Shipping policy

Broke Skull Collectibles ships comics like we would want them to arrive: bagged, boarded, rigid, and tracked. We are on the con circuit as well as the mail, so this page covers both. NERDS on a mission — including getting your books to you in one piece.

Processing time

  • In-stock orders placed Sunday through Thursday typically leave within 1–3 business days.
  • Friday / weekend orders are packed the next business day.
  • Convention weeks, holidays, and CGC drop-off days can add time. If we are on the road, we will say so in a store banner or order email rather than go silent.
  • Preorders and restocks ship after the book is in our hands, not on the publisher’s target date. See the Preorder Policy if we have one posted.

You will get a confirmation when the order is placed and tracking when it actually moves. If tracking has not shown up after the window above, ping us with your order number.

How comics are packed

Raw single issues

Each book goes into a polybag with a backing board, then into a rigid mailer or a box if the stack needs it. We do not fold comics in half. We do not use a floppy envelope as the only protection.

Slabs (CGC and other holders)

Slabs ship in wrap that keeps the case from rattling, then in a box. We do not put a slab in a thin bubble mailer and hope. If a holder arrives cracked, take photos of the box and the slab before you discard anything and contact us the same day.

Trades, hardcovers, and multiples

Books that will not sit right in a mailer go in a box, with fill so they cannot surf. Combined orders are packed so boards do not ding adjacent covers.

We cannot control a carrier’s weather, trucks, or sorting machines. We can control the mailer. That is the job.

Rates, carriers, and destinations

Available rates and carriers are calculated at checkout based on weight, destination, and whatever we have turned on in Shopify at the time (typically USPS, sometimes UPS). If a listing is marked local pickup / con pickup only, you will not see a shipping rate for it.

  • United States: We ship. Tracking is included on standard paid methods.
  • Outside the US: Offered when checkout allows it. You are responsible for duties, taxes, and your country’s rules about mail. We will not fake a customs value.
  • PO boxes and USPS only addresses: Use a method that can actually deliver there.

We are not a free-shipping warehouse. When we run a shipping promo, it will be on the site — not implied by a competitor’s policy.

Convention / local pickup

If we are at a show (WonderCon, SDCC, and the rest of the circuit) or holding a local pickup window, we may offer con pickup or local pickup as a checkout option on eligible orders.

  • Select that method at checkout. Do not pay for mail and then ask us to walk it to a booth.
  • Bring a photo ID and your order confirmation.
  • Pickup windows are finite. If you miss the show, the order converts to shipping (you pay the real rate) or we cancel and refund, your choice, while the books are still in stock.
  • Uncollected holds are not a storage unit. After the posted window we can restock them.

Find Your Fandom in person when we are on the floor — just do it through checkout so the book is actually pulled for you.

Lost, stolen, or damaged in transit

  • Damaged: Photograph the packaging and the books before you throw anything away. Contact us within 7 days of delivery. We will file with the carrier and make it right with a replacement or refund if the claim holds.
  • Marked delivered, you do not have it: Check with whoever shares your mail. If it is gone, we open a carrier investigation. We cannot refund a delivered package on the same day it scans to your porch.
  • Refused packages: Return shipping and any damage on the bounce-back come out of the refund.

Returns

Condition is described in the listing and on our Grading Guide. Raw books are not “wrong” because CGC later gives them a number you did not like. If we listed the wrong issue, the wrong variant, or a defect we failed to mention, we want that email.

See the Returns page (or Settings → Policies → Refund policy) for the current window and process. Do not send books back until we reply with an address and an authorization. Unannounced returns sit in a pile and help nobody.

The short version

Bag and board. Rigid mailer. Tracking. Con pickup when we say it is on. We do not grade raw books with numbers, and we do not ship them like junk mail. True Believers Unite — if something in the box does not match the listing, talk to us.