Comic Book Delivery Service?
 

What comic book service does everyone use? I picked up DCBS from one thread and that looks like it has pretty good prices. I'd like to keep using my local comic dealer, but the discount has slowly become less and less (it used to be 20%, now it's 10%, plus 20 cents for bags and boards per comic). I'm only saving about 5 cents per comic after all is said and done. Any recommendations?
Thanks.

I think most people here use DCBS or www.mailordercomics.com

You might want to check the main comic book thread, people usually discuss where they got their books from online and how the service was :)

I'll throw in my support for mailordercomics. Thier customer support is second to none, very responsive & personal. In all my years of use I only received 1 item in less than perfect condition (Essential Human Torch) which they replaced in the subsequent shipment. They told me to keep the damaged copy which I gave to my son.

just a quick question:

when the books ship do they come in any packaging like a box, or are they just shipped like regular magazine?

thanks.

See also these earlier threads:<ul><li><A HREF="http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=244188" target="_blank">Recommend me a place to buy comics and trades [merged]</a><li><A HREF="http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=272132" target="_blank">Any Good Online Comic Book Retailers? [merged]</a></li></ul>

If you're using a comic books store, like Mile High Comics or Mail Order Comics, then they'll ship in a box. You order your comics in advance -- you order comics shipping in July in May, and then either the last week of July or early August, they'll box up all of the comics you've ordered and ship them to you.

Mail Order Comics puts a bunch of comics or like size trades inside of a large plastic bag which is wrapped and taped securely so that the books don't shift around and get damaged. They they wrap that package in a cardboard sleve which has adhesive on either end and the sides. It really keeps everything secure. Then all of your cardboard sleves are placed in a box with styrofoam peanuts (or sometimes those air filled bags, though it has been peanuts recently) and securely shipped. Very safe and damage resistent.

DCBS is also very secure. Several large plastic bags holding the comics and peanuts. I originally began ordering with bags and boards for extra security, but you don't really need to worry. The boards were taking up too much space in my comic boxes.

I use to order from New England Comics until they sent me porn in the mail by mistake, that was it for them! Decent discount but the shipping fees just about took all the discount away. My local store is still holding steady at 15% discount for reserves, but I have noticed lately they are posting alot of comments that business is not well and they are going to get more strict, IMO that means the discount might go down. If they do that I am cutting my book order in half at least. With all the comics right now at 2.99 the comic book hobby is getting extremely expensive..

You know, I've never ordered bags and boards from them. Can you order just enough for the amount of issues you get, or do you just order them in bulk?

I just have my comic store hold whichever comic series I read and stop by once a month. Unless it is some event issue that everyone is talking about (which makes me want to get it sooner), I can wait a month and pick up a nice stack to read that night.

How much do these delivery services cost for shipping? It seems that any savings on the comics would be taken up by shipping.

Well, mailordercomics used to charge a flat rate, but they've smartened up and have a sort of variable charge that is probably calculated by approximate weight. I mean, I used to buy lots of toys and stuff from the import section of the catalog, and thus the shipped boxes were huge...

It depends on how much you buy a month. If you buy just a few issues a month, than it's not worth it. If the 35% or so average discount on books is more than the probable ~10 dollar shipping charge, (I mean, that's 35 bucks for a hundred dollar order) then it's worth it. The only gripe I have is that the discount makes me look at books I wouldn't buy otherwise... and thus I have a hard time getting my total monthly cost down.

Talk to your local store first. Tell them of the better deals you're finding online, and see if they'll reconsider their pricing. It's important to support your local small businesses, especially in this time where Marvel, DC and Diamond don't give a rat's ass about the mom & pop places and are instead pandering to places like Wal-Mart.

If they can't reconsider, then go with the delivery service, but give them a chance first.