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Post by rom on Jan 24, 2018 11:27:17 GMT -5
Hey guys - I may be in the minority here, but as a long-time comic book collector (I'm in my late 40's) who clearly remembers collecting comics back in the '80's (and to some extent the '90's) at my LCS, I don't miss those days in the least. Overall, I remember many (though not all) comic book store owners doing their best to rip off kids like me by charging exorbitant amounts for old floppies - many of which were in crummy shape. I clearly remember one of these guys trying to sell my then 14-year old self an old, tattered copy of Daredevil #3. This comic literally looked like it had been through a shredder. I saw this behind the counter without a price, and said incredulously, "You're trying to sell that?!" with utter contempt. The LCS owner, unphased, said matter-of-factly, "Make me an offer!" - I just laughed, bought the floppies I had come for, and left Even at that young age I knew a scam when I saw one - I wouldn't have taken that DD comic if he had given it to me for free! This is one of the many reasons I have found the past 10 years especially to be great for comic book collectors like me - who like reprints. There have been numerous TPB's & HC's reprinting at-one-time very HTF & expensive older comics - and even more recent ones. These have been remastered, recolored, and printed on high quality paper - and look far superior to the way they looked like years ago. I'm still pleasantly amazed that I now have all of the iconic '70's/'80's series Shang Chi, Master of Kung Fu & Deadly Hands of Kung Fu in high-quality HC reprint collections - sitting on my bookshelf....among a plethora of other great collections. Note, again, this opinion is coming from someone who was collecting floppies back in the day - but who does not miss the hassle, time, and expense that I gave to the hobby at the time.
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Post by Icctrombone on Jan 24, 2018 11:46:58 GMT -5
Hey guys - I may be in the minority here, but as a long-time comic book collector (I'm in my late 40's) who clearly remembers collecting comics back in the '80's (and to some extent the '90's) at my LCS, I don't miss those days in the least. Overall, I remember many (though not all) comic book store owners doing their best to rip off kids like me by charging exorbitant amounts for old floppies - many of which were in crummy shape. I clearly remember one of these guys trying to sell my then 14-year old self an old, tattered copy of Daredevil #3. This comic literally looked like it had been through a shredder. I saw this behind the counter without a price, and said incredulously, "You're trying to sell that?!" with utter contempt. The LCS owner, unphased, said matter-of-factly, "Make me an offer!" - I just laughed, bought the floppies I had come for, and left Even at that young age I knew a scam when I saw one - I wouldn't have taken that DD comic if he had given it to me for free! This is one of the many reasons I have found the past 10 years especially to be great for comic book collectors like me - who like reprints. There have been numerous TPB's & HC's reprinting at-one-time very HTF & expensive older comics - and even more recent ones. These have been remastered, recolored, and printed on high quality paper - and look far superior to the way they looked like years ago. I'm still pleasantly amazed that I now have all of the iconic '70's/'80's series Master of Kung Fu & Deadly Hands of Kung Fu in high-quality HC reprint collections - sitting on my bookshelf Note, again, this opinion is coming from someone who was collecting floppies back in the day - but who does not miss the hassle, time, and expense that I gave to the hobby at the time. It's funny but In all my years of collecting I don't ever remember buying a back issue from a wall. Maybe you should have offered him a dollar ? Even comics in poor condition have a price. I bought a pretty beat up Green Lantern # 85 ( Neal Adams ) for 50 cents years ago and A New Teen Titans #2 with water damage ( first Deathstroke ) for one dollar.
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Post by rom on Jan 24, 2018 11:52:05 GMT -5
Nope, the comic was in such poor shape & torn up that it was unreadable. It needed to be in the recycling bin or the bottom of a birdcage/kitty litty box - not sold by the store. This type of thing didn't happen often, but it's just an example of LCS owners trying to take financial advantage of ignorant young comic collectors.
That being said, this is obviously an extreme example.
Much more common were LCS's selling back issues (in good to moderate shape) for extremely high prices - when they weren't worth nearly as much as they were going for. I know the stores had to make a profit, but when you saw some issues that were only a couple of months old (that weren't that rare) going for $50 - $100 (or more), then you knew you were being scammed. I can't remember any specific examples right now, but I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about.
This became a lot more obvious in the '90's, when Marvel started to publish different covers of the same title (foil, hologram, cardboard, etc.) & tried various other "gimmicks" to rip off fans. I was disgusted by these practices, and so completely stopped collecting Marvel cold-turkey at that time.
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Post by urrutiap on Jan 24, 2018 13:15:47 GMT -5
I remember back then when I was a teenager in the mid late 1990s before 1997, that once or twice every month Id walk downtown to the drug pharmacy store to buy a few comics mostly Marvel and Image stuff like X Men and Spawn and whatever Spider Man stuff I was interested in. 1886 and 1997 is when I stopped buying comics back then because I was in high school being a Junior and Senior and I kind of got burned out on comics at the timee because of the Death of Clark Kent/Conduit storyline that was going on.
