Comic Book d'Oh!s and Don'ts

[DebkoX]

I used to buy reprints for like 3-4 months before I realised.

[MRP]

Looking forever for a particular issue to fill in a run and finally finding it only it is overpriced or overgraded, but buying it anyways because you want to finish the run or are tired of looking for that issue, only to inevitably find multiple copies of it later (usually at the next con or store you go to) for a better price or in better shape.

Finding the one book you are looking for at a con moments after you spent the last of your cash/budget on other books you decided to get because you weren't finding what your priority wants were for most of the day.

Buying an issue from a dealer who won't let you look at it out of the bag only to find someone has clipped the Marvel Value Stamp, clipped a coupon, or in the case of some late Bronze DC's I got removed all the ad pages leaving only story pages still bound in, and then being told by the dealer it was intact when it left his store and I must have damaged the books and was trying to swindle him by getting my money back.

Taking the time to update your want list and print out a new copy, then grabbing the old list on your way out the door to the con and using it to guide your purchases, thinking it is updated and rebuying several books you had already purchased and taken off the updated list.

Carrying a longbox of comics only to have either a) the handle tear and the box drop or b) the bottom give out on the long box spilling comics all over the place and bending/folding them.

Forgetting to clean your hands before reading an issue and then realizing you left smudged fingerprints all over the front cover of the book while reading it (happens to new books more such as what happened to my copy of Manhattan Projects #1 which now has fingerprint swirls in the red of the front cover-no doubt its my copy now it can be id'd by the prints ;) )

-M

[ShQQta]

More than once I have received a back issue purchase in the post only to discover it has a price sticker on the cover that the seller had neglected to mention in the description. More than once I have tried to peel off a vintage sticker... and torn a huge chunk from the cover. Guess I'm a slow learner.

[zryson]

ShQQta - noticed you are new so wanted to say welcome! and yeah the thing about stickers, many of us can relate. I think it appeals to our curious and daring sides. Sort of like "i bet i can remove this sticker without it ripping" but the problem is that the adhesive on the bottom side of the sticker can vary and sometimes the stickers instead of peeling off in one complete sticker they dis-integrate into tiny bits and come apart and leave sticky residue no matter how careful you are.

[icctrombone]

Looking forever for a particular issue to fill in a run and finally finding it only it is overpriced or overgraded, but buying it anyways because you want to finish the run or are tired of looking for that issue, only to inevitably find multiple copies of it later (usually at the next con or store you go to) for a better price or in better shape.

Finding the one book you are looking for at a con moments after you spent the last of your cash/budget on other books you decided to get because you weren't finding what your priority wants were for most of the day.

Buying an issue from a dealer who won't let you look at it out of the bag only to find someone has clipped the Marvel Value Stamp, clipped a coupon, or in the case of some late Bronze DC's I got removed all the ad pages leaving only story pages still bound in, and then being told by the dealer it was intact when it left his store and I must have damaged the books and was trying to swindle him by getting my money back.

Taking the time to update your want list and print out a new copy, then grabbing the old list on your way out the door to the con and using it to guide your purchases, thinking it is updated and rebuying several books you had already purchased and taken off the updated list.

Carrying a longbox of comics only to have either a) the handle tear and the box drop or b) the bottom give out on the long box spilling comics all over the place and bending/folding them.

Forgetting to clean your hands before reading an issue and then realizing you left smudged fingerprints all over the front cover of the book while reading it (happens to new books more such as what happened to my copy of Manhattan Projects #1 which now has fingerprint swirls in the red of the front cover-no doubt its my copy now it can be id'd by the prints ;) )

-M

You're the king of horror stories...

[dan bailey]

my copy of Manhattan Projects #1 which now has fingerprint swirls in the red of the front cover-no doubt its my copy now it can be id'd by the prints ;) )

Note to self: When MRP kills me, contrive to somehow ensure that he leaves his Manhattan Projects #1 at the scene.

[Shellhead]

Back when comics tended to have exciting covers, I never accidentally bought the same issue twice. But it has happened to me several times in the last ten years, because modern covers tend to be more about the boring poses than the dynamic action.