My LCS Rant (Long Read)...

[Chaseman210]

Okay...I don't usually post rants about anything on these boards, but I just wanted to see what you guys have to say. Here's the whole back story (leading up to today) that I feel is necessary to explain the current situation:

 

Whenever Superior Spider-Man #1 was released, I took two copies to the counter (one for myself and the other for my 7-year-old brother who was at school). The owner said I could only purchase one copy and the second would be $10. I tried to explain I was getting it for my brother, and he wouldn't sell, so I only bought one.

 

Fast forward to the third issue of Superior Spider-Man. My two younger cousins (around the same age as my brother) reads this title. My uncle took his son to the store to buy issue #3. My other cousin had been sick all week, so they were going to get it for him since he couldn't go to the store. The owner said he couldn't do that because he would get in trouble. My uncle explained about my other cousin, and the owner knows both by name, so he knew who my uncle was talking about. He still wouldn't sell.

 

Now I know both of those incidents involved buying more than one issue, and I understand some stores have limits, etc. That's the reason I still purchase my comics from him even though it irked me.

 

I went in today to buy a couple of comics and decided to pick up a copy of Batman Inc. #8 to see how Damien dies. There were two copies left, so I got one. I walk to the counter to purchase, and he flips through the comics as he is ringing them up. When he gets to the Batman Inc. issue, he asks, "Do you normally purchase this title?" I told him no. Then he asked, "Then why are you purchasing it?" I didn't expect him to ask that, but I told him how I read DotF and wanted to see how Damien died since a lot of people thought it would happen in the DotF arc. He then said, "This is the kind of purchase that skews all the orders up. Buying because of hype." I kinda laughed it off, paid for the items and left.

 

1) If he knew there was a lot of hype, he could have ordered more to sell more.

2) He had already pulled out all the issues for his subscribers.

 

I'm not the kind of reader that spends $70+ a week, but I do go there every week to buy Superior, Nightwing, Venom, Morbius, Walking Dead, Revival, Bedlam, and he is supposed to start ordering Nowhere Men for me (he doesn't currently order it because nobody asked for it before I did). I'm not a subscriber because he has to "ask" you to become one. Plus, it's $5 per year for a 5% discount, which is hardly worth it. On top of that, he doesn't release new issues until Thursdays. The closest comic shop other than his is about an hour away, so I don't really have much of a choice.

 

He is sorta friendly in an odd way. We usually converse for about 15-20 minutes each visit because I'm usually the only one in there. It's an extremely small shop. But the encounter today has me dreading to return next week to pick up new issues. What would you guys do?

 

Sorry this ran so long...

[TSwift25]

I don't see any problem in returning next week. I'll be honest, my first instinct reading this was with the Batman Inc 8 he was going to charge you double cover at the register. If anything, I'd take comfort (odd word choice I know) that he knows your pull list reasonably well. I've been going to my new LCS for 3 years now, I'm the kind of customer that (unfortunately, I'm addicted) does spend the $70 a week and sometimes they still can't get the list right.

 

In any event, if the guy runs a business model that limits it to 1-per-customer and he can keep the shop open that way, more power to him. I think it's in the shop's best interests to sell as much as they can as fast as they can, you don't want to be left holding the bag. He obviously sees it differently and sticks to his guns. Odd, but commendable.

[Real Elijah Snow]

This dude sounds horrible. He might be the only person in the country that would limit purchasing on a Superior Spider-man #3. And to a kid? COME ON.

[MrBedrock]

What would you guys do?

Move to Houston.

[CR]

This is why it's easier to just order your books from somewhere online and not have to deal with a guy like that.

[Whizzer]

It sounds like he's a small shop who can't afford to over order books. However, if he doesn't allow customers to buy books to try he is never going to achieve the growth he so desperately seems to need.

 

Also, if his orders were so small on a book like Superior Spidey 1 that he had a 1 per customer limit he probably isn't a great businessman.

 

Don't get me wrong ; it's bad to hugely over order and get stuck with books he can't sell, but on low risk books like Superior he should be trying to hook new customers. Plus the variants he would get for ordering say 100 copies would likely pay for any small overstock he might have.

