I think it’s important to remember that going to your LCS is the better experience, especially when you go on a semi regular basis as the staff are usually very knowledgeable and can head you in the right direction and give you recommendations on things they know you will enjoy. Building a rapport with your local LCS is really important in my opinion.
Yes but the problem with LCS is price. If you buy a lot or are on a budget then buying from a LCS is going to cost a lot more and you could buy a lot more books from online shops that offer 40-50% off new books.
That’s a really fair point! I recently moved and this was the first time I had been to the shop. They were amazing and let me film which was super cool. But I had to look at the overall experience of trying two shops and the first shop was a really negative experience. The results would have been way different if I had gone to comic book hideout first which was an awesome shop.
I still can’t believe how OPB is still in business. I’m glad for those guys, but aside from the niche people on some RU-vid channels and the occasional person online, MOST people I know buy from IST, then CGN, and finally Amazon itself, for new books. I know I did research around June/July 2021, but I found no reason to buy from OPB. They ALWAYS have higher prices. I know back around 2014-2019 CGN had some nice OOP books and whales for decent prices. I bought a lot from them around that time and especially from some Black Friday deals in 2018 and 2019. Since then, not really. The last time I ordered from them was June 2022. I guess people have a lot of extra money to throw to OPB? I can’t afford to do that. Also, I give 100% credit to those people who buy their collected editions from their LCS. They are paying top dollar with a minuscule discount. Those people definitely have money!
Yeah same here. I ALWAYS check IST first, then CGN, then Amazon (though I make sure Amazon is not shipping the book; their packing sux), then Ebay, and then MAYBE OPB. They usually are the higher priced of all the retailers. It amazes me how all these RU-vid channels promote OPB as if they're the absolute best, when they're not. I've bought ONE book from them in 3 years, and that's because I couldn't find it anywhere else. As for IST, the only knock is that they don't do preorders. You have to buy the book the day it releases. But that's never been an issue for me. CGN is fine, and seem to have a wide selection, but their prices are usually a little higher than IST, and shipping is more.
@@burntdice2810 IST has a 2% returning customer discount and organic price books has a rewards points that basically gives you two dollars for every omni you buy. I didn’t mention either to keep it simple but that is a great point! I love both websites!
I think the specifics of how you did this experiment slanted the results unfairly, if your goal was to create a realistic comparison. First, downgrading IST for stacking books when this was a factor none of the other vendors had to deal with it was very strange. Plus you didn't explain what was wrong with doing that. Both books were in plastic and were held firmly in place by the packing materials. They arrived undamaged. So what's the downside? And does any other vendor do any differently? You also claimed OPB had the best packaging, but why is that the case? To me it seemed like IST, CGN, and OPB all had roughly equivalent packaging. But in this video there was one negative you didn't mention about IST's packaging: they had the book sitting on the bottom of the box, so there was no extra protection on that side. I can't recall whether they usually do that or not. Otherwise they all had plenty of cushioning materials that were firm enough to prevent the books from moving around. As for price, I think it's pretty clear that in most cases IST will beat other vendors, especially given the policy of free shipping over $50, which is a pretty low bar. And if you order new books every week, there's another discount. As for shipping speed, that clearly depends on where you are in relation to the vendor, and whether or not you order a book they have in-stock. For me, IST is usually much faster than CGN, because I'm on the other side of the country. (I haven't ordered from OPB.) But one advantage of CGN is that their website states whether or not they have the book in stock (otherwise it's a "special order," which adds a couple of weeks or more to the shipping speed). IST doesn't have that, but I do seem to receive my orders faster from them than CGN most of the time. But I do agree the IST website has some weird issues at times, such as books appearing and disappearing at random, missing cover images, multiple listings for the same title, or listing volumes they don't have for sale -- factors that affect a pretty small number of books, but enough to be noticeable. I would add one frustrating downside to ordering from IST and CGN (and maybe OPB): they don't have access to a full range of graphic novels or collected editions. There are always plenty of books you simply can't get from them, publishers whose entire lines are missing, or large parts of their backlist. I don't know why this is the case. Presumably they use specialty distributors that only carry a limited selection. Even more frustrating, IST and CGN don't have the same selection. Sometimes one will have a book, sometimes the other, sometimes neither. I would like to stop ordering from Amazon completely, but so far I don't know an alternative. Edit: After submitting this I look at a couple of recent IST boxes I still have sitting around. They seem to be using a mix of bubble wrap and molded foam packing material now. And in most (or maybe all?) cases, they shape the packing material so the books don't sit on the bottom of the box -- there's always a gap of about an inch (or more) between the box and books. Was that the case with your box in this video, or did it just look like they were sitting on the bottom to me? If the latter, that was pretty unusual -- I would guess that whoever did the packing made a boo-boo. The box was plenty big enough to provide protection on all sides.
