Just how bad does Mile High Grade?!??!?

[B-Smooth]

straight up Pimp....he claims to have sold several copies of Origin #1 9.8 for $120 or something close to that. He should just be called High....not Mile High!

[Bonds25]

I have a funny story for ya'll. When CGC first came out, I went to the San Diego Comic Con with 3 CGC graded comics I had.

 

I showed them to the Mile High booth (including Chuck), and they all said how horrible the CGC grades were, and that they (Mile High) were MUCH more strict graders than CGC was. LMAO!!

[B-Smooth]

good one Bonds....I cant stop laughing..... they grade in braile

[ninanina]

In order for a customer to deal with Mile High they either:

 

can't grade or, trust Mile High's grading or, are grading their collection to Mile High standards. When they wake up and smell the roses they will be history.

 

You are not one of these because all you are buying is common 90's stuff for 4 cents a copy, or am I not reading it right? I mean, the alternative is you are buying Silver-Bronze Age at Mile High's prices and re-selling them to your customers at a profit? Highly unlikely.

 

 

 

 

[lighthouse]

The stuff I buy from Mile High is stuff from the last 15 years, and their grading is accurate 99% of the time on those books, which was my point. Their typical customers are people buying stuff from the last few years where grading isn't nearly a big deal because the books are all 9.0 or better anyway.

 

I am certainly not buying these books for myself... but if I have customers who need random $3 books that I don't have and I can pick them up from Mile High as part of an order, I'll do it to keep my customers happy. Plus if I pick up a run of 90 issues of a title that's missing one, I'll go to them to complete it...

 

Anyone who thinks Mile High's business model is based around selling Silver Age really doesn't understand what they're about... Mile High is all about volume and inventory control. Mile High doesn't grade well, because they are not in the business of doing so.

[ninanina]

So what you are saying is they are primarily a "Modern Age" dealer. That's it.

[lighthouse]

That's absolutely the case... they happen to carry some things that are older, but it's certainly not the focus of their business...

 

I would bet that there are at least 5 people on this forum who sold more copies of ASM 129 in the last year than Mile High did...

[fantastic_four]

Then they need to stop selling old stuff. Why would Chuck post a detailed list of grading standards to his site if he wasn't trying to make you think that his business is to sell well-graded comics? If Wal-Mart had great housewares and appliances but their food was smelly and rotten, I'd be complaining about that just as much as we complain about Mile High not grading worth a hoot.

 

The reason people are probably getting high grade Moderns is because most Moderns are already in high grade, so it's more likely that's what'll be pulled off the shelf.

[lighthouse]

Heck I think it is more important now for him to post his grading standards... given that they are so very different from CGC's... if they are at least internally consistent you know what to expect.

 

And I think he sells vintage stuff because his customers want him to, just as I sell Yu-Gi-Oh even though it gives me hives. BMW releases an SUV because BMW customers would like to have an SUV from BMW, not because BMW thinks they can successfully compete with Land outside-affiliatelinksnotallowed. Mile High doesn't pretend to compete with Metropolis and the like on vintage stuff. But he makes it available to his regular customers. If anything, you should expect that his vintage prices will be higher, given that he does less volume in it than the big boys.

 

There are a half-dozen places in town that sell Yu-Gi-Oh cheaper than I do, because they buy in large enough quantities to be able to do so. But I have customers buying from me anyway, because they want to buy from me. Whether it's location, or convenience, or the fact that my counter help dresses like a Goth Dominatrix on Halloween, they pay more to me than they would to someone else.

 

Chuck has a fiercely loyal customer base and a solid reputation for worldwide shipping. I don't recommend him to friends looking for high grade books. But I have no doubt he'll be around for a long time...

[fantastic_four]

His posted grading standards aren't significantly different than CGC's:

 

http://www.milehighcomics.com/information/grade.html

 

But his people don't even follow THESE standards. It's pitiful. I doubt he instructs his people to misgrade comics; I'm assuming from the staff photos he posts from time to time that he hires teenagers or 20-somethings who don't know grading. Taking their grading work as evidence, he doesn't seem to train them in it at all.

