One of our top priorities at COMC is to get to know and really understand our customers. Needless to say, we were thrilled to attend Mosaiq’s talk at The Industry Summit about the results of their 2013 Trading Card Consumer Survey. We were happy to hear COMC was represented in the survey and were fortunate to learn how trading card consumers see us and what they expect from their experience with us.
When asked about COMC, consumers most closely associated us with the following phrases:
- “Provides opportunity to chase specific players or cards”
- “Is exciting”
- “Good selection of products”
- “Knowledgeable about products and the industry”
We are grateful for this feedback and are honored that you see us this way! We found it particularly interesting that you associate us with an opportunity to chase specific players or cards and thought a bit more why that is. It is true, our platform allows what no one else does:
- An enormous selection of items courtesy of our consigners. With over 6 million items and growing, you have a good chance of finding cards of your favorite player or from that set you’re building.
- A one-of-a-kind system that allows you to buy now and ship later! Where else can you purchase just the one card you need without having to find a number of other cards just to meet a shipping quota? Instead, you can buy the cards you want, when you want, and have them shipped together at a later time for one flat rate.
- Standardized listings and tiered organization which allow you to easily drill down into sets and explore.
- Of course, high resolution front and back scans of every single item, so the card you see is the card you get.
Let’s be honest, this is pretty exciting. In order to make sure everyone understands just how different we are, we created an ad that will appear in several magazines, as well as on the web.
With this in mind, we’re giving you a preview of our newest ad (CLICK TO ENLARGE):
How about you? Do you feel the same about COMC as those who took the Mosaiq survey? What is it about COMC that makes it a great place for player collecting and set building for you? Did we miss something with our ad?
We also want your input on where our future ads should go. What magazines, forums or blogs do you read, and where else can we tell people about COMC.com? For years, we’ve relied primarily on “word of mouth”, as our customers told their friends about us and encouraged them to become new customers. And, for that, we’re thankful. Now, as we grow, we know our voice has to grow, too.
Please leave your comments below, and as always, keep up with us on this blog, Facebook, Twitter, and our new Google+ page.
I think of crossover opportunities. That can mean advertising in Sports Illustrated the issue after the Super Bowl ends. It can mean advertising in the Super Bowl program they sell at the game. In terms of value, it can mean advertising at minor league games because of all the prospect cards on the site.
I collect Titus Young and Kaepernick cards because I was at that Boise St./Nevada game in Reno a couple years ago. Those players’ cards remind me of that game. The way you get the casual collector is to figure out how to attach a trading card to an existing fond memory. (And frankly the casual collector is my favorite kind.)
Thanks, Joel! Great feedback.
Great opportunity here! If anyone has a chance to take over sports cards sales from the Broken Bay, it’s COMC & I’d like to see that happen ASAP. The Broken Bay never had a clue what our hobby was about and should have hired a few hobby experts years ago, then the Bay wouldn’t have gotten so broken. They are so broken that they can NEVER be fixed now so the timing could not be better for COMC to take ALL of the bay’s sports card buyers & show them how they should be treated as collectors!
I hope COMC takes it over!
Hello James,
Our primary mission is to help make the online sale and purchase of collectibles a safe and enjoyable experience. We have heard quite a few things about other venues for the sale of these items, and that is why we want to start getting the word out now.
If you happen to have any suggestions about how we can better reach out to those who are seeking a better way to collect online, we are happy to hear your ideas. We look forward to bringing a value to our customers past and future that is unparallelled in the industry.
Regards,
Mark M.
Just wanna post and say thank you for all the great work you do with the site, it seems like you really appreciate the hobby and it really helps to have a company with good company service for once.
I guess the only suggestion I would have is to include an option on the inventory screen for cosigners to sort by which would specify which would be like recently modified, but expanded to include any of that card updated by any seller, (i.e. a different seller lowers the price on a card you also are selling).
