3 Comic Book Shop VLOG / 3 Completely Different Experiences

[@ArtbyAries329]

I kinda like the messy shops bc I feel like alot of people aren't willing to dig thru everything so I'm excited to see what treasures I can find

[@jon6309]

The deal breaker is PRICE! Yes I don’t mind digging but the discounts has to be there. When you go to places like Nordstrom Rack or Marshall’s you can find designer clothes at huge discounts compared to Neiman Marcus or Bloomingdale’s because you have to dig through the inventory to find something nice and the customer support is limited whereas the nicer department stores are set up neatly and always have service reps who can help you specifically to cater to you as best as possible. The prices in this messy comic shop is asking for a premium price without the premium experience. He also doesn’t really understand the economics of the comic book market. If raw books are in higher demand than graded comics as the shop owner claims then he shouldn’t say they are valued the same. True law of economics would say raw books should be worth more than graded ones since he claims most of his customers don’t want them.

[@Ecwfan]

Yeah that 2nd shop to me was a deal where ...your gonna find more that is older priced back in day than anything. I was more intrigued by it honestly lol. There used to be a shop like that in Roanoke. Its been years (early 2000s) but that shop had books everywhere. I hated to see it go.

[@jon6309]

@@Ecwfan There is a similar shop where I live and the store was bought out and renamed but a lot of the old inventory still had the price tag of the old store so I know they don't adjust prices for their old inventory. It amazes me that sometimes the same item at the shop will sell at different prices. I always run to that store once I hear of a speculative key issue and sure enough I can find it at their old price after a little digging.

[@Stickygoose]

I agree but it gets to the point it’s so overwhelming it’s an exercise in futility

[@kevinkelley3906]

Come to the shop in my town. It's pretty messy but you can always find something good.

[@Sledhead]

Love when sets and miniseries are put together. I always grab those in a shop

[@Stickygoose]

its a good deal

[@tylorchapman1567]

The Darth Maul he pulled out in that second shop is the first comic appearance of Cad Bane, worth about 60 dollars from what I've seen. Bet theres some hidden gems if you dig through boxes for days 😂

[@vincentflannigan2727]

I actually like all those shops. The first one looked like a place I used to regular as a teen and would be where I go to if I was into new comics. The second looks fun place to go to once a month to search for things. And the third would be where I would go if I cant find some manga I want.

[@Stickygoose]

I can see that for sure

[@johngarner4376]

Hey Sticky, we love Comic Kings in the 757 !!!!

[@Stickygoose]

I love it from the 304

[@jclaxton6152]

That's my old hometown and back in the day Trilogy was my go-to-shop. Time really does change everything...except for the interior of Trilogy-it looks exactly how it did 30 years ago. I'm glad to see a thriving community that can support those different shops.

[@theecuadorianxl2471]

GYAAAT!!! That second store was a disaster. As a person with one hoop earring, I feel like I can’t trust myself anymore lol. That first store was a dream come true.

[@Stickygoose]

Bahahaha

[@justinlbragg]

Loved seeing my LCS, Comic Kings, I’m this video!!! They are the best…so friendly and willing to help answer any of your questions! Wouldn’t go anywhere else

[@Stickygoose]

Couldn't agree more!

[@RD-zx6py]

Weird fixation on the guy's earring. Obviously the criticism of the layout is fair enough and prices too but I don't think there's any validity in making personal attacks on a person's appearance.

[@Stickygoose]

All in the name of comedy don’t take it to serious

[@RD-zx6py]

@@Stickygoose meh. Obviously you're going to do you but just seems oddly disrespectful to be making fun of people on the internet for the sake of it.

[@brian8677]

Second shop is like you're in someone's storage unit... Close and cramped. Great video...

[@Stickygoose]

Thanks for watching!

[@rupertpendergrass4014]

That second shop was overwhelming. I would not have had the energy to look through anything, and the shop did not seem that inviting from your video. Now that first shop was really nice, looks like a place I would go and do business.

