Do you have good LCS's?

[Mephisto]

I totally agree about the books in back pet peeve. They should be on display on a wall or in a glass display case where people can see them (not under flourescent lighting, if they can help it) with a clearly visible and accurate letter/numerical grade, not kept in the back.

 

Shops really need to stop putting books on walls. Aside from the fact that they may be more likely to fade I don't know how many times I have seen a 300 pound employee in a shop climb up on a table and clumsily drop the book on his way down. Not to mention when they put the books up with thumb tacks through the plastic they often do it too close to the top of the book which puts an indentation on the top of the cover or and indentation and small tearing on the top of the whole issue.

[Illiterati-migration]

The ones in KC pretty much suck.

 

Ive been to three here, all three charge taxes on new comics, which I thought was illegal. Two of the three seemed friendly enough, unfortunately those are the ones a little bit away from me and are right across the street from one another.

 

O well, I long for my old comic shop back near St Louis. Its always good going into a shop for 15 plus years, and being a customer of the shop owner from before that when he only did flea markets.

 

Which three??? (And yes, they all charge tax. And yes, they all suck.) Wait, I'm assuming you are talking about Clint's and Be-Bop? Are those the ones that are right across the street from one another? Have you been to Friendly Frank's?

 

The situation is worse in the hinterlands (Johnson County), I assure you.

[shiverbones]

i have been to eides and i'd say its the best shop i have ever been in, excellent beyond belief, gold-modern keys in an array of grades & really solid stock on the floor. I try to get there 2 or 3 times a year (my brother lives in pittsburgh!)

 

i just left south jersey which had several decent shops. For instance the week before i moved down to new orleans, i found 2 VF marvel premiere #15's for $5 a throw, as well as a handful of other decent bronze books.

 

Now that i am settling in down here, i have gone to 4 shops & finally found an ok one. More fun Comics has at least some back issues, but nothing to go nuts over. The other 3 were kind of weak, and in fact, 2 of them flat out sucked!!!! I am spoiled, so its going to take some getting used to

[FFB]

There are ways to do this such that the books don't get exposed to sunlight or flourescent light and so that people don't drop them on the way down. (Lee Hester uses a stick with a hook on it that makes it almost impossible for the book to fall off.) I agree that people shouldn't do any of the things that you mention though, and I've seen all of them happen.

 

I totally agree about the books in back pet peeve. They should be on display on a wall or in a glass display case where people can see them (not under flourescent lighting, if they can help it) with a clearly visible and accurate letter/numerical grade, not kept in the back.

 

Shops really need to stop putting books on walls. Aside from the fact that they may be more likely to fade I don't know how many times I have seen a 300 pound employee in a shop climb up on a table and clumsily drop the book on his way down. Not to mention when they put the books up with thumb tacks through the plastic they often do it too close to the top of the book which puts an indentation on the top of the cover or and indentation and small tearing on the top of the whole issue.

[shiverbones]

one of the shops in new jersey has a white washed case of books like green lantern #40, batman #6, fantastic four annual #1, giant size x-men #1, and they all look like ghosts from the lights

[Rob]

one of the shops in new jersey has a white washed case of books like green lantern #40, batman #6, fantastic four annual #1, giant size x-men #1, and they all look like ghosts from the lights

 

Again, you guys are talking about real nice books. Those should be stored carefully. But I would like to see some mid-high grade 70's Neal Adams Batman's on the wall or in a case. Our shops have nothing!

[Apotheosis]

I spent today visiting the Phoenix metro areas comic shops. It's been a while since I've been to the ones across town, and today I was reminded why. Most of the shops have all the latest comics (minus anything hot), and Fair-VG copies of silver and bronze age comics.

 

I feel your pain... I too live in Hell (aka The Phoenix Valley). The LCS's here do indeed suck. In fact, I was at one tonight with my fiance after she suggested we stop by so she could find more comics that she could get into . While she searched through the new stuff I went hunting through the back issues in the boxes, in the glass cases, and on the wall. The closest they had to a high grade silver was a boderline VF FF 68. Keep in mind... this is from our local "Chain LCS". With 4 stores you would think they would have some prime comics. Who knows... maybe they do in the back, but with nothing even close in the front it doesn't make me wonder about the stash in the back. At least put some HG examples in the glass cases in the front. Is that too much to ask? As such, I'm driven to the internet for most of my collecting now. I understand that the internet has hurt HG back issue sales for alot of LCS's because they can't compete on price in most cases, but there's still a market. I would be more than willing to pay guide on a VF or better sub 100 X-Men from my LCS instead of hitting Ebay. Why? Because it's worth more for me to be able to see the comic in person before I buy. What's the point of getting 20 - 30% off VF guide from Ebay when the comic ends up being Fine anyway? Unfortunately this isn't an option because the shops here are pathetic in the silver and bronze age arena's.

 

Ok... I think I rattled on long enough.

[FFB]

Yeah, if you are going to stick old books on the wall, you kinda have to keep them out of the bright light.

 

one of the shops in new jersey has a white washed case of books like green lantern #40, batman #6, fantastic four annual #1, giant size x-men #1, and they all look like ghosts from the lights

[shiverbones]

one of the shops in new jersey has a white washed case of books like green lantern #40, batman #6, fantastic four annual #1, giant size x-men #1, and they all look like ghosts from the lights

 

Again, you guys are talking about real nice books. Those should be stored carefully. But I would like to see some mid-high grade 70's Neal Adams Batman's on the wall or in a case. Our shops have nothing!

