Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities What's A Collector To DO???

Feeling caught between the devil and the Deep Blue... Where do folks go for their back issues?? I usually use Mile High during one of their 60% off sales, using Lone Star's listings for price comparison, but it seems Chuck's pricing is even more bananas than ever... and he rarely has what I'm looking for-- 70's-80's X-Men issues to upgrade my collection-- in stock. Lone Star, on the other hand, does have a lot of my wants, but by way of their consignment program... which are usually slabbed, graded copies; not something I necessarily want to start buying. And the owner, Buddy, is a raging Reich Winger who I don't feel comfortable giving my business-- The same reason I'll never eat at Chick-Fil-A.

There's eBay, I guess, but that has its own hassles... The biggest being the self-graders who think their books are in better shape than they really are.

What do YOU do...?

'Tis a dilemma to be sure to be sure.

FWIW I've avoided Mile High and Lone Star like the plague for years. I find them unbelievably, extraordinarily over-priced in comparison to most other retailers. Even their sales just bring them down to in line with other stores. Maybe I'm just not looking at the right times?

It's a boring answer but I get most of my back-issues through eBay. Yes, quality control is an issue but I try to stick to sellers who have a good reputation and, most importantly, provide PLENTY of photos. (A stock image is an automatic no from me.) That way, I usually only have myself to blame for any defects that slip through.

I can't remember where you live (Australia?) but conventions are another option if there are any near you. I'm lucky enough to have moved to a city/state that has a big convention circuit so I sometimes find some goodies there.

Finally, make it a habit to check out second-hand book stores regularly. It's a lot of sifting through dirt but the occasional gold nugget can be found.

Thanks for the feedback, Blacula. I should've mentioned from the outset that I have mobility issues... Hence my reliance on online shopping for both my new and old comics. I miss back issue deep-diving at my local comic shops here in Connecticut (US)... I remember the joy of coming across the first twenty issues of INVINCIBLE (except #12... the last one I need, and try finding THAT for a reasonable rate on either site, even on sale). We do have a nice local convention situated at the Mohegan Sun casino, Mitch Hallock's Terrificon; I was too busy getting stuff autographed that day to try shopping, but I'd love to go again once things return to a semblance of normalcy post COVID vaccinations.

You might try emailing some of the bigger bricks & mortar comic shops. I got something direct from Midtown in NYC a few years ago, a lot of these shops are doing more mail order with the Covid restrictions.

I've looked at abebooks.com, but they tend to be pricey, especially with shipping costs. Some dealers ship for free to U.S. locations, however. I've used Lone Star when I really wanted something and just paid the price, didn't know about the owner's politics.

In the last year...

I've generally just switched to digital. I was always about the reading than the collecting (although I've not parted with many down the years)
I've picked up a few things on e-bay, when the price has been right. But I've not bought much that way.
When I could get to a shop, between lockdowns, I've bought things there. But that's new comics and TPBs. There's not much around for proper back issues going back decades.
I've ordered a few TPBs from Amazon.

Looking ahead, I could probably see myself selling my paper based things. But it's a big project to do.

I'm wanting to get rid of most of my 2,400-book collection, some dating back to the 1960s. (Except for Legion, of course. I'm keeping all of them.) Most are in pretty good condition--read once or twice then boxed. My LCS is not accepting any, and I'd rather not take the trouble with eBay.

If there's a way to offer them to my friends here on Legion World I'd be interested. I searched for a topic about this and haven't found anything so far.

Mayavale's Multiversal Market!

Controller's Comicbook Cove!

just thinking out loud...

Pov, I'm glad you told the ugly truth about Lone Star's owner. That's been my go-to store for both new and old. But I have most of the old stuff that I've ever wanted (plus I'm running out of space) so I'm looking for a new online store to get new stuff from (just a few Marvels, like Eternals the upcoming X-Men Legends and this and that.)

