Is Mile High a reference to their prices? 4 4

[TheFifthHorseman]

6 hours ago, ygogolak said:

For him to say that someones else's comic book pricing is highly suspect is laughable at best.

It's posturing on his part.

In order for him to justify those outlandish prices he HAS to maintain that their valuations are incorrect.

Never bought from mile high. Never will.

[01TheDude]

If it was Overstreet he was referring to, I thought Chuck's whole business plan revolved around selling books at 3x or 4x OSPG. What would he do without them?

[Lazyboy]

Well, Overstreet and Mile High have something in common: both of their price lists are largely disconnected from reality.

[Philflound]

Going through some of his titles, I find that there are many I would consider priced well or underpriced. This goes specifically for small press indies.

[oakman29]

On 12/16/2016 at 0:33 PM, ygogolak said:

I love Mint Tulips, especially at the Kentucky Derby. They can be found on the infield. You have to get down real close to find them though.

Mint Julep. Not tulip.

[ygogolak]

4 hours ago, oakman29 said:

Mint Julep. Not tulip.

 

Mint Juleps grown on the ground? I guess I've been using the wrong fertilizer.

Edited April 12, 2017 by ygogolak

[Andahaion]

A recent work trip brought me to Denver, so I took a cab out to the Jason Street store.  Pretty impressive in person.  I didn't anticipate picking anything up, but I actually did find some reasonably priced Daredevil back issues that I needed.  Just two books, but I felt good about it.  Here's a couple pictures...

[ThothAmon]

Don't any of you run out to Denver trying to pick up that sweet Showcase 4. Already gone!

[classicaaron]

i don't understand how they stay in business either.  even if their prices weren't 5 times too high their website is such garbage I would never even attempt to order anything from them.  MCS is rather good.  I have had some issues recently where the grades were majorly off with ripped issues or ink smudges etc. but overall they do grade rather well.  I think these were just errors and misses as opposed to just terrible grading practices. but I think their pricing is spot on.  I basically use their site as my price guide since its easy to search books and they have most issues in stock.  also their pricing seems to be average of ebay prices, matches most convention prices and is cheaper than any LCS around me.  So its at least a good guideline to use to see what a book is worth when digging long boxes at conventions and you need to know quick.  now the prices people sell books on MCS through commissions, those people are on serious crack with the high rates they charge.

[quicksilver]

I saw a Batman # 234 at 15 times guide the other day.

That would make me feel embarrassed if I were the owner of the site.

[Get Marwood & I]

On 11/04/2017 at 5:06 AM, Lazyboy said:

Well, Overstreet and Mile High have something in common: both of their price lists are largely disconnected from reality.

 

It's hard to disagree with that Lazyboy, and yet both of them are prominent, largely respected industry figures.

I'd be surprised if anyone bought Overstreet for its pricing information any more. I used to buy it to read the articles, look at the pretty pictures and because there are very few physical comic related reference sources available to buy in the UK nowadays. Overstreet would help give you a clue if a comic was of note - 1st appearance etc - but I don't think I ever used it to gauge how to price a book on Ebay. I used Ebay for that.

My theory on Mile High is this. The lion's share of his inventory is reasonably priced. It's still higher than, for example, MCS, but when the 50% sales and free shipping kick in it can be surprisingly competitive. Also, Chuck has the inventory. When I was a completist I had to buy whole series' of drek and I used Mile High many times. They were the only ones who had (more or less) everything and worked out fairly cheap as long as you didn't use them for the notable stuff. So I could buy virtually every issue of, say, Spider-Girl or Marvel Age in one go, from the same place with free UK shipping. Much cheaper than the major UK dealers as it turned out.

The comics that are eye wateringly overpriced at MHCs are the keys. Maybe those only sell to the very rich. You can buy a handbag for $20 or $20,000. No 'rich' person conscious of their status will baulk by buying from Chuck because Chuck is, well, Chuck. "I just bought Batman #1 from Chuck at Mile High for a gazillion dollars" probably sounds more sexy than "I searched Ebay for a reasonably priced copy".

