lCS Etiquette

[DetroitFan14]

I was just wondering the relationships some of you have and have built with the owners at your LCS.

For example, say there is packs for sale do you think it is ok or do you feel awkward asking if any big hits or a hit has come out of it? Or things along those lines?

I know if everyone asked he wouldn't make a living. But do you expect him to be honest? Or is it an unwritten rule to ask in the first place?

I've never done this myself (asking about packs or whats come out) But I'd like to here all imput on the subject or stories if anyone has any.

[vatechhokiefan]

Before I buy packs I will ask if any of the hits have been pulled. If the owner knows he will tell me. If they have been pulled he will almost always offer to open a new box and combine packs.

I've been going to the same LCS since 97 and the owner has done a great job of building regular customers and making his shop a welcome place to hang out.

[DetroitFan14]

Originally Posted by vatechhokiefan

Before I buy packs I will ask if any of the hits have been pulled. If the owner knows he will tell me. If they have been pulled he will almost always offer to open a new box and combine packs.

I've been going to the same LCS since 97 and the owner has done a great job of building regular customers and making his shop a welcome place to hang out.

I guess being a regular and establishing a relationship has a big part to do with it.

I just was at an out of town LCS and I was watching a guy rip some Elite Extra Baseball and the guy pulled 2 autos. (He even showed the owner what they were) Another customer came in about 15-20 minutes later and asked if any autos had been pulled. The owner said "not to my knowledge" and the guy bought the rest of the packs and walked out. I know there is more autos in EEE but still. Do you expect this of a shop owner from out of town or is that shady and what not no matter what?

[natsfan82]

I've been going to the LCS in my area since they opened and if he knows he has no problem telling me what's been pulled.

[vatechhokiefan]

Each buyer should have some knowledge of what the hits per box of a certain product are. I think the LCS guy did himself a disservice by not letting the second customer know what had been pulled. If the box was dead and he offered to open a new box that could go a long way into creating a repeat customer.

[DetroitFan14]

Originally Posted by vatechhokiefan

Each buyer should have some knowledge of what the hits per box of a certain product are. I think the LCS guy did himself a disservice by not letting the second customer know what had been pulled. If the box was dead and he offered to open a new box that could go a long way into creating a repeat customer.

Yeah thats along the lines of what I was thinking.

[gasper33]

not all shop owners are honest like that. some are pretty good, i'm sure. the one i used to go to in new windsor ny is a total scumbag!! he would only tell his 2 best friends that hung out there all the time. the rest of us he would screw over. the funny thing was, the guys he thought were his friends would tell the rest of the customers, lol!! now he has no customers except his buddy's. i guess they like it like that

[DetroitFan14]

Originally Posted by gasper33

not all shop owners are honest like that. some are pretty good, i'm sure. the one i used to go to in new windsor ny is a total scumbag!! he would only tell his 2 best friends that hung out there all the time. the rest of us he would screw over. the funny thing was, the guys he thought were his friends would tell the rest of the customers, lol!! now he has no customers except his buddy's. i guess they like it like that

Yeah I figured there were some owners like this out there.

[dgamboa]

I know for certain that the guys at Games and Cards in Eagle Rock, CA will always tell you what has been pulled. There was a kid buying Panini Gold Standard and the owner told him that the 14k gold case hit was already pulled

[pvdfan]

It's all about building the relationship. I've been going to my local one now for 9 months and he knows what I'm looking for. I normally only do cards to get signed (Bowman/minors stuff) and supplies. He lets me go through new minors stuff first and same goes for first crack on boxes.

Open boxes with hits already bought seems like a gray area to me. They should be honest if you ask, however doing so is not good for business. If pack one of a 32 pack box yields a hit, they would basically be sitting on common stuff paying "this is crap but buy it anyways."

[Zerokruel]

But is it fair to ask the owner to discount the rest of the box if this hits were pulled early? Also, by telling people the hits were pulled, people tend to move on to a different box...

So really, the store owner is costing himself money & precious shelf space by packing out boxes and letting people know when the hits have been pulled... I guess the LCS do so well as it is they suck this one up....

[lingling1955]

my LCS owner lets us open up to 200 USD if we dont have cash or money on hand, but will keep the cards till we come back and pay.

he will tell us if hits have been pulled, but once half the box is gone, he replenishes it with more packs.

when ppl found out that 2009/2010 timeless trash bottom 3 tins had the big cards, everytime he opened a new case, he mixed it up first..

