Dealers Aren’t Your Friends…! 9 9

[joeypost]

I made a lot of enemies this weekend. 

[DR.X]

On 9/9/2023 at 3:02 PM, joeypost said:

I made a lot of enemies this weekend. 

You need back up??? 

[Gaard]

On 9/9/2023 at 4:02 PM, joeypost said:

I made a lot of enemies this weekend. 

 

[Cat]

My old LCS had no prices on their back-issues. You'd spend an hour going through them, take them up to the register, and he'd go through them one-by-one using Overstreet. Okay, fair enough so far. But without fail he'd charge the NM/Mt price for books that were very clearly not in that condition. I was young and didn't know how to advocate for myself, and I thought the seller was my friend, plus if I wanted these books elsewhere I'd have to import them, costing me even more, so I'd pay the price, every time. 

Later, he ditched Overstreet and went to eBay pricing as his price check, and that was the point where I gave up. I never said anything, just stopped buying back issues there. 

I still wish I'd had the guts to call him on it. 

[Telegan]

Swagglehaus interviewing Bill Buchanan/Buckysbooks of Bucky's Books talking about dealers, his thought process on pricing, and, of course, the Spawn #306 "scandal" (lol).  Good interview about being a dealer and what it takes to survive, in general.

The timestamps are in the description.

NOTE : some NSFW language if you care about that.

 

Edited September 10, 2023 by Telegan

[Robot Man]

On 9/9/2023 at 6:19 PM, Cat said:

My old LCS had no prices on their back-issues. You'd spend an hour going through them, take them up to the register, and he'd go through them one-by-one using Overstreet. Okay, fair enough so far. But without fail he'd charge the NM/Mt price for books that were very clearly not in that condition. I was young and didn't know how to advocate for myself, and I thought the seller was my friend, plus if I wanted these books elsewhere I'd have to import them, costing me even more, so I'd pay the price, every time. 

Later, he ditched Overstreet and went to eBay pricing as his price check, and that was the point where I gave up. I never said anything, just stopped buying back issues there. 

I still wish I'd had the guts to call him on it. 

Why mention it? You have taken your wallet elsewhere. Only worth mentioning if he did. He will only defend his position…

[southern cross]

On 9/9/2023 at 10:11 PM, Telegan said:

Swagglehaus interviewing Bill Buchanan/Buckysbooks of Bucky's Books talking about dealers, his thought process on pricing, and, of course, the Spawn #306 "scandal" (lol).  Good interview about being a dealer and what it takes to survive, in general.

The timestamps are in the description.

NOTE : some NSFW language if you care about that.

 

So the dealer has a copy of Sinister House of Secret love in 9.6 he is keeping.

I picked up 3 raw copies recently but unfortunately I think I'd only get 9.2s and maybe a single 9.4.

Edited September 11, 2023 by southern cross

[mr_highgrade]

On 9/9/2023 at 3:47 PM, the blob said:

There was a huge store in NYC that had no prices. Cosmic comics? I forget. I don't know why I even bothered. I brought my stuff up to the register and they started quoting me the highest ebay prices they could find. Needless to say, they closed, though likely for other reasons. On the other hand, Roger's Time Machine usually didn't have prices either. He would price them at the register, but he wouldn't look them up online (maybe look at guide on some expensive books and discount accordingly), he'd just go by his gut. I don't have an issue with that. I'm not finding his treasure for him.

 

Cosmic Comics was on 23rd street on the second floor across the street from Madison Park. Or was it Jim Hanley's universe on 33rd street?

[Ken Aldred]

On 9/7/2023 at 11:51 PM, Dave2739 said:

I guess that dealer wasn't your friend. 

I’ve had far worse attitude than that.

Edited September 12, 2023 by Ken Aldred

[Dave2739]

On 9/12/2023 at 2:29 AM, Ken Aldred said:

I’ve had far worse attitude than that.

They weren't your friends either.

[the blob]

On 9/12/2023 at 12:50 AM, mr_highgrade said:

Cosmic Comics was on 23rd street on the second floor across the street from Madison Park. Or was it Jim Hanley's universe on 33rd street?

cosmic.  hanley's had prices. 