LT, if you have mid-to-late 60s issues of Green Lantern and Flash, please PM me. (My Holy Grail consists of GL #49, #50, and especially #51, all of which I've read in my library's copies of Showcase GL Volume 3, but I'd love to own them now that it looks like the GL Silver Age trades have been discontinued, the last one ending with #48.)

I wish I could help you with that, Ann. I have no GLs and only 4 Flash books from the 2010s.

It's okay, LT. No hard feelings.

Yesterday, got this email from my CBS guy, and I'm still fuming bout it:

Hi Anthony,
I am reaching out today to let you know that I have placed your subscription status to INACTIVE and we have made returns. As of today, (09/10), we had product dating back to the first week of May on hold. As a small business I am unable to wait over 4 months to turn product over and stay viable. As a courtesy, I did make notes of the comics that have been returned to stock. If you are interested in pursuing any of these for your collection, I advise coming in as soon as possible.
- Greg

Here was my response:

Greg,

As one of your longest tenured customers, I'm disappointed to hear you've returned my items to stock without so much as a heads up. I would think you'd know after all this time that I'm good for everything in my bag, no matter how long between my visits. Yes, I apologize for losing track of time. I've meant to get there for several weeks, but with my store struggling with having enough help, I'm left exhausted and am often dead tired even on my days off. Plus, I've been in physical therapy for a shoulder injury since April. That said, money is not the issue, just time and energy.

If items have been returned to stock and sold, there's no point in me picking any of it up because I will be missing issues. If all or most are still retrievable, I will come next week, but only if it's all there or you let me know exactly which items are irretrievable. Otherwise, I guess this is the end of a beautiful friendship.

If the last is the case, I wish you all the best going forward. I'll cherish all my time with you and Soundwave and hold you no ill will. But I'll probably never return to the store in that case,

Thanks,
Anthony

Every word in my response is true. I've NEVER left him in the lurch and have been a loyal customer since right after he opened! I've noticed in the past couple of years that the accuracy and completeness in my pull bag has been lacking compared to what it had been. For example, I talked to him constantly about the Walking Dead: Here's Negan special before it came out, yet somehow it didn't make it into the bag. Recently, a very high profile/high demand series I like was missing an issue, and I had to pay $20 online to obtain it. I have to think he's probably pulling things from my bag and giving it to others to buy because I come in infrequently.

Anyhow, this email really HURT because I've supported him from the beginning and even resisted my urge to switch solely to trades because I cared about him and his shop. Plus, we had so many great talks about comics over the years. I spent hours talking to him at different times.

But I think this shows where I stand now. I know it's not ideal for him to hold on to my books for so long, but I've never let him down and would have come running if he gave me a heads up.I think no matter what, I'm done with him now. I guess it's telling that I didn't have a response waiting for me nearly a day later.

Ugh. Just what I needed with all the other shit I have to deal with!

OMG, Lardy, I am so sorry you're dealing with that!

Especially around these times, given that he obviously knows how to contact you, he didn't try to make arrangements otherwise? Or notice that you hadn't been around in a while? Hell I imagine he could have reached out and said, Hey, Anthony, your slot is stacking up and we havent' seen you in a bit, is everything OK? Can we ship this to you?

That's piss poor customer service. Actively so, in fact. So many options for him to contact you that were not taken.

Not gonna lie,I'm kinda pissed for you.

Uh-huh. Not only does he have my email address, he also has my phone number and we're Facebook fiends. It's inexcusable!

Oh man, I'm sorry Lardy. Yeah, and also it took 4 months before he messaged, that's another part that's not cool.

Gods, Lardy, that sucks. Passive-aggressiveness is no way to treat any customer, much less a loyal and friendly one. What an ass this guy turned out to be. Sorry to hear about all this.

That's a bit rubbish Lardy. Never nice to find out that you're basically just another customer.