I confess I willingly purchased variants from my LCS which I know I could have got for less online. I did it because it was my LCS, I had a relationship with them, and (at the time) I could afford it. Maybe Chuck has his 'loyal' customers who will buy his overpriced books for similar reasons?

Anyway, I may be wrong. I just felt like chipping in, having used Mile High many times and having bought the last 30 Overstreets.

 

 

[Hudson]

It appears as if at least a few board members believe MHC's price are "reasonable", while many (including myself) believe they are high and out of touch with reality.

When I started this thread more than 6 months ago, I listed 6 random examples of low grade, non-key, silver age Action Comics that IMO were overpriced compared to the market and the prices listed at competitors like MCS and Metropolis (see page 1).  I picked these books as they were NOT keys or hard to find; thus making for easy comparisons to the competitors.

Having received a recent email from MHC, offering 40% off, I decided to go to their site and see if the 6 books I listed on page 1 of this thread were still for sale (and at what price).  To my surprise, the two copies of Action #244 are no longer listed on the site.  The other 4 books are still listed and are as follows....

Action #246 in Fair was previously listed at $123 (with a 60% off discount bringing the actual cost down to $49.20).

Action #246 in Fair is now listed at $62 (with 40% off bringing the actual cost down to $37.20).

Action #246 in Good was previously listed at $245 (with a 60% discount bringing the actual cost to $98.00)

Action #246 in Good is now listed at $103 (with a 40% off bringing it to $61.80)

Action #249 in VG was previously listed at the IMO insane price of $441 (with 60% off bringing it to $176.40)

Action #249 in VG is now listed at $205 (with 40% off bringing it to $123)

Action #250 in Good was previously listed at $250 (with 60% off bringing it to $96) (it is hard to even take that one seriously)

Action #250 in Good is now listed at $100 (with 40% off bringing it to $60).

In conclusion, I would argue that Chuck has become more "reasonable" on the listed books, however, I still feel these prices are beyond FMV.  Perhaps free shipping helps a little to offset the higher prices, but does it help that much?

I am not "anti-chuck" or against Mile High.  I think people should be able to charge whatever they want for their goods and services.  I am just curious as to who those "buyers" are that are willing to spend more for a given book that can be so easily found on a number of other sites at lower prices.

Some people have stated that they are comfortable paying MHC prices; that they believe them to be competitive.  Could you please provide a few examples of exact books that MHC is selling for what you believe is < or = to FMV.

Thanks in advance.

 

[kevhtx]

Im one that has been shopping there recently (past year or so) and feel their prices are good. Especially with their coupons (20-40% off) and free shipping. Generally, I only buy from there when I use those.

I only get back issues there. Ive gotten many moderns NM that show up 9.6-9.8 (some come truly NM). Some older books that are listed right above GPA after the discount are good deals. Here is an example of 2 older books that I bought:

DETECTIVE COMICS  (1937) (#1-881) (DC) #405                                    1 V'Fine @ 144.00       144.00
DETECTIVE COMICS  (1937) (#1-881) (DC) #475                                    1 N'Mint @ 126.00       126.00

This was before 30% off and I got the free shipping. GPA on these are ($125 and $169). So, you can see at least these 2 were good deals. Ive gotten many others as well. Their books show up fairly quickly, bagged and boarded.

Customer services is just "ok". I did have one order that just never went through. I emailed them asking about it and never got a reply. A couple months later, I got an email saying that since they never heard from me, they were cancelling the order. Go figure. 

This has been my experience with Mile High. Thumbs Up Overall.

 

[Get Marwood & I]

1 hour ago, Hudson said:

It appears as if at least a few board members believe MHC's price are "reasonable", while many (including myself) believe they are high and out of touch with reality.

When I started this thread more than 6 months ago, I listed 6 random examples of low grade, non-key, silver age Action Comics that IMO were overpriced compared to the market and the prices listed at competitors like MCS and Metropolis (see page 1).  I picked these books as they were NOT keys or hard to find; thus making for easy comparisons to the competitors.

Having received a recent email from MHC, offering 40% off, I decided to go to their site and see if the 6 books I listed on page 1 of this thread were still for sale (and at what price).  To my surprise, the two copies of Action #244 are no longer listed on the site.  The other 4 books are still listed and are as follows....