But I do rememebr the good times I had when buying comics back then looking at the new comics in the spinner rack along with Wizard Magazine and Toyfare Magazine.
Wizard Magazine is what pretty much got me on track and up to date on current and new upcoming issues anyway
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Post by rom on Jan 24, 2018 13:34:58 GMT -5
Yes - the 1990's The Death & Life of Superman & The Knightfall Batman storyline(s) from DC got me re-interested in those characters. I didn't buy a lot of the individual floppies at the time (given that I was a poor college student), but I do remember reading the novelizations of both storylines.
Wizard magazine was fairly cool. Though I wasn't into collecting Marvel floppies back in the '90's, the mag. did have some fairly decent articles & inserts. I may still have some of those promotional cards lying around somewhere.
My fondest comic-book related '90's memories were of the Dark Horse Star Wars comics that started being released in the early 1990's, i.e. Dark Empire, Tales of the Jedi, Classic Star Wars (reprinting the SW 1970's/1980's newspaper strips), etc.
I also enjoyed the 1992-1993 maxi-series Grendel: War Child by Dark Horse. Fantastic post-apocalyptic story, that was a sequel of sorts to the Grendel comics from the late '80's.
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Post by brutalis on Jan 24, 2018 13:50:02 GMT -5
The other trend by many LCS owners in the 80's and 90's (still some today) is the newest issue is out on the shelf for the delivery/release day only and then marked up $5. Used to be could say screw that and go around to the local convenience stores or another LCS and get for cover price, but with less venues to shop from that is only increasing the wait for trade syndrome. There a many times I skip a series or mini-series or completely drop it due to the increased single issue cost. Why pay an extra $5-10 now for the single issue when you can get the entire series for that same cost? And like Icctrombone I have NEVER bought anything from the walls. Usually too high priced for some comic that has more wear and tear than my blue jeans. And don't even get me started on the whole seal it in plastic and never to be opened again just to increase the comic's sale value? By that thought I don't want to spend my money to be buried, instead just seal me in a cryogenic freeze chamber never to be opened and let someone else pay for my upkeep through eternity. There I said it! Oops, wrong thread lol !!
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Post by MDG on Jan 24, 2018 14:00:37 GMT -5
The other trend by many LCS owners in the 80's and 90's (still some today) is the newest issue is out on the shelf for the delivery/release day only and then marked up $5. Wow! I knew places that would do that after a week, but not after a day! I remember once in the 90s going to the LCS during my lunch hour on new comic day (I think it was still Friday), and the delivery hadn't shown up yet. It was a gray, wet day, so the place was crowded with a bunch of 20-40-year-old guys in raincoats just milling about, waiting. All I could think of was William S. Burroughs.
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Post by batusi on Jan 24, 2018 14:17:33 GMT -5
Ha,I remember the END of comics...IMO...it was 1991, X-Men #1, anyone recall the various #1 issues? I should have realized that collecting was over with Spider-Man #1 1990!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2018 14:31:03 GMT -5
The other trend by many LCS owners in the 80's and 90's (still some today) is the newest issue is out on the shelf for the delivery/release day only and then marked up $5. Used to be could say screw that and go around to the local convenience stores or another LCS and get for cover price, but with less venues to shop from that is only increasing the wait for trade syndrome. There a many times I skip a series or mini-series or completely drop it due to the increased single issue cost. Why pay an extra $5-10 now for the single issue when you can get the entire series for that same cost? When, Justice League Dark first came out it was priced at $2.99 and I paid for that book on the very first day it's came out. So far, so good ... a couple weeks later, I wanted another copy of it and guess what it's up to $4.99 plus tax ... Son of the Gun ... you nailed it!
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Post by rom on Jan 24, 2018 14:44:30 GMT -5
You all are spot-on.
I actually haven't gotten any floppies at all for roughly the last 3+ years. I typically get collections of older comics. However, if I want a newer collection of floppies, I'll just Trade wait. If the floppies never come out in a Trade (unlikely), oh well. I also like the fact that I no longer need to buy bags & boards, which took up a lot more room (collectively) than having the same number of issues collected in a Trade/HC.
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Post by Icctrombone on Jan 24, 2018 15:16:17 GMT -5
When I bought new comics, the Comic shop that I frequented never did stuff like jacking up the price on the same day. In fact I had comics in my pull list that jumped up in price and they never went " missing". They charged me the cover price. I regret not buying new comics just because they were a great bunch of guys.
