To get us off this economic digression (which is interesting but not this topic’s focus)…
All the local shops I frequent do not mark-up comics on the day of release unless they are ratio variants or such–which makes perfect sense.
I’ve talked about one local shop I used to go to until I got sick of the hot new books always weirdly being shorted or arriving damaged…and then a couple of weeks later some copies would be for sale at a big ol’ premium.
I’ve seen more people on Reddit talking about some hot new books being marked-up by comic stores on the day of release, which just seems scuzzy to me. One person wrote how a shop they like was charging $7 per copy of, “Solid Blood,” the day that thing came out. I think it is a hell of a slippery slope when stores start charging more for a new comic the day it hits the stands.
There’s a few things a person can do if a shop is marking up books on day of release. Make it known to the staff and owner that you’ll be taking your business elsewhere is pretty standard. Though it maybe difficult if it’s your only LCS. The second option is to raid their back issues for books they missed and sell for a profit. I prefer this second option as it makes me feel warm and tingly inside.
I told the staff it was uncool since three copies of the book were on the shelf with the rest of that week’s new books. Told her I was going to yelp the shop. She did not care and even laughed at me. I ve been collecting for more than forty years. I never experienced anything like this. Still in shock.
Ooof, sounds like time to find a new shop. I read their FAQ… they sound suuuuper pretentious. Like Empire Records or Brodie Bruce from Mall Rats pretentious about comics.
Yeah, I have one local shop like this. The owner had ‘hooked me up’ a few times (book no where to be found but when I ask for it he pulls up a stack that’s hidden behind the counter), but his practices are just trash/tasteless and consistently so. He lies to customers and has even lied to me at times and I just got tired of it. Won’t identify the shop (yet) but suffice it to say I don’t shop there anymore.
@mushu, the LCS and practices you describe are just disgusting, but I gotta be honest - I’m not surprised one bit - this ‘game’ is full of slimy people with slimy practices. Glad this isn’t my only hobby, lol.
I have a pull list at 2 different shops. Usually doesn’t take many issues to meet the requirements and owners treat you more like a club member than a guest if you have a pull list. If an owner runs off spec people a pull list may be a good idea as the shop probably has less spec customers so more spec opportunities for those with a pull.
That’s backwards though if you ask me when shops try to deter the speculator crowds. If you run a business and particularly a business run on selling inventory, the whole point is to move your inventory. Speculators are still customers that put money in your business pockets. Why these shops care what happens to the book after it leaves their stores is beyond me… If my business is buying goods that come in fresh weekly, my whole goal is to sell all those goods before next weeks goods show up… That means I’m running my business at 100% efficiency and not sitting on goods sitting on the shelves, collecting dust.
Some people just have a hard time with the thought they’re “losing” money. Even though you’re right and they’re making sales and reducing inventory (both what the aim should be), there’s a psychological aspect where they think they missed out on opportunity. “I sold this for $4, and now he’s selling it for $20? I could have sold it for at LEAST $10…”
And that’s when I say you need to rethink your rewire your brain a bit. Imagine if Foot Locker thought like this… "Well, last time we released new Jordan’s for $150 people were buying them and selling them for $400. So we’re gonna sell them for $400 now… " Imagine how many customers they lose in that process.
I’ve had a pull list with my LCS for a few years now. I’m not a flipper and I usually don’t buy more than one copy unless it’s something I’m really into. I’ll go online and order several copies instead. I’m getting screwed on hot books that are preorders. It all started last year with the influx of new collectors. They have people that spend more than me, so they get treated better. I used to spend a ton and I refused to take books from other people’s pulls. I don’t care if a shop pulls hot books and marks them up as long as I get what I preorder. They also get new books graded which is another reason why I dropped them. I get a 9.4 and the shop keeps the 9.8 to get graded. It already happened to me with a book.
Makes you wish shops would just treat every customer (if they’re a regular or not) as equal regardless if they truly are someone who’s just there to buy a book to flip, etc. Most speculators are also collectors, readers, etc. All this prejudgment just because you’re “new” to a shop is just uncalled for. Shame on shop owners who treat some customers better than others. Everyone should be treated equally.
This isn’t so much and unethical story as it’s just I was annoyed.
Visited a shop out of town. They had tons of long boxes nice and organized (No current books though) slabs on the wall…but I noticed a few things were off.
For one, there was signs saying not to handle any of the wall books without asking for assistance. Even the slabs. Ok. Maybe it’s a carry over from Covid or something. There really wasn’t anything on the wall I was interested in.
But when I turned to the long boxes I quickly noticed none had prices, or grades assigned…and based on the signs likely didn’t want me taking them out of the bag…So i ask what their pricing system is…says if I’m interested in a book he’ll give me a price.
Ok…that ended my searching through the boxes. I didn’t have time to search through long boxes just to have someone price out what it’s going for online and tell me a price…and likely based on looking at the cover of the comic through the bag…I really didn’t have time if they wanted to take it out and give me an honest grade either.
What I I really wanted to do was walk out, but they had a rack of loose books that I saw a few that I was interested in.
So I asked about those…says they are cover price. Great. Picked out three, $4ea. Walked up and asked to check out.
Looks over what I had (3 books)…says I picked out some nice books (was I supposed to pick out bad books?)…holds one up and says with what sounds like some annoyance in his voice “Well, this book is Worth a lot more than cover…”
I didn’t say anything…I just stare. Wondering where he was going with this…he said these were cover…why even say that to a new customer?
Long story short…I paid cover for the books, but never going back there.
