Chuck explains his Mile High pricing

[COI]

 

Anyone getting his newsletter and regularly shopping on the site would clearly see this tactic, so where's the scam? Even if they're unaware, where's the scam? He lists books for a price, and you can either buy it or not buy it; that's not a scam because the buyer is not being misled. You simply can't determine MH customer intentions or gullibility any more than you can determine if someone paying thousands of dollars for some 9.8 variant that came out yesterday is, in a more abstract sense, being misled by hype, greed, and speculators passing along their hot potatoes. I'm not suggesting he's an awesome guy; what I am suggesting is that the hate he gets is disproportionate to what amounts to little more than carnival barking, to use your words.

 

Large segments of this hobby have become so $$$$ focused that undisclosed pressing isn't even a "thing" anymore, people can doctor books with thousands of dollars at stake and it barely makes a dent in the collective consciousness, and known dirt-bags with a long history of committing actual fraud still operate freely, because cool books, and despite all of this the community piles on the moral outrage over obnoxious grandstanding with a totally straight face. In what world is someone selling books with undisclosed pressing (just an example) less misleading than Chuckles pricing things high? In the case of undisclosed pressing, the buyer's agency is compromised; with Chuck, it's all out on the table and you can buy or not buy. He's just an easy target for people around here to project upon because most are not interested in doing business with him. It's silly.

 

 

Does anyone have any thoughts about what I posted earlier, especially given all these "bad for the hobby" non-arguments, or should I just stick to talking to myself from now on? This hobby is overrun with self-serving individuals, so I don't see why Chuck is so distinctive, other than the fact that there seems to be this collective decades-old butthurt that Chuck was the one who got his hands on the greatest collection that will ever exist.

[dupont2005]

 

Anyone getting his newsletter and regularly shopping on the site would clearly see this tactic, so where's the scam? Even if they're unaware, where's the scam? He lists books for a price, and you can either buy it or not buy it; that's not a scam because the buyer is not being misled. You simply can't determine MH customer intentions or gullibility any more than you can determine if someone paying thousands of dollars for some 9.8 variant that came out yesterday is, in a more abstract sense, being misled by hype, greed, and speculators passing along their hot potatoes. I'm not suggesting he's an awesome guy; what I am suggesting is that the hate he gets is disproportionate to what amounts to little more than carnival barking, to use your words.

 

Large segments of this hobby have become so $$$$ focused that undisclosed pressing isn't even a "thing" anymore, people can doctor books with thousands of dollars at stake and it barely makes a dent in the collective consciousness, and known dirt-bags with a long history of committing actual fraud still operate freely, because cool books, and despite all of this the community piles on the moral outrage over obnoxious grandstanding with a totally straight face. In what world is someone selling books with undisclosed pressing (just an example) less misleading than Chuckles pricing things high? In the case of undisclosed pressing, the buyer's agency is compromised; with Chuck, it's all out on the table and you can buy or not buy. He's just an easy target for people around here to project upon because most are not interested in doing business with him. It's silly.

 

 

Does anyone have any thoughts about what I posted earlier, especially given all these "bad for the hobby" non-arguments, or should I just stick to talking to myself from now on? This hobby is overrun with self-serving individuals, so I don't see why Chuck is so distinctive, other than the fact that there seems to be this collective decades-old butthurt that Chuck was the one who got his hands on the greatest collection that will ever exist.

I'm not worried about what's good or bad for the hobby, but there is absolutely no arguing that Chuck's business practice is predatory. And if you're of the opinion he's actually successful and not one codeward sale away from bankruptcy, then he's a habitual and frequent liar too. I'm just surprised people know that and think "What's the big deal? So what, he lies and preys on customers. Who cares? He's the guy that found the MH2!"

[Tomega]

You're all pointing out reasons why his business model is untenable or may fail. That's fair, but it doesn't explain the hate, and it's not based on any actual data, unless one of you is his accountant.

 

My post had absolutely no hate in it. In my experience his prices are ridiculous, this video is tendered in support of those prices and my response was that it is woefully inadequate.

