Latest Mile High/Lone Star results

Second_Death · Post by **Second_Death** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 11:42 am

Recently placed an order with both and here are the results. 14 NM books were ordered from each. From Lone Star, 4 of 14 were 9.4 or better. From Mile High, 9 of 14 were 9.4 or better. The most overgraded book came from MH. A book that was supposed to be NM arrived in 7.5 condition. Just a slight overgrade

. As usual, LS did a better job of packing the books but MH's grading was more conservative (at higher $ of course).

myron · Post by **myron** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 11:47 am

Second_Death wrote:Recently placed an order with both and here are the results. 14 NM books were ordered from each. From Lone Star, 4 of 14 were 9.4 or better. From Mile High, 9 of 14 were 9.4 or better. The most overgraded book came from MH. A book that was supposed to be NM arrived in 7.5 condition. Just a slight overgrade . As usual, LS did a better job of packing the books but MH's grading was more conservative (at higher $ of course).

nice info...thanks

Brother J · Post by **Brother J** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 2:06 pm

Lone Star did a better job of packing??? That certainly hasn't been my experience. Lone Star often sends cheaper books unbagged and several books crammed into a bag with some cardboard stuffed in. As for Mile High, they do individually bag each book and has always packed my orders securely. Weird that our experiences could be so different with the same online sellers.

Brother J · Post by **Brother J** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 2:08 pm

Also with the cheap books, Lone Star often sends ripped up books and calls them NM. Even though Mile High's grading is off at times, I've at least never had them send a ripped book and call it NM like Lone Star did.

On top of that, Lone Star messed up three back to back orders for me by sending the wrong books. I doubt I will be using them again anytime soon.

iccarus · Post by **iccarus** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 2:30 pm

Brother J wrote:Also with the cheap books, Lone Star often sends ripped up books and calls them NM. Even though Mile High's grading is off at times, I've at least never had them send a ripped book and call it NM like Lone Star did.

On top of that, Lone Star messed up three back to back orders for me by sending the wrong books. I doubt I will be using them again anytime soon.

I've done two orders with LS so far. Both of them required me sending something back for them to replace the issues.

The first was a Magnus #4 that didn't have the coupon at all.

The second was an X-O #1 listed in NM, but arrived with a cover that was almost falling off.

They replaced both of them, but I still had to ship them back at my expense because they didn't take the time to grade properly. Fairly certain I'm just sticking to the boards here when I get around to finishing off my collection.

Daniel Jackson · Post by **Daniel Jackson** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 2:50 pm

iccarus wrote: I'm just sticking to the boards here when I get around to finishing off my collection.

Sounds like a good idea, I'm sure KC, Daydreams or some of the other sellers here will able to help with that.

StarBrand · Post by **StarBrand** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 6:44 pm

All I can say is I've lost money with both due to grading problems.
It's definately a roll of the dice with both.

Second_Death · Post by **Second_Death** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 10:38 am

Brother J wrote:Lone Star did a better job of packing??? That certainly hasn't been my experience. Lone Star often sends cheaper books unbagged and several books crammed into a bag with some cardboard stuffed in. As for Mile High, they do individually bag each book and has always packed my orders securely. Weird that our experiences could be so different with the same online sellers.

Bro J touched on something that is a definite problem with LS.......not using bags for cheaper comics. I've yet to receive a book from them priced under $28 that arrived in a bag. That is very poor way of doing business for a seller and probably accounts for their grading not being up to standard. MH ships everything individually bagged.

So far, my shipments from LS have been better protected from shipping damage than the packages from MH. From my experience, LS ships in oversize boxes and MH ships in custom mailers which provide reasonable protection.

Second_Death · Post by **Second_Death** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 10:56 am

iccarus wrote:
Brother J wrote:Also with the cheap books, Lone Star often sends ripped up books and calls them NM. Even though Mile High's grading is off at times, I've at least never had them send a ripped book and call it NM like Lone Star did.

On top of that, Lone Star messed up three back to back orders for me by sending the wrong books. I doubt I will be using them again anytime soon.
I've done two orders with LS so far. Both of them required me sending something back for them to replace the issues.

The first was a Magnus #4 that didn't have the coupon at all.

