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Post by hondobrode on Oct 7, 2014 21:27:47 GMT -5
I'd never heard of a swamp cooler until my brother was working at American Home Shield, the biggest home warranty company in the country, and told me about them.
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Post by Rob Allen on Oct 8, 2014 11:52:46 GMT -5
Our house's air conditioner died, and we got thru the summer without it. There were some nights when it didn't cool down until really late, and a small swamp cooler in the bedroom would have made things more comfortable.
They're officially called "evaporative coolers" but "swamp cooler" is just a better name.
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,201 
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Post by Confessor on Oct 8, 2014 15:41:09 GMT -5
So, I finally ditched my LCS last month. It had been a long time coming, to be honest. A combination of a shrinking pull list, my own dwindling interest in modern comics, the 'higher than online' prices, and a change in shop management -- which meant the old gang that I used to enjoy chatting to has vanished -- all combined to make me turn my back on the shop. I tried to support them for as long as I could, because I'm a passionate supporter of local businesses over the huge multinationals generally. But, ultimately I just didn't click with the new manager on a personal level and there didn't seem to be anybody in the shop I wanted to chat with. If I'm not getting a good "shop experience", there is no other reason for me to spend my hard earned pounds there, as far as I'm concerned. Instead, I've set up an online pull list with a company that I've bought a lot of comics from on eBay called A-Place-In-Space. I've always been impressed with their fast shipping, competitive prices, and the extra care they take in presenting the comics for delivery - they're already bagged & boarded and wrapped in a sealed brown paper bag, before being put in a sturdy cardboard mailer. That little extra in the packaging is a nice touch that endears me to them as a company. Anyway, I received my first monthly stash of 3 issues today, which is a little late really, considering I paid for them a week and a half ago. Happy to have them, but hope the delay between me paying and getting my books is just an unfortunate fluke this month. Like I say, their shipping is normally very quick. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2014 16:27:51 GMT -5
Living in the sweltering desert, central air conditioning has been a part of my life as far back as I can remember. I've had little contact with window units, and I've only seen two swamp coolers in real life. One of them is hooked up to my garage now. I hate it. I'd trade it for a window unit AC on the spot. They're probably much nicer in areas where they don't have to be the size of my car and run on nothing but full blast to have any sort of measurable effect on the temperature. I have to sweep the garage before turning this thing on because it's like a tornado in there if anything lighter than a brick is out.
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Post by Rob Allen on Oct 8, 2014 18:24:19 GMT -5
No desert here, we just needed something to bring the temperature down from 80 to 70 or so. The coolers use 1/3 the electricity and don't require a dedicated circuit.
I've never had a pull list at an LCS. The closest I come to a regular relationship with a shop is the one in Beaverton where I go for Free Comic Book Day and the Halloween Comicfest (which is coming later this month!).
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2015 12:46:04 GMT -5
My "LCS" (actually sells DVDs, music, books, games and comics) is kinda awful, and I'm thinking I'm done. The only positive is that they're close. The "new release" shelf is a disaster area. They keep books out there for six months,so titles are all mixed up becuase of lack of space so unless you know which issue is the new one there is no way to tell, and books are in terrible condition from them just craming new issues on top of old stuff. Nobody knows anything about comics or cares.
This week my pull is Batgirl, JLU, Cap Marvel, Deathlok, Silver Surfer and Thanos v Hulk. I ask for my books and the guy ducks down behind the counter and shuffles around for awhile. Turns out they no longer sort pulls. They just get the books from all the pulls and stack them under the counter among piles of other crap. He comes up with two books, Rasputin and Deathlok from last month (both of which I already have). Turns out nobody did this weeks pulls at all. Luckily I got there before the stuff I read was gone, but I'm not sure how much longer I can deal with it.
I LOVE comic shops and like getting books weekly, but the closest shop is 70 miles. So, I think I'm back to online. I'm not crazy about it, but it's that or drive 140 miles once or twice a month (assuming they don't require weekly pick up) for like a dozen books.
/venting
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Post by DE Sinclair on Jan 14, 2015 12:52:17 GMT -5
Wow, that's crappy service. I don't blame you for considering going back to online.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2015 13:15:03 GMT -5
Also had to buy another short box, only to realize they sell the weird boxes that are taller and shorter than usual.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2015 13:16:20 GMT -5
Wow, that's crappy service. I don't blame you for considering going back to online. Your avatar is pretty much how I reacted to today's events. |
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Post by Randle-El on Jan 14, 2015 13:22:17 GMT -5
My "LCS" (actually sells DVDs, music, books, games and comics) is kinda awful, and I'm thinking I'm done. The only positive is that they're close. The "new release" shelf is a disaster area. They keep books out there for six months,so titles are all mixed up becuase of lack of space so unless you know which issue is the new one there is no way to tell, and books are in terrible condition from them just craming new issues on top of old stuff. Nobody knows anything about comics or cares. This week my pull is Batgirl, JLU, Cap Marvel, Deathlok, Silver Surfer and Thanos v Hulk. I ask for my books and the guy ducks down behind the counter and shuffles around for awhile. Turns out they no longer sort pulls. They just get the books from all the pulls and stack them under the counter among piles of other crap. He comes up with two books, Rasputin and Deathlok from last month (both of which I already have). Turns out nobody did this weeks pulls at all. Luckily I got there before the stuff I read was gone, but I'm not sure how much longer I can deal with it. I LOVE comic shops and like getting books weekly, but the closest shop is 70 miles. So, I think I'm back to online. I'm not crazy about it, but it's that or drive 140 miles once or twice a month (assuming they don't require weekly pick up) for like a dozen books. /venting I think you're perfectly justified in taking your business elsewhere. Comic shops need to work for our patronage, just like any other business. They can't just expect us to blindly spend our money there the banner of "support the little guy". |
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Post by The Captain on Jan 14, 2015 13:40:19 GMT -5
mars, sorry to hear about your experience with your LCS. It sucks when you want to support the local place but they don't care enough to do anything to earn your loyalty or business. If I were in your position, I would be looking to go online as well.
