Why I will no longer deal with Comiclink

[COMICLINK]

>> If it does not cancel, then a bidder who bid today would still be

>> obligated a few months from now when he may no longer be

>> interested in the item. It would not work.

 

Huh? That doesn't make any sense.

 

If someone makes an offer on a book, and the seller rejects the offer ... that amount is then displayed with the item as "the current bid," yes? It doesn't say anything about anyone's obligation, it's just a notice that subsequent bids are going to have to be higher than that.

 

It's the same with bids and counter-offers. Simply keep the initial bid as a marker of what's been bid. No one's talking about obligations "months from now." I think you miss the point.

 

gozer

 

This is already the case...

 

Josh Nathanson

www.comiclink.com

[skybolt]

>> If it does not cancel, then a bidder who bid today would still be

>> obligated a few months from now when he may no longer be

>> interested in the item. It would not work.

 

Huh? That doesn't make any sense.

 

If someone makes an offer on a book, and the seller rejects the offer ... that amount is then displayed with the item as "the current bid," yes? It doesn't say anything about anyone's obligation, it's just a notice that subsequent bids are going to have to be higher than that.

 

It's the same with bids and counter-offers. Simply keep the initial bid as a marker of what's been bid. No one's talking about obligations "months from now." I think you miss the point.

 

gozer

 

I agree with your point Gozer,

 

The only explanation I can think of is if either 1.) the seller completely removed the item and relisted it, or 2.) changed his initial asking price to less than $1600 (negating the original bid). I have no idea why they'd do this if someone already bid $1600 on the book.

[jediknight]

The bottomline is that comiclink doesn't have the flexibility that eBay does since you can deal with people one on one in eBay. So we just need to live with the idiosyncracies of comiclink because that is the nature of that beast.

[marvelcollector]

 

If it does not cancel, then a bidder who bid today would still be obligated a few months from now when he may no longer be interested in the item. It would not work.

 

Josh Nathanson

www.comiclink.com

 

How can a bidder be "obligated" months later when their bid has already been

previously rejected (by inference via a counter offer)?

 

This defense of this particular feature of the current system makes no sense.

[divad]

What I think must have happened here from your description, is that your bid became inactive after you declined the counteroffer.

 

Josh,

 

Perhaps you could just fix THIS feature. A bid should not cancel when a counteroffer is declined. Simple - everybody's happy.

 

If it does not cancel, then a bidder who bid today would still be obligated a few months from now when he may no longer be interested in the item. It would not work.

 

Josh Nathanson

 

Uh, no - he may cancel his bid voluntarily at any time - it's the auto-cancel feature when declining a counteroffer, that should be amended.

[bluenote]

One other thing I must mention - SELLERS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO BID ON THEIR OWN ITEMS on ComicLink, as implied here. IF WE FIND OUT THAT IS HAPPENING, WE WILL CANCEL THEIR ACCOUNT. If anyone has any evidence that this is occurring, please contact us immediately!

 

Josh Nathanson

www.comiclink.com

 

based on that declaration, its more of a POLICY than an impossibility, isnt it?. Hopefully you can have the software prevent sellers from bidding on their own books. But short of that preventive measure, what kind of EVIDENCE would anyone ever be able to come up with? Screenshots? Hearsay?

 

Wouldnt the evidence be in YOUR computer system? Shouldnt the entity (IP address) that logged on and SIGNED IN (!) be recorded in your system logs so that YOU would always know just who places every bid on Comiclink?? in which case the burden to keep bids clean falls back on you....

 

aha! You made the correct statements (for which I applaud you) but now look... more grief from the Board junkies!!! Cant win, can ya?

 

The software does prevent sellers from bidding on their own books. Regarding whether a friend of theirs is bidding on it - there is no way for us to know who is friends with who - but if we detect a pattern or hear of this occuring we certainly will take actions to stop it and prevent those parties from using the system again.

We also do not allow sellers to have more than one account with us (ie. one for a buyer and one for a seller). Regarding the IP suggestion - I believe that the IP is not static based upon the remote computer a person is using but rather the connection he is using to get to the Internet. The IP would change everytime a user logs into AOL - even though it is the same user. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong, if you (or anyone else) has knowledge to the contrary.

