Greetings COMC Nation from Rosemont, Illinois! After a harrowing journey fraught with such dangers as landing a plane on two wheels and Chicago Deep Dish Pizza, the COMC Team has landed and is ready to take the National by storm.
This week, we will be spending most of our time at booth 850 showing off items in the Vault and performing on-site processing. You can expect to hear about our daily adventures on the blog each day this week, courtesy of yours truly. Come by and say hi if you are at the show and be sure to check out the booth! As always, you can also keep up with us on us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ while we spread the word about COMC at the National!
We have a very important announcement today. The renowned Mark Anderson is joining the COMC team in the newly created position of Seller Advocate! This is big news for COMC, and the timing couldn’t be better with our upcoming launch of The Vault, our new service for high end items. There are many reasons why you should be thrilled we now have Mark on our roster.
For the past 12 years, Mark has been the Director of Grading for Beckett Grading Service (BGS), a service well-trusted to handle high end items. He is a leading authority on card authenticity and grading, and had a significant role in building BGS’s positive reputation for processing, assessing, and caring for high end collectibles.
Having spent over 15 years with Beckett, Mark is well-established within the sports card community. We look forward to his assistance in strengthening our connections and building partnerships within our industry.
Mark also has a strong background as a card, comic, and coin dealer. We are thrilled to have someone of his caliber help us take these offerings to the next level.
With the launch of The Vault, COMC is stepping up its game. Whereas, previously we’ve been the niche for buying and selling $1-$100 cards. As we progress to handling more $1,000 cards, and even $10,000 cards, the game changes. Mark is another strategic piece in ensuring we hit this one out of the park.
Purposefully, Mark is in the position of Seller Advocate. He loves our service and has been using us for years. Having been a seller – both on and off COMC – Mark knows the in-and-outs of selling, and will provide another high-level viewpoint on how to best understand and meet the needs of our sellers. His explicit job will be to help facilitate and implement new opportunities on behalf of our sellers. In this role, he will be in close contact with you. Feel free to reach out to him and welcome him to the team at manderson@comc.com.
Even from our early beginnings, when Check Out My Cards was run from our garage, there has always been a drive to bring together the latest technologies and the best people in a mix that would support and revolutionize the sports card industry. We’ve worked hard to be the safe and easy way to buy and sell collectibles, through our unique and fun online consignment model. Today, we’ve taken a big step to further establish this reputation.
On Saturday, August 3rd, from 3 – 4 p.m. CST, during The National, we will be having a live Q & A with Tim and Mark on our Facebook page and Twitter. Leave a question for Tim and Mark on our Facebook page during that time, or send us a question on Twitter with the hashtag #comcmark, and Tim and Mark will respond and interact with you.
As always, we ask that you stay tuned to our blog for the latest COMC news and be sure to join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.
The Vault is going to be a whole new way to buy and sell high end items online. It is going to bring with it 10% cash outs, sale of these items at major shows, and a brand new set of high resolution scans! Today, we wanted to take a moment to show you a before and after shot of one of the items that will be available for sale very soon on The Vault.
Here is a scan of this item as it appeared on COMC:
The original 4x Zoom
The pictures of the individual items have been a hallmark of the service COMC provides since we started the site. But now, we are able to provide an even clearer view of the items placed into The Vault. Here is the same item after having been rescanned and placed in The Vault:
These scans are more pristine and clearer than any that have been on our site before. Better yet, once the new Super Zoom function has been released on The Vault, it will be easy to view every detail of the card with a 36x zoom!
The new 36x “Superzoom” – click on the card to see the difference!
So tell us, what you think of our new imaging and about your plans for The Vault in the comments below. Be sure to join us on our Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ for more information about this service!
Hi COMC Nation – how’s it going? Now, is it just us or does the All-Star break seem like the longest stretch of time, ever? Thankfully, baseball came back and the 2nd half of the season looks to be as much fun as the 1st half. Especially for the COMC crew, as our local team is giving us hope for a .500 season…it’s not much, but we have to start somewhere, right?
Anyways, while all that’s going on, we’ve been busy huddling around our television screens and laptops and smartphones and whatever else we can use to get an idea of who and what is currently the hottest of the hot. We’ve compiled our findings, and we’re ready to present the newest COMC Hot List, for July 24 to August 7!
To celebrate the 34th Annual National Sports Collectors Convention, we’re decided that the Hot Theme should reflect the host city – so, any card that features a player from a Chicago-based team is eligible for the Hot List.
So what does being on the Hot List mean?