 

Not targeting you or anyone specifically, just the general bandwagon-jumping of hate I always see in threads about Chuckles. Considering the current flipping/investing-crazed atmosphere on these boards as of late, the criticisms often levied at him, usually in a very personal way, strike me as incredibly ironic and hypocritical.

 

Man are you coming off like an apologist for Chuck. Hearing him defend their pricing is laughable but would be forgivable if he did not allow blatant ripping off of people through over grading and misrepresenting products. If you dare to return something because of gross over grading, you will be banned for ordering from his locations. Ask around, there have been more than a few who have been proudly banned. Additionally, I've been to his stores, the staff is a mixed bag at best and their big store is a nothing more than a big warehouse. There are also many occurrences of people ordering items from his website at a certain price, the book becomes hot and then they do not ship the books. Do a search, you will see it pop up.

 

Knowingly to allow this to continue is akin to thievery. He simply lies to himself and everyone around him that it does not happen. That is why you see these "justification" videos. You should not need to justify your prices if you are reputable business. Take a look at Metropolis comics. Are some of their prices out of line ( sometimes way out of line ) with market? Absolutely. But you get top notch service , always accurate grading and a huge, quality diversity of books. Mycomicshop has a huge, immense inventory and good service at decent prices . They miss a grade here and there but they take care of it and have top notch customer service.

 

Here is something interesting. I want you to go to the True Value store locator -

http://www.truevalue.com/store_locator.jsp

 

Put in 2525 Arapahoe Ave Boulder, CO 80302-6720 and tell me what comes up. Since McGuckin could not possibly come up since good old Chuck said they are not part of chain store, how is it McGuckin comes up? Why does Chuck mention that they are part of True Value on his web site and not in the video? Because it does not fit his narrative. By the way , for a humorous read -

 

http://www.milehighcomics.com/tales/cbg84.html

 

I could not care less what he priced comics at if his company was reputable and he did the right thing.

 

 

 

[MrBedrock]

This hobby is overrun with self-serving individuals, so I don't see why Chuck is so distinctive, other than the fact that there seems to be this collective decades-old butthurt that Chuck was the one who got his hands on the greatest collection that will ever exist.

As a self-serving comics retailer I'm happy that Mile High prices their stuff so high, and I think their high prices do a great service to all of us who sell back issues, if for no other reason then that those high prices make the rest of us look much less self-serving.

[BarryAllen]

 

Anyone getting his newsletter and regularly shopping on the site would clearly see this tactic, so where's the scam? Even if they're unaware, where's the scam? He lists books for a price, and you can either buy it or not buy it; that's not a scam because the buyer is not being misled. You simply can't determine MH customer intentions or gullibility any more than you can determine if someone paying thousands of dollars for some 9.8 variant that came out yesterday is, in a more abstract sense, being misled by hype, greed, and speculators passing along their hot potatoes. I'm not suggesting he's an awesome guy; what I am suggesting is that the hate he gets is disproportionate to what amounts to little more than carnival barking, to use your words.

 

Large segments of this hobby have become so $$$$ focused that undisclosed pressing isn't even a "thing" anymore, people can doctor books with thousands of dollars at stake and it barely makes a dent in the collective consciousness, and known dirt-bags with a long history of committing actual fraud still operate freely, because cool books, and despite all of this the community piles on the moral outrage over obnoxious grandstanding with a totally straight face. In what world is someone selling books with undisclosed pressing (just an example) less misleading than Chuckles pricing things high? In the case of undisclosed pressing, the buyer's agency is compromised; with Chuck, it's all out on the table and you can buy or not buy. He's just an easy target for people around here to project upon because most are not interested in doing business with him. It's silly.

 

 

Does anyone have any thoughts about what I posted earlier, especially given all these "bad for the hobby" non-arguments, or should I just stick to talking to myself from now on? This hobby is overrun with self-serving individuals, so I don't see why Chuck is so distinctive, other than the fact that there seems to be this collective decades-old butthurt that Chuck was the one who got his hands on the greatest collection that will ever exist.