If, as a small business, he's unable to wait 4 months to turnover product (fair enough), he should be sending emails out at the *2* month mark in a friendly way (even after the first month to tell you they're there), nicely asking for you to pop in. Then he has room to put something on that e-mail about putting them into stock or at worst, and since you're a loyal customer, send something out at the 3 months mark explaining it. He could even have something in place that *tells* you how long he'll keep them in your box, and push the customer to let him know of any delays. Perhaps even arrange remote payment/ shipping.

He's probably had a number of customers who come in infrequently, and some of those never come back at all. Having a clear system in place prevents it escalating.

With a bit of luck, he's taking the time to check which of your books are still available to get back to you. That should be the bit he picks up on, since he wants to sell the things, and keep a customer. Hopefully, you can then go in and pick them up. And the next time you're having a chat, you'll look into his eyes, knowing that you're just another guy he sells books to. It's a shame he didn't use any of the other channels to reach out to you though.


Comic Shop: I have put your pull box onto the shelves.
thoth: But did our time together mean nothing to you?!
Comic Shop: You are but a consumer to me.
thoth: But...but.. we have a child!
Comic Shop: Son of Ambush Bug is not an actual child. It is not even a spin off.
thoth: >sob<

The comic shops of my main buying period are long gone. But even then, behind the chat, I could see the pound signs in their eyes when I mentioned my interest in go-go checks on the covers, or Silver Age JLA or Titans issues. Friendly enough, but always with that underlying hint of a business transaction in the air.

He has had to put a system in place for these instances, and as I recall there is/was supposed to be some warning steps in the process. And besides that, through the years, he has specifically told me on several occasions that this was the policy he had to put out there , but "I'm not worried about you." Well, I can assure you that there were no such interim communications and that he apparently was worried about me.

I will stress again that I've been a customer since shortly after he opened in 2008!!!!


Well, 48 hours later, and still no reply. It ain't looking good.....

In this day and age, I just don't see how a comic shop can just write off a loyal customer.

Yeah. It looks like it. Had he followed his own guidelines, this wouldn't have happened. His e-mail would have been a lot less final, and considerate, for a start.



I can't think of too many I've frequented, where I was impressed by either their business acumen or their communication skills.

You do still have the option of reaching back out to ask how he got on with retrieving your issues. It allows him a final chance to retrieve a valued customer and sell his stuff (which should be his main consideration here, as he realises his losses.).

If that works, you can ask to get put on the same reminder e-mails as everyone else gets.

If nothing works, then this whole episode will teach you to be nice and to form relationships with people. I expect The Rise of Dark Paladin by the end of the year.

:RAGE: So sorry, Lardy! That's terrible business sense on your LCS' part... The main reason I switched to mail order over my shop lo, those many moons ago, was getting sick of missing comics that were on my pull list-- usually because the owner just didn't order enough??? As a longstanding customer who's given them years of business, the guy really did you dirty.

Another concern for collectors, I bet, is storage boxes.

Over the last couple years, I've been making the occasional stop at my former comics shop and buying magazine boxes. These are for a specific collection, which allows me to put all kinds of sizes together-- regular comics, magazines, graphic novels, oversized Italian magazines... I'm also getting boxes to organize my older books and magazines. It's a slow process, but some of these things have been sitting around in stacks for 20 or more years not filed properly.

Meanwhile, yesterday, I went looking for 45 rpm record boxes. It looks like the same outfit that may supply my comics store ALSO sells these direct, and for lots cheaper.

However, I ran into MULTIPLE unexpected problems, one after another after another. First of all, their website, the "SHOPPING CART" feature did not come up in Firefox, forcing me to switch over to Google Chrome in mid-ordering. Second, they ONLY use UPS. And UPS is notorious for not delivering to USPS P.O. Boxes, which I've been forced to use due to A**H***s tampering with my mail on my street. I started putting in my home care client's address, which I've used before, when I noticed another glitch. They had separate addresses for "delivery" and "billing". BUT-- if you changed one, the other changed to match it. WHY have 2 addresses listed when the site prevents you from using 2 separate addreses?

