Latest Haul from Lone Star

[telerites]

As if I didn't have enough to read with my recent acquisition of Weird Westerns and Marvel westerns, below is my haul from Lone Star. 38 books for $56 (less than $1.50/book and free shipping).

I just to find the time to read everything now.

Adventure Comics 414
Adventure Comics 415
Adventure Comics 421
Adventure Comics 422
Adventure Comics 425
Adventure Comics 426
Adventure Comics 427
Adventure Comics 441 - 452
Chamber of Darkness (1969) 7
Chamber of Darkness (1969) 8
Chamber of Darkness Special (1972) 1
Super DC Giant (1970) 23
Super DC Giant (1970) 26
Super DC Giant (1970) 27
Tomahawk (1950) 86
Tomahawk (1950) 97
Tomahawk (1950) 111
Weird War Tales (1971-83 DC) 85
Weird War Tales (1971-83 DC) 86
Weird War Tales (1971-83 DC) 106
Weird War Tales (1971-83 DC) 109
Weird Western Tales (1972-1980 1st Series) 21
Weird Wonder Tales (1973) 2
Weird Wonder Tales (1973) 5
Weird Worlds (1972 DC) 7 - 10
Weird Worlds (1972 DC) 8
Weird Worlds (1972 DC) 9
Weird Worlds (1972 DC) 10

[spoon_jenkins]

I have most of those Aquaman issues of Adventure Comics. I like them. They're not mind-blowingly brilliant, but they're good.

[MichikoS]

Hey! I also got a shipment from Lone Star today:

Space Man (Dell) 1253 (#1), 4, 5, 10 Jack Sparling extravaganzae. Lovely painted covers. Idiotic storylines and scripts. Sweet!

Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction Special #1 1976 (Marvel) magazine. I lost my first copy somewhere...spiffy Don Newton painted cover, and it has a story written AND drawn by Archie Goodwin, "Sinner."

Adventure Illustrated #1 (NMP) 1981 magazine featuring great stories by Moench & Sienkiewicz, Pat Boyette (a beauty!), Mark Evanier and Mike Sekowsky/Al Gordon, John Warner and Tom Sutton, and Don Heck. Painted cover by Jim Starlin.

LOC #3 (1981 fanzine) reviews and opinon from 25 years ago!

First Folio #1 (Pacific, 1984; Kubert School graduates' stories)

Mighty Crusaders #3 (Archie) yay! completes my run of this '60's goofball title

Tarzan Digest (DC, 1972) gorgeous Russ Manning stuff

Lethargic Comics, Weakly #2 & 10 (Greg Hyland's Lethargic Lad has always been a favorite of mine)

Michi

[dan bailey]

Space Man (Dell) 1253 (#1), 4, 5, 10

must be something in the air ... i've got #6 en route from an ebay seller even as i type.

[telerites]

I have most of those Aquaman issues of Adventure Comics. I like them. They're not mind-blowingly brilliant, but they're good.

I have read them before and have some of them but didn't want to dig through a ton of boxes to finid them. I enjoy the Aparo Aquaman a lot and those around 80 cents an issue so I thought, what the heck?

[telerites]

Hey! I also got a shipment from Lone Star today:
Michi

This is actually my first order from them in years. When I saw their inventory of books under $2, I couldn't resist. I look mainly for reading copies of these books so condition is not a large concern. I ordered mainly Good condition books and was impressed with their grading. In some cases, their good is what some EBAY sellers call Fine or above.

[Lone Ranger]

Do they have a website?

[scratchie]

Do they have a website?

Not a hoax!

Not a dream!

Their website is http://www.lonestarcomics.com/ !

(Which actually redirects you to http://www.mycomicshop.com/ )

PS: In addition to having very reliable grading, Lone Star also sends out weekly deals via email, which are much easier to read and comprehend than Mile High's.