After being on the Beckett Marketplace 2 times over a 10 year period and finally walking away over a year ago in favor of COMC due to years of failed site repairs and broken promises, being a part of COMC has been one of the better choices we have made as a business. While COMC will never be a home to many of the 400,000 under $1 cards we had listed on Beckett it certainly is a good home for some of our better material. The site stability, kept promises, professional and friendly customer service have brought even Becketts strongest backers here. COMC is the rockstar of the hobby right now. I hope that a realistic fee structure will be kept and continued innovations will bring more and more buyers and sellers to this site. For us it has certainly allowed us to focus on our coin, stamp, comic and antiques business that we do locally because COMC handles most aspects of these card transactions.
Hello TripleAvintage Sportscards,
We are glad to hear that we have been of service to you and your business. I can assure you that there are a number of innovations we are planning to launch that we hope will be of great value to both business owners and collectors alike. Stay tuned to our blog, and be sure to let us know what you think over the next couple of months!
In my opinion, I think its great what COMC offers to me as a buyer:
1. Football Cards to complete my Sets or add to my Personal Collections
2. Great Shipping prices and can ship now or later
3. Only Site that you can buy from multiple different sellers and combine the shipping for all sellers due to on-site processing of all sellers’ cards
4. The ability to make “silent” offers and a 3 strike system
5. Quality Scans of Front & Back of EVERY card + garauntee that it is the card you will receive
In my opinion, I think its even better what COMC offers to me as a seller:
1. A place to have my cards stored and insured
2. Every card scanned Front & Back into listings
3. Book Value listed to help decide what to ask for a price on each card
4. “One Time Shipping” – New Nickname – Stands for send in LOTS of cards One Time, they get listed into the system and COMC takes care of shipping when they sell!! No worrying about printing labels, shipping supplies or the time spent shipping anymore!!
5. The Best For Last is that Smaller Book Value cards are actually worth selling on this site:
– example: $8 BV Jersey Card that sells for $.99 + $2.00 S&H elsewhere = $1.85 in shipping & supplies + $.75 in fees = only $0.40 back for the seller, whereas asking and receiving $2.00 for a Jersey Card on COMC = $2.00 – $.25 to list = $1.75 x 80% for a check = $1.40 back for the seller!! There is nowhere else you find a comparison like that!!
While COMC does not replace online auction for immediate sales, it is replacing the need to have an “online store”. As of the moment I wrote this article, technically speaking a buyer could buy from 2,946 different sellers. If so, a person could buy 1 card from each seller @ $3.00 Flat Shipping + 2945 x $.25 = a total Shipping Price of $739.25!! If that person was buying cards on COMC for $.50 each, the total would be $2212.25 for all 2,946 cards. Try and buy any card, from 2,946 differenet people around the United States/Canada for that price and you’ll probably exceed that limit before you hit four digits. That is what makes this site so special!!
Kyle
Thanks, for the GREAT feedback, Kyle!
Excluding a few minor issues, I am absolutely thrilled with my comc experience. One area of concern is the site’s credibility with knowledgeable collectors of quality pre-war material.
While a few nice old cards of early Hall of Famers appear occasionally, several people I know have questioned the site’s large population of overpriced vintage material. They’ve stated their personal decision not to be part of a marketplace where hammered (poor conditioned) cards are listed at excessive prices because it hurts the hobby’s reputation
Based upon conversations I’ve had with various comc representatives, I’m optimistic this issue will eventually be addressed. So far comc has solved every prior dilemma — which is why the site is so cool.
I suggest the following periodicals be considered as having advertising potential to attract buyers and consignors focused on high grade material: (1.) Old Cardboard (a quarterly publication dedicated to pre-war collectors); (2.) Baseball America (a bi-weekly baseball news tabloid covering high school, college, minor league and MLB prospects); and (3.) Sports Collector’s Digest (a bi-weekly magazine covering sports collecting).
I have several things to say — some of which I will privately email Tim about since we have other things to discuss as well.
