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05-04-2014, 01:14 AM | #51 |
Adventurer, explorer ...
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Savannah, GA
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Quote:
Something happened to me today that really pissed me off.
Its Free Comic Book Day today. I went to a local comic shop, that I haven't gone to in a while because I bought a Minimate set and one was damaged from the factory, but they wouldn't let me exchange it for another set because they said it wasn't their fault I didn't notice it was damaged in the store, fair enough. That made me mad but Diamond Select was nice enough to mail me the piece that was damaged. Today I went to a Comics N Stuff since that incident because it was Free Comic Book Day. I'm thinking...let bygones be bygones. I went in to buy some comics and maybe get a few Free Comic Book Day Comics...wrong. They told me I could only have ONE single free comic from the whole table they had. I only wanted 2...just 2 (Guardians Of The Galaxy & Rocket Raccoon...1 of each...that's it.) but they said no. That I had to buy a store membership card in order to get 2 comics. The store member ship costs $10 annually. I said no and left. I called the main store manager and he said that's the rules. Oh well...they're never getting my business again. The store in question in Comics N Stuff on 555 Broadway in Chula Vista, California. They have more stores that have just as shady business tactics but that was the one that soured me for the last time. It sucks Free Comic Book Day was ruined for me but that's how it goes sometimes. I'm gonna write a complaint to Free Comic Book Day site itself and see what they say because I think people are getting cheated. A few years ago, when FCBD was in its infancy, most shops never seemed to have a limit on the number of comics that a customer could pick up. Granted, if someone were to snag a copy of EVERY book available, I'm sure the owner/employees would say something, but grabbing 7 or 8 books was never an issue. Now, most shops have firm rules about taking no more than 3. The shop where I celebrate FCBD had a limit of 5 a couple of years ago, but now they've reduced their number to 3 as well. Personally, I'm largely unaffected by this, as I typically only read Dark Horse, IDW, the occasional Image book, and a couple of Marvel titles, so there are usually maybe 2 or 3 comics, at most, that I really want each year. This year there was only 1. However, my friends who have LONG subscription lists, and pick up on average about a dozen comics a week, are frequently frustrated by the limitations. For instance, how is a devoted reader, who reads numerous titles, and has a completist mindset supposed to pick only 3 books? The ones who are big Marvel fans were angry this year, because after grabbing their GotG and Rocket Raccoon books, they could pick only one book out the many others being offered. And, these guys were in NO way going to pass on those two books. Not only are they huge fans of GotG, they, as I mentioned earlier, are all completists. Furthermore, if I were dropping $70 + a week for comics (must be nice, lol...) like these guys, I would feel entirely unappreciated and a little insulted. I sincerely apologize if I'm coming across as if I possess a sense of entitlement, because at the end of the day, I realize that these shops truly don't have to give us anything for free if they don't want to, but it just seems as if a celebration intended to show appreciation to the customers is slowly becoming tainted. EDIT: Lol, I know my location says Savannah, GA, and I don't want to give anyone the impression that I am criticizing my local shop in Savannah, lol! For the past couple of years, I've driven a few hours to a nearby town where I used to live, to celebrate FCBD with friends at the LCS in that town. I won't give the location, because a) it's typically a great shop, b) they have some excellent FCBD sales, and c) the limit does not affect me personally. I just wanted to rant on behalf of my friends who were a little frustrated this year. Last edited by Frank Richards; 05-04-2014 at 01:41 AM.. |
05-04-2014, 10:03 AM | #52 |
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 640
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@ Iceman - I don't disagree with you that there are some figures out there that have increased in value due to rarity or condition, or both. As I've said before, I'll pay more for a figure that I value for any reason, and I won't feel bad about it for a second. My thought on the scalping certain figures is, for instance - all the recent rereleases that have been showing up in discount stores selling for prices that they were going for in their height of popularity ie Thunderball or Madame Mask etc.
