That comic shop's back issue sale had a catch I didn't see coming

Went to a shop in Portland last Saturday for their 50 cent back issue bin and grabbed a stack of early 90s X-Men. The guy at the counter pointed out they had a store policy about buying more than 10 issues, something about them needing to verify condition first. I figured no big deal, but then he started flipping through each one and pulling out ones with slight spine creases and saying they couldn't sell those at the discount price. Took me 20 minutes to get through my pile and I ended up paying full cover for like 6 of them. The thing is, I get it, they don't want people flipping damaged books, but the rule wasn't posted anywhere. Has anyone else run into shops with weird unspoken rules like this when hunting back issues? How do you handle it without looking like a jerk?

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the_oscar17d ago

That store policy sounds like a cover for them cherry-picking the good books out of their own sale bin. Honestly, it's a classic move where they want to keep the valuable keys at full price but still get people excited about the "sale." A better approach is to ask upfront if there are any limits or condition checks before you start digging. If they say something vague like "we'll see," just grab the 10 or 11 you want and pay for those, then walk away. That way you control the pile, not them. You're not being a jerk, you're just playing their game with better rules.