Has anyone purchased from "Amazing Adventures" on Ebay or in store?

[silverweb]

Has anyone purchased from "Amazing Adventures" on Ebay or in store? He is on Vicente Street in San Francisco.

 

I saw some interesting books he listed on Ebay so since he is local, I thought I would give him a call and maybe visit his store. I talked to Sal, the owner. He said that he does not do any discounting from Ebay prices if you come into the store, does not like to deal over the phone, and that he prefers people to just buy from him off Ebay.

 

His attitude really turned me off, so why take an hour of time to travel and check out his store. You would think he would welcome the chance for a serious buyer to come in.

[bheezy19]

I've been by his store. Its in the sunset. Great store, pretty big with lots of stuff (good for back issues), but his prices seemed a little high to me, and he definitely wasnt very nice. I had no idea he had an ebay store. I suppose you'd at least save on shipping by buying online.

[James Howlett]

I bought a raw 2.5 avengers 4 from him for a decent price, and the bing cashback brought it down even more, he shipped it fast. I had it graded and it came back cgc 2.5.

 

So accurate grading and fast shipping, but since it was done on eBay, I can't say if he is a nice guy or not, but I had a good eBay experience.

 

 

[mschmidt]

I've been by his store. Its in the sunset. Great store, pretty big with lots of stuff (good for back issues), but his prices seemed a little high to me, and he definitely wasnt very nice. I had no idea he had an ebay store. I suppose you'd at least save on shipping by buying online.

 

I've been to his store as well - definitely not a people person, and even though the store has a very large inventory (by far the largest in SF), there just wasn't that much stuff that was worth buying. And, yeah, prices on his older books are ridiculous.

[supapimp]

Has anyone purchased from "Amazing Adventures" on Ebay or in store? He is on Vicente Street in San Francisco.

 

I saw some interesting books he listed on Ebay so since he is local, I thought I would give him a call and maybe visit his store. I talked to Sal, the owner. He said that he does not do any discounting from Ebay prices if you come into the store, does not like to deal over the phone, and that he prefers people to just buy from him off Ebay.

 

His attitude really turned me off, so why take an hour of time to travel and check out his store. You would think he would welcome the chance for a serious buyer to come in.

 

he sells comics out in the outer sunset for crying out loud, he's got fog burn.

[Ken Aldred]

I've visited the store. A very long way out from central SF, using the Muni Metro system. There was some material that I hadn't seen before, such as a copy of 'Seduction of the Innocent' and original Toth Space Ghost art, for example, but prices were generally too high for me. The material in the comic boxes was pretty run-of-the-mill.

 

The proprietor seemed totally disinterested in responding to my questions, and actually somewhat hostile. I soon got tired of this lack of connection and of feeling as though my presence was an inconvenience to him, despite being the only potential customer in the shop, and just left.

 

 

[Kramerica]

I pretty much agree with all that has been said. When he first started on eBay I purchased 3 Byrne X-Men's from him: #124, 140 & 142 all graded as NM+ with 19.99 start prices. This was back when it was worth it to slab these under the modern tier. I ended up getting eaach for the start price and they came back 9.4, 9.6, 9.6 respectively.

 

He still has huge backstock on his X-Men I believe. The key is him letting you pick from the stock which I don't believe he will do. Every once in a while I would win a 9.6 X-Men and get a 9.2 but that was the exception rather than the rule. However, because of this I started to ask questions and even though I had brought him tons of business he did NOT like questions, much less requests to double check a book for spine stress. But I kept going back and winning auctions because slabbed 9.6 X-Men were selling for $$$ in those days. I was always trying to buy multiples in the same issue when I called up to pay for them - he wouldn't sell them - even for the 19.99 start price - off eBay where he wouldn't get jacked on fees. I couldn't figure it out.

 

A little while later I found out he had huge back stock of Marvel Two-In-One Annual #2's in NM+ which he also started at $19.99. I just kept winning them week after week. I bought 12 of them overall because I have serious Starlin problem but that is a different story. I graded 7 and got one 9.2, two 9.4's, three 9.6's and one 9.8 which I immediately sold on eBay. I held onto the others and sold them to boardies when there were a bunch of folks here that wanted a raw NM copy.

 

But every time I paid I called up the store and paid via credit card and tried to buy more raw copies - he never would do it. He had lots of Avengers Annual #7s too but every one seemed miscut and with the little chips on the bottom that are common to this issue.

 

Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. So, accurate grading, you'll get charged tax if you're in CA and he doesn't like pillow talk. Heaven forbid you ask about NCB spine stress.