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Post by crazyoldhermit on Jan 14, 2015 19:03:37 GMT -5
I stay at my LCS only because they're the only game in town. Decent stock of cheap backissues because they're mostly a gaming store so there aren't many people poking around for comics. Zero discounts on any new comics so a $3.99 book is a $3.99 book. If I had the option of going with DCBS I'd do it and I'd probably buy wa more books. As it is I'm down to two, Batman and Aquaman, because the other books I was buying were cancelled or bumped up to $3.99 and new series that come out are usually $3.99 as well. And $3.99 is just too much for one stinking comic when I can buy a trade on Amazon for $12.
I've also had a few problems with the owner. Some books I've ordered never turned up, including one issue in a crossover that immediately became scarce, and his attitude is full-on Comic Book Guy. There are better shops but they're downtown.
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,201
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Post by Confessor on Jan 14, 2015 20:25:49 GMT -5
My "LCS" (actually sells DVDs, music, books, games and comics) is kinda awful, and I'm thinking I'm done. The only positive is that they're close. The "new release" shelf is a disaster area. They keep books out there for six months,so titles are all mixed up becuase of lack of space so unless you know which issue is the new one there is no way to tell, and books are in terrible condition from them just craming new issues on top of old stuff. Nobody knows anything about comics or cares. This week my pull is Batgirl, JLU, Cap Marvel, Deathlok, Silver Surfer and Thanos v Hulk. I ask for my books and the guy ducks down behind the counter and shuffles around for awhile. Turns out they no longer sort pulls. They just get the books from all the pulls and stack them under the counter among piles of other crap. He comes up with two books, Rasputin and Deathlok from last month (both of which I already have). Turns out nobody did this weeks pulls at all. Luckily I got there before the stuff I read was gone, but I'm not sure how much longer I can deal with it. I LOVE comic shops and like getting books weekly, but the closest shop is 70 miles. So, I think I'm back to online. I'm not crazy about it, but it's that or drive 140 miles once or twice a month (assuming they don't require weekly pick up) for like a dozen books. /venting Yeah, I'd ditch them if I were you. Like I said in my post above (written when I first ditched my LCS), unless you're getting a good "shop experience" there's no point in supporting them. You can get the issues you want delivered to your door (for 20p or 30p cheaper per comic in my case) and not have to even leave your house to get your stuff. If the local shop sucks for whatever reason, there really is no contest. |
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Post by Randle-El on Jan 15, 2015 0:41:16 GMT -5
I stay at my LCS only because they're the only game in town. Decent stock of cheap backissues because they're mostly a gaming store so there aren't many people poking around for comics. Zero discounts on any new comics so a $3.99 book is a $3.99 book. If I had the option of going with DCBS I'd do it and I'd probably buy wa more books. As it is I'm down to two, Batman and Aquaman, because the other books I was buying were cancelled or bumped up to $3.99 and new series that come out are usually $3.99 as well. And $3.99 is just too much for one stinking comic when I can buy a trade on Amazon for $12. I've also had a few problems with the owner. Some books I've ordered never turned up, including one issue in a crossover that immediately became scarce, and his attitude is full-on Comic Book Guy. There are better shops but they're downtown. Why don't you have the option of going with DCBS? |
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Post by crazyoldhermit on Jan 15, 2015 1:39:32 GMT -5
I stay at my LCS only because they're the only game in town. Decent stock of cheap backissues because they're mostly a gaming store so there aren't many people poking around for comics. Zero discounts on any new comics so a $3.99 book is a $3.99 book. If I had the option of going with DCBS I'd do it and I'd probably buy wa more books. As it is I'm down to two, Batman and Aquaman, because the other books I was buying were cancelled or bumped up to $3.99 and new series that come out are usually $3.99 as well. And $3.99 is just too much for one stinking comic when I can buy a trade on Amazon for $12. I've also had a few problems with the owner. Some books I've ordered never turned up, including one issue in a crossover that immediately became scarce, and his attitude is full-on Comic Book Guy. There are better shops but they're downtown. Why don't you have the option of going with DCBS? Canadian. Shipping to Canada makes it too expensive. |
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