COMC wants to encourage our users to get these hot cards into your accounts to offer for sale as quickly as possible, so starting today, any cards submitted for the Hot List will qualify for our “Hot List Special” processing. With this service, you will receive One Day processing at the special Hot List price: $0.50 per raw card and $1.00 per graded, encased, or jumbo card.
How to Submit Hot List Items for Consignment:
Chris Davis
Clearly write “Hot List Special” on the outer mailing package and/or the address label.
Must be mailed to our US address (Our Canadian warehouse currently only supports One Month service.)
Any submissions received on a Friday or Saturday may not be processed until the following Monday.
Submissions with non-Hot List items mixed in will be downgraded to One Week service.
Redemption cards may qualify for Hot List pricing, but will take up to a week to process.
You’re welcome to submit Hot List batches at the same time that you submit other batches with different service levels, even if they’re mailed in the same package, but please make sure that each batch is clearly separated and labeled, and that “Hot List Special” is written on the outside of the mailing package and/or mailing label.
Thanks for your input for this new Hot List! Be sure to watch our Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ pages for the next Hot List Call Out in a week!
Hello COMC Nation! There’s just over a week to go before the official launch of the Vault, as well as the start of The National, and COMC is kicking things into high gear. With the building excitement over our new service, we felt that just one announcement in the upcoming issues of Beckett wouldn’t be enough.
Here is a sneak peek of the ad that will be hitting the shelves in next month’s issues of Beckett:
The Vault – Coming Soon
We look forward to hearing your thoughts on this advertisement and are eagerly awaiting the chance to see as many of you as we can while we are at the National. As a reminder, be sure to have your Vault Eligible items listed for sale by the 24th in order to have them taken to the show! And as always, keep up with us on our Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ pages.
Hello COMC Nation! As you may have heard us mention in the COMC Blog, we’re headed to Chicago at the end of July to take part in the biggest card show of the year. We’re looking forward to hanging out at Booth 850, and meeting as many people as we can over the course of the convention.
There will be plenty of reasons to come see us: contests, giveaways, On-Site Processing, and The Vault. There is also one other big reason to come to the booth; An opportunity to meet the Team and the man who got the COMC ball rolling 7 years ago: Tim Getsch.
And, we want to meet as many people as possible. So, to make that possible, we are asking that you contact us so you can schedule a time to meet with us. These meetings will be scheduled at the top of each hour during the convention’s hours, except between the hours of 12pm and 2pm. After all, we need to keep our strength up, too…
If you would like an opportunity to sit down and chat with Tim or the team about COMC, the Hobby, or something else that’s on your mind – then please email us at timewithtim@comc.com. In your email, please let us know what topics you wish to discuss, as well as 2 or 3 one hour blocks of time that work best for you. Please have your requests in no later than Wednesday, July 24th– after that we’ll get back to you with your scheduled “Time With Tim”.
Thank you and we look forward to seeing everyone in Chicago. And, as always, stayed tuned for the latest news and developments at our Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ pages.
COMC is proud to announce that one of the members of our identification team, James Good, will be competing in the Pokemon Trading Card Game World Championships, taking place in Vancouver, BC. James is one of 180 players in his division who qualified to play in this prestigious event, running from August 9th – 11th.
COMC’s Champion Trainer
An avid collector of sports and gaming cards, James made the decision to play Pokemon competitively last year and never looked back, playing in nearly 40 events this competitive season while accumulating championship points along the way.
No matter where he’s playing, James always represents his city and team.
The Pokemon Company International plays host to thousands of events worldwide as players bring their best 60-card deck to battle in an effort to gain championship points and improve their ranking. Players build decks around different pokemon types, such as dragon or electric pokemon, each having a different strategies for victory. In order to qualify for the World Championship, a player needs to earn 400 championship points…not an easy task by any means.
Victory After Victory
James’ season began last fall with the Battle Roads series, where he earned 51 out of a maximum 90 points including besting a field of 50+ to capture his first Battle Roads victory. Since then, he has continued to collect the needed championship points in tournament after tournament.
“I started to feel real good about my prospects of earning a Worlds invite at that point,” James recalled.
Consistently shrugged off by other more established players as having “beginner’s luck”, he made a firm statement to his detractors. During the City Championship Series, held from November through January, he showed that he belonged by netting 150 of a maximum 200 possible points. He brought home two trophies, one of which he earned by going undefeated throughout Swiss and playoff rounds in Portland, Or.
