Comic Kingdom needs a Gordon Ramsey visit!

[bowspearer]

I realise that this section is for online stores, but I figured that being bricks and mortar, that feedback on Comic Kingdom (and when I say feedback, I mean a warning to avoid it like ground zero of a thermonuclear blast) is a pretty close fit.

A few weeks back I made the mistake of stopping in there and learning first hand what it's like to feel dirty having bought something from a comic book shop when the shop is bad - the kind of dirty that people reportedly experience when doing adult films for the first time- yes, it was that bad.

The first and last time I'll go there and the first time I've ever walked out of a comic store having felt dirty for having shopped there.

I went there a few months ago, having first called up to see if they had Marvel Transformers Comics in after asking for help, the woman I spoke to told me they didn't. However I decided that as it was on my way to where I needed to go, that I'd look to see what else they had.

I initially dealt with a woman who I would learn is the living embodiment of a whinging pom, when I asked about the condition of a particular vintage Transformer. She didn't know so she got someone else to help me. The older man I dealt with asked me what I wanted to ask about. I pointed to the Transformer and named them, asking if it was just the outer shell (the figure in question was Monster Pretender Slog) or if the figure was complete. The man responded with "who", to which I named them and pointed again. Again they responded with "who?" I wound up describing the figure to which I was asked "oh, so you want to ask if it transforms". I responded by clarifying that I wanted to know if it was complete. You would think that unlike an op shop, that a comic shop specialising in vintage comics and toys, would have bothered to learn about their products.

Then again, considering that most of their comics are without bags and boards and stock seems to be indiscriminately thrown around, caring about their business doesn't appear to be their strong point.

I then looked around at various things on the bottom floor and at no point was I asked whether I needed assistance or if I was looking for anything in particular.

I then went up to their second floor and asked if they had any vintage GIJOE comics in. I was told they were downstaris and asked how I could possibly have missed them like there was something wrong with me. I was about to head back downstairs when out of the corner of my eyue, I noticed some GIJOE Comics on the side shelf- predictably missing bags and boards. I took the whole lot over the counter, wanting to avoid risking further damage to them.

I then asked the man behind the counter if he could sell me individual bags and boards for the comics I might buy, to which I was told he would only sell bags and boards in lots of 100 to me. After some prying, he reluctantly agreed to see if he had any spare bags he could use for comics I might buy.

Some comics had been marked around $20, but after looking at the current prices for some of them, he decided to do them all for $5 each, which I felt happy about - so happy after the train wreck of an ordeal I'd had that I decided to go downstairs and take a look at more of them. I'd soon learn what a mistake it was.

Firstly, in amongst the comics that were there, were comics with price tickets on them - I don't mean price tickets from 20-30 years ago, I mean price tickets that had been clearly applied directly to vintage comics within the past couple of years or sooner.

I then took those I was interested in, mentioned what had happened upstairs and asked whether the same thing applied. She immediately became slightly panicky and called upstairs and demanded to know from the man upstairs that I'd been dealing with what had happened. I could only hear her end of the conversation, but what sticks out in my mind is her stroppily uttering "well, I'm not seeling them for lass than $8" (I honestly felt like saying "hello, I'm right here"). She then gets off the phone, wants to see the comics, tells me "he made a mistake while wanting to know what issues he sold and saying with the higher price oones "see, he should have sold them to you for $X".

At that point, it was only generousity of spirit which prevented me from walking out of the store right then and there. After totalling up the comics, I decided to just get half of them- partly because it was more than I had expected to spend based on what had transpired upstairs and partly because she'd killed off any chance of me having an "oh what the hell" moment and deciding to get them anyway.

Then when she bagged them up, she took my card to pay for it -at which point I was left wondering if what she was doing was being done as an act of comedy. She took my card, but could not figure out how to use the chip slot on the EFTPOS machine. She inserted it every way but the correct way, before finally giving up and swiping it. I then entered my pin and paid for it - at which point, I actually had to ask her for the receipt. She at first claimed she couldn't give it to me because the til was shut- at which point she first printed one off, but then insisted on trying to get one out o the register, at which point I told her 3 times that I only needed the EFTPOS receipt, before finally having enough and walking out of the store - feeling really dirty, like I was some 50c hooker.