Action #246 in Fair was previously listed at $123 (with a 60% off discount bringing the actual cost down to $49.20).

Action #246 in Fair is now listed at $62 (with 40% off bringing the actual cost down to $37.20).

Action #246 in Good was previously listed at $245 (with a 60% discount bringing the actual cost to $98.00)

Action #246 in Good is now listed at $103 (with a 40% off bringing it to $61.80)

Action #249 in VG was previously listed at the IMO insane price of $441 (with 60% off bringing it to $176.40)

Action #249 in VG is now listed at $205 (with 40% off bringing it to $123)

Action #250 in Good was previously listed at $250 (with 60% off bringing it to $96) (it is hard to even take that one seriously)

Action #250 in Good is now listed at $100 (with 40% off bringing it to $60).

In conclusion, I would argue that Chuck has become more "reasonable" on the listed books, however, I still feel these prices are beyond FMV.  Perhaps free shipping helps a little to offset the higher prices, but does it help that much?

I am not "anti-chuck" or against Mile High.  I think people should be able to charge whatever they want for their goods and services.  I am just curious as to who those "buyers" are that are willing to spend more for a given book that can be so easily found on a number of other sites at lower prices.

Some people have stated that they are comfortable paying MHC prices; that they believe them to be competitive.  Could you please provide a few examples of exact books that MHC is selling for what you believe is < or = to FMV.

Thanks in advance.

 

 

I used the words 'reasonable' and 'competitive' in my post above yours @Hudson, but only for drek. A crappy issue of Spider-girl for $5 compares well to MCS once the big discount and free shipping is applied. I also used the words 'eye wateringly overpriced' for keys. So MHC was great for buying drek in large quantities. That was my experience as a completist buying in bulk. But all his 'decent' books are priced so high you need a breathing apparatus to consider buying them. I just wanted to restate that, as I feel like I've been lumped in with a narrow point of view.

MHC is ok for some books in my experience but very very very very very far from ok on others. Maybe that's why he's still in business. If everything was overpriced - drek and all - he would surely, surely go out of business. 

[Sqeggs]

I think Chuck used to play key role in the hobby's ecosystem by buying up tons of drek from LCSs for next to nothing and selling it to collectors who were looking for long runs of the stuff.  I don't know if that bit of arbitrage still works for him. 

[1950's war comics]

MileHighPricedComics has a Brave and the Bold #1 coverless @ $700.00 on their website right now and even if they had a 50% off a 50% off a 50% off sale , - it would still be overpriced  !!

[Hudson]

3 hours ago, kevhtx said:

Im one that has been shopping there recently (past year or so) and feel their prices are good. Especially with their coupons (20-40% off) and free shipping. Generally, I only buy from there when I use those.

I only get back issues there. Ive gotten many moderns NM that show up 9.6-9.8 (some come truly NM). Some older books that are listed right above GPA after the discount are good deals. Here is an example of 2 older books that I bought:

DETECTIVE COMICS  (1937) (#1-881) (DC) #405                                    1 V'Fine @ 144.00       144.00
DETECTIVE COMICS  (1937) (#1-881) (DC) #475                                    1 N'Mint @ 126.00       126.00

This was before 30% off and I got the free shipping. GPA on these are ($125 and $169). So, you can see at least these 2 were good deals. Ive gotten many others as well. Their books show up fairly quickly, bagged and boarded.

Customer services is just "ok". I did have one order that just never went through. I emailed them asking about it and never got a reply. A couple months later, I got an email saying that since they never heard from me, they were cancelling the order. Go figure. 

This has been my experience with Mile High. Thumbs Up Overall.

 

Thank you for taking the time to provide these examples.

It sounds as if you are happy with their prices and grading (even if the customer service is not the best).

