Our Recent Experience Selling Comics Through Mycomicshop 23 23

[KirbyTown]

On 6/19/2022 at 5:11 PM, speedcake said:

and I dislike ebay a great, great deal so I'm thinking about sending in a small stack to you guys and see how it goes.

 

Speedcake, you should definitely send in some books, but you're going to get hooked.

 

What other business situation exists where for a 10% cut the absolute market leader will allow me to piggyback on their success while they shoulder all of the work and risk of running a world-class business as I sit around and collect a check every week?

 

Anyone who sells on Bay while MCS exists is just doing it wrong. I'm so outspokenly Team Lone Star because if MCS doesn't exist then I simply stop doing comic books...and I don't want to stop.

Edited June 20, 2022 by KirbyTown

[jharvey]

On 6/19/2022 at 10:36 PM, KirbyTown said:

 

Speedcake, you should definitely send in some books, but you're going to get hooked.

 

What other business situation exists where for a 10% cut the absolute market leader will allow me to piggyback on their success while they shoulder all of the work and risk of running a world-class business as I sit around and collect a check every week?

 

Anyone who sells on Bay while MCS exists is just doing it wrong. I'm so outspokenly Team Lone Star because if MCS doesn't exist then I simply stop doing comic books...and I don't want to stop.

Just don't send MCS high dollar raw comics. You don't want your 6.5 Strange Tales #110 to get graded 4.5 by them, for example, and leave thousands of dollars on the table.

[KirbyTown]

On 6/20/2022 at 6:39 AM, jharvey said:

Just don't send MCS high dollar raw comics. You don't want your 6.5 Strange Tales #110 to get graded 4.5 by them, for example, and leave thousands of dollars on the table.

 

Here's a novel I just wrote (that nobody asked for) about Lone Star grading from one seller's perspective. You can find Lone Star's official guidelines here: https://www.mycomicshop.com/help/grading

 

To be extra clear, this is my personal opinion and approach to reconciling Lone Star grading and is not any kind of official anything in regard to Lone Star policy nor in regard to their reasoning. I'm just a long-time fan of the place and want to help fellow collectors.

 

 

The toughest part of the MCS selling process for new sellers to accept, and probably what turns many of them away, is having to embrace Lone Star's grading system.

 

In the case of multi-thousand dollar comic books, yes, they should always go straight to CGC for the highest assignment possible. CGC doesn't deal in comics, doesn't have to justify their reasoning, and does have an incentive to make you happy by overgrading.

 

If your grading experience is based on CGC's esoteric scale rather than Overstreet's 2nd Edition, then Lone Star's assessments will be eye-opening. The Overstreet scale is weighted towards the reality of collectibles, that is, the understanding that most "collectibles" aren't collectible. The scale exists for the benefit of cautious collectors who want to make their own grading assessment independent of what the typical shady seller is usually pushing: an overgraded book for maximum revenue.

 

With the majority of extant books being low grade, the collectible ones require extra scrutiny to clarify just how collectible they are, and those determinations must be able to "show their work". Practically speaking, buyers don't like to be bamboozled and a comic shop would prefer not to have disappointed customers nor deal with returns. This reasoning supports Lone Star's decision to follow the weighted Overstreet scale.

 

If you search the MCS database for raw consignments in fantasy grades, you'll find that 9.8s are nearly non-existent and that 9.6s are there, but maybe only in the hundreds. CGC can easily assign these grades because they have no accountability (and if anyone still requires proof of CGC's...flexibility...they need only examine the Promise pedigree recently created and slabbed by Heritage.) If a place like MCS wants to continue to sell on the kind of scale they're at and maintain the stellar reputation they have, then they have to be able to justify their grading.

 

For consignor expectation purposes, the MCS 9.4 will become the practical top of your grading scale, but it's not going to be easy, and anything over 8.0 will really have to justify itself. This is the reality of consistent grading within the realm of vast comic inventories and it has to be accepted in order to participate. What's cool is that because of this, when Lone Star says a comic is high-grade then it really is without a doubt high-grade. That's why raw Lone Star grades can sometimes command higher prices than slabbed books...there's a possibility that submission to CGC will earn it an even higher grade.

 

Consignment books at MCS follow their own grading track and I believe go through two sets of hands for proper assessment and QC. The place is basically one step away from being a truly accurate grading company. The only time I've personally received a raw 9.6 grade from MCS is when the books I sent in were ultra moderns and were generally uncirculated except for my sending them in.

