SRSBZNZ is going to confess a secret. Recently, at Calgary's Comic and Entertainment Expo, we popped our comic book cherry by dropping hundreds of dollars on back issues. Even though we couldn't afford to buy a McDonald's Happy Meal at the end of the day, we were satisfied. The Canadian half of SRSBZNZ is now the proud owner of several first edition issues of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Plus, we managed to grab the latest Spidey graphic novel, featuring the most obvious superhero team-up in the world: Peter Parker and Barack Obama.All bragging rights aside, we want to share a few things we learned from our experience at the Expo. We're not comic-book specialists, but girls, keep the following tips in mind when you're at your next Convention.
Tip #1: Bargain, bargain, bargain
We'll be honest: we've never haggled for anything in our lives. As good North American citizens, we follow the price tag and obediently fork over the necessary amount of money without question. However, buying comics at a convention has turned us into a C.H. - a Certified Haggler. You will be shocked, dear reader, at the amount of ruthlessness and sheer business acumen you possess when you want to own that first edition issue, but don't have enough money to cover $100. Bottom line: don't pay the amount on the price tag. However, you'll have an easier time bargaining if you're buying several issues simultaneously.
Tip #2: Be nice to the vendors.
While haggling is a "must" for purchasing comics at a convention, be polite. The sales people will be much more willing to give you a good price on the comics if you refrain from being the customer from hell. Moreover, society tends to think that we geeks lack social grace. What better setting to disprove that theory than a comic book convention?
Tip #3: Display your feminine charms.
Fact: places in which comic books can be found are special ecosystems in which all sorts of species thrive and exist. However, this ecosystem tends to lack a particular type of organism - i.e. humans of the female variety. Being a lady at a convention thus has many advantages. At the Expo, we met a Montreal vendor who kindly cut the purchase price for ten comics nearly to half, because he said that we were "nice," "pretty," and "smelled good." (The vendor later clarified that he wasn't hitting on us, because he was married. Nevertheless, he proceeded to ask us for the name of our perfume so he could buy it for his wife.) Bottom line: it pays to be a decent-looking girl in a comic book store. And there is nothing wrong with taking advantage of what your momma gave you.
