COMC’s Elite Service — Is it worth it? You be the judge. (incl. before & after scans)

[Chrominator]

After hearing several opinions about the topic, I figured I’d share my recent Elite Scans along with their initial scanned images, and let you decide.

But, first, let me explain what I didn’t know.

I didn’t know that when transferring cards to COMC and list them for sale, if they are a certain dollar amount (>$80?) then you’re automatically paying for the Elite scans (but you still need to choose to have them reprocessed in order to get them).

After that I realized that selling higher-end on COMC will cost a pretty penny that adds up daily for the “enhanced security.”

So, I ended up spending over $50 before I figured out what was happening – lesson learned.

Hope this helps someone else.

[glen87]

it's more than $80....i just tried to price something at $99 and did not get the $2 charge.

epack is down, i will transfer something and test the exact amount once it i up

[1992UDFootball]

You break $100 and it's $2.

For the most part the pictures are better quality.

Sometimes they rush through them and take photos at weird angles and then sometimes the watermark covers up things like signatures and serial numbers.

[longhornjunkie]

I don't sell on COMC so I'm out of the loop and never check the "All I want to talk about..." thread...

Wasn't their whole deal from day 1 the pride in their patented scanning process/technology? Now that it's subpar/lacking, they want to charge extra to upgrade or do something else?

[Chrominator]

Been reading through the links at the bottom of the home page.

Found this tidbit interesting:

If you have individual cards valued at $1,000 or more, please send photos to AUCTIONS@COMC.COM for special opportunities to maximize exposure.
Please also include your Name and Phone Number.
A team member will respond to continue the conversation about promoting your high-end cards!

Anyone here ever had special opportunities?

[orion9578]

I scan almost everything I have for sale on there. It's mostly an OCD thing vs a "being worth it" thing. I do seem to get more eBay sales on non-scanned vs scanned, but that could be because I scan most stuff I buy(probably 95%).

As far as it being worth $2 per card, I'm on the fence. If I was smart, I'd probably scan less(and wait to ship instead of doing a bunch of small shipments...though that might have changed with the recent shipping price changes).

It's $2 if you price stuff over $100. It'll give you a warning when you go to save the price, so it's kind of idiot proof. And the enhanced security fee is for anything priced over $50. If you're curious what you have that's being charged that enhanced security fee, you can click on the estimated enhanced security fee under general account info(right below your total balance). Plus...you get charged a storage fee on anything priced between $0.76 and $49.99. The storage is "free", for I think 90 days, if you do a scan.

Lastly, as far as any "special opportunities" go...good luck getting anyone to get with you on just about anything. CS is crickets and even if you have an account manager, they rarely respond to emails or do so weeks after you try and get ahold of them. It's basically the wild west on COMC these days

[Chrominator]

Originally Posted by orion9578

I scan almost everything I have for sale on there. It's mostly an OCD thing vs a "being worth it" thing. I do seem to get more eBay sales on non-scanned vs scanned, but that could be because I scan most stuff I buy(probably 95%).

As far as it being worth $2 per card, I'm on the fence. If I was smart, I'd probably scan less(and wait to ship instead of doing a bunch of small shipments...though that might have changed with the recent shipping price changes).

It's $2 if you price stuff over $100. It'll give you a warning when you go to save the price, so it's kind of idiot proof. And the enhanced security fee is for anything priced over $50. If you're curious what you have that's being charged that enhanced security fee, you can click on the estimated enhanced security fee under general account info(right below your total balance). Plus...you get charged a storage fee on anything priced between $0.76 and $49.99. The storage is "free", for I think 90 days, if you do a scan.

Lastly, as far as any "special opportunities" go...good luck getting anyone to get with you on just about anything. CS is crickets and even if you have an account manager, they rarely respond to emails or do so weeks after you try and get ahold of them. It's basically the wild west on COMC these days

Great info, ty

[DynaEtch]

When mine are over $99 I do elite scans. In theory the enhanced scan could even actually hurt a card’s chances of selling, as it makes the flaws more prominent and clearer, like corner issues etc, which may not be so obvious with a normal scan. I’ve noticed that when browsing cards from a buyers perspective. But I’m all for the transparency an elite scan provides…I don’t think that’s a bad thing btw…just that I wonder if it has deterred some gem-seeking buyers who may have taken a gamble with a lower quality scan.

[Soxrule111]

Originally Posted by orion9578

I scan almost everything I have for sale on there. It's mostly an OCD thing vs a "being worth it" thing. I do seem to get more eBay sales on non-scanned vs scanned, but that could be because I scan most stuff I buy(probably 95%).

As far as it being worth $2 per card, I'm on the fence. If I was smart, I'd probably scan less(and wait to ship instead of doing a bunch of small shipments...though that might have changed with the recent shipping price changes).

It's $2 if you price stuff over $100. It'll give you a warning when you go to save the price, so it's kind of idiot proof. And the enhanced security fee is for anything priced over $50. If you're curious what you have that's being charged that enhanced security fee, you can click on the estimated enhanced security fee under general account info(right below your total balance). Plus...you get charged a storage fee on anything priced between $0.76 and $49.99. The storage is "free", for I think 90 days, if you do a scan.

Lastly, as far as any "special opportunities" go...good luck getting anyone to get with you on just about anything. CS is crickets and even if you have an account manager, they rarely respond to emails or do so weeks after you try and get ahold of them. It's basically the wild west on COMC these days

I disagree on the Idiot Proof only because Ive been charged several times with it lol. I priced something at $100, got the notice changed to $99.99 price went through no notice. I lowered the price under $100, thought I was good. Not knowing it was counting the insertion fee as well so I still got charged. They should notify you anytime you adjust your price. Its only like $10-$20 Ive lost, but it still irritates me to throw money away because I thought I adjust correctly.