 

Doesn't sound like he has a great business model, but he may not have the cash flow to do much about it.

[youmechooz]

This dude sounds horrible. He might be the only person in the country that would limit purchasing on a Superior Spider-man #3. And to a kid? COME ON.

+1 order them online or go to the nearest store. is guy is completey stupid and wont be in business for long. releasing new books on thursday, not knowing hot titles and ordering correctly, he sounds completey lost and you should not go there anymore.

[JiveTurkeyMoFo]

What would you guys do?

Move to Houston.

 

The LCS owner's attitude seems reminiscent of the way many were behaving from 1991-1994 before the crash. Entitled, arrogant, with an approach that they were doing YOU the customer a favor by being open and selling you stuff.

 

Asking you why you were buying something? Seriously? Ditch the store and go elsewhere.

[youmechooz]

It sounds like he's a small shop who can't afford to over order books. However, if he doesn't allow customers to buy books to try he is never going to achieve the growth he so desperately seems to need.

 

Also, if his orders were so small on a book like Superior Spidey 1 that he had a 1 per customer limit he probably isn't a great businessman.

 

Don't get me wrong ; it's bad to hugely over order and get stuck with books he can't sell, but on low risk books like Superior he should be trying to hook new customers. Plus the variants he would get for ordering say 100 copies would likely pay for any small overstock he might have.

 

Doesn't sound like he has a great business model, but he may not have the cash flow to do much about it.

then he should not have opened the store. he jumped into he deep end without knowing what to expect.

[telerites]

I'm so glad I haven't bought a new comic since the mid 80s. This would really irk me.

[Hado]

My LCS wouldn't let me purchase two copy's of SS #1 on the first day either. I wonder if I could buy one from the huge stack that's left over now?

[Whizzer]

It sounds like he's a small shop who can't afford to over order books. However, if he doesn't allow customers to buy books to try he is never going to achieve the growth he so desperately seems to need.

 

Also, if his orders were so small on a book like Superior Spidey 1 that he had a 1 per customer limit he probably isn't a great businessman.

 

Don't get me wrong ; it's bad to hugely over order and get stuck with books he can't sell, but on low risk books like Superior he should be trying to hook new customers. Plus the variants he would get for ordering say 100 copies would likely pay for any small overstock he might have.

 

Doesn't sound like he has a great business model, but he may not have the cash flow to do much about it.

then he should not have opened the store. he jumped into he deep end without knowing what to expect.

 

I know, it was a misguided attempt on my part to try and be charitable. I will now revert to my default setting of extreme cynicism and rejoin the CG herd.

[Chaseman210]

He has been in business for years. I remember passing it by in high school before I started reading comics. I guess he stays open because there is no alternative except for the one an hour away or waiting a week for it to ship from online.

 

He's an older man (I would say in his late 50s or 60s). The reason he doesn't have new releases on Wednesday is because he's the only employee, and he bags and boards every issue before putting them on the shelves. By himself, it takes him all day.

[comix4fun]

Okay...I don't usually post rants about anything on these boards, but I just wanted to see what you guys have to say. Here's the whole back story (leading up to today) that I feel is necessary to explain the current situation:

 

Whenever Superior Spider-Man #1 was released, I took two copies to the counter (one for myself and the other for my 7-year-old brother who was at school). The owner said I could only purchase one copy and the second would be $10. I tried to explain I was getting it for my brother, and he wouldn't sell, so I only bought one.

 

Fast forward to the third issue of Superior Spider-Man. My two younger cousins (around the same age as my brother) reads this title. My uncle took his son to the store to buy issue #3. My other cousin had been sick all week, so they were going to get it for him since he couldn't go to the store. The owner said he couldn't do that because he would get in trouble. My uncle explained about my other cousin, and the owner knows both by name, so he knew who my uncle was talking about. He still wouldn't sell.

 

Now I know both of those incidents involved buying more than one issue, and I understand some stores have limits, etc. That's the reason I still purchase my comics from him even though it irked me.