[Bronty]

I don't know James... The next step down from NM/M according to Chuck is fine

 

 

[lighthouse]

I've been on his email list for about 5 years now, and based on things he has said there, he has three people he trusts to grade serious books and lots of people he trusts to grade lesser books. When a big collection comes in he will make reference to the fact that as soon as his warehouse manager finishes grading them they will be uploaded to the website. But smaller collections just get graded by whomever opens the box.

 

In my own shop, I allow casual employees to grade and price much of my post-1980 material, using three possible grades 'Looks Great', 'Looks OK', and 'Looks Like Bugaboo'. There are certain price points and certain titles that I grade myself (or have another trusted employee grade). But beyond that, it gets the opinion of a minimum-wage Goth Princess...

 

I have no doubt that Chuck's operation runs the same way. At some level, your books get seen by someone who knows what they are doing. Below that you just don't know. His level is likely much higher than mine, as I have heard stories about $100 Fine books with missing centerfolds. But I have little doubt I probably have a couple $2 books in my shop right now that are missing a centerfold that have never been checked. A couple out of 100,000, but I am sure they are there.

 

And I agree it is not intentional or malicious. It's just not the focus of their job. His employees are instructed to care about accurate counts and accurate customer pulls, so they spend far more time doing that and far less time grading. Employees care about what you tell them to care about... That's just the way corporate culture works.

 

If you are given a job at $8 an hour and told to grade 500 books every hour, how much time are you going to spend counting spine stresses?

[joe_collector]

All of this is realistic given Chuck's grading feedback, but it does not make it right. What if I set up shop, sold VG as NM, then blamed it on the hamster that's my grading specialist?

[Bronty]

Good point.

[joecgcmaniac]

Judging by what i've seen of Mile High's grading, my guess is that Matt Murdock is probably in charge of Chuck's grading staff.....

[mlovest]

Yes, I'm sure you're right. My problem is the poor customer service when you make returns. I used to live near Denver, and I would order large numbers of his comics for delivery to a smaller shop. Then I would cull through what was offered to pick out the true NM from the junk. Out of maybe 25-50 books, I would keep 15 or so. Those were terrific, and I would usually negotiate a large discount, but the rest would not be close to NM. I've been dropped from their customer list as I return too many of their over-graded comics! Oh well...

 

I don't know Chuck, but his Mile High customer service and grading are the pits!

 

Just my 2 cents...

Mike

[clarkkentdds]

1 year ago I bought two books that were apparently "nm"... They arrived over 1 month later (because they were sent to the wrong address) and were fine at best...They promptly returned my money for the over-graded books, but I still won't buy from them again. His diatribe regarding the new era in grading reads as a neanderthal lamenting evolution.

[FlyingDonut]

the fact that my counter help dresses like a Goth Dominatrix on Halloween

 

Well, where's the gosh darned picture????

 

And Mile High can't grade out of a bag, BUT, the sales they have every now and then are pretty nice.

[Bugaboo-migration]

In my own shop, I allow casual employees to grade and price much of my post-1980 material, using three possible grades 'Looks Great', 'Looks OK', and 'Looks Like Bugaboo'.

WTF???......Lousy Bastages.

 

And I see what you're saying L.H...........I don't think you're necessarily defending Chuck........but more or less just giving a real picture of what's going on.

 

It's his business outline.......and it's worked succesfully for him for quit a while. I'm aware of it and steer clear of purchasing high-grade older books from him. No big deal.

[Rickdogg]

The thing that troubles me is....if he only cares about quantity over quality, then why assign a book a mile High "NM" grade? If his main objective is to fill orders then he should do just that. Why even grade a comic if that is your compnay's objective? Mile High reminds me of the sellers on ebay who overgrade their [!@#%^&^] to make more money.

 

This comic dweeb just needs a good ol' fashion beat down.