Where I have a partial completionist attitude to ML's, I see the value of a single carded RedPool and McFarlane Spidey and Dragon Man etc as eventual pieces to my collection and will without a doubt pay through the nose for, but I find it a bit offensive that a person would value a War Machine that has obvious wear and tear on the package at $40 US. I've been caught more than a few times buying 'mint on card' figures from an eBay seller, that weren't even close to that. Yes, buyer beware I know, but being ripped off is still being ripped off. There are many sellers and resellers that know exactly what they are doing to us as fans and collectors. It's those that know, that take advantage of another's passion that hurt the most. It's clear to me that the rare figures are worth more, and I think all true collectors agree. It's always going to be what someone is willing to pay, and the greedy ones out there (you know who you are), will always figure out what we're willing to pay and then add %25 and often a huge shipping fee too boot. As collectors, it's up to us to sift through the pile and find our prizes at the best price and condition we can, and as scalpers, it's their job to line their wallets as fat as they can.
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05-04-2014, 07:31 PM | #53 |
MUtant Overlord
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 2,751
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Quote:
@ Iceman - I don't disagree with you that there are some figures out there that have increased in value due to rarity or condition, or both. As I've said before, I'll pay more for a figure that I value for any reason, and I won't feel bad about it for a second. My thought on the scalping certain figures is, for instance - all the recent rereleases that have been showing up in discount stores selling for prices that they were going for in their height of popularity ie Thunderball or Madame Mask etc.
Are those high priced? I mean, just about everything goes up on ebay for like 3x the price when it first comes out to see if suckers will bite but is the problem. If people do bite then sellers just look at "completed listings" and see that one has sold for a crazy price so they price it like that too. Unless the listings just sit for a long time with no one buying then prices don't lower. But stuff like that is all still what I would classify as "at retail" even if it's at a discount store. It's crappy when you know they just bought a discount figure and are charging what premium prices but that's what they do. Even all those Legends for $8 right now won't last long and people are still finding them picked through when they get there. At lot of collectors won't ever know that they were at Ross or TJ Maxx or wherever, they'll just see that there are more on ebay all of a sudden. I mean, when the subscription figures for AA and Dr. Doom were on HTS people were still buying them on ebay for whatever the price was there. Even Nick Fury sat on HTS for months before people realized not to buy him from ebay. Quote:
...I find it a bit offensive that a person would value a War Machine that has obvious wear and tear on the package at $40 US.
Why offensive? I agree that the price is higher than I would expect to pay for that particular figure but I thought your point was the $6.99 sticker pissed you off? At this point that shouldn't matter. The fact that you could probably get one for $15 elsewhere is more important. Heck, I got rid of one for $2 a while back. We see stuff everyday on ebay were someone is asking $100 while the second highest listing is $60. Those people are just stupid as they can't possibly expect to ever sell their stuff. I don't get angry about it because seeing it makes me laugh. I kind of wish ebay didn't have buy-it-now and only auctions so people wouldn't just put up their fantasy price on everything. The completed listings would show a bunch of auctions that started too high that no one bid on so then sellers would start lowering prices. At the same time selling on ebay is probably the worst thing about the hobby. Buyers have all the control and you basically just have to pray people will be honest and not try to scam you. Plus ebay takes about 15% (even on shipping) so it would impossible to offer things at retail cost even if sellers wanted to. When you have your own site all you would have to pay is a small payment processing fee. And buying something online that you can't see the condition of then hoping for mint would drive me crazy. I'm really glad I'm not a MOC collector. When I sell I never call anything "mint" or mention any words like that because people will nitpick you to death and demand money or they will leave you bad feedback. I hardly ever sell anything on there that isn't loose. I wish I was back in SoCal so I could at least sell stuff on craigslist for free and there would be a decent enough market for it.
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05-05-2014, 02:48 AM | #54 |
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 132
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Quote:
Something happened to me today that really pissed me off.