[@Stickygoose]

I totally agree!

[@COFFEEWITHJIM]

Comic shops like that second one 'Trilogy' typically fail - I've seen this so many times here in the Seattle area. Even well managed/ merchandised shops still fail for many diff reasons. Too many funko pops, too many statues that never sell, poor locations, grumpy staff, etc.

[@SuperMoleRetro]

That second store you went too would be great fun if it was a bargain place to shop. Discovering through piles is fun if you can actually find something for a good price, but judging by the low grade $600 raw Bizarro book that you can get graded at a better price doesn't show much promise.

[@Stickygoose]

I totally agree

[@ericloesch8981]

Comic Kings has been my Comic Shop since I moved to the area almost 30 years ago. Joey Sr. would give you the shirt off his back if he could - but instead he enjoys giving out new ones to regulars and subscribers (new store shirt designs created periodically). I Rarely miss a Wednesday new comic day. Joey Jr. is a fantastic information resource, he knows everything about just about everything, past or upcoming stuff. He reads everything and can make recommendations as well as keeping up genre TV and movies and is always ready to share his opinions on them. The store is well lit, clean, roomy, open 7 days a week and has a bathroom! I could spend the day if there was time. Can’t say enough good things. Makes the hobby of collecting comics more enjoyable for me!

[@Stickygoose]

Probably one of the best shops I’ve ever been to

[@backtorealitycomics228]

Comic kings is amazing used to be my local comic store. Thanks for showing it! Those dollar bins got me started I always would take advatage off the 50 issue for $25 and they always restock weekly. Trilogy has always been messy "Great books but the amount of stuff over them just repels people away.

[@Stickygoose]

Thanks for watching!

[@Comiccollector34744]

I used to love the lcs colosseum of comics till they started pulling books off the ncbd wall just to jack up prices to match as they say market value aka eBay. You been looking for a lex corp company colosseum of comics is one. There vf books and fine are 9.8 prices and the manager when I want to see a book asks me after I shop there every week and spend over 100 in new books if I’m going to buy a book if she takes it off the shelf and take it out of the bag and no it wasn’t a wall book it was a new book a 1:10 book.

[@verticalvidz1895]

Been collecting for over 40 years and one thing I would have to kinda agree with owner, is sometimes NON slab keys with equal grading are worth more to serious collectors, simply because they can go through it or read it.

[@sethhodges8436]

So glad you got to go into comic kings! That place is my LCS! Next time you have to hit up zenos in Chesapeake. That shop is the best! Joey is the owner of Comic Kings. His son was the one behind the register. He’s also extremely knowledgeable and super nice. They are family owned. Joey the owner always gives deals on the keys, he especially gives deals if you buy a bunch of back issues. I’ve been going to comic kings since I was a kid. Best comic store in Virginia. Period. I’m glad I’m not the only one that thinks that of trilogy. The place is overpriced and disorganized. Local heroes is overpriced on their keys and never give out deals. I will say their new comic selection is nice, especially if you miss a new issue. It’s also nice too because you have video game heaven and Stella’s cafe right next to it and a dope video game bar next to it called pixels. Glad you stopped at comic kings though! Excellent video!

[@Stickygoose]

Stay tuned we go to zenos on Monday

[@greenthousands]

Trilogy is close to my home but I don’t go there. I drive to Comic Kings where I have a pull box. Always a good experience there. Trilogy is like a junk shop and he doesn’t seem interested in selling that stuff.

[@Stickygoose]

You nailed it

[@bradlezotte5954]

You are the Larry David of comic collectors, thats a compliment 😊

[@dodgers8one8]

I totally agree with you. I never understood why some comic shops sell raw books as if they were graded slabs.

