Gregory Hecht

That answer presupposes that the seller's activity is such that it requires the seller to obtain such a permit etc. It is important for any seller to know the rules for their own state. For my state (New Jersey), Atomic Avenue clearly meets the definition of a Marketplace Facilitator and it is therefore Atomic Avenue's responsibility to register with the state and to pay any sales tax that is due to NJ. Remote sellers who sell to NJ customers only need to collect NJ sales tax if they meet certain thresholds, but this does not apply to marketplace sellers. The current NJ law "requires the marketplace facilitator to collect and remit Sales Tax on all marketplace transactions. The marketplace is required to collect and remit tax, regardless of whether the marketplace seller is above or below either of the economic thresholds." If I make a sale on AA to a customer outside of NJ, then no NJ sales tax is due (page 8 of this document: "Items that are normally taxable when sold and delivered to a New Jersey location are generally not subject to New Jersey Sales Tax when they are shipped to a destination outside this State."). So in my case, my understanding of the public NJ Division of Taxation documents is the following: (1) NJ sales tax only matters for my AA transactions if I sell to another NJ address, *and* (2) it is Atomic Avenue's responsibility to collect tax for those transactions and remit them to the state of NJ. Other states (and in some cases, even specific municipalities) will have their own rules, certainly. Find them, learn them, and proceed accordingly. Good rule of thumb: *always* report your income from all sources at tax time! 🙂

Forgot to add: You don't have to use the ComicBase valuations when you post your comics for sale, you can set the price to be whatever you want for each individual comic. I find that it does help to look to see what other sellers at AA and other venues are asking for some items.

It isn't just you. I have also experienced these same problems with the AA wishlist.

The shipping calculator for AA could use a bit more transparency, I agree. I have been beating that drum for a while now (as have a few others), and my understanding is that AA is due for an "upgrade" at some undefined point in the near future. Hopefully one of the changes will be for the AA shipping calculator to tell the seller what shipping method it used to arrive at when making its calculation. Without knowing the particulars of your two orders, it is impossible to provide any kind of specific feedback re: what shipping method you should have used for your two orders in order to (at least) break even.

I assume that you are in the US. Sales tax rules depend on the state in which you live and, in some cases, your local municipality. So it is impossible to answer your question without knowing your location. It might be worth visiting the website for your state's version of the IRS.

Hi Richard! This is more of a ComicBase content problem rather than something specific to Atomic Avenue (titles and issues listed on AA are based on the ComicBase master database), so it makes more sense to post your comment over at the CB msg boards (specifically on the "Content and Corrections" forum). It has a greater chance of being seen and discussed over there by the folks who are in a position to make any necessary corrections to the ComicBase database.

I suspect that this is a question about buying multiple different issues from the same seller and how to do that with a reasonably low number of clicks. Atomic Avenue is in need of an overhaul in several areas, and this is one area that should get some attention from the programming team IMO. (Other items that should be on the "to do" list include: better integration of magazines, books, and newspapers into store listings and in-store search results; more transparency to seller and buyer regarding shipping method that was used in determining shipping costs; including the years of publication for titles in the drop-down hits when typing into the search bar much like how this is handled in ComicBase; complete updating of Atomic Avenue's Help pages to reflect current AA policies and standards etc.)

Whether a title falls into the Comic Book or Magazine media category depends on the contents of the publication, not on its physical construction. Marvel Previews and DC Connect do not actually contain comics (i.e., graphic sequential storytelling) and instead contain listings of comics that will be on sale in the future. Thus, these titles fall into the Magazine media category. Similarly, titles such as DC's Who's Who titles and Marvel's Official Index and Official Handbook titles have also been moved to Magazines (they contain encyclopedic descriptions of comics and comic characters, but don't contain graphic sequential storytelling). Other titles that have made the move to magazines include Amazing Heroes, Marvel Age, and DC Direct Currents. I leave it to @Peter R. Bickford and/or @Mark J. Castaneda to discuss what is up with the G.I. Joe series as I don't follow it and therefore don't know the in's and out's behind any changes there.

It is a known issue that items from the Books and Magazines categories do not show up in sellers' store pages, they can only be found via a search. I know that this has been mentioned several times to @Peter R. Bickford (including in the weekly ComicBase Livestream chat) and it is my understanding that there are some Atomic Avenue updates that are in the works. Hopefully this means that the problem will be addressed soon.

On the Atomic Avenue website, check to be sure that only a single database is the source of your AA inventory. My Account pulldown menu --> select My Store --> click on "Store Setup" (the link next to the gear) On the resulting page, you should be able to scroll down and verify that you have only one database as the source of your AA inventory in the "Currently Posted Items" section.