And then it came to billing. I probably could have used Paypal (it was an option), but when presented as an option, I prefer to put in my ATM card. At the bottom, I saw something I never saw before in any of the COUNTLESS mail-orders I've done-- they wanted the "postage code". I typed it in. When I hit "submit order", it was REJECTED because of the postage code. I changed it from the delivery code to MY home address code, and it was rejected AGAIN. They listed a phone number, but they have very limited hours, only during the week, making it impossible for me to get a quick answer.

If it had been ONE problem or another, I might have persevered. But ALL this, one on top of another, and I threw my hands up, deciding, "These people DO NOT WANT my business." So I went to Ebay and found the same item for MORE money, orded a box, and it'll be at my PO box by Thursday.



Some people forget that it matters to MAKE IT EASY for your customers to buy things from you.

That's why I stopped using the Rakuten site in France. EVERY order I ever did with them became a different hassle.

For a lot of years, I used to go to my comics shop on Fridays (payday) and pick up new books. At some point I noticed more and more books were selling out before I got there. So I had to switch to Wednesdays, when the books arrived. Some of the issues I'd missed to this day I never got as back issues.

The store manager (in Oaklyn), in the mid-90s, because of a dispute with the store owner (over in Philly) quit his job and did the insane thing of opening his own store (in Glendora, 3 times as far for me to drive). I stayed in Oaklyn for about a year, until they switched managers again, and the 2nd replacement guy was such a SLEAZY DIRTBAG, that all I ever wanted was to grab my books as fast as possible and GET THE HELL out of the place, week after week.

Eventually, I bit the bullet, and switched to the Glendora store. He told me he was barely squeaking by month after month, and the ONLY way he could continue to do so, was to make sure every one of his customers ordered in advance thru the Diamond catalog. I started doing so, and soon realized, due to ongoing and increasing CHAOS on his part regarding my orders, the ONLY way to do it, was to type up a list on my computer, and E-MAIL it to him once a month. That way, we both had a written record of EXACTLY which books I ordered. If I missed one, it was my fault. But books I DID order CONTINUED to get missed, and somehow, to listen to him, it was ALWAYS my fault.

I struggled thru until about 15 years ago, when money got SO tight, I had to stop buying new comics. Unfortunately, there were some books I'd ordered in advance when this happened. He e-mailed me about them, and the way he talked, he acted as if I was PERSONALLY TRYING TO DRIVE HIM OUT OF BUSINESS. I mean, damn. I was almost evicted from my house a few years later. Things are horrible all over.

A few years ago, I notice his store was no longer there. I wasn't sure what happened, but by accident, some time later, I found he'd moved to a new location in Audobon (HALF the distance Glendora was). But after putting up with his NEUROTIC behavior since the early 1980s, I haven't been in to say hi.

Totally understandable, you already stuck with him for such a long time. Bad enough he got the orders wrong, even worse that he was blaming you for it

I don't want to name names (I could, but I won't)... but, just for reference (going back to this game I've played since childhood)...

Ever watch NORTHERN EXPOSURE ? "Dr. Joel Fleischmann" (Rob Morrow) reminded me of my former neurotic comics-shop manager. It was spooky. If you heard him talk, you'd almost swear it was the same guy.




And, come to think of it, BOTH guys quit a steady job for less-stable pastures.

I'd go into comics shops fairly frequently, probably weekly. As I never missed an issue of the rack, I had no idea about it being a Wednesday. It was years after I stopped getting an advance order that I saw something online. I always used to buy 2000AD on a Friday in my home town, so that was comics day.

Of late, like Prof, if I go in on the Friday, then there's every chance it's gone. Actually, I'm sure I went in on the Wednesday afternoon and there were no issues on the rack, after they had filled their pre orders. If I'm that desperate for it then I just pick it up online. But I can't think of my last "must read" book. So I'm happy enough to wait for the online sales.