 

People who seek the spotlight are subject to a higher level of scrutiny than the average person.

 

I am personally arguing the the combination of his avarice and scale (that is to say the lengths he goes to reach and take advantage of people) is unparalleled.

 

The whole discussion started because of the ridiculous nature of his personal mission to convince people to support his hulking ego (or to be direct, the physical manifestation of said ego: his "store"). In that context I feel most people's statements have been justified.

 

But to be honest I am not sure what you are frustrated with. That he is being singled out or that he doesn't deserve to be? Heavy is the head that wears the self-appointed crown..?

 

:shrug:

 

[Kevin76]

I finally got a chance to watch the video in its entirety, Most people here who are thinking he's strange for comparing his high prices to a hardware store have 0 business/marketing skills, of course that's not your fault, someone has to teach them to you. Chuck has what's called a "vision", A vision that MHC will be THE one stop comic store in the world that will have just about every single comic you can ever want,in every grade, at any time and will always be in stock...just like the hardware store he's talking about. He can't maintain 3 giant warehouses by selling underpriced books, so he has to raise them above "standard" prices you normally find, so he tries to give you an experience when you visit the store or shop on his site. But yes, there is a lot of jealously surrounding him cause he found the best collection in the world.

[marvelcollector]

Their warehouse is INCREDIBLE!

 

 

It makes you think that you want to support this thing.

 

I know what you mean. I'd love to just spend a day wandering around in there seeing what neat books I could find.

 

I bet a lot fewer than you're imagining.

[marvelcollector]

I finally got a chance to watch the video in its entirety, Most people here who are thinking he's strange for comparing his high prices to a hardware store have 0 business/marketing skills, of course that's not your fault, someone has to teach them to you. Chuck has what's called a "vision", A vision that MHC will be THE one stop comic store in the world that will have just about every single comic you can ever want,in every grade, at any time and will always be in stock...just like the hardware store he's talking about. He can't maintain 3 giant warehouses by selling underpriced books, so he has to raise them above "standard" prices you normally find, so he tries to give you an experience when you visit the store or shop on his site. But yes, there is a lot of jealously surrounding him cause he found the best collection in the world.

 

He hasn't come remotely close to this goal - if that is his goal - just based on the not so rare books that I would be looking for.

 

Add in the parameter "at a reasonable price", and the endpoint falls off the horizon.

[wombat]

Even if he got a copy of every book ever made in every grade who cares if you would be able to buy 95% of it cheaper and better graded elsewhere? What kind of accomplishment is that?

[A.Romeo]

Was curious at a price of a book so I looked for a JLA #1. They have one in stock in VG condition for $5880. I really didn't need to look at pricing for any other books after that.

 

 

[dupont2005]

I finally got a chance to watch the video in its entirety, Most people here who are thinking he's strange for comparing his high prices to a hardware store have 0 business/marketing skills, of course that's not your fault, someone has to teach them to you. Chuck has what's called a "vision", A vision that MHC will be THE one stop comic store in the world that will have just about every single comic you can ever want,in every grade, at any time and will always be in stock...just like the hardware store he's talking about. He can't maintain 3 giant warehouses by selling underpriced books, so he has to raise them above "standard" prices you normally find, so he tries to give you an experience when you visit the store or shop on his site. But yes, there is a lot of jealously surrounding him cause he found the best collection in the world.

I own two businesses. If I can't be competitive in the market, I'm not going to make sales. Rather than get topless on my newsletter and complain about other businesses existing, or a fundraising effort for a peer's wife's funeral, I'll just suck it up and remain competitive or get a day job.

[The-Collector]

His store.

His comics.

His prices.

In one video he says he's more collector than seller, when looking over his trades I believe.

That explains a lot more to the story, if people would listen to what he's saying

 

It doesn't explain anything. He blatantly states he charges higher prices to feed the ego driven monster store.

 

Pretending it is for the purposes of meeting a collecting need or otherwise is just him thinking he is smarter than everyone.

 

"His comics and his prices" doesn't change the conversation or the frustration people have with the damage he is doing to the hobby.

 

If you read the thread versus listening to his fairytale...

