The Short Answer
- COMC admitted in February 2026 that it was behind on Economy-tier fulfillment and customer support responses
- Collectors report shipping requests pushed back months, with queues of 500,000+ items ahead of their orders
- Customer service was slow, with large backlogs and unanswered tickets
- COMC has improved response rates after switching support platforms, but fulfillment backlogs remain
- Alternatives include eBay, Facebook groups, Whatnot, and local marketplaces for faster liquidity
COMC Acknowledges the Delays
In February 2026, COMC published a blog post titled "A Message to the COMC Community" admitting that the company had not met its own standards for reliability, transparency, and care. The post acknowledged that many collectors were frustrated with fulfillment timelines and customer service responsiveness. COMC specifically noted that Economy-tier fulfillment and some support responses were running behind usual timelines.
The company blamed transaction volume growth, scaling challenges, and transitions in systems and workflows. It promised investments in automation, workflow streamlining, and structural improvements to increase throughput and reduce cycle times. In March, COMC followed up with a second post saying it had reduced open ticket backlogs by more than 65 percent and increased same-day response rates by 75 percent after switching to a new support platform.
Collector Stories
Despite the official updates, collector experiences remain mixed. Reddit threads and hobby blogs document orders placed in late 2025 that were not shipped until March 2026. One collector reported a December 2025 shipment request with an estimated ship date of March 2026 and more than 578,000 items ahead of their order in the queue.
Other collectors describe a two-month wait for a 28-card shipment and shipping costs that more than doubled compared to a similar order placed less than a year earlier. The pattern is consistent: COMC is still struggling to move product through the system at the speed collectors expect.
Customer Service Problems
The biggest source of frustration is not just the delay, but the communication gap. Collectors report unanswered emails, difficulty reaching phone support, and vague status updates. One customer said they were unable to get through by phone and received no response to email inquiries about a port sale.
COMC's March 2026 update says it has moved to a new support platform and improved response rates, but trust has been damaged. For a platform built on storing valuable cards and handling transactions, slow communication creates anxiety that keeps collectors away.
Where Collectors Are Going
Collectors are moving cards to platforms that offer faster transactions and clearer timelines:
- eBay: Higher fees but immediate global reach and buyer protection.
- Facebook groups and Discord: Fast peer-to-peer sales for mid-range and high-end cards.
- Whatnot: Live breaks and auctions create instant liquidity for sellers.
- Local marketplaces: Carousell, Mercari, and local buy/sell groups avoid shipping bottlenecks entirely.
COMC's original model — buy cards, build a pile, and ship later — was attractive when shipping was cheap and fast. With shipping delays and rate increases, the model now works best for collectors who do not need their cards quickly and can tolerate the wait.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is COMC so slow in 2026?
How long are COMC shipping delays?
Has COMC customer service improved?
Is COMC still safe to use?
What are the best alternatives to COMC?
Should I pull my cards from COMC?
Sources & Further Reading
- COMC Blog — A Message to the COMC Community
- COMC Blog — Our Next Steps to Improve Operations
- r/checkoutmycards — The Problems with COMC
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