[@Zane11]

Love the videos! When you talked about shops competing with online pricing in this one It made me think of my main comic bookstore that I go to. I live in Canada & few years ago they did a promotion over a holiday weekend where they sold Is all trades and omnibuses as the US price instead of the canadian price which is higher. It was so successful that they just decided to keep it. It's like that all the time now and that is now where I get my stuff for my collection for my shelves. I just picked up the Sandman Mystery Theater volume 1 compendium on Free Comic Book Day because they also did 10% off that day. I 100% agree that stores need to start doing more stuff like that.

[@Comixfanz]

So awesome! Beautiful storw

[@jacobbornowsky4013]

Man I usually don’t mind a messy store all that much but that second store was almost giving me mild anxiety/claustrophobia vibes the hell with a place like that

[@Stickygoose]

Same

[@jonr269]

The 2nd shop while not to horrible and would be a fun time to dig in. Do usually fail for some of the reasons you pointed out. 1. Keeping key books high up so that your customers can only get a glimpse of them and having to get the owner to pull them down for you to look at. This is bad cause maybe you want to view multiple keys or even all of them, but nit buy any and thus the owner is pissed or to busy to do this. When if they were ground level you could just look them over and move on. 2. Pricing of books. Shops like this always have reason great key books cause they never sell them. They are over priced and refuse to change the price to the current market. Just like you mentioned him saying that raw books are valued the same as graded. Well he will never sell much with that mindset unless it’s someone who truly doesn’t know the diff. But again this is why his store has so many big keys in those cases. Cause he has a very low turn over rate.

[@Dewfanatic]

I felt secondhand frustration with that middle shop. I don't believe I'll ever understand why they keep books stored inaccessibly if these store owners ever mean to sell them.

[@Stickygoose]

They don’t actually want to sell them in my opinion

[@bctalkspod]

Wow you were in my neck of the woods! I go to Comic Kings and Trilogy every week! There's another shop about 25 mins north in Hampton across the bridge called Atomic Comics that you would have loved. Lots of cards & collected editions & well organized

[@Stickygoose]

So cool!

[@jasont2779]

Hey man, dig your content. Just got back into comics a couple years ago and I try to pop into shops when I travel. I had the same thoughts when I go into a store that looks like someone’s garage collection… like am I aloud to move this lol.

[@blu_diamond310]

Trilogy has been in buisness for over 30 years. If you’ve never been in there don’t assume anything, that shop is willing to make deals with all customers.

[@Stickygoose]

They gave me a good deal on animal man book

[@mrtorrance1263]

The second shop looks my room 😅

[@Stickygoose]

Sorry for your loss

[@mrtorrance1263]

@@Stickygoose I'm just playing. I'm fairly new to comics, been buying Batman keys, slabbed. Just landed 227 in a 7.0 :D

[@TheSameoldjoe]

Strange Adventures #190 is an underappreciated silver-age book. Lucky for you, they were not snatched up before you arrived.

[@Stickygoose]

I left one cause Im a good guy

[@TheSameoldjoe]

I would have bought both.

[@mikem3543]

I’m actually shocked at the condition of that second store. How are you supposed to look through All those short boxes (of what I assume are back issues), when there’s a ton of stuff piled on top of them?? “There’s no hope in this”.. an apt description....

[@Stickygoose]

They live in fantasy land

[@austincaldwell8358]

I usually go to that same Trilogy shop once a year or so when I'm in the area. Its looked like that every time. He also told me omnibus and all graphic novels were retail price.

[@Stickygoose]

I’m not sure why anyone is buying those retail price

[@StephenKersker]

What is the deal with the magic cards?

[@CrowemagModelWorks]

Trilogy has been fighting the good fight for many years. Sure they are a bit messy but they are a staple in this area and have been for years.

[@jthomascruz4890]

That was funny at the 2nd shop, the return of strap-on. Yeah I totally agree shops like that are distressing to go into and you have to wonder do they even want to make any money.

