Your Best Shop or Dealer Experience?

[Kirk Kenobi]

In light of posts focusing on negative experiences at shows and shops, thought I'd post a thread for people to share their stories of the single best comic buying experience they've had most recently.

 

Please describe it in detail:

-What did you buy?

-What was it about the experience that made it so great?

-Any other relevant info?

 

Boarding a plane and will post my most recent experience later today.

 

[lizards2]

I don't go to shops or shows any more, but I will tell you this - there are many, many quality sellers here on the board that are polite, attentive and some who are generous to boot. And they grade well. I have had so many excellent experiences here that I spend most of my money right here on the boards.

[sufunk]

95% of what i buy is either here on the boards or from the auction houses so The best ive had recently wasnt with a shop or dealer but was with our own boardie bio-rupp.

 

He had a sales thread with some Rocky Mountain Ped Avengers in the 200's. Not expensive books at all but ones i LOVED when i was a kid. I bought one for like $30 or so and pm'd him asking if he had any others. He pm'd me this pic

 

That was one of my alltime favorite books as a kid, i LOVED that book and must have read it 500 times when i was like 9. I told him name his price but he didnt want to sell it because hes about the same age as me and had the same memories of it.

 

Then last week, he had another sales thread and i bought a few hundred dollars worth of books. A decent amount but nothing earth shattering. Out of nowhere without me saying a word, he offered to throw in the Avengers 213 for FREE just to thank me for buying some books in the thread. I refused and demanded to pay for it since i knew how much he loved the book also but just the gesture was very, VERY appreciated.

 

A+++ (thumbs u

 

[goldust40]

I will tell you this - there are many, many quality sellers here on the board that are polite, attentive and some who are generous to boot. And they grade well. I have had so many excellent experiences here that I spend most of my money right here on the boards.

 

Ditto. Rarely disappointed if ever after numerous transactions on here.

[lizards2]

I will tell you this - there are many, many quality sellers here on the board that are polite, attentive and some who are generous to boot. And they grade well. I have had so many excellent experiences here that I spend most of my money right here on the boards.

 

Ditto. Rarely disappointed if ever after numerous transactions on here.

 

OK - this one sticks out in my mind - a seller here allows me time payments and runs a series of sales, and I pick up books over the course of about six months. He eventually ships my books prior to my final payment. When I get the books, there is a VG GL 7 in there which I can't remember purchasing - so I ask if it was supposed to go to someone else. Nope, it was a freebie in appreciation of my business.

[dupont2005]

I don't go to shops or shows any more, but I will tell you this - there are many, many quality sellers here on the board that are polite, attentive and some who are generous to boot. And they grade well. I have had so many excellent experiences here that I spend most of my money right here on the boards.

Agreed! This is my favorite place to buy comics (thumbs u

 

 

 

But when I was a kid I did have a great shop experience. I found his Epic Elfquest comics and bought everything he had, which was like 15-18 comics. When I brought them to the register he said "Hang on a minute" and went to the back room. He came back out with a reprint of the big WaRP magazine #1 and gave it to me for free. It's not worth anything but I thought it was awesome. The painted cover looked much better and I liked black and white better. And it was oversized too so to me back then it was ultra deluxe like the Essential Sandman or something I still have that comic too.

[hockey&comicsguy]

I sold Richard Evans a book last year. It was just a smooth transaction. He's great at communication and just seems like a straight shooter and downright nice person to deal with. You cold swap out Richard's name with GAtor as well. Just nice people to deal with.

[nearmint]

I sold Richard Evans a book last year. It was just a smooth transaction. He's great at communication and just seems like a straight shooter and downright nice person to deal with. You cold swap out Richard's name with GAtor as well. Just nice people to deal with.

 

Both top-notch guys all around.

 

And nifty dancers, too.

[DrWatson]

In light of posts focusing on negative experiences at shows and shops, thought I'd post a thread for people to share their stories of the single best comic buying experience they've had most recently.

 

Please describe it in detail:

-What did you buy?

-What was it about the experience that made it so great?

-Any other relevant info?

 

Boarding a plane and will post my most recent experience later today.

No one is interested in good news.

[The Silver-Age]

Bought a book from O'leary's books in Tacoma, WA about 11 years ago.

Avengers #57 that they had graded at an 8.5

CGC graded it at a 9.4....

Needless to say, I bought all the HG books I could afford there till they went out of business. I also bought all their back issues of Next Men #21 2 years before the movie came out. Thay all graded CGC'd 9.6-9.8 Paid $1 each. Sold $275-450 each at the right time....I REALLY miss that place....