 

youv arer correct... aboput aol .thaqt why fraudsters love aol dialup; because your isp changes everytime they sign on...but a person does not have to go through all that trouble.. they can simple use a anoymizer service which disguises the isp address to whatever they want it to be..and what about if a person uses a library computer. or uses a wirless wi fi connection....trust me shill bidding is easy t5o accuse,but hard to prove

[COMICLINK]

What I think must have happened here from your description, is that your bid became inactive after you declined the counteroffer.

 

Josh,

 

Perhaps you could just fix THIS feature. A bid should not cancel when a counteroffer is declined. Simple - everybody's happy.

 

If it does not cancel, then a bidder who bid today would still be obligated a few months from now when he may no longer be interested in the item. It would not work.

 

Josh Nathanson

 

Uh, no - he may cancel his bid voluntarily at any time - it's the auto-cancel feature when declining a counteroffer, that should be amended.

 

Sellers can cancel a counteroffer but bidders cannot cancel a bid in the system.

[jkrk]

It does not make me happy when someone is unsatisfied with our system. However, I think your decision to no longer allow yourself the opportunity to select from the thousands of vintage items from our site in the future may be a bit hasty. The function that you would have liked to see is not built into the system and we, at ComicLink, do not get a notification when a seller wants to lower a price in advance of him actually doing it. So, there is no way we could contact you.

What I think must have happened here from your description, is that your bid became inactive after you declined the counteroffer. At some point after that, the seller changed his mind on his bottom line price, for whatever reason, and lowered the price on ComicLink. You were not notified because your bid, having declined the counteroffer, was no longer active. This is not something that we humans would have anything to do with. What book was it, and what is your name? I can look it up and see what happened, exactly, to confirm the accuracy of these statements. However, if you have an issue, or do not understand how the system works in the future, just give us a call. We'd be more than happy to clarify.

 

Josh Nathanson

www.comiclink.com

 

Josh, I now have a decent understanding of the limitations of your site and have simply chosen to buy from outlets where I can have better communication with the sellers. My mistake was believing that your fee included more personal contact than you are offering. In most cases machine to machine works well and very little interaction is needed.

 

Regarding the accuracy of my statements- The book was the All American 25 (which you can find by looking on your first page of CGC books for sale). Regarding my bids -you can simply check the E-mails you sent me.

 

I believe that:

There are countless GA books in the marketplace in which I have an interest. I usually buy between 100-200/yr

through enough channels that I have never found myself limited. As I've said before a buyer must be comfortable with whom he does business.

[shrunkenhead]

100/200 a yr? Eeek, sounds like a bad customer to lose..

[TeddieMercede]

Is there no way to be able to communicate with bidders if you are a seller even if the bidder has canceled his bid ? I mean common sense to me says that if someone offers me $1600 for a book but i reject it, later on if I do lower the price I am willing to accept I would get in contact with the bidder who offered me $50 higher then I am now willing to list it for. Also if the market says I can get $1600 for the book why would I list it for $1550 ?

[sterlingcomics]

I consider security via IP monitoring is the method of last resort. Yeah, it's useful in some situations, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it.

[sterlingcomics]

Josh, I now have a decent understanding of the limitations of your site and have simply chosen to buy from outlets where I can have better communication with the sellers. My mistake was believing that your fee included more personal contact than you are offering.

 

I don't think it is a limitation more than it was a design decision from the beginning. There are plenty here who would say anonymity is a major strategic advantage. I totally understand why you would want to contact the buyer. In some cases, I wanted some additional scans and the current method doesn't allow for that.

[COMICLINK]

It does not make me happy when someone is unsatisfied with our system. However, I think your decision to no longer allow yourself the opportunity to select from the thousands of vintage items from our site in the future may be a bit hasty. The function that you would have liked to see is not built into the system and we, at ComicLink, do not get a notification when a seller wants to lower a price in advance of him actually doing it. So, there is no way we could contact you.

What I think must have happened here from your description, is that your bid became inactive after you declined the counteroffer. At some point after that, the seller changed his mind on his bottom line price, for whatever reason, and lowered the price on ComicLink. You were not notified because your bid, having declined the counteroffer, was no longer active. This is not something that we humans would have anything to do with. What book was it, and what is your name? I can look it up and see what happened, exactly, to confirm the accuracy of these statements. However, if you have an issue, or do not understand how the system works in the future, just give us a call. We'd be more than happy to clarify.

