COMC shipping bug and no response from customer service.
 

I know a lot of discussion has been around shipping times for COMC. However, now that I am experiencing a bug that requires attention from customer service, I believe their customer service is probably just as bad.

Issue:

Bug #1) I have one COMC account that I use for both flipping and shipping. So, I frequently switch back and forth between the buying options. This has always worked until recently when I went to request a new shipment. Every single card purchased through the "simplified" option is still adding a $0.25 fee for every card. Even on the shipping overview page it shows every single card as having $0.00 shipping fee. Once I click continue to view the price and checkout the $0.25 fee is being added there.

Bug #2) While investigating bug #1 I noticed that just one random card (nothing special about the card) has a $0.20 shipping fee tied to it even though I did indeed buy it through the simplified buying option. Even though it should be $0.00 I find it weird that it is showing $0.20 instead of $0.25. (not accusing anyone) but it's almost like someone manually went in and added a $0.20 fee to that card? idk Since when did any card receive a $0.20 shipping fee regardless of the buying option used?

Customer Service Issue) I had originally sent the first email through their website service feature on January 20th of 2026. I have sent follow up emails twice since then. I have yet to hear anything from their side not even an email acknowledging that they have received and maybe looking into the matter.

Has anyone else experienced these bugs?
Has anyone else had no response from customer service?

I love COMC and honestly, I don't have faith in the current leadership there. They have never been able to fix any issues since the delays started happening during COVID or whatever and it just seems like things are continuing to get worse. You can see the number of cards sellers are putting on there has dropped tremendously over the years. In addition, the mobile app is bare bones and pretty much useless.

To whom it may concern, please do what's right and step down, sell your business or be transparent and let us know you have no idea what you are doing. Also, We are tired of the "public announcements" on acknowledging horrible shipping delays, it's been 5 years!

Concerned client,
Footballcardlist

Unfortunately, Bug #1 is a feature as COMC added a .25 per card shipping fee back in May regardless of the mode the card was purchased in. However, the .25 fee applies to cards shipping Standard. Bulk allows you to ship up to 500 cards for $19.99 (the tradeoff being the shipping time is slower).

[URL="https://blog.comc.com/2025/05/27/comc-shipping-update-may-2025/"]https://blog.comc.com/2025/05/27/comc-shipping-update-may-2025/[/URL]

[URL="https://comc.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/37419200894747-Shipping-Services-Fees"]https://comc.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/37419200894747-Shipping-Services-Fees[/URL]

[QUOTE=youseekyoda421;20185442]Unfortunately, Bug #1 is a feature as COMC added a .25 per card shipping fee back in May regardless of the mode the card was purchased in. However, the .25 fee applies to cards shipping Standard. Bulk allows you to ship up to 500 cards for $19.99 (the tradeoff being the shipping time is slower).

[URL="https://blog.comc.com/2025/05/27/comc-shipping-update-may-2025/"]https://blog.comc.com/2025/05/27/comc-shipping-update-may-2025/[/URL]

[URL="https://comc.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/37419200894747-Shipping-Services-Fees"]https://comc.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/37419200894747-Shipping-Services-Fees[/URL][/QUOTE]

hmm, that doesn't make sense to me.
Are you saying they got rid of "flat-rate"?
There is absolutely 0 difference from simplified and advanced mode beyond paying the $0.25 up front.

In your case i/everyone would be charged double for shipping for cards purchased in simplified mode.

Here is the flate-rate shipping page that was updated only 3 months ago which is more recent than the shipping page you listed.

[url]https://comc.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/1260804004650-Flat-Rate-shipping-and-per-item-shipping-fees-explainer[/url]

You can find it on the same page as the one you linked here:
[url]https://blog.comc.com/2025/05/27/comc-shipping-update-may-2025/[/url]


It still looks like a bug to me in that it's not giving me the option for "Flate-Rate" and it's on "standard" as you pointed out always adds the $0.25 fee.
The shipping page still says "Flat Rate Shipping only applies to items purchased through COMC." which is where I purchased ALL of my cards so it should be showing.