The place needs either a wrecking ball or the comics equivalent of a Gordon Ramsey to go into there and whip them into shape- they treat their customers like they treat their stock (like crap) and I honestly have to wonder how, besides a stream of innocent victims- I mean first time customers - how they even stay in business.

My advice to anyone reading this is to avoid them like ground zero at a thermonuclear blast.

[SMHFConvoy]

They're still around? Yeah, don't go there.

[kurdt_the_goat]

Would be checking your card activity if i was you!
I wouldn't trust she put through the right amount after all that

[ChlorHex]

They sound like a dodgy bunch...
As if the shop's a front for other activity.
Would check on your card like Kurdt says mate.

[reillyd]

Bowspearer, you're just not going to be able to find Marvel TF here in many Australian stores. If you want them, try online like Milehigh Comics (http://www.milehighcomics.com), or consider purchasing the IDW reprints as trade paperbacks.

I have a set from Milehigh, with some issues being dirt cheap but others staggeringly high (low print runs). If cost is a factor, the IDW or Titan trades are just awesome, though IDW has extra additions and historical notes

[Sam]

So sorry to hear you had a bad experience at that shop.

You are right in that it'd be good to avoid that place - the stairs feel like they are about to give way whenever you walk on them.

There are also a couple of other issues, such as hidden cameras behind some of the shelves on the ground floor, and some bad history between this shop and another shop which sells similar products...

[Sinnertwin]

i would've just walked out without buying anything, but hey, that's just me.

[5FDP]

I initially dealt with a woman who I would learn is the living embodiment of a whinging pom

Isn't that the pot (http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=17845) calling the kettle (http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=18354) black ;) All I'm saying is that the last three topics you have started (including this one) have all been about cautionary tales towards less than favourable customer service experiences. Granted, there may be a fair amount of truth to them, however it comes across as whinging to me especially given the length of your posts. If I found myself in similar recurring situations, I would consider taking a different approach e.g. walk away as Sinnertwin suggested and / or evaluate the situation and determine what is the one constant that these instances of 'bad luck' have in common.

[Trent]

Been in there once. I asked about a g1 Weirdwolf they had and the conversation went like this:

Me: How much for Weirdwolf?
Him: The wolf? Don't bother. It's broken. It has no head.
Me: No it isn't, it's just missing the head. So how much?
Him: (Sigh) $10. But I'd call the head missing pretty broken, wouldn't you?
Me: No because it's a headmaster (proceeds to explain headmasters concept)
Him: So it's not broken? Oh in that case it's $60.
Me: You just told me $10 and that I shouldn't bother. Now you want $60?
Him : $60
Me: You're an idiot. (Leaves, never to return).

[UltraMarginal]

This really is hilarious, I've occasionally shopped at Comic Kingdom since 1997 when I came to Sydney to go to Uni.
Initially I was stoked to find them they had a massive range of TOS and TNG star trek novels out the back that must have come from some collection purchases or something, back then they were only $5.00 each, as a poor uni student they were the only source of science fiction books I could afford.
The place was old and musty then... but so was kings at the time.

They've always expected that you leave your bag at the front counter. that's cool, but then when you're walking around looking at their stock, theres a creepy old guy that keeps eyeballing you while he walks around the shop to make sure your not stealing anything. there's not much feeling of trust.

I've never really had much other use for them, like stated above, they don't stock even their new stuff with much care and while a lot of their old action figures and memorabilia is in cabinets, its very mixed and pretty much all overpriced. A lot of it is stuff I wouldn't take for free from a garage sale, that could just be my taste though. I do occasionally go there to try and source an old phantom issue that I might have missed out on as they tend to have a pretty good back catalogue, again though they can be in pretty poor shape.

I went there for FCBD this year, mainly because I didn't have time to stand in line for 2+ hours at either kings Comics or Kinokuniya. the line was 8 people long. While I was there with my wife, they were trying to tell other people that other retailers were being stingy and only giving away 1 comic while they were legends giving away 3. I know for a fact that kings were giving away 4 and i'm not sure about Kinokuniya but probably at least 2.

I went downstairs to see if I could pick up a phantom issue i'd missed out on a few months ago and it almost looks like they've stopped getting in any new issues of the phantom, their rack was desolate.


