Blasphemy. Their time just hasn’t come yet…. 
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Oh there are books I ask why I bought to begin with
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After going to a local convention today, I have a bit of a PSA I’d like to share, not directed at anyone in particular. Just some Dos and Donts that I think make the experience more enjoyable for everyone.
Do have ALL your comics priced. It’s fine if you have them sorted into $1, $3, or $5, etc… But have some system where you know what you priced your book (like a color coding by a little sticker). Don’t put it on your customer to keep track of which box they pulled a book from if that’s your system.
As an Example, One vendor had a whole assortment of different price tiers by box…$5, $10…no system of how to tell the difference…many had “old” price tags on them up to $25…and then they had other “price as marked” boxes…and then they had boxes on the floor right beneath the $5 books I thought were just a continuation…but those they “had t gone through yet…”. So why did you bother bringing 20 long boxes of comics you haven’t gone through and put them out?
Dont be that vendor. I don’t want to have to waste my time explaining which book came from which box. Don’t put that burden on me.
Do put your books in alphabetical order. Even $1 bin books. If that’s a lot, at least organize them by first letter in title…so if someone like me has specific books in mind they can make more efficient work of searching. Otherwise I’m just taking up space in an area that I don’t need to be in…and possible blocking access to other potential customers unnecessarily. Help us help you get more customers in a finite amount of time.
Do offer a deal if someone is buying X amount of books.. The X can vary, obviously 1 or 2 $5 books you probably don’t need to…but if someone grabs 10+ books maybe show a little appreciation and incentivize them to return by discounting 10% or something.
Another example…I thought I had grabbed 11 x $5 books…thought of saying “I’ll take these for $50”…but before I could say anything he takes the books, counts them and he quotes me $60…turns out I grabbed 12 books (I think two got stuck together)…I said I was expecting $55, I thought I had 11 books…but instead of saying “I’ll take $55” and making the sale, he counts them out for me to basically make the point $60 or walk. He wasn’t rude about it…but it kinda put me off. I had about 10 other books I was considering coming back for…but did not after that experience .
Just sayin! Still had a good time. Will post my findings in another thread.
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I cannot stand un-alphabetized boxes. I get it when it’s a busy show, and people naturally put a few books back out of order - I mean when it’s apparent no alphabetizing has been done in a long time, or ever.
One time, a seller told me they mixed everything up on purpose so people would look at ALL of their books. I didn’t bother to tell them it had the opposite effect… I let them figure it out when I bailed after a couple boxes.
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I’ve yet to come across an alphabetized dollar bin, I think that’s asking too much. Me personally I don’t know what I’m looking for until I find it in a dollar bin so organization doesn’t mean much to me since I’m looking through every single box anyway.
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My LCS has one. Is it 100% perfect? No. But maybe 95%. It’s not that hard to do. Make 26 piles and go.
Let’s say it takes 5 seconds to look at a books title and put it in a pile. Thats 1.5 hrs for 1000 books. Once it’s set up it’s good enough.
But I understand many shop owners are too lazy to even grade books….they’d much rather you do their work for them…they’re just soooo busy sitting behind a counter for 8 hrs…
I feel I have way more luck in chaotic dollar boxes. Alphabetical boxes are great if you are looking for one specific book, but that’s rarely how I’m digging.
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I like organized and chaotic. I think chaotic they have no idea what is in them and you can find steals. I hit some dollar bins the other night and found a ton of Atlas Comics in there for a buck. Some lower grade golden age and all sorts of stuff. Was fun picking.
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