort of forgot about it being there then maybe 9-12 months later got a BIN at full asking price.

 

I agree even if the seller is setting the high price it still looks like you are setting it and at the very least condoning it. Still suddenly a book can get hot and a price that seems high becomes a bargain.

 

PS: I just hit the Bin for what probably was an overpriced book from you this morning - but was happy to do it since I have been looking for one for 5 years!

 

But aren't those the exceptions and not the rule? Even if a comic suddenly gets hot, if it was taken off and put up later you'd still get as much, if not more.

 

yup that's true, it just depends how motivated the seller is. Its a problem (for the dealer) when the seller is like 'I dont really want to sell it but would at this price'

 

 

[kav]

sometimes you have to stick to your guns and the right person will come along and buy the weirdest things. I'm not referring to comics though.

True but not if you can easily get it elsewhere. There are plenty of Romita/Romita/Lee items for sale-some cartoon cels even for around $200-WHY would someone pay 18K for a R/R/L with some kid's scribble on it?

[mycomicshop]

Thanks all for the feedback and suggestions.

 

While a fee for items unsold after X amount of time would be simple to implement, and creates the proper motivation for a seller to price a book to move, I don't want to do that. Also, as multiple people have pointed out, some items can be priced quite reasonably and still take a long time to sell because there are not that many people out there looking for the book at any given time.

 

My goal is not to make all consignors price a book how we would price it. Consignors have their own acquisition costs to cover, plus our commission, and it's perfectly acceptable for a consignor to price a book somewhat aggressively. New GPA highs get set all the time. Within reason, I would rather have a book in stock at a higher price than not have it in at all.

 

Rather, what I want to improve on is limiting the most extreme over pricing. Several sales in the past year for your book are averaging $50-80, other copies are available for sale in the same price range, and yours is priced $200? That'd be one where your book isn't likely to sell and makes the listing look bad.

 

What I'm leaning towards is adding a recommended price range to the price guidance we provide. It wouldn't necessarily be listed on all books, just the ones where there's enough data to support a decent recommendation. The recommended price range would exert some gentle social pressure in the direction of setting a reasonable price.

 

If a book had a recommended price range shown, but the consignor wanted to set a price well above that range, they'd be able to enter their desired price along with any notes justifying it, such as a prior sale we don't know about, expected movie announcement, etc. The listing would not show up at the consignor's desired price until we'd seen it and signed off. If we decline, then the listing can't go up at that price, and the consignor could either set a lower price or withdraw the item. Might take some experimentation, but I think something like that could work.

 

In addition to this, we'll be adding the make an offer feature, as well as improved options for consignors to quickly review and reprice their unsold inventory.

[ttfitz]

What I'm leaning towards is adding a recommended price range to the price guidance we provide. It wouldn't necessarily be listed on all books, just the ones where there's enough data to support a decent recommendation. The recommended price range would exert some gentle social pressure in the direction of setting a reasonable price.

 

If a book had a recommended price range shown, but the consignor wanted to set a price well above that range, they'd be able to enter their desired price along with any notes justifying it, such as a prior sale we don't know about, expected movie announcement, etc. The listing would not show up at the consignor's desired price until we'd seen it and signed off. If we decline, then the listing can't go up at that price, and the consignor could either set a lower price or withdraw the item. Might take some experimentation, but I think something like that could work.

 

As a seller, I think this sounds reasonable. It kinda fits in with the rest of the consignment picture there, since a seller has to send in the books and have them graded by you guys, and can decide not to sell if they don't agree with your grading.

 

I might add something along the lines of allowing the listing at the higher price for a very limited time, but I guess if you were liberal with the recommended range or approval for out-of-range items, that might take care of most items.