The place hasn't changed in nearly 20 years, I do wonder how they stay in business, maybe they own the building, which would explain why the stairs creek so much, they've invested as much into that as they have the rest of their business. when we were there on Saturday for FCBD I made sure that both my wife and I stepped on the sides of the stairwell as they were by far the least worn parts of the structure.

It's an interesting comparison, seeing the development of comic kingdom against kings comics over the last 17 years. kings used to be in a dingy hole in the basement of a building up the street from where they are now by about 2 blocks, there was very little room to move and if you went in there with a back pack you'd be glad to leave it behind the counter so you could avoid accidentally turning and knocking something over.

Since then Kings have invested heavily in their business, they moved to a new shop, they opened a second shop at Fox Studios for a few years (it's now closed). they regularly partner with films and other large events to provide competitions and giveaways and cheap cinema events. their online store is pretty handy to navigate around and you can pre-purchase books to then later pick up in store or have sent to your home.
This investment is shown by their massive following, the cue for them on FCBD this year was at least 3 hours long, I asked someone halfway down the line how long they'd been waiting and they said 2 hours.
Their shop is open and inviting, it's large and bright and well organised. they do still stock some things that they're never going to sell, recent examples are a Hard hero ironhide Bust still with a sticker for $150 and they have the Covenant of Primus for $100 when it's been in big W's all over the country for $50 for a month now. The new starships collection magazine has just started here it's $20 an issue, they've been importing them from the UK I think and they're selling them for $30. These things are just not competitive but they're overall a very popular store. I'm sure they've invested a massive amount of money into their business, they always s have a lot of staff on, but as a result of this effort their business is thriving.

On the other hand Comic Kingdom haven't spent a cent, they don't stay open late on a Thursday, they haven't updated their website since I don't know when, the stairs in their shop are probably unsafe. yet they still survive.
Maybe they own the building and don't pay rent, maybe there is a large market for some of their really old product. I don't know but there was only ten people in line at their shop for FCBD and most of us didn't buy anything else. They are clearly not popular, but it doesn't look like they work anywhere near as hard as the folks at Kings Comics and maybe they are happy with that. they are certainly not my go to comic shop until I've exhausted all other avenues.


And Trent I would have paid my ten dollars up front and been happy not to educate.:D

[5FDP]

and they have the Covenant of Primus for $100 when it's been in big W's all over the country for $50 for a month now.

A close friend of mine works at Kings Comics and he told me they ordered those copies before it was even known Big W would stock them and they paid a lot more than $100 too meaning they're out-of-pocket selling for that price. Hindsight is always 20/20.

[Trent]

And Trent I would have paid my ten dollars up front and been happy not to educate.:D

Meh. I was more curious than anything. Probably wouldn't have even paid the $10. It was in pretty bad condition.

[Sharky]

Before time there was Comic Kingdom.........

and the land beyond beyond...

Comic Kindom used to have a shop in parramatta too but that was a longg time ago

Kings used to be on bathurst st at the museum tunnel exit (as well as Manly wharf) and just down the street was comics r us...


Land beyond beyond is long gone (that was an awesome Sci Fi comic shop) as is comics r us..

but i remember comic kingdom from when i was a kid it is where i got alot of transformer comics from after my local newsagents stopped ordering them in.

every now and then i will go in and have a walkaround but rarely ever buy anything, it has that old musky dusty antique smell to it, your watched like a hawk and the comics are very poorly treated stacked on the floor in piles years of back issues on the shelf. pretty much pot on how Bow described it in his second paragraph... i have thought many times its like walking into a taboo place or a porn store.....

But to me its just one of those places that has always been around

on another note...The Comic Shop in liverpool had a great FCBD, 6 issues per person muffins in line while you waited, 50% off back issues and pretty much 25% off everything else in store



LONG LIVE COMICS!!!!!

[UltraMarginal]

A close friend of mine works at Kings Comics and he told me they ordered those copies before it was even known Big W would stock them and they paid a lot more than $100 too meaning they're out-of-pocket selling for that price. Hindsight is always 20/20.

Ouch, I get the feeling they might have a similar story with the Star Trek Starships collection they're selling.




LONG LIVE COMICS!!!!!

hear hear!!

