dcbs, comicsupply, mailordercomics, who's got what deals?

Xero · Post by **Xero** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 7:38 pm

Trying to figure out what store's got the best deals for me. I need an online provider since my LCS for the past 3 years has shut down

nothing will replace the familiarity with the owners and workers, but here's the perks that I'm used to; 10% discount and FREE b&b's, Mylites and full backs. I know most online stores can beat the 10% discount, since 30-40% is the standard. But no one offers free b&bs unless there the cheap-o ones.

So does anyone use online comic suppliers? what deals do they offer? How good is their packaging?

Heath · Post by **Heath** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 7:54 pm

I've been using MailOrderComics for a few years and I LOVE them. Usually around 35 to 40% discounts, sometimes as high as 75% on certain books each month. Bags and boards are not free, but they're only 12 cents for a bag & board combo - and you can specify modern age or silver age. You can set up a "pull list" for the books you get every month, can order using Previews, or a combination of the two (which is what I do). You can turn on auto-ordering so your pull list is automatically ordered in case you forget to manually submit your order. This has saved me a couple of times.

Their service has been beyond excellent. They've always responded quickly to my emails, have had no problem adding items after the order deadline or reording older books for me. They provide variant cover alerts and you can request a certain variant cover, but it's on a first-come, first-served basis.

They accept PayPal as well as credit cards, have flexible shipping options (USPS options, UPS options, every week, twice-weekly, monthly) and shipping costs are very fair.

Packing has been excellent. All the books are bagged and boarded, placed in a magazine or Life sized bag, taped securely, wrapped in cardboard, and then surrounded by packing peanuts. I've only had one book that was damaged in the years I've been using them and they replaced it free of charge (they even shipped it priority for free) immediately.

I really can't speak highly enough about them.

siren3-4 · Post by **siren3-4** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 8:03 pm

I back up everything Heath just said . . . but with less typing . .

comicguy · Post by **comicguy** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 8:11 am

I have been using DCBS since last summer with out any problems. They will bag and board your comics for .15 each (I think). They have multiple shipping times (once a month every 2 weeks or every week) The once a month shipping is 5.95 via DHL.

The only time I had a issue come in damaged, I called and they sent a replacement with the next batch. Very easy to deal with.

Plus their discount is about 40% sometimes more on certain issues. Getting my comics once a month makes me realize just how much I spend on comics every month and has forced me to cut back on some of the maginal titles that I just have not had time for.

Heath · Post by **Heath** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 10:08 am

I looked at DCBS, and while their discounts are comparable to MailOrderComics, I decided not to use them because of their lack of a pull list. You have to manually order every title every month. At MOC, my pull-list items are automatically placed into my cart. I can still change quantities, add items, remove items, etc. But maybe DCBS has added that feature since I last looked at them.

Since I never used DCBS, I can't speak to their packing or service. But I can't see it being better than MOC's. Equal, maybe, but not better.

Dr. Solar · Post by **Dr. Solar** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 11:40 am

I think that DCBS does have a "pull list" function. It may be a recent addition.

I use DCBS.

What I like about DCBS is that you can download an excel spreadsheet with EVERYTHING from previews for that month in it, and you just go through and enter the quantities of which books you want. You then email them the spreadsheet to place your order.

It is an easy way to order, and pretty fun also, to go through all the stuff in a nice, concise manner. The spreadsheet is sortable and stuff too, it is really fantastic.

I have heard good things about mail order comics also.

Daniel Jackson · Post by **Daniel Jackson** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 12:17 pm

I've had good luck with DCBS and their prices are hard to beat.

Heath · Post by **Heath** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 12:19 pm

Dr. Solar wrote:I think that DCBS does have a "pull list" function. It may be a recent addition.

I use DCBS.

What I like about DCBS is that you can download an excel spreadsheet with EVERYTHING from previews for that month in it, and you just go through and enter the quantities of which books you want. You then email them the spreadsheet to place your order.

It is an easy way to order, and pretty fun also, to go through all the stuff in a nice, concise manner. The spreadsheet is sortable and stuff too, it is really fantastic.