 

Reminds me of the Soup Nazi he does. George: "I didn't get any bread" Jerry: "Just let it go"

[Tsimanga]

I've been to his store many many times. He has a huge inventory of filler back issue silver age/bronze age mid graders. A handful of better books in the glass and a few short boxes of better conditioned books behind the counter you can ask for.

 

As a person... hmmm... he's really a drag I must say. Not much of a personality. Won't give you any discount so don't bother asking. He's tighter than most people named Sol... and that's saying a lot.

 

His attitude is really blah. Even after I moved away from SF and I saw him at Wondercon he still didn't really give a rats about anything. I really don't think he wants to be in the comics business, I'd say he's burnt out. Unless you need some back issue drek, just buy from him online. Although his store is very classic in the old time comic book store sense. Not many around like it. Has a good selection of boards/boxes also...

 

Bottom line... A blah guy, not evil or mean, just blah... stores kinda cool gives me a nostaligic feel. Okay books. If you want to finish your Miracle man or Teen titans run.. good place. But again, don't expect any kind of discount.

[silverweb]

Reminds me of the Soup Nazi he does. George: "I didn't get any bread" Jerry: "Just let it go"

 

 

Thanks for the empathy and advice guys.

 

 

[Prince Namor]

Is he still on ebay? I did a search and couldn't find him...

[Kramerica]

He's there. I went looking for MTIO Annual #2's last night for old times sake and found him - he didn't have any though....raised his prices too from what I remember. I think it is amazing-adventures?

[MisterX]

I've bought a few HG undergrounds from his eBay store. His selection is pretty good, and his grading is very accurate. Scanner pix are clear and accurate as well.

 

His prices are very steep, but I've ealways been happy with the books.

[Jeffreykli]

Definitely not a people person, but pretty good selection of back issues. But, back issues are generally pretty highly priced, and the bin books are not in top shape, even for common Copper to Modern books.

 

Probably the best thing about visiting the store is that there's an Islamic Chinese restaurant across the street that's pretty good.

[comick1]

I've been to his store many many times. He has a huge inventory of filler back issue silver age/bronze age mid graders. A handful of better books in the glass and a few short boxes of better conditioned books behind the counter you can ask for.

 

As a person... hmmm... he's really a drag I must say. Not much of a personality. Won't give you any discount so don't bother asking. He's tighter than most people named Sol... and that's saying a lot.

 

His attitude is really blah. Even after I moved away from SF and I saw him at Wondercon he still didn't really give a rats about anything. I really don't think he wants to be in the comics business, I'd say he's burnt out. Unless you need some back issue drek, just buy from him online. Although his store is very classic in the old time comic book store sense. Not many around like it. Has a good selection of boards/boxes also...

 

Bottom line... A blah guy, not evil or mean, just blah... stores kinda cool gives me a nostaligic feel. Okay books. If you want to finish your Miracle man or Teen titans run.. good place. But again, don't expect any kind of discount.

 

 

 

Tighter than most people named Sol?

. . .because MOST people named Sol are greedy?

 

By the way, his name is Sal but that's besides the point, m'thinks.

 

Maybe you'd care to enlighten us with your insights about all the Sols you've known? There must be something about all the Sols that you've met that leads you to believe that the vast majority of them are greedy.

 

Do tell, Mr. Tsimanga,

 

 

 

[lizards2]

When did it come about that 'tight' = 'greedy'?

[comick1]

Thanks for the invitation to clarify, Lisards2!

Check out definition #11.

 

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tight

 

Moreover, if you look up 'greedy' (go ahead)

 

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/greedy

 

. . .and you click the link on the left side that says "More Synonyms >>" (go ahead), you'll find that stingy AND tight are listed as synonyms of 'greedy.' It is true that the asterisk next to 'tight' directs you to the footnote that it is "informal;" but I believe that that is EXACTLY the way Mr. Tsimanga meant it. Read that whole paragraph from Mr. Tsimanga:

"As a person... hmmm... he's really a drag I must say. Not much of a personality. Won't give you any discount so don't bother asking. He's tighter than most people named Sol... and that's saying a lot."

 

The sentence preceding the "Sol" sentence is about the owner not giving discounts.

To punctuate how greedy the owner is, Mr. Tsimanga summed up his thoughts in his final sentence (as any formulaic persuasive texts do) with this:

 

"But again, don't expect any kind of discount."

