Thursday, October 22, 2009

Heroic Dreams: New kid on the block!

A new store has opened just down the street from me: Heroic Dreams. I have only visited the store once, but here are my feelings and opinions:

General Info

Heroic Dreams is located at 1121 Kingston Road, Unit 7, in Pickering. The store is in a small strip plaza, just west of Liverpool Rd. The store is average size, but in a decent location. As far as I know, this is the only comics book store in Pickering.

Selection

So, since the store hasn't been open long, there isn't a huge selection like an established store. It is stocked with many hardcovers and trade paperbacks, and there is a good selection of new comics. Although, I didn't see many of the smaller publishers such as Radical comics (a personal favorite).

The back issue selection is lacking, but again, it is a new store, so I'm sure it will grow.

The store does carry some collectibles and toys, some of which I haven't seen before.

Cleanliness

The store is very clean, which would be expected for a new store. I really hope the owner takes good care of the store and doesn't let it go the way of other stores .

Customer Service

I was the only one in the store at the time. The owner (I'm assuming he was the owner) was very friendly and asked if there was anything I was looking for. I asked if he carried certain things, and I had a general discussion about his store and what he carries. A good experience.

Pricing

Even though the store has only been open for a few weeks, there were quite a few hardcovers and trades already on sale (I believe in the 25-50% off range).

I did make a purchase (trade). The owner gave me a free copy of the new previews catalog, which my local store doesn't offer. I'm sure it was just an initial offering.

I asked if he offers a pull list service and he told me he did. The owner mentioned that if I was a regular customer, I would receive a 10% discount (same as my regular store).

Overall

Heroic Dreams is a decent store. Due to the lack of stores in the Pickering (Durham) area, I'm hoping it sticks around. Even though it is the closest store for me, it won't be my regular store. I'm sure I will go back to look for items I can't find at my regular store.

Only negative thing about the store was there was no sign out front. The owner told me he was having problems getting installed.

I'll make sure to provide an update to this post, when I go back.

No comments: