COMC allows sellers to cancel sales because they undersold the item???

[Ericc5Bears]

So I use COMC and mostly like their service, but I need to put them on blast after what just happened to me. Earlier today a card was listed by the COMC ebay account that was pretty underpriced. However, it's also a very rare card that hasn't sold in years, so it would be very easy for a seller to misprice it. The item was listed for $120 on ebay and $100 on the COMC website. I was going to add credit and buy it on COMC to save the $20, but decided that since that would take a few minutes, I'd just buy it on ebay to not risk it getting bought by someone else.

A few hours later I get a message from the COMC ebay account saying that there was a "technical error" with the listing and that they would be cancelling the order. The card is now listed again on COMC by the same seller for 9x the price.

Based on the fact that the card was listed for regular even dollar amounts ($120 and $100) on both ebay and COMC, I find it hard to believe that there was actually a "technical error" with the pricing and I'm very confident the seller intentionally picked those prices. Maybe I'm just pissed and it's clouding my judgement, but it really seems like when the card sold within minutes the seller realized he listed it for way too low and somehow convinced COMC support to cancel the sale.

After this happened I checked their negative feedback on ebay and saw a few other examples of people claiming they had cancelled orders, specifically after some player/actor died and their card prices spiked. Pretty awful way of doing business if this is actually what happened (which seems pretty likely), cancelling undersold items is something I'd expect out of 0 feedback ebay accounts, not a reputable business like COMC.

[mc1]

Occasionally.

I believe it is appropriate for cards that maybe are mis-priced by mistake. Perhaps a $100 card listed for $10 or so. The seller has to contact COMC to report the “mistake”.

Since this card is rare and it may have no recent comps, we dont truly know if it was a seller error. It is your word and opinion. If it is a $600-700 card then it does not seem egregious.

[boxbuster7]

What was the card?

I think they allow it within 4 hours of listing. I made a mistake one time and forgot to customize my sale, essentially making everything 55% off. There was like 5-10 cards I did reverse.

At the end of the day we are all human and make mistakes.

[discodanman45]

The seller doesn't pick the eBay price. They just sell it on COMC and it automatically prices it higher on eBay to cover the fees. So if they made a mistake on COMC listing it, they can request to have the transaction to be reversed. It has happened to me a few times and I just move on from it.

[Ericc5Bears]

Appreciate the comments, although I do still think that is incredibly lame. I'm super pissed so I'm biased, but COMC should be nothing more than a middleman for listing/fulfillment, them stepping in because a seller didn't do enough research seems kind of ridiculous.

It was a 2012 prizm gold and after doing some research the 2013 prizm gold of the same player sold for $100 exactly. So guessing the seller thought that was a good comp, priced it the same, saw it sold almost instantly, did some more research and realized they messed up.

[threepointplay]

Appreciate the comments, although I do still think that is incredibly lame. I'm super pissed so I'm biased, but COMC should be nothing more than a middleman for listing/fulfillment, them stepping in because a seller didn't do enough research seems kind of ridiculous.

It was a 2012 prizm gold and after doing some research the 2013 prizm gold of the same player sold for $100 exactly. So guessing the seller thought that was a good comp, priced it the same, saw it sold almost instantly, did some more research and realized they messed up.

So just out of interest, what would you think is a fair price for this card? So if you stood in-front of them and were negotiating a face-to-face deal, what number would you feel comfortable landing on?

[glen87]

COMC sometimes makes errors listing a card (base vs refractor / silver vs gold / etc...)

i have caught myself a couple of times mispricing a card based the comc label. not saying this was the case here, but i can attest it does happen, and when it does they will typically reverse the sale.

[Ericc5Bears]

So just out of interest, what would you think is a fair price for this card? So if you stood in-front of them and were negotiating a face-to-face deal, what number would you feel comfortable landing on?

If auctioned the card would do $400-$600 most likely based on other sales of comparable players. Not really sure why that matters though.

[Spacemanspif]

Could also be a timing issue. Like, when I price things on COMC, the listing doesn't show up on Ebay immediately, it can take minutes or hours. So if I list something at $100, realize what I did, and edit the price to $500 a couple minutes later, you could see the listing at $120 on ebay and try to buy it, but get caught in that dead time between when the COMC edit happens and when it actually syncs to the ebay interface. So the payment will go through on ebay, but will hit a wall with COMC when the system realizes the list price and incoming cash don't match. Like you said, you didn't even want to wait the couple of minutes to load credits to your COMC account, so it easily could have been changed by the seller within seconds of originally listing and it just took a bit of time for the systems to sync. Hardly something to get upset over

[Spacemanspif]

If auctioned the card would do $400-$600 most likely based on other sales of comparable players. Not really sure why that matters though.

it matters because you know it was likely an error, and not something shady as you're insinuating.

