Why aren't there more quarter bins?

[Zero]

...now it costs me $100.... grrrrr!

What are you driving?

[TKWill]

A couple things come to mind (and mind you I can't even verify if there are less quarter bins or not). probably a better question for one of the shop owners or it might be unique local phenomenon

One, the dollar isn't worth anything so we can do the simple division 10 years ago a quarter was more than 1/4 tank of gas for me.

Two, (which relates to one) might be a cost/space issue. If I sell 200 quarter bin comics a day, I probably did more work ringing you up than was worth my time.

I have to ask... what did you drive that 25 cents could give you a quarter of a tank of gas? 10 years ago (to my memory) gas was somewhere between 85c and 90c a gallon...

I know... I'm nitpicking... but I'm angry, man.... I used to be able to fill up for $15 and now it costs me $100.... grrrrr!

Maybe it was this...

[etos45]

A couple things come to mind (and mind you I can't even verify if there are less quarter bins or not). probably a better question for one of the shop owners or it might be unique local phenomenon

One, the dollar isn't worth anything so we can do the simple division 10 years ago a quarter was more than 1/4 tank of gas for me.

Two, (which relates to one) might be a cost/space issue. If I sell 200 quarter bin comics a day, I probably did more work ringing you up than was worth my time.

I have to ask... what did you drive that 25 cents could give you a quarter of a tank of gas? 10 years ago (to my memory) gas was somewhere between 85c and 90c a gallon...

I know... I'm nitpicking... but I'm angry, man.... I used to be able to fill up for $15 and now it costs me $100.... grrrrr!

Now I'm getting really confused. How many trips are you making to the Health Clinic??

Man, she told me she was clean.... [/discussion]

What are you driving?

A Dodge Ram... It's got a 35-40 gallon tank in it though... It just sucks when I have to go to the health clinic and.... grrr.... I mean... it just sucks!

[tarheelmarine]

A couple things come to mind (and mind you I can't even verify if there are less quarter bins or not). probably a better question for one of the shop owners or it might be unique local phenomenon

One, the dollar isn't worth anything so we can do the simple division 10 years ago a quarter was more than 1/4 tank of gas for me.

Two, (which relates to one) might be a cost/space issue. If I sell 200 quarter bin comics a day, I probably did more work ringing you up than was worth my time.

I have to ask... what did you drive that 25 cents could give you a quarter of a tank of gas? 10 years ago (to my memory) gas was somewhere between 85c and 90c a gallon...

I know... I'm nitpicking... but I'm angry, man.... I used to be able to fill up for $15 and now it costs me $100.... grrrrr!

I mean a quarter of a gallon - which in a Honda or Acura (which I was pimping in those years) that's good for a week.

Pimpin' seems to be a popular word lately.

[Stinger]

A couple things come to mind (and mind you I can't even verify if there are less quarter bins or not). probably a better question for one of the shop owners or it might be unique local phenomenon

One, the dollar isn't worth anything so we can do the simple division 10 years ago a quarter was more than 1/4 tank of gas for me.

Two, (which relates to one) might be a cost/space issue. If I sell 200 quarter bin comics a day, I probably did more work ringing you up than was worth my time.

I have to ask... what did you drive that 25 cents could give you a quarter of a tank of gas? 10 years ago (to my memory) gas was somewhere between 85c and 90c a gallon...

I know... I'm nitpicking... but I'm angry, man.... I used to be able to fill up for $15 and now it costs me $100.... grrrrr!

Maybe it was this...

What a PIMP *SQUEE* RIDE?! Bling Bling.

[daydreamscomics]

we view back issues as a necessity and a waste...

we are a comic book shop, and i don't feel we'd BE a comic book shop without back issues.

at the same time, over the course of a year we only generate 5-10% of our TOTAL sales out of the back issue boxes.

we don't want back issues to take up as much space as they do, which goes with the area vs profit arguement. we would rather put more shelves in to sell trades

it's also not very profitable if you bag and board your back issues to then sell at 25 cents. you're losing about 5 cents right off the bat for b & b, not to mention wages to put them all together.

