Would you be upset if an LCS did this? I was LIVID and lost faith in the hobby

[GeechQuest]

So I took off the day from work to make an hour and a half trip to an LCS outside of my city. I normally frequent my main 2 where I'm from, but it was pretty outside and I just really wanted to go see someplace different. Haven't been to this place in a year so I thought it would be perfect to see the new singles they have and bust some product.

This LCS is known, as probably the premiere store in Texas, if not the US. They have EVERYTHING you could want. Their selection and prices rival Blowout and it truly is an amazing store. I brought a decent chunk of change and was ready to just open product all afternoon down there.

So I go in the store and make an initial run through, checking on everything they had. Looking at the singles, debating what part of my budget was going to go towards that and what part I was going to spend on wax. I opt to bust some boxes first, and then depending on what I hit move onto the singles. I'm planning on doing spending about 50/50 on wax/singles.

I peruse what I want (and I promise I have my pick of any product from current down to 1213) and decide I'll start at 14/15 Gala and work my way up in the 14/15 products. He has a case of Gala on the shelf and I ask if I can have a box. The owner gets the case down and says:


"Oh, this is my last case of Gala."


I think nothing of it and wait for him to bust the case and let me pick a box. He then says:


"I can't sell you a box of this, I have a guy who comes in here and has been buying this product and he won't open it unless it's a sealed case."


I stare blankly (were talking about Gala)....


"He's opened probably 30 cases in the past 3-4 months." "He pulled this sweet Kobe auto."


Continue staring at him, I say "Well it's not like Kobe doesn't sign for every product"


He goes "Yeah, but this one was a beauty. A guy in the store offered him $750 for it on the spot but he told the guy 'no thank you'. He was nice about it, even though the guy lowballed him"


I say "I didn't know any card in Gala except the rookies /8 could even touch $500". Literally didn't know what else to say, and I'm not trying to cause a scene because that's just not who I am. My blood is boiling at this point. I've never been told I couldn't buy something. It would be one thing if he had the case in the back and was holding it, but it was right on the shelf completely out for anyone to grab whatever they wanted.

The whole thing threw me off and after some more of him hyping some other product and talking about all the "value" in such and such I just walked out. I didn't know what else to do. This is a store I maybe visit once a year, so this guy just let unfamiliar money walk out of his door. It's not like the guy "Who's buying 30 cases of Gala " won't be back and spend his money on something else. That guy is a regular and will always spend his money there. I feel like this is business 101; always look for new avenues of revenue. I was his avenue today and he completely blew me off .

I don't do Yelp or Twitter, but I really thought about blowing him up on both. I seriously couldn't believe he refused to sell me product. Just makes me wonder what else he holds back and/or does for his "top customers".

Sorry for the rant, just was and still am completely dumbfounded at this owner. I've been to a ton of LCS around the country and have to say this was the worst experience I've ever had, and I've had some bad ones.

[pingbling23]

If the store is that popular, I don't blame them for holding out. I'm sure there was more to chose from.

[asujbl]

It's lame

But I wouldn't be livid or lose faith in the hobby

It really doesn't surprise me if he has a usual buyer that doesn't buy from open cases especially if this was the last case

Did the case have individual box advertised on it?

[byronscott4ever]

Why do you have a store if you aren't selling whatever you can?

[realreodeal]

I wouldn't be anywhere near upset as you are. Opening a case to sell one box may not be what this shop does. Like you said, there were plenty of other options out there. Just move on and don't get so frustrated. You even said the only really good hits are the #/8 so you probably weren't going to pull much from a single box of Gala anyway.

Losing faith in the hobby over this seems extreme.

[xavieronly1]

Once he sells you a box, he needs to figure how to sell the rest. Maybe from his experience, it is easier to get one "case" buyer than 10 "box" buyers.

And it is interesting to know that the27guy would drive to Texas for 30 case break.

[6celtics33]

OP seems like he hasn't been told no much in his life. You could take your $ elsewhere if you want but I wouldn't dwell on it.

[pingbling23]

Originally Posted by byronscott4ever

Why do you have a store if you aren't selling whatever you can?

