Just a personal rant about comic shops run by stuck up fanboys - get over it!!! I recently took my young boy Thor to what I thought was a family friendly comic/toy shop. I hadn't been in this particular shop in many years - last time i was there it was a upper class regular comic shop - long boxes filled with older comics -new comics on racks and tons of recent and older collector toys. Now this shop is 90% new stuff- the long boxes were few and far between and the guy behind the counter was obviously put out when i asked if there was a clearance or junk box for comics. (it was usually called the$0.10 or $0.25 box when i was a kid) heck i was in there with a kid who just started to walk, i wasnt going to buy a bunch of new $5 comics that would probably be ripped into pieces within hours or days. Plus i was actually going to look at some of the newer books too - after i had found something for my little boy. Well the attitude from the clerk seemed to get worse with continuing a look of supperiority and a obvious 'when are you leaving' stance.... needless to say i left buying nothing (Although i was seriously looking at a large 'Thing' action figure for $30 but i wasnt going to buy it from this guy) So this fanboy lost not only a sale on that but also no repeat visits from me or my kid. Thats the way consumerism goes i guess -if hes a ass to enough people his place will go under.. hopefully
Now dont get me wrong - i totally get changing what they stock - it was the attitude that got me. Fanboys can be a pain (im one of them) but no need for a 'holier than though' attitude (hell we are after all just culture geeks/nerds) Maybe he was just having a bad day and i should drop this but dang it annoyed me :)
Oh well, there's other stores out there with happy friendly and helpfull comic loving staffers who actually want customers :)
Now dont get me wrong - i totally get changing what they stock - it was the attitude that got me. Fanboys can be a pain (im one of them) but no need for a 'holier than though' attitude (hell we are after all just culture geeks/nerds) Maybe he was just having a bad day and i should drop this but dang it annoyed me :)
Oh well, there's other stores out there with happy friendly and helpfull comic loving staffers who actually want customers :)
9 comments:
no Zen.. yer right amigo... i shop at like 7 comics shops in my area.. and they are all cordially staffed..
ive been to shops where the guy is a dick.. and once a dick usually always a dick... screw that dude , find a better shop , and give them your business....
once i run into an ass , i never go into their shop again.... and ive never regretted it.... i only regretted it before i "never went back" and would occassionally re-enter an establishment later to find the same b.s. superior attitude from the ass behind the counter... but since i wnet to "never coming back" i havent had that issue , ive found better shops which i still shop from and have been happy as heck to see the dicks who run their "Awsome' shops chock full of crap im not even interested in shut down...
it's gotten crazy... they all have gaming tables now , all sell cards and dice more than comics.. and even the cool guys i know who run shops are seriously considereing no longer attending comicons due to the cards over comics issue....
so screw that ass and his superior attitude with a bunch of stuff yer not interested in and the odd item you are... it aint worthit to put money in a asses wallet...
you will be much happier finding a new shop more conducive to yer enjoyment.... if they dont have a 25 cent box they arent worth a crap anyways.. thats a comic shop staple... take that away and you severely limit yer clientele.. unless you dont care so much about comics as you do about cards...
Find yer new shop.. youll be happier... and dont look back
Sounds like those shops were staffed by a real life Simpsonesque Comic-Book Guy...worst shopping experience ever!
I live in a rural area. I have to drive a couple of hours to the two game/comic places around here. Everybody is nice now, but I've run into a couple of fanboys in my time. There was a place, horribly overpriced, but they would let you make orders through them (before the internet). I stopped by to check on my order and the guy was just a total ass. I never went back there again.
I too am a big fan of letting my 10yr old son rack up a stack of .25 books while I shop the new wall. No reason to spend $5 a piece on new books when he's happy (& gets way more)with older stories that are still new to him & feature the characters he loves. You are not alone.
Here's my experience and what I did.
I was at a comic fair and found a whole bunch of Jack Kirby re-prints at a reasonable price and plopped my bundle on the stall holder's table.
Comic Book Guy sneers and belittles my selection as he flips through the pile. Can't help himself and has to tell me that they are rubbish. Wants to make me feel small and stupid for choosing them.
I wait until he tally's them up and is eager to take the $50 from my hand..
Me :(hanging onto the money and flipping through the comics again)
Hmmm..You reckon these arent real good?
CBG : Er..Um..
Me : It's just that I don't want to buy them if they're that bad.
CBG : (mumbles)
Me : (Decisively) No. I think I'll pass on them. Thanks for telling me about them. I nearly made a mistake.
Then I spin om my heals and let him watch me go to a competitors stall with my money.
I didn't get the comics but the look on his face as he lost the sale was priceless.
Dear friend,guys like him do not realise the number one rule that is:Someone who loves comics never let it go until the end...I have been in your place here in Athens and 2-3 times that this has happen,I was always wandering,(besides my anger),how it is possible not to understand that.I finally came to the conclusion that, grabbing money,a lot of times take the best out of people.At least we have the web where we can meet, share,tell our thoughts and buy from people who share the same passion like us.Thank you.
We've all dealt with these double-bagged douche bags.
Back in the 80s I was into the Hernandez Bros. but I didn't have Love and Rockets #1. So I went downtown to the "comic book guy" store.
When I told him what I was looking for he got upset. He said he wouldn't carry that comic at all because he couldn't sell the first issue until he put it in his 50 cents box and now it was selling for $100. So he felt burned by the experience.
No, it didn't make any sense to me either. But it did reveal it was all about money to him.
Meanwhile, the Silver and Bronze age comics he did have were hung up on pegboard with string which creased the covers and the comics in his longboxes were falling over on themselves from lack of backing boards. So he wasn't even getting the collector-fanboy best- condition-thing right.
This isn't the thread for it but someday I will rant about how it looked from the other side of the cash register.
Thanks for the fellow stories from fanboy hell -glad im not alone (well actually im not glad theres more stuck up comicshops out there - just glad im not the only one running into these types :) )
Mark! Ive been to that store when i was younger! Attitude and not even enough sense to properly house his collection with backer boards or that old trick of using string to attack comics to walls (I actually bought Avengers #4 that way (over 25yrs ago)- thankfully the guy behind the counter was cool enough to reevaluate the price based on the condition at the time of sale.)
cant wait to here a story from the other side of the counter!
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