Phicks Posted October 2, 2023 Share Posted October 2, 2023 Has anyone else had recent problems with Metropolis/Comic Connect? I won two books in late August on Comic Connect auctions. I live in Canada, so to make the shipping worth it I bought four more books from Metropolis. I did not see any way to link the two purchases into one package for shipping, so I called their phone number, and spoke to a very helpful staffer who agreed to ship the 6 books together, and charge to my credit card on file. It usually takes about two weeks to get a package from the US. After four weeks, I had received nothing, so I called them last Wednesday morning. After a lengthy period on hold, the again helpful staffer apologized and said something had gone very wrong with my order. One or more of the books I ordered could not be found, and potentially had been sold/sent to someone else. But rather than do anything about it, they just parked my order and there it sat until I called. The staffer asked for more time to figure out what was wrong, and promised to call me back by the end of the day. She didn’t. Nor did she call the next day. I called again Friday, got the answering machine, and left a message. No response. I called today, spoke to the same staffer who again apologized, said other people have not gotten back to her. She again asked for the remainder of the day to shake people down. I agreed on the strict condition that she call me back with an update by the end of the day, and she promised to do so, asking if she could leave a message if I did not pick up, and I said that was fine. I also said at this point, I’m ok with just cancelling this order if they will refund my credit card. The work day in New York City, where Metropolis is located, ended an hour ago. No response to me. So at this point I am wondering if anyone else has had recent or current problems with them? And you might want to stay off Comic Connect until they figure this out. I will of course update everyone if there are further developments. mr_highgrade, Point Five, justafan and 4 others 2 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justafan Posted October 2, 2023 Share Posted October 2, 2023 Sorry to hear that. I would think that since they admitted fault the least they could do would be to refund you the cost of books that they can't locate and ship the ones they do have for free to make up for it and give you a discount on a future purchase. Haven't bought from them in a few years but never had an issue like this. I'm in the U.S.tho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyDeath Posted October 2, 2023 Share Posted October 2, 2023 I just bought a book from them yesterday for the first time. Afterwards it said, "shipping your orders can take up to 3 weeks to ship out of our facility." Seeing that left a sour taste in my mouth. I'm in NY though so hopefully don't run into the same problems you've faced. That sounds like a nightmare scenario. I really hope it gets squared away for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAUMONTS Posted October 3, 2023 Share Posted October 3, 2023 This any many other reasons are why people don't buy from Metropolis. Hopefully you purchased cgc graded comics or you might have a second issue with there famous raw grading. Kind of a "good enough gang" mentality. I sincerely hope you are able to get this rectified. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phicks Posted October 3, 2023 Author Share Posted October 3, 2023 On 10/2/2023 at 8:12 PM, BEAUMONTS said: This any many other reasons are why people don't buy from Metropolis. Hopefully you purchased cgc graded comics or you might have a second issue with there famous raw grading. Kind of a "good enough gang" mentality. I sincerely hope you are able to get this rectified. I have bought raw books twice before from Metropolis, and had no disagreement on grades (8.5), and no problems with books not shipping punctually. ttfitz and jimjum12 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattTheDuck Posted October 3, 2023 Share Posted October 3, 2023 I've had an order at another big on-line dealer turn out to be a book they couldn't find and thought was stolen, but I received immediate notification. I've also had an auction win and added a non-auction book to the order and had no problem with getting them shipped together - but again, not Metropolis. Hopefully, they'll be able to resolve this quickly. Thank you for allowing a reasonable period of time to pass before inquiring and posting here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MatterEaterLad Posted October 3, 2023 Share Posted October 3, 2023 I haven't had problems, but I am waiting for books from the same auction. (I'm in the US). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Point Five Posted October 3, 2023 Share Posted October 3, 2023 I placed an order for a bunch of books with them in the spring, and it took a little over a month to receive them (I'm in the NYC area just like they are, so the postal system had nothing to do with it). Seemed like the books I was buying were consigned and it took several weeks for them to receive them; communication wasn't great and it felt like I did have to chase them a bit. Just like you're describing, not the worst transaction ever but pokey enough to be annoying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pemart1966 Posted October 3, 2023 Share Posted October 3, 2023 (edited) On 10/2/2023 at 10:05 PM, Point Five said: I placed an order for a bunch of books with them in the spring, and it took a little over a month to receive them (I'm in the NYC area just like they are, so the postal system had nothing to do with it). Seemed like the books I was buying were consigned and it took several weeks for them to receive them; communication wasn't great and it felt like I did have to chase them a bit. Just like you're describing, not the worst transaction ever but pokey enough to be annoying. But let me guess - you had to pay immediately. Something radically wrong with their business model... Edited October 3, 2023 by pemart1966 crazyhips and Larryw7 