Omnibus, Absolute, Deluxe, and HC Thread 19 19

[piper]

I'm currently waiting for my Doctor Strange V2 Omni to arrive.  It's weird that Amazon stock arrived prior to the pre-ordered ones for LCSs.

[Poekaymon]

On 2/14/2022 at 1:26 PM, F For Fake said:

Keeping this on the main page through sheer force of will! Come on and show me those purty books!

This pile is everything that's shown up in the last two or three weeks. I have two outstanding orders with IST, one has been open for over a month now. Emailed, no response. I always had good luck with IST, but it looks like I'm finally getting the service so many others have complained of.

So, for the most part, I've been going with CGN. Prices are good, and while I wouldn't say shipping is necessarily FAST, it's definitely much faster than IST is averaging these days. I still have two shipments on the way from them as well.

A mix of new stuff, and reprints of stuff I needed to fill some holes. Yes, the spine dress change on the UXM volumes is driving me nuts, thanks for asking.

Also, with the announcements about IDW losing the Transformers license, the fire has been lit under me to go ahead and finish up that run. I had been slowly chipping away at it over the last couple of years, picking up a volume here and there when I found them on sale. But with the future being uncertain, it seems like the time is now. I'm done with Phase 1, need four volumes for Phase 2, need the first Phase 3, and two of the four reboot volumes. So, getting there slowly but surely!

Update: thought it was worth mentioning that two of those IDW TF books were "scratch and dent" copies from CGN, and they arrived in perfect shape. Easily as nice as any of the "new" volumes. So, maybe they have to described returned books as such before reselling, I'm not sure, but just thought I'd say that if you ever considered buying  "nick and dent" book from them, it's worth pulling the trigger.

 

 

 

I also used to do IST and switched to CGN.  Both of their websites are horrible, but I found CGN to be slightly less horrible--particularly the search and coming soon sections.  (Still horrible though.)  Both of them have mixed, at best, customer service, but I found CGN to be slightly less bad.  And both are slow shippers, but CGN is slightly less slow.  On top of those, it seems to usually have stuff up for order faster.  So yeah I switched to CGN about a year ago and haven't been back to IST since, but it's sort of by default.

[Upgrayedd2]

I just received my copy of Marvel Comics Library. Spider-Man. Vol. 1. 1962–1964 from Amazon. When will I ever learn to not buy books from them. The moment I picked up the box, I could feel the contents shifting - no protective packaging.

Approximately 2 years ago, I ordered over 30 books (HC and TPB) from Amazon. Ten arrived without damage. I returned the rest and repeated this process four times before I gave up. The cause of the damage, no protective packaging. All they did was throw a piece of packaging paper in the box. Each time I contacted them, they assured me the next shipment would include protective wrapping. In the end, a manager called me, apologized and said there was nothing they could do. He compensated me very generously.

This Spider-Man book weighs 10 LBS. And note that it comes in its own protective box, which was also damaged. It's going back and I'll continue this merry-go-round until I get an undamaged copy.

[Dave2739]

On 2/14/2022 at 9:53 PM, Upgrayedd2 said:

I just received my copy of Marvel Comics Library. Spider-Man. Vol. 1. 1962–1964 from Amazon. When will I ever learn to not buy books from them. The moment I picked up the box, I could feel the contents shifting - no protective packaging.

Approximately 2 years ago, I ordered over 30 books (HC and TPB) from Amazon. Ten arrived without damage. I returned the rest and repeated this process four times before I gave up. The cause of the damage, no protective packaging. All they did was throw a piece of packaging paper in the box. Each time I contacted them, they assured me the next shipment would include protective wrapping. In the end, a manager called me, apologized and said there was nothing they could do. He compensated me very generously.

This Spider-Man book weighs 10 LBS. And note that it comes in its own protective box, which was also damaged. It's going back and I'll continue this merry-go-round until I get an undamaged copy.

I know it's no consolation, but I picked up my copy at my LCS and the outer boxes of all copies they received were also damaged, but fortunately not the book itself. Also, Flash Fact: the copies of the Spidey comics scanned for that book were from the collection of the fellow (and friend of mine) that owns the LCS that I frequent in Charlotte, NC. Flash Fact #2: More than just his Spideys were photographed, so there could potentially be future volumes. 

[theCapraAegagrus]

On 2/14/2022 at 1:26 PM, F For Fake said:

Keeping this on the main page through sheer force of will! Come on and show me those purty books!

I'm not buying much this year, and when I do buy, it's in bulk!

[F For Fake]

On 2/14/2022 at 7:35 PM, Poekaymon said:

I also used to do IST and switched to CGN.  Both of their websites are horrible, but I found CGN to be slightly less horrible--particularly the search and coming soon sections.  (Still horrible though.)  Both of them have mixed, at best, customer service, but I found CGN to be slightly less bad.  And both are slow shippers, but CGN is slightly less slow.  On top of those, it seems to usually have stuff up for order faster.  So yeah I switched to CGN about a year ago and haven't been back to IST since, but it's sort of by default.

