where have all the good shops gone?

[gameplan.exe]

I was so inspired by KObossy's experience that I went to 2 local shops with high hopes... too high, i guess.

The first shop was a "card shop" specializing in "sports, gaming, and magic." Well, upon entering it became very apparent that what they should have said is, "specializing in magic, but also we have a few other cards" because it was basically just that. Still, i was not to be denied.

So, I approach the counter and the lady that greats me is very nice and asks how she can help. I tell her, "Well, I'm hoping to find any and all comic book trading cards from the 90s." She was obviously regretting the fact that she had none. She said sorry a few times and told me she wished they had older trading cards for sale, but they carry mostly new gaming cards, and only old sports cards. Then, as a matter of excellent service from a local shop, she referred me to another place that might have something.

So, I scoot accross town (good thing I was killing time before an appointment), to find it's a comic shop, not a card shop - this seemed like a good sign...

and then... he opened his mouth! This guy was just bad! he seemed immediately annoyed that I was there, asking questions of him instead of just buying his stuff. So I ask him, pretty much straight-away, "Do you have any old comic book trading cards from the 90s?" And he replies by asking me what I'm looking for... I tell him again that I'm looking for any old boxes of trading cards that I can buy, doing my best to sound nostalgic. He says, "Well anything like that would be put away in storage, somewhere, but we do have these complete sets here..." and he hands me two binders. One is a set of some comic brand I don't remember now (and barely recognized) and the other is a set of 93 Sky Box. Now, don't get me wrong, it was pretty cool to see those. Honestly, I might've even negotiated for the set, if it weren't for the rest of the experience...

So, I hand the binders back and I go over to the archives to search a for a few old comics I know I want off the top of my head, and then for any old X-Men comics that might catch my eye - nothing doing.

(it's worth noting that this guy has a pretty good shop, near as I can tell. He had a handful of customers in on a Wednesday, early afternoon, and a decent overall selection)

So, I make my way over to the newstand to see what's up in the world of comics while I've been away. I'm thumbing through some of the new X-Men stuff (honestly, mostly looking for Gambit cameos, upon which finding, I'd buy immediately), but I'm not seeing anything I like. Then another book catches my eye (Joan of Arc - something or other). I honestly would've been interested, but as soon as I opened it up it became pretty clear it wasn't for me.

So I head over to the last area, where some TPB are displayed (all of this has taken a total of about 5 minutes, mind you), and I see some Thor books which intrigue me. With my son being so into Avengers lately, I figured it could be fun to grab a stand-alone arc from a TPB to read with him. But, since he's only 5 ("and a half!"), I know I need to scan for content.

As I open up the second book, the guy comes over and tells me, "Hey, just so you know, we don't really want people coming in and reading books. I mean, it's okay to flip through them a little, but we want you to buy them to read them."

What?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I mean, first of all, maybe you didn't realize what I'm doing, but I'm actually trying to find something to buy, so I don't look like a jerk who just came in with an agenda! Not to mention the fact that I'm an adult. With income. Who wants to spend it. I mean, I was in a SWEATER for crying out loud!! What about me gave him the impression that I was a 16 year old oggling free-loader with no intent to propel commerce?! UGH!!

So, needless to say, I promptly left.

My wife said I should've told him (more or less) what I just ranted, but I said I didn't want to give this guy any advice. And on that note, I won't be returning.

- - -

So, does anyone else have these experiences in comic shops, lately? It seems like the guy was friendly with (what I perceived to be) regulars, but had no real interest in acquiring a new customer... 

[KObossy]

Great unfortunate experience. Unfortunately it seems like some comic shop owners dont have people skills (probably comes from being loners most of their lives, no knock against them). I deal with one in Long Beach who specializes in used TPB's. He sells them very cheap which keeps me coming back but at one checkout experience he was digging for a winner in his belly button the whole time of the transaction. I almost told him to keep the change rather than exchange shared money. My son's (15 & 16 at the time & not into comics) made fun of him the whole drive home. What makes Frank & Sons so great is if you dont like one vendor there are 4 others selling the same thing. Comic shops are going the way of the Drive-in theater.

[gameplan.exe]

Great unfortunate experience. Unfortunately it seems like some comic shop owners dont have people skills (probably comes from being loners most of their lives, no knock against them). I deal with one in Long Beach who specializes in used TPB's. He sells them very cheap which keeps me coming back but at one checkout experience he was digging for a winner in his belly button the whole time of the transaction. I almost told him to keep the change rather than exchange shared money. My son's (15 & 16 at the time & not into comics) made fun of him the whole drive home. What makes Frank & Sons so great is if you dont like one vendor there are 4 others selling the same thing. Comic shops are going the way of the Drive-in theater.

wow, that's - well - comical! HAHA
yeah, I didn't know anything about Frank & Sons till you mentioned it earlier. unfortunately, there isn't one near Seattle. I might have to find some good ol' swap meets somewhere...

[Nate Grey]

Great unfortunate experience. Unfortunately it seems like some comic shop owners dont have people skills (probably comes from being loners most of their lives, no knock against them). I deal with one in Long Beach who specializes in used TPB's. He sells them very cheap which keeps me coming back but at one checkout experience he was digging for a winner in his belly button the whole time of the transaction. I almost told him to keep the change rather than exchange shared money. My son's (15 & 16 at the time & not into comics) made fun of him the whole drive home. What makes Frank & Sons so great is if you dont like one vendor there are 4 others selling the same thing. Comic shops are going the way of the Drive-in theater.

You hit it on the nail! Lack of people skills from owners! At least the ones i use to frequent. That's another reason I stopped going to them. Tired of the disdainful looks I would get just walking in. Honestly I can easily be suckered into trying out new titles or picking up books based on recommendations, but nope, some just stand behind their counters, playing on their computers with an occasional glance to see what we're up to. 

[steve2275]

http://www.fantasiumcomics.com/
http://www.facebook.com/fantasiumcomics
good shop
and not because its where i go
time for 2 broke girls
no op cards tho...just magik

[thetrooper27]

I understand the not wanting anyone to just read the books and not buy anything... but surely he couldve given you an opportunity to look around.  It's not like you even had time to enjoy anything!  And also, he had never seen you before, and you always give someone new a chance to get sucked in to the world of fantasy and science fiction.  You never know how goon someone might go!  That first hit is often times all they need... not only was this guy rude, but he wasn't smart. 

I remember at the shop I frequented this one guy used to show up EVERY WEEK, read a few comics, and leave, and the owner never really said anything.  The guy was kinda squirrelly... maybe he was afraid of an incident and didn't say anything.  Or maybe he knew he had a good loyal customer base, so he didn't rave on about how he was being ripped off, and make everything personal.  Some shop owners do that, and I hate that he ruined your experience bro.  

I would infrequently (but not rarely) visit a secondary shop in town, and he didn't like the guy that I subscribed from (for a few reasons) and he often took it personal that I wouldn't change my subscriptions to his shop.  When my guy stopped giving discounts because his overhead was increasing and he wasn't making much money, the second guy got really upset saying he didn't understand why I wanted to pay more.  I explained to him the concept of loyalty, and asked him to be happy with the few books I bought there just because I enjoyed the conversation and wanted his business to do well even though he wasn't my primary source for comics.  He kinda left it alone after that.