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A little corner of the UK
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I remember the days in the early 90's when Canterbury had 3 comic shops, now it's just the one that's tight on new releases

 

My LCS was pretty good for new releases and I always had the pick when it came to my standing order.

 

Since I stopped my standing order a year or so back I rarely pick any back issues up from them as it's only a very small part of their business...

 

 

 

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I used to help out at Skinny Melinks in Lewisham - with an off licence next door, we often had lock ins where a few of us use to chat rubbish, read and chill out. :cloud9:

 

The days of the old comic shop is long gone. :sorry:

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I can remember the good old days when the indoor markets in Newport & Cardiff had stalls selling comics dirt cheap...some of the comics weren't in the greatest condition but that didn't matter in those days it was all about the reading and not the collecting of comic books

 

I truly am a child of the 1970's :cloud9:

 

There was a second hand book shop in the early 1980s, when I was skint I tried to sell him a box of comics.

He insisted that he didn't sell or know anything about comics and wasn't interested.

Eventually I just gave him the box of about 200 and told him to sell them for 25 pence each and pay me 10 pence each for any sales the next time I came in.

The next time I went in he had sold them all and was desperate for more.

It was great for about 10 years as everything he bought in, he would keep behind the counter until I had 1st pick. Also I got to offload anything that I didn't need out of collections I was buying.

I got some good stuff very cheap in those days and he made a fortune.

I was gutted when he retired.

A very sweet deal. :cloud9:

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The same LCS operated in Reading for nigh on 20 years, I ended up friends with him. Blackwells books tried to put him out of business and they ended up going out of business instead. Virgin Megastore tried the same, what happened there?

 

Richard Branson, not an original idea in his head, just buy up an existing company and slap a Virgin sticker on with a boat load of marketing. I hate the guy.

 

Anyways, they survived all of that just to be forced to move due to the building being shared with a government scheme to get people back into work, I use the word "people" loosely, the type that even Jeremy Kyle wouldn't interview. What a shame.

 

I miss the LCS and unfortunately the internet has contributed to that, as good as the internet is for these boards we enjoy and the ability to sell our own comics.

 

Still the boardie meetings make up for a little of that :)

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Orbital is the only LCS I visit when heading to London.

 

FP is an utter **spoon**hole wherever they are.

 

I think the best LCS I've ever visited was the one in Middlesbrough I used to frequent as a kid - Books 'n' Comics. There may be a little nostalgia applied but it's where I spent a hefty chunk of my teenage years (And cash). For a tiny store (Proabably 3m by 6m), he had a huge amount of back issue stock and could usually source most books he didn't have in store.

 

When I moved to Derby, I was spoilt for choice. Another World, Forbidden Planet, Travelling Man plus a fairly decent low grade back issue seller in the indoor market. I worked in Notts so also had access to Page 45 (One of the best non-back issue sellers out there). Derby now has no LCS and the nearest is an awful little MTG-focussed store in Ripley. His stock handling skills are that bad, that about 2 years ago I gave up on the LCS completely, favouring the internet or digital comics.

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There used to be an enormous LCS in Bristol called Forever People - I loved that place. Spent ages digging in their crates (mostly for 2000AD back issues!). It closed a long time ago. Now there's Forbidden Planet and Area 51 - but the latter is quite expensive and not great for back issues.

 

I have to say I'm not totally on board with the FP hate. Yes, their back issues are rubbish/non-existent, but they are the only UK chain that has the purchasing power to stock a massive range of titles, even indies, to keep a wide audience interested.

 

Having said that, I barely ever go there, despite working a 5 minute bus ride away. I use APiS for my off-eBay subscriptions and many of my on-eBay purchases.

 

As far as back issues go I find it's way more cost effective to buy TPBs from Amazon! Not quite as fun though...

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I'm lucky, my lcs has enough custom for new issues to allow the owner to also focus on back issues. He also has good contacts in the States and often buys in silver and bronze collections from there.

 

He has proper wall books which currently include; ASM 1, DD1, GSX 1 and Uncanny Xmen 94 to name a few.

 

So few comic shops sell back issues now, but he loves it and makes good money doing it.

 

I was in there last week when they were filling their regular pull lists and it was incredible, piles and piles of new books being put together for customers.

 

Mind you we have had a few shops fail here over the years, but he runs it like a business and it seems to be working.

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Great stories guys, I'm feeling all nostalgic now. :cloud9:

 

+1

 

I used to love Saturday mornings as it meant a trip to the indoor market to pick up some more comic treasures...I only wish I'd kept hold of more of those old issues but I probably read them till they fell apart! :cloud9:

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The late seventies were great for buying comics.

