ComicLink — What the....???

[RickHigh]

I may be way off base here, but I thought I'd throw this out to the boards just the same.

 

I bid on a book listed on ComicLink on Sunday. The book was listed at $300.00 and there was a bid of $225 on it. I bid $260. On Monday, I got an e-mail saying that my bid had been rejected. So I go to re-bid on the book only to find that the price of the book had changed from $300 to $475.00!!! I sent CL an email asking if this was something that was done on a regular basis. I don't usually shop on CL, so I don't know. But, it just doesn't seem right to up the asking price after the book is listed and there are at least two bids posted. It must work though, because the current bid is $350 (or is it?). Anyway, I haven't heard anything back from my question to them, so I ask you guys. Anyone have any such experience like this with ComicLink? I'd like to know.

 

[jbud73]

Ya I think this happened to Donut before. He was used to gauge the market and then when the book raised in price after he made the qualifying offer. Sort of a self shilling type thing. Of course in this instance you didnt actually hit the $300 mark, so the seller is still is within their rights to reject and bump the price. Its scummy, but hey this is comics so what do you expect.

[THE_BEYONDER]

Ya I think this happened to Donut before. He was used to gauge the market and then when the book raised in price after he made the qualifying offer. Sort of a self shilling type thing. Of course in this instance you didnt actually hit the $300 mark, so the seller is still is within their rights to reject and bump the price. Its scummy, but hey this is comics so what do you expect.

 

That's a shady practice, and one more reason to avoid CL.

[supapimp]

Ya I think this happened to Donut before. He was used to gauge the market and then when the book raised in price after he made the qualifying offer. Sort of a self shilling type thing. Of course in this instance you didnt actually hit the $300 mark, so the seller is still is within their rights to reject and bump the price. Its scummy, but hey this is comics so what do you expect.

 

That's a shady practice, and one more reason to avoid CL.

 

ditto

[RickHigh]

Ya I think this happened to Donut before. He was used to gauge the market and then when the book raised in price after he made the qualifying offer. Sort of a self shilling type thing. Of course in this instance you didnt actually hit the $300 mark, so the seller is still is within their rights to reject and bump the price. Its scummy, but hey this is comics so what do you expect.

 

 

Kinda takes the fun out of it, you know?

 

[Foolkiller]

Okay, look, I would be the #1 person here to just come on here and rip Josh to shreds -- and I have to admit, this doesn't exactly looks good, because I don't understand how it happened. And of course, it wouldn't surprise me if this was a Josh move --

 

But, you could just call Josh and ask for an explanation. There might be a very reasonable one, and he's generally willing to talk.

[drbanner]

Rick - sellers on Clink can change prices, scans, etc.,. at their disgression, without Josh's approval. Was the book priced too low to start with (relative to GPA)? Was there a recent sale on ebay at closer to the higher price?

 

Sounds to me like the seller decided he wanted more than $300 on the book so he changed his price...per usual, just offer what the book is worth to you and if it's worth more to the seller, move on.

 

I've bought/sold books using Comiclink for years (since the pre-CGC days), and Josh has always handled any issues professionally and in a timely fashion. Not sure what people's big beef is with them, they've been pretty upstanding whenever I've had a problem, and if I recall correctly Josh was the trailblazer that led the recent trend for dealers to guarantee their "Ewert" books, even ex-post-facto...

[Foolkiller]

I'm going to resist ripping Josh, and any further negatives, because there are plenty. But there's the explanation from Banner, and if it's out of Josh's control, then it might be a flaw in the way the system works, but there's no dishonesty on Josh's part.

[RickHigh]

Sounds to me like the seller decided he wanted more than $300 on the book so he changed his price...per usual, just offer what the book is worth to you and if it's worth more to the seller, move on.

 

I guess I just don't like the idea of changing the selling price after bids have been made. I'll give Josh a call tomorrow.

[whomerjay]

Sounds to me like the seller decided he wanted more than $300 on the book so he changed his price...per usual, just offer what the book is worth to you and if it's worth more to the seller, move on.

 

I guess I just don't like the idea of changing the selling price after bids have been made. I'll give Josh a call tomorrow.