 

A decent way to become familiar with the MCS grading scale is to submit a variety of comics through their buying system and learn the shorthand of what I call the "highest grade of agreement". The MCS buying system is essentially the four-step division of G VG F VF (2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0). My agreement concept for quick grading is that if your book is good enough to be a 6.0, but that attempting to assign the next highest level (an 8.0) would cause a grading debate amongst your collecting friends, then your book is probably going to be assessed the highest grade that your group can agree upon: one level down at a 6.0. Once you're familiar with the buy system grading then you'll know what to expect of your consignments (though they'll obviously be subject to higher scrutiny and use of the full-range grading scale.) Apply this knowledge to your consignment submissions and give them the grades you'd want to see if you were buying them.

 

Edited June 21, 2022 by KirbyTown

[mycomicshop]

On 6/20/2022 at 6:39 AM, jharvey said:

Just don't send MCS high dollar raw comics. You don't want your 6.5 Strange Tales #110 to get graded 4.5 by them, for example, and leave thousands of dollars on the table.

I don't generally see high value raws listed on ComicLink or ComicConnect either--they get them slabbed first. We will do the same for any consignor. Send us your high value raw, we can submit it for you, and consign it when it returns from CGC, the same way it would be handled if you wanted to consign it with HA, CL, or CC.

Usually any book above a couple thousand or so we'll discuss with the consignor and depending on the book, grade range, and value, we'll either strongly suggest slabbing, or require that it be slabbed first. We're more permissive with our own books--sometimes we slab them, some times we don't.

[Senormac]

On 6/20/2022 at 7:42 AM, mycomicshop said:

I don't generally see high value raws listed on ComicLink or ComicConnect either--they get them slabbed first. We will do the same for any consignor. Send us your high value raw, we can submit it for you, and consign it when it returns from CGC, the same way it would be handled if you wanted to consign it with HA, CL, or CC.

Usually any book above a couple thousand or so we'll discuss with the consignor and depending on the book, grade range, and value, we'll either strongly suggest slabbing, or require that it be slabbed first. We're more permissive with our own books--sometimes we slab them, some times we don't.

That's some good info right there 

[Kramerica]

On 6/19/2022 at 8:36 PM, KirbyTown said:

 

Speedcake, you should definitely send in some books, but you're going to get hooked.

 

What other business situation exists where for a 10% cut the absolute market leader will allow me to piggyback on their success while they shoulder all of the work and risk of running a world-class business as I sit around and collect a check every week?

 

Anyone who sells on Bay while MCS exists is just doing it wrong. I'm so outspokenly Team Lone Star because if MCS doesn't exist then I simply stop doing comic books...and I don't want to stop.

I couldn't agree more. I have over 100 books in various stages of BIN or auction right now and I'm very, very happy with everything. You can eat cake or walk the dog or watch Umbrella Academy while MCS takes care of the selling. Mr Cake you'd dig it the most.

[dover]

Both of my last two sales fell through. "buyers" both failed to pay. Time to start public humiliation.

[shadroch]

I have two offers that were accepted that look like they may fall thru.  There is nothing I can do about it, so I just don't count on a book being sold until the buyer actually pays for it.  It's not a perfect system, just the best one I've come across.

[KirbyTown]

On 6/23/2022 at 10:44 AM, dover said:

Both of my last two sales fell through. "buyers" both failed to pay. Time to start public humiliation.

 

On 6/23/2022 at 10:54 AM, shadroch said:

I have two offers that were accepted that look like they may fall thru.  There is nothing I can do about it, so I just don't count on a book being sold until the buyer actually pays for it.  It's not a perfect system, just the best one I've come across.

Are these expensive books and at auction that are being skipped out on?

[shadroch]

On 6/23/2022 at 9:02 AM, KirbyTown said:

 

Are these expensive books and at auction that are being skipped out on?

In my case, one was a $182 offer on a book I was asking $207 on. He offered 167, I countered with $182 and it was accepted June 10th.  The other is a $52 offer on a $60 book.  In both cases, I'm into them for almost nothing.    They may still pay, or the books will be relisted.  Neither was an auction.

If an auction winner doesn't pay, I think MCS offers the option of seeing if the runner-up wants the book, but I'm not sure how it works.  I know a few years ago, I was outbid on a TTA27 and was offered the book when the winner didn't pay.  

I'm not sure what MCS can do about these non-payers besides banning the worst offenders, but even that doesn't get me paid. 

