COMC Quick question

[yellid23]

I am brand new to COMC. Just started looking around.

Are the people that are selling cards for a nickel losing money?

[Chaddie84]

I am brand new to COMC. Just started looking around.

Are the people that are selling cards for a nickel losing money?

Short answer - yes. Sometimes it's better to sell for $0.05 and take a loss than to let it sit at over $0.25 and never sell. I find myself buying these up and relisting for $0.10 to $0.20 if there isn't a bunch of the same card already on the site.

[yellid23]

Ok sorry If I am overthinking this, but the original seller is out the most money correct? If I buy a card for a nickel and list it for a dime am I charged anything when it sells? And what if it never sells am I charged anything then?

[Chaddie84]

Ok sorry If I am overthinking this, but the original seller is out the most money correct? If I buy a card for a nickel and list it for a dime am I charged anything when it sells? And what if it never sells am I charged anything then?

If you are in advanced seller mode, it's all profit. You only pay a 20% fee if you decide to cash out. I usually use my credit to buy more cards, so it's not a problem.

[glen87]

Ok sorry If I am overthinking this, but the original seller is out the most money correct? If I buy a card for a nickel and list it for a dime am I charged anything when it sells? And what if it never sells am I charged anything then?

If you are in advanced seller mode, it's all profit. You only pay a 20% fee if you decide to cash out. I usually use my credit to buy more cards, so it's not a problem.

If you are not in advanced seller mode, you will get hit with the $0.25 shipping / handling fee

[Chaddie84]

If you are not in advanced seller mode, you will get hit with the $0.25 shipping / handling fee

If he's not in advanced seller mode, that $0.05 card will actually look like it's $0.30 to him too.

[glen87]

If he's not in advanced seller mode, that $0.05 card will actually look like it's $0.30 to him too.

true :)!

[mjohnatgt]

Are the people that are selling cards for a nickel losing money?

Long answer is "It depends." Most of the people who own cards that are listed for a nickel or dime (in Advanced Resellers Mode) probably bought the card in a port sale, and it may have cost them less. Say you have a lot of 1000 cards and you're ready to cash out and leave COMC. Instead of waiting for all those 1000 cards to sell, you list them as a port. If they average $1.00 in "list prices" and you accept $200 for the $1000 in cards, the ones that originally cost 15 cents were sold to the port buyer for 1/5 of that, so 3 cents. So if you are the port buyer, you are now selling the 3 cent card for a 2 cent profit (66%).

[Peties Army]

Short answer - yes. Sometimes it's better to sell for $0.05 and take a loss than to let it sit at over $0.25 and never sell. I find myself buying these up and relisting for $0.10 to $0.20 if there isn't a bunch of the same card already on the site.

I do this too.

I look at comc like a long term investment. If done correctly you can get a return. But it is not fast

[TheHeel]

I have zero evidence but....

I think many of these nickel cards are owned by COMC employees. They probably get free processing if they do it themselves. Moe - any input on this?

[duwal]

I have zero evidence but....

I think many of these nickel cards are owned by COMC employees. They probably get free processing if they do it themselves. Moe - any input on this?


Nope, most are by regular collectors. I've had a couple dozen where I just dropped the listings down to a penny just so they can be cleared from my inventory after not selling for a large amount of time

[JustMoe]

I have zero evidence but....

I think many of these nickel cards are owned by COMC employees. They probably get free processing if they do it themselves. Moe - any input on this?

"Free processing for employees"?

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL...*deep breath*...LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

ok, seriously...no. In the days before I started (before 1992), there was talk of discounts, and as there were so few staff members, employees were (I was told) able to help in the processing of their own cards and therefore receive some kind of discount.

As for my personal experiences, anything I say might violate that cease and desist order Julia's pack of lawyers sent me last year - I can tell you that no discount (past or current, if there is such a thing anymore) would enable employees to sell cards at a nickel and still break even, let alone make a profit.

As has been noted before, those cheap cards are usually the result of a port sale, wherein the current owner was able to buys cards in bulk, for pennies, and still are able to flip them for a 2-3 cent profit...

[kevinshreves]

Also, keep in mind Upperdeck Epack cards are free to transfer, so no $.25 fees. I have sold a ton of the foil base for $.05 each.

[COMCMax]

It's from purchased Port Sales or people just trying to clean house. When you buy Ports you can end up with a lot of "junk" for pennies that just happened to come along with the good stuff.

[yellid23]

Ok I didnt know about upperdeck e cards either. I feel really out of the loop today. How do you get the cards tranferred from upper deck?

[BlowoutBuzz]

I am brand new to COMC. Just started looking around.

Are the people that are selling cards for a nickel losing money?

They could also have already made money back selling other cards so not worried about the loss because technically they are ahead overall.

[MrPresident]

Also keep in mind the older "players" on COMC have less invested in the submission fees. Years ago, they would process cards at 0.15 each. I least that's what I remember. I have been on there for years now.

Also what is a "advanced seller mode" never heard of that? Is this something new.

[Skipscards]

They could also have already made money back selling other cards so not worried about the loss because technically they are ahead overall.

This right here.

[thebrett]

I sometimes just make a bunch of cards 6 cents to get rid of them

[mjohnatgt]

Also what is a "advanced seller mode" never heard of that? Is this something new.

In basic mode, you buy cards at the price they're listed for on eBay or Amazon. That price includes either a quarter, 45 cents, or dollar depending on the size of the card, which is partially pre-paying your shipping costs. So when you get $3 shipping or "Free" shipping during the specials, they have already charged you at least 25 cents per card additionally to cover the packing and shipping expenses.

If you switch to Advanced Resellers Mode in your dashboard, you'll see the shipping cost separated from the real price, and you will only have to pay the cost without the shipping upcharge. This way, you can buy more cards with the same amount of money. If you are in basic mode, the cheapest card on site costs like 30 cents. Subtract the 25 cents and you'll see the cards listed for a nickel like the OP talks about.

However, now when you ask for your cards to be shipped, they charge you all those additional quarters or dollars you didn't pay all along, and my last two shipments cost like $56.00 and $43.00 for 100 and 80 cards, some of which were graded ($1.00 each upcharge).

[Chaddie84]

I sometimes just make a bunch of cards 6 cents to get rid of them

I think I recall buying a bunch of them :)

Also keep in mind the older "players" on COMC have less invested in the submission fees. Years ago, they would process cards at 0.15 each. I least that's what I remember. I have been on there for years now.

Also what is a "advanced seller mode" never heard of that? Is this something new.

One of the first batches I submitted was a processing special at $0.10 per card with 3 week processing!

Some of the flat rate box submissions had really good prices also, but I haven't seen a processing promo even close in 2-3 years.