 

Serious question, what is "the damage he is doing to the hobby"?

+1

I'd like to know this too

 

Simple, collecting is a hobby that people manage out of their own personal disposable income. When an unsuspecting buyer is "sold" something by MHC they are paying a huge premium over FMV - in many cases double the value. Call these buyers: naive, inexperienced, too trusting, overly-excited, whatever. They have now purchased something that is not worth what they paid for it. This causes frustration and dissatisfaction and without an outlet (like the boards-which I have been reminded is a very small group of very opinionated people), many people quit collecting as a result. This isn't even to mention that the book(s) is/are likely over-graded and therefore this person is now in a potentially exponentially worse position.

 

In a microcosm no big deal. However when you are a huge dealer and advertise that you are the "World's Largest Comic Dealer" in an attempt to cater to thousands of people, you are now potentially discouraged thousands of new collectors from continuing in the market.

 

5-10% mark-up, no big deal. "Chuck's Pricing" at 50% or more over FMV (not to mention significantly over-graded as well), big deal.

 

We want, we need people to become collectors. Not only to ensure the hobby lives on, but also for anything you own to be worth anything when you sell it. Whatever your motivation, collectors needs collectors. Chuck makes collecting unattractive.

 

I would agree with Jimbo that this is well-written, I'm just not sure it is well reasoned. If selling over-priced, over-graded comics is "damage to the hobby", given my experience over the years with numerous local comic shops, the entire hobby should have completely died off years ago.

 

Another serious question, given what you've answered above - just how many of these new collectors that Chuck is driving/has driven off do you imagine exists?

 

I mean, think about it, which is more likely for someone like that, that they are walking down the street and see one of the numerous over-priced, over-graded LCSs and go in, or happen across the Mile High website? First off, I'd guess that most people interested in buying comics online and not knowing where to look at likely to do one of two things - check out eBay (makes Chuck look like a piker when it comes to over-priced/over-graded comics), or the old stand-by, Google It. Mile High is the 9th link on the search I just did on "comic books for sale", with MCS, Westfield, eBay, Newkadia, and Atomic Avenue coming up higher.

 

I suspect these poor unfortunate folks are highly unlikely to stumble upon MH and get fleeced. It just doesn't seem that likely.

 

I suppose I cannot quantify how many people will or will not go to MHC. To your point it is in the first 10 Google searches for "buy comics online" but it isn't the top for sure.

 

I guess I was speaking of the relative risk of a person shopping at MHC versus their LCS. I won't elaborate on comparisons to eBay because that is a spoon shoot. However, I do think the average person has different expectations with eBay versus a comic shop "expert...." but that could just be my interpretation.

 

Is this an epidemic? Perhaps not overnight, but effects are cumulative and his business model is to expand that poor influence aggressively.

 

Either way I maintain Chuck is bad for the hobby, whether it is 1 person at a time or 1 million a year.

 

On a related anecdote, my first large comic purchase at the age of 13 was an ASM 15 from Mile High for $220. It was all my savings and the book had binder holes punched in it. Today I doubt it is worth what I paid for it 13 years ago. But it didn't dissuade me from collecting, I keep it as a reminder to stay skeptical. But as this is only an single anecdote it doesn't prove anything.

[COI]

You're all pointing out reasons why his business model is untenable or may fail. That's fair, but it doesn't explain the hate, and it's not based on any actual data, unless one of you is his accountant.

 

My post had absolutely no hate in it. In my experience his prices are ridiculous, this video is tendered in support of those prices and my response was that it is woefully inadequate.

 

Not targeting you or anyone specifically, just the general bandwagon-jumping of hate I always see in threads about Chuckles. Considering the current flipping/investing-crazed atmosphere on these boards as of late, the criticisms often levied at him, usually in a very personal way, strike me as incredibly ironic and hypocritical.