Some big scale stores can move a case easier then loose boxes.

[bulljh]

Like you said OP, it's one thing to have the case in the back. It's another to have the case on the shelf. It should have been at least labeled correctly. I would have been pissed off myself.

[GeechQuest]

Originally Posted by pingbling23

If the store is that popular, I don't blame them for holding out. I'm sure there was more to chose from.

Sure there was. Immaculate, NT, Noir, Luxe, Flawless. I was going to work my way up.

Originally Posted by asujbl

It's lame

But I wouldn't be livid or lose faith in the hobby

It really doesn't surprise me if he has a usual buyer that doesn't buy from open cases especially if this was the last case

Did the case have individual box advertised on it?

It did. That's why I was going to work my way up. Gala and Luxe were the exact same price. ($169.95 I believe)

Originally Posted by realreodeal

I wouldn't be anywhere near upset as you are. Opening a case to sell one box may not be what this shop does. Like you said, there were plenty of other options out there. Just move on and don't get so frustrated. You even said the only really good hits are the #/8 so you probably weren't going to pull much from a single box of Gala anyway.

Losing faith in the hobby over this seems extreme.

He didn't know if I was going to open more, or if I was going to do one. Truthfully I was going to do one and depending on what was hit probably move to Luxe and then up the chain. Also, what I was going to pull was relative....I know everytime I open something I'm going to lose. No LCS in my city had Gala (and thank god because it sat and sat), so I was just going to open it since I hadn't yet.

Originally Posted by xavieronly1

Once he sells you a box, he needs to figure how to sell the rest. Maybe from his experience, it is easier to get one "case" buyer than 10 "box" buyers.

And it is interesting to know that the27guy would drive to Texas for 30 case break.

This is actually pretty funny hahaha

[AbraCalabro]

If someone told me I couldn't buy Panini product, I wouldn't be miffed in the slightest.




...but really, his store, his policy/decision.

[GeechQuest]

Originally Posted by 6celtics33

OP seems like he hasn't been told no much in his life. You could take your $ elsewhere if you want but I wouldn't dwell on it.

Not dwelling on it, I got bigger stuff to worry about. Just irritating. Have you ever been to the store and brought something to the register and were told you couldn't buy it?

[jasonadkins]

Wow, I've owned two shops now and could never imagine doing this. There were sometimes we would hold a few boxes or a case and put it on the floor behind the counter, thinking nobody would see it if it was on hold. If somebody else did see the saved product and ask about it, at least they knew it was not on the shelf with a price tag for everyone to see, so they would understand, but this case is pretty bad.

The value of new customers to a shop is hard to put a price tag on also, so I don't know why they would try to alienate a new customer willing to buy a high end product. With my first shop in 2004 I did a weeklong radio advertising spot for $500 (and they did one score update post per day with my shop's name on it for the month), and I was thinking with the promotions I ran I might get 25 new customers. Well, I really only got three new customers, but one of them spent over $3500 in boxes in the next month, and with my markup back then probably profitted $900 or so from this one customer in that month (never saw him after that, strangely). With that said, a shop should never just think about the one time sale to someone they've never seen before, but recurring sales to every new person who walks through the door, whether you come in every week or every three months over the course of the next five years or whatnot. Bad move by them, sorry you had to drive out there for that.

[GeechQuest]

Originally Posted by AbraCalabro

If someone told me I couldn't buy Panini product, I wouldn't be miffed in the slightest.




...but really, his store, his policy/decision.

Ya I know it's his decision, but it be as if you tried to order from Blowout and Blowout said "no, you're money isn't good here". If anything my money, which this store doesn't see everyday, would be better than the guy who's going in weekly to buy whatever is out that week.

And again, were talking Gala. Not exactly a product that's flying off the shelves.

[6celtics33]

Originally Posted by GeechQuest

Not dwelling on it, I got bigger stuff to worry about. Just irritating. Have you ever been to the store and brought something to the register and were told you couldn't buy it?

