I bought my first ever back issue comic books in the spring of 1980. I made my most recent back issue comics purchase... today!
That's a lot of water under the bridge, or comics stored in the long box. And the experience is both very different from - yet very similar to - the way it was almost 40 (!) years ago!
Today's purchase was made online. The sites that offer comic books as their primary business (Lone Star, Mile High, and others) couldn't make it simpler. Just enter the issue title and number and, there it is... or, isn't - if not in stock. But what could be easier and more direct?
Yet, there is still a thrill in comic-shopping at a big show like New York Comic Con... finding a desired comic from a display of many long boxes, holding it in your hand... tossing it up and letting it hit you on the head... Oh, wait... Scratch that one... It's from Uncle Scrooge!
But, my experiences at New York Comic Con 2019 and prior such shows reveal some less-convenient aspects to this type of shopping that are becoming growing trends.
While the overall shopping experience is made easier by NYCC "consolidating" (thanks, Scarecrow!) the comic book dealers into one corner of the vast convention floor...
...Thereby lessening (though, alas, not eliminating) my exposure to THIS...
I can't fault dealers for the aisle-clogging, space-monopolizing, impromptu cosplay photography sessions that occur in front of their booths, preventing customer access. I'm certain they find that to be far more a problem than I do. But here are a few pet-peeves that, once again, are becoming trends.
SELECTION: Obviously, every customer's taste in comics differs but, at a show of such scope, shouldn't dealers bring more varied - and less recent - stock to sell at such a unique event?
It is beyond me why there are so many dealers at NYCC stocking little or nothing beyond "recent stuff" that you could easily pick up at a comic book shop!
Why would you take such inventory to a big show like this? And, in a town with a healthy share of comic book shops like New York, why would anyone come to NYCC looking for it?
This should be a place where you come to find the unusual... not the everyday!
LAYOUT: Okay, this one is largely due to my (slightly advanced) age... but boxes ON THE FLOOR, as opposed to being up on the display tables, pose problems of personal physicality and of logistics.
Honestly, my back and my knees can't take very much of this - and I'm in good shape for an "almost-official-senior-citizen". Unless something looks very promising, I just pass floor-boxes up without a sniff. That's bad for me and the dealers.
Logistically, with all the crowding of aisles, sitting or kneeling on the floor to peruse such boxes can be hazardous to the person looking through the box, and those whose line-of-sight is not trained downward.
Why "look down", when there's so much to "look up" at?
I'll only speak for myself but, under the crowded and generally uncomfortable prevailing conditions, I REALLY don't wish to look through rows of "un-marked - or under-marked" boxes! Especially if all I end up finding are things that are of no interest to me!
If you're going to have a full box of "Nineties Marvel Dross", be considerate enough to mark the box "Nineties Marvel Dross"!
It's an obvious "Win/Win"! I don't waste my time, AND I don't block your display from those who weren't originally burned by the overabundance and falsely-inflated values of "Nineties Marvel Dross" and, for some unfathomable reason, want that stuff today!
Why shouldn't I KNOW what publisher and general era I should expect to find in a dealer's long box?! ...Seems such basic organization and labeling was almost always the rule, until recently!
SHARP STIFF MYLAR: Yes, I understand you want to make your better books "look their best" but, when thumbing through several boxes of comics in "sharp-edged, stiff Mylar casings", I just end up slicing my fingers - and leaving your booth in pain. Small wonder I keep none of my personal comics in them, regardless of worth!
OVERSTUFFED BOXES: Another source of finger-pain is trying to look at each comic in a grossly-overstuffed long box! Sometimes they are packed-in so tightly, they DON'T MOVE! And, if they don't move, I can't get a look at each one without taking them OUT OF THE BOX - one-at-a-time, or in large chunks!
I realize that your optimistic goal is to sell enough OUT OF these boxes so that there is plenty of room by show's end. But this is just another annoying and discouraging factor, that has made me "move-on" more times, during this show, than I wanted to!
IN CLOSING: I wish to emphasize that not all dealers at New York Comic Con 2019 are guilty of these practices. I daresay most aren't - or, at least keep them to a less-annoying minimum.
But, all of these things are, alas, clearly on the increase as the "old time professional dealers" begin to fade away.
With online comic book sales easier than ever, I would like to think those involved with a grand spectacle such as New York Comic Con would do everything possible to keep the experience "special" (it still is), but also convenient.
I'd expect one or two more posts on NYCC 2019 before it's all over! Be here for them, please!
