Why does mycomicshop take so many ridiculous consignments? 2 2

[Point Five]

4 hours ago, FSF said:

It would be nice if they required the pricing up front and rejected all those that exceeded a certain threshold. 

I hear what you're saying, but I can't fathom how that would work. How would both parties ever agree on what that reasonable cutoff is? They'd have consignors arguing back and forth with them all day long.

 

[FSF]

24 minutes ago, Point Five said:

I hear what you're saying, but I can't fathom how that would work. How would both parties ever agree on what that reasonable cutoff is? They'd have consignors arguing back and forth with them all day long.

 

I would have expected an automatic algorithm that rejects any pricing attempt above a certain % (like maybe 30-50%).  I don't expect them to really to do anything.

 

[boomtown]

I imagine the conversation goes something like this:

MCS: We received your book today and have graded it VG-, average "for sale" price  realized is $26. Would you like us to proceed at that price point?

Customer: Ummm, no. The guide shows my book is worth $120.

MCS: Yes sir, the $120 price is if your book was in NM- condition, yours is VG-.

Customer: Hmmm. Well, I want $120 for it, and since you and ebay are going to charge me about $30 in fees when it sells go ahead and price it at $150. That way I'll get my full $120 price after fees.

MCS: Alrighty then. We will contact you once it sells.

And there is how a book worth about $25 gets listed at $150.

[telerites]

24 minutes ago, boomtown said:

I imagine the conversation goes something like this:

MCS: We received your book today and have graded it VG-, average "for sale" price  realized is $26. Would you like us to proceed at that price point?

Customer: Ummm, no. The guide shows my book is worth $120.

MCS: Yes sir, the $120 price is if your book was in NM- condition, yours is VG-.

Customer: Hmmm. Well, I want $120 for it, and since you and ebay are going to charge me about $30 in fees when it sells go ahead and price it at $150. That way I'll get my full $120 price after fees.

MCS: Alrighty then. We will contact you once it sells.

And there is how a book worth about $25 gets listed at $150.

That is actually pretty close.  Lone Star grades the book for consignment and emails the consignor they can list or put in auction.  If a for sale listing, Lone Star provides recent sales data of similarly graded books and suggests to price the book accordingly.  I don't remember if there is no recent sales data if they provide other sources or not or suggestions. 

With all that, the consignor can set whatever price he/she wishes.  

The process is simple for the consignor - all data is available, unfortunately the consignor sometimes thinks their book worth more and sets a ridiculous price.  Lone Star did some time back add a disclaimer on the Ebay listing that says (sorry for the small image - I pulled it from one their Ebay listings)  BTW, the book will be cheaper on their site:

 

I haven't consigned in some time so this could have changed and I only did so a few times.

Edited February 11, 2018 by telerites

[roach04]

@FSF - yeah guy you've lost me.  Sounds like you're bothered by how folks are pricing their books.  What exactly is it you'd like Lone Star to do?  Refuse consignments?  Mandate pricing?  You can write an email to every retailer and auction house that does business with an issue on how something is priced and in this case, Lone Star doesn't set the prices!

I've got a ton of great books from them, all very well priced, so I'm good,  If a book that's been consigned has a seller-initiated asking price that's more than I'd pay, I don't buy it, end of story.

[FSF]

11 minutes ago, roach04 said:

@FSF - yeah guy you've lost me.  Sounds like you're bothered by how folks are pricing their books.  What exactly is it you'd like Lone Star to do?  Refuse consignments?  Mandate pricing?  You can write an email to every retailer and auction house that does business with an issue on how something is priced and in this case, Lone Star doesn't set the prices!

I've got a ton of great books from them, all very well priced, so I'm good,  If a book that's been consigned has a seller-initiated asking price that's more than I'd pay, I don't buy it, end of story.

Personally, I don't really care what they do.  I just don't see the point in having a consignment program where the vast majority of the material is egregiously overpriced.  I'm not saying there aren't some reasonably priced material to be had, but I am saying it's not really worth the bother for as little of it (on a % basis) that exists.  Here's an idea, take only auction consignments and actually SELL the items being consingned and let the market dictate what it's worth.  They seem to get better pricing than eBay anyway for less fees and work involved for the owner. 

[jharvey]

I bought a raw X-Men #11 FN- 5.5 from MyComicShop, got it CGC graded, and it came back as CGC 7.5

[roach04]

2 minutes ago, FSF said:

Personally, I don't really care what they do.  I just don't see the point in having a consignment program where the vast majority of the material is egregiously overpriced.  I'm not saying there aren't some reasonably priced material to be had, but I am saying it's not really worth the bother for as little of it (on a % basis) that exists.  Here's an idea, take only auction consignments and actually SELL the items being consingned and let the market dictate what it's worth.  They seem to get better pricing than eBay anyway for less fees and work involved for the owner. 

Fair enough.  I have often wondered how difficult it would be for their site to support the "Best Offer" functionality for some of those consignments.  But as stated by others, they do an insane amount of business on their own inventory so the consignment sales may just be a "nice to have" feature that they've implemented.