[autobreadticon]

Gordon Ramsay - "wheres your f###### passion, show me some kind of passion"

[bowspearer]

Isn't that the kettle (the pot[/URL] calling [URL="http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=18354) black ;)

As opposed to the troll looking to flamebait? The only thing you've done here is take 1 and 1 and come up with 11. In fact the only person here in this thread who seems to think I might be the problem here, is you.

But hey, let's deal with both threads, shall we. In the first case, you're refrring toi Rei Jinn, A seller who has gotten a bad name across at least two other (http://www.seibertron.com/energonpub/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=87638&p=1395484#p1395484)Transformers message boards (http://www.cybertron.ca/boards/showthread.php?t=40980) and was publicly caught out on leaving a fraudulent bad buyer thread (http://badbuyerlist.org/buyer/e77a7da6f924f187ccb0) on another site.

As for the second issue, everyone, including myself was shocked at how out of character his actions were and after Sonny, the organiser of the APCS intervened, he immediately acted in character with how those of us who have had mu8ltiple dealings with him have come to expect him to act and he's chasing up the part.

As for Comic Kingdom themselves, I suggest you actually read the other posts here, as I'm far from the only people to have a problem with them. Are you claiming too that SMHFconvoy, Sam, Ultramarginal, Trent and Sharky all "the problem" here too? After all their accounts of the place are similar to mine.

In short, I suggest rather than reading too far between the lines and seeing something which isn't there, you actually familiarise youself with the concept of bad luck.

[canofwhoopass_87]

I'm experiencing a strange phenomenon known as deja vu in reading this thread

[bowspearer]

I'm experiencing a strange phenomenon known as deja vu in reading this thread

Considering that part of it includes you flamebaiting with the above post, that's hardly surprising.

[MayzaPrime]

I have had many similar situations whist shopping at Comic Kingdom, I could deal with it usually cause they did have some cool stuff, but the final straw occurred when I was upstairs and I noticed a Wheeljack statue sitting in their back area without going into a restricted area which was roped so I just stood in the doorway (behind the rope) and had a look. While I was standing there doing math in my head to see if I could afford it, the really creepy old guy (that Ultra mentioned) came up to me and yelled 'what do you think your doing' I let it go and said that I was interested in the Wheeljack statue his response was 'noone is allowed past the rope' my response was to remind him that I wasn't past the rope to which his response was to call me a smart ar$e.

Well I usually am an easy going guy, but I wasnt taking this kind of poor customer service so I called him out on it by asking if this is how he treats all of his customers and said that no wonder Kings Comic is so much better.

I haven't been back for 8 years

[griffin]

People, just ignore someone you don't like, and walk away, instead of stirring up others.

[CBratron]

Starting to sound like an episode of Black Books in there.

[bowspearer]

Starting to sound like an episode of Black Books in there.

Funny you should mention that, because after going to Kings Comics after leaving Comic Kingdom in disgust (ironiclly a world apart in terms of service, but simply didn't have in anything i was after unfortunately), I definitely noticed the parallel between Comic Kingdom vs Kings Comics and Black Books vs Goliath Books respectively.

[liegeprime]

well Ive only been to Comics Kingdom a couple of times... if they were ever open :rolleyes::rolleyes:. That place seems to open and CLOSE at random, middle of the day they have this stick they use to block entry into the upstairs comic shop and when you ask the downstairs people when is it going to open... no one knows... I think the last time I did attempt to go in ( it was closed again that infernal stick) was 2 years ago. Needless to say, I don't go there now at all. Im PZ customer all the way now since I have my lay away with them ;) haven't missed an issue and good service... I still don't know any of the names of the people in the shop though, and Im too embarrassed to ask hehehe:o:o coz they've been calling me by my name even as I walk in the door.

If anybody knows can you pm me their names please hehe.

[UltraMarginal]

I don't know if I have a problem with comic kingdom, I just find their approach to business and ability to stay open a curiosity. I have a feeling they are largely stuck in the last century.

I should go and watch some black books to see what people are talking about:o

[5FDP]

As opposed to the troll looking to flamebait? The only thing you've done here is take 1 and 1 and come up with 11. In fact the only person here in this thread who seems to think I might be the problem here, is you.