The second was an X-O #1 listed in NM, but arrived with a cover that was almost falling off.

They replaced both of them, but I still had to ship them back at my expense because they didn't take the time to grade properly. Fairly certain I'm just sticking to the boards here when I get around to finishing off my collection.

I know what you guys are talking about. I purchased a "NM" 10 issue run of XO from LS last year and each issue was blunted at one corner as if they had been dropped. To their credit, LS made it right by refunding me the difference between NM and Fine so I kept them as reading copies.

I remembered my invoices today with notes made on condition. Here is a rundown of all the NM books:

grade #MHC #LS

9.6+........2........0
9.6..........3........1
9.4..........4........3
9.2..........2........0
9.0..........0........2
8.5..........2........4
8.0..........0........4
7.5..........1........0

I really think that the 2 8.5's and the 7.5 from MH were simply mistakes. Not even a monkey in a sand storm would have called that 7.5 a NM.

speedracex · Post by **speedracex** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 8:21 pm

Ive had similar bad experiences with Lonestar, the one book i had was listed as NM, but had a 1.00 sticker stuck on the front cover of the book, i wasnt to happy

there shipping is not as secure as Mile High by a long shot

Brother J · Post by **Brother J** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 8:28 pm

Second_Death wrote:
Brother J wrote:Lone Star did a better job of packing??? That certainly hasn't been my experience. Lone Star often sends cheaper books unbagged and several books crammed into a bag with some cardboard stuffed in. As for Mile High, they do individually bag each book and has always packed my orders securely. Weird that our experiences could be so different with the same online sellers.
Bro J touched on something that is a definite problem with LS.......not using bags for cheaper comics. I've yet to receive a book from them priced under $28 that arrived in a bag. That is very poor way of doing business for a seller and probably accounts for their grading not being up to standard. MH ships everything individually bagged.

So far, my shipments from LS have been better protected from shipping damage than the packages from MH. From my experience, LS ships in oversize boxes and MH ships in custom mailers which provide reasonable protection.

You are right on about the boxes, LS does use the bigger boxes. I've never had anything damaged in the MH custom mailers, so I've been fine with them, too.

californiajeff · Post by **californiajeff** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 10:02 pm

I think the MH Custom Mailers are the best. I used to have a N.I.C.E. subscription for a few years and never got any comics damaged. I couldn't imagine a better way to ship comics.

I have never ordered from Lone Star but I think it is silly if they are not willing to ship a $20 comic with a bag. They could use the cheapest bag which only costs maybe a few cents in bulk (?).

speedracex · Post by **speedracex** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 9:14 am

speedracex wrote:Ive had similar bad experiences with Lonestar, the one book i had was listed as NM, but had a 1.00 sticker stuck on the front cover of the book, i wasnt to happy

there shipping is not as secure as Mile High by a long shot

correction, my bad experience was with Grahamcrackers, not Lonestar

Second_Death · Post by **Second_Death** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 1:15 pm

speedracex wrote:
speedracex wrote:Ive had similar bad experiences with Lonestar, the one book i had was listed as NM, but had a 1.00 sticker stuck on the front cover of the book, i wasnt to happy

there shipping is not as secure as Mile High by a long shot
correction, my bad experience was with Grahamcrackers, not Lonestar

Would that be the regular version or the Teddy Graham variant?

Ross · Post by **Ross** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 2:24 pm

Add one more to the "Lone Star has terrible service" column. Three times I ordered from them, and all three times, the box was poorly packed and comics were damaged. I finally got sick of it and sent order #3 back.

Over the course of some angry e-mails, I got this from Beth Abbott, their mail order manager:

I'm sorry, but only those items valued at $10.00 or more come bagged and boarded.

Is that ridiculous or what? What a policy. They ship comics unbagged/boarded, and in boxes where all it takes is one drop to damage the corners of all the comics within. And they're serving customers who are uber-picky about condition?

I also got this from Buddy Saunders, the founder/owner:

I'm sorry that our particular methods and service fail to meet your needs, and thus understand why you may wish to shop elsewhere. However, experience has taught us that our current system (which has been in place from the beginning) is best suited to keeping costs down (so that we have the lowest possible prices) while still maintaining what the vast majority of our customers believe to be excellent service.

In other words - don't let the door hit you in the a$$ on the way out. Needless to say, I'm tired of rolling the dice and losing with them. It's frustrating because, in my experience, they really do have the best selection/prices, at least from an online store. But I'm not willing to take another chance with them.

Daniel Jackson · Post by **Daniel Jackson** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 2:49 pm

Ross wrote:
I'm sorry, but only those items valued at $10.00 or more come bagged and boarded.
Is that ridiculous or what? What a policy. They ship comics unbagged/boarded, and in boxes where all it takes is one drop to damage the corners of all the comics within. And they're serving customers who are uber-picky about condition?

I also got this from Buddy Saunders, the founder/owner:

I'm sorry that our particular methods and service fail to meet your needs, and thus understand why you may wish to shop elsewhere. However, experience has taught us that our current system (which has been in place from the beginning) is best suited to keeping costs down (so that we have the lowest possible prices) while still maintaining what the vast majority of our customers believe to be excellent service.
In other words - don't let the door hit you in the a$$ on the way out. Needless to say, I'm tired of rolling the dice and losing with them. It's frustrating because, in my experience, they really do have the best selection/prices, at least from an online store. But I'm not willing to take another chance with them.

I don't blame you, after reading those responses I don't think I'll bother giving them anymore of my business either.

ZephyrWasHOT!! · Post by **ZephyrWasHOT!!** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 3:07 pm

Daniel Jackson wrote:
Ross wrote:
I'm sorry, but only those items valued at $10.00 or more come bagged and boarded.
Is that ridiculous or what? What a policy. They ship comics unbagged/boarded, and in boxes where all it takes is one drop to damage the corners of all the comics within. And they're serving customers who are uber-picky about condition?

I also got this from Buddy Saunders, the founder/owner:

I'm sorry that our particular methods and service fail to meet your needs, and thus understand why you may wish to shop elsewhere. However, experience has taught us that our current system (which has been in place from the beginning) is best suited to keeping costs down (so that we have the lowest possible prices) while still maintaining what the vast majority of our customers believe to be excellent service.
In other words - don't let the door hit you in the a$$ on the way out. Needless to say, I'm tired of rolling the dice and losing with them. It's frustrating because, in my experience, they really do have the best selection/prices, at least from an online store. But I'm not willing to take another chance with them.
I don't blame you, after reading those responses I don't think I'll bother giving them anymore of my business either.

They're willing to lose you as a customer, because the VAST majority of their customers don't care about condition.

It's sad, but the extra you're paying elsewhere is for condition.

So, you have to weigh the one with the other and decide what's more important to you.

Of course, having the vast majority of their customers CARE about condition would certainly change THEIR business model in a hurry.

The sad reality, though, is that 97% of all people who buy comics could not care less about dings, dents, etc.

depluto · Post by **depluto** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 3:59 pm

ZephyrWasHOT!! wrote:The sad reality, though, is that 97% of all people who buy comics could not care less about dings, dents, etc.

That's me, to a point. I can put up with a little crinkle or two, or even a smallish ding if it's a book I'm using to fill out a run. If I don't like the condition of comics I receive I don't buy from those people again. Same deal for eating in restaurants; if something is wrong I don't often complain, but I don't go back either.

Daniel Jackson · Post by **Daniel Jackson** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 4:20 pm

depluto wrote:
ZephyrWasHOT!! wrote:The sad reality, though, is that 97% of all people who buy comics could not care less about dings, dents, etc.
That's me, to a point. I can put up with a little crinkle or two, or even a smallish ding if it's a book I'm using to fill out a run. If I don't like the condition of comics I receive I don't buy from those people again. Same deal for eating in restaurants; if something is wrong I don't often complain, but I don't go back either.

I'm kinda the same way with restaurants, if the food is not good they might get my money once, but not twice. I've learned over the years that it's not worth embarrassing the family telling the waitress/cook how awful their food is. So I just pay the bill and never return.

Second_Death · Post by **Second_Death** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 8:56 am

Ross wrote:Add one more to the "Lone Star has terrible service" column. Three times I ordered from them, and all three times, the box was poorly packed and comics were damaged. I finally got sick of it and sent order #3 back.