Its Free Comic Book Day today. I went to a local comic shop, that I haven't gone to in a while because I bought a Minimate set and one was damaged from the factory, but they wouldn't let me exchange it for another set because they said it wasn't their fault I didn't notice it was damaged in the store, fair enough. That made me mad but Diamond Select was nice enough to mail me the piece that was damaged. Today I went to a Comics N Stuff since that incident because it was Free Comic Book Day. I'm thinking...let bygones be bygones. I went in to buy some comics and maybe get a few Free Comic Book Day Comics...wrong. They told me I could only have ONE single free comic from the whole table they had. I only wanted 2...just 2 (Guardians Of The Galaxy & Rocket Raccoon...1 of each...that's it.) but they said no. That I had to buy a store membership card in order to get 2 comics. The store member ship costs $10 annually. I said no and left. I called the main store manager and he said that's the rules. Oh well...they're never getting my business again. The store in question in Comics N Stuff on 555 Broadway in Chula Vista, California. They have more stores that have just as shady business tactics but that was the one that soured me for the last time. It sucks Free Comic Book Day was ruined for me but that's how it goes sometimes. I'm gonna write a complaint to Free Comic Book Day site itself and see what they say because I think people are getting cheated. |
05-05-2014, 07:00 AM | #55 |
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 640
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I don't disagree with anything Iceman has pointed out, my only problem I suppose is the morality of the sellers. I know my perogative (maybe not the spelling of it lol), but that's just my person views. When something is easy to come by, I believe that the price should reflect it. I know, its not the world we live in, but I guess I get lost in the purity of the art form. I believe collecting superheroes in plastic is an honest and pure source of personal joy, I also suppose I feel a bit put off that there are some out there that take advantage it.
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05-05-2014, 11:22 AM | #56 |
MUtant Overlord
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 2,751
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^100% agree. I think the people taking advantage and charging the highest prices are the ones that don't collect those figures for themselves. They just see them as dollar signs.
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05-05-2014, 11:35 AM | #57 |
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 442
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Well I collect for myself. not resale value...besides unless I vacuum sealed everything and made sure there wasn't the slightest crease in the box or board it would too much a hassle to try selling. its a good thing I aint MOC or MISB. I got a few HTF figures to get rid of now but I usually want the price paid and shipping as I aim to help my fellow collectors out but just I refuse to scalp a figure just cuz someone else wants it.
I may post it on ebay for a week if it sales..good if not then back to the store as I don't do duplicates...easy as that. BTW please check out my Pryme Tyme Kollection in the collection forum...what you see there is just a tiny part of what I have... Thanks |
05-05-2014, 12:22 PM | #58 |
Dark Lord of the 'Ark
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Ohio
Posts: 8,224
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Quote:
Price gouging - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia I agree with others that the most important factor in deciding if a person is a reseller or a scalper is his or her intentions. Especially if they attempt to artificially alter the supply/demand ratio first (by buying up all the ones at retail) before asking for exorbitant amounts of money for their supply. Of course, none of that matters when I see rants that sound like someone who's really just looking for an easy scapegoat or convenient bogeyman to help them vent their frustrations.
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05-05-2014, 01:47 PM | #59 |
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 640
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I thought this was the thread to vent and rant? My bad
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05-05-2014, 03:00 PM | #60 |
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 2,826
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I have no idea how my LCS even stays in business, but even when they mark up figs I kinda feel bad for them. They are in a tough spot IMO because if they sell it too cheap someone will just buy it and scalp it, so IMO they have to find the magic price number that is high enough to ward of scalpers and yet still cheap enough that their normal customers will buy it. Having said that... their prices on new MU prices are cringeworthy sometimes. LOL.
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05-05-2014, 08:34 PM | #61 |
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Castlevania
Posts: 2,351
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^ Three of my LCS' have went out of business in the last 2 years, it's a tough time to own a comic shop. I've talked to owners who say they just can't compete with digital comics and pirated stuff. On FCD I talked to the owner, or manager not sure which, he said they have to pay for the free comics. He said they were discounted, but that it adds up when you have to buy thousands of them. I was lucky they had a 5 per person limit at the one I went to last year (in Spokane) and at one in Tacoma this year. I always feel guilty if I go into an LCS and don't buy anything. They do have to charge more to keep the doors open, which I don't mind if it means them staying in business. Where else can you find all that good stuff under one roof?
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05-05-2014, 10:29 PM | #62 |
Adventurer, explorer ...
