Last Saturday at the shop was the worst comic book day I've had in 5 years

Some dude came in screaming about how a variant cover from 2022 wasn't worth what he paid, then he knocked over a whole spinner rack of $4 back issues. Has anyone else had a customer blow up over resale value like that?

4 comments

4 Comments

janah831mo agoMost Upvoted

Oh the variant cover flipping thing is such a trap (it really is). I actually think the bigger problem nobody talks about is how some fans treat back issue bins like they're digging for buried treasure instead of just buying comics they want to read. That guy who knocked over the spinner rack probably watched one too many YouTube videos about "keys" and "grails" and forgot that 90% of variants are mass printed and worth exactly what you paid for them at the counter. I've seen people get legitimately angry over a $4 book that had a slight corner ding, acting like it cost them rent money instead of a cup of coffee. The whole "investment" mindset sucks the fun out of just enjoying the story and the art.

ryan_barnes1mo ago

The variant flipping thing is a mess but people also forget that some of those "mass printed" variants actually had low print runs... I remember a few store exclusives from a couple years back that only had like 500 copies and now they go for real money. Not defending the guy who knocked over a rack though, that's just being careless.

the_taylor1mo ago

Four dollars for a back issue is basically giving it away, and that guy totally overreacted. Maybe he was having a bad day, but the real issue is that people forget comic shops aren't the stock market. Variant covers are for fans who love the art, not for making a quick buck flipping books.

the_anthony1mo ago

Grabbed a foil variant off the shelf at my local shop last month, totally forgot it was a "virgin" cover with no trade dress, paid five bucks. Found out later some dude online was trying to sell the same one for forty dollars. Reminded me of @the_taylor's point about the art being the whole reason these covers exist in the first place. I just wanted something cool to hang on my wall, not a retirement plan. That whole flipping mentality makes people act like they're at a coin auction instead of a comic book store.