 

Man are you coming off like an apologist for Chuck. Hearing him defend their pricing is laughable but would be forgivable if he did not allow blatant ripping off of people through over grading and misrepresenting products. If you dare to return something because of gross over grading, you will be banned for ordering from his locations. Ask around, there have been more than a few who have been proudly banned. Additionally, I've been to his stores, the staff is a mixed bag at best and their big store is a nothing more than a big warehouse. There are also many occurrences of people ordering items from his website at a certain price, the book becomes hot and then they do not ship the books. Do a search, you will see it pop up.

 

Knowingly to allow this to continue is akin to thievery. He simply lies to himself and everyone around him that it does not happen. That is why you see these "justification" videos. You should not need to justify your prices if you are reputable business. Take a look at Metropolis comics. Are some of their prices out of line ( sometimes way out of line ) with market? Absolutely. But you get top notch service , always accurate grading and a huge, quality diversity of books. Mycomicshop has a huge, immense inventory and good service at decent prices . They miss a grade here and there but they take care of it and have top notch customer service.

 

Here is something interesting. I want you to go to the True Value store locator -

http://www.truevalue.com/store_locator.jsp

 

Put in 2525 Arapahoe Ave Boulder, CO 80302-6720 and tell me what comes up. Since McGuckin could not possibly come up since good old Chuck said they are not part of chain store, how is it McGuckin comes up? Why does Chuck mention that they are part of True Value on his web site and not in the video? Because it does not fit his narrative. By the way , for a humorous read -

 

http://www.milehighcomics.com/tales/cbg84.html

 

I could not care less what he priced comics at if his company was reputable and he did the right thing.

 

 

 

I'm not an apologist for Chuck; I don't know him personally, nor have I ever done business with him. Your post above is probably one of the better criticisms levied against him. If you look at my earliest posts in the thread, I was responding to comments like 'his business model is a joke' and 'he's a scammer because he prices stuff high' (paraphrased), neither of which are even arguments, let alone compelling arguments.

 

That said, for a group of people that seem to despise misrepresentation or willful misleading, we've seem to have gone silent on the issue of undisclosed pressing. Oh right, because that would actually affect people here, and taking a stand or even acknowledging it's a problem would put a crimp in the free-for-all moralizing against Chuck.

[COI]

This hobby is overrun with self-serving individuals, so I don't see why Chuck is so distinctive, other than the fact that there seems to be this collective decades-old butthurt that Chuck was the one who got his hands on the greatest collection that will ever exist.

As a self-serving comics retailer I'm happy that Mile High prices their stuff so high, and I think their high prices do a great service to all of us who sell back issues, if for no other reason then that those high prices make the rest of us look much less self-serving.

 

I've been lurking your revamped website, and your prices are quite good, and not just relative to Chuckles. It's a little light on the carnival barking though, and I love me some carnival barking.

[COI]

 

Anyone getting his newsletter and regularly shopping on the site would clearly see this tactic, so where's the scam? Even if they're unaware, where's the scam? He lists books for a price, and you can either buy it or not buy it; that's not a scam because the buyer is not being misled. You simply can't determine MH customer intentions or gullibility any more than you can determine if someone paying thousands of dollars for some 9.8 variant that came out yesterday is, in a more abstract sense, being misled by hype, greed, and speculators passing along their hot potatoes. I'm not suggesting he's an awesome guy; what I am suggesting is that the hate he gets is disproportionate to what amounts to little more than carnival barking, to use your words.

 

Large segments of this hobby have become so $$$$ focused that undisclosed pressing isn't even a "thing" anymore, people can doctor books with thousands of dollars at stake and it barely makes a dent in the collective consciousness, and known dirt-bags with a long history of committing actual fraud still operate freely, because cool books, and despite all of this the community piles on the moral outrage over obnoxious grandstanding with a totally straight face. In what world is someone selling books with undisclosed pressing (just an example) less misleading than Chuckles pricing things high? In the case of undisclosed pressing, the buyer's agency is compromised; with Chuck, it's all out on the table and you can buy or not buy. He's just an easy target for people around here to project upon because most are not interested in doing business with him. It's silly.