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Savannah, GA
Posts: 1,004
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Quote:
^ Three of my LCS' have went out of business in the last 2 years, it's a tough time to own a comic shop. I've talked to owners who say they just can't compete with digital comics and pirated stuff. On FCD I talked to the owner, or manager not sure which, he said they have to pay for the free comics. He said they were discounted, but that it adds up when you have to buy thousands of them. I was lucky they had a 5 per person limit at the one I went to last year (in Spokane) and at one in Tacoma this year. I always feel guilty if I go into an LCS and don't buy anything. They do have to charge more to keep the doors open, which I don't mind if it means them staying in business. Where else can you find all that good stuff under one roof?
I've been to so many awful, dingy, under-stocked, poorly staffed comic shops in my time, that I think that the entire dynamic of the "local comic shop" needs to change. Frankly, I wish that Diamond Distribution would open their own chain of comic shops. I truly think that there is a need for corporate-owned comic shops. You may be shaking your heads is disagreement, anger, or disbelief, but hear me out: When I was slowly transitioning from a kid who occasionally read comics into a more dedicated reader, I would buy my single issues and TPBs at my local Media Play. For those not familiar, this place sold CDs, DVDs, books, video games, and so much more. They even had an impressive action figure selection, as well as an impressive manga section. AND, they even hosted meetings for a local anime and manga club. Unfortunately, like many stores of its kind, the growth of Amazon and digital media led to the company collapsing, but.. let's not focus on that for now, lol. It wasn't until Media Play stopped carrying single issues that I began going to my local comic shops. Quite honestly, I preferred Media Play over my LCS, hands down. Before they dropped the single issues, they were superior to the local shops in selection, service, prices, and even atmosphere. And, with the manga club, they established a sense of community; something the local shop has never done Also, while my comic shop has a great selection of single issues, whenever I want to buy a trade, I go to my local Barnes & Noble. B&N has MANY IDW, Image, Dark Horse, Oni Press, etc... trades, while my LCS mostly has Marvel and DC trades. So, again, I would like to see the emergence of some sort of corporate-owned comic shop. I have nothing against small, local shops, but, as I said earlier, there are soooo many terrible independently owned shops. These new stores would force the less than stellar ones to either make some serious improvements, or just go ahead and close their doors. Sorry if that seems cruel, but would anyone truly miss those crappy comic shops? I imagine the corporate stores and independent shops having the same sort of relationship that video rental stores (before that industry collapsed) and music stores (again, before...) had over the past few decades. For instance, when I was younger, I loved Blockbuster Video for its immense selection and reasonable prices, but I also loved my neighborhood video stores for other reasons, like their HUGE anime sections, large independent and horror areas, and knowledgeable staff. Both of these types of stores had their advantages. Furthermore, the local shops had to step up their game and offer the consumer something that the big chains couldn't. If they were unable to do so, they had no choice but to close their doors. The same goes of music stores. Best Buy was always a great place to buy inexpensive CDs of typically well-known singers/bands, but for more obscure stuff, as well as vinyl, local artists, out of print albums, and elaborate box sets, smaller independently owned record stores were the best option. While many may argue that the big corporate stores callously put the smaller ones out of business, I, and many others, see that scenario as the stores like Best Buy simply forcing the smaller ones to basically evolve or die. In my eyes, the big name stores served to, proverbially, separate the wheat from the chaff. So, yeah, maybe Diamond, or a similar company should open their own shops. I've been to many comics shops to which I have no intention of ever returning, and I honestly would not be bothered by their disappearance. Again, if this seems callous, I'm sorry. Meanwhile, the good shops would continue to thrive, and some currently mediocre and bad shops may actually improve and become places worth buying one's comics. That's just my opinion, anyways. I do recognize that the corporate comic shop scenario could go horribly wrong as well. This corporate comic shop that I'm wishing for could became WAY too big and become the next GameStop. That's a thought that's just too horrible to fathom at the moment Anyways... I realize that this is the "scalper" thread, so sorry about going off on a tangent, but all this talk about FCBD and shady comic shops got me fired up! Last edited by Frank Richards; 05-05-2014 at 10:33 PM.. |
05-05-2014, 10:31 PM | #63 |
Adventurer, explorer ...