[TheLiamSturgess]

I've had many, many good experiences.

Here's just a few.

 

-Hector (Chespirito) has always treated me very fairly and offers generous trades when I have a book he wants, and he has offered some foreigns to me for free in the past. Always willing to talk foreigns and help me out when I'm looking for a book.

 

-Matteo (marmat) is one of my main sources for foreign books, mostly from Spain with the odd other book he has managed to pick up. He is cool with time payments on prices as small as $50 which is a big necessity for me since I won't have a steady income until September. Always willing to help out and buy things off eBay and Tradera for me and asks nothing in return (though I owe him many, MANY favours )

 

-Johnny G. recently sold me a Secret Wars #8 CGC 9.8 for about $45 under GPA, and hand delivered at a local show. Top-notch service and an all-around great guy to talk to (thumbs u

 

-Harley Yee - I met Harley for the first time in Seattle in March, and he was one of the coolest dealers there. Didn't try to sell me anything while I was at his booth, he just let me browse and had a conversation with me and another dealer (also great) named Ron. When I managed to pick out a Daredevil #182 CGC 9.8 and a Fantastic Four #232 CGC 9.8 both priced at $80 each, he quickly offered to halve that price for me to $40 each. No haggling needed, but he saw that I was low on money and that I wanted the books, and took action! Major kudos to Harley.

 

-I've also had great transactions with several board members who have been easy to work with as far as Canadian shipping goes.

 

-Joeypost has been a great help with my first submission, helping me with the forms and picking the books up for me after grading. Great packing, too!

 

...and many many more!

[seank]

A few years ago I bought a Jungle Comics from a dealer at SacCon. Later that week, I was at A-1 and Brian Peets asked about what I had bought at the convention. I told him about the Jungle and he asked if all the pages were there because the dealer in question had some books that were missing pages. I almost always count pages before I buy GA, but a moment of panic hit and I said, "I don't know."

 

Brian said to check the book and if it was missing pages, he'd take care of it. When I told him I didn't buy the book from him he said, "Don't worry, I know the guy that sold it."

 

A good dealer takes care of his own mistakes, a great dealer helps a regular customer take care of another dealer's mistake.

 

Fortunately, the book was complete and didn't need to be returned.

[MedicAR]

This has to be the best deal I've ever gotten anywhere.

 

Back in the 90s, one of the LCS in my area had a big 10 for $1 sale. I was hoping to fill in runs and had a Saturday to blow, so I went in and started at one end and worked my way to the other. About half way through, I cam across a Fantastic Four #10. The original FF #10, mind you, and it had a $100 price tag on it. Figuring someone had put it in there to either hide it until they had the money or come back and claim it as a 10¢ book, I pulled it to give it to the clerk.

 

Despite all the time I spent going through the books, there was very little there. I came away with about $5 worth of stuff. I took it all to the counter, including the FF #10. As a clerk I hadn't seen before rung me up, I told her about finding the book and what I guessed had happened. She looked it over, including the price tag and asked it I wanted it. I told I'd love to have it but I really couldn't spend that much. She asked where I found it again, I told her the 10 for $1 boxes and she asked, "you can't afford 10¢?" I was floored. Being that I hit the shop about once a month and had some friends there, I really didn't want to mess things up. I explained again that I thought it was either a mistake that it was there or that some had put it there hoping to get it for 10¢ or hiding it until they could come up with the money. She was very nice and said, "it was in the 10¢ boxes and you found it, if you want it for 10¢, you've got it." I said, "you know the manager is going to be really upset with you, don't you?" She smiled and said, "I am the new manager." I bought the book.

 

She really was the new manager and ran the store for about a year or so until it changed hands and finally closed. I still can't believe I got FF #10 for 99.9% off!

[chunkybutt]

This has to be the best deal I've ever gotten anywhere.

 

Back in the 90s, one of the LCS in my area had a big 10 for $1 sale. I was hoping to fill in runs and had a Saturday to blow, so I went in and started at one end and worked my way to the other. About half way through, I cam across a Fantastic Four #10. The original FF #10, mind you, and it had a $100 price tag on it. Figuring someone had put it in there to either hide it until they had the money or come back and claim it as a 10¢ book, I pulled it to give it to the clerk.