This has yet to happen with my orders. All of my orders have been packed very well except most aren't bagged.

Over the course of some angry e-mails, I got this from Beth Abbott, their mail order manager:

I'm sorry, but only those items valued at $10.00 or more come bagged and boarded.
Is that ridiculous or what? What a policy. They ship comics unbagged/boarded, and in boxes where all it takes is one drop to damage the corners of all the comics within. And they're serving customers who are uber-picky about condition?

I dont believe that $10 cut off for a minute. I've purchased several books from them in the 10 to 27 range and none arrived in bags. My most recent order was placed because they received a book from my want list so I purchased it and a few other items. The book cost was $18.....no bag. It at least arrived in the NM condition it was sold as.

I also got this from Buddy Saunders, the founder/owner:

I'm sorry that our particular methods and service fail to meet your needs, and thus understand why you may wish to shop elsewhere. However, experience has taught us that our current system (which has been in place from the beginning) is best suited to keeping costs down (so that we have the lowest possible prices) while still maintaining what the vast majority of our customers believe to be excellent service.
In other words - don't let the door hit you in the a$$ on the way out. Needless to say, I'm tired of rolling the dice and losing with them. It's frustrating because, in my experience, they really do have the best selection/prices, at least from an online store. But I'm not willing to take another chance with them.

I don't blame you. The problem with their business model is they can't be counted on for NM books. It leaves their customers with the realization that their "NM" order will probably arrive as "VF".......maybe.

Zero · Post by **Zero** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 10:58 pm

I've never been much for MHC... They have pretty consistently overgraded almost all the books I've ever received from them. I always promise I won't use them again, but a year later they'll have a big sale or get a new collection with a bunch of books I want. I end up breaking down & buying from them again. ...& always disappointment.

As to Lone Star Comics... I've had exactly 1 transaction with them & it was stellar. I bought my 5 Acclaim Valiant Heroes Specials from them for a dollar each plus shipping. They came bagged & boarded in a nice box. They had to be pretty darn nice to all pull a 9.8 from cgc. But that was several years ago... So, I can't complain since I got lucky & have no desire to buy from them again.

californiajeff · Post by **californiajeff** » Sun Mar 25, 2007 1:25 pm

depluto wrote:
ZephyrWasHOT!! wrote:The sad reality, though, is that 97% of all people who buy comics could not care less about dings, dents, etc.
That's me, to a point. I can put up with a little crinkle or two, or even a smallish ding if it's a book I'm using to fill out a run. If I don't like the condition of comics I receive I don't buy from those people again. Same deal for eating in restaurants; if something is wrong I don't often complain, but I don't go back either.

I am kind of the same way on restaurants. It's usually not worth wasting your breath unless it is something really bad.

ZephyrWasHOT!! · Post by **ZephyrWasHOT!!** » Sun Mar 25, 2007 3:08 pm

But here's the thing: lots of people WANT to know if a customer is unhappy, so they can improve their customer service.

Yes, I understand that some people are *SQUEE* and can't be bothered, but I think most people take suggestions and polite critiques very seriously.

When I was a waiter, I always made sure my customers were always completely satisfied in EVERY way, and made them feel comfortable about letting me know if they were not.

If you don't like the Chilean Sea Bass, I want to know it. Every experience with me and my restaurant should be a DELIGHT, not just "satisfactory".....so you WANT to come back.

And if I don't know there's a problem, I cannot possibly fix it.

siren3-4 · Post by **siren3-4** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 2:43 pm

Both companies have been good to me so far. I would prefer that Lone Star bag and board their books but I have been happy with the grading and shipping.

I’ve never had a mix up with LS, with Mile High they sent me the wrong variant but they did fix it . . .

I will still shop from both . . .

myron · Post by **myron** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 2:51 pm

ZephyrWasHOT!! wrote:The sad reality, though, is that 97% of all people who buy comics could not care less about dings, dents, etc.

That's because some of those people will place those by a box of altoids and e-bay'em NM....flip for more baby...unscrupulous focks...

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Latest Mile High/Lone Star results

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Re: Latest Mile High/Lone Star results