What’s up with Ernie Gerber Enterprises? 6 6

[Jonathan78]

On 7/26/2021 at 4:11 PM, justafan said:

As someone who has frequented their location and purchased from them nearly annually since 2010 I can vouch for them.  You have to understand that they are primarily a wholesale operation.  Anytime you deal with wholesale, (and you always want to for the best pricing) there will be differences in conveniences and interactions.  While they will take orders from anyone, they have their large customers such as the Library of Congress and large comic dealers/online retailers that sell for retail prices.  Hence, they do business a certain way because it is cost effective and they haven't needed to change. 

I just placed an order with them this morning via CC (they take cash as well) and their current TATs is 10-14 weeks so if you need something coming up around the late October/November/December time frame you should probably put your order in soon.  During my call, she received 2 more calls and had to place them on hold.  As for how to place an order here's my advice:

1. Research the product info on their simple website and make a list of exactly what you need by Item number and quantity.  If you have any questions, bring that up during your conversation.  However, don't expect them to know whether a silver age comic will fit in a Standard comic sized Mylite2 725M2 with Full back 700FB. (yes it will) or whether the Mylite4 will be too snug for some books with a full back (yes it will) or will a Golden age or magazine sized mylite 2 fit into a standard comic drawer box (not likely).  You may be better off asking on boards.

2. Pick up is always best if you're going to be in the area when they expect to be ready.  You'll save on shipping and can order less than $100 of items.  If you need shipping, it can get costly so order in bulk to justify the expense.  Also, they don't ship for less than $100 orders but there may be some exceptions.

3. Call them between M-Thur and call in the morning.  They open at 10am and close at 4pm ET.  Don't call at 3:50pm on Thursday and expect to get an answer.  Don't email and expect them to get back to you right away.  They may but it is often always better to call and at least leave a voicemail.  If the first call doesn't get through, try calling again after 1pm or the next morning.  Brenda is the nice lady who will usually answer.

4. Their building is a small factory located in an industrial warehouse park in Maryland.  Their front office is inside the factory with only a wall and window separating the 2.  Often, there's nobody in the front office because they're helping out in the back loading area or the factory helping to make the products. It is noisy in the factory.  If no one answers your call it's likely everyone is busy in the factory and can't hear the phones from there or they are on the other line fielding other calls.

If you're only ordering a 25-50 mylites, it's probably not worth it.  If you're ordering 500-1000+ mylites and full backs (and you should if you plan on converting your collection from polybags or continue collecting older comics) always err on the larger side as you will run out of them faster than you think especially if you use them for shipping your books to CGC.

 

 

Good advice.  I have often considered making the trip as shipping costs at least $50 for each order I place.  However, its a convenience issue.  I live in Northern Virginia and can get there in 45 mins? mid-week, but thats still two hours invested that I just don't have sadly. 

[ttfitz]

On 7/26/2021 at 4:11 PM, justafan said:

During my call, she received 2 more calls and had to place them on hold. 

[universal soldier]

Thankful this thread got posted! I am getting desperately low on both HB and M2's and was able to call and place an order for 2K of each today. The current TaT is still the 10-14 weeks as mentioned but I had no problem getting through around 3 PM today. I prefer Mylites+ but those are only available to dealers at this time. Based on my current volume and supply I think I need to score an additional 100 from my LCS  to get me through the Tat (if they can get any in...).

[universal soldier]

On 7/26/2021 at 4:11 PM, justafan said:

Brenda is the nice lady who will usually answer.

She was super nice  

 

Also, shipping to central MA was $103 but given the 2K each of bags and boards, I'll take it.

[greggy]

[Robot Man]

On 7/30/2021 at 2:22 PM, greggy said:

 How long did you have to wait?

[greggy]

On 7/31/2021 at 8:35 AM, Robot Man said:

 How long did you have to wait?

I didn't get it from Gerber.

Not sure if you know Derek Woywood but I bought it from him.  He was able to get two cases from a source.

Gerber apparently not making archives until next year at the earliest. 

[ADAMANTIUM]

On 7/31/2021 at 10:38 AM, greggy said:

I didn't get it from Gerber.

Not sure if you know Derek Woywood but I bought it from him.  He was able to get two cases from a source.

Gerber apparently not making archives until next year at the earliest. 

That is a while from now  

[SargenticusV]

Placed an order with Gerber today; 1000 725M2's and the same number of Half-backs.   Estimated ETA 10-14 weeks, I believe she said.

[Robot Man]

The Eagle has landed! I placed my order toward the end of May. Came home to a large box on my doorstep today. So, as they stated, about 10 weeks. Looks like I got a full short box to rebag in fresh new Mylar. 

So, plan ahead if you order from them. 

[musicmeta]

On 8/12/2021 at 8:34 PM, Robot Man said:

The Eagle has landed! I placed my order toward the end of May. Came home to a large box on my doorstep today. So, as they stated, about 10 weeks. Looks like I got a full short box to rebag in fresh new Mylar. 

So, plan ahead if you order from them. 

Yes, I ordered from E. Gerber a few days ago.  No acid free boxes and no Mylites4 bags   so I ordered Boards and Mylites2 bags instead.  The very nice lady who took my order said it will be 10-14 weeks before I get it. 

