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Post by DubipR on May 27, 2021 10:15:31 GMT -5
I've never bought from Mile High, either in physical or online form. I used to get the email letters but I just glance at them. The stuff I was looking for at the time (undergrounds), I would put my name in holding when they would arrive; but other eBay sellers made it easier for me to grab what I was looking for. While I appreciate all the Chuck does for comics and his communities, I never cared for how his 90s era looking website (invest in infrastructure before expanding) as it feels like he doesn't care about his work. If you can't update a little bit with the times, you're falling behind and hence the whining asking for orders.
As much as I loathe the politics of Lone Star, the selection is better.
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Post by The Captain on May 27, 2021 13:31:34 GMT -5
Never bought anything from Mile High, but it sounds like it wouldn't be my kind of scene, as I hate overpaying for anything.
Almost visited them the one time I was in the Denver area, but I got stuck in traffic on my way there and had to bail on the trip in order to get to the airport on time for my flight back to Pittsburgh.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on May 27, 2021 20:06:01 GMT -5
More than anything, I'm continually bothered by just how often Chuck gloats over the Edgar Church purchase. I realize Church's family needed the money, and comics weren't worth much back then, but as Chuck built his empire and personal wealth upon that purchase, it sure seems he could do better by that family in hindsight instead of boasting about getting such a steal from them. Clearly, he benefited far more than they did. A deal's a deal, but with something this historic, this fundamental to his personal fame and success, and with a grieving family at the heart of it all, it sure seems like Chuck could do better by them.
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Post by Ozymandias on May 28, 2021 0:04:13 GMT -5
That's the dissociative disorder every successful business man who donates shows. They're lambs when doing charity but sharks when doing business.
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on May 28, 2021 13:34:48 GMT -5
Wow, the more people post comments and the more I learn about the man the more happy I am I haven't given him any of my money. And I am usually able to compartmentalize the seller from the product/service.
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Post by Ozymandias on Jun 1, 2021 0:13:54 GMT -5
One thing looks for sure, more and more people are on to them. the last discount sale started on May 10th, "a week earlier than originally planned" and it has just been "extended". This is a 50% discount we're talking about, which is what they usually had at the top of the scale. It doesn't seem to be causing much of a backlog this time.
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Post by Paste Pot Paul on Jun 1, 2021 4:46:21 GMT -5
So what decent alternatives are there to Mile High or mycomicshop. Mile High was the first I ever dealt with, but it looks like the website hasnt moved on in 20 years, and Ive struggled to find stuff I like at mycomicshop(this is Lone Star isnt it?). Finding those that will ship down under can narrow the field.
Paul
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Post by Randle-El on Jun 1, 2021 14:58:27 GMT -5
Mile High was the first I ever dealt with, but it looks like the website hasnt moved on in 20 years, and Ive struggled to find stuff I like at mycomicshop(this is Lone Star isnt it?). Paul
I think mycomicshop officially separated from Lone Star Comics as a business a few years back. IIRC, Buddy Saunders sold their physical stores to a bunch of separate buyers (mostly former employees, I believe) and went all-in on the online store.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 2, 2021 6:41:17 GMT -5
One thing looks for sure, more and more people are on to them. the last discount sale started on May 10th, "a week earlier than originally planned" and it has just been "extended". This is a 50% discount we're talking about, which is what they usually had at the top of the scale. It doesn't seem to be causing much of a backlog this time. 60% is their top tier, so if Chuck hasn't gone there yet, they aren't really hurting for sales.
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shaxper
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Posts: 22,333
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Post by shaxper on Jun 2, 2021 6:44:57 GMT -5
So what decent alternatives are there to Mile High or mycomicshop. Mile High was the first I ever dealt with, but it looks like the website hasnt moved on in 20 years, and Ive struggled to find stuff I like at mycomicshop(this is Lone Star isnt it?). Finding those that will ship down under can narrow the field. Paul There's always third person marketplaces like ebay and comiclink, physical comic shops, and shows. As for an alternative direct online comic seller, Comicvender existed for a short while, but it seems like everyone (myself included) had terrible experiences with them, and now they don't appear to be online anymore.
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Post by Ozymandias on Jun 2, 2021 10:02:42 GMT -5
One thing looks for sure, more and more people are on to them. the last discount sale started on May 10th, "a week earlier than originally planned" and it has just been "extended". This is a 50% discount we're talking about, which is what they usually had at the top of the scale. It doesn't seem to be causing much of a backlog this time. 60% is their top tier, so if Chuck hasn't gone there yet, they aren't really hurting for sales. Before COVID, the highest I'd ever seen was 50%, but I wasn't checking all the time, so I you've seen 60% before that point, noted. During the confinement, they reached 65%, which was when he really needed the cash, and this generated a backlog of several weeks, so he had to stop it to avoid bad (worse) service perception. If he has a prolonged 50% sale, I'm guessing he needs cash, although it's probably just for further buying, not to pay salaries. And if it were really working, the backlog would've prevented the time extension of the sale. Edit: they just extended it again for the whole month.
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Post by Ozymandias on Jun 5, 2021 3:39:41 GMT -5
More than anything, I'm continually bothered by just how often Chuck gloats over the Edgar Church purchase. I realize Church's family needed the money, and comics weren't worth much back then, but as Chuck built his empire and personal wealth upon that purchase, it sure seems he could do better by that family in hindsight instead of boasting about getting such a steal from them. Clearly, he benefited far more than they did. A deal's a deal, but with something this historic, this fundamental to his personal fame and success, and with a grieving family at the heart of it all, it sure seems like Chuck could do better by them. If we are to believe the quote below (from his latest newsletter), I'm guessing he doesn't gloat anymore:
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Post by SJNeal on Jun 10, 2021 18:12:18 GMT -5
I resigned myself long ago to the fact that one of these circumstances is what will finally lead to me *truly* do something with my collection (besides hoard it and hope for my hours in the day to read).
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2021 20:42:59 GMT -5
I see those old large Mile High Comics ads in my vintage comics, and the comics I should have bought back then for those prices! Not that I didn't collect a fair amount back in the day, but those ads are still a reminder of how affordable the hobby was "relatively speaking".
I never did buy from Mile High back then (plenty of supply from local shops and conventions when I was a kid), but after trying a few online orders with them in the 90's and the realization that the pricing was on the high side, plus a botched order, I tended to stay away.
Funny enough I just gave them another chance about a month or two back. Oddly enough they had a somewhat scarce item (Secret Wars II TPB) for, believe it or not, a really good price (I was quite shocked) and I decided to give it a shot. I threw a few other items in to make the shipping worth it, and while my TPB came fine, there was an FF trade I had also ordered and they sent me the wrong one. Mistakes can happen, but not a great impression when you are trying to give a place another chance.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2021 22:35:17 GMT -5
When I was still in single digits I used to look at Mile High comics ads and know something was wrong with their prices....they'd have Web of Spidey books listed for $15 each, and East Coast Comics would run a competing ad and have the same books for $1. So I got my parents to order from Clyde instead. I got my first big box of comics in the post when I was 9.
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