Stephen J. Weihman

Carolyn, I've fought this same battle with you guys for years. A flat rate envelope without a stiff gemini mailer is not sufficient protection for books, especially these days. I'm not sure why AA insists that this is a sufficient way to ship books, because it's simply not. It's just asking to get bent, folded or crushed. Looks at the Facebook comics buy sell trade groups and see example after example after example of shipping done how you are proposing and how the books look after getting manhandled along the way and then bent and stuffed into mailboxes. And a gemini or uline mailer will not fit in a flat rate mailer with 10 books. It's too thick to do so with more than 4-5 books. First you insisted on paying us rates based on Media Mail, and now you are asking us to send our books out without sufficient protection. It's no wonder that the bulk of the comic book marketplace hasn't got a clue that AA even exists. I've tried my best to hold out on AA, but your insistence on using insufficient postal rates - and charging us commissions on shipping charges to boot - just means the time is nearing to end selling on AA. I can't lose money on shipping like I have recently. My last 5 sales has resulted in losses of at least $1 or more in shipping charges alone.

Thanks for the update Carolyn. I was not aware that buyers couldn't see the receipt estimates, so that's a good thing. Hopefully the USPS will be able to deliver in the normal times soon, and this will all be a moot point!

And another (order #135083), this one WAY off on postage. 10 bagged/boarded books in a Gemini mailer with no other packing: Total weight, 2 lbs 6.5 oz. Priority mail (non-discounted) cheapest is $12.55. Even parcel select ground service is $9.74. Shipping calculated by AA: $8.25. So my choice is to take a $4.30 loss on a $29 order and make it in the time allotted on AA for delivery, or take a $1.49 loss on postage with delivery after the AA estimate. Something has to change here! The AA shipping rates for orders larger than 3-4 books no longer reflect a price that we can ship the books for.

Caroline, one example is an order I got today. 134900 is the order number. 5 books, bagged and boarded in a gemini mailer are over 1 pound, 5 ounces in weight. Books alone - none are oversized issues - are over 1 pound (see pic), so even without packing materials or mailer, they can't be sent First Class. Hence, they can't be shipped via First Class mail. The only viable option is in a priority mailer, which is $8.40. Shipping charge for the order was $8.25. While it's only .15 short, it shouldn't be short at all. The price AA charges should reflect a price that the sellers can actually ship the books for.

Looks like AA has not updated the shipping charges to reflect the new rates. Have an order for 5 books. 5 books in a Gemini mailer are more weight that can be sent First Class Mail. The cost of a flat rate bubble mailer is now $8.40, and AA charged $8.25 for this order. Not a lot on this, but this adds up on larger orders. The shipping charges on AA should at least cover the cost of the associated postage. When will AA be updated to reflect the current USPS rates? Please don't suggest Media Mail, as this is not a valid option for comic books, as reflected by the USPS rules and regulations, and my local post office will open, inspect and return Media Mail packages that contain comics.

With current USPS/UPS/Fedex delivery schedules, Atomic Avenue is being generous on the expected receipt date for orders. For instance, had an order received this afternoon (9/3) for 26 books @ around $90 over 8 pounds. AA has an expected receipt time of 9/6 - 9/10. The absolute *earliest* I could get them delivered with USPS is 9/10 with Parcel Select, 9/8 with Priority Mail, and Priority Express on 9/6 at over $70 shipping cost. And those are estimates. USPS right now for me has been 1-3 days later than those estimates, FYI. Unfortunately, there are customers who see those dates and start expecting their packages on the first date listed, and become irate if the package isn't there by the last date listed. This is simply out of a seller's control right now with all the Covid-19 and USPS turmoil. I would like to see AA adjust times by at least 2 days - especially when spanning a weekend.

Just got a sale from Australia for 29 books (Order #129560). Postage charged to the customer: $68.10. The weight of the books with bag and board alone is 6 pounds - not including box or packing material. Cost of shipping 6 pounds to Australia is $69.67 - WITH DISCOUNTED SHIPPING. So I'm taking a loss even before packaging these for overseas shipment. By the time I box these up and put in packing material - bubble wrap, etc. - it's gonna be 8 pounds. So I'm going to eat almost $20 in shipping costs on a $85 order, not to add that AA is also going to charge a commission on the inadequate shipping charged for this order. Needless to say, AA has to get their shipping charges in order.

I know what I would like to see is that in ComicBase, a sold book is shown in the inventory as sold, and the amount it sold for in CB. Then a report we can get in CB that would show book, date sold, amount sold for and gross profit (purchase price - sales price). Currently, the book just gets removed from CB, so there is no record of it in CB anymore, much less if I made money on the sale or not.

While I agree that the USPS examining/opening Media Mail packages and either returning or asking for additional postage if comic books are sent is not consistent, they have been completely transparent - not capricious - about whether comic books are allowed. In fact, they have specifically stated that comic books cannot be sent via Media Mail. Personally, as a seller who does not use Media Mail for this reason, I would like to see AA take a stand here and specifically add into the seller rules/agreement that Media Mail is not permitted if you sell via AA. It would level the playing field, IMO. AA postage rates that are added should also not take into account Media Mail pricing (I don't think it currently does). If you have any questions about whether the USPS is not specifically saying no comic books in Media Mail, here's from the official USPS Media Mail Service description: "Media Mail packages may not contain advertising. Comic books do not meet this standard." https://about.usps.com/notices/not121/not121_tech.htm

Mark, will do.

Mark, this would be for a sale that had already been made. I had 4 copies of a book, and had an incorrect inventory on ComicBase - and my AA store - of 5 copies. All 5 sold. Wanted to know if it was possible to cancel just the one copy of that book in the order on AA. Looks like I can only cancel the entire item - meaning all 5 copies - and not just 1 copy.

Is there a way to cancel only 1 copy of a multiple quantity item? Example: Sold 5 copies of a comic book. Went to pull the books, and found I only have 4 copies in inventory. In AA, if I click on that item and try to cancel, it looks like it is going to cancel the entire quantity of that item. Is there a way to cancel only 1 quantity, making the order 4 copies of that particular book?