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phicks Posted October 3, 2023 Author Share Posted October 3, 2023 On 10/2/2023 at 9:02 PM, MattTheDuck said: I've had an order at another big on-line dealer turn out to be a book they couldn't find and thought was stolen, but I received immediate notification. I've also had an auction win and added a non-auction book to the order and had no problem with getting them shipped together - but again, not Metropolis. Hopefully, they'll be able to resolve this quickly. Thank you for allowing a reasonable period of time to pass before inquiring and posting here. So please tell me who this good vendor is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattTheDuck Posted October 3, 2023 Share Posted October 3, 2023 On 10/2/2023 at 7:21 PM, Phicks said: So please tell me who this good vendor is! #1 is Reece's Rare Comics, #2 is ComicLink jimjum12 and crazyhips 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southern cross Posted October 3, 2023 Share Posted October 3, 2023 I think mcs having in possession consignment books is the way to go. Logistically it would probably be a nightmare storing other people's books for sale. Bright side is they have the books so there is no trying to get the consignee to send books that have been bought online and then the online business sending the books to the buyer. There could be damage or missing or delays from having this other step. And what happens if the owner of the book is away on a month vacation cruise or even longer? jimjum12 and crazyhips 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phicks Posted October 5, 2023 Author Share Posted October 5, 2023 UPDATE: I called Metropolis back this week, and was told they had left a message on my phone. My phone showed a call from their number, but no message was left. But I took them at their word. They still cannot find all the comics in my order, so as I had offered, they will simply cancel the entire order and issue a refund via Mastercard. If I don’t actually see that refund, I will let everyone know. They apologized again, and said if the comics ever show up I will be given the chance to purchase them at the previously prices (I won’t). They also said I will get free shipping if I decide to order from them again. That does not seem likely at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmarty009 Posted May 4 Share Posted May 4 On 10/2/2023 at 6:54 PM, LadyDeath said: I just bought a book from them yesterday for the first time. Afterwards it said, "shipping your orders can take up to 3 weeks to ship out of our facility." Seeing that left a sour taste in my mouth. I'm in NY though so hopefully don't run into the same problems you've faced. That sounds like a nightmare scenario. I really hope it gets squared away for you. Oh man…. I just bought there a few weeks ago and I’m encroaching on 3 weeks and no shipment yet. I cannot believe it takes that long. I’ll probably never buy there again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyDeath Posted May 4 Share Posted May 4 On 5/4/2024 at 7:34 AM, kmarty009 said: Oh man…. I just bought there a few weeks ago and I’m encroaching on 3 weeks and no shipment yet. I cannot believe it takes that long. I’ll probably never buy there again. Yeah, that was the only time for me. I ended up getting that book in the middle of November. Terrible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post october Posted May 5 Popular Post Share Posted May 5 (edited) Both sides of their business kind of suck and there's plenty of other dealers/auction houses out there. Edited May 5 by october Dick Pontoon, Silver Surfer, buttock and 2 others 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Point Five Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 On 5/4/2024 at 7:34 AM, kmarty009 said: Oh man…. I just bought there a few weeks ago and I’m encroaching on 3 weeks and no shipment yet. I cannot believe it takes that long. I’ll probably never buy there again. I hear you. I bought a book from them April 21, paid their separately-invoiced shipping charge the next morning and no movement since then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Telegan Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 An order from around last December took about 5 weeks to get to me. Outside of that, they've been "ok". But I've only used them about 3 times now and they've been extremely quick in fixing an error on an auction for me. So, I guess I can't complain too much. Point Five 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Point Five Posted May 24 Popular Post Share Posted May 24 On 5/7/2024 at 5:05 PM, Point Five said: I hear you. I bought a book from them April 21, paid their separately-invoiced shipping charge the next morning and no movement since then. So I received my book from Metropolis in mid-May and I was disappointed the second I laid eyes on it. (To be somewhat fair to them, I bought it without seeing a scan... while I'm annoyed that they list books without scans, that's on me.) I considered letting it go as it wasn't an expensive purchase and similar interactions with them in years past were discouraging, but I decided to email, explain the problem and request a refund. To my surprise, an hour later I received a friendly email from one of their staff assisting me with a return. Like, I've dealt with Metro on and off since the late '90s, and it might literally be the nicest communication I've ever had with them. I returned the book, and a week later -- without being chased or reminded -- they sent refunds of the original purchase price and the shipping cost. I don't doubt Metro has problems and there are certainly things they still need to improve. But at least from this one transaction, they are clearly making a noticeable attempt to improve their customer service and I wanted to acknowledge that. Jon october, ttfitz, Dark Knight and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Changer Posted May 24 Share Posted May 24 I always get my books from their auctions , but so very slow... Artifiction and Point Five 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
