Is Mile High a reference to their prices? 4 4

[kevhtx]

1 hour ago, paperheart said:

you bought these slabbed?

No, they were not slabbed. I usually buy raw since I do SS.

If you look on eBay recent sales, raws of 405 are comparable before the 30% off. Right now, there is a raw on mycomicshop FN/VF for $101. $100 for a VF 405 raw is a good deal. Tec 475 is more up/down on pricing on eBay. $88 for a NM copy is not a bad deal either. There is a BIN currently for $125 raw NM. Higher pricing other places. Just trying to show that there are good deals you can find there. 

Other back issues that I have purchased from mile high, I always look on other sites and eBay to compare prices first. I wanted to get a bunch of X-23 books signed by Craig Kyle recently. I looked on eBay, other back issue sites and mile high. Best prices for what I was looking for was on mile high and they had a coupon at the time. The books showed up in 9.6-9.8 shape. 

[Get Marwood & I]

10 hours ago, Hudson said:

12 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!

 

Hey, no offence taken. I was just being over sensitive. You're right about the term 'drek'. I've never used that word in my life until I landed here. No idea why I've allowed it to creep in. Never will it be used again! 

 

[Get Marwood & I]

8 hours ago, Readcomix said:

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. 

You might be right. It was a few years back now and, as I recall, Dolgoff's website wasn't as user friendly. Remember, I'm in the UK so shipping is/was important. MHCs were cheap for what I wanted (see my earlier posts for details), the website was easy to use and had an 'instock now' function, I got a great email invoice and the books arrived fairly quickly in bullet proof packaging. Some of the grading was off, but that was also the case for the UK dealers I'd used too (e.g. Silveracre). So, when the timing was right (right books, code word sale, free shipping) it really worked for me. Books that I would have had to pay £1.99 and £2.99 for from UK dealers were coming in around £1 in bulk from Chuck. So he clearly has/had a viable market in that area.

On the flip, I 'liked' quicksilvers earlier post because I too would be embarrassed by some of Chucks headline comic prices. I think they are ridiculous. 

I made many mistakes during my early days of collecting and overpaid for a lot of non-key stock. If I had found MHCs sooner, I would have paid a lot less for hundreds of books that, up until then, I was buying from UK dealers who rarely sold any books for under £1.99 / £2.99 regardless of perceived market value. 

If I had my time again, I would do it all differently. But at the time, MHC worked well for bulk non key purchases. Few things in life are black and white. There's enough evidence here to suggest why Chuck stays in business. But there is also enough evidence to support why many think his top end pricing policy is a stain on the industry. 

I wouldn't use MHCs again now, because I strongly disagree with that top end pricing approach. I wouldn't use Silveracre again now because they made me feel small when I asked if they would waive the £7.50 postage on a £500 single CGC book sale when I had spent thousands with them in the preceding years. One £7.50 decision probably cost them thousands in follow up sales. 

When all is said and done, these guys are rich, living good lives and have earned the right to do as they please. But we can choose whether we use them. I used to, but never will again.

 

[ComicConnoisseur]

17 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.

 

From what I learned over the years is always call businesses. E-mails are like snail mail were they can say they never got it. Get them on the phone than ask them for their name than document what time you called them. 

[kevhtx]

1 hour ago, ComicConnoisseur said:

From what I learned over the years is always call businesses. E-mails are like snail mail were they can say they never got it. Get them on the phone than ask them for their name than document what time you called them. 

I think you are right. I just get really busy so companies that can service with email would probably get my business more often. Seems to me that its cheaper for them too since it is more convenient to answer an email than answer the phone. But, I get it since some businesses still haven't fully adopted the online model. You can tell by mile high's website that they haven't (yes, it sucks). 

[Readcomix]

4 hours ago, Marwood & I said:

You might be right. It was a few years back now and, as I recall, Dolgoff's website wasn't as user friendly. Remember, I'm in the UK so shipping is/was important. MHCs were cheap for what I wanted (see my earlier posts for details), the website was easy to use and had an 'instock now' function, I got a great email invoice and the books arrived fairly quickly in bullet proof packaging. Some of the grading was off, but that was also the case for the UK dealers I'd used too (e.g. Silveracre). So, when the timing was right (right books, code word sale, free shipping) it really worked for me. Books that I would have had to pay £1.99 and £2.99 for from UK dealers were coming in around £1 in bulk from Chuck. So he clearly has/had a viable market in that area.

On the flip, I 'liked' quicksilvers earlier post because I too would be embarrassed by some of Chucks headline comic prices. I think they are ridiculous. 

I made many mistakes during my early days of collecting and overpaid for a lot of non-key stock. If I had found MHCs sooner, I would have paid a lot less for hundreds of books that, up until then, I was buying from UK dealers who rarely sold any books for under £1.99 / £2.99 regardless of perceived market value. 

If I had my time again, I would do it all differently. But at the time, MHC worked well for bulk non key purchases. Few things in life are black and white. There's enough evidence here to suggest why Chuck stays in business. But there is also enough evidence to support why many think his top end pricing policy is a stain on the industry. 

I wouldn't use MHCs again now, because I strongly disagree with that top end pricing approach. I wouldn't use Silveracre again now because they made me feel small when I asked if they would waive the £7.50 postage on a £500 single CGC book sale when I had spent thousands with them in the preceding years. One £7.50 decision probably cost them thousands in follow up sales. 