I honestly don't know how easy it is for buyers right now to see sets for sale when browsing on AA. Sets on AA kind of have the reputation of being a place where inventory goes to languish. But I know that this issue is on the radar and that a series of upgrades are in the works for Atomic Avenue... so I am hopeful that this will be addressed somewhat soonish.

IMO, the implication that the burden is on buyers prior to making a purchase to investigate whether sellers pocket extra money from improperly using media mail sounds kind of like, "hey, if the sellers can get away with it, then so be it." Since Atomic Avenue takes the approach of determining shipping charges to the buyer rather than allowing the seller to do so, it should be possible for Atomic Avenue to explicitly tell the buyer and the seller the shipping method used for that calculation. If at that point the seller elects to chisel a few extra bucks out of the system by using media mail, then the buyer can call them out in feedback etc... and claims that a seller is improperly using media mail that can be fact-checked using the tracking number that the seller is required to enter when they mark an order as 'shipped."

I think it would be helpful if AA made it more explicit to sellers that they are responsible for following postal regulations, i.e., periodical comics that contain advertising should not be sent via Media Mail: "Media Mail packages may not contain advertising. Comic books do not meet this standard." This is not a new issue, it was suggested some time back by other AA users.

And I will take this opportunity to repeat some things that I have stated multiple times: What mailing service types are recommended/permitted is not fully clear to sellers for several reasons: (1) The Atomic Avenue shipping calculator does not tell sellers what shipping method it used to calculate the shipping reimbursement to the seller. Sometimes it is easy to tell, but sometimes the number that comes out is a real head-scratcher. More transparency there would help sellers, I think. (2) I suspect that sometimes the AA shipping calculator isn't savvy about USPS insurance thresholds or charges. When shipping via Priority Mail, insurance is free for package value up to $50... but the charges can add up once you get up above that $50 mark. IMO exactly zero AA packages should be shipped via USPS Priority Mail without being fully insured. (3) The Atomic Avenue help pages need an update. For example, the AA help pages refer to Parcel Post mailing when we were told some time ago that Parcel Post wasn't an option any more. As a seller, I can tell you that sometimes (especially with orders that are large both in terms of high $$$ and physical size) the shipping calculator undershoots by a decent amount. In those cases, I typically elect to just eat the extra postage costs. It is poor form to go to AA and ask them to bug the customer for a postage adjustment after that customer thinks that they completed their full order... and three-way email conversations (me, AA, and the customer) take time to resolve themselves, and I make it a point to get my packages in the hands of the USPS by the next business day. I will say, however, that once in a while AA substantially overshoots the shipping reimbursement. I just filled an order last night that cost me ~$20 to ship including full insurance... but the AA calculator billed the customer $36. I asked AA to make the adjustment at their end. But not all sellers do that, some will just pocket that difference and that's just uncool.

For what it is worth, I hear what you are saying, and I cannot disagree with you. It is indeed very bad form on two fronts: you were charged much more for shipping than the seller's cost, and you received a slower shipping service than what you paid for. You are correct that periodical comics are not supposed to be sent via Media Mail b/c of the advertising contained in them. Books without advertising can be shipped via Media Mail. Occasionally there will be a story of a postal clerk who denies a Marvel omnibus' eligibility for Media Mail, but those are supposed to be allowed. I assume that magazines (which are now sold on AA) cannot ship via Media Mail, but prose books (which are also sold on AA ) can still go via Media Mail.* Sellers may not know (or care) that when USPS inspects the contents of a Media Mail package (doesn't happen often, but it doesn't *never* happen), if the inspector determines that the contents do not qualify for Media Mail the *recipient* of the package gets charged the additional postage that is due. So a seller that sends periodical comics via Media Mail is asking the buyer to assume some risk of additional postage costs. Also bad form. IMO if you feel that an AA seller shipped at a substantially lower shipping service than what AA requires so that they could pocket the cost difference (which is what it sounds like for your situation), you can (and should!) indicate this when you leave feedback on AA for the transaction. If you *really* feel like you got badly overcharged for shipping relative to the shipping service that the seller actually used, you can also contact AA support via email and politely tell them the specifics of your experience. If this is a recurring problem related to a specific seller(s), then AA needs to know. *Another nudge to the folks at Human Computing that it sure would be helpful for buyers and sellers if books and magazines were browsable in sellers' store inventory pages on AA. This should have been in place when magazine and book sales first went "live" on AA.

Ah-hah, I see what you are referring to. Yes, Atomic Avenue is alphabetizing the issues so that any issue marked as "Version ##" gets placed between "Variant V" and "Variant W". That would be a web display function since Comicbase orders the issues differently. I will ping Pete on the Slack.