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Savannah, GA
Posts: 1,004
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Damn, that was a lot longer than I intended! Sorry to clog up the "scalper" threads with it. It just seemed relevant with all of the talk of FCBC and crappy comic shops, but I wouldn't blame the mods for getting pissed about it being somewhat off-topic.
Sorry |
05-06-2014, 05:06 AM | #64 |
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Round Rock, TX
Posts: 364
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I agree with Frank. I got so many cool toys at sam goody and musicland and suncoast back in the day and all I had to do was go to one store. Back when palisades was strong, NECA was first starting out and McFarlane was the main player I could walk in and find just about everything and if I couldn't find it the manager would take down my name and hold it when it was in stock. No memberships, no clubs or mark ups, just retail.
I liked that. The only thing close to it now is Hastings but you have to find one first. Hastings online is okay but they have the scalper mentality going there... they had Daryl Dixon figures when everyone was trying to find that first one... they wanted $30 and up for that one figure when all of their other walking dead figures were listed at retail $13 or under. So online not so much but in store it is cool to see high dollar items like hot toys in person before you buy them. |
05-06-2014, 05:42 AM | #65 |
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Boston
Posts: 4,792
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Quote:
I understand your point about trying to corporatize comic shops in order to improve efficiency and customer service, but don't let your bad LCS experiences cloud you. There are good shops and there are bad shops. However, I don't think you really understand just how bad Diamond is as a company. Now, Diamond is well known for being late on their deliveries, shipping the wrong stuff, and shipping the wrong quantities of items. Every comic shop owner i've spoke too hates this company. The only reason they put up with it is that Diamond operates as a monopoly. they are the ONLY distribution to comic shops. Now, since i'm here, let me advertize what a good comic shop looks like. This is a shop the next town over from me. Home - Friendly Neighborhood Comics https://www.facebook.com/pages/Frien...s/191731623437
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05-06-2014, 07:03 AM | #66 |
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Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Ohio
Posts: 8,224
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Who said it wasn't?
Quote:
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05-06-2014, 07:08 AM | #67 |
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 640
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I personally love my LCS. The owner knows and I know that I'm paying more than retail, but he holds whatever I want and emails me when it arrives. Where I don't disagree with the idea of a chain, and todays market place almost demands it with the popularity of comics to movies to toys and collectibles, I think it would be like if your city had a big enough population to bear a store that would give fair prices because of the volume it orders and ultimately sells. (Eg Ikea)
Thanks Franlin Richards! Hopefully a fellow collector with business education and training can take this idea to 'Dragon's Den' or 'Shark Tank' and make it happen!
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05-06-2014, 08:33 AM | #68 |
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 24
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Quote:
Ok...lol...so, what I am about to say may come across as cold, callous, and completely unsympathetic, and I apologize if anyone finds this offensive.
