Nearly got kicked out of a comic shop for laughing too loud

I was at my local shop in Austin last Saturday and this guy walks up to the counter with a stack of 90s X-Men comics, dead serious, asking if they'd be worth more if he never opened them. The clerk just stared at him for 5 seconds and said 'sir, these are all still in the polybag with the trading cards inside, they're worth maybe $3 each.' I burst out laughing so hard I snorted, and the guy turned around and gave me the dirtiest look. Has anyone else witnessed a crazy overvaluation moment at a shop?

2 comments

2 Comments

lisa_murray6d ago

Oh man, that's too good! I had almost the exact same thing happen at my shop in Austin a few months back. This guy brought in a beat-up copy of Spider-Man #1 from the 90s with the cover practically falling off and a big coffee ring on it, dead serious asking if it was his ticket to a new car. The clerk just looked at it and said "man, this is maybe a quarter book now, if somebody even wants it." I tried so hard not to laugh but I totally snorted again. People really think those polybagged comics from the 90s are gold mines and it kills me every time.

evanfox6d ago

Read an article a while back about how the 90s comic market bubble burst because everyone thought their polybagged copies with cards and hologram covers would be retirement funds. Remember seeing those X-Men #1 issues in the discount bins for years after that. That clerk handled it about as politely as anyone could, probably gets asked that same kind of thing a dozen times a week.