 

I went in today to buy a couple of comics and decided to pick up a copy of Batman Inc. #8 to see how Damien dies. There were two copies left, so I got one. I walk to the counter to purchase, and he flips through the comics as he is ringing them up. When he gets to the Batman Inc. issue, he asks, "Do you normally purchase this title?" I told him no. Then he asked, "Then why are you purchasing it?" I didn't expect him to ask that, but I told him how I read DotF and wanted to see how Damien died since a lot of people thought it would happen in the DotF arc. He then said, "This is the kind of purchase that skews all the orders up. Buying because of hype." I kinda laughed it off, paid for the items and left.

 

1) If he knew there was a lot of hype, he could have ordered more to sell more.

2) He had already pulled out all the issues for his subscribers.

 

I'm not the kind of reader that spends $70+ a week, but I do go there every week to buy Superior, Nightwing, Venom, Morbius, Walking Dead, Revival, Bedlam, and he is supposed to start ordering Nowhere Men for me (he doesn't currently order it because nobody asked for it before I did). I'm not a subscriber because he has to "ask" you to become one. Plus, it's $5 per year for a 5% discount, which is hardly worth it. On top of that, he doesn't release new issues until Thursdays. The closest comic shop other than his is about an hour away, so I don't really have much of a choice.

 

He is sorta friendly in an odd way. We usually converse for about 15-20 minutes each visit because I'm usually the only one in there. It's an extremely small shop. But the encounter today has me dreading to return next week to pick up new issues. What would you guys do?

 

Sorry this ran so long...

 

 

It's hard to be too shocked, given how many people in the comic book world (retailers, fans, artists, writers) have some social/mental issues they are working out by mixing in with the general public every day.

 

One thing I can see, unless your brother lives in another state and thus not in the same house as you, I can see how it might look to a retailer. Giving that reason to a retailer for buying a hot book smells of ebay flippancy. So it might put him on guard that you are gaming him to get extra copies to profit off of when he's trying to get them into the hands of people who don't already have a copy. He's probably wondering why you can't share.

 

However, the level to which this misfit is trying to control who buys what and when and why is completely over the line. "Do you buy this title regularly?" You should say "No, I've only shoplifted it up until now." It's none of his business. If I had to psychoanalyze him I would say he's exercising control in these situations to make up for a complete lack of it in the rest of his life. Overcompensating for something by taking control of who buys his comics.

 

Or...he's this guy.

 

 

 

Bottom line: Get yourself a new shop, comics are supposed to be fun, not an inquisition.

[tjanse]

get a new shop/ order online

[montrealfilmguy]

Seriously,whats with the third degree questioning huh ?

 

I once went downtown to a video store far from my neighborhood.

 

That video had all sorts of nice film classics and silent films.

 

 

As i'm filling the form to be a customer,the guy asks me why i'm renting stuff so far away from my neighborhood.

 

Told him the Videotrons and Blockbusters don't carry a lot of Bogarts and Brandos.

 

Maybe he got robbed,not my problem.

 

I'm trying to remember if i actually rented something once after that initial meeting.

[Chaseman210]

Okay...I don't usually post rants about anything on these boards, but I just wanted to see what you guys have to say. Here's the whole back story (leading up to today) that I feel is necessary to explain the current situation:

 

Whenever Superior Spider-Man #1 was released, I took two copies to the counter (one for myself and the other for my 7-year-old brother who was at school). The owner said I could only purchase one copy and the second would be $10. I tried to explain I was getting it for my brother, and he wouldn't sell, so I only bought one.

 

Fast forward to the third issue of Superior Spider-Man. My two younger cousins (around the same age as my brother) reads this title. My uncle took his son to the store to buy issue #3. My other cousin had been sick all week, so they were going to get it for him since he couldn't go to the store. The owner said he couldn't do that because he would get in trouble. My uncle explained about my other cousin, and the owner knows both by name, so he knew who my uncle was talking about. He still wouldn't sell.

 

Now I know both of those incidents involved buying more than one issue, and I understand some stores have limits, etc. That's the reason I still purchase my comics from him even though it irked me.