But a couple of specific responses, when it comes to “overgraded” vintage, that is the seller’s option. If the seller does not sell his/her card it is really not COMC’s concern because this is similar to a show in which a seller brings cards for sale and if the prices are too high, the card (s) will come home with them. Frankly, COMC should continue to accept these cards and then the sellers who sell vintage cards at a fair prce, will have less problems selling their cards. And frankly, one of the reasons cards may be “too high” comes from an example that occured to me.
I placed a 1961 Topps Bill Skowron SP for sale at the exact price I would have offered the card for at a show based on the condition. Somone noticed the card and immediately offered half of what I had the card out for. Needless to say, I was very annoyed at this and have now placed the card at a level for when I have to discount the card, that I will be selling the card for what I really wanted to sell the card for in the 1st place. A fair offer of 20 percent off my original listed price and that card would have been sold. immediately. I have spoken to a couple of dealers who have vintage and that is the primary reason why the cards may be priced “too high
ANd anyone who reads my columns on Sports Collectors Daily can understand that while I “complain” about COMC, I do that only because I want to make them better. But I always try to temper my comments about COMC with compliments to be fair as well.
Rich
P.S. It’s good to see Card Cop still around
Thanks, Rich!
Thanks, Doug! Those are really helpful suggestions!
Hi Comc,
This post will regroup my two current usages of COMC. The first one as a big NBA trading cards collector, the second as the owner of a website used to manage trading cards collection (I will not mention the name here since this is not the purpose of this topic).
I’m a collector leaving in France, and for me, what is key when I want to buy a card is the shipping cost. I decided two years ago to exclusively use COMC to buy Regs, Inserts and GUs. So when a new collection is coming I wait few weeks to see those new items coming on COMC, then I buy all I need. Collecting this way allowed me to save hundreds of dollars on the shipping.
Now I only used ebay to buy low numbered cards such as 1/1, Certified green /5 or really old (expensive) inserts.
For an European like me, using ebay is a nightmare, sellers don’t want to sell outside Us, shipping cost can be around $25 for a single card in case it needs to be insured.
COMC is not yet on this market, but I really hope you will find the way to capture all those sellers and become the unique place to sell trading cards (from the reg to the really rare to find item).
From a webmaster point of view, I really expect more from COMC. I will really enjoy an API allowing me to search for items needed by my members. Currently there is an Rss flux but it’s really less powerful. Using an API like Ebay or Amazon provide will allow me to redirect qualified users to your site and maybe receive some fees for this.
Thanks
Sylvain
I frequent Reddit r/baseballcards. I wish they had a larger community of card collectors, but there are, almost daily, people posting to question how to sell collections or curious about the value of their cards and I always turn them on to COMC. I think you have a pretty ideal platform for someone who wants to sell their collection but doesn’t want the hassle.
How does one buy now, and ship later? I have an item in my shopping cart that I’d like to buy now, and ship later. But the shipping is automatically calculated, and there’s no option to “hold it”. When I select to pay with Paypal, again, no option I can see allowing me to not ship it immediately.
Thanks!
Hey WilliamWilliam,
The option to buy now and ship later is, in my opinion, one of the best features on our site.
If you haven’t yet created an account, go to COMC.com and click on Register at the top of the page. After you sign up for an account, sign in with your username and password.
From your Dashboard, click the Add Store Credit link under the big green Available Store Credit balance displayed on the right side of the page. From the Purchase Store Credit page you will be able to add store credit instantly using your PayPal account or credit card. Or, if it’s more convenient, you can add store credit by mail by following the instructions on the right side of the page.
Once you have store credit in your account, you can make instant purchases without needing to add items to your Shopping Cart and even make offers to sellers.
Please contact our customer service if you’d like any further help.
Grant
I forgot to mention that you’ll be able to buy items over time and ship them together whenever you want. Have fun!
You didn’t answer my question.
I have an account with you all, and have for over two years. I know how to add store credit, which I prefer not to do, as it’s easier just to pay with Paypal. Plus, if I have store credit, and want to ever withdraw that money, I have to pay a 20% cash out fee, which is just ridiculous.
