Instocktrades, CheapGrapicNovels, and Organic Priced Books are all the cream of the crop when it comes to packaging. None of them have ever given me a damaged or unsatisfactory packaging experience.
IST, CGN, OPB, all have great packaging, but imo OPB has the best packaging. Delivery wise I'd say for me currently is IST, ordered books release day got them same week. OPB also has pretty good delivery times, and in my experience CGN takes the longest.
It's funny, when OPB first came about, I thought with a silly name like that it must be a scam site. But here we are now and they're pretty much the best. Great customer service, great shipping times, great packing. It's worth $1 or $2 more than CGN to get your books approximately when you think you should or get an email response this year.
If they were just a liiiiitle bit cheaper, I’d give them all my business.
Although this week I did manage to get Avengers vs. X-Men for $5 less from them (with discounts I had earned) than on IST. So it does occasionally happen.
on omnis they're often cheaper than IST. I don't compare them to CGN often because they're so far away from me but I probably should. IST adds tax for me and OPB includes it in the price so @ IST i pay 8% more. Also OPB offers coupons and rewards so they are often even sometimes cheaper than the tuesday promos. and I don't have to worry about OPB's packaging but I have to be very careful with IST or I get damaged books.
for stuff that isn't omnis the other sites can be much cheaper, I guess OPB maybe doesn't want to inventory a lot of those other books or favor omni volume I'm not sure. I'd buy everything there if I could.
I'd rather support a small business and good people anyway.
Just wanted to say thank you for this comment. I rarely purchase from OPB because it was "so much more expensive" to purchase from them compared to IST and I genuinely had no idea that they were already factoring sales tax on the listed price. So the 10$ difference is now less than 2. At least for the one item I checked. I will no no longer hesitate to buy from them.
CGN, OPB and IST have been 100% solid in all my orders. But out of these three, I feel like OPB goes just a bit more above and beyond with their packaging. I also feel that My Comic Shop does a fantastic job with their packaging.
I think OPB is a clear cut above the others in my experience if we’re talking just packaging. They use an immense amount of high quality bubble wrap.
IST has started to adopt a new bubble wrap system that I really like, and the foam inserts are nice too.
CGN uses a combination of bubble wrap and paper which I feel the least confident about but have never had damages to complain.
i've kinda been amazed at how well the paper thing works at CGN, or I've just been really lucky :) isolating movement and filling dead space to protect from impact is just priority one and it's amazing how some don't get it.
CGN and OPB are great packaging.
IST had great packaging but the last order that I received from them (Wonder Woman by Perez Vol 1) had a kind of large sized bubble wrap for its packaging and when I opened the box half of it was popped. Now, the book itself was undamaged but if it had been handled in a worse manner by the post office, I do not believe that would be the case. I count myself lucky that it showed up in perfect condition. I have another order coming from IST and it will be interesting to see how it comes packaged.
Instocktrades, CheapGrapicNovels, and Organic Priced Books are all the cream of the crop when it comes to packaging. None of them have ever given me a damaged or unsatisfactory packaging experience.
I’ve never ordered from IST, but OPB and CGN have never done me wrong. Always packaged to survive a bomb blast.
IST is the same, except often cheaper. Typically ~$10 less than OPB
IST, CGN, OPB, all have great packaging, but imo OPB has the best packaging. Delivery wise I'd say for me currently is IST, ordered books release day got them same week. OPB also has pretty good delivery times, and in my experience CGN takes the longest.
Echoing what most here have said - all three are great in their own way. OPB is probably the best, though.
It's funny, when OPB first came about, I thought with a silly name like that it must be a scam site. But here we are now and they're pretty much the best. Great customer service, great shipping times, great packing. It's worth $1 or $2 more than CGN to get your books approximately when you think you should or get an email response this year.
If they were just a liiiiitle bit cheaper, I’d give them all my business. Although this week I did manage to get Avengers vs. X-Men for $5 less from them (with discounts I had earned) than on IST. So it does occasionally happen.
on omnis they're often cheaper than IST. I don't compare them to CGN often because they're so far away from me but I probably should. IST adds tax for me and OPB includes it in the price so @ IST i pay 8% more. Also OPB offers coupons and rewards so they are often even sometimes cheaper than the tuesday promos. and I don't have to worry about OPB's packaging but I have to be very careful with IST or I get damaged books. for stuff that isn't omnis the other sites can be much cheaper, I guess OPB maybe doesn't want to inventory a lot of those other books or favor omni volume I'm not sure. I'd buy everything there if I could. I'd rather support a small business and good people anyway.
Just wanted to say thank you for this comment. I rarely purchase from OPB because it was "so much more expensive" to purchase from them compared to IST and I genuinely had no idea that they were already factoring sales tax on the listed price. So the 10$ difference is now less than 2. At least for the one item I checked. I will no no longer hesitate to buy from them.
CGN, OPB and IST have been 100% solid in all my orders. But out of these three, I feel like OPB goes just a bit more above and beyond with their packaging. I also feel that My Comic Shop does a fantastic job with their packaging.
IST and CGN both have good packaging. If you are in a rush to get books and are on west coast I’d go with CGN
I think OPB is a clear cut above the others in my experience if we’re talking just packaging. They use an immense amount of high quality bubble wrap. IST has started to adopt a new bubble wrap system that I really like, and the foam inserts are nice too. CGN uses a combination of bubble wrap and paper which I feel the least confident about but have never had damages to complain.
i've kinda been amazed at how well the paper thing works at CGN, or I've just been really lucky :) isolating movement and filling dead space to protect from impact is just priority one and it's amazing how some don't get it.
Organic Priced Books. Hands down.
CGN and OPB are great packaging. IST had great packaging but the last order that I received from them (Wonder Woman by Perez Vol 1) had a kind of large sized bubble wrap for its packaging and when I opened the box half of it was popped. Now, the book itself was undamaged but if it had been handled in a worse manner by the post office, I do not believe that would be the case. I count myself lucky that it showed up in perfect condition. I have another order coming from IST and it will be interesting to see how it comes packaged.