At a con in Portland I saw a kid get the wrong comic and it made me rethink my whole approach

I was at Rose City Comic Con last fall, just browsing the long boxes at a vendor's booth. This teenager, maybe 14, was super excited because he'd finally saved up for a specific issue of Amazing Spider-Man. He paid the guy, who was busy and just handed him a book from a different stack. The kid's face just fell when he looked at it. He was too shy to say anything and just walked away. I caught up with him a few aisles over and we went back together. The vendor was super apologetic and fixed it, but that moment stuck with me. I realized I'd been that guy before, just grabbing a book for a friend without really double checking the details because I was in a hurry. Now, whether I'm buying for myself or someone else, I always take that extra ten seconds to actually look at the cover, the number, and the year before I hand over any cash. It seems small, but it matters. Has anyone else had a simple con experience shift how they collect or help others collect?

2 comments

2 Comments

jake_dixon3d agoMost Upvoted

My own rush job once cost me a mint copy, so @spencer_thomas4, I feel your pain.

spencer_thomas43d ago

That "extra ten seconds" thing is so true. I once bought a trade paperback online that was listed as volume one, but the cover photo was actually for volume two.