 

i feel your pain now, the best wall book at more fun was a vf swampthing #1 and that was followed by a tomb of dracula #25 in vf. nothing nice at all really. Its my new reality!

[Rob]

Apotheosis, which Atomic did you visit? I live near the Chandler location, but took a trip to Mesa today.

 

And you make a good point about seeing the book in person. That's why a high detailed scan can fetch 30%+ more on eBay than a bad scan, because it reduces the risk. If I could see a book in person, I would be willing to pay more for it.

[uclapeterg]

sounds like a major control freak.

 

I have a local dealer,..who will only show me books if I call first, even though his shop is open to the public,....and none of his staff members are allowed to quote prices or show me books unless he is there.....

[Apotheosis]

I hit the location in Phoenix by the Metro Center Mall (the filming site for Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure ) since I live closest to it. I've been to the Chandler store. Nice staff, but their bronze and silver selection really leave quite a bit to be desired. Granted... it's also a small store comparatively. I've been to the Mesa store and found the same to be true and that's supposed to be their Flagship store. Have you been to the PV location? I didn't even know it existed until I saw it on their website.

 

Out of curiosity... the store that has the "good" comics in the back... was that All About Books And Comics? I was looking for the original Elfquest magazine size comics and they had to pull them out of the back. Annoying.

[Rob]

Yes, it was All About. And the Daredevils were at Samurai.

[Apotheosis]

Yeah... I went to Samurai once... that was enough.

 

Hey lighthouse.... Ever thought about leaving the perpetual overcast and coming into the ever pounding sun? We could use your store here.

[xrcst]

Yeah Khaos.

 

The two I was talking abotu was Clint and B-bop.

 

Both guys at those stores seem fairly friendly but Clint doesnt put boards on back issues. I live less than three miles from Friendly Franks...they have a nice selection of back issues and quarter boxes (which is what I usually go there to dig through) but friendly isnt what i would describe the peopel that work there as. Like I said, they charge tax, no free bags and boards and come off as comic snobs at times to me. And then there was the one day, the last day actually i bought new issues there. It wasn a couple of guys other than the nromal guy with the goatee and glasses...he was eating some Mcdonalds and I came to be ringed up. He gets right up and starts shuffling through my comics tallying them up. There had to be grease on his hands even if he wiped them with a napkin. I almost said, never mind, but I try not to be a jerk.

 

I have yet to go to the ones out in Overland Park.

[Timely]

sounds like a major control freak.

 

I have a local dealer,..who will only show me books if I call first, even though his shop is open to the public,....and none of his staff members are allowed to quote prices or show me books unless he is there.....

 

Naw, he just knows Rocketeer knows more about the books than all his employees combined and he would not want Rocketeer to have "the edge."

 

Timely

[nik]

My LCS owner is the best. Always calls me when he picks up new stuff, old collections etc. etc., I get first dibs, and pretty much cherry pick what I want. I recently picked up about 25 BA books, Spideys, Thors and a few DCs. The books were absolutely beautiful.

The other guy I deal with is Ted at Superworld, always has incredible Golden Age and Silver Age books.

[Jagull]

2/3 of mine suck

one is all modern age. if you dont get your books were they were released, expect to pay upto $2 more. When new releases come out, they could care less about the condition

 

the other has some hard [!@#%^&^] for an owner. I was there todya looking and some old game systems they had on the wall. The dude asked me if i needed help, i say no. Next thing i know he comes over and starts giving me a lecture about placing the systems on the shelves. For crying out loud, the shelf hold the systems are 2x bigger than the console >_< Again, all moderns

 

Neither of the two have any CGC books

 

third one owns, not too sure if he has anything beyond modern or any CGC. But his books are laid out on a table. Free bag & boarding too

[cd4ever]

Yeah Khaos.

 

The two I was talking abotu was Clint and B-bop.

 

Both guys at those stores seem fairly friendly but Clint doesnt put boards on back issues. I live less than three miles from Friendly Franks...they have a nice selection of back issues and quarter boxes (which is what I usually go there to dig through) but friendly isnt what i would describe the peopel that work there as. Like I said, they charge tax, no free bags and boards and come off as comic snobs at times to me. And then there was the one day, the last day actually i bought new issues there. It wasn a couple of guys other than the nromal guy with the goatee and glasses...he was eating some Mcdonalds and I came to be ringed up. He gets right up and starts shuffling through my comics tallying them up. There had to be grease on his hands even if he wiped them with a napkin. I almost said, never mind, but I try not to be a jerk.

 

I have yet to go to the ones out in Overland Park.

 

There are two in OP thst I know of. Elite and 1 Million Comics. I much prefer 1 million, very friendly people, and very good about pulling my monthly books. Elite has a better overall selection but their store is a disaster area, books everywhere, new books stacked on top of old, eveything getting bent. Very disorgasnized. And there is always a group of young kids hanging around yapping with the workers while totally ignoring the customers. Drives me nuts!

[Timely]

There are two in OP thst I know of. Elite and 1 Million Comics. I much prefer 1 million, very friendly people, and very good about pulling my monthly books. Elite has a better overall selection but their store is a disaster area, books everywhere, new books stacked on top of old, eveything getting bent. Very disorgasnized. And there is always a group of young kids hanging around yapping with the workers while totally ignoring the customers. Drives me nuts!

 

Elite is the guy I'm having problems with on ebay, after 2 1/2 months I still do not have my comic or the money I've asked him to return to me. I guess I should not be surprised to hear his store is in shambles.

 

Timely