[ClevComicMan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ultraman zoffy

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.

^ right on the money! Chain stores will treat you like garbage. Do you really want comic shops run like Walmart!?! I know that at our store we pride ourselves on customer service. We go out of our way to find the products that our customers want and ask for. If we don't have it, and it is a product that is still available, we give %10 off for special orders. Sure there are shady stores out there, but there are great ones too. Get to know your LCS. Get to know the staff and owner. The more you shop, the more we get to know you and start looking out for stuff for you.
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.