[I]hmm, that doesn't make sense to me.
Are you saying they got rid of "flat-rate"?[/I]

No. This is an additional 25 cent per card fee for non bulk shipments.

You still pay the handling fee to add a card to a shipment, which is usually also 25 cents.

They still have flat rate shipping, which is $5.99 (I believe).

You can avoid the new fee by shipping up to 500 cards in a bulk shipment (which currently takes about 3 ish months to arrive), for $19.99.

You still pay handling fees, so a 500 card bulk shipment with standard handling runs about $144.95 if the items were purchased in Advanced Reseller Mode.

[url]https://blog.comc.com/2025/05/27/comc-shipping-update-may-2025/[/url]


COMC Shipping Update
May 27, 2025
press release

April was a fantastic month for sellers on COMC.com & COMC’s eBay storefront. More than 1.2 million cards were sold across these two platforms.

Even with COMC growing and business booming for our sellers, we aren’t immune to the rising costs of shipping and supplies that you’ve been hearing about each night on the news.

Given these larger macroeconomic pressures, we have no choice but to make some adjustments:

Effective today (May 27):

The price to ship cards in top loaders has increased from $0.35 to $0.50.

COMC has introduced a new Standard shipping option that has slightly increased per-item fees, but provides faster overall processing times of 7-10 days. Our Economy service has been replaced by a new Bulk service, a high-capacity option ideal for larger orders containing 50 or more cards. Visit our Shipping Services & Fees page for service times & fees associated with each tier.

For Rushed shipping, the cost has increased to $8.99 plus $1.00 per additional item.

For any multi-card purchases on eBay, COMC has raised the additional item fee from $0.50 to $1.00.

Please note that, if you already have a shipment in progress, you will not be able to make changes to the shipping methods originally selected. We will honor the shipping methods and fees for orders placed prior to this change.

If you have questions about any of these changes we’ve shared, we’re here to help answer those for you. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us by e-mail at [email]staff@comc.com[/email]. Thank you again for being a part of COMC and, as always, happy collecting!

[url]https://comc.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/37419200894747-Shipping-Services-Fees[/url]


Shipping Services & Fees
Matt

9 months ago Updated

Not yet followed by anyone

This page provides an overview of our recently updated domestic shipping services and costs.



For delivery timeframes and all international shipping services, please refer to our dedicated Shipping Rates page here and enter your country and postal code.


Shipping Service Level Base Price Price Per Additional Item
Standard $5.99 $0.25
Rushed $8.99 $1
Express $42.99* $1
Bulk $19.99 $0.00** (Limit 500 max cards)
eBay $5.99 $1 ($14.99 cap per order)



*Express shipping rates can vary depending on destination.

**Bulk orders exceeding 500 cards will be split into separate shipments with multiple $19.99 charges.

As of May 27th, the price of the top loader add-on has increased from $0.35 to $0.50.

Regarding Bug #2, it's just a guess, but it's possible the handling fee was increased for some reason from 25 cents to 45 cents, and someone thought to charge you the added 20 cents. It isn't typical, but they sometimes charge 45 cents for items which are slightly oversized or have to be stored in a toploader for whatever reason.

[QUOTE=checkoutmydeals;20186139][I]hmm, that doesn't make sense to me.
Are you saying they got rid of "flat-rate"?[/I]

They still have flat rate shipping, which is $5.99 (I believe).

[/QUOTE]

Correct, that is the bug. All of my cards meet the criteria for flat-rate but it isn't giving me the option (which is a bug I assume). Instead, all of them are still being added to the "standard" shipping option which is adding an additional $0.25 shipping per item.

[QUOTE=checkoutmydeals;20186148]Regarding Bug #2, it's just a guess, but it's possible the handling fee was increased for some reason from 25 cents to 45 cents, and someone thought to charge you the added 20 cents. It isn't typical, but they sometimes charge 45 cents for items which are slightly oversized or have to be stored in a toploader for whatever reason.[/QUOTE]

The card with the additional $0.20 is a 2018-19 Panini Spectra - [Base] card.
I purchased multiples from the same set within minutes from one another, only that one has the additional $0.20 fee added. As stated before, nothing is special about the card and I don't believe the $0.20 additional fee was there when I originally bought the card.