[orion9578]

Originally Posted by DynaEtch

When mine are over $99 I do elite scans. In theory the enhanced scan could even actually hurt a card’s chances of selling, as it makes the flaws more prominent and clearer, like corner issues etc, which may not be so obvious with a normal scan. I’ve noticed that when browsing cards from a buyers perspective. But I’m all for the transparency an elite scan provides…I don’t think that’s a bad thing btw…just that I wonder if it has deterred some gem-seeking buyers who may have taken a gamble with a lower quality scan.

Could be a deterrent, for sure. I've noticed kind of the opposite...seems stuff I've had sitting without a scan, does just that, it sits. Then once my OCD kicks in and I scan it, it SEEMS to move faster. Probably not always the case! I've sold 80,294 items on there over the years though...eventually patterns emerge

PS. Beware when GEM hunting. This is something I think COMC should rectify somehow, but items sent to pre-grade that DO NOT pass, come back as Elite. They don't say anything like "Didn't pass COMC pre-grade", like they should, IMO. So, stuff you can't see with just a scan(mostly surface issue...), could be there.

Originally Posted by Soxrule111

I disagree on the Idiot Proof only because Ive been charged several times with it lol. I priced something at $100, got the notice changed to $99.99 price went through no notice. I lowered the price under $100, thought I was good. Not knowing it was counting the insertion fee as well so I still got charged. They should notify you anytime you adjust your price. Its only like $10-$20 Ive lost, but it still irritates me to throw money away because I thought I adjust correctly.

Yeah...the issue is once you click enter once...if you don't correctly price it($99.75 etc.), you're going to get the $2 hammer once you hit enter again. It warns you once and if you mess up again...

[boxbuster7]

everytime I have to pay that $2 fee I curse

[sthoemke]

No. The cards look a little better in the image, but flaws are more noticeable, and they increase the shipping charge to $1.

[DynaEtch]

Originally Posted by orion9578

Could be a deterrent, for sure. I've noticed kind of the opposite...seems stuff I've had sitting without a scan, does just that, it sits. Then once my OCD kicks in and I scan it, it SEEMS to move faster.

That’s interesting. I’m sure it can vary card to card (and just random chance with how things sell regardless of scan).

I guess the pros of an elite scan are it’s a more striking/flashy image, especially of certain parallels…the cons are it shows damage more.

Like for a sketch, it probably doesn’t do a ton…just shows artist-wear on them more etc. But for a 2024 masterpieces 92 platinum Kaleidoscope or Holofoil parallel, it definitely brings out the reflective foil pattern better.

Which brings up another point…doing an elite scan takes an uncirculated stock photo and shows the exact card…which almost always hurts it in that example of the 92 platinum holofoils since they’re mostly severely off-center. Would have been better leaving it as a stock photo

[orion9578]

Originally Posted by DynaEtch

That’s interesting. I’m sure it can vary card to card (and just random chance with how things sell regardless of scan).

I guess the pros of an elite scan are it’s a more striking/flashy image, especially of certain parallels…the cons are it shows damage more.

Like for a sketch, it probably doesn’t do a ton…just shows artist-wear on them more etc. But for a 2024 masterpieces 92 platinum Kaleidoscope or Holofoil parallel, it definitely brings out the reflective foil pattern better.

Which brings up another point…doing an elite scan takes an uncirculated stock photo and shows the exact card…which almost always hurts it in that example of the 92 platinum holofoils since they’re mostly severely off-center. Would have been better leaving it as a stock photo

All good points!

I'll add that it wasn't all that long ago that you HAD to scan a card if you wanted to send it to auction. So, there's that too. I like(d) having my COMC cards as "liquid" as possible, meaning at the drop of a hat I could send everything over to auction if I needed/wanted to. That's not the case anymore, with the addition of the $0.99/no scan needed auction.

[Chrominator]

Figured we'd include the Pre-grade service into this conversation as well...




Alas, it didn't pass (after the 2-week waiting period);

but at least it got rid of that dern questionable white spot

[Chrominator]

Taking another elite service risk today — trying to up the bounty on some gold rainbows and jambalayas.

Main reason for this was bc I wanted to grade one of these but found out it's not eligible for grading until the $2 elite scan.

Anyway, I'm having bunch of stock images turned into real images for real cash.

Wish me luck! 😂

[Chrominator]

And they’re back! Here's some of the goods:

[Chrominator]

Happy w/ this result

[ForceChange77]

Cards have to be priced at 99.74 to avoid the upcharge.
Even if you price it up above $99.74 and get charged the upcharge, the new pic is not automatic but the S/H stays at .25 cents. Once you reprocess it, it will go up to $1.00 S/H.

Advanced storage fees start at $50, so best to price it at $49.74 to avoid those.

[Chrominator]

Originally Posted by ForceChange77

...but the S/H stays at .25 cents. Once you reprocess it, it will go up to $1.00 S/H.

thx

[mjohnatgt]

Originally Posted by Chrominator

Happy w/ this result

Was the first card a stock photo? Because the 2nd image is a better centered card than the first card.

[Chrominator]

Originally Posted by mjohnatgt

Was the first card a stock photo? Because the 2nd image is a better centered card than the first card.

Yes, I believe most unnumbered cards on COMC via e-pack are stock images.

I also believe they may use stock images for the back of numbered cards that are stamped on the front (via e-pack).