If I owned a comic shop

[Dr.J.]

I would treat my custemers with the consideration and respect, that as a comics fan,I find less and less of,from some shops.Most comic fans,especialy those 50 or older, have been fans for at least 40 years, and some,55 to 60 years,as well as many at one time or another, worked in a comic shop or book store that sold comics. In many cases, we are FAR more informed about the shape, values, characters,and who wrote and drew what books, then the employees are.A great effort would be made, to make sure that no marvel with clipped value stamps be put out into the bins, and such books would be sold at 1/4th of guide value,as they should be.I would NOT post signs saying "NO returns, for ANY reason"No custemer, would EVER eat the cost of a damaged book, and if brought back inside a 30 day period, would get a full and complete refund,or alternative book of equal value . He would NOT be screwed, just because a sale was over.Because most older fans are out after a small number of VERY expensive old books, when they drop 100-200 bucks on abundent stuff from the past 30 year, its money being deverted from what they are saving up for,not stuff they really give much of a damn about.I would do my VERY best, to keep such buyers coming back! I think that most fans, are damn sick and tired,of being burned on books, be it in secret restoration,or not listed inner damage.NO employee, would be hired, unless he was a comic collector of some sort,and no disrespect whatsoever from an employee, towards a custemer would be tolorated.As well, I would offer the sellers of books, a fair deal on taking cash or trade,like it used to be 25 years ago.NOTHING can be so unsettling to a fan, as bringing in a pile that cost him 500 bucks cover price,and offering him a crummy 25 or so bucks,when they are mostly still in near mint.When you get burned selling books, then a few weeks later see the same books marked at BIG buck prices, it makes one sick to ones stomach.It really seems, as if Lot of stores today, in these hard times particualary, place much value or respect their custemers..It's a pleasure to see such stores fold.I've been burned and disrespected plenty by certain shops and dealers over the decades.I think most comic fans thirst for a change.

[MDG]

I can see where you're coming from, but I've had friends who owned shops, and I'm sure they'd have similar customer complaints. Some that relate to what you talk about are:

Customers who have every opportunity to examine a book in the store with the owner to look for condition problems before purchasing the book, than "notice" something a week after bringing it home

Customers who ask to examine a valuable back issue once a week for a couple of months, but always have to "think about it"

Customers who offer 75% or less of the asking price of a book

People come in with a stack of recent (last 20 years) books to sell and want "guide" despite the fact that the store already has the same books in stock for sale (and often at less than guide)

[mgs]

I would NOT post signs saying "NO returns, for ANY reason"

NO employee, would be hired, unless he was a comic collector of some sort

I would offer the sellers of books, a fair deal on taking cash or trade

NOTHING can be so unsettling to a fan, as bringing in a pile that cost him 500 bucks cover price,and offering him a crummy 25 or so bucks,when they are mostly still in near mint.
no offense Dr.J., but it sounds like you are just an old person bitching about some things that wouldn't make for a successful business comic book shop.

I mean, I agree with some of the things you say, but the rest don't make sense. If you are a curmudgeony old collector, it's true that most shops won't have what you need, but for those who collect expensive, old comics, most do it differently these days.

I've never worked in a comic book shop before, but it sounds like the things you need from your lcs would not be reasonable and sustainable by any shop these days.

[Captain Jim]

Well, certainly everyone deserves to be respected, but I don't think all of this is realistic either (and I did work in a comic shop at one time).

Specifically, people need to understand that most shops do not want or need your modern day back issues and certainly cannot pay you back what you paid for them. Retailers do not offer you pennies on the dollar to insult you but (many times) because customers insist on the shop making an offer. So obviously you're not going to offer very much on something you don't really want.

There's a problem that goes deeper than this, I think, and it's the notion that many people still have that comics are an "investment." They are not. At least post-1970 comics aren't. Issues before this are somewhat scarce; not so much the comics that have come out in the last thirty years. These are (for the most part) easy to come by and not in great demand.

I'll admit that some shops have fostered this problem themselves by encouraging customers to think of comics as investments (being less than honest in order to generate sales). I always told my customers, buy your comics because you think you'll enjoy reading them. Then, if by some chance it turns out they're worth something, that's simply a bonus.

[Joe Acro]

I would NOT post signs saying "NO returns, for ANY reason"No custemer...
Hopefully, you'd also not have a "Card use with $15 purchase" or something similar.

It's illegal and mildly discouraging, yet I encounter it frequently.

[MDG]

...Specifically, people need to understand that most shops do not want or need your modern day back issues and certainly cannot pay you back what you paid for them...
There's a problem that goes deeper than this, I think, and it's the notion that many people still have that comics are an "investment." They are not. At least post-1970 comics aren't. Issues before this are somewhat scarce; not so much the comics that have come out in the last thirty years. These are (for the most part) easy to come by and not in great demand.