[Ericc5Bears]

it matters because you know it was likely an error, and not something shady as you're insinuating.

Of course it was an error, but it was most likely an error of the seller not properly understanding the value of 2012 prizm gold. If the card had been listed for $1 or $5 then yes, like other people mentioned, it most likely was a clerical error by COMC and not the sellers fault. But the fact it was priced at $100 which also just so happens to be the exact sale price of the last prizm gold sold of the same player makes it very unlikely that was the case.

[mc1]

Of course it was an error, but it was most likely an error of the seller not properly understanding the value of 2012 prizm gold. If the card had been listed for $1 or $5 then yes, like other people mentioned, it most likely was a clerical error by COMC and not the sellers fault. But the fact it was priced at $100 which also just so happens to be the exact sale price of the last prizm gold sold of the same player makes it very unlikely that was the case.

Well, if the seller listed for $100 and then later on figured out it was too low then it was a mistake by the seller. COMC usually gives sellers a couple hours to notify them of such mistakes. Im not sure it was a clerical error by COMC. It definitely sounds like the seller realized they priced it too low.

[Ericc5Bears]

Well, if the seller listed for $100 and then later on figured out it was too low then it was a mistake by the seller. COMC usually gives sellers a couple hours to notify them of such mistakes. Im not sure it was a clerical error by COMC. It definitely sounds like the seller realized they priced it too low.

Yeah, I'm sure that's what happened. I also don't think it's too outrageous for me to think it's stupid that COMC allowed this cancel. If you really think about it, the seller actually didn't even make a listing "mistake." His intention was to list to the card for $100 and that's exactly what happened. He then later regretted that decision because it turns out the item was worth significantly more.

Big difference between that and someone accidentally listing a silver for the price of a base because COMC didn't label it properly or accidentally discounting everything in their store by 50% instead of 1 specific item.

[mc1]

Agree to Disagree. It is a great policy for sellers.

[wubh]

Yeah, I'm sure that's what happened. I also don't think it's too outrageous for me to think it's stupid that COMC allowed this cancel. If you really think about it, the seller actually didn't even make a listing "mistake." His intention was to list to the card for $100 and that's exactly what happened. He then later regretted that decision because it turns out the item was worth significantly more.

Big difference between that and someone accidentally listing a silver for the price of a base because COMC didn't label it properly or accidentally discounting everything in their store by 50% instead of 1 specific item.

Agreed that you're right to be frustrated. I think of this like hitting a BIN deal and then have sellers tell us they couldn't find the card and refund us instead of honoring the sale. On the whole, I think few sellers are cancelling orders like this. I've certainly gotten some awesome steals on the site.

And ultimately, the COMC customer is the seller, who is paying fees to list these cards and cash out on the sales so COMC is more likely to side with sellers.

[hairyangryfella]

I can understand the frustration but you have little choice but to let it go.

What I'm interested in knowing is if it had been bought on COMC, would it also have been undone there...

[gigantesfan]

I've purchased numerous cards on the site that have later been reversed because the seller supposedly "mispriced" the card. It's part of their policy called Pricing Error Protection and I believe each seller is allowed 1 claim per month.

If it's a legitimate keystroke error, I understand the policy but it is very easy for sellers to abuse it. If a card sells very quickly a seller could simply look up the card price and then claim an error to have it reversed. Very frustrating as a buyer when you land a card you've been searching for only to have it taken away.

[mjohnatgt]

What I'm interested in knowing is if it had been bought on COMC, would it also have been undone there...
Yes, that happens too. I have also bought many mis-categorized cards and offered them back to COMC to return at the original price to the seller in the case that COMC screwed up and listed a rare parallel or error as a base card.

The negative feedbacks on eBay likely happen because the cards were bought by a flipper before the eBay transaction occurred, but COMC may not adequately explain that to eBay customers.