I have heard good things about mail order comics also.

MOC doesn't have a downloadable Excel file (which sounds pretty interesting), but the entire Previews catalog is online. You can browse and search by company, title, product code, Previews page number, etc.

Xero · Post by **Xero** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 1:04 pm

anyone know how good Comicsupply is? I just signed up with them, and free shipping for $25 worth of preorders is what got me on board. so 30.01 for about 15 titles, shipped monthly, not to shabby me thinks. Or I could do weekly for just $9.96 which is the cheapest that I've seen. They also have points system, that's basically every dollar you spend earns you a point, 100 points earns you $25 preorder credits. they also have some good deals on b&bs something like if you buy $50 worth of comics you can get a 100 pack of either for $1.

Tim · Post by **Tim** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 10:55 pm

I'm pretty sure DCBS charges just .10 for bags and boards. The interface to order is a pain (the split DC & Marvel up into sub-categories, which makes it easy to miss stuff) but other than that, I love everything about them. Cameron is good about adding stuff you forgot to put in your cart on your order if you email him and the prices are awesome.

They have great discounts (usually 40-50%) and the big specials (the 75& off ones) are usually on big event books (First Issues, new creative team, etc...) but there are also a lot of indie stuff that you can try out at 75% off.

I get my books monthly and they're always on my porch the last Friday of the month, bagged and boarded, taped snugky together between two backing boards / bagged again in a magazine sized bag and in a box filled with padding material. Books always arrive in incredible shape. Much better than ones sitting on shelves at comic stores.

Hardcovers are usually 50% off.

My last order I placed would have cost me $112.92 (not counting gas for the hour and 15 minute round-trip to the closest LCS or bags and boards).

With DCBS my order cost $74.61. And that's bagged, boarded and shipped to my front door.

That's almost 40 bucks saved in one month.

I know I sound like a commercial for DCBS, but I've had nothing but good experiences with them.

Heath · Post by **Heath** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 11:17 pm

Does anybody have experience with both MOC and DCBS and can offer a 1st hand experience comparison? It seems like people have only used one or the other and they generate the same kind of loyalty.

dellamorte · Post by **dellamorte** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 11:23 pm

I just started with DCBS a couple months back but I haven't recieved anything yet. The prices are great and shipping once a month seems to be a savings over gas prices. The only thing I've noticed is I'm ordering a lot more books than what I was having pulled at the lcs.

ZephyrWasHOT!! · Post by **ZephyrWasHOT!!** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 11:29 pm

siren3-4 wrote:I back up everything Heath just said . . . but with less typing . .

A picture's worth 1,000 words....

Unless they're my posts, and then they have pictures WITH thousands of words...

superman-prime · Post by **superman-prime** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 12:00 am

dcbs gets my vote, i had 2 problems in 3 years and the missing 2 books were shipped out no problem and fast

and i think its 10c per bag and board

Xero · Post by **Xero** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 6:04 am

i've tried both places, dcbs, and mailorder, hated dcbs's free bags they're the noisy cellaphane-type bags, that mixed with not getting my Harbinger TPB till 4 months after I ordered it was why I left them.

MOC is very good, I've gotten 2 preorders through them, and I dunno how many back orders. I don't like their free bags either (available through back issues only) they look like cheap, recycled bags. Guess I got spoiled on my LCS's free mylars and full backs? Their shipping seemed faster, but that might have been because I used to preorders taking forever at this point?

In terms of comparison; Packaging - Equal, MOC uses thousands of peanuts to keep your comics safe, if I remember they're bagged and boarded, then have a slab of card board on either side, inside a magazine bag
DCBS, since I believe had a similar packing method, but instead of peanuts, they use nifty packing foam. If I had to pick one DCBS, peanuts can be messy and packing foam seems high-tech.

Condition of comics - based on a hand full of transactions they both seem to get you your comics in crisp, as close to NM condition as possible.

