Is This OK or Not OK? 1 1

[electricprune]

I was recently looking at a dealer’s website. I have purchased from the site before and everything was fine. Several books have front cover scans, but many don’t. I requested a scan for a book I was interested in, and it was emailed to me and posted to the site a few days later.

I liked how it looked and decided to order it. When I went back to the site a few days later, the price was 11% higher. This isn’t a hot book that was underpriced. I doubt there would have been some sort of price check had I not requested a scan.

Obviously, the business and pricing can be set in many different ways by the owner. I don’t think there was any force majeure here to validate the sudden price increase though.
 

What do you think? Would you still have ordered the book and others you wanted from the site?

[Jesse-Lee]

On 5/25/2024 at 9:30 AM, electricprune said:

I was recently looking at a dealer’s website. I have purchased from the site before and everything was fine. Several books have front cover scans, but many don’t. I requested a scan for a book I was interested in, and it was emailed to me and posted to the site a few days later.

I liked how it looked and decided to order it. When I went back to the site a few days later, the price was 11% higher. This isn’t a hot book that was underpriced. I doubt there would have been some sort of price check had I not requested a scan.

Obviously, the business and pricing can be set in many different ways by the owner. I don’t think there was any force majeure here to validate the sudden price increase though.
 

What do you think? Would you still have ordered the book and others you wanted from the site?

Without knowing anything aside from the info you laid out here, I personally would pass - unless it was a book I really wanted, couldn't find elsewhere, and the price was still fair even after the increase. But even with all that it'd be a tough sell for me. It feels akin to shop dealers who wait until you're ready to buy and then say they have to look up the prices on eBay.

One thing you might consider, if you really want the book still, is to remind them of the price when you made the initial inquiry for the back cover scan and ask if they'll honor it. If they won't, then I'd almost certainly look elsewhere.

[shadroch]

Wait until you get the 15% coupon; he will email you. It seems sleazy, but it's hard to be certain based on your limited knowledge.  I think I'd shop elsewhere.

[JollyComics]

I remembered what Stephan of Worldwide Comics said that he didn't know some books were so hot and were sold cheaper than what it was supposed to be.  He missed the chances to make the profits so he has to increase the prices on the books in case.

The dealers may think that book may be hot so they didn't want to miss the chance.  I think you just triggered the dealers.  I can't say if it's ok or not.

[Stefan_W]

My two cents as someone who sells comics once in a while. If someone contacts me about a book the price is locked. If that person does not give me a reply, and I went through the trouble to do extra scans, it is fair game to raise the price if I discover it was priced too low. Basic idea is that sellers can do whatever they want prior to commitment to buy, but that does not mean you have to buy it at the higher price. 

[Jesse-Lee]

On 5/25/2024 at 9:37 AM, JollyComics said:

I remembered what Stephan of Worldwide Comics said that he didn't know some books were so hot and were sold cheaper than what it was supposed to be.  He missed the chances to make the profits so he has to increase the prices on the books in case.

The dealers may think that book may be hot so they didn't want to miss the chance.  I think you just triggered the dealers.  I can't say if it's ok or not.

I do have a certain amount of sympathy for dealers, and especially shop owners - they have overhead, they're still fighting the good fight in a digital age, etc. And it's tough for anyone to keep up on the changing market across thousands (or tens- to hundreds-of-thousands) of books. On the other hand, if a dealer set a price in the first place, the assumption would be that they had enough profit margin to charge that price. True, if a book goes from a $20 book to a $100 book overnight and they don't realize it, they're losing potential profit. But they obviously had enough margin to make money if they sold it at $20.

I won't shop in LCSs that check the price at the register, and even more so if they have prices already listed and "re-check." I'm not their employee who is tasked with showing them what the "hot" books are; if I find a deal on a book based on my knowledge of the subject material, I shouldn't be penalized for it because they feel they're missing out. If I get overzealous and buy a book they have priced at $100 and find out it's really only a $50 book, I can't go back and ask for a refund because I feel like I overpaid...

[electricprune]

On 5/25/2024 at 10:37 AM, JollyComics said:

I remembered what Stephan of Worldwide Comics said that he didn't know some books were so hot and were sold cheaper than what it was supposed to be.  He missed the chances to make the profits so he has to increase the prices on the books in case.

The dealers may think that book may be hot so they didn't want to miss the chance.  I think you just triggered the dealers.  I can't say if it's ok or not.

This book has pretty much a 0% chance of ever getting hot. This dealer is experienced enough to know that. No movie bumps here.

[Cat]

On 5/26/2024 at 12:53 AM, electricprune said:

This book has pretty much a 0% chance of ever getting hot. This dealer is experienced enough to know that. No movie bumps here.

