I wish GPA had a trial-service...

[sl4ppy]

Stop replying before I edit my posts a second or third time! You're too fast for my brain!

[A.Romeo]

this is just a generalization and goes for anyone, but if your having trouble putting $10 together for something, maybe you shouldn't be spending money on comics?

[mysterio]

[Mark 1]

this is just a generalization and goes for anyone, but if your having trouble putting $10 together for something, maybe you shouldn't be spending money on comics?

 

I agree. $10 to try the service is so cheap. If that's an issue...there is a problem

[techtre2003]

I'm curious to see what George thinks of this. I know he patrols the boards a lot and has probably already seen this thread.

 

While a $5 per 3 day access model would sound nice, from a software development standpoint, this could be a nightmare. Depending on how his e-commerce system is setup, he would have to create some kind of automation to deny service after 3 days. Since his business model seems to be set in Paypal subscription payments, this means it would be extra work for him to set up "one time payment" options.

 

Sure he may get 3 new customers (just pulling a number out of my spoon) for $5 each but how much work does he have to do for those customers and how many $10/month customers would he lose to this model?

 

I'm a $10/month customer and I usually just use his service once a month to update my spreadsheet of slab values. I'd easily switch to a $5/3 day service if available.

 

 

This is exactly why GPA would not offer a cheaper service. Yes, you may get quite a few new customers paying the $1 or $2 a month for a one time look but that would not cover the loss you would take from your current subscribers who only use the service once or twice a month switching to the cheaper model. I don't know the guy that runs GPA, but I'd guess he knows something about business and has run the numbers on this and it didn't make sense.

[zosocane]

I think GPA is an incredible resource if you're a buyer or seller of GA, SA or BA books and worth every penny. To say it's saved me money is an understatement. Basically, it's a 21st century comic book price guide. Indispensable.

 

I don't collect CA or moderns, but I think for those books, eBay sales data is pretty reliable given the high volume of sales on eBay alone.

[Davenport]

You do know that if you list one decent to good book on eBay, you will probably get GPA out of it.

 

If you have 5.00, I will give you the other 6.00 to get the service. You can pay me back when you get the cash

 

Thanks, but I will find my own way here... see if I can sell off something on the boards to make up for my shortcomings elsewhere.

 

 

-slym

The best cheap-seats method is to just sign up with Heritage so you can see the hammer-prices. They direct feed GPA their sales data.

Then between specific Heritage searches and Ebay "sold" results searches, you can get a decent sense of things. The only downside is some occasional coinee-spam.

[mysterio]

this is just a generalization and goes for anyone, but if your having trouble putting $10 together for something, maybe you shouldn't be spending money on comics?

 

Sometimes it's about "can't afford it" and sometimes it's about it not being worth it. I'll step up as an example. I'm very cheap when it comes to some things but not others. I often find it easier to spend $500 on a book than $50, and I've always been that way. For me, I don't often feel that a $50 book is worth $50 to me, but I readily spend $500 on another book and am excited about it. I look at it like forgoing a series of $10 trips to a fast food place or $5 cups of coffee so I can feel good when I spend $50 on a good steak at a restaurant I like. I can afford to pay a nickel extra for a gallon of gas, but I'd prefer to drive a few more blocks to the place in town that I know is cheaper. Not everyone cares, but that is how I roll. Try tracking your expenses for a few months, and you'll probably be shocked at what some things end up costing when you add it all up. It isn't always about how much you make or what you can afford to do, but how you choose to trade that money for what you personally value.

 

When it comes to GPA, I'm sure the service is worth $11 a month to many, just not to me. This is not a knock on GPA. It's just not a monthly expense I opt to incur, as I tend to like to get books with the money I choose to spend on my hobby. If I'm contemplating a big purchase I enjoy looking at various places to get a sense of price, and then pay a price I'm comfortable with (which may have a passing resemblance to GPA, or it may not). I'd benefit more on the selling side, but I sell fairly infrequently.

 

If GPA changed their model they'd be more likely to get a few bucks from me here or there when I sell, or really want to vet a purchase. They probably won't, and that's ok. I'm not going to stop being selectively cheap either (though I bet I'll get some flak for it).

[Buzzetta]

At this time the only thing I wish for are the inevitable points that will be handed out after the mods feel this thread has run its course.

