COMC Blog COMC Tackles Redemptions

[COMC Blog]

Redemptions. Trading card collectors have a complicated relationship with these little inserts. They could be a case hit, a stunning autograph, or something much greater. No matter what they represent, however, they all have one thing in common: the WAIT. But we at COMC don’t believe you should have to wait for everything, so we thought we’d do something about it with a never-before-seen service to help with redemption cards.

In the past, COMC dealt with redemptions by simply not dealing with them. If an unredeemed card was sent to us, it promptly got sent back to its owner as our service wasn’t designed to handle them. That all changes today, because all unscratched redemption cards will now be accepted for processing and sale via COMC.com.

What happens when a Redemption card is sent to us? Those cards will be sent to our redemption handling team who will begin the redemption process on your behalf. The redemption code will be stored in our system and the scratched card will continue through our normal submission process.

When submitting batches with redemption cards to COMC, we ask that you pack them in the front of your submission and note on your submission slip that redemptions are enclosed. If an expired redemption card is included, we will attempt to redeem it through the manufacturer’s website. If the code is rejected, the item will be put into the user’s returns.

Once the scratched redemption card is on our site, it may be purchased and sold just as any other item on COMC with a few exceptions:

• Redemption cards cannot be made Vault Eligible
• Redemption cards cannot be shipped. Once fulfilled, the new card will replace the redemption card in the user’s account and may then be added to a shipment.
• All sales of redemption cards are final. No returns will be allowed for these items.

Please be aware that fulfillment of these cards may take manufacturers months or even years. In the event they substitute a different item for a redemption, the sale is still considered final and the item cannot be exchanged.

You may be wondering how we address redemptions that involve items other than single cards, such as lithographs, unopened packs, or game used jerseys. These items will be handled on a case by case basis and the owner of the redemption card will be contacted about how they would like the redemption to be handled.

A few final notes:

• Items not currently supported on COMC will be added to the Beta service. As we continue to expand offerings on the site, these items will become eligible to list at a later date.
• Hobby store pack exchange redemptions, such as Topps Spring Fever redemptions, will be rejected because COMC is unable to redeem them.
• Contest Redemption Cards such as the Famous Fabrics Beetles Signature Drawing will not be accepted as these redemption cards only represent a chance to receive an item.
• Redemptions such as Topps Finest Rookie Redemptions and Panini XRCs will be listed as unannounced on the site. These items will be updated with more details once they are announced.

We are really excited to hear your thoughts on this new service. We constantly strive to provide a better and safer way to buy and sell and we believe our service has the right stuff to make it happen. Feel free to tell us what you think in the comments below and keep up with all the COMC happenings on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

Filed under: collecting, new features, policy update, Service Update

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[graham]

matty83

 

[matty83]

Sounds good in theory.

1. Will there be a charge for the redeemed card to be processed into a comc account? Or will it simply replace the original redemption card (white cardboard)

2. If you have a mix of redemptions and normal trading cards can you choose to ship only the normal cards.

3. What will the process be if a replacement card is warranted? eg. Card company emails comc, comc emails account holder, account holder emails comc, comc email card company. Or can the account holder deal direct with the card company.

4. Will comc be updating account holders as per the redemptions status?

5. Can the account holder choose to have the un-redeemed card sent to them, if they would like to redeem it themselves.

Just a few queries.

Cheers.
Matt.

 

[Jester]

Hi, matty83. Good questions, all. Let me answer in order:

1. Will there be a charge for the redeemed card to be processed into a comc account? Or will it simply replace the original redemption card (white cardboard)

There's currently no additional charge and we're not expecting to have to change that. The redeemed card will replace the redemption card in the same way that when a card is sent to be graded by Beckett the graded card that returns replaces the old raw card in the owner's account.

2. If you have a mix of redemptions and normal trading cards can you choose to ship only the normal cards.

Yes. You can always ship your normal card inventory any way you choose to divide it up - ship only one card, some of them, or all.

3. What will the process be if a replacement card is warranted? eg. Card company emails comc, comc emails account holder, account holder emails comc, comc email card company. Or can the account holder deal direct with the card company.

