BrianR Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 I picked up an old comic book with a store stamp on the back (Actually thats the reason I wanted it) It reads Passaic Book Center Books, Comics, Paperbacks Bought Sold & Traded 594 Main Ave Passaic Tel 778-6646 What I found so far is that they did mail order back in the 70's (at least) and were based in NJ. Does anyone know anymore about the store? Have done business with them? D-Optimist 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foolkiller Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 Yes, they don't do comics really any more, not with any significance, but for years, they were a main stay and many people used them for back issue shopping. D-Optimist 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadroch Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 They were huge in the 1980s. I bought thousands of back issues from them for my stores. D-Optimist 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale Roberts Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 Yeah, we used to buy big wholesale groups from them in the mid 90s too. Now I think they do mostly porn mag stuff. D-Optimist 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greggy Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 Yeah, we used to buy big wholesale groups from them in the mid 90s too. Now I think they do mostly porn mag stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianR Posted August 17, 2010 Author Share Posted August 17, 2010 (edited) So was it common practice for them to stamp comic books? I know different times etc. it seems odd a large mail order company would stamp back issues. And thanks guys for the additional info. I enjoy store stamped books and seeing if I can find out about the store the comic was sold at once. Edited August 17, 2010 by BrianR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foolkiller Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 So was it common practice for them to stamp comic books? I know different times etc. it seems odd a large mail order company would stamp back issues. And thanks guys for the additional info. I enjoy store stamped books and seeing if I can find out about the store the comic was sold at once. I know at one time they did do quite a few stamps, especially in the 70s, on later collections they acquired, I think they stopped this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimhouston1 Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 I use to get back issues at a Used Book Store behind Fordham Road and just up 2 blocks from Webster Avenue in the Bronx in the 1960s. It was owned by a nice elderly couple. They got their back issues from Passaic Book Store. I started getting Warren back issues there too. I probably have some of those comics I bought still in my collection. I also had 2 catalogs they use to send out if you requested it. They had ads in the marvel comics classifieds with Robert Bell and Howard Rogofsky. I visited the store years later and they had sold all their back issue stock. Not sure who they sold it to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadroch Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 They didn't stamp the books they wholesaled, as far as I remember.I never bought anything from them retail. Store stamps are kind of rare on Bronze Age books, much more common on SA stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianR Posted August 17, 2010 Author Share Posted August 17, 2010 They didn't stamp the books they wholesaled, as far as I remember.I never bought anything from them retail. Store stamps are kind of rare on Bronze Age books, much more common on SA stuff. Yeah, this is a Kid Colt 108 so it fits with the SA stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicmeta Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 Yup, I ordered some Iron Mans a long time ago from them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingDonut Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 They were awesome inthe 70s - you'd buy a "mystery lot" of 100 books for $20, something like that, and you'd get just cool, cool, cool stuff. They would just send you the first 100 on the pile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Bronze age fan* Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 I used to go out there years ago...in the 90s. I do remember them having the coolest back issues. I bought alot of stuff there. I also remember that they have like cloths lines strung in the store...With back issues on them being supported by..of course cloths pins.... My friends and i always thought that was going to mess up the books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayman Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 This is my reply from an old thread from '07. What a great place!: My first comicbook shop was the Passaic Book Store right on Main Ave. in Passaic New Jersey. It was a short bus ride away to an old building but once you entered...WOW! No bags or boards on 90% of all the boxes and boxes of the comic books and magazines that were all over the store. The only bagged items were pinned to the walls that streched to a 12 foot high ceiling. There were even books "clothespinned" to lines that strung across from one side of the room to the other. At the age of 12 or 13 this was a wonderland to me! This shop also had its section for adult books sectioned off by two swinging boards reminisent of saloon doors (you had to pay a dollar to get in there). But the best memory of this shop was an old basement trap door that was held open by an old rusty chain where they kept even more back issues. If for some reason I could not find what I was looking for upstairs, one of the staff would ask what title I was looking for and ALWAYS found what was on my want list in that magical cellar! Before the shop closed for good I got to go down in there once and it was just like I imagined it would be...a dark comic catacomb filled with books, I remember looking at the dirt floor and seeing it covered with loose covers and pages from old books! BCarter27, Inhuman Fiend, The Lions Den and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOTFLIPS Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 Yeah, his warehouse was enormous. Eddie (the owner) moved to Deleware and still buys supplies from us from time to time. Mostly magazine stuff. Nice guy too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Bronze age fan* Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 This is my reply from an old thread from '07. What a great place!: My first comicbook shop was the Passaic Book Store right on Main Ave. in Passaic New Jersey. It was a short bus ride away to an old building but once you entered...WOW! No bags or boards on 90% of all the boxes and boxes of the comic books and magazines that were all over the store. The only bagged items were pinned to the walls that streched to a 12 foot high ceiling. There were even books "clothespinned" to lines that strung across from one side of the room to the other. At the age of 12 or 13 this was a wonderland to me! This shop also had its section for adult books sectioned off by two swinging boards reminisent of saloon doors (you had to pay a dollar to get in there). But the best memory of this shop was an old basement trap door that was held open by an old rusty chain where they kept even more back issues. If for some reason I could not find what I was looking for upstairs, one of the staff would ask what title I was looking for and ALWAYS found what was on my want list in that magical cellar! Before the shop closed for good I got to go down in there once and it was just like I imagined it would be...a dark comic catacomb filled with books, I remember looking at the dirt floor and seeing it covered with loose covers and pages from old books! Glad to know i am not cracking up about the comics from clothspins.... Yeah, I remember the adult section also! And they always had what you were looking for in the cellar! Only bad part of that store was alot of the books were BEAT! But still a great store! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadroch Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 I used clothspins in my store for awhile, and stole the idea from a place in Queens called The Memory Bank. Back then, hardly anyone used boards and you'd just tape the bag so there was enough space above the book to pinch the pin. Key was having high ceilings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max G-migration Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 I used to love that place. It was a legend. Does anybody have a copy of their old ad? It was a comic as a superhero! You would see it in any comic book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comicstock Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 Ron Chicken used to do the Passiac Book Centers catalogue cover art. Don't know if that was his real name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Optimist Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 (edited) I have a story or two about this store... let me know peeps. Edited March 7, 2018 by D-Optimist The Lions Den and jokiing 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...