Comic Store Etiquette

[kav]

The proper etiquette in a store like that is knock things over and leave.

[Meeklo]

The proper etiquette in a store like that is knock things over and leave.

 

One store near me was kinda like that. The guy just gave me a hard haggling run that, I'm ashamed to admit, went in his favor more than I would have liked. Luckily, the comic book gods karma struck him and his $700+ Galactus statue fell off the shelf and shattered.

 

I promised I had nothing to do with that.

[kav]

The proper etiquette in a store like that is knock things over and leave.

 

One store near me was kinda like that. The guy just gave me a hard haggling run that, I'm ashamed to admit, went in his favor more than I would have liked. Luckily, the comic book gods karma struck him and his $700+ Galactus statue fell off the shelf and shattered.

 

I promised I had nothing to do with that.

It was the power cosmic.

[shadroch]

My prices fluctuate , often dependent on the customers attitude.

[dman72]

After going through that once at a shop, I've made it my policy not to bother with anything that isn't priced.

 

+1 and they always seem to quote guide at 9.2 regardless of the actual grade of the book in question.

 

 

[kav]

Just for kicks I'm gonna go to a shop that does this, get a big stack of books from various places, come up to the counter and when he pulls out the guide go 'oh nevermind' and leave him to put all those books back in the proper place.

 

[techtre2003]

Just for kicks I'm gonna go to a shop that does this, get a big stack of books from various places, come up to the counter and when he pulls out the guide go 'oh nevermind' and leave him to put all those books back in the proper place.

 

Let him go through and price them all first before you walk out! (thumbs u

[divad]

When I was a kid I was so anal retentive about my books. I HATED it when I was buying books from a shop and the owner would snatch them up, flip casually through them and basically mishandle them. It drove me absolutely nuts! I would literally scream on the inside

 

Now, decades later, I can say I have changed. I basically just tell whomever is working the counter not to TOUCH the books once I have brought them up to ring out.

 

So glad it's no longer a problem

 

 

This.

[Dr. Balls]

OK; details.

 

Store divided into 3 sections: new comics on the wall, 6 Clearance short boxes, 50 or so drawer boxes of older stuff. Older stuff in this instance is DC/Marvel stuff from the past 5 years; a handful of 80s/90s.

 

After learning my lesson from another store, I asked how the old comics are priced if there is no sticker. The guy said, "I use the book to look them up." Ok, I can deal with that.

 

I found a stack of Omega Men #3. I took one up to the counter to see how this pricing pans out. The book is just in an old bag (probably from when it was first on the rack) and you can see some dings on it. He says he will look it up and I walk away to search some more. After a few minutes he says it is "$25; he will probably be in the next movie so this issue could get crazy." He then takes the comic out of the old bag, puts it in a new bag/board and into a special box behind the counter.

 

I don't know if OM #3 was ever $25 in guide, let alone a beat-up copy, so I move on. I find a copy of Annihilation Quest #6 in another box -- no bag/board at all -- and a Captain America #362 -- just an old bag. I also find 7 copies of Letter 44 #1 in the Clearance boxes (the sign says $1 each, 10 for $9, etc. etc.).

 

Technically, the cover price on Letter 44 #1 is $1, so not much of a clearance, but I get the picture. I see that some of the copies are damaged, and only choose 4. I bring my copies to the counter: AC #6, CA #362, L44 #1 x4.

 

This time I wait at the counter as I'm done looking around. I see him open the OSPG (I don't recall which issue he was looking up), flip around a bit, then say (paraphrasing), "I don't like using this. Let me try somewhere else." He then opens up a web browser and comes back with $15 for AC #6 (not too bad) and $3 for CA #362 (huh?).

 

On top of that, he tells me that I am only allowed 1 copy of my 4 Letter 44's. I said, "Even though they were in the Clearance bin?"

 

"Yes," he said. "I want everyone to get a chance to be able to read them."