I've been to so many awful, dingy, under-stocked, poorly staffed comic shops in my time, that I think that the entire dynamic of the "local comic shop" needs to change. Frankly, I wish that Diamond Distribution would open their own chain of comic shops. I truly think that there is a need for corporate-owned comic shops. You may be shaking your heads is disagreement, anger, or disbelief, but hear me out: When I was slowly transitioning from a kid who occasionally read comics into a more dedicated reader, I would buy my single issues and TPBs at my local Media Play. For those not familiar, this place sold CDs, DVDs, books, video games, and so much more. They even had an impressive action figure selection, as well as an impressive manga section. AND, they even hosted meetings for a local anime and manga club. Unfortunately, like many stores of its kind, the growth of Amazon and digital media led to the company collapsing, but.. let's not focus on that for now, lol. It wasn't until Media Play stopped carrying single issues that I began going to my local comic shops. Quite honestly, I preferred Media Play over my LCS, hands down. Before they dropped the single issues, they were superior to the local shops in selection, service, prices, and even atmosphere. And, with the manga club, they established a sense of community; something the local shop has never done Also, while my comic shop has a great selection of single issues, whenever I want to buy a trade, I go to my local Barnes & Noble. B&N has MANY IDW, Image, Dark Horse, Oni Press, etc... trades, while my LCS mostly has Marvel and DC trades. So, again, I would like to see the emergence of some sort of corporate-owned comic shop. I have nothing against small, local shops, but, as I said earlier, there are soooo many terrible independently owned shops. These new stores would force the less than stellar ones to either make some serious improvements, or just go ahead and close their doors. Sorry if that seems cruel, but would anyone truly miss those crappy comic shops? I imagine the corporate stores and independent shops having the same sort of relationship that video rental stores (before that industry collapsed) and music stores (again, before...) had over the past few decades. For instance, when I was younger, I loved Blockbuster Video for its immense selection and reasonable prices, but I also loved my neighborhood video stores for other reasons, like their HUGE anime sections, large independent and horror areas, and knowledgeable staff. Both of these types of stores had their advantages. Furthermore, the local shops had to step up their game and offer the consumer something that the big chains couldn't. If they were unable to do so, they had no choice but to close their doors. The same goes of music stores. Best Buy was always a great place to buy inexpensive CDs of typically well-known singers/bands, but for more obscure stuff, as well as vinyl, local artists, out of print albums, and elaborate box sets, smaller independently owned record stores were the best option. While many may argue that the big corporate stores callously put the smaller ones out of business, I, and many others, see that scenario as the stores like Best Buy simply forcing the smaller ones to basically evolve or die. In my eyes, the big name stores served to, proverbially, separate the wheat from the chaff. So, yeah, maybe Diamond, or a similar company should open their own shops. I've been to many comics shops to which I have no intention of ever returning, and I honestly would not be bothered by their disappearance. Again, if this seems callous, I'm sorry. Meanwhile, the good shops would continue to thrive, and some currently mediocre and bad shops may actually improve and become places worth buying one's comics. That's just my opinion, anyways. I do recognize that the corporate comic shop scenario could go horribly wrong as well. This corporate comic shop that I'm wishing for could became WAY too big and become the next GameStop. That's a thought that's just too horrible to fathom at the moment Anyways... I realize that this is the "scalper" thread, so sorry about going off on a tangent, but all this talk about FCBD and shady comic shops got me fired up! As far as free comic day goes, we do pay for them. Is it cheaper than a $3.99 book? yes, but when you have to order over 30+ titles, and hundreds and hundreds of copies of each that adds up. Our store limited free comic book day comics to 4 per person. We notify them of this on free comic day and also let them know that they can come back Sunday the 4th they could grab any extras we have left. We had 1 free comic book day comic title left after Saturday. Are we supposed to screw over 80% of the customers who come in on FCBD because a few people want to grab everything for themselves? If we didn't most of our customers would not have gotten any. I have seen people walk in and try to grab 5 copies of each title. I have seen people shove kids out of the way trying to grab free comic book day comics. If you really want us to be able to let you grab as many as you want, contact all the comic companies and diamond and tell them to make the comics free to the stores as well. We dropped over $5000 on "free" comics this year. That is not "FREE" for us. It is a huge expense. Yet you complain about being limited to how much "free" stuff you can get? WOW. As far as Diamond or anyone else starting up a national chain, it would kill the comic industry. If marvel/ Disney and dc/TW did not have independent comic stores to distribute to they would get out of the floppies business altogether. They don't want to deal with the distribution business at all, that is why they went with a single distributor back in the 80's. Now that magacorps own them, they would HAPPILY eliminate the comic arm of DC/MARVEL because the publishing of comics makes them SO little money, they just want the character rights to pump out movies and merchandise. That is where their money is. They will go strictly digital so they don't have to worry about over production costs, shipping costs, damage costs, and it would kill the industry completely. All secondary publishers would go out of business as there would be no distribution for their product. Digital is fine for them IF they can overcome the piracy issue, which they cannot. It would also completely eliminate the collector market. Comic Companies and Comic Stores would see almost 70% of their sales disappear overnight if they did that. |
05-06-2014, 08:49 AM | #69 |
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 1,024
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All the LCS's in my area are great, and at least from my part of Nor Cal to the San Francisco Bay Area, I think most of the shop owners take a lot of pride in their stores and maintain their businesses well, so I can't say I'd be on board for a big corporate chain comic book shop. A-1 Comics, Empire Vault, and World's Best Comics all kick ass in my city, and I can rattle off even more store names down the freeway towards as far as San Jose. Even if they don't necessarily carry the specific figures I want or in some cases charge a higher price for certain things, I can tell they all are doing their best to give the collectors and fans in the area a nice place to shop. There are, of course, bad shops out there, but the same can be said for chain style stores as well, and between the two, I'd guess that an LCS would be way more likely to take in customer feedback and act on it than a chain would.