I agree, although I'd change it to post-1980. During the 80s, there seemed to be a belief in the air that any comic--at least from the big two--would appreciate. But by the mid 90s, I'd see shop owners set up at conventions with long boxes of recent back issues at a quarter a book (even a dime a book).

(My friend who closed his store three or more years ago still has boxes of books in storage)

MDG

[Red Oak Kid]

(My friend who closed his store three or more years ago still has boxes of books in storage)

MDG

I have found this to be true of most comic book shops. What you see in the store is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to recent comics and comics from the 90s.

Personally I don't see how anyone can make a living running a comic book shop.

[benday-dot]

I have found this to be true of most comic book shops. What you see in the store is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to recent comics and comics from the 90s.

Personally I don't see how anyone can make a living running a comic book shop.

The main comic shop in my smallish town (there are three... the others of which are mediocre, and just horrible) is doing very well. The owner and staff are very fan friendly... towards the old and new version alike. The back issue section is modest, but still quite excellent (and really you can't compete with ebay there). His graphic novel selection is massive, and his volumes of books about comics is like a mini library... anything that comes out and is related to comics he will carry. Special orders are also welcomed. Great sales are a regular feature as well.

While the shop excels at marketing and promotion, above all it is very community oriented and believes in spreading to the wider public the gospel of the comic book. The shop remains a hub of the alternative/independent art scene as well as the nerd scene in general in all its wonderful facets. What can I say... I love hanging out there.

[Sir Tim Drake]

Hopefully, you'd also not have a "Card use with $15 purchase" or something similar.

It's illegal and mildly discouraging, yet I encounter it frequently.

I'm confused as to what this refers to. Do you mean signs that say you can only use a credit card if you're spending some minimum amount? If so, why are those illegal?

[namor]

I have found this to be true of most comic book shops. What you see in the store is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to recent comics and comics from the 90s.

Personally I don't see how anyone can make a living running a comic book shop.

You don't....
I co-owned a comic shop in the late 80's and 90's.The comic side lost money
or broke even,..the othe half was sports cards and collectibles..it did a little
better.Sadly..,Poke-man cards and crap like that were the biggest sellers.
After the bottom fell out in the late 90's ,I closed shop.I made money by claiming all the loses on taxes,offsetting my earnings from my regular job..(i'm a engineer).
The Visa/Mastercard machine charge will eat you alive on purchases under
$5.00.I ate most of those charges,so I wouldn't have to pass it along to my
customers.(A good tax man can help recoup those losses).I love comics,after
dealing with the business side,I was bitter at the direction of comics and didn't
even look at any for almost a decade.Just here lately,(Civil War and WWHulk)
peeked my interest to start buying again.
My personal Marvel collection is something i'm proud of.,.have been collecting
since 1970.Because of the store,i have been able to add alot of missing rare
silver age stuff.I'm only missing in mint the real rare stuff from Marvel and Timely/
Atlas.When people would bring in their collections to sell,i always went over what key issuses they had and what I could pay for it.If it was to go in my personal collection,i would pay a little more,if it went to the store a little less...it was just
inventory at that point to be sold.Key rare back issuse are hard to sell in a comic
shop.E-bay ,auctions or conventions are you're best bet.
I've made alot of money selling and buying old comics...just never at the shop.
Through the shop I met alot of good people and great kids.I also met alot
of scumbags and punks,too.Maybe I loved comics to much and was a bad business man when it came comics.I just couldn't take advantage of kids or people when it came to comics even if it cost me money.
On a side note...I worry about the future of comics.I don't see many new
young readers coming on board...plus $3.99 a comic!!!

[Captain Jim]

I'm confused as to what this refers to. Do you mean signs that say you can only use a credit card if you're spending some minimum amount? If so, why are those illegal?

Yes, that's what he means. And it's illegal because ... because it's against the law. (I dunno, it just is.)

[InfoBroker]

Yes, that's what he means. And it's illegal because ... because it's against the law. (I dunno, it just is.)

Because the credit card industry had a massively powerful lobby. And while its legal in some states, and harking back to an old 1980s law that allows for cash discounts, it remains illegal for merchants to apply a surcharge for customers who use credit cards. Which is rather silly, since a discount versus a surcharge still gives or takes money depending on which side of the transaction you are on.

Not that discount nor surcharge matter too much, since the credit card company can include rules-of-use that prevent merchants from offering discounts for cash.

Given that the credit card companies have a gold mine making money every time a transaction is processed, I have pretty much moved to a pay with cash model for all transaction under $50, and sometimes more depending on the nature of the transaction. Take them out of the equation please...

