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Whats your take on the comic shops that limit the number of books you can BUY??

Started by ComicCollectorx19,

122 posts in this topic

slym2none

slym2none

Posted
Posted

What is your opinion on the comic book shops that limit the number of books you can buy?

 

This has recently been happening to me with a few different shops that I frequent. Ill go into a store see a few copies of the same issue that I want, so I grab 3-5 and when I get to the counter im told "Sorry its one per customer".

 

To me a comic book shop is a store that makes their money by selling a product. The more product you sell the more money you make.

 

I understand that the shop owners want there to be copies for their regulars ect but have them go on a pull list and youll ensure they get their copy, why would you intentionally limit the quantity you can sell? Is it within the stores rights to not allow you to walk out with a nice stack of 20 image # 1s?

 

Whats are your opinions?

 

The subscriber copies should never hit the store shelves. Some stores put subscriber copies on the shelf first which is messed up. I don't think a store should limit copies once they hit the shelves. If they sell out... great. That's an incentive for customers to read Previews and pre-order their comics.

 

DG

 

Loyal customer, walking into their LCS:

 

"Hey, do you have any copies of Hot Comic #1 left? It just came out today, and I don't see it anywhere..."

 

LCS guy - "Nope, some guy just bought all 50 of my copies on the shelf."

 

Loyal Customer - "Well, I really wanted one, why sell all your copies to one person the day it comes out?"

 

LCS guy - "money walks..."

 

Loyal Customer - "Me too - to the comic shop on the other side of town, where I am going to start a pull-list. Please cancel my subscription here." *walks out*

 

:shrug:

 

 

 

-slym

 

I would ask "Did you pre-order it?" If he says "no", I'd say "First Come. First Served."

Why should a customer expect a store to save a product for them without any fore-knowledge that they want it? The store is in business to sell stock, not sit on it just in hopes their other customers will want it.

 

The only time a grocery store limits the number of items you buy is when they have to honor an ad or when they want to limit their losses if they are selling an item at cost or below ("a loss leader"). If I go to a grocery store and empty the shelf on frozen pizza's the manager will smile and take my money.

 

DG

By actively limiting copies of 'hot' books, selling for cover price & keeping regular and casual customers satisfied - that is a loss leader scenario.

 

Why are the customers too inept to know what they want in advance? Any shop I've ever shopped at made it a point to educate and inform their customers to maximize sales. I stopped into a store on Saturday. The manager hasn't seen me in the shop in 8 months. The first question asked was "Are you buying anything?" The same person saw me at a comic show a month ago and said "I always like to see what you are buying." and asked to look at the comic in my hand.

 

I'm baffled by stores that are too inept to know what their customers will want.

 

DG

 

If you hadn't been in the store in 8 months, I can easily explain why I'd tell you to go fist yourself when you brought your 10 copies of "Purple Peter Pounder #1" to the counter.

 

 

*giggle*

 

 

 

-slym

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ChrisInBaltimore

ChrisInBaltimore

Posted
Posted

Why are the customers too inept to know what they want in advance? Any shop I've ever shopped at made it a point to educate and inform their customers to maximize sales. I stopped into a store on Saturday. The manager hasn't seen me in the shop in 8 months. The first question asked was "Are you buying anything?" The same person saw me at a comic show a month ago and said "I always like to see what you are buying." and asked to look at the comic in my hand.

 

I'm baffled by stores that are too inept to know what their customers will want.

 

DG

 

What did he say that was wrong? I'm confused... ???

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Ryan.

Ryan.

Posted
Posted

Buying one comic is a gateway to buying several comics. Maximizing one's customer base usually trumps maximizing sales to any individual customer.

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Mr 9.8

Mr 9.8

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...and the speculators who scour the state looking to buy up every copy of Arseman #7 (1st appearance of The Wiper) from every store within a 750 miles radius so that they can 'corner the market'.
This made me :roflmao:
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dgarthwaite-migration

dgarthwaite-migration

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Comic shops count on their pull list subscribers. Those are the sales they know are going to happen, and can plan their bills on. They make every effort to get their customers to subscribe and pre-order books.

 

But how does the average customer add books to their pull list? By sampling new stuff, liking it, and then adding it to their pull list.

 

They're limiting you from buying all their copies, because they want their other customers to have a chance to read it, like it, and then add it to their pull list. When stores sell all their #1's of the hot speculator pick of the week to one guy, other customers don't get to read it. So guess what? They aren't going to buy and read #2, or #3, etc.... because they missed the first issue. They are thinking long term, not on the quick sale.