Great points! I love IST and they are my second most used options. I’ll rewatch but I could have sworn I mentioned that I didn’t like how it was sitting on the bottom but that might have been cut out while editing. I think looking back I should have given ist a bonus point since they did have to package 2 books. That being said usually there packaging is the second best. I was shocked that CGN felt more secure when that is almost never the case. I love IST for there prices. The only downside is speed it takes to get the book, and trying to get ahold of them is almost impossible.
I wanna start by saying I enjoyed the video and the concept. I however disagree with the grades. Personally my slowest IST order came faster than my quickest CGN order. IST has also always had superior customer service to CGN for me. OPB is great but for most things they’re way more expensive. I feel like someone new to the hobby watching this video to find out where they should shop is going to be driven away from IST and I think that’s a bad thing. Just my opinion, liking the videos keep up the good work.
I understand. I think that’s all really fair. I really appreciate the feedback! I love IST. I shop there often. I understand this wasn’t a perfect experiment and I’m considering making a response video to add more context. There’s things I love about IST but there’s also things that could be improved that I didn’t get to touch on this video. Placing an order and never knowing if the book is in stock and will ship out right away or if it has to be ordered and your order just sits there for weeks. I also wish they responded better with email. Sometimes I’ve waited 2 weeks for a reply. I tried to make it clear that IST has the most variables and often time can be an A. Other times it can be a frustrating experience. But more times then not it is a positive experience. People’s results can definitely vary I’m sure shipping speeds will be dependent on my geographical location. I tried my best to make it clear that my grading results were strictly from this one single experience and not for every experience. I’m still learning and trying to improve.
I feel you did IST wrong. They may take a little longer but you always get the lowest price and also free shipping. CGN can be slow and also doesn’t have good customer service. OPB has the best service and wraps their books great, pricing is their only issue. You got lucky with Amazon though.
I understand. I tried to say in the video IST can be amazing! They have the best prices if you’re willing to wait longer. I normally would always choose them over CGN but for the purpose of this experiment their packaging was as good as it normally was. I could have given them a bonus point since Jordan did add a second book which I wish he hadn’t but even looking at one book it still wasn’t packaged as good as I felt CGN and OPB would be. I gave them the only 5 for pricing. I did get lucky with Amazon!
although i found it weird that cgn wraps books in plastic bags, it was relieving when hearing its a rainy day on delivery day or your area suffers from flooding
One of the valuable videos you’ve ever put out bro. Very informative. This is gonna help somebody who is just getting into the collecting game for sure.
OPB has my heart, if price is remotely close they're the ones I want to go with. Cool idea to compare all of these, but that's a lot of laughing Batmans you guys have!
I’m obviously late to view and comment but hope this helps you guys anyway. I’ve only been ordering online for a few years but your experiences are largely consistent with mine for all these vendors. One thing I’d add is that if you want to upgrade shipping to UPS (or apparently now also FedEx on IST), you can only do so on IST or OPB. I don’t do it for speed but because my regional USPS facilities are literally (according to my local news anyway) ranked among the worst in the country in losing or damaging packages. I’ve had numerous packages lost by USPS over the years and never by UPS or FedEx, although I know people sometimes do. It’s just more consistent for me when I upgrade and it’s a pretty cheap upgrade at IST. The only other thing I’d note is that since individual purchases can vary in terms of cost or packaging, I base my purchasing on experience over multiple orders. While not perfect, IST has given me the best combination of price and packaging over time.
Thank you so much for a super insightful comment! It means a lot to me! I love ist and have bought from them a bunch. They often have cheaper prices but being owned by lunar does give them an unfair advantage.