Again, this is not a bug. It is a new fee which has been in effect since May. It's extremely confusing because it's 25 cents per card, the same as the handling fee, and they don't have a name for it. But you are not being charged the fee in error. It effectively costs 50 cents above base price to add a standard card to a shipment now, whereas before it cost 25 cents.

[QUOTE=checkoutmydeals;20186253]Again, this is not a bug. It is a new fee which has been in effect since May. It's extremely confusing because it's 25 cents per card, the same as the handling fee, and they don't have a name for it. But you are not being charged the fee in error. It effectively costs 50 cents above base price to add a standard card to a shipment now, whereas before it cost 25 cents.[/QUOTE]

then what the heck is "Flat-Rate" shipping then???

have you looked at this page?
[url]https://comc.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/1260804004650-Flat-Rate-shipping-and-per-item-shipping-fees-explainer[/url]

so if i buy a bunch of cards that are qaulified for flat-rate and then your saying them charging me an additional $0.25 per card is NOT A BUG then that means they literally dont have a flat-rate shipping service then .. because it would obviously cost more than $5.99 ...

It's 100% very confusing... probably on purpose.

My understanding is that "Flat Rate" = "Bulk". This is the $19.99 shipping option for up to 500 cards (side note: if your shipment is valued at over $400, there's a mandatory additional $5 fee for signature confirmation).

The Flat Rate/Bulk option is ONLY available to you for cards that you bought in Simple Mode. Therefore, you've already paid that shady $0.25 per item fee (it was included in the purchase price of the card), and you do not have to pay an additional per item fee. If you buy in Advanced mode, you don't get charged that $0.25, but you're also not allowed to ship your cards home using the Flat Rate option.

[QUOTE=basechase;20186527]It's 100% very confusing... probably on purpose.

My understanding is that "Flat Rate" = "Bulk". This is the $19.99 shipping option for up to 500 cards (side note: if your shipment is valued at over $400, there's a mandatory additional $5 fee for signature confirmation).

The Flat Rate/Bulk option is ONLY available to you for cards that you bought in Simple Mode. Therefore, you've already paid that shady $0.25 per item fee (it was included in the purchase price of the card), and you do not have to pay an additional per item fee. If you buy in Advanced mode, you don't get charged that $0.25, but you're also not allowed to ship your cards home using the Flat Rate option.[/QUOTE]

They do charge more for thick cards. Not sure how much now.

Any cards purchased in Advanced mode you get charged both of the .25 fees at the end. If you make a mistake and add one card purchased in advance mode to your shipment. It will not allow you to ship in bulk. It is not easy to find that one card.
It is confusing when you think you should be paying $18.25 and they ask for $21.25. 2 cards from auctions.

I fully sympathize with anyone who finds this annoying, confusing and poorly communicated.

I don't work for COMC, didn't come up with this fee, and didn't write that "explainer".

I have, however shipped over 5,000 cards since this new policy was enacted. 100% of these were purchased in Advanced Reseller Mode. You can ship in Bulk. You just have to pay the handling fee (usually 25 cents per item). You cannot ship more than 500 items at a time. This means I pay approximately $144.99 for Bulk Shipments of 500 cards (approximately 29 cents per card).

[url]https://comc.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/37419200894747-Shipping-Services-Fees[/url]

I agree that this is confusing and should be rewritten. One problem is that they are using the same term to describe two different things. Another is that they slip back and forth between the old usage of a term and the new usage.

From the "Explainer":

[url]https://comc.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/1260804004650-Flat-Rate-shipping-and-per-item-shipping-fees-explainer[/url]

"Please note, these fees are distinct from the per-item shipping fees from our Standard, Rushed and Express shipping services levels"

The "per-item shipping fees from our Standard, Rushed and Express shipping services levels" appears to be the incorrect term. This should be called the "handling fee", as it has been called since COMC started in 2007.