[KirbyTown]

On 6/23/2022 at 11:12 AM, shadroch said:

In my case, one was a $182 offer on a book I was asking $207 on. He offered 167, I countered with $182 and it was accepted June 10th.  The other is a $52 offer on a $60 book.  In both cases, I'm into them for almost nothing.    They may still pay, or the books will be relisted.  Neither was an auction.

If an auction winner doesn't pay, I think MCS offers the option of seeing if the runner-up wants the book, but I'm not sure how it works.  I know a few years ago, I was outbid on a TTA27 and was offered the book when the winner didn't pay.  

I'm not sure what MCS can do about these non-payers besides banning the worst offenders, but even that doesn't get me paid. 

Thanks for the details, that sucks but at least it's only occasionally. Thinking about it now, I guess I just don't consider the money real until the check arrives. Like you've said a lot of us aren't into these comics for much, so it's more of being disappointed at having to deal with the damn book again rather than being late on a house payment or something.

[sckao]

I've had slow payers on Consigned Items but no outright non-payers yet. I usually don't have a lot of money into the actual comics, but I do have the slabbing and consignment fees to consider when considering offers.

[KirbyTown]

On 6/22/2022 at 9:51 PM, Kramerica said:

I couldn't agree more. I have over 100 books in various stages of BIN or auction right now and I'm very, very happy with everything. You can eat cake or walk the dog or watch Umbrella Academy while MCS takes care of the selling. Mr Cake you'd dig it the most.

I always forget to mention these other benefits while I'm fanboying:

1. You essentially get to sell on Bay anyway because MCS puts your listing on Bay anyway!

and...

2. MCS lets you store your entire inventory for free in a secure and insured warehouse!

I've seen a couple of shops there with at least 1,000 slabs, one with 1,500. That's a lot of space you can freed up at home or wherever. And MCS only starts charging rent after 12 or 24 months depending on comic value...and only if you won't first either reduce the price bit by bit or just put it in auction. And you can always just pay the return fee if you really want the book back.

Wow, if you've been overpriced for that long though then maybe you've just...checked out. 😵

Edited June 23, 2022 by KirbyTown

[shadroch]

On 6/23/2022 at 9:17 AM, KirbyTown said:

Thanks for the details, that sucks but at least it's only occasionally. Thinking about it now, I guess I just don't consider the money real until the check arrives. Like you've said a lot of us aren't into these comics for much, so it's more of being disappointed at having to deal with the damn book again rather than being late on a house payment or something.

Until it is marked as paid, it isn't sold.  The good thing is MCS does all the work.

[shadroch]

I try to keep about a hundred books listed. Whenever I get down to 70-80, I send in another couple dozen.  I price aggressively and it is work keeping track of what books need price adjustments.  I lower most prices every thirty days.

[shadroch]

On 6/23/2022 at 9:28 AM, KirbyTown said:

 

2. MCS lets you store your entire inventory for free in a secure and insured warehouse!

I've seen a couple of shops there with at least 1,000 slabs, one with 1,500. That's a lot of space you can freed up at home or wherever. And MCS only starts charging rent after 12 or 24 months depending on comic value...

Wow, if you've been overpriced for that long though then maybe you've just...checked out. 😵

Or you are using them to warehouse your books for you. I'm sure there is some of that in play. 

[KirbyTown]

On 6/23/2022 at 11:36 AM, shadroch said:

Or you are using them to warehouse your books for you. I'm sure there is some of that in play. 

Frightening, even at the minimums

[shadroch]

On 6/23/2022 at 9:12 AM, shadroch said:

In my case, one was a $182 offer on a book I was asking $207 on. He offered 167, I countered with $182 and it was accepted June 10th.  The other is a $52 offer on a $60 book.  In both cases, I'm into them for almost nothing.    They may still pay, or the books will be relisted.  Neither was an auction.

If an auction winner doesn't pay, I think MCS offers the option of seeing if the runner-up wants the book, but I'm not sure how it works.  I know a few years ago, I was outbid on a TTA27 and was offered the book when the winner didn't pay.  

I'm not sure what MCS can do about these non-payers besides banning the worst offenders, but even that doesn't get me paid. 

So my $52 buyer came thru but the other didn't. It was relisted at $182, I was offered $162 and I accepted without making a counter-offer..

[Ryan.]

Really weak hammer prices on my auction items last night. Maybe everyone is on vacation. 

[MetalPSI]

I dunno, I feel I still slightly over paid for some of my drek