 

And if the argument is that regular customers should have pre-ordered their books, well then WTF aren't you the speculator pre-ordering as well. :facepalm:

 

Actually, "Word of Mouth" is the #1 motivation for customers to want something. If a comic sells out, they want it MORE. When they find out they need to pre-order comics to guarantee availability, they'll do it. Only one speculator can buy you out. The second one will have to pre-order his books in advance next time. Let's say I drive ten miles and the store that limits their comics is sold out also. I've wasted time and gas money. Does that store really think I'm going to drive an extra ten miles every new comic day?

You are winning a customer for one sale. I used to walk out of one Atlanta store shaking my head. The owner would cop an attitude because I wasn't subscribing to my comics at his store. It was 30 miles away from where I live. I'm NOT going to go to his store every week.

 

If a store has to limit comics, they are under-ordering comics whether there are speculators visiting his shop or not.

 

DG

 

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ComicCollectorx19

ComicCollectorx19

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Comic shops count on their pull list subscribers. Those are the sales they know are going to happen, and can plan their bills on. They make every effort to get their customers to subscribe and pre-order books.

 

But how does the average customer add books to their pull list? By sampling new stuff, liking it, and then adding it to their pull list.

 

They're limiting you from buying all their copies, because they want their other customers to have a chance to read it, like it, and then add it to their pull list. When stores sell all their #1's of the hot speculator pick of the week to one guy, other customers don't get to read it. So guess what? They aren't going to buy and read #2, or #3, etc.... because they missed the first issue. They are thinking long term, not on the quick sale.

 

And if the argument is that regular customers should have pre-ordered their books, well then WTF aren't you the speculator pre-ordering as well. :facepalm:

 

By doing it this way you place the risk on the shop and not on yourself if its a flop. Thats WTF youd do it.

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dgarthwaite-migration

dgarthwaite-migration

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Posted

Why are the customers too inept to know what they want in advance? Any shop I've ever shopped at made it a point to educate and inform their customers to maximize sales. I stopped into a store on Saturday. The manager hasn't seen me in the shop in 8 months. The first question asked was "Are you buying anything?" The same person saw me at a comic show a month ago and said "I always like to see what you are buying." and asked to look at the comic in my hand.

 

I'm baffled by stores that are too inept to know what their customers will want.

 

DG

 

What did he say that was wrong? I'm confused... ???

 

Nothing!!!

 

If I want 10 of something, the LCS in my area already knows it. Why are these shops so out of touch with what the speculators want?

 

DG

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bababooey

bababooey

Posted
Posted

What is your opinion on the comic book shops that limit the number of books you can buy?

 

This has recently been happening to me with a few different shops that I frequent. Ill go into a store see a few copies of the same issue that I want, so I grab 3-5 and when I get to the counter im told "Sorry its one per customer".

 

To me a comic book shop is a store that makes their money by selling a product. The more product you sell the more money you make.

 

I understand that the shop owners want there to be copies for their regulars ect but have them go on a pull list and youll ensure they get their copy, why would you intentionally limit the quantity you can sell? Is it within the stores rights to not allow you to walk out with a nice stack of 20 image # 1s?

 

Whats are your opinions?

 

The subscriber copies should never hit the store shelves. Some stores put subscriber copies on the shelf first which is messed up. I don't think a store should limit copies once they hit the shelves. If they sell out... great. That's an incentive for customers to read Previews and pre-order their comics.

 

DG

 

Loyal customer, walking into their LCS:

 

"Hey, do you have any copies of Hot Comic #1 left? It just came out today, and I don't see it anywhere..."

 

LCS guy - "Nope, some guy just bought all 50 of my copies on the shelf."

 

Loyal Customer - "Well, I really wanted one, why sell all your copies to one person the day it comes out?"

 

LCS guy - "money walks..."

 

Loyal Customer - "Me too - to the comic shop on the other side of town, where I am going to start a pull-list. Please cancel my subscription here." *walks out*

 

:shrug:

 

 

 

-slym

 

I would ask "Did you pre-order it?" If he says "no", I'd say "First Come. First Served."

Why should a customer expect a store to save a product for them without any fore-knowledge that they want it? The store is in business to sell stock, not sit on it just in hopes their other customers will want it.

 

The only time a grocery store limits the number of items you buy is when they have to honor an ad or when they want to limit their losses if they are selling an item at cost or below ("a loss leader"). If I go to a grocery store and empty the shelf on frozen pizza's the manager will smile and take my money.

 

DG

By actively limiting copies of 'hot' books, selling for cover price & keeping regular and casual customers satisfied - that is a loss leader scenario.

 

Why are the customers too inept to know what they want in advance? Any shop I've ever shopped at made it a point to educate and inform their customers to maximize sales. I stopped into a store on Saturday. The manager hasn't seen me in the shop in 8 months. The first question asked was "Are you buying anything?" The same person saw me at a comic show a month ago and said "I always like to see what you are buying." and asked to look at the comic in my hand.