I went in last week for a graphic novel (online told me was released), one regular book and one limited series. I came out with the limited series one, and that's for my dad. A year back, the shop has asked if I'd like to take out an advance order (a few decades ago, they didn't lower themselves to such things). They had a minimum of 5 books. Which is fine, and I had five books that day. But of the ones I had, three were limited, one was Legion and one I was just trying out. I'm no longer reading 5 regular titles.

I do like the physical shopping for the books. But the easiest advance order I had was from a neighbouring country, all done through the diamond catalogue. I can't recall any errors, although it was a worry I'd tick the wrong tiny box. They had a *lot* of customers, so I imagine their accuracy was on a different level from a local shop (at least an extra couple of people in the back room.)

I was a kid when I'd get spoiled by my dad in the comics shops. I didn't really have a lot to offer in conversation to the owners who were all older than my dad. But you'd get to see how they operated, their selling techniques (such as they were), and how they treated people. I did meet a couple of them in pubs in later years, after they'd retired. That's much more the place to have a chat on an even footing. If I'm in a shop, then it's their business. At any moment, they could try and sell my a '60s Metamorpho issue. Any moment. So you have to have our guard up.

I had an advance order with people who took over from one of them. I had that for a few years. I was reading more indy comics at the time, so there were a few occasions where getting the books would be a little more difficult. As much the publisher/ distributor as the shop. But you could tell things would be some much easier for them, if I'd just pick the X-titles.

It was just like being in any other shop. But dimmer, and with huffier customer service. They weren't really interested in engaging with customers. A few years before, when they were working under the last guy, I'd seen them ignore customers to carry on their own chats, or be less than helpful if it meant putting some effort into it. They got a little better, but not enough for me to be bothered with them.

I can't recall why I stopped. It might have been that I was trying out a lot of different titles, so getting stuck with them on advance order wasn't something I was keen on. That was a disappointment with the diamond advance ordering. I got stuck with Robinson's Justice League run, and still begrudge every penny of it. One plus of the diamond system was getting a preview of all the other goodies, like T-Shirts and other bits and pieces. Whatever the reason, it was no great loss. I voted with my wallet in the end. Had they made any effort to be more engaging, then it might have worked out differently. If only Marvel had launched Customer Service Man, a few more owners would still have loyal customers.

I remember how, at the Oaklyn store, they had books separated by 1-Marvels, 2-DCs, 3 -everything else.

I used to go to the back, and browse, and often pick up oddball stuff I'd never seen, flip thru it, and if it looked interesting, try it out.

Tough to do that when you're using the Diamond catalog. Although I stil tried to find different and interesting stuff.

When the original manager left, the new guys switched to the method used by the Philly stores (it was a small local chain, about 5 stores I think owned by one guy). EVERYTHING was alphabetical.

I also recall, during a brief moment when I tried going back to Oaklyn, their advance ordering was an already-written list which you'd check off what you wanted and submit it. It you wanted to make a change, you'd have to do it again. I couldn't deal with that, after YEARS of MAILING IN a exact typed list following browsing thru that month's PREVIEWS.

I narrowed down the monthly PREVIEWS routine to 45 minutes. Can you imagine? I'd thumb thru the ENTIRE book as fast as possible, figuring, if I missed anything, well, I'm trying to cut down on expenses anyway.

One thing it took me years to figure out. Comics were okay, but the OTHER STUFF in the back... most of it was WAY over-priced. Once I began doing a lot of online mail-orders, I got really good at finding best prices and bargains, and apart from advance orders on comics, anything else in the back half of PREVIEWS could almost certainly eb found much cheaper from other sources.

I wonder how much money I wasted on MASTERWORKS, ARCHIVES and the like, getting thru purely thru the PREVIEWS catalog?