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Post by driver1980 on Sept 10, 2024 8:44:30 GMT -5
I think old American back issues are way more expensive in the UK than they are in the U.S. generally. When I look at what back issues are going for in the States on eBay or at Lonestar etc, it's clear that we tend to get hammered on the prices. This is even more apparent when I visit comic shops in the States and compare them to stores in London. I guess it's down to less availability of U.S. comics in Britain. Time was that I used to order fairly often from online American sites like Mile High or Lonestar, because it worked out cheaper than buying from UK-based sellers like Silver Acre (who I did and still do use sometimes), even with the international shipping. But a combination of the pound weakening against the dollar and huge increases in U.S. shipping rates means that it's no longer worthwhile to do that. EDIT: Editing just to say that I kinda miss the pre-eBay days when you could go to a jumble sale or carboot slae and pick up bundles of old comics -- or even a whole box of them sometimes -- for pence. I got a complete collection of the Tintin books for a couple of quid back in the early '90s. That's still probably my best ever comics score! I could have a real rant about car boot sales, having been to a few in the last 2-3 years. The last one I went to was very “corporate” with what appeared to be shops having stalls, selling cleaning products and car accessories. Now why would I want to go to a car boot sale for such things? I don’t blame the organisers hiring out a stall to such businesses, but it felt very dry. I mean, car boots should be about vinyl, comics, books, toys, video games, etc, etc. Not cleaning products that I can buy in Savers or Superdrug. It just felt like another example of the corporate mindset taking over something that should really be about fun. People come back from car boot sales saying things like, “I found a great LP I’d always wanted.” No person ever came back from a car boot sale saying, “I picked up some great shower cleaning products and furniture polish.” I find charity shops to be good, though. Years ago, there was a stack of G.I. Joe comics (Devil’s Due Publishing) in a charity shop. A lot of them! I did take all of them to the counter and said to the woman, “You’re probably gonna hate me as I may take up a lot of your time.” She smiled and said something like, “Well, rather than me counting a lot of comics, why don’t I speak to my manager and see if we can just name a price quickly on guesswork?” So I walked off with a lot of comics and I was happy.
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Post by impulse on Sept 10, 2024 8:48:03 GMT -5
It's a catch-22, isn't it? On the one hand, I like the idea of supporting small, local shops versus massive soulless corporations. On the other hand, times are tough, and large companies that can run and buy at scale can offer a lower price... which undercuts the local retailers who have to raise prices as costs rise and sales decline, driving away more business, etc. It's a vicious cycle that seems to end with a handful of large vicious companies remaining. Plus, after they've driven out the competition and are the only game in town, they no longer need to undercut anyone and sell at lower prices, and the rates get jacked in the end regardless.
I don't have a solution. It seems to be an inevitable outcome of unmitigated capitalism. Personally, I don't buy any comics at the moment anyway. I don't have the time, money or space to spare.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Sept 10, 2024 8:54:49 GMT -5
I think old American back issues are way more expensive in the UK than they are in the U.S. generally. When I look at what back issues are going for in the States on eBay or at Lonestar etc, it's clear that we tend to get hammered on the prices. This is even more apparent when I visit comic shops in the States and compare them to stores in London. I guess it's down to less availability of U.S. comics in Britain. Time was that I used to order fairly often from online American sites like Mile High or Lonestar, because it worked out cheaper than buying from UK-based sellers like Silver Acre (who I did and still do use sometimes), even with the international shipping. But a combination of the pound weakening against the dollar and huge increases in U.S. shipping rates means that it's no longer worthwhile to do that. EDIT: Editing just to say that I kinda miss the pre-eBay days when you could go to a jumble sale or carboot slae and pick up bundles of old comics -- or even a whole box of them sometimes -- for pence. I got a complete collection of the Tintin books for a couple of quid back in the early '90s. That's still probably my best ever comics score! I could have a real rant about car boot sales, having been to a few in the last 2-3 years. The last one I went to was very “corporate” with what appeared to be shops having stalls, selling cleaning products and car accessories. Now why would I want to go to a car boot sale for such things? I don’t blame the organisers hiring out a stall to such businesses, but it felt very dry. I mean, car boots should be about vinyl, comics, books, toys, video games, etc, etc. Not cleaning products that I can buy in Savers or Superdrug. It