LOL... the 'troll' with nearly 7000 posts. Yeah, because clearly that's my M.O. :rolleyes:

Perhaps if you re-read what I wrote you'd realise that maybe people of English decent (read: us whinging poms), have a better grasp on the language than you do. I wrote and I quote "there may be a fair amount of truth" in what you are saying, I just don't agree with your methods of saying it. So, in short, I don't disagree with SMHFconvoy, Sam, Ultramarginal, Trent and Sharky and I''ll thank you for not implying that I do to stir up trouble.

[Hursticon]

Isn't that the pot (http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=17845) calling the kettle (http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=18354) black ;) All I'm saying is that the last three topics you have started (including this one) have all been about cautionary tales towards less than favourable customer service experiences. Granted, there may be a fair amount of truth to them, however it comes across as whinging to me especially given the length of your posts. If I found myself in similar recurring situations, I would consider taking a different approach e.g. walk away as Sinnertwin suggested and / or evaluate the situation and determine what is the one constant that these instances of 'bad luck' have in common.


LOL... the 'troll' with nearly 7000 posts. Yeah, because clearly that's my M.O. :rolleyes:

Perhaps if you re-read what I wrote you'd realise that maybe people of English decent (read: us whinging poms), have a better grasp on the language than you do. I wrote and I quote "there may be a fair amount of truth" in what you are saying, I just don't agree with your methods of saying it. So, in short, I don't disagree with SMHFconvoy, Sam, Ultramarginal, Trent and Sharky and I''ll thank you for not implying that I do to stir up trouble.

http://i1032.photobucket.com/albums/a409/Darkone666au/Webpics/750138749_1388394870_zps9011aa7f.jpg


It'd just be nice to see you post something other than a "Consumer Advice" thread/post every 18 months you decide to pop-in, Bowspearer. :cool:

[Sam]

They've always expected that you leave your bag at the front counter. that's cool, but then when you're walking around looking at their stock, theres a creepy old guy that keeps eyeballing you while he walks around the shop to make sure your not stealing anything. there's not much feeling of trust.


I have had many similar situations whist shopping at Comic Kingdom, I could deal with it usually cause they did have some cool stuff, but the final straw occurred when I was upstairs and I noticed a Wheeljack statue sitting in their back area without going into a restricted area which was roped so I just stood in the doorway (behind the rope) and had a look. While I was standing there doing math in my head to see if I could afford it, the really creepy old guy (that Ultra mentioned) came up to me and yelled 'what do you think your doing' I let it go and said that I was interested in the Wheeljack statue his response was 'noone is allowed past the rope' my response was to remind him that I wasn't past the rope to which his response was to call me a smart ar$e.

Well I usually am an easy going guy, but I wasnt taking this kind of poor customer service so I called him out on it by asking if this is how he treats all of his customers and said that no wonder Kings Comic is so much better.

While I did have some positive experiences in Comic Kingdom in the past, I have to say that the general vibe I get when I used to visit that shop can best be described as "One foot wrong, and they drop the hammer on you."

The staff, perhaps unintentionally, are over alert to the point that they seem to come across as somewhat stiff and unfriendly. It's possible that this was due to a serious theft of some valuable comics from the shop in the 90s and so now they are suspicious of people going into their store (also why they have mini cameras now). Their dislike of King's Comics could perhaps be partially attributed to the fact that some of the same titles turned up at King's Comics fairly soon after. Despite a police investigation however, there was no actual evidence tying the theft of those comics directly to King's Comics (I think it could not be established that those comics were the actual stolen ones, rather than copies from the same print run).



I went there for FCBD this year, mainly because I didn't have time to stand in line for 2+ hours at either kings Comics or Kinokuniya. the line was 8 people long. While I was there with my wife, they were trying to tell other people that other retailers were being stingy and only giving away 1 comic while they were legends giving away 3. I know for a fact that kings were giving away 4 and i'm not sure about Kinokuniya but probably at least 2.

It sounds like Comic Kingdom is jealous. Given the long lines in the city, I went to Phantom Zone this year - they were giving customers 15 titles from various sets - this year's FCBD set, previous years' stock, as well as some non-FCBD titles for free, such as Cyberforce issues 1 to 3, and a Tomb Raider issue, amongst others. If you lined up, there was also an artist doing sketches, but I don't know who he is.



