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The Pure Hate in this Article is Astounding
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232 posts in this topic

Everyone is entitled to rant now and then. I'd be frustrated if I were in his position I guess. On the one hand, you get a rush of people into your store for that hot book. Maybe they buy some more while they're there, maybe not. On the other, a regular who is not necessarily looking for that issue until it becomes some viral McGuffin all of the sudden wants you to hold one back for him way after the deadline to order one... well...

I understand wanting to cater to the regular, but if it's not on his pull list and he comes to you during that rush with his hand out... Were it me running the place, I'd follow suit with what a lot of you are thinking: accommodate if you can, but make the buck when you can make the buck. 

I also don't think less of my LCS for charging more than cover on those books because capitalism is a thing.

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6 minutes ago, Jasten said:
2 hours ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

We've already seen what happens in the long run: we live in it. The artform was gutted. The top selling books barely sell 1-10% the numbers that sold in the early 90s. These people aren't coming in to buy something else. And while, sure, a good salesman will try to get them to buy something else, speculeeches don't bite. That's why they're speculeeches.

And how many of people collect now a days because they grew up in the 90's and were caught up in it all? I bet the number is a hell of a lot more than you think. In fact, without the 90's, i bet comics would be long gone by now. There was some great content in the 90's and it sparked the love of comic books for so many people. It's so irritating to hear people trash that era...

You are very confused about what has been said.

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1 minute ago, Conacon said:

I also don't think less of my LCS for charging more than cover on those books because capitalism is a thing.

What is being described here is not capitalism. In capitalism, scarcity of goods is addressed by increased production. By their nature, "increased production" (aka "reprints" in comics) doesn't fly in collectibles. 

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6 hours ago, october said:

His language is over the top....but he's not really wrong about any of it. 

"Speculeeches" lol

 

Like I've said here many times in the past before..............when it comes to the "speculeeches", it's all about the money.  hm

If they could flip used soiled toilet paper for money they would be at the front of the line and some grading company would be right up there certifying and grading it all for them.  :p  lol

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1 hour ago, Jasten said:

And how many of people collect now a days because they grew up in the 90's and were caught up in it all? I bet the number is a hell of a lot more than you think. In fact, without the 90's, i bet comics would be long gone by now. There was some great content in the 90's and it sparked the love of comic books for so many people. It's so irritating to hear people trash that era...

But if people are buying LESS copies of each individual comic - Amazing Spider-man is at what? 70,000 copies for a non-event month? Then... is it really more people left over from ANY era?

Seems to me theres hardly anyone left at all. 

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My LCS buddy confirmed this grinds his gears.  You run a comic shop you know the types of things that get on their nerves.  Another one is people coming in wanting them to sell their stuff-comics, drawings, games, knick-knacks-

Edited by kav
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Honestly, I like buying paperbacks to read... Guess I'm a binger (Yes, I also wait for entire seasons of tv-shows before watching them, or sometimes even until the entire show ended)...

I really started doing that with comics past 2000, I think.. In the 90's I used to have the old Spider-Mans and X-Men under my bed and one day my mom threw a bunch of them out (they were really my dad's and she threw out a couple trash bags of his playboys and comics), and besides I used to actually carbon trace them with pen and things like that. Really never took any good care of them.. So when those comics became worth more it taught me to take better care of my comics and really changed the way I consumed them.

In short, I have no real big opinion and can see both sides, so yeah.

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22 minutes ago, kav said:

My LCS buddy confirmed this grinds his gears.  You run a comic shop you know the types of things that get on their nerves.  Another one is people coming in wanting them to sell their stuff-comics, drawings, games, knick-knacks-

A LCS owner gets annoyed at people walking in off the street wanting to sell him their comics? Or wanting to consign their stuff through him? Either way, this is not a thing to get annoyed with; it is the great advantage about owning a brick and mortar shop. 

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6 minutes ago, Ryan. said:

A LCS owner gets annoyed at people walking in off the street wanting to sell him their comics? Or wanting to consign their stuff through him? Either way, this is not a thing to get annoyed with; it is the great advantage about owning a brick and mortar shop. 

Sorry let me clarify-wanting him to sell their comics that they had printed up and 'split the profits'.  Or wanting him to sell macrame and 'split the profits' etc.

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He did have a rack devoted to local artists in an attempt to support them-keep in mind rack space is at a premium in a well run comic shop.  In 2 years not a single book sold.  He also had to deal with people calling every day asking "did any of my books sell?" as well as spending about an hour calling everyone and telling em to come get their books.

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6 hours ago, october said:

 

It's not just moderns either. Some sheeple chasing top golden age issues and keys have started shifting their dumb money into sealed video games, with predictable results. 

This is excellent news!

people need to stop buying Golden Age books!

No...really...stop buying them.

More for me. :devil:

 

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his issue is likely more around the comic buyers expecting his store to:

-still have the book

- sell the book at cover price

and then they get angry because he doesnt have it (because no one ordered it)

If I did have it I would pull it off the shelf and sell it at cover only if one of my regulars asked for it.

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Hibbs' Comic Experience is my LCS.

It is not a "comic collector's store."  He doesn't sell collectable back issues.  He doesn't carry the price guide.  He doesn't sell collectable toys, etc.

It's a book store that specialises in selling graphic novels and comic related books, that also happens to carry a selection of new comic books.  

The staff are comic readers.  It is the kind of store that is more concerned with promoting the comic art form than it is about promoting collecting comics.  

And there's nothing wrong with that.

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Article sounds like a small business owner, having trouble figuring out how to keep his small business afloat.   Of course he is frustrated. 

He wants regular readers, who come in every Wednesday, and pick up their pull list.   He can't get into a proper ordering pattern when the Specs call.   We all lose a little something when another LCS closes.  Today San Fran, tomorrow, your town.   He makes valid points, many of which I have read on these boards already (minus the potty mouth).   Personally, I think people are silly to buy Modern Comics with an eye on 'investing'.   They will be the first things to come down in value, with a correction.  

But he can't control it.  

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