In the unfortuante event that a card company needs to send a replacement card, if there is a choice of replacements then COMC will contact the redemption card owner. Since COMC redeemed the card, COMC will need to be the one to reply to the card company.

4. Will comc be updating account holders as per the redemptions status?

Yes. Any information we receive or any status change of redemptions will be emailed to the current card owner. You will also be able to see 'before' and 'after' images of the redemption card and the card that replaces it.

5. Can the account holder choose to have the un-redeemed card sent to them, if they would like to redeem it themselves.

Maybe. If someone sends us a redemption card by accident and wants it back, they can contact us and as long as we haven't processed it we're happy to return it. As soon as we start processing a redemption card we scratch of the code and submit it to the manufacturer. The reason we cannot ship after this is that the manufacturer will have COMC's address in their system at that point. We will not be accepting redemption cards that have already been scratched, nor will we be accepting cards that sellers request us not to scratch. Anything that comes in scratched will be returned, and anything that comes in unscratched will be scratched and submitted. I hope that answers your question, but let me know if I misunderstood you.

Thanks very much! We are really excited to be able to offer this service since it is something we feel the hobby badly needs. We're glad that our setup uniquely equips us to be able to do it and we hope it adds a lot of value to (and takes some of the sting out of) redemptions.

Jeremy, COMC

 

[Scaura]

Hi, I need to ask this 1 question as I'm not 100% clear on it.

If I purchase redemption cards from eBay and have them sent to my comc mailbox, will these redemptions be processed or left unredeemed as shipped as per normal.

Under no circumstances do I want the redemptions I have purchased and wanted to be sent to me, to be redeemed by someone other than myself.

Can I please have this made 100% clear to me?

Regards,

Scott

 

[Jester]

Hi, Scott. I know things have been updated in the other thread, but I wanted to reply here too in case someone else had the same question.

If you have redemption cards shipped to your COMC Mailbox and specifically ask us not to process them, we will instead add them you your 'returns' - items which we cannot process. Your returns will be bundled in along with the next order of cards you request to be shipped to you.
If you send redemption cards to your Mailbox and do not specify any preference, we will redeem those redemptions and add them to your account where you can list them for sale or not - whichever your preference - while you wait for the manufacturer to send the replacement item.
We definitely don't want to redeem an item that a user doesn't wish us to, but as a processing service we generally assume unless otherwise notified that all items sent to us are intended to be processed. Just let us know what you'd like us to do once you've received the Mailbox shipment notification email and we'll certainly respect your preference.

Thanks very much,
Jeremy

 

[Scaura]

Hi Jeremy,

Thank you for that, can I also just ask.

Do I inform you of not wanting the redemptions redeemed via a reply email to the mailbox submission email I receive or is there a better way to inform you.

 

[Moe@COMC]

Hi Scaura! Sorry for the delay; to answer your question, you can reply to the mailbox submission emails as our CS team receives all the "[email protected]" emails. And, from there, they can relay the message to the processing team.

Thanks,
--moe

 

[matty83]

What can be done if comc redeemed my redemptions without my permission. Before the redemption "choice" was in place.

 

[Moe@COMC]

Hi matty83. I don't mean to answer a question with another question, but what can we do to make this situation right for you?

 

[matty83]

Hi matty83. I don't mean to answer a question with another question, but what can we do to make this situation right for you?

Just got off the phone with panini and it seems that the solution I was hoping for (actually getting MY redemptions) is not a possibility. They cannot transfer cards from one account to another.

To answer your question Moe, I don't think anything can "make this right" I'm pissed off to the point where I just don't care. In this situation your companies practices are appalling. Where I stand from a legal point of view, will be something I need to look into. But for now, please PLEASE don't let this happen to anybody else.

 

[Moe@COMC]

Hi matty83. Again, I want to reiterate just how sorry we are for the whole situation and how things happened. It was a breakdown in communications, as well as a lack of foresight on our part that led us to where we are now. I can assure you that we are taking measures to ensure no one else's redemptions will be scratched without first receiving permission from the card's owner.

We dropped the ball on this one, pure and simple. I hope that in the future we can find some way to make this up to you.

--moe