It’s that time again (it’s been a while too), where I tell you what’s really grinding my gears for the week of April 28th, 2020.
Some weeks it’s mostly likes, other weeks it’s dislikes.
So what’s grinding my gears this week?
New Comics Shipping Again
Alright, so it’s only DC for the most part that is shipping out new books that will be available this week. TFAW is one of the retailers that has pre-orders up if you’re local shop hasn’t or can’t open yet.
Seems this first batch and release of comics is split on how some parties feel with DC’s decision to bypass Diamond to distribute books prior to all locations and areas lifting stay at home orders to get things going where it’s allowed.
As I don’t plan on venturing out myself, since I had/have the luxury of working from home even prior to this whole pandemic, I’m doing my part in choosing safety over anything else.
But it’s refreshing to see new comics start to make their way back into our lives. Brings back a sense of what was once normal and we took the little things for granted. So, hate it or love it, I think we can all agree it’s these small things to get our once weekly and daily lives back on track with a path to what we’d call “normal” again.
Support the Local Shops – King’s Cache Shout Out
Not so much a like or dislike, more of a shout out to one of the local shops in my neck of the woods here in Austin, TX.
Kings Cache is a smaller shop that shares their limited space with a general hobby store, pretty much split down the middle. It’s small and can feel cramped (but cozy at the same time) but they pack a lot of stuff, utilizing their space effectively I think.
They are actually reopening starting Monday April 27th but limited. They’re offering curbside pickup and if you want to enter the store, limiting to 2 people at a time (required face mask as well). This is under the Texas re-opening rules our governor has issued to reopen Texas.
They’re mostly a new comic book release shop but during the past month, they started throwing up some of their vintage comics for sale on eBay. So if you like Silver and Bronze age goodies, check them out. This is how a lot of shops were staying afloat and it’s a great way to continue supporting them.
If you got a local shop you frequent or loyal to that was closed down, there’s no better way to support them than by contacting them and asking if they’re doing anything to get product to customers, mail order, curbside, if they’re allowed to reopen with limitations, etc.
So if you got a local shop you wanna throw a shout out to, tell us (or start up a topic on the forums) and we’ll do it here on CHU while things slowly get back to normal, which could still be months or years before that happens.
Damaging Comics to Ship
So, I got a dislike this week. I sold a comic on eBay and out of the hundreds of comics I’ve sold and shipped over the years, never in my life has this happened. I’ve never accidentally damaged a book while packing to ship after it’s been sold.
So I’m prepping the package and I usually put the books I’m packing up and out of the way, off my work table in the garage where I’m cutting cardboard to use to sandwich the books for shipment.
So the one time I have the comic off to the side on the table and not up off the table (I have a shelf I usually put them on), I go to put my razor blade box cutter away when it slips and the blade falls right onto the comic. You know what comes next, yes, a nice little slit that went through the bag, the cover and several pages of the comic. Bummer right? It gets better…
So as I’m writing the message to the buyer about the bad news, I sell another book. Awesome right? Nothing beats selling books to buy more books.
So I go grab the book I just sold. I managed to not drop the box cutters on this one but get this, just my luck, as I’m putting the comic in the rigid mailer that I have sandwiched between two pieces of cardboard (and already prepped the several other pieces to use to pad it more), it must of went in at just enough angle for the pressure to give on the cardboard and I slip again, but this time bending the comic in half on the lower side of the book from the pressure.
I sort of just threw my hands up in the air and gave up for the night. I’m just glad these weren’t books that were more than $20 cause that would have sucked.
What’s your worst packing story, if you got any? Ever flub and damage a book prior to shipping it?
“What’s your worst packing story, if you got any? Ever flub and damage a book prior to shipping it?“
I was wiping some finger prints off a book (it was one of those card stock shiny prestige bindings) and forgot it was a signed book…in paint pen. Wiped the signature clean off.
It was a Jock signature too.
That’s both funny and sad.
Eh, you probably improved the value. Not fan of Jock the jock.
The funniest thing to that is, I sold a book that I had already sold to someone else lol. So I had to make an excuse and said i couldn’t find it lol. SMH
I’ve sheared off a cover or two on those weird plastic thin top loader/bags
I’ve since replaced the book but it still hurts. I’m a serious J Kirby fanatic. I was replacing a copy of New Gods #1 (’71)in a bag and board and the one time I got in a hurry and didn’t remove the tape before replacing it of course the tape catches near the center of the book and removed a 1 inch portion of the cover. Still have the book and it’s replacement.
@ Willie
Ouch… That one had to hurt.
I’ve had that happen to me as well, not one I sold but one in the personal collection books. I usually don’t remove the tape, depending on the bag as sometimes the tape will damage the flap. I usually hold my finger or thumb over it but I’ve slipped up before, allow the tape to snag the book. New books are more forgiving with their fancier paper though, as a few I’ve been able to slowly remove the tape without any damage to the cover.
The only time that’s happened to me (okay it happens a lot) I’ve been fantastically lucky. It’s usually always with a comic I haven’t personally bagged where the dealer put too-sticky tape on at a northwest angle rather than a northeast angel so you can pull away from the bag. You know what I’m talking about!
It was on a copy of ASM 200 and miraculously, I was able to gingerly lift it with no tearing or color pull. That was one clean, well preserved comic.
I’ve done the ‘too much pressure’ mishap myself. Bent the book clean in half, top folded over to bottom. It was a cheaper book that was easily replaced, but, lesson learned.
I love the self sealing bags, have caught waaayyyy too many books with tape. Even if it’s some book that will likely never sniff higher than cover price, it just gives me a great big sad.
I always take the tape off now. Too many mishaps and close calls.
I’ve had a few mishaps when leaving the comic store and having the wind pick up and blow the comic right out of my hands flopping end over end down the street…
Back when Priority Mail was still $3 with that space shuttle stamp, and PayPal was still giving $10 free to anyone who signed up, I was boxing up a copy of X-Men 12 that I’d sold on eBay. Had the book in a bag and board, this was before I started putting everything good in Mylites and Fullbacks which I now buy by the pallet. I go to slide the book into a bubble envelope, catch the corner of the board on one of the bubbles inside, book starts to flip out of my hand as I was expecting it to slide gently in, and in my haste to catch it I bend the whole freaking book in half, board and all. And not the normal sub-crease direction. Top folded to the bottom. Bent so hard it split the spine in the middle at the crease.
It was about 8.0 to 8.5 a minute earlier. I refunded the buyer’s money and sent him the now-3.5 copy for free. He was a really good customer and I didn’t want him to think this was the start of me taking advantage of him. Last I heard he still has the book.
Today any book I had like that would be in Mylar with two fullbacks, and on shipping the mylar would go inside yet another bag so it slid in the envelope easier. Expensive lesson. Still the nicest copy I ever had of that issue. I look it up on GoCollect at least once a year to remind myself, or when I am training employees.