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Underground > Comic Books >

Mail-ordering comics

19:32 / 12.12.04

Having recently left the urban paradise of San Francisco for the wilds of western Marin County, I'm faced with a dilemma I'd previously only read about, namely the utter lack of even semi-decent comic stores in the vicinity. Near as I can determine (and difficult as it is to believe if you know anything about Marin County), the entire county contains only one single comic shop, and it only just barely deserves the designation (ie. wouldn't be worth visiting if it was across the street). Sure, I can still drive 50 minutes or so to SF or Berkeley and shop in some of the best stores in the U.S., but making the trip on any kind of regular basis seems kind of silly given the relatively small number of monthlies I buy these days--the gas and bridge tolls would approximately double the price of my books.

So that said, has anyone had much experience ordering comics--not TPs, but actual pamphlets/floppies/funnybooks--online? Is it reliable? Can you get the same kinds of discounts you can on TPs? Which companies are the best? Etc. And pardons if this has been discussed before--I searched the archives, but couldn't find a dedicated thread.

Mister Six, whom all the girls

19:39 / 12.12.04

eastcoastcomics.com is really good (but slow)

finarcomics.com is very open to suggestion be it once a month or more depending on how many comics you subscribe to.

madfigs #32, now with wasabi

21:20 / 12.12.04

I've been ordering online from G-Mart for a couple years now and I've been very happy with them. You get 35% off pre-orders, and they seem to have everything in Previews available. There are a number of shipping options, if you don't mind waiting they'll hold your stuff until you have $85 worth and then shipping's free (that's about 6 weeks for me). However, if you're not ordering very much that might not work for you.

23:54 / 12.12.04

www.mailordercomics.com

I haven't tried it yet though.

19:17 / 13.12.04

I use DCBS for trades, but I believe they do floppies too.

Solitaire Rose as Tom Servo

21:01 / 13.12.04

When I was between comic shops, I was with www.comicsnow.com, and they were great! They take subscriptions, and are excelleent with them, and if you place an order today for this week's books, it takes about 3 weeks to get them, with 35% off. If my new local goes under, I'll be going back to them for good.

19:55 / 02.03.07

*bump*

I was recently greeted with slack-jawed astonishment by my local comic-book retailer when I requested to reserve a copy of Buffy Season 8 #1. I was quickly informed that they wouldn't be getting any issues in, because there wouldn't be a high demand (yet they get those godawful Spike comics in and anything scribbled by Rob Liefeld.). As this thread is a few years old now, I was wondering if these recommendations still stand, or are there any better services out there?

Much obliged!

22:11 / 02.03.07

I hope you pointed out to them that they had lost a sale on their lack of business acumen. There is not thinking something will be a big seller and failing to get any copies in...

MattShepherd: I WEDDED KALI!

22:52 / 02.03.07

If anyone has any recommendations for Canadiania, as well, I'm all ears.

madfigs #32, now with wasabi

04:14 / 03.03.07

My recommendation above is still good, but if you're just buying one title the shipping might be a bit much (especially if you're outside the US).

So the Spike comics weren't very good? My wife is a huge Buffy fan and she's been wanting to read them, but if they're crap maybe it's not worth the trouble. She's definitely excited about season 8 though!

17:01 / 03.03.07

Nah, I was just being bitter about the Spike comics, partially down to a pretty big dislike of the character. They're actually a pretty decent read. Old Wounds is pretty good, but there are a few abysmal stories out there too. I've heard good things about Spike vs Dracula, but I can't think of a more unappealing concept for a comic. Apart from Apocalypse vs Dracula, of course.

Regarding the cost of shipping, I'm tempted to take all my business online, because, honestly, the only local shop is pretty farcical. It's mostly super-hero comics that they do, and their TPB selection seems to comprise entirely of godawful Chuck Austen era X-Men. The staff are pretty unfriendly too, although I hear that they're extremely nice to the wargaming set that frequent the place (they also do a lot of table-top gaming, which is apparently their main focus these days.)