[@Stickygoose]

Strap on will return on the next episode

[@tomjamison5934]

Thanks again for another Fantastic video. The first store was a place I definitely would shop. The second place was a complete dump. I liked the way you gave the owner a name, Earring Man. 😅

[@Stickygoose]

Everyone gets a name in the sticky goose universe

[@mightycomicsandcollectibles]

What do you use to film these videos? And what contraption do you use to hold the camera

[@Stickygoose]

It’s a go pro hero 7 black. And I wear a bra

[@TheWhmaxwell]

I got to stop by that first shop when we went on vacation to VA and Washington DC. What a great place, bought some comics and MTG cards.

[@Stickygoose]

Right on

[@steelbat54]

That second shop you went to was a total mess. Some people like that for even their own collecting environment. So every time they dig into their collection it’s like an adventure. But for a retail store it’s a nightmare for customers. My opinion on this video is basically that every store is a direct reflection of the owners personality..

[@Stickygoose]

Could not agree more. These shops show who the owners are

[@DavidClark-vu3dw]

Fly to Denver and do a walk through of Mile High comics. It might take you a few weeks to check out everything there.

[@Stickygoose]

I have watched videos of that guy

[@jon6309]

I have slowed down in buying trade paperback graphic novels. Have you ever tried reselling them? How are the margins? I used to find really competitive prices for them in shops that would sell on average 3x less than the lowest price listed for sale online but haven’t been able to find nice trade paperbacks at the moment.

[@Stickygoose]

Trade paperbacks are have no resell value

[@JBBRAD9267]

Messy shop had that EVS Batman#1 variant that I've been looking for. I wonder what the price was?

[@Stickygoose]

Hail

[@AffectionateLacrosse-ju9jt]

If you are ever in Morganton NC look up Timmy Mac's comic's

[@bctalkspod]

Also Trilogy is a big mess I agree 😂 Its much better for NCBD than for back issues. They have a great selection of indy books and variant covers every week. Comic Kings is better for cards, back issues & collected editions

[@Stickygoose]

More variants I guess?

[@chadwickgray]

I've been to every store in both this video and your roanoke video. Nothing but nice people in all of them. Seems odd that you keep having bad experiences. Wonder what the common factor is?

[@Stickygoose]

Are you implying sticky goose is hard to get along with?

[@Mr_Rob_otto]

I went to Comic Kings in Virginia Beach when I was in town for work about a year ago. Great store with friendly staff, but they didn't have as many good wall books back then. I searched the dollar bin, but found nothing of interest to me. I probably wouldn't go back. I would have loved to visit the Trilogy store. That's my kind of comic book shop when you're looking for a hard to find book and willing to pay a little extra if needed just because you can't find it anywhere else. Kind of like that Strange Adventures book. Never ever saw that in any comic books store before. The owner's an old time comic book guy and I'm sure he's like the Mile High Comics guy who doesn't care if he sells a book or not. That's his jam and so is wearing an earring. What an odd thing to comment on, btw. You don't trust a guy who wears an earring? OK. lol I could spend hours in that store. The last store is too modern for me. Full of Funko Pops and Manga and it's like a pedestrian shop with no character. Like you said, I can get books online cheaper, so why would I even go to that store even if I lived there? And I agree with that old dude about slabbed and graded books not having more value than a book that's slabbed and graded. I believe that a slabbed and graded book should only have the value increased by what it costs to mail and submit those books for grading and slabbing. Maybe If I have an ungraded and unslabbed book that I know is a 9.6 for example, I'm not letting that book go for less than a slabbed 9.6 graded book other than to deduct the cost incurred in slabbing and grading. I get that some people don't know how to grade a book, but that's not my concern. If you don't want to pay my price, I'm not selling. I guess I'm like that old dude who doesn't give a rat's ass what you think. lol

[@Stickygoose]

Oh man I totally disagree with the slab value

[@CollectorAuctions]

I made this round of stores back in Feb. I had a good time at Comic Kings but they were very low on the wall keys. Great store but I couldn't find a lot that day. Trilogy I got a lot of great books. It took a lot of digging and to be honest I didn't go thru the bins that had all of their Anima. The bins you were digging in was where I got everything. Definitely no deals but I found prices fair enough on a lot but overpriced on a lot.