ebay pretty much killed the back issue market. we've come to realize this, and price out back issues accordingly. a lot of stuff is now $1, and pretty much anything not key from 1980 - 2000 is priced at least 50% off guide. anything that comes off the comic wall to go into the back issues is immediately discounted 10%. we also plan on doing weekly specials in the near future once we get back issues repriced. say Hulk is the new big book of the week. we'd offer an extra % off Hulk back issues or any book Hulk appeared in, to try and move more back issues.

i'd much rather someone come in and say "i'll trade you these 20 long boxes of golden age/silver age books for all your back issues that are out" that'd make for a SWEET back issue section

[mobstirr]

at the Charlotte Heroes Convention 3 weeks ago I saw a dealer that had .50 boxes on top of his tables and .25 boxes on the bottom. I was pulling some stuff from his .50 boxes,but not alot and looked at the 20 or so boxes on the floor and asked myself,do I really want to go through all those...The 2nd box into them,I hit upon a run of Eternal Warrior around issue #30... as I go farther I see #46,47,48,49, & 2 copies of #50,bagged and boarded in near mint/mint condition...so I figured it's already worth it...ended up pulling Turok 44-47,Solar #59,60,Shadowman #43 x2,Rai #33 x2.....Harbinger #41...and Bloodshot #49,50...all bagged & boarded and in nm/m condition. It was hard to believe that kind of stuff could still be found at a show.

So YOU'RE the one that beat me to those in Charlotte!
Actually, I think I may have bought from the same seller.

I got to the guy Friday morning. He was talking about going to .10/book on Sunday...I'm hardly ever around those big shows on the last day,but I know some of those guys were just saying they were gonna blow out whatever they had left.It does pay to dig under those tables!

I kinda figured he had some really good stuff on Friday. I went on Sunday looking for deals on bulk comics.

[sckao]

ebay pretty much killed the back issue market

I would have thought the opposite

He means "killed the back issue market for retailers"

[daydreamscomics]

ebay pretty much killed the back issue market

I would have thought the opposite

He means "killed the back issue market for retailers"

it also killed it for collectors, it doesn't matter who's selling, the prices are gonna be lower than "book value" (though book value = ebay value in my mind, overstreet may as well be renamed ebaystreet)

[etos45]

ebay pretty much killed the back issue market

I would have thought the opposite

He means "killed the back issue market for retailers"

it also killed it for collectors, it doesn't matter who's selling, the prices are gonna be lower than "book value" (though book value = ebay value in my mind, overstreet may as well be renamed ebaystreet)

I for one don't think that ebay hurt the collector at all when it came to back issues. When I was younger, comic stores would artificially inflate the price of back issues and force the consumer to over pay. I remember paying $5-10 over guide for a lot of key issues but I had no choice. If I wanted them, I had to pay it. Then, there were a lot of issues not worth over cover that dealers would charge $1-3 over cover. If you missed the issue, what else were you going to do? The only way to get a deal then was to go to a comic convention or risk buying something off of a message board. When ebay came around, it gave the collector another option and, for people like me, it has saved a fortune. It may hurt the inflated value (let's face it, it's only worth what someone will pay for it), but it doesn't hurt the collector that just wants to collect. I have no intentions of ever selling my collection...

[daydreamscomics]

ebay pretty much killed the back issue market

I would have thought the opposite

He means "killed the back issue market for retailers"

it also killed it for collectors, it doesn't matter who's selling, the prices are gonna be lower than "book value" (though book value = ebay value in my mind, overstreet may as well be renamed ebaystreet)

I for one don't think that ebay hurt the collector at all when it came to back issues. When I was younger, comic stores would artificially inflate the price of back issues and force the consumer to over pay. I remember paying $5-10 over guide for a lot of key issues but I had no choice. If I wanted them, I had to pay it. Then, there were a lot of issues not worth over cover that dealers would charge $1-3 over cover. If you missed the issue, what else were you going to do? The only way to get a deal then was to go to a comic convention or risk buying something off of a message board. When ebay came around, it gave the collector another option and, for people like me, it has saved a fortune. It may hurt the inflated value (let's face it, it's only worth what someone will pay for it), but it doesn't hurt the collector that just wants to collect. I have no intentions of ever selling my collection...

i'm not talking about collector buying, just selling.

obviously it helps collectors buy books for less and gives them more outlets to find stuff they need.