 

IMO there will always be limitations in these exchange systems, and I'm not sure there's any way around it. I feel CL is fairly fine tuned to limit these limitations, although I would agree with some of the point made by CL detractors here. Unless Josh is willing to more of hands-on dictator, the way the system is currently set up allows these type of "abuses" of the system by the seller. Seems to happen infrequently, but quite annoying when it does.

[skybolt]

How long does it usually take for Comiclink to respond to a purchase you make?

 

For instance, I hit the bin on this one book about 9 or 10 days ago, and automatically received a notice from Comiclink telling me that they'll contact the seller and get back to me in 5 days tops. After 8 days I e-mailed them since I didn't get a response. I realize that the seller may be out of town, but they should've at least sent me an e-mail with some info after the 5 days had passed.

[BassGMan]

Sounds to me like the seller decided he wanted more than $300 on the book so he changed his price...per usual, just offer what the book is worth to you and if it's worth more to the seller, move on.

 

I guess I just don't like the idea of changing the selling price after bids have been made. I'll give Josh a call tomorrow.

 

I've never used CL, but I don't really have a problem with a seller doing that, although I would not do it myself. Maybe after listing his books he heard comments that it was really worth more. IF that is the case, should he just leave it as is and lose out? Before he gets a qualified bid he better bump it up. If you had made the $300 bid while it was still listed at $300, then you should get the book at that price. But if bidding under the minimum, I don't see it as a big deal, although it is frustrating a bit.

[Sharkey]

Banner, I agree. I have done a lot of business with ComicLink, both buying and selling. 95% of the time it has been problem free, which to me is pretty good in this business.

 

His system is set up so that the seller can change their listing pretty much at will, so I think the ire directed at Josh is misguided. It's like being mad at Ebay because somebody cancelled their auction early. Yes, it's frustrating, and it's not a fair practice, but it's not directly Josh's fault.

 

What puzzles me is how forumites repeatedly come on here and post negative things about ComicLink BEFORE contacting them first. They have a phone, and in my experience, they answer it. They can sometimes be slow at responding to emails, which I agree is a problem, but I've never had them fail to either pick up the phone or respond the next day if it wasn't within normal business hours. I mean, if you ran a company, and somebody had a problem with it, wouldn't you want them to at least TRY contacting you and getting an explanation before they go out and post on some online forum?

 

I just don't get all the negative energy directed at CL. Sure, if something really lousy happens and you call and get a less than satisfactory response, then fire away. But jeez give the guy a chance first.

 

 

 

Rick - sellers on Clink can change prices, scans, etc.,. at their disgression, without Josh's approval. Was the book priced too low to start with (relative to GPA)? Was there a recent sale on ebay at closer to the higher price?

 

Sounds to me like the seller decided he wanted more than $300 on the book so he changed his price...per usual, just offer what the book is worth to you and if it's worth more to the seller, move on.

 

I've bought/sold books using Comiclink for years (since the pre-CGC days), and Josh has always handled any issues professionally and in a timely fashion. Not sure what people's big beef is with them, they've been pretty upstanding whenever I've had a problem, and if I recall correctly Josh was the trailblazer that led the recent trend for dealers to guarantee their "Ewert" books, even ex-post-facto...

[drbanner]

IMO there will always be limitations in these exchange systems, and I'm not sure there's any way around it. I feel CL is fairly fine tuned to limit these limitations, although I would agree with some of the point made by CL detractors here.

That's whay I was thinking as well...there are several internet sites/formats available to comic collectors to buy and sell books - ebay, consignment sites (Pedigree, Clink), dealer sites that we can consign to (Highgrade), and good old-fahsioned seller-generated sites, but they all have their drawbacks and limitations. If there's a better system template out there that would enable the site operator to make it worthwhile ($) and for collectors to want to use it, it will come - "If you build it, we will come!"

 

Unless Josh is willing to more of hands-on dictator, the way the system is currently set up allows these type of "abuses" of the system by the seller. Seems to happen infrequently, but quite annoying when it does.