 

Despite all the time I spent going through the books, there was very little there. I came away with about $5 worth of stuff. I took it all to the counter, including the FF #10. As a clerk I hadn't seen before rung me up, I told her about finding the book and what I guessed had happened. She looked it over, including the price tag and asked it I wanted it. I told I'd love to have it but I really couldn't spend that much. She asked where I found it again, I told her the 10 for $1 boxes and she asked, "you can't afford 10¢?" I was floored. Being that I hit the shop about once a month and had some friends there, I really didn't want to mess things up. I explained again that I thought it was either a mistake that it was there or that some had put it there hoping to get it for 10¢ or hiding it until they could come up with the money. She was very nice and said, "it was in the 10¢ boxes and you found it, if you want it for 10¢, you've got it." I said, "you know the manager is going to be really upset with you, don't you?" She smiled and said, "I am the new manager." I bought the book.

 

She really was the new manager and ran the store for about a year or so until it changed hands and finally closed. I still can't believe I got FF #10 for 99.9% off!

 

 

So much for my story of buying Maxx #1 glow-in-the-dark cover for only $150!

[TupennyConan]

In light of posts focusing on negative experiences at shows and shops, thought I'd post a thread for people to share their stories of the single best comic buying experience they've had most recently.

 

Please describe it in detail:

-What did you buy?

-What was it about the experience that made it so great?

-Any other relevant info?

 

Boarding a plane and will post my most recent experience later today.

 

Here comes the manlove.

[Topnotchman]

I have been for the most part buying and selling tens of thousands of funny books since the beginning of the Ebay era. I rarely would add a book to my collection. I collected Silver Age Flash comics growing up in the 1980's. So at the beginning of this year I thought I would put together a higher grade 10 cent Flash run. Keep it simple, 10 cent Flash only. So at the Chicago Reed show I made the big plunge and bought a Flash 105 CGC 7.5. Biggest dollar amount of a purchase ever, by a long ways. I bought the book from. Jamie Graham.

[kidcolt]

I always bought my comics from Downtown Comics in St John's NL. The owner was a great guy who knew how to treat his regulars right. The best example I can think of was when Ultimate Spiderman #1 came out. He received some f the White variant #1's and he sold them all to his best customers for cover price. He was always great to us. We since relocated so I only get to visit his shop a few times a year. I still enjoy picking up a few cups of coffee and going there to chat comics with him.

[Kirk Kenobi]

95% of what i buy is either here on the boards or from the auction houses so The best ive had recently wasnt with a shop or dealer but was with our own boardie bio-rupp.

 

He had a sales thread with some Rocky Mountain Ped Avengers in the 200's. Not expensive books at all but ones i LOVED when i was a kid. I bought one for like $30 or so and pm'd him asking if he had any others. He pm'd me this pic

 

That was one of my alltime favorite books as a kid, i LOVED that book and must have read it 500 times when i was like 9. I told him name his price but he didnt want to sell it because hes about the same age as me and had the same memories of it.

 

Then last week, he had another sales thread and i bought a few hundred dollars worth of books. A decent amount but nothing earth shattering. Out of nowhere without me saying a word, he offered to throw in the Avengers 213 for FREE just to thank me for buying some books in the thread. I refused and demanded to pay for it since i knew how much he loved the book also but just the gesture was very, VERY appreciated.

 

A+++ (thumbs u

 

This is such a great story. It's also an example of what amazing customer service looks like. By surprising you with something uniquely personal and meaningful you got an experience you'll never forget. Thanks for sharing.

[seanfingh]

In light of posts focusing on negative experiences at shows and shops, thought I'd post a thread for people to share their stories of the single best comic buying experience they've had most recently.

 

Please describe it in detail:

-What did you buy?

-What was it about the experience that made it so great?

-Any other relevant info?

 

Boarding a plane and will post my most recent experience later today.

 

Here comes the manlove.

 

You should describe transacting business with me.

[comicparadox]

This has to be the best deal I've ever gotten anywhere.

 

Back in the 90s, one of the LCS in my area had a big 10 for $1 sale. About half way through, I cam across a Fantastic Four #10. The original FF #10, mind you, and it had a $100 price tag on it. Figuring someone had put it in there to either hide it until they had the money or come back and claim it as a 10¢ book, I pulled it to give it to the clerk. She was very nice and said, "it was in the 10¢ boxes and you found it, if you want it for 10¢, you've got it." I said, "you know the manager is going to be really upset with you, don't you?" She smiled and said, "I am the new manager." I bought the book.

 

She really was the new manager and ran the store for about a year or so until it changed hands and finally closed. I still can't believe I got FF #10 for 99.9% off!

 

Two thoughts upon hearing that story:

1.) did you ask her out? I sure as heck would have!

2.) If that was her financial management style, no wonder the store went out of business...