[etos45]

It also helps the collector in selling if you think about. I, as a fictitious collector, have something to sell. In the old days, my choice was limited to message boards and the comic stores. Comic stores will never pay you anything. I had a very stupid friend sell over $500 worth of Amazing Spider-man comics for a whole $50 to a dealer. Ebay would have connected that stupid friend to buyers that would have paid him more without the hassle of the message boards. Still not getting book value, probably, but it'll be more money than the comic store. The only people it really hurts in the long run are people into comics for the profit... and even they're getting paid on ebay... just not as much.

And I don't mean this as a slam on comic dealers. I love my local comic dealer and I often overpay for my back issues to buy them from him. I'm just debating this for... well... no real reason.

[daydreamscomics]

It also helps the collector in selling if you think about. I, as a fictitious collector, have something to sell. In the old days, my choice was limited to message boards and the comic stores. Comic stores will never pay you anything. I had a very stupid friend sell over $500 worth of Amazing Spider-man comics for a whole $50 to a dealer. Ebay would have connected that stupid friend to buyers that would have paid him more without the hassle of the message boards. Still not getting book value, probably, but it'll be more money than the comic store. The only people it really hurts in the long run are people into comics for the profit... and even they're getting paid on ebay... just not as much.

And I don't mean this as a slam on comic dealers. I love my local comic dealer and I often overpay for my back issues to buy them from him. I'm just debating this for... well... no real reason.

i gotcha

i think most people don't see this though. people come in time after time with 80's - current books they want to sell, expecting to get top $ for them. when we tell them they are basically worthless (and that's not us trying to rip anyone off, it's us knowing we aren't going to be able to sell 90% of it or we already have 90% of it in stock) they don't understand the concept. all they see is a dollar value in a price guide, and expect to get that. anymore we will offer to sell their stuff for them on ebay for a fee if they have decent runs of stuff, that way they are getting the most out of their stuff while getting ACTUAL market value for their stuff.

of course most of these people haven't set foot in a comic shop in about 15 years, so they are stuck in that 90's mentality of "investing" and can't see how their "investment" hasn't paid off...

[superman-prime]

even the biggest hitters from the 90s are not worth a 10% yearly gain from original price (exept that occasionally missed comic ) usm 1 and a few others.
comic books are not the stock market and never will be, there will be the occasional big gainer, but not to often and not enough to make stock type gains (10% or more a year)
the sports card market learned this, then it came to comics, after that mtg (anyone want fallin empires for 10 bucks a box )

as for ebay it more or less gave consumers a REAL look at what stuff should cost and gave them more options (instead of lcs wanting 3 x value for a common) and the good stores will make it the rest will meet the dinosaurs

[COMICKINGS]

after that mtg (anyone want fallin empires for 10 bucks a box )

I'll take 100 at that price!

[rictor]

At my store we have 25-cent, 50-cent and dollar boxes largely because when the store began 10 years ago it was a total anime store with a few boxes of comics over in the corner. As time has gone on the shop has become half anime/half comics, but the boxes remain because once you have the discount bins for a time, if you take them away people come in and panic because they aren't there. Seriously panic. People have come into the store while the books are at a con and ask in a worried tone "Where are the quarter books?" We tell them they are at a con and, their little hearts jackhammering away, they ask "Well you're still going to carry them, right?" I have had people tell me they were diagnosed with cancer who were calmer than the people fearing for their quarter books.

So to keep my customer base from going into cardiac shock we fully embrace the quarter bins. They do okay for us. Heck I have so many other things that are dead weight that the discount bins are the least of my worries.

[Daniel Jackson]

At my store we have 25-cent, 50-cent and dollar boxes largely because when the store began 10 years ago it was a total anime store with a few boxes of comics over in the corner. As time has gone on the shop has become half anime/half comics, but the boxes remain because once you have the discount bins for a time, if you take them away people come in and panic because they aren't there. Seriously panic. People have come into the store while the books are at a con and ask in a worried tone "Where are the quarter books?" We tell them they are at a con and, their little hearts jackhammering away, they ask "Well you're still going to carry them, right?" I have had people tell me they were diagnosed with cancer who were calmer than the people fearing for their quarter books.

So to keep my customer base from going into cardiac shock we fully embrace the quarter bins. They do okay for us. Heck I have so many other things that are dead weight that the discount bins are the least of my worries.