-jb the "on a soap box" ib -

[MichikoS]

Quite a rant from Dr. J, (brother, take a deep breath) but he does hit on some salient issues, mostly about customer service.

A comic store is subject to the same (theoretical) market forces affecting any other retailer. Bad service/Time = fewer sales x fewer customer = FAIL. That's the formula, and no normal retailer is exempt. Good stores survive, bad ones fail.

Sure, I have experienced a "f*ck you" attitude at some comic stores, but rarely. The few times I've overheard confrontations or witnessed problems, the customer has had totally unrealistic expectations, or, the retailer failed to explain the issue in a way that was honest and understandable. Returns is occasionally an issue I hear arguments over, because some customers don't understand that the second his comic is rung up, it's used, and it moves into a different category of merchandise as the new comics on the rack. Used comics have zero relationship to their cover price. They can be worth nothing, or worth $1,000 the second after they are rung up. Long time collectors understand this, but casual customers don't.

This principle has to be explained carefully, else you get the scenario referenced by Dr. J. of a customer "...bringing in a pile that cost him 500 bucks cover price,and offering him a crummy 25 or so bucks,when they are mostly still in near mint."

There is no relationship between what is paid for a comic and what it is worth. None. And this point has to be made crystal clear to customers who are wanting to resell their pile of mid-90s WEB OF SPIDER-MAN comics for cover price or more.

Though an avid collector for decades, and never a comic store owner, I have increasing sympathy for the retailer these days. It's damn tough to make money selling comics, and it's a brutal business. I admire those folks who can remain civil after so many years of dealing with an often uncomprehending and unappreciative public (like me).

Michi

[Alex Dragon]

I didn't read all of the first post but it basically sounds like the poster had/has an unrealistic veiw on the value of back issues as they pretain to most comicshops. I owned a comic shop for awhile and one of the most annoying aspects to deal with was talking to and dealing with people with old comics they wanted to sell. This was during the tail end of the big speculator boom and although the boom was over and the ballon had burst it seems not everyone was aware of it.

Wizard magazine had convinced many people that all comics were worth money and the old stuff no matter what it was was worth even more. A good portion of my days back then was spent trying to explain to people why I couldn't pay them the prices Wizard said their books were worth or why in most cases I didn't want what they had to offer even if they gave it to me for free.

The very last place to try and sell comics is at a comicbook shop. When you bring a middleman into the equasion you're going to walk away with less. Always try and sell directly to a buyer. The comicshop isn't buying a comic because they want to own it, they buy a comic to sell it to someone else and make a profit. They can't make a profit if they pay top dollar for a book because if they pay top dollar for it they'll have to charge more than WIZARD (or whoever) says it's worth and no one wants to pay more that they preceive something to be. If I pay the seller the 25 bucks WIZARD says it's worth I'll have to sell it for at least $30 to make it worth my wild. But if Wizard says it's only worth $25, I look like a rip off artist trying to get more than 25 bucks out of it. Also factor it that if WIZARD says it's worth $25, a person buying it doesn't really want to pay that much for it either. That brings in another annoying aspect of buyers haggling over back issue prices. Not fun in the least.

I say we're all very lucky that all that nonsense has pretty much gone away. The back issue bins should be filled with cheap bargains and should be almost non existent in most comic shops. I even think the wall of "collectable" books most shops have is cheezy. 100 and 200 dollar books in plastic almost no one will ever pay that much for on a wall is a complete waste of time other than to say "Look at these old marked up price comics we have here that no one is ever going to buy...".

[schwamp]

Quite a rant from Dr. J, (brother, take a deep breath) but he does hit on some salient issues, mostly about customer service.


Sure, I have experienced a "f*ck you" attitude at some comic stores, but rarely.



The most recent store I used to go to lost me as a customer for this reason. The guy who owns it is solid gold, but he has a miserable bitch for a wife that was unbearable. Just saying hello could be awkward and uncomfortable. I eventually just decided to go to a show on a regular basis where I could get a much better discount. I actually preferred to give my business to the local shop, but I could not justify the grief I'd get there.
The best shop I ever went to was a place called IM Comics in San Dimas, CA. The owner had tons of stock (probably what put him under, too much wrapped up in inventory), and was one of the nicest guys I ever met. I wish I could have given him more business, because that is the kind of shop I will always go to.

[Grapeweasel]

When I worked in retail, I hated the customers.

If I actually owned the business I'd probably hate them 1000000000000 times more.

[Drusilla lives!]

If I owned a comic shop???... I'd probably shoot myself. :)

[Radical]

I have found this to be true of most comic book shops. What you see in the store is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to recent comics and comics from the 90s.

Personally I don't see how anyone can make a living running a comic book shop.

I know where you're coming from, man. Mine closed just last week. :frown: