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LCS love letters - what makes your LCS great!!7476

Suck it up, buttercup!! KatKomics private msg quote post Address this user
In my mid 40's now and have been going to one store on and off since I was about 9/10 yrs old.

In the summer I would go into the city with my Mom and catch a bus to different day camps. My LCS was a few blocks from her work and we would go get cheap bin books.

Later in my teen years once I got a drivers license I would go in myself. I left town for University but would make the trip when I was home in the summer months. Later when I found myself working in the region I started a pull list - have been a regular for 20yrs plus.

For a college assignment I actually interviewed the original owner once. My LCS started as a used book shop called Lens Odds and Ends and remained named as such till he sold it to a customer. Len was a gruff old guy and a retired teacher. Just comics and trades, no funko, figures or other jazz. Len was great though - would order anything you wanted, didn't jack prices, knew the local artists/writers and they would come in an sign back bin books for free!!

Second owners were 2 injured cops, 1 who was a customer of Lens (photo below is of the store front when they took over). Had a good 15 years with them. They began to know what I liked to read and would add things to my bag they thought I would like (very few misses!!) They really modernized the store, brought in all the additional comic related items, attended the local comic conventions, started a facebook page and started this thing where you could ask for a obscure book and they would put the word out to other customers and once in a while you would find that $5 -$20 book waiting for you (no premium just pay back what the other customer paid and he would in turn take that amount off the weekly amount the other guy had owed - works great for all involved!). Mostly when I go to the shop there are few other customers there but I have returned the favour for others and even though I don't know who I helped out it feels nice knowing someones run is closer to complete because I and other customers helped.

3rd owner - a bit of a bumpy start, a few of my books on my pull list got missed during the hand over but nothing ebay can't solve! New guy is again a former customer and has kept up the tradition of pulling extra books I may like, helping out getting peoples back issues and has gone above and beyond by pulling hot books off the shelf to give regulars a chance to buy them even if not on your normal pull list (Damned Batman and Weapon H come to mind that I got at cover $ a few days after they already blew up on ebay!)

There have been other shops that have come and gone locally but regular 50% off sales, not messing around customers on hot books, not really re-pricing back bin issues except in rare occasions i.e. 2nd Deadpool was a $2 book, once it heated up I still got mine for $2 but then it went to $15 or $30 before cooling off again. All these things and more keep a dedicated base coming back to the store. Oh and if you have a pull list you get a 15% discount!!


What keeps you going to your LCS?? Friendly service, good prices, hot chick at the counter??



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Captain Corrector CaptainCanuck private msg quote post Address this user
LCS is the only game in town. He claimed to be “sold out” of Batman Damned #1 the day after they were released. However, he had some on “consignment” from a “customer” that were $50 ea. firm.
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Pictures? We don't need no stinking pictures. brysb private msg quote post Address this user
NOT to be a downer, but from my perspective...LCS rip you OFF! Hard to be loyal when they are NOT loyal in return! They tend to cheat you on trade-ins but expect you to be loyal and NOT go to online sources for 40-50% off on legitimate bargains! Lets face it, the online game will eventually kill off the LCS. It is a ticking time bomb.

Ok, now in the early 90's there was a wonderful Comic Shop in my area, the young guys who ran it were fair and ran a fine business that I enjoyed frequenting.

Now...the 80's (cause I am old and remember these things) is another story...we had ONLY 1 comic shop run by this horrible overweight woman named Sharon! She cheated us all because she was the ONLY shop in town and knew she could get away with it! She gave us pennies in trade and then would mark up the same comics to astronomical figures!!

One day I picked out my batch of new comics, meticulously cherry picking MINT copies and handed them to her, she man handled them like an APE!! She put creases in the spines and I said to her that I was going to go pick out fresh copies and she proceeded to lecture me and gave me an attitude and I said to her "THEN DON'T DAMAGE THE COMICS I AM BUYING"!! After that she was more careful with my comics.
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Collector X51 private msg quote post Address this user
All the comic shops I liked over the years are closed. The owners wised up and realized everything was stacked against them. I have no interest in any of the comic shops in my area anymore.
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It was a one trick pony show but always hilarious. GAC private msg quote post Address this user
online is the way to go for sure if not only for the reason that you can always find what you want.
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Collector Paulbg2000 private msg quote post Address this user
My LCS is actually pretty decent...we're in a smaller market city and they have a ton of stock which means it's hard for them to raise and lower prices on bin books based on market trends due to volume with the staff they have.

They also don't do online sales (which is insane for the stock levels they have) and do buy low...but also sell moderately low too. I think they realize that to be profitable they have to move product and can't be attached to books. They also tend to package in storylines with key books, so you'll get the story surrounding a key if it spans over multiple issues usually with the whole package going for less than market value. They don't hold back issues as far as I've seen on hot books and will usually post to Facebook "We've got xxx copies left of xxx" if it's a hot book.

Once you factor in shipping (real shipping) with online prices, I usually find it cheaper at the LCS.
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Collector Batman79 private msg quote post Address this user
My LCS are knuckle heads as they never monitor the market. I just show up early, keep my mouth shut, and purchase multiple copies if something has some heat to it. I actually advise them on what they have and what to bring into the store at times. They have some traffic and a pull list. I just make sure that everyone gets their order so nobody gets short changed. Batman damned sat for two/three days before I pillaged. The store knew it had some attention. They didn't move the books until I got what I wanted and told them to actually pull the rest so they could recoup extra money for the store. I see them as more of a glorified newstand. They just sell first cone, first serve. Quite fortunate for me really.
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Collector SpiderTim private msg quote post Address this user
I am a bit biased as there isn't an LCS in my country so I do all my purchases online. You guys are lucky you get to go to a brick and mortar store and see the comics before you commit to buying them! If I had an LCS around I would go there first thing every Wednesday to see the new issues. I guess when online stores make physical stores disappear you'll be able to get the same experience when buying comics that I do! lol
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Collector doog private msg quote post Address this user
My son owns it, what could be better?
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