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Rant about my LCS

Started by crnbrd,

33 posts in this topic

crnbrd

crnbrd

Posted
Posted

Begin rantrant

 

A while ago I placed an order for three copies of three different covers (collage, Ramos, and the skyline one) for ASM700 at my LCS. I asked the guy if he could pull the best ones so I could get them graded or signed at cons.

 

So....... I went last night to pick up my copies of ASM 700 I'd pre-ordered from said store.

 

When I went in and checked my folder nothing was there, yet other customers had books in their slots. After checking the wall I found one of the Ramos variant and one of the diner variant, though neither were in good condition.

 

I asked the owner about my books and he said to ask the guy I had talked to earlier and that the price had gone up on the variants (weird).

 

I go ask the worker and he says 'yea I got yours they are in the back'. He heads back there and is talking to the owner and I hear the worker say 'I'm not arguing with you' then the owner says something about 'reselling them' (had my snow hat on and couldn't hear much).

 

After about another minute he walks out with the skyline one, a Ramos, and the diner one. Just one of each, then tells me about how much they are now (because the prices on eBay have gone up) and that the other copies they had sold out.

 

I ended up not buying any of them because of the quality and left pretty angry.

 

This wouldn't upset me if I hadn't found on eBay where he has sold 30 of the regular covers and sets of all the variants together as well.

 

I've heard where others are limited on how many they can buy off the shelf but I ordered multiples ahead of time. Yet, when the books start selling on eBay for good money somehow mine are mysteriously misplaced and didn't end up in my box. Is this a common practice at most stores I don't know about?

 

End rantrant

 

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miraclemet

miraclemet

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Posted

You place an order at an agreed-upon price or is it a variable price? From the way you described it, it sounded like the LCS was setting the price not based on their cost to purchase the book for you, but on the market at the moment...

 

Regardless, toss them away. If they value a few extra bucks over your consistent business, then forget them!

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shadroch

shadroch

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Posted
If my LCS sold the books I had pre-ordered I'd close my file on the spot and never go back. If short term profits are more important than long term file customers they deserve to lose you.

 

That- plus the fact that these books will be half price in a few months.

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PovertyRow

PovertyRow

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yeah... you should find another local store or a mail order store. then stop by and tell that owner why he lost your business. a quick buck on a hot book is not worth losing a regular customer. that's just dirty.

 

And you should say who this LCS is. And then tell them about this thread. And has been suggested, find another purveyor. Good ones are not far from your keyboard.

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crnbrd

crnbrd

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  • Author
Posted

You place an order at an agreed-upon price or is it a variable price? From the way you described it, it sounded like the LCS was setting the price not based on their cost to purchase the book for you, but on the market at the moment...

 

I thought everything would cost the same when I talked to them in the beginning. They said you could order as many of any cover you wanted. So I guessed they would have been the same.

 

 

 

Its just good to know I'm not crazy. Glad to see the responses on here.

 

 

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Hado

Hado

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At the LCS I used to go to, long since closed down, I went to pick up Battle Chasers #4. I had no idea that there were 4 different covers for that issue. I asked the guy if I could get all four, he hmm'd and haa'd for a second then said sure. I bought all four and left very happy.

Later talking to someone I found out he had just pulled the books out of other people's boxes.

Sure he kept one customer happy, but he made 3 others angry.

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Ken Aldred

Ken Aldred

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If my LCS sold the books I had pre-ordered I'd close my file on the spot and never go back. If short term profits are more important than long term file customers they deserve to lose you.

 

I would do the same in this case. Neither the book nor the LCS is quite that important to me.

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ChiSoxFan

ChiSoxFan

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I'm with everyone else here. The store should have given you a price up front for the books and then honored that. When I owned a store (a decade and a half ago), I wouldn't guarantee a variant unless I knew I would have it in hand, and I'd give my customer a price then that was what it would be when it came in, not subject to change regardless of how "hot" it got. That was just common sense and the way I'd want to be treated if I were the customer, IMO.

 

Any store reluctant to sell you copies you pre-ordered and that were promised to you (presumably so they could sell it for more on Ebay or to someone else paying more in person) is a store you don't need to be giving money to.

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ChiSoxFan

ChiSoxFan

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I fail to see why a business would rather make a quick few extra bucks at the expense of repeat business. I'd absolutely shut my file down and let them know why. Too bad that happened to you.

 

That's even a bigger head-scratcher when you're talking about a business with razor-thin profit margins, a limited customer base, and a business that is heavily reliant on repeat customers. It's one thing for a McDonald's or WalMart to not care how your customer experience is -- for a LCS to do the same is inexcusable and borders on professional suicide.

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ChrisInBaltimore

ChrisInBaltimore

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I lived in a small town in Wyoming. I heard a rumor one day about a store opening in town and instantly went and sought them out. I gave them the biggest pull list I could come up with in the hooes of supporting them. I was told by one of their guys at the time I had the largest pull list.

 

Things got started, and to make a long story short it was a mess. They had no idea what they were doing. They kept putting all kinds of mess in my box and then insisting I had to buy it because it was pulled for me. Like trades and stuff. I gave them a while to figure it out though and was excited to have a store in town.

 

One day I got upset because they miss ordered some issues and I made a comment to the owner. It wasn't anything nasty but I just mentioned that it had been happening a lot lately. He yelled at me and was nasty to me.

 

Needless to say I never stepped foot in his store again. It took them three months to call me about my overflowing box. I was surprised it took them so long. I was pulling like 30 books a month.

 

Now a days it is so easy to shop online and find other alternatives. That is some wildly_fanciful_statement and I'd be done with that store. I do regret not telling them why I never came back. I'd go tell them like someone suggested.

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Sal

Sal

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Posted

Chances are, if he did this to you, he did it to other people. It would be fitting to find out if he did, and if so, all of you should cancel your lists on the same day. In person.

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Hulksdaddy1

Hulksdaddy1

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Have owned my store for 18 years. When you have a file, you get what you want pulled. As for variants, I agree to a price up front, and that's what I honor. I always price them reasonably. If variants are unclaimed beforehand, and are hot, I price them at ebay prices.

 

I have many guys(and a few gals) that buy 30+ books a week, and would never them off for a quick buck.

 

BTW, as for ASM 700 or the like, I always keep several behind the counter for non-file regulars who can't get in early enough and miss it. They are my lifeblood, and I appreciate the hell out of them.

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Not*Sure*

Not*Sure*

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I used to hold out as long as possible before taking pulled books out of the customer's stash. When I closed up, I found some real old books. It took me awhile to figure out they were pulled for once frequent customers. Have so many books, I would stash the boxes somewhere out of the way.

 

Once, a friend of mine who owned a shop down the road (Beyond Books)called me. He knew I was a friend of one of his once regular customers. He had been pulling books for her for nearly two years. I thought that was pretty crazy. Crazier, was the fact that I tracked her down and she went and picked them up!

 

I loved my regular customers..I wouldn't take out their books unless they called and said they couldn't pick them up or something!!

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