 

 

Does anyone have any thoughts about what I posted earlier, especially given all these "bad for the hobby" non-arguments, or should I just stick to talking to myself from now on? This hobby is overrun with self-serving individuals, so I don't see why Chuck is so distinctive, other than the fact that there seems to be this collective decades-old butthurt that Chuck was the one who got his hands on the greatest collection that will ever exist.

 

People who seek the spotlight are subject to a higher level of scrutiny than the average person.

 

I am personally arguing the the combination of his avarice and scale (that is to say the lengths he goes to reach and take advantage of people) is unparalleled.

 

The whole discussion started because of the ridiculous nature of his personal mission to convince people to support his hulking ego (or to be direct, the physical manifestation of said ego: his "store"). In that context I feel most people's statements have been justified.

 

But to be honest I am not sure what you are frustrated with. That he is being singled out or that he doesn't deserve to be? Heavy is the head that wears the self-appointed crown..?

 

:shrug:

 

I'm not frustrated, just enjoying some discussion. Chuck has always fascinated me because of how polarizing he is.

[Ryan.]

Take a look at Metropolis comics ... you get ... always accurate grading

 

Not always.

[RockMyAmadeus]

His store.

His comics.

His prices.

In one video he says he's more collector than seller, when looking over his trades I believe.

That explains a lot more to the story, if people would listen to what he's saying

 

It doesn't explain anything. He blatantly states he charges higher prices to feed the ego driven monster store.

 

Pretending it is for the purposes of meeting a collecting need or otherwise is just him thinking he is smarter than everyone.

 

"His comics and his prices" doesn't change the conversation or the frustration people have with the damage he is doing to the hobby.

 

If you read the thread versus listening to his fairytale...

 

Serious question, what is "the damage he is doing to the hobby"?

+1

I'd like to know this too

 

Simple, collecting is a hobby that people manage out of their own personal disposable income. When an unsuspecting buyer is "sold" something by MHC they are paying a huge premium over FMV - in many cases double the value. Call these buyers: naive, inexperienced, too trusting, overly-excited, whatever. They have now purchased something that is not worth what they paid for it. This causes frustration and dissatisfaction and without an outlet (like the boards-which I have been reminded is a very small group of very opinionated people), many people quit collecting as a result. This isn't even to mention that the book(s) is/are likely over-graded and therefore this person is now in a potentially exponentially worse position.

 

In a microcosm no big deal. However when you are a huge dealer and advertise that you are the "World's Largest Comic Dealer" in an attempt to cater to thousands of people, you are now potentially discouraged thousands of new collectors from continuing in the market.

 

5-10% mark-up, no big deal. "Chuck's Pricing" at 50% or more over FMV (not to mention significantly over-graded as well), big deal.

 

We want, we need people to become collectors. Not only to ensure the hobby lives on, but also for anything you own to be worth anything when you sell it. Whatever your motivation, collectors needs collectors. Chuck makes collecting unattractive.

 

Oy! Socialism, be gone!

 

[RockMyAmadeus]

This hobby is overrun with self-serving individuals, so I don't see why Chuck is so distinctive, other than the fact that there seems to be this collective decades-old butthurt that Chuck was the one who got his hands on the greatest collection that will ever exist.

As a self-serving comics retailer I'm happy that Mile High prices their stuff so high, and I think their high prices do a great service to all of us who sell back issues, if for no other reason then that those high prices make the rest of us look much less self-serving.

 

This. I think I may have said this earlier. I don't remember. Maybe I just thought it.

 

[RockMyAmadeus]

 

We want, we need people to become collectors. Not only to ensure the hobby lives on, but also for anything you own to be worth anything when you sell it. Whatever your motivation, collectors needs collectors. Chuck makes collecting unattractive.

 

Let's just talk about this part, right here.

 

I don't want, and I don't need anyone to "become (a) collector." I am perfectly happy to be the only collector, or just one of a few, because I love the artform for the sake of the artform.

 

I don't NEED or WANT what I already own to be "worth anything", because it's not about the damn money. I cannot now, and will probably never, be able to complete a collection of Batman from Tec #27 up. I cannot do it, because I cannot afford it. Why? "Other collectors."

