HR2 or HRA2? You’re making me nervous
I gave Tfaw a shot for my usual orders and the price point is a deal breaker for big orders and as my main ordering site. Gave them 2 months and between the taxes shipping and boards I’m paying an extra $100z$150 more. Then there is the "I ordered pre FOC and I’ve had about 7 books not added to my orders, shortages of copies, or an email saying they ran out and I dont have copies. So I’ll keep them for ratios and books that possibly cant be found on my main site. I have no problem paying up front weekly for my books. Works out better for me that way.
1 Like
Yeah you know it buddy. I tried switching to TFAW but they hid behind their fine print of “my opinion of that being a 7.5 is good enough for you”. Like where exactly was that displayed to me during the cart filling and ordering process? I should have straight lied to them and made the comics more damaged. What kind of policy incentivizes that sort of behavior?
Ironically the TFAW order that broke the camels back was made to replace issues that DCBS never sent
2 Likes
I’m at a similar point; TFAW is where I get ratios and topping up, but I’m in the process of switching the bulk of my pre-orders to an LCS from DCBS. Feels right to support the local guys more anyway.
Wish I had an LCS that didn’t fold the comics in half!
1 Like
Where is that now? Unknown?
TFAW tends to have a sweet spot on # of issues ordered, too few and flimsy mailer but too many and run into higher chance of damage. More stacks with less issues per stack would help the large order issue. Trying to pull out 1 stack of 100+ comics is not fun.
1 Like
Ew! The ones by me are all pretty decent.
If that comic was Eniac #1 we had to remove all orders above 1 copy because of our agreement with Bad Idea. I know there was someone who had 10 copies of that pre ordered somehow.
2 Likes
I’m painfully analytical when it comes to this hobby. I have excel docs that chart everything. I ran the numbers of what a standard $3.99 comic costs for me at TFAW versus my two primary local shops. I looked back at my last half dozen orders of random sizes, and shipping typically is between $.75-$1.10 per book (higher with fewer books, lower with more). These numbers include all costs. Bags, boards, tax…
TFAW pre-FOC: $4.05-4.43 (range based on shipping numbers above)
TFAW post-FOC: $4.48-4.85
LCS 1 (20% discount): $3.57
LCS 2 (10% discount, free bags): $3.94
So, it’s definitely not cheaper than my LCS. And, I don’t get to hand pick to find the best condition. Processing/shipping times means I usually get books 2 weeks after they go on sale.
But, I love the ordering system. Love it. Incentives are usually cheaper than my LCS, and often times more attainable because of the quantity TFAW orders. And the few orders I’ve had with significant damages have been replaced/refunded.
From my perspective, there’s good and bad with all options. Just gotta pick what works for you. For me, it’s a mix. Regular pulls are through LCS, incentives and random issues are TFAW.
5 Likes
I mean ultimately for most people if an LCS offers a discount, that’s going to be the best option because you can see and handle comics on your own, save on shipping costs, and have one less journey for comics to survive through the mail. Plus you’re helping keep a local business going.
I personally would save money if I got comics in our brick and mortar stores through the boxes (and sometimes I do for a few series I REALLY don’t want to wait a week to read), but I enjoy the extra time of not having to drive and spend 45 minutes in a car when I can pay a few more bucks and have them brought to me.
3 Likes
Do you calculate gas and other resources (wear and tear on the car) used though when hitting the local shops though? You should… that would be interesting. I know some people aren’t so lucky to have local shops nearby so the drive is much further.
I know when I hit the local shop, I end up spending a lot of extra time there as well. As my time is “free and infinite” when I’m doing it in my own time, I am usually doing it in the middle of the day when I could be contracting and consulting, making a whole lot more money in the process but instead losing it by nitpicking stacks of comics.
3 Likes
I have recently received over 100 comics from TFAW, a little over 100 in the first bunch and about 15 in the second. I’m not sure if this is a complaint, but the comics were bagged boarded, but the boards were not the right size. A few of the comics you could tell they slipped off to the side and the spine got a little messed up. Luckily the smaller order had no issues. Anyone else having this issue? Prior to these last few shipments I’ve had a great experience.
I have another large shipment in process, so I guess we will see what happens with that one.
1 Like
I didn’t include travel costs or time in the store. I like my LCS visits. They bring me some joy, especially since it’s one of the few places I’ve felt ok going to this past year. Those trips might cost a little, but they’ve probably added some time on to my life span. I’m about 15 minutes from both of my local shops.
2 Likes
Known issue. I think this has been discussed above. Limited supply availability is causing mixing and matching modern boards with silver bags. Doesn’t sound resolved yet, so expect more of that in the short term.
2 Likes
Ah ok, just came into the conversation and was reading but didn’t see it. Thank you for the heads up.
1 Like
It was always unknowncomics for the back up to my LCS (while in NY) but now since I moved. I’m basically online fill time. My unknowncomics experiences varies from most. It’s well documented in these threads my book quality accuracy and free shipping no tax etc. Tfaw is superb for variants ratios and they are generally a good spot. But the fact is I’m spending more for my basic orders and that doesnt sit right with me.
1 Like
I got my first real order from Unknown Comics. By real order I mean it wasn’t just a store variant, it was like 30 books. It came well packaged with no way for any damage to occur unless the postman ran it over(which they definitely do). Free shipping(at $100), free bags and boards, some of the most excellent packaging I have ever seen the ,bonus points system to get discounts on your future orders AND they take paypal. All those things combined has me ordering from there a lot more. It’s just cheaper per book than Tfaw. I cant speak to customer service yet as I have not ran into any problems so far. We will cross that bridge when we get there lol
Tfaw is great but I now use them for ratios and whatever Unknown might be sold out of.
I am also waiting to report on orders from PCK Comics and Westfield. Larger orders I should say. I received some smaller orders from both and both arrived just fine and were packaged well.
I will say about PCK comics that they also have the bonus points system, free bags and boards and free shipping at I think $75 and they take paypal too. The bonus system PCK comics uses is the same as most of these comics sites but they give $20 off your next order as one of the rewards, Unknown I think only gives $5. @PCKComics is good stuff so I would recommend them all day. All 4 places I mentioned have their strong points. Tfaw has one of the best systems, great customer service and good chances at ratios if you have the time to look for when they drop. Unknown and PCK have all the things I mentioned. Westfield has some amazing 99 cent sales from time to time that I can’t pass up, even if they sometimes get cancelled it because it’s after FOC. I don’t see a reason not to order a bunch of 99 cent new release comics.
5 Likes
Unknowncomics points is $5 off every 500 points. I think $10 is the max at 1 time(could be wrong most I’ve used was $10)
1 Like