 

Not sure about you, but I personally don't think it's a stretch in any way, shape, or form to surmise from Mr. Tsimanga's posting that he perceives the owner as stingy. I don't share that perception of Sal. But in the interest of full disclosure, I think it's been many years since I've purchased something from Sal at a convention; but that's been due mostly to his showing up with stock I don't collect (And then again, I don't see him setting up at most conventions we've both attended in the last decade or so. . .I think he is mostly there to buy and enjoy the scene. It wouldn't surprise me if he sets up still at Wondercon since that's a local show for him, but I haven't been to that in a number of years myself.). In any case, other than to say that all of MY interactions with Sal at comic book conventions have been very civil and friendly, I am not writing this to detract from the validity of Mr. Tsimanga's personal experiences. That isn't the point.

 

I'll concede that stingy isn't the same as greedy, but it's a synonym; and I think both could be used interchangeably in a variety of contexts. . .especially ones like this. If you'd like for me to revise my post based on your discomfort with that word, I'll revise it to say 'stingy.'

 

By the way, just out of curiosity, I looked up 'Sol' in the same online dictionary and found this:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sol

 

If you scroll down past the lower-case nouns, and go to where Sol is capitalized as a name (the way that Mr. Tsimanga was using it), then you can see that Sol is short for Solomon, a link you can click on if you need further clarification. And for Mr. Tsimanga's sake, it even has an audio link which would help alleviate any confusion between pronunciations of Sal and Sol.

 

And finally, to answer your question, Lizards2, I regret to say that I don't know when 'tight' = 'stingy' (which is a synonym for 'greedy') came about, and I'd be thrilled if somebody could find out for you AND me, Lizards2.

 

However, I DO know that the tired sentiment that would prompt somebody to write "tighter ( = 'stingier' = 'greedier') than most people named Sol" is at least a couple THOUSAND years old.

[lizards2]

 

I read it again, along with all your references, and don't come to the same conclusions you do. And yes, I knew what you were getting at with your first post.

 

As long as you aggressively seek out harm where none was intended, you'll continue to have a miserable life.

[KryptoSpidey]

I read it again, along with all your references, and don't come to the same conclusions you do. And yes, I knew what you were getting at with your first post.

 

As long as you aggressively seek out harm where none was intended, you'll continue to have a miserable life.

+1..i couldn't agree more..

one thing these boards can do,and i see it way too much,is take a simple statement that anyone of us would or could use in or out of context,with no harm intended,and turn it into a lynching.

 

 

[Kramerica]

I read it again, along with all your references, and don't come to the same conclusions you do. And yes, I knew what you were getting at with your first post.

 

As long as you aggressively seek out harm where none was intended, you'll continue to have a miserable life.

+1..i couldn't agree more..

one thing these boards can do,and i see it way too much,is take a simple statement that anyone of us would or could use in or out of context,with no harm intended,and turn it into a lynching.

 

 

That's why I'm afraid to make any statement - whether it by factual or "IMO" here on the "The Boards". The way things operate in this Bizarro Universe is unreal. I can't tell you how many times I've stated that I think Brubaker's Cap run is the best Cap story ever only to have someone accuse me of strangling kittens. Heaven forbid you flip a book on the FS Forum to make a little extra $$$ - you might find yourself on the FBI's Terrorist Watch List.

 

Why, just last week I was mentioning how much I liked J.M.S's take on the Web Spinner when all of a sudden a boardie threw a egg at my house, spammed my FS thread and started a smear campaign against my kids at school for being anti-family values.

 

Speaking of school, has anyone noticed the uncanny parallels between this place and the "in crowds" and "cool kids" that we all experienced in High School? It truly permeates every crevice of this board. From the FS threads to the VCC (aka The School Dance) to Comics General the in-crowd really does rule.

 

Why, just the other night I had a dream that Greggy had been voted Prom Queen over Angelina Jolie - her only crime being that "someone heard that she liked Moderns". It was truly a nightmare - Angelina crying in the corner while Greegy and Thanos shared a slow dance to "Stand By Me". I woke up in a cold sweat and had to turn on my night lite and pull my blanky close.

 

 

 

[comick1]

Regarding your first comment, Lizards2, I respect your right to give the fellow the benefit of the doubt. Frankly, [for the better part of a day] I considered giving him a chance to respond and clarify via PM, but when these statements of this nature are made in a public forum, they need to be called for what they are.

 

As for your second comment. It would seem that the "you" you are referring to is me. I'll be happy to respond to you via PM because I feel that my response doesn't warrant a public forum as Mr. Tsimanga's does.