[@Stickygoose]

That is awesome!

[@Winter2k23]

Struck gold with Comic kings i guess. Watching from Australia. Hard life hey even among comment section polarisation. i'm just amazed how much there is, since the dawn of comics. Man if ever find Marvel's'The Punisher' omnibuses type books in my life. Or commit to every 'Avenger' comic to date...no worries got few "New 52s" on DC's end.

[@LadyPopHunter]

Congrats on being nominated for the 2023 CBC Awards. I sure will give you my vote

[@Stickygoose]

Hey that’s awesome thank you

[@bear0043bear0043]

You would think that discounting an Omni is the past to fast success, but if you knock 15% off a $100 Omni, you need to sell roughly twice as many Omnis to make the same $30 (based on Diamond's discounts to a small shop). So, if knocking 15% off only gets you 15% more sales, you will lose money against having sold with no discount. If knocking 15% off nets you 50% more sales, you would still lose money against what you would have earned if you sold one at full price. This math is only true of new items purchased at wholesale; back issues are entirely different beast.

[@Stickygoose]

People are not going to pay msrp for those books they will sit there

[@bear0043bear0043]

Didn't one of the owners in the video say that he sells a ton of them for MSRP? Some items will sit there for a year until sold. If they do sell once in that year, the owner has made more money than if he'd sold two at 15% off in the same year. I .., I get some of my comics from DCBS. I get some at 100% of MSRP at my local shop. I can't be the only one.@@Stickygoose

[@SHADOWtech.-]

He had to shimmy and straddle my little pony😂

[@Stickygoose]

That second area was inaccessible

[@ccsportsfan7886]

excellent vid thank u

[@Stickygoose]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@Purchaser.]

The 2nd shop, trilogy is his shop/storage unit. Claustrophobic in there, no well defined sections.

[@wrench246]

Second store was way too full of merchandise. Stuff was stacked on top of each other probably damaging stuff underneath. Would be fun to dig through if price was fair.

[@Stickygoose]

The price wasn’t fair

[@Hydrus96]

The first shop sounds allot like my LCS I go to here in TN they do allot of the same stuff which is great to see other shops care like mine does.

[@Stickygoose]

Haven’t explored TN shops yet

[@Hydrus96]

@@Stickygoose If you ever do find yourself in East TN definitely check out Nirvana Comics in Knoxville TN its my LCS and the best shop in the area in my opinion

[@Hydrus96]

Also that second shop in the video is a claustrophobic nightmare.

[@ProWrestlingReality]

What really is troubling about that store is...One day that owner is going to die... reaching for that top shelf

[@21Million]

that trilogy shop is just like Future Dreams in Portland, OR

[@Stickygoose]

I need to venture to west coast

[@ThomasSingley-d4e]

I like some messy shops just not the ones where junk is going to fall on me

[@HulkHoganTheChamp1]

Oh yeah these are my favorite videos that you do keep up the good work and please keep on doing what you do to make me laugh I appreciate it😂

[@Stickygoose]

Glad you like them!

[@WarriorsforInfoTV]

My local shop Has 20 % off trades, manga, new comic stock, you would love it!

[@starchild6347]

QED: What is the link between comic books and Heavy Metal? Everyone seems to love both!! Me too! 😂

[@Stickygoose]

Fantasy elements, power fantasy

[@jadecasssie]

The Collectors Lair store in Lynchburg isn't good either. I go there because my dad used to take me as a kid and it's a nice change of scenery, but it's sooooo packed, super unorganized, they change prices at the register. Not ideal but I'll at least give em a few bucks every once in a while

[@GaryStClair-gp2de]

the two collectors lairs in roanoke are worse.the one on williamson rd is a total disaster.