just felt like another example of the corporate mindset taking over something that should really be about fun. People come back from car boot sales saying things like, “I found a great LP I’d always wanted.” No person ever came back from a car boot sale saying, “I picked up some great shower cleaning products and furniture polish.” I probably haven't been to carboot sale since the eary 2000s...if not longer! But I can well believe what you're saying. I mean, I get why there are less private sellers and more businesses selling cleaning products and car accessories etc at carboots, because everybody knows you can get a better price on the crap cluttering up your attic on eBay or Vinted than you can at a carboot sale. And I really don't mind people doing that at all. It's just the way the world has gone now. But yeah, I do kinda miss the days of driving around with my girlfriend on a Sunday morning, browsing jumble sales and visiting carboot sales looking for treasure and bargains.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Sept 10, 2024 10:07:42 GMT -5
The ability to support local businesses is dependent upon having local businesses to support...and them having what you want. I live in a very small area. And honestly, it's next to impossible to get anything here. And I mean damn near anything. Since I refuse to give money to Walmart that limits my options even further. I have to either travel 150+ miles to get clothes that fit me or I buy them online. Someone just opened a small comic book shop locally, but that's the first time in 25 years that I wouldn't have had to travel 150+ miles to get funnybooks. I went in and it was pretty much what I expected...a whole lot of new releases, mostly Marvel and DC. Not what I read. I asked about a then recently released Brubaker/Phillips graphic novel and got looked at like I had two heads. They were polite and said they could see if they could order it, but there is no way they would have something like that in stock. Forget about expensive strip reprints. They also sell TTRPG stuff and have a little room for people to play, so that's cool. I'm happy they're here for the kids...but they're pretty useless for me. There hasn't been anyplace to buy physical media music around here since I was in college. Even when I was in high school I bought most of my cassettes mail-order.
On the other hand, I can count the number of times I eat at a chain restaurant in a year on the fingers of one (maybe two) hand(s). I will always opt to support local anywhere I'm at unless I'm with people that insist on something they're "comfortable" with. That usually means my in-laws, whose taste in everything is, at best, pedestrian.
I understand the desire to avoid meg-corps. Trust me, I absolutely do. But sometimes it's almost impossible to do so because either there's no other option or the other option is just as bad.
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Post by driver1980 on Sept 10, 2024 10:21:26 GMT -5
The ability to support local businesses is dependent upon having local businesses to support...and them having what you want. I live in a very small area. And honestly, it's next to impossible to get anything here. And I mean damn near anything. Since I refuse to give money to Walmart that limits my options even further. I have to either travel 150+ miles to get clothes that fit me or I buy them online. Someone just opened a small comic book shop locally, but that's the first time in 25 years that I wouldn't have had to travel 150+ miles to get funnybooks. I went in and it was pretty much what I expected...a whole lot of new releases, mostly Marvel and DC. Not what I read. I asked about a then recently released Brubaker/Phillips graphic novel and got looked at like I had two heads. They were polite and said they could see if they could order it, but there is no way they would have something like that in stock. Forget about expensive strip reprints. They also sell TTRPG stuff and have a little room for people to play, so that's cool. I'm happy they're here for the kids...but they're pretty useless for me. There hasn't been anyplace to buy physical media music around here since I was in college. Even when I was in high school I bought most of my cassettes mail-order. On the other hand, I can count the number of times I eat at a chain restaurant in a year on the fingers of one (maybe two) hand(s). I will always opt to support local anywhere I'm at unless I'm with people that insist on something they're "comfortable" with. That usually means my in-laws, whose taste in everything is, at best, pedestrian. I understand the desire to avoid meg-corps. Trust me, I absolutely do. But sometimes it's almost impossible to do so because either there's no other option or the other option is just as bad. Years ago, I visited the Outer Hebrides (South Uist in particular). I chatted to a local at one point. She told me how everything involved planning in such a remote location, how you couldn’t just walk or even drive somewhere quickly and buy clothes. The only place to buy shopping was a supermarket that was a drive away. There were no major chains on the island for books or anything like that, so she had to use the likes of Amazon. Now, that’s an island, but I suspect it’s the same elsewhere in the UK - and beyond, as your post shows.
