I prefer both ways. I grew up with the hunt years before the internet came along. Hunting and mail order (which was typically far behind physical retail and more expensive) ruled the day at the time.
With the advent of the internet as a mighty helpful collecting tool in the last two decades and change, beating feet on tile and linoleum floors isn’t the necessity it was so, so long ago. A click here and two days (or less) later and your in-stock goodies are at your doorstep while you’ve saved ample gas, wear and tear on your car. Pre-ordering things generally guarantees you never have to set foot in a store for items you’re highly anticipating.
That said, it is still great fun to walk into a store and find exactly what you want on the pegs/shelves. It’s as if you can hear Jack Palance’s character of Duke Washburn from City Slickers II in your ear saying “Come and get me! Come and get me!” as you gaze upon new goodies.
So, what do you prefer when it comes to acquiring new toys, collectibles and the like?
Like you I enjoy both. Many of the comic shops in my area have stopped carrying back issues. Even the stores that do have somewhat limited inventory. The out in the wild hunt is a helluva lot of fun. But the online hunt can be just as much fun. Finding the book, placing the order, then tracking the shipment is a very satisfying experience. At least for me it is.
The statues I’ve purchased I usually buy them at the store because I get 20% discount If I see something online I can always have them order it and get the same discount
I don’t have a comic book shop in my vicinity so, a lot of the time I just subscribe to a series if its ongoing and have them mailed to me. When it comes to finding graphic novels, I mostly buy them online. I don’t care if they aren’t in the most perfect condition so I tend to buy them from disturbers with excess inventory so there sell cheaper but come new with a black mark of the text block. I also searched a local used bookstore and found The Killing Joke, Batman: Year One, and Crisis on Infinite Earths in near perfect condition for cheap.
I absolutely enjoy the hunt…but it becomes impractical lol…I’ve been ‘on the hunt’ for quite a few Star wars Black Series figures but I think quite literally they aren’t available in stores any longer, so sadly, online is the only way to go… 1st world problems xD
Unfortunately, there are not any comic book shops or bookstores in my area so I have to order online. For Funko Pops, I prefer to buy in store when possible but lately that has been more difficult since the local Walmart stopped carrying them and other stores don’t seem to be getting new items until they sell what they already have.
@Horizon_Brave The non-exclusive Black Series figures seem to be a royal pain to find in person. The Archive figures have been easy finds so far, but given their nature as repacks that’s understandable.
Online. I don’t have time or the patience to go store to store across town looking for something. The amount of gas money could just be used for shipping and it evens out without the time waste. There is a satisfaction that comes from finding something in person though. It’s immediate and when you buy it, you have it. Online can sometimes take months to get something. Pros and cons to both, but online for me.
@Horizon_Brave My Star Wars collecting days have been behind me for many, many years now but I do still check out SW stuff on my hunts, just for fun.
I just saw the Black Series Bespin Han for the first time last Tuesday. Didn’t he come out a couple months ago? I just don’t get the bad distribution on The Black Series.
These days you have to do both. Often times a retailer will just get 1,2 or 3 cases of a line or wave and if you aren’t there when they are put out you aren’t going to find them at that store.
In the world that is Mattel’s Multiverse, I shop almost entirely online. I loved shopping in store and back in the days of DCUC you might miss out on some figures or never see them, looking at you Walmart exclusive Eradicator, but they were plentiful. Hell I remember how pumped I was when I came across a Mary Marvel at a grocery store.
@KouPilot the recent waves of DC Multiverse have been in-store and online for me. I’ve seen the Lex wave at Target several times, but neither hide nor hair of the Lobo wave. Amazon and eBay came through on that one. I have the Batman Ninja wave on pre-order from BBTS.
I hope that as the Mattel era winds down, the remaining Multiverse figures will still be acquirable. There’s all too many examples of line ending assortments that become a pain to find in store or online because of minimal orders and re-orders (if any, on that front).
My problem with some figures online is the price always seems to be more than retail and depending how much more I’m more than likely just gonna take my chance in the wild