 

I miss the days when I could find a nice Batman #232 and pay $10 for it. I miss the days when Batman #121 was a $50 book. When FF #45 was a $30 book. When Hulk #271 was a $1 book. The only thing that the expansion of the market did was bring more exposure to what was out there, but the internet would have done that anyway.

 

Those who have done real damage to this industry are predatory venture capitalists like Ron Perlman and Steve Massarsky, and idjit speculators who have not one damn concern in the world for the artform...all they see is $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ and drive the prices up for everyone.

 

Whoopee!

 

The greatest thing that EVER HAPPENED in this industry, from MY perspective, was the mid 90's crash...by 2001, all of those books that were unattainable to me suddenly appeared, everywhere, and I was thrilled. I only wish I had more money to buy even more when I could.

 

Now...we're back to la-la madness land.

 

No, Chuck is HARDLY "doing damage."

[ttfitz]

Simple, collecting is a hobby that people manage out of their own personal disposable income. When an unsuspecting buyer is "sold" something by MHC they are paying a huge premium over FMV - in many cases double the value. Call these buyers: naive, inexperienced, too trusting, overly-excited, whatever. They have now purchased something that is not worth what they paid for it. This causes frustration and dissatisfaction and without an outlet (like the boards-which I have been reminded is a very small group of very opinionated people), many people quit collecting as a result. This isn't even to mention that the book(s) is/are likely over-graded and therefore this person is now in a potentially exponentially worse position.

 

In a microcosm no big deal. However when you are a huge dealer and advertise that you are the "World's Largest Comic Dealer" in an attempt to cater to thousands of people, you are now potentially discouraged thousands of new collectors from continuing in the market.

 

5-10% mark-up, no big deal. "Chuck's Pricing" at 50% or more over FMV (not to mention significantly over-graded as well), big deal.

 

We want, we need people to become collectors. Not only to ensure the hobby lives on, but also for anything you own to be worth anything when you sell it. Whatever your motivation, collectors needs collectors. Chuck makes collecting unattractive.

 

I would agree with Jimbo that this is well-written, I'm just not sure it is well reasoned. If selling over-priced, over-graded comics is "damage to the hobby", given my experience over the years with numerous local comic shops, the entire hobby should have completely died off years ago.

 

Another serious question, given what you've answered above - just how many of these new collectors that Chuck is driving/has driven off do you imagine exists?

 

I mean, think about it, which is more likely for someone like that, that they are walking down the street and see one of the numerous over-priced, over-graded LCSs and go in, or happen across the Mile High website? First off, I'd guess that most people interested in buying comics online and not knowing where to look at likely to do one of two things - check out eBay (makes Chuck look like a piker when it comes to over-priced/over-graded comics), or the old stand-by, Google It. Mile High is the 9th link on the search I just did on "comic books for sale", with MCS, Westfield, eBay, Newkadia, and Atomic Avenue coming up higher.

 

I suspect these poor unfortunate folks are highly unlikely to stumble upon MH and get fleeced. It just doesn't seem that likely.

 

I suppose I cannot quantify how many people will or will not go to MHC. To your point it is in the first 10 Google searches for "buy comics online" but it isn't the top for sure.

 

I guess I was speaking of the relative risk of a person shopping at MHC versus their LCS. I won't elaborate on comparisons to eBay because that is a spoon shoot. However, I do think the average person has different expectations with eBay versus a comic shop "expert...." but that could just be my interpretation.

 

Is this an epidemic? Perhaps not overnight, but effects are cumulative and his business model is to expand that poor influence aggressively.

 

Either way I maintain Chuck is bad for the hobby, whether it is 1 person at a time or 1 million a year.

 

Fair enough. I just think that in an industry full of The Simpson's type comic shops, multiple variant issues, rebooting of universes every couple years to generate new "#1" issues, slabbed modern issues that are only worth anything if they get a 9.8 on the label, undisclosed condition manipulation, and other items I can't think of right now, Chuck's "damage" to the hobby by offering for sale books at prices some others think is way too high is so miniscule a part of the damaging behavior as to not be measurable.