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Post by impulse on Sept 10, 2024 10:22:58 GMT -5
I completely get it. We recently moved from a major area that had basically everything to a much smaller one. Much as I dislike Walmart, they are hard to avoid around here, unfortunately. I do use their free online order with curbside pickup, though, and 9/10 times I can find a coupon code for $20 off, so at least it's costing them and I don't have to go inside much.
While I dislike a lot of Amazon's business practices, I used to live near a major distribution hub, and I have to tell you, as a customer, it is AMAZING waking up in the morning, ordering some stuff and it arriving on your doorstep before you go to bed.
Aside from my kids' weekly Happy Meal treat, I prefer local restaurants as well.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Sept 10, 2024 10:44:21 GMT -5
I understand the desire to avoid meg-corps. Trust me, I absolutely do. But sometimes it's almost impossible to do so because either there's no other option or the other option is just as bad. Yep, this is the crux of the matter really. I do firmly believe you should avoid buying from faceless mega-corps as much as humanly possible and instead shop at local small businesses (or small businesses online anywhere in the world), but I do also absolutely accept that sometimes that's just not possible. I mean, for one thing, it isn't always financially sensible to do that. Being an ethical consumer is almost never the cheapest or most convenient option! I get that...and I will absolutely use Amazon a number of times a year myself because sometimes I have no alternative or the cost of not doing so is prohibitively expensive. But whenever I can, I will always try to use small or local businesses, even if it ends up costing me a little bit more. The truth is that if we don't support small local businesses, our communities, labour markets, personal finances, the environment, and the very fabric of our society will all suffer.
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Post by tartanphantom on Sept 10, 2024 10:58:51 GMT -5
I could have a real rant about car boot sales, having been to a few in the last 2-3 years. The last one I went to was very “corporate” with what appeared to be shops having stalls, selling cleaning products and car accessories. Now why would I want to go to a car boot sale for such things? I don’t blame the organisers hiring out a stall to such businesses, but it felt very dry. I mean, car boots should be about vinyl, comics, books, toys, video games, etc, etc. Not cleaning products that I can buy in Savers or Superdrug. It just felt like another example of the corporate mindset taking over something that should really be about fun. People come back from car boot sales saying things like, “I found a great LP I’d always wanted.” No person ever came back from a car boot sale saying, “I picked up some great shower cleaning products and furniture polish. Wait... you mean re-selling merchandise from Boots isn't what you do at a boot sale? How ironic.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Sept 10, 2024 12:27:33 GMT -5
I have made a few scores at Savers in the past (mostly with them calling Manga kids book and selling them really cheap), but they went from calling comics a magazine and selling them for .25 to selling them for 1.99-2.99. Last time I went that has some interesting stuff (I random Spire comic from 1976 and a few very beat up 80s indy comics) but for 2.99 with a big 'ole price tag on them I was not tempted.
yard sales around here tend to be old folks cleaning out their junk, they are generally filled with obsolete media (lots of VHS and cassettes, usually a few CDs), clothes, and 'collectors' items like beanie babies and McDonalds toys. I don't think I've ever found comics at one. Sometimes they'll have books, but never anything interesting.
Library book sales I do decently well at, but never comics. sometimes used book stores will have what used to be a $1 bin that has turned into a $2 bin... generally the stuff inside is what you would expect $1 bin material to be, so I've been passing until I get through all the old $1 bin (and sometimes .25 bin) stuff I've collected and never read over the years.