"Flat Rate Shipping" is also an outdated term, and should not be used. On the Shipping Services & Fees page, this is called the "Base Price". This also should not be used, since "Base Price" also refers to the Base Price of an individual card.

I'd prefer something like "Order Setup Fee" or "Box Cost" or something. Anyway, when they use "Flat Rate Shipping" what they seem to mean is:

$5.99 for Standard
$8.99 for Rushed
$42.99 for Express
$19.99 for Bulk

The new fee is called "Price Per Additional Item" in the table. However, they sometimes also call the Handling fee "Per Item Shipping Fee at the Time of Shipping" in the "Explainer", and both this fee and the Handling fee are generally 25 cents per card, and they stack on top of each other so it gets very confusing very quickly.

Basically, they doubled the handling fee while pretending they didn't and also while trying to make it retroactive to cards which they've already collected the handling fee on.

It's even worse on eBay, where they charge $5.99 for the first card, $1 to add an additional item (capped at $14.99), and also charge a minimum of 99 cents per card (per eBay's requirement). When the smoke clears, it's possible for an 11 card shipment of 2 cent (COMC base price) cards to cost the buyer around $25 plus tax.

Maybe you're requesting shipment while in advanced reseller mode? I know that shouldn't matter, but you never know. I only stick to simplified with bulk shipping and never run into this problem.

So, it sounds like everyone is saying “flate-rate” $5.99 is no more even though they have a dedicated page specifically for it? And yall are saying that the only real flate-rate option is now bulk which has its own limitation and rules? So it’s a totally different service rather than “flate-rate”? lol I don’t even won’t to use COMC anymore at this point. They were supposed to be a great service that supposedly advertised that they are for set builders but I personally will not be buying 100+ commons for .. let’s see 1million dollars. Get out of here with your non sense COMC.

[QUOTE=paparoke;20186967]Maybe you're requesting shipment while in advanced reseller mode? I know that shouldn't matter, but you never know. I only stick to simplified with bulk shipping and never run into this problem.[/QUOTE]

No, I double checked , re-applied the option in settings and nothing. Made sure all cards I’m adding show that S&H shows $0.00 (meaning I bought them in simplified mode and had already paid extra)

So, I finally received a response through email today.

The flate-rate option has been replaced with the bulk option. They apologized for the "flate-rate" messages still showing on the site. I assume they just haven't removed them yet.

I will include my personal thoughts on the leadership of the company just on this experience. I am a developer for a company in the hundreds of million-dollar revenue spectrum. We would never allow such a change without making sure messages for "flate-rate" were no longer present on the site once we pushed the update with the new shipping structure. I honestly think it shows how they may be struggling over there. IDK, but in addition taken into account the horrible COMC app available on iphone .. i'm probably not wrong .. at least on the tech side of the company.

Anyhoo, i'm glad I have an answer from them directly, thanks for everyone trying to exlpain this madness. :coffee:

They've never been particularly good about pruning their website of outdated information. And they're rarely proactive when it comes to explaining their process. That's why the COMC threads in this section span for thousands of pages; the passionate user community can answer questions better and faster than any of their employees, for the most part.

[I]I honestly think it shows how they may be struggling over there.[/I]

I'm going to echo what John said. I don't know if this should make you feel better or terrify you, but they've always been very bad at explaining things, almost never revise anything once it is written, and rely heavily on the users to explain how the site works.

I did share your plight on a private message board where at least one COMC employee lurks, so it's possible that they could revise the wording at some point in the future and make it 5% to 10% less confusing.

It can be a really great site for buying, selling, collecting and flipping, but sometimes it's about as user friendly as a pull-your-own auto part junkyard where all the signs are written in Esperanto. Good luck!

[QUOTE=checkoutmydeals;20186653]I fully sympathize with anyone who finds this annoying, confusing and poorly communicated.

