Reading a book in store: Is it stealing?

[SuperFerret]

What about the creators? If a LCS orders 15 copies of a particular issue and 10 people buy the book but 5 read in store then the next order will only be 10 copies, but 15 people are cosnuming the product. And since 5 less copies are ordered Marvel/DC etc makes less money and therefore so does everyone envolved in the creation of the book.

This:

Sucks for them, but I can't imagine just reading something once.

Plus, honestly, if you can read an entire book in the store without someone interrupting you and telling you to buy it and stop loitering then they deserve to lose the sale.

 

[Cdnmouse]

My answer is that it depends. A chap who comes into the shop, never buys anything, reads a few books and leaves, that is wrong and I can understand a clerk being irritated. On the other hand, a regular customer that comes in every week or at least two weeks out of four and usually always buys a few books (which, with today's prices, a 4 book week can easily cost $13-$16 on average) happens to thumb through one, it's not a big deal.

I have no problem with a customer flipping through the book and scanning it. But i mean you can do that and check out like every third or fourth page. But when you are blatantly reading page by page, then that irritates me. That is theft.

 

[Thundarr]

Curious. Most of the posts on this thread say that it's theft, but most of the votes on the poll say that it's not.

I wouldn't go so far as to say it's theft. It's not right, but it's not illegal either. You're comparing reading a comic without buying it to eating a candybar without paying for it (called "grazing"). However someone can come in after you and buy the comic when you're done. Same can't be said for the candybar.

As for me, I read comics that I wish to buy but don't have the money to buy them at the moment. I'm just too impatient to wait until payday to find out what happens next. It's more like buying with credit when you don't have a credit card. As for actual novels, if it's a book I'm intent on buying regardless (R.A. Salvadore's Drizzt Do'Urden novels for instance) I usually read the prologue and epilogue in the store without buying, then read the rest of the book after I've purchased it. For other books that look interesting but I don't know if I want to buy them or not, reading the prologue and epilogue is how I decide.

 

[greenrage36]

I think if some lazya** sits there and reads, front-back, book after book, without buying anything, then they should be kicked the F out. If you've bought a few and then remembered something you wanted to check out, or see something else that catches your eye..I think it's alright to do a quick scan.

I dunno..I just can't understand why someome would wanna read something right there in the comic shop..that would bug the living s**t outta me...much more enjoyable taking my time to enjoy the issue at home at my LEISURE..but whatever...

 

[yenaled]

You can go into a bookstore, pick a book up from the shelf, take it to the instore coffee shop. Have a coffee, sit down, read it - choose wether to buy it or not. With no hassle.

I know length of the book is probably the difference but funny how comic book shops are so antisocial in that reguard.

 

[Thundarr]

I dunno..I just can't understand why someome would wanna read something right there in the comic shop..that would bug the living s**t outta me...much more enjoyable taking my time to enjoy the issue at home at my LEISURE..but whatever...

Sometimes it's just a way of killing time. You go downtown to see a movie, get your ticket a little too early and have a half hour or so to wait before the show starts. Or if you're a kid and your mom drags you shopping. She's in La Senza looking at ladies underwear, you head off to the comic shop next door to look at comics, 'cause we all know how long women can spend shopping (even if all they're after is a single pair of panties).

 

[Cosmic]

Yes, it's stealing. The way I see it, you get a couple of minutes to browse a single comic without reading it from cover to cover, and you either keep it or put it back on the shelf. If you're browsing thru numerous comics, then you should buy something. If all you do is browse, then you're a bum. If you're a regular customer or if you clearly intend to spend more than just a few bucks (carrying a stack of comics and/or graphic novels or other merchandise) then you can take a few more liberties.

I mostly buy online these days, but when I do find myself in a store, I'll be carrying at least two or three titles within two minutes of walking thru the door. After that, I may browse for 15 minutes and still decide not to pick anything else, but the shop vendor can take one look at me and tell that I'm going to spend at least ten bucks in there.

 

[Lucien]

I may just be more picky in what I buy, but if i'm going to spend my hard earned money on something like a comic, I want to know if i'm going to like it or not first. It's one thing to use a LCS as a library, but reading a handful of pages back to back is perfectly acceptable imo. You can only gather so much from previews and reviews, and there's been plenty of occasions when people have raved about a title only for me to think it utter pish. It's not like they're not getting my money. EVERY time I go to my LCS I leave with at least one purchase. But if i'm going to buy any amount of comics, and especially trades, i'm going to read some of it first.

