Help Me Support My Local Comic Shop?

[sarthaz]

I have two local comic shops near me. They never have anything I want in stock. They're friendly and always happy to special order something for me ... to arrive in 2 weeks! 2 weeks!! In an Amazon world, the advantage to a B&M store is usually that you can get a product on-demand. You may pay more than Amazon would charge, but you can hold it and look at it and buy it right then. But not with comics! My comic stores never have anything, and I've been waiting (more than) 2 weeks for my special-ordered Twilight Zone Vol 2. to hurry up and arrive. And I haven't finished Ten Grand yet, because I just don't want to hassle with giving them all my info for another special order; but I'm reluctant to pull the trigger and order it online, because I know that once I do, I'm never going back to the comic store. It's all online from there. Everything I want to read for the next year is going in that shopping cart to save on shipping and it's bye-bye comic store.

Does everyone face this dilemma or do my comic shops just stink?

[Jan]

The thing to do is to let them know what it is you want ahead of time if you can. I've got a 'pull list' or 'pull box' or 'pull sheet' with mine where I have a list of all the things I know are coming out from JMS. I don't have to keep track of when each issue is coming out, my shop does that for me as long as he knows that I want all issues of Ten Grand, Sidekick, etc. If I want something special like the trades, I let him know that, too. Most of the time I just shoot him an email if I'm not in that area (which is quite inconvenient to where I work, unfortunately).

It could be that your shop can just watch out for the trades for you? It wouldn't hurt to ask. Somebody more knowledgeable than I could probably tell you how to know when something's coming out.

Jan

[sarthaz]

Thanks for the advice, Jan. Do you find there are any advantages to having a "pull list" at a local shop versus just having everything shipped to my house when it comes out? I guess I'm desiring something more informal, but that may not be realistic. In my dream vision, I go into the store with a mental list of 5-6 things I might want to buy and then browse around for something else that catches my eye. I don't expect they'll have everything I'm interested in stock, but maybe one thing, so I'll get that and then something else. If I make a "pull list", I fear it's not much different than ordering online, but instead of shipping it to me, I ship it to the store and have to drive there to pick it up.

[Jan]

Thanks for the advice, Jan. Do you find there are any advantages to having a "pull list" at a local shop versus just having everything shipped to my house when it comes out? I guess I'm desiring something more informal, but that may not be realistic. In my dream vision, I go into the store with a mental list of 5-6 things I might want to buy and then browse around for something else that catches my eye. I don't expect they'll have everything I'm interested in stock, but maybe one thing, so I'll get that and then something else. If I make a "pull list", I fear it's not much different than ordering online, but instead of shipping it to me, I ship it to the store and have to drive there to pick it up.

No shipping charges would be about t, I'm afraid since it sounds like your stores are fairly small. I've got a big chain store that is far more convenient but I love the service that I get from the one I have the pull box with and I'm not a browser since all I've been able to afford for a while is the JMS comics. They probably have at least a few of almost everything but definitely not the personal service.

The only other thing I can suggest is that you tell your shop the sorts of thing you like and see if they have other customers that might be liking the same sort of stuff.

Jan

[sarthaz]

Thanks. You're probably on the right track with the whole genuine human communication aspect here I should probably just talk with the owners and explain what I'm hoping for and see what they can do about it before giving up on them. They may not be helpful, but it's worth a shot.

[Jan]

One reason why I'm willing to drive 35 miles out of my way to go to the smaller shop is that he knows me and my (mild!) JMS addiction. So when Joe's Comics sent out badges and deputy appointments when Dream Police was coming out, he saved it and gave it to me after displaying it prior to the debut of the book. Now THAT'S service!

Jan

[Looney]

Yeah I have to drive 50+ miles to get to the nearest comic shop so I have to have a "Pull List". To risky to drive that far and not have anything to pickup. Plus I don't know that the shop would carry what I want if that list didn't exist. I know the manager and have talked to him about every JMS comic release. He tells me how many people have them on their "Pull List". Sadly I think the most is 5 for Ten Grand. I think he said only 2-4 people get the others. With that few people requesting them I doubt he orders much in the way of extras to stock the shelves. He doesn't carry the largest quantity of comics to start with. I go there because we have a rapport since I learned he was a semi-B5 fan 15 years ago when I was still able to walk in his shop and buy B5 Trading Cards. There is another shop nearby that has a much larger selection of comics, but I haven't been there in years. I don't want to go there because I always guilt myself into buying something just to buy something. Anyway it is always great because I make the drive once or twice a month, pickup what he has for me, and then discuss the news of the day, JMS or otherwise. It would be perfect if I could go more often, he carried DVDs and Blu-Rays I wanted, and I didn't feel guilty about not always buying something.

[Ubik]

Yeah, I think it all depends on the shop really. If they don't cater to your tastes then it is, of course harder to support a local store. Always worth chatting with them, as stores are often willing to stock stuff if they know there’s demand there (you). I’m lucky enough to be close good friends with the manager of my LCS, and their ordering is very much in line with my tastes (underground/indie comix and the cream of the mainstream stuff). With comics you need to be picky, cause 90% of what the big two drop every month is total dreck.

I must admit that the larger independents like Image have really been killing it of late, and their TPBs are so also very reasonably priced. I’ve only really been getting Saga, Prophet and Multiple Warheads, and the occasional trade that takes my fancy. I used to have a large weekly pull list, but these days I trade wait and something really has to be good for me to spend money on it.

[Garibaldi's Hair]

My local comic store used to allow for postal subscriptions, so I could place a regular order for each issue of a book and if it wasn't one they would normally stock they ordered each issue for me automatically and sent it to my house ... as long as I went in and paid my bill before the next issues were due.

My bill paying visits gave me the opportunity to have a look in the catalogues and lists of forthcoming stuff to see if anything tickled my fancy.

Once they got to know me they even occasionally let me order the first issue of a new series, and if I didn't like it would give me a refund and cancel that particular comic.

It probably helped that I was spending

[sarthaz]

Thanks for the replies. Last week, I had settled in on the plan that when they call about my TZ order, I'll go in and talk to the manager and see if we can work out a plan wherein I give them money for the things they claim to sell. Unfortunately, it's now almost 4 weeks on my 2-week special order, so ... looks like I don't have a reliable comic shop near me.

It makes me sad. I'm willing to put in some extra time and money to support the local small business, but they're making it so stinkin' difficult!

New topic ... anyone recommend a good online store?

[Jan]

I've heard good things about Mile High comics for many years.

Jan

[sarthaz]

Thanks, Jan!

Meanwhile, my travels today took me in the neighborhood of the other local comic shop, so I thought I'd stop by and see what's what. I was not surprised to find that they did not carry the trades I was looking for -- I'm used to that. What did surprise me, though, was the total lack of interest in helping me order them.

First, I asked if I could have them order Ten Grand TPB Vol 2. I did not get the impression that this was an impossible task, but certainly an inconvenient one. Lots of typing and staring at one computer, then more typing and staring at another, some sighs and harrumphs and finally a binder comes out where they write my name, number, and what it is I would like to buy. From them. With money. So, I wrote it down -- we'll see what happens.

Then ... I blew their minds. I told them I like the new Twilight Zone and would like to purchase the Vol. 3 trade when it comes out. Would they please add it to their standard order so it shows up on release day or would they special order it for me so I can pick it up a few days after it comes out. From the looks on their faces, you'd think I just asked for the formula to cold fusion ... in Sanskrit. After a few minutes of disjointed exposition that never even approached an explanation for why this was a problem, I realized this was an impossible ask and was never going to happen. So I thanked them and left.

What a strange experience ...

[Jan]

Wow, how bizarre! Guess my comic shop has the latest software 'cause he can tell me if I've bought something even if I've forgotten- as sometimes happens when it comes to the trades since I've already read the pamphlets.

Better luck with the other one.

Jan

[JasonDavis]

I'll second Jan's recommendation of Mile High Comics; I've used them a few times for things I missed at my local shoppe for one reason or another.

I'd also recommend MyComicShop.com in North Texas. Though not as swift as Mile High, they're very meticulous and since they sold off their eight brick-and-mortar stores a few years ago, they've focused exclusively on their online business and it shows in the service.

[In the interest of full disclosure, I briefly worked for Lone Star Comics, the predecessor to MyComicShop.com, in the late 1990s, but I was a customer for a decade prior, and continue to buy from them half a continent away.]

[Ubik]

Thanks, Jan!

Meanwhile, my travels today took me in the neighborhood of the other local comic shop, so I thought I'd stop by and see what's what. I was not surprised to find that they did not carry the trades I was looking for -- I'm used to that. What did surprise me, though, was the total lack of interest in helping me order them.

First, I asked if I could have them order Ten Grand TPB Vol 2. I did not get the impression that this was an impossible task, but certainly an inconvenient one. Lots of typing and staring at one computer, then more typing and staring at another, some sighs and harrumphs and finally a binder comes out where they write my name, number, and what it is I would like to buy. From them. With money. So, I wrote it down -- we'll see what happens.

Then ... I blew their minds. I told them I like the new Twilight Zone and would like to purchase the Vol. 3 trade when it comes out. Would they please add it to their standard order so it shows up on release day or would they special order it for me so I can pick it up a few days after it comes out. From the looks on their faces, you'd think I just asked for the formula to cold fusion ... in Sanskrit. After a few minutes of disjointed exposition that never even approached an explanation for why this was a problem, I realized this was an impossible ask and was never going to happen. So I thanked them and left.

What a strange experience ...

If it's not Marvel or DC, it MAY CAUSE IMMENSE CONFUSION. Sounds like a very old school comic store that simply haven't changed with the times. I'm guessing indie comics are also a strange no mans land they don't understand, despite cartoonists like Chris Ware and Dan Clowes getting coverage in the mainstream media and equal treatment to serious literature.

Take your custom elsewhere!