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rich
Full Member
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Post by rich on Sept 10, 2024 14:38:32 GMT -5
I understand the desire to avoid meg-corps. Trust me, I absolutely do. But sometimes it's almost impossible to do so because either there's no other option or the other option is just as bad. Yep, this is the crux of the matter really. I do firmly believe you should avoid buying from faceless mega-corps as much as humanly possible and instead shop at local small businesses (or small businesses online anywhere in the world), but I do also absolutely accept that sometimes that's just not possible. I mean, for one thing, it isn't always financially sensible to do that. Being an ethical consumer is almost never the cheapest or most convenient option! I get that...and I will absolutely use Amazon a number of times a year myself because sometimes I have no alternative or the cost of not doing so is prohibitively expensive. But whenever I can, I will always try to use small or local businesses, even if it ends up costing me a little bit more. The truth is that if we don't support small local businesses, our communities, labour markets, personal finances, the environment, and the very fabric of our society will all suffer. It's the government that need to level the playing field- costs are much too high for small businesses, and FAR too lenient on the faceless mega corps. There's a farm shop near me that shut last week, that I used to buy a few bits from. It was tasty stuff, and I'd get a few bits like honey, cured meat, etc. Their problem involved costing more than the organic supermarket near here, and about treble the budget supermarkets. I see why the they had high prices, but it's hard to attract enough business at that price. When I was in England during Covid times I simply stopped shopping in person completely. Ocado and Amazon and some small businesses ticked all the boxes. I didn't really miss it. Most shopping was just in Asda and Sainsburys anyway. I don't have hobbies that require going to shops. All the book shops closed because big online shops priced them out of the market. They were just being used as libraries to check when new stuff was available, and for a while all had coffee shops inside to try to survive. Successive governments should have seen it coming- the average person cannot justify spending more than they need on a regular basis. Of course the entire supply chain needs to look at themselves- offering bulk discounts has left lots of producers and distributors beholden to very few clients...
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Post by supercat on Sept 12, 2024 13:38:14 GMT -5
Still one of the most touching stories I've ever read, did not see the ending coming the first time I read it, hit me like a freight train. For anyone who hasn't read it, I won't give it away, but it's a heartbreaker and yet incredibly inspiring all in one.
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Post by Cei-U! on Sept 12, 2024 14:05:12 GMT -5
Still one of the most touching stories I've ever read, did not see the ending coming the first time I read it, hit me like a freight train. For anyone who hasn't read it, I won't give it away, but it's a heartbreaker and yet incredibly inspiring all in one. One of my favorite Marvel stories, full stop. If I were asked to edit an anthology of the company's all-time best, this would be my first selection.
Cei-U! Can you tell I kinda like it?
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Post by commond on Sept 12, 2024 16:29:08 GMT -5
Not sure I really needed to read a tale about Tarzan's first love, Teeka the ape.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Sept 12, 2024 16:39:32 GMT -5
Still one of the most touching stories I've ever read, did not see the ending coming the first time I read it, hit me like a freight train. For anyone who hasn't read it, I won't give it away, but it's a heartbreaker and yet incredibly inspiring all in one. One of my favorite Marvel stories, full stop. If I were asked to edit an anthology of the company's all-time best, this would be my first selection. Cei-U! Can you tell I kinda like it?
Not to rain on anyone's parade, but I've never understood the love for this comic. Maybe I'm just a hard-hearted SOB, but I think it's a load of overly sentimental tosh! Even putting aside how schmaltzy it is, ASM #248 is structurally a bit of a mess: it's half a continuation of Spidey's fight with Thunderball (which began in the previous issue) and half a recap of Spider-Man's origin – with a ladle-load of sentimentality for the eponymous "kid". I mean, yeah, it's a well-drawn and fairly well written recap, but it comes off as far too mawkish and manipulatively maudlin for my tastes. It's too eager to pull the reader's heartstrings, but it does so cheaply, layering on the fake poignancy with a trowel. It's the comic book equivalent of a song like "He Stopped Loving Her Today" by George Jones. Sorry, guys. I just don't see it.
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Post by tartanphantom on Sept 12, 2024 17:04:49 GMT -5
One of my favorite Marvel stories, full stop. If I were asked to edit an anthology of the company's all-time best, this would be my first selection. Cei-U! Can you tell I kinda like it?
Not to rain on anyone's parade, but I've never understood the love for this comic. Maybe I'm just a hard-hearted SOB, but I think it's a load of overly sentimental tosh! Even putting aside how schmaltzy it is, ASM #248 is structurally a bit of a mess: it's half a continuation of Spidey's fight with Thunderball (which began in the previous issue) and half a recap of Spider-Man's origin – with a ladle-load of sentimentality for the eponymous "kid". I mean, yeah, it's a well-drawn and fairly well written recap, but it comes off as far too mawkish and manipulatively maudlin for my tastes. It's too eager to pull the reader's heartstrings, but it does so cheaply, layering on the fake poignancy with a trowel. It's the comic book equivalent of a song like "He Stopped Loving Her Today" by George Jones. Sorry, guys. I just don't see it.
Perhaps, but it doesn't pull at the heartstrings like Fat Slags, Biff Bacon, Sid the Sexist or Nobby's Piles.
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