I asked you how can I buy something, and specify that I want to ship it later. All you did was tell me “what a great feature it is”, but gave me no instruction on how to actually do it.
Hello William,
Sorry about the confusion. When you purchase cards with store credit, they are all placed in your Inventory. As long as no price is set on them, you will be able to store them in your Inventory indefinitely, until you have built up a larger number of cards which you wish to have shipped out all together.
Once you are ready to ship out cards in your Inventory, simply go to the Inventory Manager from My Dashboard. Using the Actions Tab, mark items as Ready to Ship. Then at the top of that page you will see a button that says Request Items To Be Shipped. Click this and you will arrive on a page that gives you the basic information about your shipping request.
From here, click on Next Step: Review Details, and this will take you to the final screen where you select your shipping speed, confirm your address and any other relevant last minute details.
I hope this helps and if you need anything else, I highly encourage you to contact our Customer Service department. There are several people in that department who would be happy to walk you through these steps if you have any trouble.
Regards,
Mark M.
I’d love to see some type of ‘Want List’ feature where you could keep a list of the specific cards you are looking for to fill set and/or player collection needs. Ideally, you could then sort these cards by highest percent off or lowest price to be able to find the best deals currently out there on the cards you need.
Thank you, Mark, that’s what I was looking for.
I think it would be great if you made the same option available when paying with Paypal. Some of us don’t want to fund our comc account, preferring to pay with each card we buy. I do a good amount of business with you, and would likely buy a little more if I could store my cards with you this same way, and ship them together.
You guys are great. Thank you!
Hi Guys, love the site and have a question: Is there a way to track what sells on here and how much it sells for? I’m thinking like the “Completed listings” option on that other site… There may be a way to do this that I’m just not aware of yet. thanks!
Hi Guys, love the site and have a question: Is there a way to track what sells on here and how much it sells for? I’m thinking like the “Completed listings” option on that other site… There may be a way to do this that I’m just not aware of yet. thanks!
Hi, Matt. That’s definitely a feature that a lot of people have requested. I can’t be too specific yet, but I can say that we have something in the works which will hopefully be a good solution for people.
Thanks!
Jeremy
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As a buyer/collector I don’t like the new site. I bought thousands of cards on the old site and will be sad to see it go. As far as spending my money on COMC in the future we shall see but I want to thank you all for the years of fun and collecting.
WOW…you really made it unfriendly for Buyers.
After using Comc.com for a couple of months now; I like to see a feature in the future. It’s a notificaton function for wanted cards that newly shows up on Comc.com for sale. I am trying to build different sets; and every couple of weeks I have to search and enter so many card name and numbers repeatedly; quite tiring. Like eBay which allow buyers to “save” their searches and automatically notify the buyers “new listings” for that search has been posted. It will save lots of time for potential buyers; especially buyers who needs hundreds of cards to fill so many different set being build. Thank you!
Hi! This is a request we’re hearing a lot, and it’s something that is on our radar as an upcoming COMC.com feature. Unfortunately, I don’t have an ETA as to when it’ll be implemented, but please know that it’s something we want to introduce to our users.
Thanks for the feedback! We appreciate hearing from the COMC Nation, as we want to make your experience as positive as possible.
–moe
As a buyer only now but looking into selling. I collect all Nebraska players (over 400+ players) There are over 14,000 cards and I have 5986 of them. Last count COMC had over 5,000 cards of Nebraska players.. I need a lot of them but the prices are to high for my budget on some and may not ever get. I would love a feature to hide from me all the cards I have. When I sort by teams (Nebraka) instead of seeing 900+ cards I would see only 300 of them. The same goes for each player. I’m still waiting to see all the players listed under Nebraska and not just the players in Nebraska uniform. I’m still getting used to the new site set up. MOE I think you now as any company grows bigger it gets harder to controll every thing about it.
the best of luck love the site