No but you didn't bring it to the register either, it was simply for sale as a case

[Cervantes]

If this store is really this 'big', they're not worrying about selling single boxes of this product. This one regular customer who 'only buys cases' is a flat-out lie, imo; he was trying to get you to buy the case.

I might (MIGHT) understand it if it was 1990 Skybox, but it's a current and popular product, not in a random, out of the way location, and with the amount of foot traffic through there, it's going to move. I work in retail that does a HUGE amount of sales in volume, and what he's making off of individual boxes > 1 case. He's going to make more money, imo.

One last note; if there was a sign on there that said CASE SALE ONLY, I understand. If he's selling boxes of this product, he's in the wrong. And if he f'd up by having the ''last case'' (doubt it) out for display with his BOX SALES, eat it and sell a box. That's HIS screw up.

[Cervantes]

EDIT: Double post, but I'll add that I wouldn't be as mad as the OP, and would probably move on (either buy something else or leave).

[GeechQuest]

Originally Posted by 6celtics33

No but you didn't bring it to the register either, it was simply for sale as a case

It had a box price on it. There are members here who know exactly what store it is, and this guy doesn't even take the boxes out of the case, he keeps them in the case and you pull out of it. He just didn't realize this was his last case of Gala.

[asujbl]

I agree it's super lame. Don't get wrong.

I just think your "lividness" seems extreme.

[GeechQuest]

Originally Posted by Cervantes

If this store is really this 'big', they're not worrying about selling single boxes of this product. This one regular customer who 'only buys cases' is a flat-out lie, imo; he was trying to get you to buy the case.

I might (MIGHT) understand it if it was 1990 Skybox, but it's a current and popular product, not in a random, out of the way location, and with the amount of foot traffic through there, it's going to move. I work in retail that does a HUGE amount of sales in volume, and what he's making off of individual boxes > 1 case. He's going to make more money, imo.

One last note; if there was a sign on there that said CASE SALE ONLY, I understand. If he's selling boxes of this product, he's in the wrong. And if he f'd up by having the ''last case'' (doubt it) out for display with his BOX SALES, eat it and sell a box. That's HIS screw up.

What sucks is I know the box was going to have your Taj /10 in it...

[AbraCalabro]

Originally Posted by GeechQuest

Ya I know it's his decision, but it be as if you tried to order from Blowout and Blowout said "no, you're money isn't good here". If anything my money, which this store doesn't see everyday, would be better than the guy who's going in weekly to buy whatever is out that week.

And again, were talking Gala. Not exactly a product that's flying off the shelves.

Yeah but that's just the point, if the other guy is buying by the caseload it would be in the owner's best interest to sell to him. I get the issue, but times have changed for brick and mortar places. BO doesn't care, they run a website and no customers walk in so it's different.

I'm not downsizing your predicament and you have a right to feel that way, but being on the outside looking in it's not a big deal and its in your best interest to just move on. I would have just bought another box unless I was absolutely heart-set on GALA and nothing else.

I've been given the shaft before and I just learned to move on. There are just as many, if not more ***holes involved with cards than there are cards out there.

[GeechQuest]

Originally Posted by asujbl

I agree it's super lame. Don't get wrong.

I just think your "lividness" seems extreme.

Ya I see your point. Maybe "livid" is the wrong word, although I was pretty upset that I couldn't open something I wanted to open when it was clearly "for sale". Silver lining is just more money in my pocket. Just sucks when I actually want to spend money on something and told by the owner of the store I can't.

[6celtics33]

If it had a box price on it he should've sold it to you but with how you described the store, the $ you brought, and how far you drove, I would've just moved on to the next product and not worried about it.

[the27guy]

The box price being on the case is the key point to me.

If he had already sold the case, that would also be a point.

But the owner made a mistake here. I likely wouldn't have been livid - but maybe if that was the one product that I wanted I would have been.

On an unrelated note, I've sold 3 gala rookies in the last two months - and been contacted about my others a few times. That set seems to have a couple people looking for it right now.

[Doublexthebeast]

I probably would've been thrilled that I got to skip Gala and move on to something else. lol