I don't work for COMC, didn't come up with this fee, and didn't write that "explainer".

I have, however shipped over 5,000 cards since this new policy was enacted. 100% of these were purchased in Advanced Reseller Mode. You can ship in Bulk. You just have to pay the handling fee (usually 25 cents per item). You cannot ship more than 500 items at a time. This means I pay approximately $144.99 for Bulk Shipments of 500 cards (approximately 29 cents per card).[/QUOTE]

so, if i ship 500 cards from simplified mode i only have to pay $19.99 for shipping without the additional $0.25 per card? Sry, even though they answered my email they failed to explain anything (lol). Just "thats the cheapest for your order, bulk is the new flate-rate".

[QUOTE=Footballcardlis;20192926]so, if i ship 500 cards from simplified mode i only have to pay $19.99 for shipping without the additional $0.25 per card? Sry, even though they answered my email they failed to explain anything (lol). Just "thats the cheapest for your order, bulk is the new flate-rate".[/QUOTE]

I have recently done this. I only purchase in simplified mode and paid $24.99(they add $5 insurance if your order is valued $400) for 500 cards. Comes out to around 5 cents a card...can't beat it. Unfortunately, the lead time is atrocious and I'm estimated a 4 month+ delivery date.

[QUOTE=paparoke;20193088]I have recently done this. I only purchase in simplified mode and paid $24.99(they add $5 insurance if your order is valued $400) for 500 cards. Comes out to around 5 cents a card...can't beat it. Unfortunately, the lead time is atrocious and I'm estimated a 4 month+ delivery date.[/QUOTE]

Awesome, thanks for clarifying.

[QUOTE=basechase;20186527]It's 100% very confusing... probably on purpose.

My understanding is that "Flat Rate" = "Bulk". This is the $19.99 shipping option for up to 500 cards [b](side note: if your shipment is valued at over $400, there's a mandatory additional $5 fee for signature confirmation).[/b]

The Flat Rate/Bulk option is ONLY available to you for cards that you bought in Simple Mode. Therefore, you've already paid that shady $0.25 per item fee (it was included in the purchase price of the card), and you do not have to pay an additional per item fee. If you buy in Advanced mode, you don't get charged that $0.25, but you're also not allowed to ship your cards home using the Flat Rate option.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=paparoke;20193088]I have recently done this. I only purchase in simplified mode and paid $24.99[b](they add $5 insurance if your order is valued $400)[/b] for 500 cards. Comes out to around 5 cents a card...can't beat it. Unfortunately, the lead time is atrocious and I'm estimated a 4 month+ delivery date.[/QUOTE]

Does anyone know if this is still a thing? Are you [b]automatically[/b] charged the $5 for signature confirmation(and/or insurance) on $400+? If so, my last 2 shipments I got charged $5 a piece and neither were shipped with signature/insurance.

16 card order. 2 cards already put it over the $400
[url=https://imgbb.com/][img]https://i.ibb.co/nNZTPVcH/1.png[/img][/url]
[url=https://ibb.co/0yqvSGqG][img]https://i.ibb.co/8gMtp7M7/1-1.png[/img][/url]

5 card order. Again, just 2 cards put it over the $400
[url=https://imgbb.com/][img]https://i.ibb.co/FkTWnBgz/2.png[/img][/url]
[url=https://ibb.co/kV2N4RPY][img]https://i.ibb.co/SDwFthZq/2-2.png[/img][/url]

If I'm being automatically charged the $5 because the orders were over $400 a piece, I suspect I should email CS and ask about getting my $10 back.

And just for reference, I named these order(png) 1 and order 2. They both had a request date in February 2026. My order just before that was just shy of the $400 mark at $396~, order date 1/31. And my order before that one was on 1/16 and it was barely over the $400 mark($432~) and it [b]DID[/b] have signature added.

Kind of OT to the original message in the thread, and I'm sorry about that, but it has to do with shipping and seemingly being overcharged...assuming they do indeed add $5 per order over $400. I've never paid much attention to shipping charges, but I guess I should, if I'm giving away $5 bills :)

They show their shipping rate very clear. What is not clear is all the other fees that can be added.