 

They were everywhere. In Middlesbrough and Stockton there were plenty of places that had an excellent selection.

 

Happy days.

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let me give you some more about my comic history then.

 

one of the comic shops closed in Canterbury, a bloke called Ziggi owned it and moved to Margate next to me where we had nothing so it was a great result as he got everything new and a decent back issue lot, alot of fun in there and was a joy to go in almost everyday, he carried on for years till his early death (he was a very big man).

 

then we had nothing here so back to Canterbury and used Incognito for years, moderns were ok, back issues over graded and priced, then he closed and thats when i joined the eBay for new comics and used APiS since.

 

but in last 2 years we had 3 new so called comic shops within 3 miles of me, the 1st just bought a huge collection and opened a shop to sell them, tried to do a pull list but he said he will only get new comics once a month, well im too impatient, but i snapped up all his best stuff for a good price.

 

the 2nd one opened a year ago, again tried a pull list but he only wants to sell DC and Marvel, offered my money on a plate but really he only cared about these battlecard thingys.

 

the 3rd one opened last Sept, found out they bout Ziggi's back stock (wish i knew it was up for sale) and opened a store in a very rough area round here, these people have no idea about comics or business apart from reading them, again care more about battlecards, they get new stuff every 2 weeks which they dont display and they base every back issue on top Overstreet price, these people wont be in business longer than a year.

 

just wished i had enough balls myself to start a business but with way economy is i just dont wanna be another statistic, even though i think a big comic surge is happening again.

 

dunno whether that was a story to tell you lot or a rant lol

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Who and where is the best place to submit modern age comics to be sent for grading in the UK? Oh and cheapest quickest. Sorry for the inconvenience guys (worship)

 

No inconvenience, Unlike Comics General we are all fairly friendly in these parts :)

 

In the past I've only ever subbed my own books directly to CGC (Other than Subbing via DesertWind at LSCC).

 

In the future, I'll be using the service provided by Comicana Direct.

 

Nick (Flaming_Telepath) offers a pre-screening service so at least you know you won't get burned on any 9.6 and below.

 

As for price, not sure try and PM him for a quote.

 

Quickest? Guess you haven't subbed to CGC before, they are renowned for their lack of speed in getting books back. My advice, always select a fast track teir if you need your books back in a hurry the extra £7 guarantees they will be graded in under 10 working days. CGC are currently still grading modern tier books subbed in early Feb. The fast track books I subbed at LSCC were back in my hands in under 4 weeks. My non-fast track sumission from the same day will prob not be back home till mid May at the earliest :(

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Derby now has no LCS and the nearest is an awful little MTG-focussed store in Ripley. His stock handling skills are that bad, that about 2 years ago I gave up on the LCS completely, favouring the internet or digital comics.

 

This post perked my interest to pop in on my way home from work. Nothing much had changed other than the sign in the window stating the store was closing down at the end of the month.

 

I any other store (FP excluded) my inner vulture would come to the surface to begin negotiating a deal on any floppy or HC stock. Having already witnessed the handling skills of the staff I left them alone, grabbed a pack of backing boards and made my exit.

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Who and where is the best place to submit modern age comics to be sent for grading in the UK? Oh and cheapest quickest. Sorry for the inconvenience guys (worship)

 

No inconvenience, Unlike Comics General we are all fairly friendly in these parts :)

 

In the past I've only ever subbed my own books directly to CGC (Other than Subbing via DesertWind at LSCC).

 

In the future, I'll be using the service provided by Comicana Direct.

 

Nick (Flaming_Telepath) offers a pre-screening service so at least you know you won't get burned on any 9.6 and below.

 

As for price, not sure try and PM him for a quote.

 

Quickest? Guess you haven't subbed to CGC before, they are renowned for their lack of speed in getting books back. My advice, always select a fast track teir if you need your books back in a hurry the extra £7 guarantees they will be graded in under 10 working days. CGC are currently still grading modern tier books subbed in early Feb. The fast track books I subbed at LSCC were back in my hands in under 4 weeks. My non-fast track sumission from the same day will prob not be back home till mid May at the earliest :(

 

Just to add, if anyone in the UK is looking to get their regular comics monthly, I would also recommend Comicana Direct. I get my deliveries monthly, very well packaged (usually around 50 plus books - ok that may be an understatement I get a few more :blush:). They also supply the usual bags and boards, and if anything is wrong or missing, they are always helpful.