Customer service - goes to MOC they had all my lame questions answer within hours of asking. Don't remember asking DCBS anything, but I'd remember a bad experience,... but I guess I'd remember a pleasant one too.

I'll compare pricing later, but all in all they seem about equal, DCBS was awkward for me, but I think that's because they were the first preordering that I ever did

Heath · Post by **Heath** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 6:38 am

Thanks for the feedback, Xero!

Xero wrote:DCBS was awkward for me, but I think that's because they were the first preordering that I ever did

I think that's really why I chose MOC over DCBS. The ordering process (at the time I was comparing anyway) was just a bit awkward. MOC's system made a lot more sense to me.

Xero · Post by **Xero** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 5:20 pm

I do like that dcbs has more pics, so i don't accidentally get a dupe from my LCS, but i guess that's no longer a concern now that Alley Cat is kaput

As far as pricing goes, I think I remember MOC saving me a little over DCBS, not sure how they stack up to comic supply, but free shipping and 27 cents per comic bagged and boarded (mylar and half back) caught my attention.

Xero · Post by **Xero** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 5:29 pm

same 15 comics, same bags and board and weekly shipping

mail order = $49.08

comicsupply = $42.42

DCBS = $40.91 (but I had to trade out 2 comics that I couldn't find for others) I couldn't find Action Comics, or Cable, maybe it's how un-user-friendly the site is?

So I think that I will give comicsupply a shot, and if their bags are good quality, that'll probably seal the deal, granted their packaging and all is up to par.

Darth Kramer · Post by **Darth Kramer** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 10:21 pm

Xero wrote:anyone know how good Comicsupply is? I just signed up with them, and free shipping for $25 worth of preorders is what got me on board. so 30.01 for about 15 titles, shipped monthly, not to shabby me thinks. Or I could do weekly for just $9.96 which is the cheapest that I've seen. They also have points system, that's basically every dollar you spend earns you a point, 100 points earns you $25 preorder credits. they also have some good deals on b&bs something like if you buy $50 worth of comics you can get a 100 pack of either for $1.

I have dealt with Comicsupply in the past and had a horrible, horrible experience. Their customer service skills are definitely lacking and if they make a mistake, they are extremely slow to fix it.

superman-prime · Post by **superman-prime** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 10:26 pm

dcbs and mail order are equal from what i hear from all the mail order users
everyone i know uses dcbs and that 6.95 shipping monthly is great

Xero · Post by **Xero** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 6:22 am

oooh, same 15 comics shipped bi-monthly for $38.36 I just wonder if they use Mylars?

superman-prime · Post by **superman-prime** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 11:00 am

ahhhhhhh 38 bucks im cheep here

Brother J · Post by **Brother J** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 7:16 pm

Does DCBS wait to ship all your stuff at one time if something is late or will they ship what has come in and ship the remainder later?

I placed an order to get the X-O hardcover at the great low price, but one of the other books I ordered looks like it's going to be late.

Tim · Post by **Tim** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 7:27 pm

Brother J wrote:Does DCBS wait to ship all your stuff at one time if something is late or will they ship what has come in and ship the remainder later?

I placed an order to get the X-O hardcover at the great low price, but one of the other books I ordered looks like it's going to be late.

They'll ship what they have if something is late.

If you go to the "My orders" page you can see what items have been ordered, filed but not sent, and sent.

Also anything that is over 90 days late they give you your money back if you ask.

Brother J · Post by **Brother J** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 7:31 pm

Tim Petty wrote:
Brother J wrote:Does DCBS wait to ship all your stuff at one time if something is late or will they ship what has come in and ship the remainder later?

I placed an order to get the X-O hardcover at the great low price, but one of the other books I ordered looks like it's going to be late.

They'll ship what they have if something is late.

If you go to the "My orders" page you can see what items have been ordered, filed but not sent, and sent.

Also anything that is over 90 days late they give you your money back if you ask.

Thanks!

Nothing has shipped yet, but a couple of the books are due in tomorrow according to Diamond's release schedule, so I assume they will be shipping shortly thereafter.

The late book had a problem with the artist and was pushed back to May.