"We need to price this" .. a dollar bin warmer for months

[fc]

My main problem is that I will spend a couple of hours in a store going through long box after long

box. I will take up the books that I found which were excellent deals only to find out that the

price on the bags were not accurate. I just spent my time helping the owner find the good stuff he

is too lazy to reprice.

[porcupine48]

I'd demand they sell it to me for how it was priced.

[rjpb]

I was at a comic show a few weeks ago digging through a dealer's 4 for a dollar box.

He had a stack of 6 copies of Spawn #1 in it. There were many other issues of Spawn but I was shocked to see #1s and I pulled them all because I have a hoarding problem with this issue.

 

I probably bought 40 books or so but as he was going through my stack to give me a total he pulled the Spawns out and said I couldn't buy them because he keeps those for the kids. He says that kids don't have the money to pay $10-20 for a copy so he likes to make them happy when they find them in the quarter box.

 

So I look at him and blink while he's telling me this and my reply was, "You sell Spawn to kids?"

He says that kids love Spawn and it's one their favorite titles.

So I asked if he's ever read a Spawn comic.

He decided to sell them all to me.

 

 

How old are we talking about, "kids" routinely watch violent movies and play violent video games. I wouldn't give Spawn to a six year old, but I can't imagine it being shocking to a 12 year old. I'm sure glad when the head shops in the 70s sold me undergrounds when I was 13, there wasn't some geezer there snatching them out of my hands.

[sckao]

Kids know Spawn from the movie (PG-13) that still shows up occasionally on cable/tv.

 

So I guess you should be 13 to read Spawn...

 

PG-13 — Parents Strongly Cautioned. Some Material May Be Inappropriate For Children Under 13. A PG-13 rating is a sterner warning by the Rating Board to parents to determine whether their children under age 13 should view the motion picture, as some material might not be suited for them. A PG-13 motion picture may go beyond the PG rating in theme, violence, nudity, sensuality, language, adult activities or other elements, but does not reach the restricted R category. The theme of the motion picture by itself will not result in a rating greater than PG-13, although depictions of activities related to a mature theme may result in a restricted rating for the motion picture. Any drug use will initially require at least a PG-13 rating. More than brief nudity will require at least a PG-13 rating, but such nudity in a PG-13 rated motion picture generally will not be sexually oriented. There may be depictions of violence in a PG-13 movie, but generally not both realistic and extreme or persistent violence. A motion picture’s single use of one of the harsher sexually-derived words, though only as an expletive, initially requires at least a PG-13 rating. More than one such expletive requires an R rating, as must even one of those words used in a sexual context. The Rating Board nevertheless may rate such a motion picture PG-13 if, based on a special vote by a two-thirds majority, the Raters feel that most American parents would believe that a PG-13 rating is appropriate because of the context or manner in which the words are used or because the use of those words in the motion picture is inconspicuous.

 

http://www.mpaa.org/ratings/what-each-rating-means

 

 

[Bosco685]

Some socially challenged collector probably came back to him later and shared, "I pulled a book out of your dollar bin and after submitting it to CGC I sold it for $XXX." Now he may be scrambling to see what else he is missing.

 

There was a board member that did this (jduran1) with a store and they turned him right around and told him not to come back. It's like rubbing their nose in the fact they left money on the table.

 

I actually rather like it when a customer gets a good deal... even a great deal. If I catch an underpriced comic in a box myself I may re-price it. But I would never deny the customer buying it if he found it and brought it up to the counter for purchase. He's excited, and will likely make many more trips back to my shop afterward. And even if he doesn't... it's my mistake... why should he/she get the shaft?

 

I'm sure there are various $10 and $20 comics that find their way into my $1 boxes (sometimes even intentionally), but that's the way it goes.

 

A reseller giving someone a good deal is a very nice way to build customer trust and long-term sales. I respect that.

 

But someone coming back and telling you they made a large sum off a book they bought out of your dollar bin - think about it. What purpose does that serve telling a seller this? Just move along, flip your book, and continue frequenting that shop for more.