[HarveySwick]

At this time the only thing I wish for are the inevitable points that will be handed out after the mods feel this thread has run its course.

[Dr. Balls]

At this time the only thing I wish for are the inevitable points that will be handed out after the mods feel this thread has run its course.

 

Agreed. I was thinking it was going to peter out, but then we got the "If you can'ts afford 10 dollars, then you best not be buyin' dem funny books" comment. This has the makings of something special. I'm going to try to be here for the duration.

[ItsJustRyan]

At this time the only thing I wish for are the inevitable points that will be handed out after the mods feel this thread has run its course.

 

IBTL

 

[Dr. Balls]

When it comes to GPA, I'm sure the service is worth $11 a month to many, just not to me. This is not a knock on GPA. It's just not a monthly expense I opt to incur, as I tend to like to get books with the money I choose to spend on my hobby. If I'm contemplating a big purchase I enjoy looking at various places to get a sense of price, and then pay a price I'm comfortable with (which may have a passing resemblance to GPA, or it may not). I'd benefit more on the selling side, but I sell fairly infrequently.

 

If GPA changed their model they'd be more likely to get a few bucks from me here or there when I sell, or really want to vet a purchase. They probably won't, and that's ok. I'm not going to stop being selectively cheap either (though I bet I'll get some flak for it).

 

+1

 

I think that's the point. It's not about "not being able to afford $10". There's a market segment that GPA is ignoring - maybe because they feel that it's not worth it or what, but it's likely out there. Depending on what GPA's customer acquisition is, selling "a buck a look for one book" could be a way to generate new subscribers without spending any additional marketing money. They'd obviously have to re-work the back end of their site to accommodate for this, so there would probably be a significant cost in that that would factor in - which could be a deterrent for GPA to do it.

[Sauce Dog]

I never found GPA to be expensive, I only subscribe for 1 month at a time (usually just before a convention, or before a major key purchase) and then immediately cancel the subscription (so I only pay for the on month I use it). No sense subscribing to it if not using it.

 

Seriously, if that $10 helps me not overpay on any comic then it has payed itself off.

[seanfingh]

It's not about "not being able to afford $10".

 

Correct. It's about saying "I can afford $5, but I can't afford $10, but i want to be able to price and sell the comic books that I just paid a third party grading service to grade, slab and ship back to me."

 

Anyone that can't recognize the inherent mind-numbingly incomprehensible "logic" in the original statement is either self-deluded or so obtuse that walking and thinking at the same time is probably a world class challenge.

 

If people are free to opine about the cataclysmic result that lack of six bucks is having on the entire economic climate surrounding them, then other people should be free to:

 

(1) Let them know that they could likely recoup the six bucks

(2) Offer them the six bucks

(3) Wonder whether the lack of six bucks is really important.

 

All of which happened.

 

 

[seanfingh]

[Dr. Balls]

It's not about "not being able to afford $10".

 

Correct. It's about saying "I can afford $5, but I can't afford $10, but i want to be able to price and sell the comic books that I just paid a third party grading service to grade, slab and ship back to me."

 

Anyone that can't recognize the inherent mind-numbingly incomprehensible "logic" in the original statement is either self-deluded or so obtuse that walking and thinking at the same time is probably a world class challenge.

 

If people are free to opine about the cataclysmic result that lack of six bucks is having on the entire economic climate surrounding them, then other people should be free to:

 

(1) Let them know that they could likely recoup the six bucks

(2) Offer them the six bucks

(3) Wonder whether the lack of six bucks is really important.

 

All of which happened.

 

 

(4) Use the six bucks to tip strippers. That's six trips to the McDonald's Dollar Menu for skinny girls. The could be a significant economic impact.

[Dr. Balls]

 

This might have been awesome. I'm sad I missed it.

[Jeffro.]

It was awesome

[Noodlez]

I paid the monthly fee once about a year ago because I was looking to sell/buy a few higher-end comics.

 

I used it a couple times and it served it's purpose for that brief moment. Haven't used or paid since.

 

I went back on there the other day actually to see if there was a different option instead of the one month.

 

I see what Slym is saying.

 

I probably won't pay the monthly fee again unless I absolutely need to. eBay has been pretty accurate so far for what I need It for at the moment.

 

Comic shops (the ones I frequent) refer to ebay when selling or buying, Wonder why they don't refer to GPA?