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Post by brutalis on Jan 24, 2018 16:07:37 GMT -5
When I bought new comics, the Comic shop that I frequented never did stuff like jacking up the price on the same day. In fact I had comics in my pull list that jumped up in price and they never went " missing". They charged me the cover price. I regret not buying new comics just because they were a great bunch of guys. There were plenty of the good shops who did right by their customers. Pull Boxes are a tricky thing too as some folk will lets their pulls set for months before going in and then sort through and take out unwanted or already bought stuff and put them back on the LCS shelf causing all sorts of tracking/inventory issues. There are also those buyers looking to mass purchase for resale/mark up pricing of their own who will go and order 10-20 copies for their pull box of whatever they think will be hot properties. Some shops here in town have a 4 week minimum holding on pull boxes and if you haven't been in then they will empty your box and sell what you didn't pick up. Very fair i believe. Myself: I don't collect the monthly floppies much anymore preferring to get story runs or writer/artist runs I might like and I only ever hit the LCS but once or twice a month or every 2-3 months if life intrudes. This is kind of how I try to support my favorite 2 LCS: by not having a regular pull box and paying full cover price for a couple of months of comics at a time.
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Post by Phil Maurice on Jan 24, 2018 21:02:40 GMT -5
Back when I would spend my Saturdays driving around to the various comic shops in the Atlanta area (ca. '90 - '93), I recall a place that had a massive selection of back issues, beautifully cataloged but un-priced. I spent close to an hour picking through it and took my books up to the counter where the clerk had a current Overstreet. He would look up the books and charge the NM price for everything regardless of actual grade. I told him he could keep them. One of my best experiences occurred at a little shop in Decatur, GA. I wish I could remember the name. Odin's Treasure Chest or some such. Anyway, after perusing the back issues and bringing five or six books to the counter, I noticed a stack of around thirty Silver Age books laying flat at my feet on the bottom of the glass display case and asked if I could look through them. In that stack I found: Silver Surfer #1 in about 6.0 - $67 Journey Into Mystery #84 in 5.5 - $45 Incredible Hulk #2 in about 3.5 - $32 Bought them all (still have them) and was walking on air for a good while after.
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Post by brutalis on Jan 25, 2018 7:57:51 GMT -5
Back when I would spend my Saturdays driving around to the various comic shops in the Atlanta area (ca. '90 - '93), I recall a place that had a massive selection of back issues, beautifully cataloged but un-priced. I spent close to an hour picking through it and took my books up to the counter where the clerk had a current Overstreet. He would look up the books and charge the NM price for everything regardless of actual grade. I told him he could keep them. One of my best experiences occurred at a little shop in Decatur, GA. I wish I could remember the name. Odin's Treasure Chest or some such. Anyway, after perusing the back issues and bringing five or six books to the counter, I noticed a stack of around thirty Silver Age books laying flat at my feet on the bottom of the glass display case and asked if I could look through them. In that stack I found: Silver Surfer #1 in about 6.0 - $67 Journey Into Mystery #84 in 5.5 - $45 Incredible Hulk #2 in about 3.5 - $32 Bought them all (still have them) and was walking on air for a good while after. Now that is the kind of memories to have! One of my best memories was finding a little corner used bookstore. They had just opened up a few months before with the owner using his own comic collection and having bought a bunch of other folks collections and then he had bought out the owner of the used book store and moved all of the comics into the store. This place was wall to ceiling piled dusty old books and the comics were all in brown paper bags as the owner had no idea of how to set up this mess of a place. I started going in regularly once finding the store because of the thrill of digging through those bags of comics. He didn't use anything but good sense in pricing the comics as this was late 70's just before the LCS boom. Within this musty office one room office spaced size store of bags I managed to complete most of my Fantastic Four and Avengers runs with good quality inexpensive reading quality comic books in an affordable way. Within a year later the owner had grown the store enough to moving into a nice downtown location that was bright and clean and readily accessible. With another 2 years the LCS concept took off and began to be big time sales for a lots of places. This owner with his respect for customers and using smart pricing appropriateness and never ripping off sellers or buyers became the biggest LCS and most recognized LCS shop her in Phoenix and wins local awards every years for the last and 36 years. Alan and Marsha Giroux with their shop All About Books and Comics have the sole remaining LCS that has survived. There are new shops that have pooped up and come and gone and Alan's shop remains strong. Changing locations and shop sizes over the years with the changing comic book culture, for me it is the memories of his 1st small dusty little walls of piled books and bags of comics that I hold dear and why I still do a 45 minute drive into downtown Phoenix on a Saturday afternoon to visit Alan's shop at least every 6-8 weeks to peruse the new and back issues and discount boxes and support them and recommend the shop to others whenever comic books come up in discussion.
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Post by Icctrombone on Jan 25, 2018 8:31:54 GMT -5
brutalis, your post reminded me of a time I went to a con with my brother and a friend of his. It must have been early 80's but I must have bought about 40 Bronze and silver age Avengers in the first 15 minutes , thereby finishing most of my want list to that point. ( It would only be later that I would fill in the early silver age Avengers books). Good times.
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