James plans his next play while squaring off in the finals of Spring Regionals
Final Showdown
James earned his invitation to the Pokemon Trading Card Game World Championship by finishing 13th in a recent “last chance” qualifier tournament. In spectacular and nail biting fashion, James finished 4-1 earning 50 points. This put his total at 425 for the season and successfully punched his ticket to go to Vancouver and play in the World Championship.
“What drives my passion in competitive card games is a mindset that with enough hard work and dedication I can be the best in the world,” James explained. “ I’m thrilled to be in a position to be playing for a World Championship, but I’m not just settling for that honor. I want to be a World Champion, that’s the aspiration of every great competitor.”
With the official launch of The Vault service approaching, we’ve introduced some new tools to help you manage your Vault Eligible items. There are now three new filters in your Inventory Manager to help you list your items on The Vault.
***If you want us to take your items with us to sell at The National that are currently on COMC.com, you need to mark them for rescan by TOMORROW, Wednesday, July 17th. More details below.***
New Filters
From your Inventory Manager, select the Show Items dropdown. You will see three new options: Vault Eligible, Vault Needing Attention, and Vault Candidates.
Click To Enlarge
Vault Candidates: shows you a list of items in your inventory that qualify for the Vault. These items will have at least a $20 Beckett Book Value (or no BV due to scarcity) and a minimum $40 COMC asking price. With each Vault Candidate item, you’ll see an “Actions” button underneath your asking price where you can select the “Make Vault Eligible” option. From there, choose the “COMC Services” option, then “Rescan for The Vault.” At that point, your item will be assigned to receive a high-resolution 36x scan.
please note, there is a .50 cent fee to have your cards re-scanned at the higher 36x
Vault Eligible:displays items in your portfolio that qualify as Vault Candidates and have already been scanned at the 36x level.
Vault Needing Attention: shows items that are Vault Eligible but await a Vault-appropriate asking price. To enter your asking price, click “List on The Vault” and a popup screen with listing options will appear. You may also mark these items “Not for Sale on The Vault” from this popup.
Important Dates
Until September 30thlisting cards on The Vault will be free. This is an introductory special, so take advantage of it now!
Any items listed on The Vault by July 24th will be going to Chicago for display at the COMC booth at the National.
To ensure your Vault Candidates are made Vault Eligible by the 24th, they need to be submitted for a 36x rescan by Wednesday, July 17th.
Your cards could be on display and available for sale at the biggest card event in the country, but you need to act quickly to take advantage of this offering. In the meantime, be sure to keep following us on our Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ pages for more news and further updates.
Hello everyone, Moe here. We’ve just closed the doors on entries for our 1st All-Star MVP contest. We want to thank everyone who joined us on Twitter and tweeted the winning phrase for everyone to see.
We’ve compiled our list of entries, as well as a list of the players participating in the All-Star game tonight, and through the use of abject randomization, we’ve matched each player to a twitter handle.
Now, you may notice that we have more MLB players than COMC Nation members – we noticed that, too. And, some of the starters didn’t even make the list, that’s just how random things got.
So, here’s what we’re going to do. If tonight’s MVP is a player *not* attached to a COMC Nation member, then we’ll head back to Random.org and use their services to pick a winner from the list of entries. One way or another, someone is getting $20 of COMC Store Credit.
So, here are the pairings! Enjoy the game tonight and we’ll announce the winner after the game!
*update*
Apparently, Twitter needs to do some work on their search engine software; we were trying to track #COMCMVP and we missed a few people. If your name isn’t on the list below, let us know by 3pm and we’ll add you to the list. We’ve sorry about the inconvenience!
Hello COMC Nation. The past week has seen a significant shift at COMC.com with the introduction of Beckett Subscriptions and changes in when Beckett Book Value data is visible.
These adjustments generated a lot of attention, and we received a lot of constructive feedback from our users. We’ve worked on responding to your questions and concerns via our Blog and other social media channels, and recently Tim sat down to discuss some of the most common questions in greater detail.
0:26 Why Did COMC stop displaying Beckett Book Values?
3:15 How are the subscription level prices determined?
3:42 What is included in my Beckett Subscription?
5:51 Why is a Beckett Subscription $31/month and not $10?
6:55 Why doesn’t BV follow a card?
8:42 Can we have a subscription for a team?
9:24 Will there be bundle deals available?
9:51 Will this kill flipping?
11:36 Will this harm casual buyers?
13:19 Why so many changes so quickly?
Hopefully, this better explains this new situation and the direction that COMC is going. Please feel free to leave your comments below and discuss today’s video. Also, be sure to keep following us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ for further updates as we get closer and closer to The National!
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