Extra for: Thick cards, oversize cards, top loaders, cards from auctions and value of cards over $400. I have spent more time than I want to trying to find them.

Then there are [B]their mistakes[/B] in adding these extra fees.

Do you think they will ever let advanced buyers use bulk shipping? I am ok paying the .25 to make my shipment qualify for bulk shipping but to pay .50 each to get my cards is a lot if shipping 500 cards each time.

A part of me wants to ship more cards home since they seem to change the rules when they want regarding shipping. I get things move up in price but to penalize people who used advanced reselling mode and not offer to grandfather these cards since they were purchased before the changes were made is wrong.

Are you guys switching to simplified mode to buy cards you will probably send home eventually?

[I]Do you think they will ever let advanced buyers use bulk shipping?[/I]

Anyone can use bulk shipping. It's $19.99 plus the handling fee on your cards. Up to 500 items per shipment.

If you bought in Simplified Mode, you already paid the handling fee so it's $19.99

If you bought in Advanced Reseller Mode, you haven't paid the handling fee, so it's usually around $145-ish for 500 cards if everything has 25 cent handling

Thank you for answering me. I tried using the bulk shipping method and it said I was not eligible for flat rate shipping because of advanced mode. But I guess they mean I need to pay the .25 each and I can still ship bulk and in the end bulk is the same as simple mode for bulk? I didn’t want to go through the effort of adding 500 cards for them to tell me I wasn’t eligible and to pay $250 plus or something.

Sorry for the questions but I want to ship a bunch of things home but with the delays and my travel plans it is hard to use bulk as well. I travel around every 3-4 months for a month or so. I am trying to find a good window where I will hopefully get it before I leave since no one is available to retrieve it. I guess right before my next trip I will try to add 500 items and hope it is ready in time.

[I]Thank you for answering me. I tried using the bulk shipping method and it said I was not eligible for flat rate shipping because of advanced mode. But I guess they mean I need to pay the .25 each and I can still ship bulk and in the end bulk is the same as simple mode for bulk? I didn’t want to go through the effort of adding 500 cards for them to tell me I wasn’t eligible and to pay $250 plus or something.[/I]

You'll be fine if you create a bulk shipment. "Bulk Shipping" is just the old "Standard Shipping", except the shipment setup costs $19.99 instead of $5.99, and there is a limit of 500 cards per order (if you order 501 cards, they split it into 2 shipments and charge you another $19.99)

You don't have to add exactly 500 cards for a bulk shipment. You can add just one card. But you'll be paying $19.99 and it is likely to take 4 months.

If you opt for Standard shipping, the setup cost is $5.99. If you bought in Advanced Mode, you have to pay the handling charge (usually 25 cents per item), but you will also have to pay an additional charge of 25 cents per item, which is some shipping surcharge COMC added in May 2025 and which a lot of people still aren't aware of.

So Bulk Shipping starts to get cheaper than Standard Shipping when you add about 60-ish cards (that is, you're paying $19.99 plus handling fees either way). But it maxes out at 500.

If you always ship 500 cards per shipment, and the cards aren't Elite or oversized or require special handling, then you'll be paying about 29 cents per card plus the base price to have them delivered.

Even if you don't have 500 cards to ship, it can be worthwhile to contemplate what kind of cards you would put into a dollar box at a show, or that you would sell for an average of $1 each in a bulk lot, figure out what you would pay for that sort of card, subtract 29 cents and then obtain some of those cards to pad your shipment.

Alternately, figure out what kind of cards you would put in a $2 box or $3 box or $5 box and similarly work backwards. Maybe look at rookies / auto / memorabilia / numbered cards of players or teams that are popular locally.

On the plus side, I have received several of these 500 card bulk lots, and the packaging is first rate. Each card is individually sleeved and has a printout of the card details, including a pic of the card. They are put into new card boxes (300 count, 400 count or graded card boxes are most common), and then all that is placed in a larger box (also new and sturdy), and plenty of packing material is added. Usually it's shipped Priority, even though the package is likely to weigh close to 7 pounds.