Josh will give sellers the boot if they abuse his system, but I personally don't feel that a seller changing his mind and raising his asking price to more than he originally listed it for is an "abuse". At the end of the day, it simply comes down to whether or not a seller wants to sell a book at a price a buyer is willing to pay...

[batman_fan]

I am on the other side of the fense. I bought a expensive book from CL a while back (at least expensive for me $6500). Pretty big mess to pay for it and it cost quite a bit to do. I later "sold" an expensive book. Got the email from Josh saying someone binned, money was there. I shipped to book to him (pretty expensive because it was almost $10k), get an email from Josh saying buyer decided to pass. To get the book back, I have to pay shipping. I complained a huge amount and he finally agreed to ship it back to me at his cost, but I was out the $75 for sending it to him. My perspective, if he wasn't selling comics, it would be bennie babies. Just my perspective, but I have always seen his customer service as real hit or miss.

[whomerjay]

IMO there will always be limitations in these exchange systems, and I'm not sure there's any way around it. I feel CL is fairly fine tuned to limit these limitations, although I would agree with some of the point made by CL detractors here.

That's whay I was thinking as well...there are several internet sites/formats available to comic collectors to buy and sell books - ebay, consignment sites (Pedigree, Clink), dealer sites that we can consign to (Highgrade), and good old-fahsioned seller-generated sites, but they all have their drawbacks and limitations. If there's a better system template out there that would enable the site operator to make it worthwhile ($) and for collectors to want to use it, it will come - "If you build it, we will come!"

 

Unless Josh is willing to more of hands-on dictator, the way the system is currently set up allows these type of "abuses" of the system by the seller. Seems to happen infrequently, but quite annoying when it does.

Josh will give sellers the boot if they abuse his system, but I personally don't feel that a seller changing his mind and raising his asking price to more than he originally listed it for is an "abuse". At the end of the day, it simply comes down to whether or not a seller wants to sell a book at a price a buyer is willing to pay...

 

Yes, the seller has the perogative to change his mind on the price. But one obvious abuse that occurs is sellers not giving up the book when it sells quickly, figuring they rolled it out too low. I get the sense that some are just posting books to feel out the market. The other obvious abuse, that's very hard to control, is the shill bidding that creates the illusion of interest or takes the book to 90-95% of the asking price.

[whomerjay]

I am on the other side of the fense. I bought a expensive book from CL a while back (at least expensive for me $6500). Pretty big mess to pay for it and it cost quite a bit to do. I later "sold" an expensive book. Got the email from Josh saying someone binned, money was there. I shipped to book to him (pretty expensive because it was almost $10k), get an email from Josh saying buyer decided to pass. To get the book back, I have to pay shipping. I complained a huge amount and he finally agreed to ship it back to me at his cost, but I was out the $75 for sending it to him. My perspective, if he wasn't selling comics, it would be bennie babies. Just my perspective, but I have always seen his customer service as real hit or miss.

 

It probably says in your agreement with CL you're on the hook for shipping in those instances, but it still isn't right. A buyer "passing" should end his/her interactions with CL forever.

[drbanner]

But one obvious abuse that occurs is sellers not giving up the book when it sells quickly, figuring they rolled it out too low.

 

I'm pretty sure Josh would terminate (or suspend) your selling priveleges if you did this repeatedly...

[FlyingDonut]

As discussed.

[jbud73]

After the Donut situation and my often professed ire for the Credit Card handling whatever you want to call it, its still a surcharge. I just choose to shop elsewhere. I really think that the average customer service from a comic vendor is so bad that when collectors don't get raped and pillaged they exude the superlatives of a seller. We really need to start expecting more for our money and Comic Link, largely due to its set up as a volume way station for books often does not have the control to deliver that service.

 

I simply have found too many other outlets for books to have to be bothered with with the CL set up - too many loop holes. Thats not to say I wouldnt buy a book off CL, its just not my first option. When you buy off Comic Link you are usually buying at the top of the market. If I'm going to have to shell out top dollars I would prefer to give my business to Doug at Pedigree, or Bob at High Grade. At least you know they have the book in their possession and you will 99.9% of the time get nothing but A+ service from start to finish.