Anyone have any luck with Metropolis "Make an Offer"? 3 3

[Kripsys99]

Bought a book via best offer from Metropolis Comics a couple of years back. Had to get my offer pretty darn close to asking to illicit a response. Did not find them to be overly responsive even after I made the purchase - nothing egregious, just not nearly as easy to deal with as other vendors I've used frequently (Reece, Dale Roberts, CL, MCS, etc.). Shipping did take longer than I would have liked, but wasn't an eternity. My experience was that Metropolis was just a decent, middle of the road purveyor of comics. Nothing great, nothing horrible.

[comicstock]

Many years ago they had a Skyman #4 raw graded 8.5.

I called and asked for a discount and they said they'd give free shipping but that was it.

That was fine and i bought the book.

I sent it into CGC and got it back as a 9.0.

I guess that worked out okay...

[AJD]

I had great luck with an offer. They ignored it and then I found the book in higher grade for the same amount on eBay.

[comicjack]

On 1/27/2024 at 11:30 PM, AJD said:

I had great luck with an offer. They ignored it and then I found the book in higher grade for the same amount on eBay.

win win 

[Hudson]

On 1/27/2024 at 6:53 PM, comicjack said:

Never had luck with those 

Thanks, Jack.  
 

Hope you are doing well.   
 

I always refer to you as the guy who has forgotten more about comics than I will ever know.   

[Buzzetta]

Yes.  The last two times I made an offer, one was accepted and one was countered that I accepted.   One was for a a FF Annual 6 and the other for a JIM 103.

[comicjack]

On 1/28/2024 at 8:47 AM, Hudson said:

Thanks, Jack.  
 

Hope you are doing well.   
 

I always refer to you as the guy who has forgotten more about comics than I will ever know.   

Still plugging along hope all is good 

[Telegan]

On 1/27/2024 at 4:02 PM, Courageous Cat said:

I have purchased a few GA raws from them in the past and in my experience they overgrade by at least 1 point if not more but they are generally nice to deal with as far as customer service. Much better options out there

I rarely have the guts to buy any GA raw online because they're often usually overpriced and/or overgraded anyway, but also because I can't see what's going on inside.  You're truly a courageous cat.

[Silver Surfer]

Undisclosed trimming that was blatantly obvious, all four sides. Pretty sure they knew that but neglected to mention it on their listing. Take your chances. 

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

I understand every one’s mileage may vary, but it worked fine for me. Sort of. The owner scoffed at my offer and said “not for all the tea in China”. But CC did their part, and quickly. 
 

as in all things CC, just call Rob and it’ll get done

[Hudson]

On 1/29/2024 at 7:18 AM, GreatCaesarsGhost said:

I understand every one’s mileage may vary, but it worked fine for me. Sort of. The owner scoffed at my offer and said “not for all the tea in China”. But CC did their part, and quickly. 
 

as in all things CC, just call Rob and it’ll get done

Glad this worked out for you.  I will say I have successfully purchased from Metropolis in the past (when I simply paid asking), however, it has been awhile.

All I am looking for is the courtesy of a response to an offer.  I was unaware offers went directly to the sellers (if that is the case) and not to Metropolis.  I figure someone is always free to do as they want with their item and put whatever value they want on it.  Just look at eBay with books that are likely priced at 10 times (or more) what any "sane" person would pay for them.  I still respect the sellers right to list them at any price.  With eBay, there is the option of "make an offer" or the seller can choose to not accept offers (not use the "make an offer" option).  My problem with Metropolis is they say you can "make an offer", they take all your info (including your credit card info), and then I was not even provided a "yes", "No", or "counter".  IMO (which is only the opinion of one person and likely not worth much at all) this is poor customer service.  IF Metropolis does not see the offers, then I can at least understand why there is no response from them.  It would be good to know for sure if this is the case. 

I truly apreciate you providing your insights on the positive experience you had and I am thankful you were able to work it out and obtain the book you wanted.

[Jaylam]

@Hudson Once again, if you don't think you are getting a timely response, call them directly or send an email. One of the few businesses that most of the time an actual person answers the phone (after going through the prompts of course). Just last week I emailed them about an outstanding payment on an auction item they sold for me back in early December. I got a satisfactory detailed response to that email in less than 2 hours.

[Hudson]

On 1/29/2024 at 8:24 AM, Jaylam said:

@Hudson Once again, if you don't think you are getting a timely response, call them directly or send an email. One of the few businesses that most of the time an actual person answers the phone (after going through the prompts of course). Just last week I emailed them about an outstanding payment on an auction item they sold for me back in early December. I got a satisfactory detailed response to that email in less than 2 hours.

Thank you, sir.  As per your suggestion, I just sent them an email.   Hoping for the best. 

[Kramerica]

At the very least I would expect a reply. Good, bad, dismissive, whatever. But at least a reply. Those who ignore this: Why did you set it up in the first place? So you can pick and choose from your altar high above?

I mean, c'mon. This is basic customer service. In the days of online shopping, a lack of response, poor response time, unprofessionalism, slow shipping....all of these things are a huge turn-off. If you're not checking those boxes why even bother to begin with? Bad word gets around and you definitely don't want people dissing you on other Boards for something that is so fixable and expected if you want to succeed. It's even worse when you ignore offers for books under a certain $$$ threshold and respond to those that "are worth your time." Boo.

They should be doing a lot better than this. Or a complete rebuild is needed from the ground up. 

[Jaylam]

We had this discussion at my work a few weeks ago about what we thought were the most important things in running a business both for the customers and the work force and “communication” was consistently at the top of the the responses. Most sited being ignored or lack of a timely response as being big turn-offs in the communication dept. that projects a lack of courtesy along with a disrespect for other people’s time and concerns.

Edited January 29 by Jaylam

[Domo Arigato]

I contacted Metropolis about the concerns that have been mentioned in this thread.

They said the best way to get a reply from them is to offer at least 110 percent of their asking price.

Problem solved ! ! !

 

[Point Five]

Since we're griping about Metro... my biggest pet peeve is the constant, *constant* use of stock photo images for books, even freakin' four- and five-figure books. Sometimes the stock photos are placeholders and the real image is uploaded a few days later, other times not. I sent a boardie a heads-up on a $7K book that was listed back in early November, and just checked back on the listing... today is January 29th and the book *still* has a stock photo.

There's half a dozen books on their site I have at least mild interest in, but it feels wearying to have to chase them for the most basic element of a potential purchase.

 

[mrwoogieman]

On 1/28/2024 at 11:14 PM, Silver Surfer said:

Undisclosed trimming that was blatantly obvious, all four sides. Pretty sure they knew that but neglected to mention it on their listing. Take your chances. 

Yes, that fourth-side trimming is the dead giveaway every time!

[Silver Surfer]

It was a GA book and at the time I didn’t have another book from that run/era to cross reference it. But when I did it stood out like a sore thumb. Was listed as “unrestored”, raw, no mention of trimming. Didn’t want a refund just an explanation as to how it could have possibly have been missed. I didn’t get one just a bunch of excuses. 

[Poka]

Based on experience some years ago - they will not respond unless your offer is within 90% of the requested price.

 

Frank was reasonable to deal with. Not sure if he is still there