So it's a decent deal. The $19.99 doesn't seem to be a money grab. It probably barely pays for their cost of supplies and postage.

Thanks again for the reply. Also thank you for the suggestions regarding what type of cards to add into the shipment.

If COMC didn't offer the bulk rate and kept shipping the way it is I would feel it is a money grab or changing the rules for the cards that they hold and be wary of any future changes that they make.

I guess for bulk rate shipping the current time frame estimate is maybe double the posted time frame?

[QUOTE=sfgiants4life;20194518]Thanks again for the reply. Also thank you for the suggestions regarding what type of cards to add into the shipment.

If COMC didn't offer the bulk rate and kept shipping the way it is I would feel it is a money grab or changing the rules for the cards that they hold and be wary of any future changes that they make.

I guess for bulk rate shipping the current time frame estimate is maybe double the posted time frame?[/QUOTE]

I doubt it is double time. I placed an order on 12/26 for bulk. It quoted me as 3-17 for shipment. The order has been fluctuating around 3/18-3/25 for a ship date with about 250k items in front of it. I would not be surprised if it ships by 3/17, but we will see. Maybe I am hopeful thinking since it is getting closer.

[I]Thanks again for the reply. Also thank you for the suggestions regarding what type of cards to add into the shipment.

If COMC didn't offer the bulk rate and kept shipping the way it is I would feel it is a money grab or changing the rules for the cards that they hold and be wary of any future changes that they make.

I guess for bulk rate shipping the current time frame estimate is maybe double the posted time frame?[/I]

What I mean is that $19.99 is reasonable considering the cost of postage, packaging materials and labor these days. If there's a money grab, it's the 25 cent per card surcharge. It might even be necessary, but it was a ham-fisted approach, clumsily implemented, and not very well explained.

When I started on COMC in 2010, it was 15 cents for 6 week processing, and handling fees were 25 cents. Usually the order would be shipped within a few days and you'd get the package inside of a week or so after ordering. Sometimes there were sales where you could process certain cards for 10 cents. A few times they'd let you stuff a 550 count box for one price like $50 or $70.

Fast forward, and basic processing is 65 cents with 16 week turnaround. But handling fees are still 25 cents. So something probably had to give.

In the old days, there were a few hundred sellers on the site, and most of the buyers were also sellers. However, it would sometimes happen that someone would come along, buy 1,000 Alex Rodriguez cards for 10 cents each. Then they would check out and discover that postage and handling was $255. Then they would scream bloody murder.

So COMC wanted to combine the handling fee to the base price, so that the newbie would have seen all those cards as 35 cents in the first place. But they also didn't want people to stop flipping. So they came up with the Advanced and Simple modes.

My personal opinion at the time was that the shipping credits should be fungible and transferable. Instead of "you have a credit for this card, but not for that card", it would be "you have 1 shipping credit". If it was an elite item, maybe you use 4 credits. If it needed to be in a toploader, maybe you spend 2 credits, and so forth.

They could have also made it so people could buy and sell shipping credits to one another.

But they didn't do this so we got the system we have now.

They needed to increase the cost of handling, fine. But they didn't have to add 25 cents surcharge and not really tell anyone. At least not all at once. They could have increased the handling fee to 30 cents or 35 cents, and grandfathered the credits which were obtained by people shopping in simple mode. Or if they had a surcharge, they could have started with 5 cents and worked their way up to 25 cents over time. Or they could have given advanced warning and let people put in for shipments under the old price structure. Or they could have given everyone a coupon for $5, $10 or $20 off their first order with a surcharge.

Regarding the time frame, it's tricky. Having items in the bulk queue is like being on standby at the airport or a theme park.

Imagine you're in line to get on a popular ride at Disneyland. Then a bunch of fast pass people get into the fast pass line and they get ahead of you. Then Disney offers people using the app to cut to the front of the line by paying extra money. Then Brad Pitt and Taylor Swift show up with an entourage of 100 people each, and they all get to go to the front of the line. Meanwhile, nobody from the standby line has moved an inch.