I should point out that Amazon only offers free shipping to Prime members and/or when it is $25 or more. It was $25, then $35, then $50, but they brought it back down to $25 a couple years ago. The good thing about picking up a book directly at an LSC is that you can inspect the item prior to purchase and no waiting times! The only one thing I would have suggested to include was a random eBay purchase! That said... for a while, thanks to the Omnipocalypse and being impossible to track some books down in 2020, I had been pre-ordering stuff from DCBS, but I'm starting to cut back on that. When not DCBS, I tend to order my omnis from IST. Almost always 1 omni is enough for free shipping and they tend to do random (clearance) sales even less than a month after one comes out. CGN does have a flat shipping rate and they tend to have some harder-to-find books available either directly or via special order. It is a nice place if you want to buy in bulk or take advantage of their Nick & Dent sales. They also did not charge sales tax on any of my orders. This may vary for others based on their local tax regulations, but this basically negates the shipping cost entirely for me and can actually save over IST's prices on items at times, even with their loyalty discount. Admittedly, I have not ordered as much from OPB, but they are another good option for items that may be out of stock at IST or CGN. And from what I have ordered, the content has come super well packed. The most intricate protection from your books that you will get from any of the suppliers. And you can get stuff like bookmarks and bonus codes for future orders that they will toss in. Amazon... I tend to do this only when they are having a B2G1 sale or they have something that is absolutely not available anywhere else. I've had ups and downs with books arriving either in great condition or battered, beaten and ripped up. Sometimes they put in an airbag or two, other times they throw the book into a box that is 3 times its size with nothing at all. I refuse to order anything that isn't hardcover, because I know it will come demolished. And even when the omnis do arrives, the plastic wrap is ripped up along the edges or randomly somewhere in the center of the cover. To their credit, though, they do often have some decent-priced DC omnis in their inventory. LSCs... the last time I bought a collected edition at an LSC was either the early 2000s or late 90s. I just find it easier to grab stuff online now. I'm not really a single issue type of person and if I visit an LSC and don't find a book, I feel awkward leaving empty-handed. Plus, a lot of the comic shops that were here in the 90s are long, long gone now. I can only think of one in the area that is still around.
I almost reached out to you to try and get info about dcbs to include in the bonus section but I wanted to keep it a bit more simple. I usually go OPB > IST > CGN > Amazon > LCS > Target b2g1 I was shocked in this experiment IST didn’t beat out CGN. I hope I didn’t make it to unfair by Jordan grabbing a second book. It was hard. I hope you enjoyed the video and thought it was interesting.
All good! DCBS is run by the same people that do IST and Tales of Wonder, with different warehouses. DCBS is primarily pre-orders for collected editions and comics. Tales of Wonder used to do both pre-orders and in-stock collected editions, but shifted to pre-orders only about 1.5 years back. I stopped using ToW when they went pre-order only.
I buy the 3 HC of invincible at organic priced books, before i pay, they answer my emails, the books arrives damage and do not follow my petition of extra protection and they say before shipp they do it, and they stop answer and ignoring my emails, paypal have to step in for they answer at last. Bad, but very bad experience with Organic Priced Books.
I agree with most of your ratings with two exceptions. 1) My personal bias is against IST due to a very negative experience I have had with them a few years back. haven't ordered from them since. 2) I think comparing a local storefront against super warehouses on prices is a little wonky and unfair to the local comic shop. Their margins are higher and of course there will be a price difference. Rating them low on timeliness? Two stores were visited and then the book was obtained within 2 or 3 hours of trying to get it? That's better then days 🙂 I still enjoy your channel, though.
I agree and in hindsight if I could change it to only rank the LCS with out combinding the bad experience I had at the other LCS I would do that. It was fair. Learning and doing the best I can!
@@afifthofjackgaming cool! Yeah most people aren’t dumb enough to buy the same book this many times but to me it’s what made the video interesting and unique!
I use OPB mostly, but sometimes I have fun hunting the damage section or red tag sale of IST. If I can’t find a book I need for my channel anywhere else I’ll use Amazon as a last resort.
For an international buyer like myself, I normally will order books from IST and Amazon. I had ordered books from OPB before, best customer service and the best packaging BUT their international shipping is WAY too expensive for me. Not worth it, how sad.
my book from organic priced books was not wrapped in bubble wrap so just know it was not like this for most people, and i ordered 2 day shipping and it took them 4 days to bring the package to the post office with no warning of a processing time, would be nice to get a heads up about it.
Thank you so much!! It was really interesting and the results didn’t go completely the way I thought they would! Where do you buy books in your part of the world?