 

 

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Who and where is the best place to submit modern age comics to be sent for grading in the UK? Oh and cheapest quickest. Sorry for the inconvenience guys (worship)

 

No inconvenience, Unlike Comics General we are all fairly friendly in these parts :)

 

In the past I've only ever subbed my own books directly to CGC (Other than Subbing via DesertWind at LSCC).

 

In the future, I'll be using the service provided by Comicana Direct.

 

Nick (Flaming_Telepath) offers a pre-screening service so at least you know you won't get burned on any 9.6 and below.

 

As for price, not sure try and PM him for a quote.

 

Quickest? Guess you haven't subbed to CGC before, they are renowned for their lack of speed in getting books back. My advice, always select a fast track teir if you need your books back in a hurry the extra £7 guarantees they will be graded in under 10 working days. CGC are currently still grading modern tier books subbed in early Feb. The fast track books I subbed at LSCC were back in my hands in under 4 weeks. My non-fast track sumission from the same day will prob not be back home till mid May at the earliest :(

 

Just to add, if anyone in the UK is looking to get their regular comics monthly, I would also recommend Comicana Direct. I get my deliveries monthly, very well packaged (usually around 50 plus books - ok that may be an understatement I get a few more :blush:). They also supply the usual bags and boards, and if anything is wrong or missing, they are always helpful.

 

+1

I've been getting my modern subscriptions from Nick and John at Comicana for a few years now and they're the bees knees. :busy:

 

Been buying Silver and Bronze Age from Nick for even longer and I'm sure he doesn't need any more praise than he already deservedly gets.

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FP should be avoided wherever they are.

 

I know, but I needed to visit somewhere where I could hear comic geeks geeking out... :cloud9:

Alas that is not FP, blooming pit.

 

Living in Old Jersey is like being in solitary - no effing comic shops.

 

 

I live in Newcastle and FP is the only real choice, which is no choice at all...it wasn't always this way, FP bought out the competition and ruined everything.

I remember when it was Timeslip, they used to have a decent back issue stock and looked like a proper comic shop. :cloud9:

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FP should be avoided wherever they are.

 

I know, but I needed to visit somewhere where I could hear comic geeks geeking out... :cloud9:

Alas that is not FP, blooming pit.

 

Living in Old Jersey is like being in solitary - no effing comic shops.

 

 

I live in Newcastle and FP is the only real choice, which is no choice at all...it wasn't always this way, FP bought out the competition and ruined everything.

I remember when it was Timeslip, they used to have a decent back issue stock and looked like a proper comic shop. :cloud9:

 

Timeslip was a fantastic comic shop, it was originally down Pink Lane in Newcastle, they had a great selection of back issues and reading copys of the new stuff.

Buyers were all around chatting and recommending titles to each other.

You felt welcome and the people working there were happy to see you and knowledgeable about the subject.

They relocated to the Haymarket at the top end of the city center into a port-a-cabin and it wasn't really the same, then there was a big fire.....no comment...... and then this shop was bought out by Forbidden Planet and ruined in the usual way.

This was the best LCS I have ever known and was largely responsible for getting me into comics. FP has no personal touch and you don't feel welcome at all, add to the fact that there are no back issues. A complete waste of time for me.

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FP should be avoided wherever they are.

 

I know, but I needed to visit somewhere where I could hear comic geeks geeking out... :cloud9:

Alas that is not FP, blooming pit.

 

Living in Old Jersey is like being in solitary - no effing comic shops.

 

 

I live in Newcastle and FP is the only real choice, which is no choice at all...it wasn't always this way, FP bought out the competition and ruined everything.

I remember when it was Timeslip, they used to have a decent back issue stock and looked like a proper comic shop. :cloud9:

 

Timeslip was a fantastic comic shop, it was originally down Pink Lane in Newcastle, they had a great selection of back issues and reading copys of the new stuff.

Buyers were all around chatting and recommending titles to each other.

You felt welcome and the people working there were happy to see you and knowledgeable about the subject.

They relocated to the Haymarket at the top end of the city center into a port-a-cabin and it wasn't really the same, then there was a big fire.....no comment...... and then this shop was bought out by Forbidden Planet and ruined in the usual way.

This was the best LCS I have ever known and was largely responsible for getting me into comics. FP has no personal touch and you don't feel welcome at all, add to the fact that there are no back issues. A complete waste of time for me.

 

That sounds just Skinny Melinks. We welcomed everyone into the shop, and talked about comics, books, films, basically anything and invited anyone to join in. It was a true comic shop, with it's own little community of geeks having fun - it was a place where friendship were made. :cloud9:

Edited by Waylander
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