It's the same with COMC. You pay for bulk and there's a million cards ahead of you (literally over a million these days). Then a bunch of eBay orders come in and those are put in front of the line (since eBay is very particular about shipping times). Then some people on COMC are checking out and they see that option A will take 4 months, and option B costs more but will take 2 weeks. So they go with option A. That pushes your cards further back.

COMC probably ships 20,000 to 50,000 cards a day most days. But there are so many cards waiting to be shipped that the line is many months long for the slowest cheapest method. And the longer it takes for people to get their cards by the cheap method, the more incentive there is for them to pay extra to get cards faster. Which makes it even longer to get a bulk order, which then gives even more incentive to pay extra for the faster service.

Meanwhile, there are perverse incentives from COMC's standpoint, since the longer the shipping time, the more people are willing to pay for shipping. At some point, the wait times are too long and people cancel orders, which cuts into their overall business. But there's probably a sweet spot where they make the most money if the slower cheaper shipping method takes, say, 4 to 6 weeks.

[QUOTE=orion9578;20193148]Does anyone know if this is still a thing? Are you [b]automatically[/b] charged the $5 for signature confirmation(and/or insurance) on $400+? If so, my last 2 shipments I got charged $5 a piece and neither were shipped with signature/insurance.

[/QUOTE]

You could, but if they are using a 3rd party insurance carrier, it may not be displayed on the label. It's worth asking though, because if they aren't insuring the order, then the charge would be fraudulent.

[QUOTE=checkoutmydeals;20194742]Regarding the time frame, it's tricky. Having items in the bulk queue is like being on standby at the airport or a theme park.

Imagine you're in line to get on a popular ride at Disneyland. Then a bunch of fast pass people get into the fast pass line and they get ahead of you. Then Disney offers people using the app to cut to the front of the line by paying extra money. Then Brad Pitt and Taylor Swift show up with an entourage of 100 people each, and they all get to go to the front of the line. Meanwhile, nobody from the standby line has moved an inch.

It's the same with COMC. You pay for bulk and there's a million cards ahead of you (literally over a million these days). Then a bunch of eBay orders come in and those are put in front of the line (since eBay is very particular about shipping times). Then some people on COMC are checking out and they see that option A will take 4 months, and option B costs more but will take 2 weeks. So they go with option A. That pushes your cards further back.

COMC probably ships 20,000 to 50,000 cards a day most days. But there are so many cards waiting to be shipped that the line is many months long for the slowest cheapest method. And the longer it takes for people to get their cards by the cheap method, the more incentive there is for them to pay extra to get cards faster. Which makes it even longer to get a bulk order, which then gives even more incentive to pay extra for the faster service.

Meanwhile, there are perverse incentives from COMC's standpoint, since the longer the shipping time, the more people are willing to pay for shipping. At some point, the wait times are too long and people cancel orders, which cuts into their overall business. But there's probably a sweet spot where they make the most money if the slower cheaper shipping method takes, say, 4 to 6 weeks.[/QUOTE]


Yes you are correct about the old days. A lot of buyers were surprised with their shipping cost at first shipping request. I was!!!

As far as I have been told. (years ago). They do not send out one person to pull one order. They send out a person to pull X number of cards in one area. Then brings them back to the shipping area to be sorted into the orders. So if your order is in one area it is pulled faster than an order that is in several area. All cards of one set are not in the same location. The problem for us is we do not know where and how they store the cards. Now with bar codes it is easier and faster to do it. The old way was using the Item number a person had to read.

This may have changed. My last shipment (standard) had over 580K cards ahead of it when shipped. Two other shipments (bulk) were shipped with over 280K and 170K ahead of them.

I have said it once and will say it again. I DO NOT BELIEVE THOSE DATES OR NUMBERS. They are just what they think will happen.

We also do not really know how they are storing or pulling cards or any other things they do now days.