Hahahaha... that's too funny. At least you listen to your customers, around here they would rather just lose business and let their back issues collect dust.

[slym2none]

At my store we have 25-cent, 50-cent and dollar boxes largely because when the store began 10 years ago it was a total anime store with a few boxes of comics over in the corner. As time has gone on the shop has become half anime/half comics, but the boxes remain because once you have the discount bins for a time, if you take them away people come in and panic because they aren't there. Seriously panic. People have come into the store while the books are at a con and ask in a worried tone "Where are the quarter books?" We tell them they are at a con and, their little hearts jackhammering away, they ask "Well you're still going to carry them, right?" I have had people tell me they were diagnosed with cancer who were calmer than the people fearing for their quarter books.

So to keep my customer base from going into cardiac shock we fully embrace the quarter bins. They do okay for us. Heck I have so many other things that are dead weight that the discount bins are the least of my worries.

I wish more comic shops would take this attitude. the LCS I used to work at (and I know I've said this before) still has more than a long-box full of Spawn #1, and their copies in the back-issue boxes are still priced full-guide value. They have boxes they bought from people, picked through the good stuff, and the other crap is just sitting there, getting stacked up higher and higher - and yes, I did have a box of books fall over once while I was working there.

I bet they could get a dozen LB's easy of quarter-bin fodder that they will otherwise never sell, much less sort through.





-slym (volunteered to do the eBay thing for them and was rejected)

[daydreamscomics]

At my store we have 25-cent, 50-cent and dollar boxes largely because when the store began 10 years ago it was a total anime store with a few boxes of comics over in the corner. As time has gone on the shop has become half anime/half comics, but the boxes remain because once you have the discount bins for a time, if you take them away people come in and panic because they aren't there. Seriously panic. People have come into the store while the books are at a con and ask in a worried tone "Where are the quarter books?" We tell them they are at a con and, their little hearts jackhammering away, they ask "Well you're still going to carry them, right?" I have had people tell me they were diagnosed with cancer who were calmer than the people fearing for their quarter books.

So to keep my customer base from going into cardiac shock we fully embrace the quarter bins. They do okay for us. Heck I have so many other things that are dead weight that the discount bins are the least of my worries.

I wish more comic shops would take this attitude. the LCS I used to work at (and I know I've said this before) still has more than a long-box full of Spawn #1, and their copies in the back-issue boxes are still priced full-guide value. They have boxes they bought from people, picked through the good stuff, and the other crap is just sitting there, getting stacked up higher and higher - and yes, I did have a box of books fall over once while I was working there.

I bet they could get a dozen LB's easy of quarter-bin fodder that they will otherwise never sell, much less sort through.





-slym (volunteered to do the eBay thing for them and was rejected)

i almost feel bad for stores like that...ALMOST

[Tim]

I found a complete run of Timewalker, Armorines, and Secret weapons in ten-cent boxes at HeroesCon this year. Not to mention a complete run of John Byrne's Namor issues and issues 1-37 of New Warriors.

Found a ton of other stuff in quarter boxes. I think I walked out of there with almost 300 comics and only spent about 60 bucks.

at the Charlotte Heroes Convention 3 weeks ago I saw a dealer that had .50 boxes on top of his tables and .25 boxes on the bottom. I was pulling some stuff from his .50 boxes,but not alot and looked at the 20 or so boxes on the floor and asked myself,do I really want to go through all those...The 2nd box into them,I hit upon a run of Eternal Warrior around issue #30... as I go farther I see #46,47,48,49, & 2 copies of #50,bagged and boarded in near mint/mint condition...so I figured it's already worth it...ended up pulling Turok 44-47,Solar #59,60,Shadowman #43 x2,Rai #33 x2.....Harbinger #41...and Bloodshot #49,50...all bagged & boarded and in nm/m condition. It was hard to believe that kind of stuff could still be found at a show.

In my store I've got back issue bins that hold about 25 long boxes worth od $1 books. I've got'em $1 each..7 for $5..or 15 for $10...We pump alot of stuff through those bins. We try and buy collections and usually 85-90% of the stuff is $2-$5 back issues,so we just put all that stuff in there.I think we are the only store in this area that does it. It does generate business and the regular guys are always asking when are we going to be adding more stuff. Usually I'll rotate the boxes about every 6 months,if I've built up enough to replace whats there.