The place hasn't changed in nearly 20 years, I do wonder how they stay in business, maybe they own the building, which would explain why the stairs creek so much, they've invested as much into that as they have the rest of their business. when we were there on Saturday for FCBD I made sure that both my wife and I stepped on the sides of the stairwell as they were by far the least worn parts of the structure.

It's an interesting comparison, seeing the development of comic kingdom against kings comics over the last 17 years. kings used to be in a dingy hole in the basement of a building up the street from where they are now by about 2 blocks, there was very little room to move and if you went in there with a back pack you'd be glad to leave it behind the counter so you could avoid accidentally turning and knocking something over.


Your guess is correct, Comic Kingdom owns the space it's set up in. This could explain why they have a bit of "couldn't care less" attitude when it came to investing / renovating the shop, apart from their seeming general lack of passion about what they do.

A friend told me that before King's started up, they approached Comic Kingdom to see if they would be interested in a joint venture, to which Comic Kingdom turned them down. Phantom Zone also made a similar offer, and got a similar response. Eventually Phantom Zone did their own thing and got a place in Parramatta (there used to be a Chatswood store but it's been closed for a while).

It's interesting to see how better investment, customer service, and more passion for what you do makes the difference.


well Ive only been to Comics Kingdom a couple of times... if they were ever open :rolleyes::rolleyes:. That place seems to open and CLOSE at random, middle of the day they have this stick they use to block entry into the upstairs comic shop and when you ask the downstairs people when is it going to open... no one knows... I think the last time I did attempt to go in ( it was closed again that infernal stick) was 2 years ago. Needless to say, I don't go there now at all. Im PZ customer all the way now since I have my lay away with them ;) haven't missed an issue and good service... I still don't know any of the names of the people in the shop though, and Im too embarrassed to ask hehehe:o:o coz they've been calling me by my name even as I walk in the door.

If anybody knows can you pm me their names please hehe.

I have been told that years ago (probably before the 90s), a few Comic Kingdom staff used to start Friday afternoon drinks early, when the shop was still open, so that their minds would not be as "sharp" and "focused" even before the shop closed for the day, if you know what I mean.

Regarding your question, I think the name of the man who works at Phantom Zone is pronounced "Ice", but it's probably spelt "Ys" or "Is" (don't quote me on that though, I am not 100% certain). I think the Caucasian girl is Jenny, or Jennifer, and the Asian girl is Pia, I am only certain of the Asian girl's name because one of my work colleagues is her friend.

[bowspearer]

LOL... the 'troll' with nearly 7000 posts. Yeah, because clearly that's my M.O. :rolleyes:

Your "typical M.O." here is irrelevant. The fact is that your first post here was entirely inflamatory and was designed to flamebait.

You say that
I''ll thank you for not implying that I do to stir up trouble.

Yet from what I can see, that has been precisely your intent here.

Even now you still insist on picking a fight, despite Griffin asking people to refrain from making inflamatory posts.


I wrote and I quote "there may be a fair amount of truth" in what you are saying,

Firstly that's a half truth as what you actually said was:


Granted, there may be a fair amount of truth to them, however it comes across as whinging to me especially given the length of your posts.

In other words, what you cite in your defence was actually done in an utterly backhanded manner and suggests that you were clearly too busy engaging in shaming and silencing tactics to recognise a community service act of warning people about a bad situation so they can avoid also being stung (which in these sorts of acts typically involves giving a full account of what has transpired), when it's staring you right in the face.

Secondly, what it was done after the blatantly trolling beginning to your initial post here of:


Isn't that the pot (http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=17845) calling the kettle (http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=18354) black ;)

You claim:


So, in short, I don't disagree with SMHFconvoy, Sam, Ultramarginal, Trent and Sharky

And yet the line of reasoning you've adopted here is that the problem in this situation, must lie with me, despite countless testimonies here from people whose stories corroborate mine.

In fact you openly state as much when you say:


or evaluate the situation and determine what is the one constant that these instances of 'bad luck' have in common.

Ergo it stands to reason that if you are arguing that if someone has a problem with Comic Kingdom, then they must be the problem, that you are indeed at making the same implication of the above board posters (and yes I am using a reducto ad absurdum here).

If you weren't so busy trolling (even after Griffin asked people to stop), you would recognise that that is how shaky your entire position is.