Oh, and no pics of it, but to keep this thread going, I'll throw in another gripe of mine: shady bastards returning their failed customs to stores in package. Really, if you fk up, just throw it in your fodder bin for a possible future project and consider it a lesson learned instead of making the rest of us pay for your lack of skills. Sheesh. |
05-06-2014, 08:53 AM | #70 |
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 640
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@ClevComicMan - thank you for your post! That was very informative.
I'd never asked my LCS about the 'business' before and now I'm glad I haven't. Your post makes me a lot more thankful for my local store!
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05-06-2014, 09:09 AM | #71 |
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 1,024
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Thanks for breaking down the situation for everyone, ClevComicMan. I always figured comic shops are fighting an uphill battle, so I never fault them for anything other than bad or snobby service if it happens. Folks on Ark make a lot of assumptions, so it's nice to get an insider view to give us the much needed reality check every so often.
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05-06-2014, 09:23 AM | #72 |
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 24
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Quote:
All the LCS's in my area are great, and at least from my part of Nor Cal to the San Francisco Bay Area, I think most of the shop owners take a lot of pride in their stores and maintain their businesses well, so I can't say I'd be on board for a big corporate chain comic book shop. A-1 Comics, Empire Vault, and World's Best Comics all kick ass in my city, and I can rattle off even more store names down the freeway towards as far as San Jose. Even if they don't necessarily carry the specific figures I want or in some cases charge a higher price for certain things, I can tell they all are doing their best to give the collectors and fans in the area a nice place to shop. There are, of course, bad shops out there, but the same can be said for chain style stores as well, and between the two, I'd guess that an LCS would be way more likely to take in customer feedback and act on it than a chain would.
Oh, and no pics of it, but to keep this thread going, I'll throw in another gripe of mine: shady bastards returning their failed customs to stores in package. Really, if you fk up, just throw it in your fodder bin for a possible future project and consider it a lesson learned instead of making the rest of us pay for your lack of skills. Sheesh. Don't just show up for free stuff twice a year and then complain how the store is more expensive than Walmart or target or anyone else. You are not fixing the problem by doing this, you are just making it worse. We carry stuff so our customers don't have to run around for weeks or months spending time and gas money looking for that hot toy. They know they can come to us and we will have it. Sure it costs them more at the register, but saves them a ton of time, effort and money in gas trying to run around to every major retailer everyday, and still not finding what they are looking for. Walmart and Target don't give away stuff for FCBD, we do. We pay so you can have them for free. Does it help our sales? Sure, but its pretty much a wash after the cost. We do it because 1. WE LOVE COMICS!!! and 2. we love people who love comics. Very few comic store owners got into the business to make lots of money, most of us got into it to make a living doing something we love. ALSO, and this is huge, feel free to ask if you can get a lower price! That sure wont happen if its a national chain. This probably wont work on new merch and comics, but if you see something older, ask. Sure we might have a $20 MU on the shelf, but usually we will knock a few dollars off if its been sitting for a while. Here is another hint... the more you buy, or the more you shop with us, the more of a discount we will probably give you. Sure if you come in and drop $20 you may only get a buck or two off, but if you are coming in 4 or 5 times a month, or drop $200 in a pop we are more likely to give you a nice discount. |
05-06-2014, 09:39 AM | #73 |
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 395
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ClevComicMan's rant was a little depressing to read.