Which issue of NFL Superpro is it? 

[JollyComics]

On 5/25/2024 at 9:53 AM, electricprune said:

This book has pretty much a 0% chance of ever getting hot. This dealer is experienced enough to know that. No movie bumps here.

I agreed with you.  The dealer must be desperate.  It's indeed NOT OK.

[Funnybooks]

On 5/25/2024 at 10:30 AM, electricprune said:

I was recently looking at a dealer’s website. I have purchased from the site before and everything was fine. Several books have front cover scans, but many don’t. I requested a scan for a book I was interested in, and it was emailed to me and posted to the site a few days later.

I liked how it looked and decided to order it. When I went back to the site a few days later, the price was 11% higher. This isn’t a hot book that was underpriced. I doubt there would have been some sort of price check had I not requested a scan.

Obviously, the business and pricing can be set in many different ways by the owner. I don’t think there was any force majeure here to validate the sudden price increase though.
 

What do you think? Would you still have ordered the book and others you wanted from the site?

If you did not commit to a purchase within 24 hours or so, i believe the dealer has the right to reprice the book without prejudice unless there was an agreed upon timeframe to which you had to consider the purchase ahead of time.

[Gaard]

Richard move.

[Jesse-Lee]

On 5/25/2024 at 10:51 AM, Funnybooks said:

If you did not commit to a purchase within 24 hours or so, i believe the dealer has the right to reprice the book without prejudice unless there was an agreed upon timeframe to which you had to consider the purchase ahead of time.

I don't disagree with this, but if I were the dealer I'd also honor the original price if the person originally asking about the book came back in a reasonable timeframe (within a week or so). I'd rather gain a customer than an 11% bump on a single book.

[jimjum12]

On 5/25/2024 at 12:12 PM, Jesse-Lee said:

I don't disagree with this, but if I were the dealer I'd also honor the original price if the person originally asking about the book came back in a reasonable timeframe (within a week or so). I'd rather gain a customer than an 11% bump on a single book.

THIS.

...would be OK. 

The dealer may have found it to be nicer than he realized upon closer inspection. Stand up and communicate if you truly want the book. GOD BLESS ...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[electricprune]

On 5/25/2024 at 11:11 AM, Cat said:

Which issue of NFL Superpro is it? 

#8 

It’s the last one I need in high grade.

[KPR Comics]

Total Richard move.  It happened to me about 10 years ago. I never visited his website again nor did I ever stop by his booth or click on his sale threads after that.  

[Funnybooks]

On 5/25/2024 at 12:12 PM, Jesse-Lee said:

I don't disagree with this, but if I were the dealer I'd also honor the original price if the person originally asking about the book came back in a reasonable timeframe (within a week or so). I'd rather gain a customer than an 11% bump on a single book.

not unfair, but where do you draw the line?

What if it was 2 weeks? i think it get's slippery assigning an arbitrary amount of time that it would be acceptable. I do agree that the best business move would be to work with the buyer and gain a customer for life than to gain on the short term.

[Darwination]

I visited a comic shop in my travels recently.  Ask for pulp (get a dumb look) ask for gold (wut?). Do you have any ten centers??  Sure they're in this box back here.  No prices.   But at least there's a box of gold!  Pulled a stack. Got quoted pretty high prices on most, picked up a couple out of politeness.

HATE unpriced comics.  Pretty common, though. 

Come back a month later on other travels considering picking one I'd left behind up.  They're all on the back wall, priced and marked up a good 30 or 40%.

Glad I could identify your hot books, buddy

I didn't buy or spend much time in the store on that visit

In general, reassessing your books given the opportunity? OK.  Targeting a specific buyer cuz you know they want the book? Not OK.

 

Edited May 25 by Darwination

[Jesse-Lee]

On 5/25/2024 at 11:36 AM, electricprune said:

#8 

It’s the last one I need in high grade.

Hey, you're in luck! I have a high grade copy of that. I'm asking $10, but if you give me $11.10, it's all yours!

[jimjum12]

On 5/25/2024 at 1:02 PM, Jesse-Lee said:

Hey, you're in luck! I have a high grade copy of that. I'm asking $10, but if you give me $11.10, it's all yours!

PLUS $30 FOR SHIPPING.

[electricprune]

On 5/25/2024 at 1:08 PM, jimjum12 said:

PLUS $30 FOR SHIPPING.

Oh, no joke here. There was also a stated shipping cost on the online preset form. It didn’t give a maximum number of books for that stated cost. The cost I was given was almost twice the posted cost on the site.