 

Josh Nathanson

www.comiclink.com

 

Josh, I now have a decent understanding of the limitations of your site and have simply chosen to buy from outlets where I can have better communication with the sellers. My mistake was believing that your fee included more personal contact than you are offering. In most cases machine to machine works well and very little interaction is needed.

 

Regarding the accuracy of my statements- The book was the All American 25 (which you can find by looking on your first page of CGC books for sale). Regarding my bids -you can simply check the E-mails you sent me.

 

I believe that:

There are countless GA books in the marketplace in which I have an interest. I usually buy between 100-200/yr

through enough channels that I have never found myself limited. As I've said before a buyer must be comfortable with whom he does business.

 

 

Jay - now that I have the appropriate information, I looked in the system and can see the bid history, which is as follows:

 

7/25/2005 9:05:29 PM EST You bid $1500

7/27/2005 5:58:51 PM EST A counteoffer of $1700 was relayed to you which you declined on July 27, 2005 9:29 PM

8/2/2005 5:28:28 PM EST A bid of $1550 from someone else was accepted

 

A couple of things to note here - there never was any $1600 bid placed as you originally assert. You had an opportunity to bid higher bid never did.

What happened here was simply that you were outbid by a user that offered more than you did and the seller accepted. If you really wanted the book you could have 1) accepted the seller's counteroffer, 2) raised your bid, or 3) called us up for help in facilitating the deal if personalized service is what you wanted. We do offer that kind of personalized service if we are asked. I can do many things, but knowing what you want without being contacted by you is not one of them...

 

I also see that you have never purchased anything from us since our site was upgraded two years ago and that you only bid on that and one other item in this time frame. You also did not make any effort to contact me to try and obtain the personalized service you feel you deserve. All it takes is a phone call, and we are available every day of the week. So, the public declaration that you have made here seems either unusually impulsive or a deliberate stab at our service.

So, did a competitor brainwash you and put you up to this or what? If it is just a mistake, feel free to contact me to get the personalized service you desire!

 

Josh Nathanson

www.comiclink.com

[FFB]

It does not make me happy when someone is unsatisfied with our system. However, I think your decision to no longer allow yourself the opportunity to select from the thousands of vintage items from our site in the future may be a bit hasty. The function that you would have liked to see is not built into the system and we, at ComicLink, do not get a notification when a seller wants to lower a price in advance of him actually doing it. So, there is no way we could contact you.

What I think must have happened here from your description, is that your bid became inactive after you declined the counteroffer. At some point after that, the seller changed his mind on his bottom line price, for whatever reason, and lowered the price on ComicLink. You were not notified because your bid, having declined the counteroffer, was no longer active. This is not something that we humans would have anything to do with. What book was it, and what is your name? I can look it up and see what happened, exactly, to confirm the accuracy of these statements. However, if you have an issue, or do not understand how the system works in the future, just give us a call. We'd be more than happy to clarify.

 

Josh Nathanson

www.comiclink.com

 

Josh, I now have a decent understanding of the limitations of your site and have simply chosen to buy from outlets where I can have better communication with the sellers. My mistake was believing that your fee included more personal contact than you are offering. In most cases machine to machine works well and very little interaction is needed.

 

Regarding the accuracy of my statements- The book was the All American 25 (which you can find by looking on your first page of CGC books for sale). Regarding my bids -you can simply check the E-mails you sent me.

 

I believe that:

There are countless GA books in the marketplace in which I have an interest. I usually buy between 100-200/yr

through enough channels that I have never found myself limited. As I've said before a buyer must be comfortable with whom he does business.

 

 

Jay - now that I have the appropriate information, I looked in the system and can see the bid history, which is as follows:

 

7/25/2005 9:05:29 PM EST You bid $1500

7/27/2005 5:58:51 PM EST A counteoffer of $1700 was relayed to you which you declined on July 27, 2005 9:29 PM

8/2/2005 5:28:28 PM EST A bid of $1550 from someone else was accepted

 

A couple of things to note here - there never was any $1600 bid placed as you originally assert. You had an opportunity to bid higher bid never did.

What happened here was simply that you were outbid by a user that offered more than you did and the seller accepted. If you really wanted the book you could have 1) accepted the seller's counteroffer, 2) raised your bid, or 3) called us up for help in facilitating the deal if personalized service is what you wanted. We do offer that kind of personalized service if we are asked. I can do many things, but knowing what you want without being contacted by you is not one of them...