[rlextherobot]

On 9/9/2023 at 6:19 PM, Cat said:

My old LCS had no prices on their back-issues. You'd spend an hour going through them, take them up to the register, and he'd go through them one-by-one using Overstreet. Okay, fair enough so far. But without fail he'd charge the NM/Mt price for books that were very clearly not in that condition. I was young and didn't know how to advocate for myself, and I thought the seller was my friend, plus if I wanted these books elsewhere I'd have to import them, costing me even more, so I'd pay the price, every time. 

Later, he ditched Overstreet and went to eBay pricing as his price check, and that was the point where I gave up. I never said anything, just stopped buying back issues there. 

I still wish I'd had the guts to call him on it. 

There was an infamous guy in the Maritimes comics scene, who having closed his long-running shop had set up business in rural Nova Scotia with his trailers and trailers full of old stock. Once a year give or take a few friends and I would go there and dig through his boxes of stuff looking for treasure. We quickly learned it didn't pay to have too big a stack, because when we were ready to go we'd have to wait for him to go through it all and price it with his Overstreet Guide, which he invariably did at NM prices, and for stuff that nobody but nerds like us was ever going to buy. He would genuinely have rather kept that stuff forever than sell it for one penny less than the guide said it was worth, and having driven all the way out to see him (a couple of hours each way) we were generally loathe to leave empty-handed. I don't know if he's still out there sitting on his hoard of unsalable copies of Fightin' Marine and Marvel UK books like Smaug, but I'll always remember those trips. 

[Mike Bray]

I’m actually a friend of the grinch - so I can’t be that bad - can I 

[WolverineX]

On 9/9/2023 at 9:19 PM, Cat said:

My old LCS had no prices on their back-issues. You'd spend an hour going through them, take them up to the register, and he'd go through them one-by-one using Overstreet. Okay, fair enough so far. But without fail he'd charge the NM/Mt price for books that were very clearly not in that condition. I was young and didn't know how to advocate for myself, and I thought the seller was my friend, plus if I wanted these books elsewhere I'd have to import them, costing me even more, so I'd pay the price, every time. 

Later, he ditched Overstreet and went to eBay pricing as his price check, and that was the point where I gave up. I never said anything, just stopped buying back issues there. 

I still wish I'd had the guts to call him on it. 

You did with your money.  If they have bad practices, I just never buy their books.  

[Ken Aldred]

On 9/12/2023 at 11:50 AM, Dave2739 said:

They weren't your friends either.

That’s true. But, incredibly, they still seemed to believe I’d buy expensive pamphlets from them. And, got even more abusive when I didn’t. In the end, distance was the wisest option to deal with a toxic situation.

Edited September 12, 2023 by Ken Aldred

[FlyingDonut]

On 9/6/2023 at 9:44 AM, Cat said:

 

*I should add this is not my photo, I got it courtesy of a poster on Reddit. 

1. will prices be adjusted DOWN as well?

2. If I see this sign in a comic store I will instantly leave.

[greggy]

@FlyingDonut was my friend at the Baltimore Comic Con.

[dikran]

On 9/6/2023 at 9:44 AM, Cat said:

 

*I should add this is not my photo, I got it courtesy of a poster on Reddit. 

I only buy comics that spiked 99% so I should be good

[lizards2]

On 9/13/2023 at 12:17 PM, greggy said:

@FlyingDonut was my friend at the Baltimore Comic Con.

I could inappropriateness this out of the park.

[Robot Man]

On 9/12/2023 at 5:57 AM, rlextherobot said:

There was an infamous guy in the Maritimes comics scene, who having closed his long-running shop had set up business in rural Nova Scotia with his trailers and trailers full of old stock. Once a year give or take a few friends and I would go there and dig through his boxes of stuff looking for treasure. We quickly learned it didn't pay to have too big a stack, because when we were ready to go we'd have to wait for him to go through it all and price it with his Overstreet Guide, which he invariably did at NM prices, and for stuff that nobody but nerds like us was ever going to buy. He would genuinely have rather kept that stuff forever than sell it for one penny less than the guide said it was worth, and having driven all the way out to see him (a couple of hours each way) we were generally loathe to leave empty-handed. I don't know if he's still out there sitting on his hoard of unsalable copies of Fightin' Marine and Marvel UK books like Smaug, but I'll always remember those trips.