[Ken Aldred]

Some socially challenged collector probably came back to him later and shared, "I pulled a book out of your dollar bin and after submitting it to CGC I sold it for $XXX." Now he may be scrambling to see what else he is missing.

 

There was a board member that did this (jduran1) with a store and they turned him right around and told him not to come back. It's like rubbing their nose in the fact they left money on the table.

Gloating, laughing in someone's face, isn't a very good idea directed either way in a transaction. It's stopped me from going back to many shops, not just because of comicbook-related incidents.

 

 

[Jeffro.]

I was at a comic show a few weeks ago digging through a dealer's 4 for a dollar box.

He had a stack of 6 copies of Spawn #1 in it. There were many other issues of Spawn but I was shocked to see #1s and I pulled them all because I have a hoarding problem with this issue.

 

I probably bought 40 books or so but as he was going through my stack to give me a total he pulled the Spawns out and said I couldn't buy them because he keeps those for the kids. He says that kids don't have the money to pay $10-20 for a copy so he likes to make them happy when they find them in the quarter box.

 

So I look at him and blink while he's telling me this and my reply was, "You sell Spawn to kids?"

He says that kids love Spawn and it's one their favorite titles.

So I asked if he's ever read a Spawn comic.

He decided to sell them all to me.

 

 

Nice, You just saved several impressionable yoots the pain of Spewn.

 

[Jeffro.]

There was a board member that did this (jduran1) with a store and they turned him right around and told him not to come back. It's like rubbing their nose in the fact they left money on the table.

 

Why would anybody do that?

[Bosco685]

There was a board member that did this (jduran1) with a store and they turned him right around and told him not to come back. It's like rubbing their nose in the fact they left money on the table.

 

Why would anybody do that?

 

That is just how he rolls sometimes. Prove you know the value of comics by sharing with someone how much you made off a book you bought from them.

 

What floored me was he was actually shocked the husband and wife owners threw him out of the store. He bought a New Mutants 87 for a $1 and then sold it as a CGC 9.8 for $200, he didn't understand what the issue was in sharing how much he made.

 

[lizards2]

My old LCS back in Eugene would purposely 'salt' the quarter boxes with expensive treasure. This would encourage customers to rifle through the boxes, and possibly pick up some additional junk. And it also created a lot of goodwill with the customer base.

[Bodhi396]

This is a topic that seems to come up alot, changing the price on comics people find in dollar boxes. I think owners of shops have the right to do this, but it's a horrible business practice.

 

If you are a good owner you'd first keep better track of your inventory and current prices so this type of thing doesn't happen. Second, if a few books slip through into the dollar box that are worth more than a dollar, you'll take the hit. It's not worth alienating a customer by changing the price if it's only saving you a few bucks, because that customer might spend hundreds in the future. Also, it does help motivate people to look through your boxes if they think they might find a hidden gem, and then they'll probably buy more of the actual dollar books.

[Davenport]

My old LCS back in Eugene would purposely 'salt' the quarter boxes with expensive treasure. This would encourage customers to rifle through the boxes, and possibly pick up some additional junk. And it also created a lot of goodwill with the customer base.

A "Loss Leader" strategy like that seems a really smart way to get customers in to a LCS, plus have them return repeatedly. They have to show up to get "lucky".

 

Just going would be fun since you wouldn't know what any given trip might yield.

[Jeffro.]

There was a board member that did this (jduran1) with a store and they turned him right around and told him not to come back. It's like rubbing their nose in the fact they left money on the table.

 

Why would anybody do that?

 

That is just how he rolls sometimes. Prove you know the value of comics by sharing with someone how much you made off a book you bought from them.

 

What floored me was he was actually shocked the husband and wife owners threw him out of the store. He bought a New Mutants 87 for a $1 and then sold it as a CGC 9.8 for $200, he didn't understand what the issue was in sharing how much he made.

 

 

I've known some comic collectors who fit that bill of cluelessness.