 

I also see that you have never purchased anything from us since our site was upgraded two years ago and that you only bid on that and one other item in this time frame. You also did not make any effort to contact me to try and obtain the personalized service you feel you deserve. All it takes is a phone call, and we are available every day of the week. So, the public declaration that you have made here seems either unusually impulsive or a deliberate stab at our service.

So, did a competitor brainwash you and put you up to this or what? If it is just a mistake, feel free to contact me to get the personalized service you desire!

 

Josh Nathanson

www.comiclink.com

 

I don't care what you say, Josh, this is still all your fault.

 

Hope to see you at the forum dinner in Chicago.

[divad]

I don't care what you say, Josh, this is still all your fault.

 

Hope to see you at the forum dinner in Chicago.

 

I figured you'd be to busy to go to Chicago!

[jkrk]

Jay - now that I have the appropriate information, I looked in the system and can see the bid history, which is as follows:

 

7/25/2005 9:05:29 PM EST You bid $1500

7/27/2005 5:58:51 PM EST A counteoffer of $1700 was relayed to you which you declined on July 27, 2005 9:29 PM

8/2/2005 5:28:28 PM EST A bid of $1550 from someone else was accepted

 

A couple of things to note here - there never was any $1600 bid placed as you originally assert. You had an opportunity to bid higher bid never did.

What happened here was simply that you were outbid by a user that offered more than you did and the seller accepted. If you really wanted the book you could have 1) accepted the seller's counteroffer, 2) raised your bid, or 3) called us up for help in facilitating the deal if personalized service is what you wanted. We do offer that kind of personalized service if we are asked. I can do many things, but knowing what you want without being contacted by you is not one of them...

 

I also see that you have never purchased anything from us since our site was upgraded two years ago and that you only bid on that and one other item in this time frame. You also did not make any effort to contact me to try and obtain the personalized service you feel you deserve. All it takes is a phone call, and we are available every day of the week. So, the public declaration that you have made here seems either unusually impulsive or a deliberate stab at our service.

So, did a competitor brainwash you and put you up to this or what? If it is just a mistake, feel free to contact me to get the personalized service you desire!

 

Josh Nathanson

www.comiclink.com

 

 

Josh, First off. I wish to apologize for my error. I rechecked the E-mails and you are correct that my bid was $1500 not $1600 which until this moment I assumed was my actual bid. With that being the case I have no gripe about a $1550 sale which was higfher than my bid.

 

 

 

You are correct that I have never bought a book from you in the past few years. Does that matter? I was attempting to purchase a book and I was annoyed by what I perceived to be facts. Perhaps it's my senility?

 

 

So, did a competitor brainwash you and put you up to this or what?

 

Was this statement necessary? I guess you have a right to be a bit annoyed since it's your business but I'm a potential customer. I apologize again for any trouble I've caused you.

[skybolt]

At least everything makes sense now.

[shrunkenhead]

 

 

Josh, First off. I wish to apologize for my error. I rechecked the E-mails and you are correct that my bid was $1500 not $1600 which until this moment I assumed was my actual bid. With that being the case I have no gripe about a $1550 sale which was higfher than my bid.

 

 

 

 

You are correct that I have never bought a book from you in the past few years. Does that matter? I was attempting to purchase a book and I was annoyed by what I perceived to be facts. Perhaps it's my senility?

 

 

While I can't speak for Josh, I think what he's saying is that your earlier statement about 100/200 books a year is not applicable when it comes to buying from his site. In other words, you kinda threatened to take away a lot his sales, but that really isn't happening.

 

But dude, next time triple-check them there factoids before publicly posting about supposedly shoddy business practices. While few of us sell the big dollar books like c-link, we've all get seller's reps to think about, and I'd hate to see anybody get thrashed unfairly in a public setting.

[jkrk]

But dude, next time triple-check them there factoids before publicly posting about supposedly shoddy business practices. While few of us sell the big dollar books like c-link, we've all get seller's reps to think about, and I'd hate to see anybody get thrashed unfairly in a public setting.

 

Believe me I'm none too happy about trashing anyone without accurate facts. In the end he's not really injured but I'm really embarassed.

[tth2]

Well, this may not be Shakespeare but it's certainly Much Ado About Nothing.

Darn Brits, stop trying to inject your high-falutin' cultural references into these boards!