[NoMan]

I got into comics after a long absence. I was very excited and had more money than brains. I was the sucker that all these high price consigners and over-priced over graded books hangen' on the LCS wall were waiting for.

It's all my fault and I'd like to apologize. 

[roach04]

10 minutes ago, jharvey said:

I bought a raw X-Men #11 FN- 5.5 from MyComicShop, got it CGC graded, and it came back as CGC 7.5

Nice!  I actually have  a Batman #234 that they'd graded a 7.0 - came back an 8.5 from CGC!  

Edited February 12, 2018 by roach04

[FSF]

13 minutes ago, NoMan said:

I got into comics after a long absence. I was very excited and had more money than brains. I was the sucker that all these high price consigners and over-priced over graded books hangen' on the LCS wall were waiting for.

It's all my fault and I'd like to apologize. 

I can't tell whether you're being facetious or not.  But that is another major problem I have with their consignment program.  Whether you actually are a sucker or not, I abhor the idea of them putting themselves out there for others to utilize to try and sucker in the unknowing or some newbies, who are then left with a bad taste.   I'm pretty sure that if those same anonymous sellers came on these boards and tried to hock the same material at HALF the overpricing that goes on at mycomicshop, there would be numerous board members here eviscerating such hypothetical sellers.

Edited February 12, 2018 by FSF
typos

[NoMan]

4 minutes ago, FSF said:

I can't tell whether you being facetious or not.  But that is another major problem I have with their consignment program.  Whether you actually a sucker or not, I abhor idea of them putting themselves out there for others to utilize to try and sucker in the unknowing or some newbies, who are then left with a bad taste.   I'm pretty sure that if those same anonymous came on these boards and tried to hock the same material at HALF the overpricing that goes on at mycomicshop, there would be numerous board members here eviscerating such hypothetical sellers.

I'm serious about everything but the public apology. 

Several comic shops around the country and online sellers that I've spent money with have left a bad taste in my mouth for the reasons you state. I still spend money in this hobby, but not with them. Seems massively short sighted to rip off an enthusiastic newbie. 

Edited February 12, 2018 by NoMan

[newshane]

I'm not sure why the consignments are a problem.

MCS does not set the price on consignment items. That's done by the seller.

Are you going to hold eBay accountable for the prices people set on items?

Surely not.

At the end of the day, as stated previously in this thread, it's up to the shopper to investigate the true market value of an item. I don't get the hate here.

[Tony S]

I understand the perspective of the OP's post.  MCS isn't alone here. ComicLink and their Exchange are the same way. These businesses allowing people to list comics for sale at prices they will never get is certainly a waste of customer's time searching listings. IMHO some "sellers" are not at all and they just like seeing their books on the websites. It's a free display. Or maybe their spouses are nagging them to get rid of some comic books . "Look -I have it listed for sale".    One would think it a waste of MCS or CL's time and server storage.

But perhaps it is not. MAYBE MCS and CL benefit from what appears to be a much larger number of items for sale. 

I just don't bother with the Exchange/Buy Sell sections much. I buy from both places. I sell with both places. In their auctions. The nice thing about MCS auctions is you still get their strict grading but closer to market prices. I say closer because lots of buyers assume books to be undergraded and bid accordingly.  If you are a seller that wants to move better books, this can also work out well for you. With the prices so inflated by most, if you price a better book at FMV it will oftentimes sell quickly 

[TheFifthHorseman]

25 minutes ago, newshane said:

I'm not sure why the consignments are a problem.

MCS does not set the price on consignment items. That's done by the seller.

Are you going to hold eBay accountable for the prices people set on items?

Surely not.

At the end of the day, as stated previously in this thread, it's up to the shopper to investigate the true market value of an item. I don't get the hate here.

Agree 100%. Quality post

[the blob]

I am going to assume mcs sells enough consignment books to justify the substantial resources they no doubt put into this service. What you are seeing, I assume, is the overpriced stuff that does not sell.

[TheFifthHorseman]

P.S. I Love MCS

[MadripoorNights]

They have a feedback form where you can enter comments when you place an order.  I've suggested on there that they add the ability to submit offers on consigned books to the sellers, specifically because some are priced so high.  If you want another option try suggesting they add that capability.  If enough people ask maybe they'll implement it and we could have a method to negotiate with consignors.

[Point Five]

3 minutes ago, the blob said:

What you are seeing, I assume, is the overpriced stuff that does not sell.

Very true. The choice stuff gets BIN'd instantly. As a random example, last year someone put up most of a run of Venus (rare, esoteric GGA title) on MCS at a fraction of its worth, and the whole thing was gone in minutes. Consignors don't always know all the microtrends in pricing that dealers and boardies do.

[FSF]

12 minutes ago, TheFifthHorseman said:

P.S. I Love MCS

I'm quite fond of them myself which is why I'm so surprised that they would want to associated themselves so directly with such rampant overpricing on material that isn't their's.