[shaxper]

Lonestar is my favorite place for online ordering. Their regular prices are usually very competitive, though their weekly sales don't usually impress me. Also, don't be fooled by the "up tp 50% off" sale. That's actually their regular prices.

Finally, be warned that, after you place your order, they can scratch items that are out of stock and then send you the rest before you can cancel or change the order. This rarely ever happens, though. I've also learned that their customer service (both by e-mail and phone) is thoroughly unhelpful.

Even still, Lonestar is the best online retailer around. I give them hundreds of dollars in business each month.

[scratchie]

I've also learned that their customer service (both by e-mail and phone) is thoroughly unhelpful.I haven't found that to be the case. They're limited in what their software allows them to do once they've placed an order (e.g., they can't add or remove items once the order has been placed) but I've never found the people to be unhelpful. I was able to cancel an order over the phone when I realized I had ordered the wrong issue of Astonishing Tales (*Gasp*), then I just re-placed the order with the correct issue and everything was copacetic.

[shaxper]

I've called and e-mailed several times and for several different reasons. They used the software excuse each time, even when I simply asked them to cancel an order. I swear they pay people to sit by the phone with a script that says "I'm sorry but out software doesn't allow us to do that". They don't seem to be good for much else.

There should at least be a confirmation step in the ordering process, once they've checked in your items, where you can approve or decline the order based upon what's in stock. I feel helpless when I place an order for a major $45 comic, order $5 of useless extras to get the free shipping, and then have the $45 issue out of stock so that I'm paying $4 to ship $5 worth of comics I don't really care about.

[TheHistorian]

I've also learned that their customer service (both by e-mail and phone) is thoroughly unhelpful.

I haven't any problems with an order, so I can't comment as far as their ability to resolve problems... but it couldn't be less helpful than Mile High's drones...

[telerites]

I hadn't intended for this thread to be a pro or con for Lone Star Comics but since we are on the subject...

Preface - this was my first order from them in years so I can't really comment on their customer service since I had no problems this time. There was one book from my order that was out of stock and I was not given the opportunity to cancel the order.

But for me, no big deal - I had ordered nearly $60 worth of books so I was covered for their free shipping offer. Also, I was only looking for reading copies of bronze age books so these weren't high dollar. I collect Golden Age and Silver Age books and do pay attention to condition on those books.

I have ordered from Mile High Comics in the past for the same purpose and didn't really have much problem. It just seemed Lone Star had a more robust inventory of books under $2 which is what I was looking for.

[roach04]

All right, I'll chime in on the Lone Star thread! I buy from both Mile High and Lone Star several times a year, so here's my list as a Canadian buyer on the pros/cons of Lone Star vs. Mile High:

Free Shipping:
Lone Star - > $70, includes all types of books
Mile Hight - > $100, comics only (hcs, tpbs have a per item fee)

As an aside, both companies in my experience have honoured the free shipping even if they have to take an item out of your order that dropped it.

Customs (big deal for us up here!)
Lone Star - yep, you'll pay duty & taxes on whatever they send
Mile High - this is the greatest power of Mile High Comics. I have no idea exactly how Chuck is doing it, but you can order a thousand bucks worth of books and not pay a cent in tax or duty. Whatever loophole he's exploiting, I hope it never gets closed.

Selection:
Lone Star - excellent!
Mile High - Ditto!

Grading:
Lone Star - I like the fact that higher end books have breakdowns by grade - you can look at a FN book that's $100 vs. the FN copy of the same book that's $90. Also, I've never had a problem in a dozen+ orders with any of their grades.
Mile High - FN is just FN. I've ordered probably 50 times from Mile High over the last 10 years and can only think of 1 grade problem - and they quickly replaced it.

Pricing:
Just a ramble here - if you want reading (FN ish) copies of common books, Lone Star is the clear winner. A book that Mile High wants $7 or $8 for, Lone Star will be selling for $2. Higher end books it really varies, although lately I've been using more Lone Star just because you can compare several books in the same grade range range the same way you can at a convention.