4 comments:
Which Uncle Scrooge story is that one with the dragon? I don't think I ever read that one.
Oh, I’m sure you have, Deb.
It’s from THIS ISSUE!
Sounds as though there isn't much logical thought put into these events. It is truly galling that so many vendors would stock recent and current issues that could easily be purchased elsewhere. It is a slap in the face to those who fork out the bucks to attend. And I agree with your other objections, as well. Boxes on the floor are not positioned for convenience to those browsing. And cramming the boxes so full that their contents can't be examined is yet another "crime against humanity" in terms of inconveniencing the very people who are the potential source of revenue! (My usual technique for the crowded-box problem is to take out a chunk from the middle and place them to one side so that I can sift through the rest--at some point looking through the displaced chunk before cramming it all back in. But still it's more bother than a customer should have to endure.) Ah, for the good old days of customer service!!
Here's the logic that is being ignored--the comics collectors and buyers are the bread and butter for the vendors taking part in the convention. It would only make logical sense to try to anticipate their needs AHEAD OF PACKING STOCK FOR THE CONVENTION. It is highly likely that the current issues will have already been collected by most hard core enthusiasts, and so it would be somewhat of an intelligent move to bring in material that is NOT easy to come by, that is NOT something one can buy in many other less pricey venues. But I doubt that very many merchants today use any type of reasoning in that vein.
Similarly, ACCESS to the material should be paramount. Shouldn't collectors have an EASY time of browsing through back issue bins?
Let me see...if I were Person A dependent on Person B to shop at my stall and make me rich, I would do my best to ensure that Person B could have as successful an experience as possible in browsing through my goods. After all, is not Person B the one with the MONEY? The one I am hoping will transmit some of his hard-earned CASH into my hands in exchange for goods desired? Should I, Person A, not treat Person B like a KING? or a QUEEN? Or a PRINCE? or a PRINCESS? Hmm...now that I think about it, it makes logical sense. Guess we'll have to chuck that line of reasoning out the window, because whoever heard of logic being applied to a Comic Con? So let's be illogical and keep our customers ill at ease, making it as difficult as possible for them to discover the treasures that we only reluctantly plan to sell them...only if they manage to ferret through the game of hide-and-seek that we have devised to confuse and frustrate them. Ah, customer service!!!
I couldn’t agree more, Scarecrow!
Though, marginally becoming the devil’s advocate, I’d imagine there are a number of factors in play here…
1: The physical experience does seem like more of an ordeal to those now accustomed to online shopping. But that is more of an “across-the-board” phenomenon, rather than one specific to back issue comic books.
2: The newer stuff is probably more of a rarity at shows in areas that are not well-populated by comic book shops. New York, on the other hand… Well, you know…
3: We “older show-goers” remember when the whole thing was easier. Back issue comics were once THE main attraction, and those not interested in them simply weren’t there to get in our way!
4: As mentioned in the post, the “old time professional dealers”, with whom we used to regularly interact – I daresay have “a business relationship with” – have steadily begun fading away. And with them went a huge amount of professionalism in the organization and setup of displays, consideration of the type of stock offered, and relative “ease of the shopping experience”.
These were the people who “knew their stuff”… AND “knew their customers”! Once they knew you, they would bring items of potential interest to your attention! Their boxes were well-organized and clearly marked as to their contents, because they understood that each comic buyer had particular interests (and disinterests) and wanted you to maximize your time at their booth (and maximize your potential purchases) by seeing to it that you largely got to view a selection of “the things you wanted”, and not “the things you didn’t”!
They also didn’t have boxes on the floor… and, if they did, had them brought up to a comfortable browsing height for you! And, those nicely organized, clearly labeled boxes were never packed too tight to comfortably browse! …I miss those guys!
5: Relative to Item 4… The “old time professional dealers” are being steadily replaced with younger dealers to whom “newer stuff” is of greater interest, and who are less interested in the efforts of organization and labeling of stock. In the same way overall standards of courtesy, knowledge, professionalism, and “just plain old caring” have significantly lowered in the world-at-large, so has it occurred in the current crop of comic dealers, who didn’t experience the shows as we did, but regard them as an adjunct to e-bay.
Though, I’m not ready to admit it yet… perhaps I’m becoming (…just a very, teensy-tiny little bit) too old for the modern-day version of the experience. …Naaaah!
Finally, all that said, I'm very satisfied with the purchases made at New York Comic Con 2019. And the effort on my part, though it HAS become much more patience-trying, is still worth it. I'll be at NYCC 2020... though maybe 1-2 days, and not all four.
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