 

I'm baffled by stores that are too inept to know what their customers will want.

 

DG

This hobby is full of extreme behavior (we're the condition obsessed group :shy: ) but the fact that you think someone wanting to buy a book off the shelf on the day it is released is "inept" is a bit baffling.

 

Most people collect comics and buy them when they come out, reading previews is one thing, ordering through it to find new books to place mega-orders is for speculators not collectors.

 

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Jiminy_Cricket-migration

Jiminy_Cricket-migration

Posted
Posted
Comic shops count on their pull list subscribers. Those are the sales they know are going to happen, and can plan their bills on. They make every effort to get their customers to subscribe and pre-order books.

 

But how does the average customer add books to their pull list? By sampling new stuff, liking it, and then adding it to their pull list.

 

They're limiting you from buying all their copies, because they want their other customers to have a chance to read it, like it, and then add it to their pull list. When stores sell all their #1's of the hot speculator pick of the week to one guy, other customers don't get to read it. So guess what? They aren't going to buy and read #2, or #3, etc.... because they missed the first issue. They are thinking long term, not on the quick sale.

 

And if the argument is that regular customers should have pre-ordered their books, well then WTF aren't you the speculator pre-ordering as well. :facepalm:

 

:golfclap:

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Jiminy_Cricket-migration

Jiminy_Cricket-migration

Posted
Posted

What is your opinion on the comic book shops that limit the number of books you can buy?

 

This has recently been happening to me with a few different shops that I frequent. Ill go into a store see a few copies of the same issue that I want, so I grab 3-5 and when I get to the counter im told "Sorry its one per customer".

 

To me a comic book shop is a store that makes their money by selling a product. The more product you sell the more money you make.

 

I understand that the shop owners want there to be copies for their regulars ect but have them go on a pull list and youll ensure they get their copy, why would you intentionally limit the quantity you can sell? Is it within the stores rights to not allow you to walk out with a nice stack of 20 image # 1s?

 

Whats are your opinions?

 

The subscriber copies should never hit the store shelves. Some stores put subscriber copies on the shelf first which is messed up. I don't think a store should limit copies once they hit the shelves. If they sell out... great. That's an incentive for customers to read Previews and pre-order their comics.

 

DG

 

Loyal customer, walking into their LCS:

 

"Hey, do you have any copies of Hot Comic #1 left? It just came out today, and I don't see it anywhere..."

 

LCS guy - "Nope, some guy just bought all 50 of my copies on the shelf."

 

Loyal Customer - "Well, I really wanted one, why sell all your copies to one person the day it comes out?"

 

LCS guy - "money walks..."

 

Loyal Customer - "Me too - to the comic shop on the other side of town, where I am going to start a pull-list. Please cancel my subscription here." *walks out*

 

:shrug:

 

 

 

-slym

 

I would ask "Did you pre-order it?" If he says "no", I'd say "First Come. First Served."

Why should a customer expect a store to save a product for them without any fore-knowledge that they want it? The store is in business to sell stock, not sit on it just in hopes their other customers will want it.

 

The only time a grocery store limits the number of items you buy is when they have to honor an ad or when they want to limit their losses if they are selling an item at cost or below ("a loss leader"). If I go to a grocery store and empty the shelf on frozen pizza's the manager will smile and take my money.

 

DG

By actively limiting copies of 'hot' books, selling for cover price & keeping regular and casual customers satisfied - that is a loss leader scenario.

 

Why are the customers too inept to know what they want in advance? Any shop I've ever shopped at made it a point to educate and inform their customers to maximize sales. I stopped into a store on Saturday. The manager hasn't seen me in the shop in 8 months. The first question asked was "Are you buying anything?" The same person saw me at a comic show a month ago and said "I always like to see what you are buying." and asked to look at the comic in my hand.

 

I'm baffled by stores that are too inept to know what their customers will want.

 

DG

 

If you hadn't been in the store in 8 months, I can easily explain why I'd tell you to go fist yourself when you brought your 10 copies of "Purple Peter Pounder #1" to the counter.

 

 

:golfclap::roflmao:

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Jiminy_Cricket-migration

Jiminy_Cricket-migration

Posted
Posted

Why are the customers too inept to know what they want in advance? Any shop I've ever shopped at made it a point to educate and inform their customers to maximize sakes. I stopped into a store on Saturday. The manager hasn't seen me in the shop in 8 months. The first question asked was "Are you buying anything?" The same person saw me at a comic show a month ago and said "I always like to see what you are buying." and asked to look at the comic in my hand.

 

I'm baffled by stores that are too inept to know what their customers will want.

 

DG

 

Exactly! If someone wants 100 copies, they should order them in advance.

 

:golfclap:

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