For comic subs, the nuclear option ☢️
I used to spend a lot of time trawling comic shop websites and eBay to find who was stocking upcoming books I was interested in. That changed when I bought some overstock/unclaimed subs from an eBay seller called SUBaCOMIC. Their package arrived quickly, was brilliantly packed and each comic was bagged and boarded with the utmost of respect.
With other sellers, comics grade in the low- to mid-9s, with the occasional 9.8. I was surprised when SUBaCOMIC managed to get comics through their distribution process to me as solid 9.6s or even 9.8's. As a collector as well as a reader, this was exiting! So I dipped my toe in their subscription service to see if it was a fluke. It wasn't.
I now receive around 20 books a month from them and it's a true joy to unwrap their parcels. Of up to 200 books I've purchased, only a sprinkling arrived at grades that raw collectors would find perfectly reasonable. That's not typically where they operate - their baseline is closer to exceptional! I daresay they've even embellished my collection with a 9.9 or two. For mail order, that's stunning. If any of the books I've received become classics that I might want to slab, there's a good chance they can be carted off to CGC or CBCS with a smug confidence. If I can resist handling them too much, that is. Not easy when some of them look like they've only just trundled off the press.
As a subscription service they excel too. They have a meaty catalogue, it's simple to subscribe and add notes - such as which variants/maximum cover prices to set aside for you - and they respond quickly to queries and special requests within their operating hours. Once I had a query about using their website and I later noticed a little tweak to it that improved the area I asked about. How about that for customer response? And to top it off, you even get a discount on their parent store, Red Hot Comics, for having active subscriptions. SUBaCOMIC's sub service is so good that I've not yet taken advantage of it, but I keep an eye on the smattering of slabs Red Hot Comics sometimes list just in case. It's a lovely option to have.
My only gripe is they don't do subscriptions for golden/silver/bronze age books 😂 But if they did do the impossible, I'd be extraordinarily comfortable with letting them handle that part of my collection too.
In short, SUBaCOMIC are stellar. It's lovely to receive and read such fresh copies, and brilliant to know they can be trusted to deliver high-quality books that are destined for a collection.
17 January 2020
Unprompted review