 

That's when I had enough. On the way out I saw a picked-over sticker on the display case for Magic cards. Basically it said: "The price you see on the card is subject to change at the time or purchase."

 

So even if something was priced, that's probably not what you were paying. And I doubt the price on the card/comic ever comes up LESS than what the sticker says.

 

Above events have been condensed to save time. I was at the store about 1 hour looking through the new books, clearance items, and trying to find something worthwhile in the back issue.

 

I did not drive 3 hours to the store; I was in the area on vacation and this shop was 20 mins away.

 

Yeah, I'd have been pissed, too. Probably your only recourse is to roast them on Yelp. Too lazy to price. Too lazy to grade. Too lazy to put books in decent bags. Could care less about multiple sales. It sounds like you were at a flea market, not a comic shop.

[darkstar]

When I walk into a shop and find out everything is priced at the counter:

 

 

 

In my experience the only stores that do this are the ones where the books are never organized or taken care of to begin with. Finding anything takes hours as back issue bins are a mess or seemingly placed randomly under tables or on top of shelves, under piles of empty boxes from Diamond, or tucked underneath stacks of TPBs. Not wasting my time with all that grunt work just so the owner behind the counter can quote me an inaccurate price on an overgraded book. I can get that experience sitting at home browsing ebay.

[FineCollector]

Understand that I disagree with the behavior shown by the clerk, same as the last time a thread like this came up. However, same as the last time, you're not buying anything interesting... first Lobo, first Crossbones, first modern Guardians, first issue of... YAWN. If you're going to pick, he's going to squeeze you, especially if that's the best he's got. If you don't want people to treat you like that, mix in some books that don't look like you're going to flip them.

 

If you're picking Cap 362's, I hope you're read the rest of the run. Everything from the Bloodstone Hunt up until the Serpent Society issues is dollar bin gold.

[jimjum12]

OK; details.

 

Store divided into 3 sections: new comics on the wall, 6 Clearance short boxes, 50 or so drawer boxes of older stuff. Older stuff in this instance is DC/Marvel stuff from the past 5 years; a handful of 80s/90s.

 

After learning my lesson from another store, I asked how the old comics are priced if there is no sticker. The guy said, "I use the book to look them up." Ok, I can deal with that.

 

I found a stack of Omega Men #3. I took one up to the counter to see how this pricing pans out. The book is just in an old bag (probably from when it was first on the rack) and you can see some dings on it. He says he will look it up and I walk away to search some more. After a few minutes he says it is "$25; he will probably be in the next movie so this issue could get crazy." He then takes the comic out of the old bag, puts it in a new bag/board and into a special box behind the counter.

 

I don't know if OM #3 was ever $25 in guide, let alone a beat-up copy, so I move on. I find a copy of Annihilation Quest #6 in another box -- no bag/board at all -- and a Captain America #362 -- just an old bag. I also find 7 copies of Letter 44 #1 in the Clearance boxes (the sign says $1 each, 10 for $9, etc. etc.).

 

Technically, the cover price on Letter 44 #1 is $1, so not much of a clearance, but I get the picture. I see that some of the copies are damaged, and only choose 4. I bring my copies to the counter: AC #6, CA #362, L44 #1 x4.

 

This time I wait at the counter as I'm done looking around. I see him open the OSPG (I don't recall which issue he was looking up), flip around a bit, then say (paraphrasing), "I don't like using this. Let me try somewhere else." He then opens up a web browser and comes back with $15 for AC #6 (not too bad) and $3 for CA #362 (huh?).

 

On top of that, he tells me that I am only allowed 1 copy of my 4 Letter 44's. I said, "Even though they were in the Clearance bin?"

 

"Yes," he said. "I want everyone to get a chance to be able to read them."

 

That's when I had enough. On the way out I saw a picked-over sticker on the display case for Magic cards. Basically it said: "The price you see on the card is subject to change at the time or purchase."

 

So even if something was priced, that's probably not what you were paying. And I doubt the price on the card/comic ever comes up LESS than what the sticker says.