[Jonathan78]

On 7/16/2021 at 9:46 PM, Jonathan78 said:

I ordered 1000 775 M2s and HBs about two months ago. They charged my card about two days before they arrived. Unfortunately, for me, I ordered the wrong size. Should have ordered 725. I called them back, left a message, and they called back the next morning where I placed a new order. The wait is approximately 2 months she said. Still better time than a value/economy grading submission.

My order of 725s has shipped! Right at the two month mark

[Arkham]

On 7/11/2021 at 5:08 AM, Bookery said:

Could find no articles out there specific to comics collecting. But in general it appears there is a nationwide shortage of many plastic and paper products, especially bags.

I read this awhile back on GoCollect:

Spoiler

Polypropylene, the primary ingredient in comic book bags, has seen a price increase of 100% over the past year.  Combine that with an increase in demand as the comic collecting hobby has seen huge gains since the start of the COVID pandemic, and you can already see price increases and delays in fulfilling orders. 

Just try to order current/modern comic bags from BCW – they’re currently on backorder until September 20!  Other providers are showing similar price increases and delays.

Source: https://blog.gocollect.com/how-inflation-could-affect-comic-book-collecting-investing/

I know this topic is pretty much all sorted now… but I wanted to add my $0.02 to vouch for E. Gerber. I’m in Australia and have always been looked after. 

[Arkham]

On 7/27/2021 at 6:11 AM, justafan said:

However, don't expect them to know whether a silver age comic will fit in a Standard comic sized Mylite2 725M2 with Full back 700FB. (yes it will) or whether the Mylite4 will be too snug for some books with a full back (yes it will) or will a Golden age or magazine sized mylite 2 fit into a standard comic drawer box (not likely).  You may be better off asking on boards.

This thread is everyone’s friend:

https://www.cgccomics.com/boards/topic/164782-visual-guide-to-mylar-sizes/

[universal soldier]

On 9/13/2021 at 3:37 PM, Jonathan78 said:

My order of 725s has shipped! Right at the two month mark

That puts me about 2-3 weeks out. Hope they are still on target.

[ttfitz]

Well, good news and bad news. The halfbacks I ordered are ready. The bad news is that I had ordered for pickup when I go to the Baltimore Con on the 22nd, and they now say they are unwilling to hold them for me.

So, I either need to drive 2-3 hours to pick them up, find someone else who can picked them up, or pay for shipping.

To complicate matters, I bought about double what I would ordinarily buy since I was saving on shipping; but they will not have half backs available until after the first of the year.

[universal soldier]

On 9/28/2021 at 12:23 PM, ttfitz said:

Well, good news and bad news. The halfbacks I ordered are ready. The bad news is that I had ordered for pickup when I go to the Baltimore Con on the 22nd, and they now say they are unwilling to hold them for me.

So, I either need to drive 2-3 hours to pick them up, find someone else who can picked them up, or pay for shipping.

To complicate matters, I bought about double what I would ordinarily buy since I was saving on shipping; but they will not have half backs available until after the first of the year.

 to confirm you are getting your halfbacks you ordered? Good luck on the pick-up or proxy to pick them up for you. 

[ttfitz]

On 9/28/2021 at 12:44 PM, universal soldier said:

 to confirm you are getting your halfbacks you ordered? Good luck on the pick-up or proxy to pick them up for you. 

Yes, if I want to get all I ordered, I can - they said I could reduce my order if I wanted given the pick-up situation, but warned me that someone trying to order halfbacks today would be told they won't be available until next year.

It's a long drive, so it would be kinda ridiculous to do it, but on the other hand, it will save me $120. Really annoying overall.

[universal soldier]

On 9/28/2021 at 12:59 PM, ttfitz said:

Yes, if I want to get all I ordered, I can - they said I could reduce my order if I wanted given the pick-up situation, but warned me that someone trying to order halfbacks today would be told they won't be available until next year.

It's a long drive, so it would be kinda ridiculous to do it, but on the other hand, it will save me $120. Really annoying overall.

Thanks, was worried for a minute that they wouldn't be able to fulfill orders. I'm at the week 9 mark right now and glad I ordered when I did. I guess it makes sense with their quoted timeframe, 14 weeks from now is January 4th. 

[justafan]

On 9/28/2021 at 12:59 PM, ttfitz said:

Yes, if I want to get all I ordered, I can - they said I could reduce my order if I wanted given the pick-up situation, but warned me that someone trying to order halfbacks today would be told they won't be available until next year.

It's a long drive, so it would be kinda ridiculous to do it, but on the other hand, it will save me $120. Really annoying overall.

Yep same here except they just went ahead and shipped them directly to me as i missed their calls letting me know they were ready for pickup last week. They probably over estimated their delays. I emailed George, the manager, about this and he said they just dont have the space to store the orders that long (3 days tops) and they cant schedule orders for pickup so even if you wanted to time it with baltimore comicon it would still be a shoot. They did at least refund the in state tax i was charged due to it now being an out of state order.

Sucks but if you dont need the extra halfbacks you can either ask them to scale the order back to reduce the shipping cost or just take the order as is and try to recoup some of the cost by reselling at retail prices and profiting on the wholesale cost.