You know, I've heard the complaints about IST/DCBS/TOW for years, but I always had good luck, so I kept using them. Fast ship, fast response to emails, etc. My luck eventually ran out, I guess. There are just too many issues, it's always an problem with their distributors, or the weather, or the warehouse is moving (again), etc. There's always some excuse, and usually I was able to come out ok, but I guess my number finally came up. The prices are hard to beat, but if you can't actually get the books, well, that's not very helpful. My experience with CGN is as you describe. They're not perfect, but they're at least getting the books to me, and safely, after a fashion. So, that's where I'm going for the time being. I know some folks have switched to Organic Priced Books, but the prices are just a smidge too high, at this point. I know they're a smaller operation, so I totally get that. I may try them at some point, if CGN should take a turn for the worse.

[theCapraAegagrus]

On 2/15/2022 at 9:10 AM, F For Fake said:

You know, I've heard the complaints about IST/DCBS/TOW for years, but I always had good luck, so I kept using them.

I have never had a problem with IST other than when they are sold out of items that I already paid for.

[theCapraAegagrus]

Amazon's shipping absolutely sucks for anything 'valuable', though. They put 1 little piece of bubble plastic to protect 7 books that are able to shake all around the box.

However, the non-Amazon sellers/shippers on the site have always been great.

Edited February 15, 2022 by theCapraAegagrus

[RickSp]

On 2/15/2022 at 3:13 AM, Dave2739 said:

I know it's no consolation, but I picked up my copy at my LCS and the outer boxes of all copies they received were also damaged, but fortunately not the book itself. Also, Flash Fact: the copies of the Spidey comics scanned for that book were from the collection of the fellow (and friend of mine) that owns the LCS that I frequent in Charlotte, NC. Flash Fact #2: More than just his Spideys were photographed, so there could potentially be future volumes. 

I think I got lucky as my delivery via Forbidden Planet was well packaged and the box and book were ok. 

It’s way too nice of a book to settle for anything as bad as what the poster above received. I read that Taschen are going to do the same format for Fantastic Four, Avengers and Cap. All due over 2022 and 2023, pretty sure I’ll end up purchasing them all and worrying about storage later….

[DeadpoolJr.]

On 2/15/2022 at 9:39 AM, RickSp said:

I think I got lucky as my delivery via Forbidden Planet was well packaged and the box and book were ok. 

It’s way too nice of a book to settle for anything as bad as what the poster above received. I read that Taschen are going to do the same format for Fantastic Four, Avengers and Cap. All due over 2022 and 2023, pretty sure I’ll end up purchasing them all and worrying about storage later….

They also have that collector edition coming out for Spider-man limited at a 1000 copies. Not sure the $600 price tag is worth it though for what just seems to be a slipcase that differentiates it from the regular one.

[RickSp]

On 2/15/2022 at 3:15 PM, DeadpoolJr. said:

They also have that collector edition coming out for Spider-man limited at a 1000 copies. Not sure the $600 price tag is worth it though for what just seems to be a slipcase that differentiates it from the regular one.

Haha yes I saw that and thought it was a little too premium for my budget. Basically an even fancier cover but the same contents.

[F For Fake]

On 2/15/2022 at 9:15 AM, theCapraAegagrus said:

I have never had a problem with IST other than when they are sold out of items that I already paid for.

I've used them for many years, and for many years, they were great. But a lot of folks have been having trouble with them for the past two years or so, seemingly centered around their moves/business consolidation, the distributor shakeup, etc. When the pandemic and supply chain issues settled in, that just exacerbated the problem. I personally have had great service with them, responsive to emails, orders shipped quickly, etc. But I do know of many people who can't get their messages answered, have orders held up for months, etc. I kept ordering with them because it had been smooth sailing for me. I placed an order last week and it shipped today. But I have two outstanding orders, one from over a month ago, and another from about three weeks ago, which have not budged, and they aren't responding to emails. So, I dunno. It's just my turn, I guess. They did recently move warehouses again, and warned that might lead to delays of a week or so. But that was two or three weeks ago, and those old orders still haven't moved.

In these times, there are no great options. The silver lining is that books aren't selling out within minutes of going up for sale, like they were at the height of COVID. That's a small blessing. 

[F For Fake]

This beast finally arrived yesterday, so the set is complete! DC's collected editions dept being what it is these days, there's always concern that they're not going to finish what they start.

Like the first volume, this behemoth is a thing of beauty. Kirby's best work (yeah, I said it!) presented in the oversize Absolute format. Beautiful stuff.

Also, this eBay pickup of GI Joe: The Last Laugh also showed up. This is the story that got me back in to GI Joe several years ago. I don't really care for the other IDW Joe stories (Hama's return, etc) but this run of stories by Costa and co, from Last Laugh, GI Joe: Cobra, the Coil storyline, etc is just terrific comics. This volume is OOP and sells for a healthy sum. An eBay alert yielded this used copy for $26 shipped. It's not perfect, but the price was right.

[lostboys]

Hey, any word on Spawn compendium 3?

[letsgrumble]

Recent arrivals. Haven't cracked them open yet:

Just over 20 years ago that John Buscema passed.

 

[MagnusX]

The X-Men Omnibus Vol. 1

[piper]

Is there an American Vampire Omnibus Vol 2 coming out?  I just saw something come across my social media feed...

[Upgrayedd2]

All Right! I received the replacement copy from Amazon. Saw the corner of the box and began to worry. However, as I opened the box, I saw they wrapped the book...in a single piece of paper. Damaged again. Before I return it to Amazon, I am going to ring them and provide them with the option to provide a discount or return and try again.

[theCapraAegagrus]

[Cat]

Oh ffs Amazon.....