Customer Service:
Never dealt with Lone Star's, but, yeah, Mile High's ain't real helpful.

Winner - seriously, both are really good. And if Chuck would lower his free shipping number (and re-include HCs/TPBs) OR Lone Star would find a way to allow me to skip out on the customs, there wouldn't be that big a difference to me.

[DDM]

All right, I'll chime in on the Lone Star thread! I buy from both Mile High and Lone Star several times a year, so here's my list as a Canadian buyer on the pros/cons of Lone Star vs. Mile High:

Free Shipping:
Lone Star - > $70, includes all types of books
Mile Hight - > $100, comics only (hcs, tpbs have a per item fee)

Mile High Comics gives free shipping to any order over $40.00.

[roach04]

Mile High Comics gives free shipping to any order over $40.00.

...not to Canada they don't.

[DDM]

...not to Canada they don't.

For international orders, it's $100.00.

Domestic orders, it's $40.00.

[DDM]

What is the URL to Lonestar comics?

[roach04]

For international orders, it's $100.00.

Domestic orders, it's $40.00.

Yeah, that's what I said...LOL.

[dan bailey]

What is the URL to Lonestar comics?


www.mycomicshop.com

i started using 'em a couple of months ago after seeing them extolled in this forum (especially vis-a-vis mile high, with whom i personally have had no problems) & have been very happy.

[spoon_jenkins]

I've ordered from both Mile High and Lonestar several times and found both to be satisfactory. My only problem was once Lonestar sent me an order with one comic missing. I emailed them to let them know and the promptly mailed the missing comic out to me. There was no hassle involved (maybe because the comic cost something like $1.75).

Depending on what I'm currently look for, sometimes Mile High is better on price and selection and sometimes Lonestar is better. It's strange to me how the prices may seem better better for certain comics from one of them but worse for other comics.

[shaxper]

They're undoubtedly both great online resources (which is why I use them both). I was just pointing out the problems I've had.

Both companies have a vast selection and excellent grading. I just find that Lonestar usually offers lower prices for mid to low grade items. In terms of grading, Lone Star does an excellent job and Mile High used to have a reputation for poor grading, but they've worked hard to change that image over the past year or two and it shows.

[TheHistorian]

I agree with that. My experience has just been that Mile High is useless from a customer service perspective when there is an actual problem, so I've given up on them. I'm clearly the exception (otherwise they wouldn't be in business).

[The Wayner]

I've ordered from both, and love'em!

As for customer service, Lone Star has always treated me right. Very friendly bunch of folks. Mile High, the same. Didn't get the right book, or missing one? Here ya go!

I got orders from both companies, today. Woo hoo! Nothing like pluggin' holes in your collection! :cool:

[Jessica Drew]

I've never used Mile High, but I've been using Lone Star for almost a year now, and I've never had any problems. In fact, several months ago, I ordered the Essential Uncanny X-men vol. 1 from them, and instead I got Essential X-Men vol. 1. I told them of the problem, and they sent me what I had orginally ordered, at no extra charge, and allowed me to still keep the other X-Men volume for free.

[dan bailey]

... can anyone who knows anything at all about computers (basically, once you get beyond word processing & net-surfing, i'm clueless) offer any suggestions about a problem i'm having with their site?

basically, the only thing i can call up here on my computer is their home page & my want list with them. if i try to type in the sale password, or access the search function, or jump from the want list to a now-in-stock item, i get the dreaded "the page cannot be displayed." for awhile there i was able to access everything by jumping from the want list, but as just stated, as of a couple of days ago that no longer works. about midweek i was delighted to find myself able to navigate the site with no problems, just as i had been the first couple of times i went there, but 99.9 percent of the time, it's no go.

i have no such problem on the machine (which is still using windows 98 -- i'm using xp) at work. nor have i run into it with anyone else.