When all is said and done, these guys are rich, living good lives and have earned the right to do as they please. But we can choose whether we use them. I used to, but never will again.

 

Yes, I did miss that you were in The UK. It all makes sense to me.

I just cannot overcome my pre-web (1980s) experience with MH. Traded in some books, books I wanted were out of stock, received trade credit that expires in 6 months (WTF???), attempt to use, nothing in stock, clock still ticking....boom!

I still have the memos. Maybe I should just call and ask to use them. They are clearly unused.

I can't shake the notion that he's been paying forward bad karma ever since feeling like he did not maximize the Edgar Church find, in the form of a desperate game of catch-up ball in his own head. Comes out feeling like scam artistry.

[Get Marwood & I]

12 minutes ago, Readcomix said:

Yes, I did miss that you were in The UK. It all makes sense to me.

I just cannot overcome my pre-web (1980s) experience with MH. Traded in some books, books I wanted were out of stock, received trade credit that expires in 6 months (WTF???), attempt to use, nothing in stock, clock still ticking....boom!

I still have the memos. Maybe I should just call and ask to use them. They are clearly unused.

I can't shake the notion that he's been paying forward bad karma ever since feeling like he did not maximize the Edgar Church find, in the form of a desperate game of catch-up ball in his own head. Comes out feeling like scam artistry.

Once a company has wronged you, it's difficult to shift a negative perception, I agree.

[wombat]

How is Mile Highs grading?

[Ken Aldred]

1 hour ago, wombat said:

How is Mile Highs grading?

Very inconsistent.

[Hudson]

Quote

I would prefer to buy a book that is "overpriced" as opposed to one that is "overgraded".

 

If a book is advertised at a given grade and priced above FMV for that grade, then at least I have the option of deciding whether or not I am willing to pay over FMV for that book at that grade.  I cannot tell you the  number of times I have happily paid well over FMV for a properly graded book, because it was something I wanted in the grade offered. 

 

I find overgrading a far bigger problem.  Here the seller is not giving the potential buyer all the information needed to make an informed decision.

 

In the case of overpriced, I can still be happy with my purchase.  In the case of overgrading, I am left feeling cheated.

 

This is not a comment on any particular dealer.  I think we all have "dealers" we no longer trust to give accurate grades and thus we either choose not to deal with them, or we take that into consideration when making a purchase and expect less than what is advertised. 

 

[1950's war comics]

In case anyone is interested MileHigh has a Fantastic Four #2 in good condition for only $2214.00 .... better not wait for the 40% off sale or it might be gone 

[kevhtx]

JFYI -  Mile High books that I just got back from CGC (after CCS pressing):

DETECTIVE COMICS 405 (MH est VF) grade CGC 8.5

BATMAN 234 (MH est VF) grade CGC 8.0 

Edited April 19, 2017 by kevhtx

[1Cool]

1 minute ago, kevhtx said:

JFYI - Some grades from Mile High that I just got back from CGC (after CCS pressing):

BATMAN 234 (MH est VF) grade CGC 8.0 

DETECTIVE COMICS 395 (MH est FN/VF) grade CGC 7.0 

DETECTIVE COMICS 405 (MH est VF) grade CGC 8.5

Mind letting us know what you paid for each.  That is some good results.

[kevhtx]

1 minute ago, 1Cool said:

Mind letting us know what you paid for each.  That is some good results.

Oh Wait, my bad. Only the 405 was from MH. Sorry. Ill edit my post. 

[kevhtx]

3 minutes ago, 1Cool said:

Mind letting us know what you paid for each.  That is some good results.

It was the one I posted earlier....

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

But, I used a 30% off coupon and got free shipping, so it was $101. I haven't sent the 475 to CGC yet, but Ill post the grade when it comes back.

Edited April 19, 2017 by kevhtx

[1Cool]

1 minute ago, kevhtx said:

It was the one I posted earlier....

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

But, I used a 30% off coupon and got free shipping, so it was $101. 

Good results all the way around.  Congrats on the grades.

[kevhtx]

9 minutes ago, 1Cool said:

Good results all the way around.  Congrats on the grades.

Thanks...I just checked and I did buy the Batman 234 from them too. I thought I got it from Reece, but it was MH. After 30% off and free shipping, it was $232. That looks to be about what you would pay for it graded, so not a great deal. But, I bought it with a bunch of other books at the time and after the results Ive had from MH with raw books, I trust them more than a lot of eBay dealers. 

I buy mostly raw since I do SS. I got these signed by Neal Adams. Like Ive said, MH can be a good deal when using their coupons and free shipping. 

 

Edited April 19, 2017 by kevhtx

[STORMSHADOW_80]

I bought Hulk Mag #24 from MH as NM. It came back a 9.4. I was a little peeved about the packing as they put it in the smaller flat rate envelope from USPS with thin pieces of cardboard that didn't cover the entire mag. I possibly could have got a 9.8 if it wasn't for the ding it got in shipping.

[1950's war comics]

Iv'e signed up on Chuck's website a couple times over the past few years to receive his newsletter and promotions (there is actually one book i could be interested in @ 40% off)

but i have yet  to received a newsletter ??

[kevhtx]

15 minutes ago, 1950's war comics said:

Iv'e signed up on Chuck's website a couple times over the past few years to receive his newsletter and promotions (there is actually one book i could be interested in @ 40% off)

but i have yet  to received a newsletter ??

Yes, and there is currently a 40% off coupon

 

"our current 40% off TAXTIME! codeword"