This sounds more like a ComicBase content/data correction issue rather than an Atomic Avenue problem. I suggest posting this over on the CB message boards.

The lag in Atomic Avenue inventory being posted has been a global issue over the last few weeks. But during this week's ComicBase Livestream, @Peter R. Bickford indicated that new servers that have been pressed into service should solve (among other things) the AA inventory posting issue.

I just got a ping from AA yesterday evening (1/17) that my inventory was posted... and I think that I last sent inventory in about a week ago. So I am assuming that somebody at AA rebooted "Jimmy" and he is now chewing through his backlog of tasks. If your inventory hasn't already updated, try it again today. If you don't get the confirmatory email relatively promptly (i.e., 30 minutes or less) then email support@atomicavenue.com *and* post here.

It is possible that a seller posted fresh inventory, but then shifted their store to "on vacation." Or possibly the book sold before you visited Atomic Avenue to follow up on the wish list notification. Or maybe a seller accidentally uploaded inventory that they hadn't really meant to sell (I keep separate databases for my personal "keepers" collection and my "for sale" comics... and always double-check myself to be sure that I don't accidentally put new store inventory into the wrong database and then post that database onto Atomic Avenue! 😬 ) Do you have some issues as examples of "available but not available" wish list items? The folks at AA might be able to figure out what's going on if they have some specific issues to investigate.

1. As a seller, when I get an AA order that will ship via USPS Priority Mail, I normally use the "Click n Ship" function on the USPS site to generate a paid shipping label. When entering the tracking number onto the AA order page, I typically copy and paste the tracking number from the shipping label PDF into the appropriate box then mark the order as shipped. However, I have discovered that this results in the first four digits of the tracking number getting cut off. This should be corrected as "copy and paste" should be faster and more accurate than requiring a seller to manually type the tracking number. 2. After I mark an order as shipped, I am unable to correct the tracking number if it is missing those first few digits. I can type in the numbers and hit the "Update" button on the order page, but that doesn't result in the tracking number getting corrected. 3. I have no way of putting in multiple tracking numbers for an order that requires multiple packages, nor do I have a way of indicating which items are in which package when I have to put things into multiple boxes. This is something that should be addressed, although I admit that I don't have a good feeling as to how that should be done. 4. And, just because I am a noodge (or even just a PITA, if you like), a reminder that there needs to be more transparency to sellers as to what shipping service and container the AA shipping calculator settled on. • I still don't think that AA is calculating insurance correctly for shipments with retail value >$50 (the old limit of free insurance for $75 value was lowered some time ago). • When I get orders for thick books (for example: Marvel and DC omnibus books, also Showcase and Essential "phone books"), I don't think that the calculator necessarily accounts for the fact that the interior of the flat rate Priority boxes is a shade less than six inches deep. • And books with a larger than usual trimsize (Marvel and DC omnibus books, again) really need to go in a LARGE flat rate Priority box because a medium flat rate box doesn't provide any cushioning space. (Penguin Random House learned the hard way that shipping comics in boxes without cushioning space results in increased likelihood of damage.) I'm not entirely convinced that the AA shipping calculator takes this into account, either.

Do your two items have the same condition and price?

It would be helpful for sellers if Atomic Avenue stated what shipping method was used by the AA servers to calculate the shipping cost. Sometimes it is obvious, and sometimes (as in your case) it really is not. This is especially true for large orders that require multiple boxes. It is also not always clear to me that AA calculates the cost of insurance correctly for packages containing merchandise of more than $50 retail value. It is also confusing that the AA help pages refer to Parcel Post mailing when we were told some time ago that Parcel Post wasn't an option any more. Frankly, none of this should be a mystery. AA presumably knows what kind of shipping parameters were used by their calculator, it isn't spitting out a random number. A little transparency would make seller's lives easier without any negative impact on buyers. (And the AA help pages need a review to make sure that they are all up to date.)

Are you certain that you have the "For Sale" box checked for each of the items that you want to sell? Also: How are you determining whether your items have uploaded to your store? Do you receive a confirmation email after your upload, and then visit your store and see no items? Or do you just not receive any confirmation email at all?

Hi Ron -- That question is probably best asked over on the ComicBase message boards since that is frequented more often by the folks who are in charge of database updates and fielding data submissions and corrections. But to answer your question: Human Computing rarely -- if ever -- receives retailer incentive issues so they are dependent on ComicBase users to submit those particular items. Have you submitted your Batman Fortnite 6 variant to the database? If not, it is possible that HC simply hasn't received a submission from anybody else, either.