I'm all about nostalgia but I still don't feel too bad when a few of my childhood comic shops, record stores or video rental places went out of business. A lot of my memories of those places was pretty crappy so I'm happy my future kids don't have to deal with stores that won't accept a refund because the CD has a minor scratch, $5 per day late fees on a video game rental, and comic shops that won't exchange an item because we opened it and something was wrong so now we're stuck with it. People like corporate owned stores because it's easy to get an exchange or refund on something like $3,000 tv. Pretty much no questions asked if want to return a tv I had 2 days from wal-mart. If I try return a $20 toy that came factory damaged to a comic shop...well...we already know what most of them will say. I'm finding myself caring less and less about comic shops, there's maybe 3 in my area that have decent service. I'd like to help them in business but with high prices and snobby service, I can't justify giving them my money. And the Free Comic Book Day with me was just stupid. I wanted 2 books...just 2. No more. And they gave me attitude about buying an annual membership ("You come in here a lot...you need it anyway"). That's what pushed me over the edge to stop giving Comics N Stuff in San Diego my business.
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05-06-2014, 10:03 AM | #74 |
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 24
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Quote:
ClevComicMan's rant was a little depressing to read.
I'm all about nostalgia but I still don't feel too bad when a few of my childhood comic shops, record stores or video rental places went out of business. A lot of my memories of those places was pretty crappy so I'm happy my future kids don't have to deal with stores that won't accept a refund because the CD has a minor scratch, $5 per day late fees on a video game rental, and comic shops that won't exchange an item because we opened it and something was wrong so now we're stuck with it. People like corporate owned stores because it's easy to get an exchange or refund on something like $3,000 tv. Pretty much no questions asked if want to return a tv I had 2 days from wal-mart. If I try return a $20 toy that came factory damaged to a comic shop...well...we already know what most of them will say. I'm finding myself caring less and less about comic shops, there's maybe 3 in my area that have decent service. I'd like to help them in business but with high prices and snobby service, I can't justify giving them my money. And the Free Comic Book Day with me was just stupid. I wanted 2 books...just 2. No more. And they gave me attitude about buying an annual membership ("You come in here a lot...you need it anyway"). That's what pushed me over the edge to stop giving Comics N Stuff in San Diego my business. As far as memberships go, we offer one as well that gives a discount on all purchases, free entry into any contests, giveaways or tournaments, as well as VIP access to our autograph signings. It also gives the member priority for requested variants and limited edition stuff. A membership is not a bad thing if it is worth it, and I can understand a store promoting it, but to give someone attitude about not signing up is poor form. I am sorry you had such a bad experience, just realize that most of the stores and store owners I have met are not like that. Me and my staff pride ourselves on not being "the comic book guy" from the simpsons. We may have the geek knowledge to argue for hours on what type of underwear does superman wear, but we also want everyone who walks through our door to feel welcome and not intimidated. When someone we don't know comes in we greet them and show them around the store, pointing out where everything is, as we know it can be overwhelming. We offer free classes on comic collecting 101 once a month, as well as grading classes for a small fee. We have free tabletop and D&D gaming nights as well as pay CCG and video game tournaments. We try to make it as accessible to a novice collector as well as all of us jaded collectors and gamers as well. |
05-06-2014, 12:21 PM | #75 |
Repulsars ready to kill
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Charlottetown,P.E.I. Canada
Posts: 4,825
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In my province there's only 2 LCS. Both do have some-what high markups on figures, but comics are right on par, and never any issues on FCBD, except I forgot about it this year and worked it last year. 1 of the 2 goes through Diamond for stuff, *(the other one does too probably, just never asked), but I was curious for toys and merchandise if you've tried/considered going through bigbadtoystore.com? they have a section for resellers/store owners, and I'd imagine the pricing to be cheaper, or perhaps Amazon as they offer free shipping. The cheaper you can get figures the cheaper you can resell then, still making a profit and making your customers extr happy. I also know sideshowtoys.com does have a store/reseller type account.
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