Every store in the country has got tons of books that you just can't get cover price for,but it's hard for some guys to sell anything below cover price.

[kyanther]

I found a shop that has more quarter bins than normal back issues. The thing that surprised me is they were all in pretty good shape. What surprised me even more is finding a deathmate epilogue gold in the boxes! I think it was worth a quarter. Lol, and just for humors sake, I picked up the wildstar gold number 1 from image too since it was right behind it. I always thought that character at least looked cool.....being attacked by a starfish and all

[400yrs]

At my store we have 25-cent, 50-cent and dollar boxes largely because when the store began 10 years ago it was a total anime store with a few boxes of comics over in the corner. As time has gone on the shop has become half anime/half comics, but the boxes remain because once you have the discount bins for a time, if you take them away people come in and panic because they aren't there. Seriously panic. People have come into the store while the books are at a con and ask in a worried tone "Where are the quarter books?" We tell them they are at a con and, their little hearts jackhammering away, they ask "Well you're still going to carry them, right?" I have had people tell me they were diagnosed with cancer who were calmer than the people fearing for their quarter books.

So to keep my customer base from going into cardiac shock we fully embrace the quarter bins. They do okay for us. Heck I have so many other things that are dead weight that the discount bins are the least of my worries.

Do you carry toys? Comic related toys, I mean, not anime.

The LCSs around here have a ton of toys and I've never seen ANYONE buy one. Do they actually make money on them or is that just dead space?

[daydreamscomics]

At my store we have 25-cent, 50-cent and dollar boxes largely because when the store began 10 years ago it was a total anime store with a few boxes of comics over in the corner. As time has gone on the shop has become half anime/half comics, but the boxes remain because once you have the discount bins for a time, if you take them away people come in and panic because they aren't there. Seriously panic. People have come into the store while the books are at a con and ask in a worried tone "Where are the quarter books?" We tell them they are at a con and, their little hearts jackhammering away, they ask "Well you're still going to carry them, right?" I have had people tell me they were diagnosed with cancer who were calmer than the people fearing for their quarter books.

So to keep my customer base from going into cardiac shock we fully embrace the quarter bins. They do okay for us. Heck I have so many other things that are dead weight that the discount bins are the least of my worries.

Do you carry toys? Comic related toys, I mean, not anime.

The LCSs around here have a ton of toys and I've never seen ANYONE buy one. Do they actually make money on them or is that just dead space?

toys here are mostly dead space...which is why we designate very little space to them. we have a small toy case in the back with vintage stuff and a small wall of new figures but that's it. we sell most of that stuff at conventions. wal'mart & target killed marvel legends for us, and there just isn't a lot of interest in most new toys from dc direct

[TKWill]

At my store we have 25-cent, 50-cent and dollar boxes largely because when the store began 10 years ago it was a total anime store with a few boxes of comics over in the corner. As time has gone on the shop has become half anime/half comics, but the boxes remain because once you have the discount bins for a time, if you take them away people come in and panic because they aren't there. Seriously panic. People have come into the store while the books are at a con and ask in a worried tone "Where are the quarter books?" We tell them they are at a con and, their little hearts jackhammering away, they ask "Well you're still going to carry them, right?" I have had people tell me they were diagnosed with cancer who were calmer than the people fearing for their quarter books.

So to keep my customer base from going into cardiac shock we fully embrace the quarter bins. They do okay for us. Heck I have so many other things that are dead weight that the discount bins are the least of my worries.

Do you carry toys? Comic related toys, I mean, not anime.

The LCSs around here have a ton of toys and I've never seen ANYONE buy one. Do they actually make money on them or is that just dead space?

I hate toys at Comic shops. I wish I could find a comic shop that was like the music shop in High Fidelity. Nothing but comics, that's all. No toys, No Anime, No Sports cards, No Hero-Clix, No Magic. Just Comics. That place would get my money all the time, and then I wouldn't have to walk by emos smoking cigarettes in front of the store.

[thePike]

I just bought 500 books from the "3-for-a-dollar" bin from my LCS and paid $50. Ended up paying $0.10 a comic since I did it in bulk (he even threw in the new long boxes for free).

Thats why I like the quarter bins!!! (assuming you've got guys like at my LCS that cut deals like that for regulars)

All valiants too, although nothing too very special...