I've alwasy purchased boxes of cards from my distributor (Very fair and knowlegeable)but I also like purchasing from my LCBS. Over the last year fewer and fewer local comic book stores carry cards. Is this the case in my area only or are you seeing it where you are as well?

Loose packs are great for seeing the quality of a set before commiting to a box and can also help to fill holes in chase sets.

What is an LCBS ?

I haven't seen a comic book store in this area that carries non-sports in at least 10 years, perhaps more, except maybe some stuff by Topps. The other day I was at a comic store and he actually had the recent Mars Attacks box, but it didn't appear to be selling.

local comic book store?

Sadly Ebay. I hate supporting that place but American on-line shops for the most part are just rip-offs. I refuse to pay full price for modern Rittenhouse releases because they simply aren't worth it. At least with Ebay you can find bargains and reasonable prices.

Decent comic book stores are rare in Oz and they certainly don't have a good card selection.

quote:

Originally posted by John Tirohn:
I've alwasy purchased boxes of cards from my distributor (Very fair and knowlegeable)but I also like purchasing from my LCBS. Over the last year fewer and fewer local comic book stores carry cards. Is this the case in my area only or are you seeing it where you are as well?

Loose packs are great for seeing the quality of a set before commiting to a box and can also help to fill holes in chase sets.

Which comic book store in San Diego sells boxes/packs? All the ones I have checked out usually have Magic/Yugioh/CCG's, if they have cards at all.

Years ago, I had two local card shops to buy boxes from but both have long since shut down. I then turned to getting boxes off of the internet, either on ebay or from a dealer that has since gone out of business. Nowadays, I get my boxes/singles off of ebay or from the odd dealer at a convention when I see one. The only stores around here that carry cards tend to just deal with sports or Magic type stuff which leaves a casual nonsports collector like myself out in the cold.

Sorry, LCBS stands for Local Comic Book Store. I use to buy from a store on Balboa that has since closed, San Diego Comics and Games (Artafax) use to carry non-sports but now is all gaming. Southern California comics doesn't carry Non-sports but reciently purchased a large collection of cards from a widow of a friend of mine. I have a lot of 'use to carry' stories and no 'now carry' ones.

I have a great distributer now and except for having to pay postage am very pleased. No pack sales just cases and boxes

I have gone the ebay route on some boxes but with the ease of cherry picking don't like too. Thinking back I've never had any luck with boxes purchased on ebay.

Used to be my local comic book stores but they stopped selling cards due to lack of interest
EBay is pretty much the only affordable out-let for me.
I have considered private/independent busuiness/dealers that specialise in cards/non sport but sadly most of these are US based and the cost for shipping to UK is too much to justify the expense these days.
Great shame. Especially in this economic down turn - trading cards can be seen as a 'luxury' hobby.

The vast majority of comic stores here in NY and NJ that I have seen, stopped carrying most non-sports after the 1990s, except for maybe some cards by Topps (Star Wars, etc) and a few years ago, some of those Upper Deck Marvel sets.

I have never seen comic stores carrying anything by Rittenhouse, Breygent, or any of the smaller companies. Maybe I am looking in the wrong places ?

Based on the replies I am seeing here, I guess I am fortunate. My local comic shop carries most of the recent nonsports releases, but doesn't generally get more than 1-2 boxes of any particular set. It works out good for me, as I am one of the few nonsports buyers the store has (I guess), so I can buy packs or a box from him, and then fill in the missing stuff either through this forum or on eBay. I prefer to keep my business local as much as possible, even though I enjoy doing business with fellow collectors here on NSU. So, for me, it's a mixed bag.

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Originally posted by John Tirohn:
I used to buy from a store on Balboa that has since closed

I loved that store! I used to buy all my packs there. Once they closed, most of my options for pack purchase dried up...

quote:

Originally posted by John Tirohn:

Which comic book store in San Diego sells boxes/packs? All the ones I have checked out usually have Magic/Yugioh/CCG's, if they have cards at all.

A friend of mine was at North County Fair mall (Escondido) last weekend and mentioned that there was a comic shop in there which seemed to carry at least some non-sports cards. Mind you she is not a collector so she couldn't name titles, etc but I plan to go over there this weekend to see for myself.

quote:

Originally posted by dcole:

quote:

Originally posted by John Tirohn:

Which comic book store in San Diego sells boxes/packs? All the ones I have checked out usually have Magic/Yugioh/CCG's, if they have cards at all.

A friend of mine was at North County Fair mall (Escondido) last weekend and mentioned that there was a comic shop in there which seemed to carry at least some non-sports cards. Mind you she is not a collector so she couldn't name titles, etc but I plan to go over there this weekend to see for myself.

I wonder if that is Comics N Stuff. They used to have a location there for ages, but then it closed about five years ago. For some reason they can't keep a stable location at either that location or in Mission Valley for some reason, but it doesn't keep them from trying to open a new store at those locations every year or so.

Try Allstar cards in Santee off Cuyamaca in a small shopping center on the same side, but before the Sheriffs office.

There is a Comics and Stuff on El Cajon Blvd, in El Cajon.

As the manager of an LCS (Local Card Store -- we are mainly sports), if you have an LCS in your area go in and ask them if they will order product in from their distributor. I am in Canada and both of my distributors carry a full line of non-sports cards which we order on a prepaid basis for our few NS customers.

Trust me, if you're willing to show you'll be a loyal customer, we'll order in beehives if you want to gain your business.

Hi, I am been collecting only for a few years and mostly use ebay, it's good to get to know the sellers and deal direct with them. Saves everyone a bit of money.

My main purchases are through a distributor (with some companies like 5finity being direct) but I do still buy the odd box from ebay sellers as well as some loose packs if I happen to be in the local comic shops.

I have a dealer that I buy all my boxes through, individual cards I buy on the Bay or trade for on NSU.

I have a LCBS that sells selected non-sports cards. They used to have alot more singles/packs/boxes about 4 or 5 years ago but they had some financial difficulties and got rid of all of their non-sport stuff. I always buy loose packs from sets that I collect if the store stocks them. Gotta support my local store or I won't have it.

I have a friend who has a Diamond account. I'm fortunate to be able to order a lot of stuff through him and get it at cost. But I also buy stuff that I want in larger quantity or that I don't think Diamond will be shipping through other friendly reliable online dealers. There are 2 of them that I'm loyal to and know that I get a good deal and great service with. Lastly I'll go the ebay route when something strikes me.

Here in Vegas there aren't any card dealers anymore. Most local dealers will get a box of something (a UD Marvel set or something) and it'll be $5/pack and there's maybe 1/3 of the box on the counter. So I walk away. There is 1 guy that's in an indoor swapmeet that gets a lot of Topps/RA product but he is usually full price on stuff ($80+/box).