[Spacemanspif]

Of course it was an error, but it was most likely an error of the seller not properly understanding the value of 2012 prizm gold. If the card had been listed for $1 or $5 then yes, like other people mentioned, it most likely was a clerical error by COMC and not the sellers fault. But the fact it was priced at $100 which also just so happens to be the exact sale price of the last prizm gold sold of the same player makes it very unlikely that was the case.

you also ignored my (most likely scenario) about the lag time between changes made on the site vs ebay. again, you couldn't even wait for credits to load to your account, so we're talking about a matter of minutes.

end of the day, you're mad you didn't get a "steal". nothing shady was done, you're just blinded by greed and this whole thread is unnecessary

[mc1]

you also ignored my (most likely scenario) about the lag time between changes made on the site vs ebay. again, you couldn't even wait for credits to load to your account, so we're talking about a matter of minutes.

end of the day, you're mad you didn't get a "steal". nothing shady was done, you're just blinded by greed and this whole thread is unnecessary

This isnt a likely issue. It takes less than 5 seconds for prices to change on ebay after a seller has made the change on COMC.

[ThatGuyPal]

COMC is pretty beloved around here so you won't hear much bad, similar to BBCE before you know lol

It is lame, but I mean this doesn't seem any bigger a story than any other cancelled sale that underperformed. There's no "contract" that I know of that if you purchase a card through them it's yours so this will happen, I mean people would do the same thing to every Goldin auction where they underperformed if they could lol if you don't like it purchase from a place with a guarantee :)

[MFaulkCollector]

Appreciate the comments, although I do still think that is incredibly lame. I'm super pissed so I'm biased, but COMC should be nothing more than a middleman for listing/fulfillment, them stepping in because a seller didn't do enough research seems kind of ridiculous.

It was a 2012 prizm gold and after doing some research the 2013 prizm gold of the same player sold for $100 exactly. So guessing the seller thought that was a good comp, priced it the same, saw it sold almost instantly, did some more research and realized they messed up.

demarcus ware?

[rimshaqer34]

I also take right on COMC website for their ebay BIN listings, I hit buy on the COMC web and it is in my COMC account immediately, no worry about the cancelation whatsoever.

[Ericc5Bears]

I also take right on COMC website for their ebay BIN listings, I hit buy on the COMC web and it is in my COMC account immediately, no worry about the cancelation whatsoever.

According to multiple posts in this thread they will reverse the sale directly through COMC so even that doesn't save you.

[wubh]

According to the website (and probably their ToS):
Pricing Error Protection
We're all human and pricing mistakes can occur. If you discover a pricing typo on an item that sells within 3 hours of listing, contact us with your intended asking price within 24 hours of the sale and we will determine at our discretion if the transaction requires reversal. Please exercise reasonable caution in all purchases and sales. Sellers are limited to one Pricing Error Protection request per month.
So whether it was a genuine mistake (maybe they meant to list at $1000 but left a 0 off and then relisted at $900 after further research/consideration) or seller's remorse, there was a small window for a possible reversal, which then had to be approved by staff. And the seller likely has not used/abused this request before and would have been SOL if the card sold after the 3 hour mark on the site.

Sorry you didn't get the card but overall, I'm glad this policy exists. It's really easy to make mistakes when adding prices to a full batch of newly processed cards. I've probably been more on the side of accidentally listing $3.99 cards at $39.99 due to extra keystrokes so I've never used this before as a seller but I'm sure others have done the opposite.

[mc1]

COMC is pretty beloved around here so you won't hear much bad, similar to BBCE before you know lol

It is lame, but I mean this doesn't seem any bigger a story than any other cancelled sale that underperformed. There's no "contract" that I know of that if you purchase a card through them it's yours so this will happen, I mean people would do the same thing to every Goldin auction where they underperformed if they could lol if you don't like it purchase from a place with a guarantee :)

They havent always been. I wouldnt say they are even now. This is a gross misrepresentation.

It is a good policy for sellers, that simple. Ive made mistakes before where I priced a $2 card for $200. I can see how someone would price a $1000 card for $100. It happens.

[gomiamigo]

Many years ago a card price I did not edit mistakenly was changed by them from $400 to $4 somehow and then was immediately sold. COMC would not fix the error.

[RealDocStrange]

I still get mildly torqued by the morning I woke up on the west coast to see all my comc listed judge and Goldschmidt 2022 refractors had sold for a couple bucks each. The announcement of the promo was made while we were still asleep.

I still think the fair thing to do from comc (given they were a party to the promo and obviously new in advance) would be to pause trading on those cards for a couple hours but is what it is.


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[rimshaqer34]

Holy damn, this is sucks! LOL

According to multiple posts in this thread they will reverse the sale directly through COMC so even that doesn't save you.