[@Stickygoose]

That’s the one sunshine kicked me out of

[@jadecasssie]

No flippin way! That's crazy. A celebrity was in my home town and I missed it 😭 nah but seriously that sucks

[@dephiance]

There's a shop here in San Diego (that shall remain nameless) that is WORSE than Trilogy! If anybody from San Diego see's my comment, you know which shop I'm talking about😛

[@gregm7269]

Clairemont Mesa by the Coffee Bean? 😉

[@Stickygoose]

I need to go back to San Diego

[@dephiance]

🤔😅@@gregm7269

[@allhell138]

I love digging through unsorted piles. I DO however get into fights with guys at the counter that try to start calculating books worth that I just did the work finding, more often than not they back down and I get good deals …you wanna sell stuff for outrageous prices, that’s fine, but dig through this shit yourself and mark it as such, instead of letting customers do your work for you.

[@Stickygoose]

Preach

[@Burnt_Burgers]

You should have went to Atomic Comics in Hampton, Va. It is similar to Comic Kings.

[@Stickygoose]

Everyone is saying that… I missed out

[@georgehoward9116]

Trilogy has been around for a long time... love these types of shops but you gotta dig through the shop... you don't find buried treasure by complaining about it...

[@johngarner4376]

Also I have an affection for some dumps in the 757.....lol

[@Godovgrind]

👍👍👍👍

[@JCtheComicGeek]

When Sticky was at the 1st shop & I thought he said "Then they had mini series & sex!" I was like what the frak kind of shop is this!😂

[@highgrade_keys]

What…you didn’t get the TTA 13

[@Stickygoose]

He was completely unwilling to negotiate I walked out

[@MattBarnes-g1g]

See yall on Wednesday at Kings.

[@Lynx7029]

Open your own store and then stay there as long as you want and take care of it as you wish.

[@shadowman8786]

When I see "stuff" piled on short boxes, I don't bother thumbing through, I just leave with my money in my pocket.

[@Stickygoose]

Then they come over and say hey don’t move that stuff

[@sycodog]

you wanna know what hanging out at a shop and talking with friends and the owner does? creates impulse buys and discovery of new books

[@Stickygoose]

Hahaha

[@JBBRAD9267]

I am tempted to go there and ask for those rafter books. So stupid

[@Stickygoose]

Do it needs to be done

[@Yoyod000]

😮Nice seeing you in my area Sticky. O and would of loved to destroy you in Magic the gathering.

[@Stickygoose]

Add me on arena

[@Yoyod000]

@@Stickygoose I only play EDH. I love to look my opponents in the face when I win. 😆

[@jadecasssie]

Also, to be fair, I know people that listen to heavier stuff than Lamb of God that are the nicest people ever lol, just depends on the person honestly

[@Stickygoose]

What about slayer?

[@kevinkelley3906]

I just hate when they squeeze books in a box.

[@A_Heathen]

Strap on vs earring guy

[@daveassanowicz186]

I'm not a fan of bad attitudes or high prices, but I love a messy shop where you have to dig. Different strokes cause I'm not too interested in keys, to me every comic is a key. I also hate slabs. Coins sure, but a comic is meant to be read. Unless it's truly historical of course, but slabbed modern comics...? Nah! GTFO, IMHO

[@Stickygoose]

I don’t understand slabbing fresh ink books

[@healy7882]

@@Stickygoose Love your channel sticky. IMO on fresh slabs I only do it if I really love the artwork and will buy 2 copies so I can read one and slab one :). Ill never sell them so I'm not bothered about losing moolah.

[@standoutsteel023]

you are so toxic. i love you. hahahaha

[@standoutsteel023]

SUBBED!!

[@Stickygoose]

Welcome aboard

[@seminolewind158]

Trilogy is nothing like collector’s lair! You bought a book and made money deals!

[@Stickygoose]

True story

[@zuccsucc476]

I thought the bra comment was funny lol

[@garyb2507]

For what it's worth, I thought the bra joke was rather funny.

[@Stickygoose]

appreciate that

[@CavsvsbsBsbsbdbs]

Overpriced

[@Stickygoose]

Fo sho