[Whizzer]

My lcs has a big inventory and even though the owner knows his stuff, I have occasionally pulled a couple of minor gems from the cheap boxes. When I get to the counter, he just says " hey, nice find!" and rings it up.

 

And that simple, straightforward honesty is why he has a lot of loyal customers. It really isn't that difficult to get this stuff right, which is why it's astonishing that some of these maroons are out there and apparently thriving!

[porcupine48]

I'd demand they sell it to me for how it was priced.

...and if they did not,I would P pee on the floor

[VintageComics]

Some socially challenged collector probably came back to him later and shared, "I pulled a book out of your dollar bin and after submitting it to CGC I sold it for $XXX." Now he may be scrambling to see what else he is missing.

 

There was a board member that did this (jduran1) with a store and they turned him right around and told him not to come back. It's like rubbing their nose in the fact they left money on the table.

 

I actually rather like it when a customer gets a good deal... even a great deal. If I catch an underpriced comic in a box myself I may re-price it. But I would never deny the customer buying it if he found it and brought it up to the counter for purchase. He's excited, and will likely make many more trips back to my shop afterward. And even if he doesn't... it's my mistake... why should he/she get the shaft?

 

I'm sure there are various $10 and $20 comics that find their way into my $1 boxes (sometimes even intentionally), but that's the way it goes.

 

You are not the normal comic book store owner. You are socially adept, you look like you bathe judging by your avatar and you are generally sound in your logic when you speak. It also helps if you don't spit on customers when you talk.

 

 

I don't understand why people feel the need to brag about the scores they get even more so, why they need to go back and rub salt in the wound of a seller and tell him how much money was left on the table? All it does is make someone feel bad about a deal. these people are human and are in the business of making a living for their families. Going back and telling them how much you made off them usually only breeds resentment. We've seen it a billion times. If you make money off me I don't mind. I leave meat on the bone all the time, but I don't need my nose rubbed in it.

 

I suppose it's some sort of validation for some people.

[monsterbento]

I just went to check on the prices. Back where I found them with gigantic stickers on the bag.. $10 for #15, $25 for #16. I'm starting to give up on my lcs. A couple boxes down I saw a mid-grade Infinity Gauntlet for $100.

[sufunk]

I just went to check on the prices. Back where I found them with gigantic stickers on the bag.. $10 for #15, $25 for #16. I'm starting to give up on my lcs. A couple boxes down I saw a mid-grade Infinity Gauntlet for $100.

 

Is this place called Blackstar comics???

 

Just out of curiosity i just checked and a 9.8 Infinity gauntlet #1 sold June 15th for $90, 90 day avg is $92. I take it this guys mid-grades arent 9.8's by any chance are they???

 

Some people just dont know how to run a business. If your business model is hoping people will buy stuff for 5x's FMV, you probably arent gonna last very long (thumbs u

 

The surest way to get someone to NEVER come back to your LCS is to have a bunch of overpriced mid-grades. The surest way to get a customer for life is to have a bunch of very fairly priced comics. It aint rocket science

[monsterbento]

Its this local place called "Comics" ..... thats what the sign says.

 

The IGs are far from 9.8. I would guess 5s or 6s. At that price, I might as well buy the limited hardcover on eBay.

 

I'm starting to go there less often. Sometimes I don't feel welcome there; he does his laundry there, makes me wait to checkout while he puts clothes in the dryer. He has to attend to his PetVille app on facebook. Little like that is starting to annoy me.

[sufunk]

We used to have a LCS like that around here in the 90's. The owner made the Simpsons guy seem like a cool dude! He would ALWAYS be playing D&D with 2 or 3 of his friends behind the counter. God forbid you asked to see a wall book or I don't know, PAY for your books, he would give you the most annoys look and TELL you to wait a couple minutes for them to finish whatever need ritual they were in the middle of

 

Needless to say, I sopped going there and they eventually went out of business. I GUARANTEE you that guy is siting in his moms house right now checking out some Star Trek website, Sri king a Mello Yellow and eating cheetos