[homerunoveryou]

My LCS (well the closest to local it's 90 miles away) He does gets most of his income from gaming cards, football, and basketball. I think the only reason he even orders baseball is because he opens some and then my brother and I drive over whenever a new product comes out and we buy it all. If he has an open box on the shelf he tell whats been pulled and discounts the open box accordingly. He also gives a 100 pack of penny sleeves and a pack of toploaders with every box. I have more peeny sleeves than I know what to do with

[amazingpacks]

LCS should price packs from a brand new box 2x the cost, then after the hits are gone, 1/2 cost to dump the rest of the packs.

example:
$10 packs should be $20 bucks until the hits are gone, then $5 for the rest of the packs.

Would you as a customer pay more to be the first to pick packs until you get the hits? Then set builders can pay under cost for the "hitless" packs that are left.

I think asking the LCS owner if the hits are gone is being a semi-turdddd, Only the LCS owner losses out by being honest and the customer is putting the LCS a uncomfortable situation. LCS mixing in new boxes is a good thing. Understanding how the LCS makes a living and if the roles were reverse, how would you feel.

[Laxbam619]

It definitely is a "grey area" for shops and customers, as a regular and someone who spends a considerable amount at an LCS (which most of us are) you would expect some type of privlages that a joe-shmoe walking in off the street wouldnt get. For example, if a box has 3 hits and 24 packs and someone comes in and buys 4 packs and pulls all 3 hits leaving 20 packs of garabage in the box, you would expect the shop owner to let you know that so you dont blow $100 for nothing, but on the otherside of things the owner no knows he has a "dead box" and if he tells people that all 3 hits are gone then he is going to be stuck with 20 packs, which is why you'll sometimes get the comment of " i really dont remember" or "the guy took them home and didnt open them here so i dont know"

[Frankp2311]

Mine lets you open as much as you want...then he sells them on ebay and if you made money that could be used as store credit. If you lost money you paid the difference. Wonder how he'll do his paypal taxes this year though with the new irs form?

[festus]

i dont think a shop owner has the obligation to disclose whats been pulled. whether a hit gets pulled or not he/she remains silent, its an even playing field.

[ND3]

Listen usually first order of business is to start the pack ripping with your teeth and some pissin' on the floor. Show em' how you roll.

[KingTaco77]

The guy who owns my LCS is a great guy - he lives to watch his customers pull big hits. Unfortunately for him, most people don't open their packs in-store, so it's hard for him to tell. He's always ready with highlights from previous people's pack breaks, so at least I know what might be coming. I know he could be lying, but I genuinely believe him when he tells me what's come from a box, especially considering some of the pulls I've gotten from the packs and boxes I've bought there.

[rudyjustinfarrell]

I get texts from the guy at the LCS telling me when a big "hit" has been pulled. Especially when it's a product that he knows I have no interest in. Although at times he's also sent me joke texts that so-n-so pulled some monster hit just to try and rile me up.

I would walk into any LCS and would not feel funny asking the owner/seller "seen anything good out of this product?" or "is this a fresh box?"

[VWBUS1978]

My LCS owner and employees tell me If all the hits are gone. They have built a great reputation. But mostly sell full boxes. It's my belief that if you buy packs you should purchase an entire stack of the box like Ginter has 3 stacks of 8... Buy a whole stack... Almost guaranteed a hit. $0.02

[mikecancelliere]

I always ask if the box is "dead"

He's usually pretty honest

[slugger22]

Originally Posted by vatechhokiefan

Before I buy packs I will ask if any of the hits have been pulled. If the owner knows he will tell me. If they have been pulled he will almost always offer to open a new box and combine packs.

I've been going to the same LCS since 97 and the owner has done a great job of building regular customers and making his shop a welcome place to hang out.

Exactly the same for me and the shop I visit.

[dhcollecting]

At one local LCS whenever a box is less than half full they will open another and mix packs. Also if they know the hits have been pulled they will open a new box and mix it to make sure you have a chance at getting a hit.
Only shop that really takes the time to make sure everyone has a fair shot.

[mcdo0423]

I don't usually ask at my LCS but the owner will usually tell me. I did happen to ask when Ginter came out though. The owner had sent me an email showing me that a 10/10 rip card was pulled and a 1/1 wood mini. He still had boxes on the shelf so I asked if those were from the same case as the other two cards.

On the other hand I will ask for a few packs from an open box and I get the "I wouldn't buy those, the box is dead." It just shows that being a regular customer does have its advantages.

If I open packs/boxes in the store I also get free storage boxes, penny sleeves, and toploaders.