 

I went in today to buy a couple of comics and decided to pick up a copy of Batman Inc. #8 to see how Damien dies. There were two copies left, so I got one. I walk to the counter to purchase, and he flips through the comics as he is ringing them up. When he gets to the Batman Inc. issue, he asks, "Do you normally purchase this title?" I told him no. Then he asked, "Then why are you purchasing it?" I didn't expect him to ask that, but I told him how I read DotF and wanted to see how Damien died since a lot of people thought it would happen in the DotF arc. He then said, "This is the kind of purchase that skews all the orders up. Buying because of hype." I kinda laughed it off, paid for the items and left.

 

1) If he knew there was a lot of hype, he could have ordered more to sell more.

2) He had already pulled out all the issues for his subscribers.

 

I'm not the kind of reader that spends $70+ a week, but I do go there every week to buy Superior, Nightwing, Venom, Morbius, Walking Dead, Revival, Bedlam, and he is supposed to start ordering Nowhere Men for me (he doesn't currently order it because nobody asked for it before I did). I'm not a subscriber because he has to "ask" you to become one. Plus, it's $5 per year for a 5% discount, which is hardly worth it. On top of that, he doesn't release new issues until Thursdays. The closest comic shop other than his is about an hour away, so I don't really have much of a choice.

 

He is sorta friendly in an odd way. We usually converse for about 15-20 minutes each visit because I'm usually the only one in there. It's an extremely small shop. But the encounter today has me dreading to return next week to pick up new issues. What would you guys do?

 

Sorry this ran so long...

 

 

It's hard to be too shocked, given how many people in the comic book world (retailers, fans, artists, writers) have some social/mental issues they are working out by mixing in with the general public every day.

 

One thing I can see, unless your brother lives in another state and thus not in the same house as you, I can see how it might look to a retailer. Giving that reason to a retailer for buying a hot book smells of ebay flippancy. So it might put him on guard that you are gaming him to get extra copies to profit off of when he's trying to get them into the hands of people who don't already have a copy. He's probably wondering why you can't share.

 

However, the level to which this misfit is trying to control who buys what and when and why is completely over the line. "Do you buy this title regularly?" You should say "No, I've only shoplifted it up until now." It's none of his business. If I had to psychoanalyze him I would say he's exercising control in these situations to make up for a complete lack of it in the rest of his life. Overcompensating for something by taking control of who buys his comics.

 

Or...he's this guy.

 

 

 

Bottom line: Get yourself a new shop, comics are supposed to be fun, not an inquisition.

 

Hahaha it would have been hilarious if I had said that.

[tinynascarfan-migration]

I would tell that owner to shove it and start ordering from impulse creations. just saying, im all for the LCS but that fool is over the top, and i dont have to put up with it, there are far to many other ways to get my books, luckily i have a great LCS and the work their rear's off to please their customers, the fool you described will be out of business in a few years. GUARANTEED!

 

[mrmyst]

(Quote) It's hard to be too shocked, given how many people in the comic book world (retailers, fans, artists, writers) have some social/mental issues they are working out by mixing in with the general public every day.

 

 

 

[eightclaps]

What would you guys do?

Move to Houston.

 

The LCS owner's attitude seems reminiscent of the way many were behaving from 1991-1994 before the crash. Entitled, arrogant, with an approach that they were doing YOU the customer a favor by being open and selling you stuff.

 

Asking you why you were buying something? Seriously? Ditch the store and go elsewhere.

 

I completely agree with the bit about LCS owners starting to act entitled and arrogant. I hate how comic shops treat you when you buy a book that gets hype. I was far from my usual store where I have my subscription list so I stopped by one in the neighborhood I was in to get my hands on Batman Inc #8 as soon as possible.

 

I asked the owner if he had any left. He said no. Since it was just a little after opening, I asked what happened (expecting him to say he under-ordered or something along those lines). He replied "we're all sold out because it's in the news." He then added, "that's why YOU know about it and that's why YOU are here, isn't it?"

 

The whole scenario really irked me. First, I'm a huge Batman fan and probably have more Batman comic books and related memorabilia than he had in his entire store. Second, if comic shops start to question why people are buying comic books like in my case or in the original post, it's going to ruin the whole comic book store experience for a lot of people and that'd be a shame.