[Hudson]

3 hours ago, Marwood & I said:

 

I used the words 'reasonable' and 'competitive' in my post above yours @Hudson, but only for drek. A crappy issue of Spider-girl for $5 compares well to MCS once the big discount and free shipping is applied. I also used the words 'eye wateringly overpriced' for keys. So MHC was great for buying drek in large quantities. That was my experience as a completist buying in bulk. But all his 'decent' books are priced so high you need a breathing apparatus to consider buying them. I just wanted to restate that, as I feel like I've been lumped in with a narrow point of view.

MHC is ok for some books in my experience but very very very very very far from ok on others. Maybe that's why he's still in business. If everything was overpriced - drek and all - he would surely, surely go out of business. 

Sorry, Steve, I was not trying to "lump you in", and I intended no offense.

I too am a "completist" and fully understand your desire to have a complete run (even if some consider it "drek" - a term I never liked as it implies that one person's collecting preference is better than another's).

Perhaps you are correct that Chuck makes enough on these "more common" books and thus does not really need to sell many "keys" or can hold out for higher prices on said "keys".

I am glad to see you are still posting.  You have good thoughts on many interesting topics.

Cheers!

Edited April 16, 2017 by Hudson
Misspelled word

[paperheart]

4 hours ago, kevhtx said:

Im one that has been shopping there recently (past year or so) and feel their prices are good. Especially with their coupons (20-40% off) and free shipping. Generally, I only buy from there when I use those.

I only get back issues there. Ive gotten many moderns NM that show up 9.6-9.8 (some come truly NM). Some older books that are listed right above GPA after the discount are good deals. Here is an example of 2 older books that I bought:

DETECTIVE COMICS  (1937) (#1-881) (DC) #405                                    1 V'Fine @ 144.00       144.00
DETECTIVE COMICS  (1937) (#1-881) (DC) #475                                    1 N'Mint @ 126.00       126.00

This was before 30% off and I got the free shipping. GPA on these are ($125 and $169). So, you can see at least these 2 were good deals. Ive gotten many others as well. Their books show up fairly quickly, bagged and boarded.

Customer services is just "ok". I did have one order that just never went through. I emailed them asking about it and never got a reply. A couple months later, I got an email saying that since they never heard from me, they were cancelling the order. Go figure. 

This has been my experience with Mile High. Thumbs Up Overall.

 

you bought these slabbed?

[Readcomix]

12 hours ago, Marwood & I said:

 

It's hard to disagree with that Lazyboy, and yet both of them are prominent, largely respected industry figures.

I'd be surprised if anyone bought Overstreet for its pricing information any more. I used to buy it to read the articles, look at the pretty pictures and because there are very few physical comic related reference sources available to buy in the UK nowadays. Overstreet would help give you a clue if a comic was of note - 1st appearance etc - but I don't think I ever used it to gauge how to price a book on Ebay. I used Ebay for that.

My theory on Mile High is this. The lion's share of his inventory is reasonably priced. It's still higher than, for example, MCS, but when the 50% sales and free shipping kick in it can be surprisingly competitive. Also, Chuck has the inventory. When I was a completist I had to buy whole series' of drek and I used Mile High many times. They were the only ones who had (more or less) everything and worked out fairly cheap as long as you didn't use them for the notable stuff. So I could buy virtually every issue of, say, Spider-Girl or Marvel Age in one go, from the same place with free UK shipping. Much cheaper than the major UK dealers as it turned out.

The comics that are eye wateringly overpriced at MHCs are the keys. Maybe those only sell to the very rich. You can buy a handbag for $20 or $20,000. No 'rich' person conscious of their status will baulk by buying from Chuck because Chuck is, well, Chuck. "I just bought Batman #1 from Chuck at Mile High for a gazillion dollars" probably sounds more sexy than "I searched Ebay for a reasonably priced copy".

I confess I willingly purchased variants from my LCS which I know I could have got for less online. I did it because it was my LCS, I had a relationship with them, and (at the time) I could afford it. Maybe Chuck has his 'loyal' customers who will buy his overpriced books for similar reasons?

Anyway, I may be wrong. I just felt like chipping in, having used Mile High many times and having bought the last 30 Overstreets.

 

 

Ok, now I at least have some sense of how he stays in business. On the other hand, it doesn't sound like you got anything from him that you couldn't have gotten from Joe Koch, or Dolgoff.