 

[Cdnmouse]

I may just be more picky in what I buy, but if i'm going to spend my hard earned money on something like a comic, I want to know if i'm going to like it or not first. It's one thing to use a LCS as a library, but reading a handful of pages back to back is perfectly acceptable imo. You can only gather so much from previews and reviews, and there's been plenty of occasions when people have raved about a title only for me to think it utter pish. It's not like they're not getting my money. EVERY time I go to my LCS I leave with at least one purchase. But if i'm going to buy any amount of comics, and especially trades, i'm going to read some of it first.

Reading a few pages i agree with that being ok. But when someone stands in my store and reads all 30 pages of the book, then that is a problem, and that is stealing.

 

[Addendum]

Is that your opinion or have you actually called the cops and got a person arrested for "in store reading"

 

[Tron Bonne]

Shouldn't be too hard to get them escorted away by police officers for loitering if all their doing is hanging around your shop reading books without paying then putting them back continuously

 

[Addendum]

So in store reading isn't a crime. Loitering is. But if they read a few comics, but purchase something else, tough ****.

Now, what I do is I get the book I'm going to purchase like what I bought today, Volume 12 of Fables. I grab a copy off the shelf, and then go through other books.

 

[SuperFerret]

So in store reading isn't a crime. Loitering is. But if they read a few comics, but purchase something else, tough ****.

That's what I've been saying, but there's this persistent thought that the world is fair running through this thread.

 

[Tron Bonne]

From a technical standpoint I really don't know. I haven't ever posed the question to an officer or judge. From an ethical standpoint I don't see how anyone can try to bend that to anything else. Like I mentioned earlier, big stores like BAM! and Borders might have different policies, but if you think sitting down and reading a couple of full comics in a local comic shop without paying and having no intention of ever paying for it isn't stealing, then I guess I simply do not know what the concept of stealing really is

 

[Tron Bonne]

That's what I've been saying, but there's this persistent thought that the world is fair running through this thread.

It's got nothing to do with the world being fair, but it's got a lot to do with at least being a decent human being towards others who may depend on these sales for income.

 

[SuperFerret]

And, as I've been saying: Sucks for them.


And there's nothing wrong with reading a few books while you're there to purchase other books, though there could be somewhat valid arguments against walking into a store, reading and then leaving.

 

[Tron Bonne]

The latter is mostly what I've been talking about. I will still say that I don't believe the former is totally justified either otherwise I'd be a total hypocrite .

 

[SuperFerret]

Eh, I don't see stealing as morally wrong to begin with. It's stupid because there're consequences, but in my eyes, it's as morally wrong as jaywalking.

 

[Tron Bonne]

Well, I'm not going to get into those marshlands. I'll just say I think it matters more because it potentially effects others. I know, 'Sucks for them', but I've never been able to subscribe to that philosophy. Leave that at that

 

[Addendum]

I've never gone into a comic book store or a book store, read entire books and leave. I have gone through the store, picked up a book that wasn't shrink-wrapped or bagged, and flipped through it, put it down, picked up another, and repeat that for say an hour and half if it's my day off, and then leave without buying anything.

However, I always carry a little notepad in my pocket. I use that to write down what interests me. I'm not the type who spends 100 bucks in the book store in a day, but I plan out what interests me so on future visits I know what to get so I can get in and out with minimal fuss so I can waste my time in traffic.

So for today, when I bought the latest volume of Fables, I flipped through some of the Jack of Fables trades, Ex Machina, and 100 Bullets trades.

 

[Cdnmouse]

Is that your opinion or have you actually called the cops and got a person arrested for "in store reading"

Nope can't say I have called the cops, but I tell them they can't read, and if they stay and persist, I kick them out.

 

[Lucien]

You'd definitely lose a customer if you did that to me.

 

[Tron Bonne]

If you were just standing around reading comics without paying for them or any others, it wouldn't really matter would it

 

[Lucien]

Ha ha, yeah I guess so. But as I said, I always buy something if I go there, my local comic shop isn't exactly local, so it's a bit of a wasted journey leaving empty-handed. But I expect to spend a good hour browsing and reading before I decide on what I want, and if the staff have a go at me for it i'll take my money elsewhere.

 

[Ion Kenshin]

Depends on the situation mostly. Place like Barnes and Noble prectaically encourage it what with their coffee areas and couches spread out all about the store. Also from a comic standpoint. What if said customer read an few issues in the store but bought other ones there as well. Technically he/she is still buying stuff from said store.