The vast bulk of people have taken this thread for what it is in its entirety- a warning that Comic Kingdom should be avoided at all costs- with the length of my post simply serving as evidence to corroborate that warning. In fact the only 2 people who have failed to do so, just happen to have been people who in this thread have resorted to petty, childish and trolling behaviour to sate their petty desires.

If you are so compelled to sate those urges that you are incabable of taking Griffin's advice, then perhaps you should actually demonstrate some maturity here and simply give this thread a wide berth.

[bowspearer]

well Ive only been to Comics Kingdom a couple of times... if they were ever open :rolleyes::rolleyes:. That place seems to open and CLOSE at random, middle of the day they have this stick they use to block entry into the upstairs comic shop and when you ask the downstairs people when is it going to open... no one knows... I think the last time I did attempt to go in ( it was closed again that infernal stick) was 2 years ago. Needless to say, I don't go there now at all. Im PZ customer all the way now since I have my lay away with them ;) haven't missed an issue and good service... I still don't know any of the names of the people in the shop though, and Im too embarrassed to ask hehehe:o:o coz they've been calling me by my name even as I walk in the door.

While I'm not sure I'll ever actually go there ever again for geographical reasons, I definitely agree from past experiences that they're great do deal with and definitely worth checking out if you're in the area.

[Trailer Park Ninja]

I used to collect comics avidly in my misspent youth, spending time each weekend trolling Comic Kingdom, Kings Comics and even Land Beyond Beyond.

I also had some crap experiences buying from Comic Kingdom, but with advent of the internet and being able to source silver-age, bronze-age titles through ebay, overseas online stores etc, I gave them the flick many moons ago.

Their apathetic attitudes towards customers has resulted in them being in the state they are in.

The worst story I've heard about Comic Kingdom is that one of the guys who used to work there (and who later went to work for Kings Comics) had his entire personal vintage comics collection seized by the owner of Comic Kingdom, via the police as he claimed they were stolen. Whether this was true or not, or if they were actually his, we'll never know but the owner was a pretty dodgy bloke when I dealt him.

Comic Kingdom is one of those Sydney stores that confounds me as to while it still operates. The other one is that Game Infinity store at Haymarket that "sells" massively overpriced video games and collectibles. I joke that it's a front for a drug running operation as I've never seen buy people stuff and the same old stock is still there.

[spiderken17]

I used to go to Comic Kingdom in the city and Parramatta many moons ago as they always had plenty of back issues. Kings was always overpriced compared to CK back then but it was still dingy.
I had cause to deal with them a few years back when I missed out on an issue and I could not find it at any other comic shops (I called a lot).
When I called they told me that yes they had the issue but when I asked could they mail it out to me he said "you want me to mail one comic?"
I replied "what difference does it make to you if you mail one or ten as I am paying for the postage either way"
He was not impressed. Unfortunately I could not find the issue anywhere else so had my mate (who works in the city) pick it up for me. He's not into comics but is happy to check out new places and even he asked why I sent him into that "creepy place". Kings is in another league when compared to CK.

When Kings then opened a shop in Penrith I didn't need to go to the city or Parra (living in the Blue Mountains) as the extra little bit I paid was not worth the time or money of travelling to the others (plus I could put everything on standing order and hang out and read comics). I don't know the reason Kings Penrith closed but Darren the old boss told me the Fox Studios store wasn't doing so well so they were closing Penrith?!
Personally I would have like Penrith to stay around as it was the only comic shop west of Parra that also services the (lower) Blue Mountains. It would make a killing today with the boom in comic culture.
Kings investment in their business in the last decade has easily made them the most profitable comic shop in Sydney. They are definitely not the stereotypical musty comic shop.
I still have a standing order with them and get my stuff posted out regularly. When I want to get something I just call up and add it to standing order. Too easy. I think I am one of their longest running standing order customers, as all the staff seem to know who I am but I don't know them. I could get stuff a little cheaper elsewhere but Kings is so damn easy to deal with, and when there is a mistake they fix it quickly.
Funny story. On the second date with my (now) wife in 2010 we went into the city and went to Kings. When I asked to pick up my standing order (which is usually mailed out) they said "Your the Ken Reynolds?" My wife new then and there that she was dating a pretty serious super nerd.