 

Above events have been condensed to save time. I was at the store about 1 hour looking through the new books, clearance items, and trying to find something worthwhile in the back issue.

 

I did not drive 3 hours to the store; I was in the area on vacation and this shop was 20 mins away.

 

 

..... should you ever find yourself in beautiful Southeastern Virginia ..... seek out Bender's Books, Zeno's, Trilogy, Comic Kings, Comic Cubicle, Atomic Comics, or Heroes and Villains ...... any of them will provide an experience with a "Real Comic Book Store" ...... Bender's has been in business for over 35 years and you can still find a book that still has it's price from then..... and has the obsequious Comic Store Cat ....... Dave will likely remember your name as early as your second time there. GOD BLESS....

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

[manetteska]

Understand that I disagree with the behavior shown by the clerk, same as the last time a thread like this came up. However, same as the last time, you're not buying anything interesting... first Lobo, first Crossbones, first modern Guardians, first issue of... YAWN. If you're going to pick, he's going to squeeze you, especially if that's the best he's got. If you don't want people to treat you like that, mix in some books that don't look like you're going to flip them.

 

If you're picking Cap 362's, I hope you're read the rest of the run. Everything from the Bloodstone Hunt up until the Serpent Society issues is dollar bin gold.

 

Captain America 362 is hardly a "hot" comic. Has the potential, perhaps, but it can easily be found for < $1 in many places. Same with Letter 44. The cover price is $1 and I wasn't "allowed" to buy more than 1 of this Clearance comic.

 

Lobo is different. Almost anyone that knows comics knows that's his first appearance, yet this guy had no clue. Not only did it take him several minutes to look it up, but he had at least 15 more copies (some bagged, some loose) that I put back after the $25 quote. He took the one I brought up there, put it in his "special" box, and sat his sweatpants back down behind the counter.

 

I took the Lobo to see what his "guide" price is on that book. It somehow came back higher than any book I've ever seen. I then took up 1 comic that is hot, but not worth anything in the guide (AC #6), and he immediately ditched the guide in favor of the internet. Basically, which ever was going to give him the highest price.

 

Aside: As for the Bloodstone story, I have reader copies of 357 and 359; the 362 would have went towards the arc.

[slym2none]

If I got out a stack of comics that a storeowner was then going to price and overprice, I wouldn't let him get the benefits of my work. I'd go and put them all back in random spots, so he'd still have to look for them himself.

 

 

 

-slym

[manetteska]

Along with wasting my time, that's the other thing that frustrated me the most: doing the legwork for this guy with his comics.

 

He wasn't paying me to work for him.

[kav]

Just go thru the store tape pulling everything.

[rodan57]

After learning my lesson from another store, I asked how the old comics are priced if there is no sticker. The guy said, "I use the book to look them up." Ok, I can deal with that.

 

I found a stack of Omega Men #3. I took one up to the counter to see how this pricing pans out. The book is just in an old bag (probably from when it was first on the rack) and you can see some dings on it. He says he will look it up and I walk away to search some more. After a few minutes he says it is "$25; he will probably be in the next movie so this issue could get crazy." He then takes the comic out of the old bag, puts it in a new bag/board and into a special box behind the counter.

 

I don't know if OM #3 was ever $25 in guide, let alone a beat-up copy, so I move on. I find a copy of Annihilation Quest #6 in another box -- no bag/board at all -- and a Captain America #362 -- just an old bag. I also find 7 copies of Letter 44 #1 in the Clearance boxes (the sign says $1 each, 10 for $9, etc. etc.).

 

Technically, the cover price on Letter 44 #1 is $1, so not much of a clearance, but I get the picture. I see that some of the copies are damaged, and only choose 4. I bring my copies to the counter: AC #6, CA #362, L44 #1 x4.

 

This time I wait at the counter as I'm done looking around. I see him open the OSPG (I don't recall which issue he was looking up), flip around a bit, then say (paraphrasing), "I don't like using this. Let me try somewhere else." He then opens up a web browser and comes back with $15 for AC #6 (not too bad) and $3 for CA #362 (huh?).

 

On top of that, he tells me that I am only allowed 1 copy of my 4 Letter 44's. I said, "Even though they were in the Clearance bin?"

 

"Yes," he said. "I want everyone to get a chance to be able to read them."

 

That's when I had enough. On the way out I saw a picked-over sticker on the display case for Magic cards. Basically it said: "The price you see on the card is subject to change at the time or purchase."

 

So even if something was priced, that's probably not what you were paying. And I doubt the price on the card/comic ever comes up LESS than what the sticker says.

 

His business model doesn't betray much understanding of people, the hobby, or business sense.

 

If I might engage in some pop psychology ....

 

Venting anger at someone like this probably does no more than bring you down to his level. It won't change his behaviour and he might just enjoy a confrontation -- misogyny often works in that way.

 

Sometimes expressing simple disappointment can make such people uncomfortable and any anger they manifest will intrinsically be directed more at themselves than you.

 

Expressing simple disappointment doesn't give them any opportunity to take control of the situation. Though you have criticized them, you don't provide them with any emotional involvement on your behalf that they can seize upon.

[kav]

Was it Blu Planet Comics?

[Conan_Aficionado]

After learning my lesson from another store, I asked how the old comics are priced if there is no sticker. The guy said, "I use the book to look them up." Ok, I can deal with that.

 

I found a stack of Omega Men #3. I took one up to the counter to see how this pricing pans out. The book is just in an old bag (probably from when it was first on the rack) and you can see some dings on it. He says he will look it up and I walk away to search some more. After a few minutes he says it is "$25; he will probably be in the next movie so this issue could get crazy." He then takes the comic out of the old bag, puts it in a new bag/board and into a special box behind the counter.

 

I don't know if OM #3 was ever $25 in guide, let alone a beat-up copy, so I move on. I find a copy of Annihilation Quest #6 in another box -- no bag/board at all -- and a Captain America #362 -- just an old bag. I also find 7 copies of Letter 44 #1 in the Clearance boxes (the sign says $1 each, 10 for $9, etc. etc.).

 

Technically, the cover price on Letter 44 #1 is $1, so not much of a clearance, but I get the picture. I see that some of the copies are damaged, and only choose 4. I bring my copies to the counter: AC #6, CA #362, L44 #1 x4.

 

This time I wait at the counter as I'm done looking around. I see him open the OSPG (I don't recall which issue he was looking up), flip around a bit, then say (paraphrasing), "I don't like using this. Let me try somewhere else." He then opens up a web browser and comes back with $15 for AC #6 (not too bad) and $3 for CA #362 (huh?).

 

On top of that, he tells me that I am only allowed 1 copy of my 4 Letter 44's. I said, "Even though they were in the Clearance bin?"

 

"Yes," he said. "I want everyone to get a chance to be able to read them."

 

That's when I had enough. On the way out I saw a picked-over sticker on the display case for Magic cards. Basically it said: "The price you see on the card is subject to change at the time or purchase."

 

So even if something was priced, that's probably not what you were paying. And I doubt the price on the card/comic ever comes up LESS than what the sticker says.

 

His business model doesn't betray much understanding of people, the hobby, or business sense.

 

If I might engage in some pop psychology ....

 

Venting anger at someone like this probably does no more than bring you down to his level. It won't change his behaviour and he might just enjoy a confrontation -- misogyny often works in that way.

 

Sometimes expressing simple disappointment can make such people uncomfortable and any anger they manifest will intrinsically be directed more at themselves than you.

 

Expressing simple disappointment doesn't give them any opportunity to take control of the situation. Though you have criticized them, you don't provide them with any emotional involvement on your behalf that they can seize upon.

 

yeah man, whatever rodan just said.

[Conan_Aficionado]

Or as I would put it, he's just a *spoon*