All C's Collectibles — Attraction in Aurora

Best store ever! Bryce is easy to approach, friendly, and conducts a good gaming arena. At Denver Central Games, the environment is very stingy, players are mostly there to win, very competitive, and less about having fun. Furthermore, while Phil and some of his lesser employees do a good job of keeping business at Denver Central Games, his general manager, Sean, is a total jerk. He is impossible to approach, his advice always sucks, and often times when I would go there to turn in some cheap rares for whatever they would offer so I could get better cards, Sean consistently said no and would not take them. Then I'd come over to All C's and Bryce offered me something on my cheap rares. Maybe not a lot, only a few cents per card, but for me, a few cents is better than a harsh no and nothing at all. Bryce makes a great game arena manager and if more hobby shops had employees like him, they'd keep from driving business away as Sean constantly does. For reference, I am not the only person that has abandoned DCG because of Sean. Plus, Bryce has a shop closer to where I live and his prereleases are always awesome to go to.

Magic 2015, had my first two-headed giant ever. The last game I played with my partner took 3 hours. In some prereleases, time is an issue and often it is required that the game get cut short, like this one could've been, but because all the players were keen on watching the game or had games that took equally as long, Bryce let the game continue. My partner and I finally won instead of getting a draw because Bryce let us continue to play. In all of the Tarkir sets, I showed up for prerelease, I was constantly met with familiar players and familiar faces, many of which are less focused on winning and more focused on showing up to have fun and get new cards, win or lose. For the first time ever, at Magic Origins, I felt comfortable enough to come in costume, and I came dressed in the first costume I'd ever made from scratch: Jace Beleren. Bryce made a kind remark about my costume, other players thought it looked very cool, I even got Jace, Vryn's Prodigy which made the whole night so much more fun. This is something I would never have done at DCG for fear of ridicule from the overly serious players and the stern/stoic Sean, general manager. Not at Bryce's arena though, his arena always has nice people, and even when my packs aren't that good, I still have a good time. Bryce even comes to watch and encourage me at times. Having been a communications major in college, having learned to read people, I can say this about Bryce: He invests in people. When I come into his gaming arena, I know that I'll get a friendly greeting from my favorite shop owner and I know I'll have a "come for fun" gameplay environment.

Today I went to the Battle for Zendikar Prerelease, and it was a great day. The cards that I got from the packs in my box were awful! Still Bryce was very friendly, I got my extra free pack for simply showing up to play that had some decent cards in it, and I had a good time. I think it is fair to say that I would tribute Bryce to the reason that my first opponent came. One of the players, Jason, brought his very lovely girlfriend, Sable, to the prerelease. She had never played before that morning. At DCG, the strict environment wouldn't have permitted for the game to be as casual as it was with her boyfriend helping her, but at DCG, heck no. Bryce has attracted a new player because of his friendly, casual, and enjoyable gameplay environment.

I never suggest DCG to people anymore, especially for prerelease, I always advocate for All C's. Bryce invests in people, so I invest my time and money at his shop every time. Honestly, I believe Bryce should have a slightly larger space and should never be intruded upon by the boxes of comic book stuff from next door so he always has the fullest amount of space to offer his players. Bryce has the best prices, the best atmosphere, attracts the best players to have fun with, and all in all, is the best game arena manager I have ever...

I'm a little bit suspicious of comic-book stores that incorporate other kinds of collecting. Perhaps, then, you can imagine my ambivalence about All-C's, where Coins and Cards are right there with Comics on the sign over the front door.

All-C's does carry coins (to the left, as you enter) and sports cards (in the back, generally) but happily, the store is mostly about comics. I guess I needn't have felt worried. There's a strong selection of new comics (always a positive) and a lot of long boxes. A whole lot of 'em - some of the shelves for older comics were four long boxes high! That's a record, I believe, in the Denver metro area.

The boxes on those high shelves are somewhat hard to wrangle - but they are generally well-ordered, and they're clearly marked and divided. But the store does feel crowded. Silver age (and older) comics are "in the back," behind the counter and in the storeroom.

Luckily, the staffers are very friendly and helpful. And there are quite a few, too, considering the size of the place! I counted five staff on my Friday mid-afternoon visit.

The other customers seemed to feel comfortable. The atmosphere was pleasant. There was an actual mix of men and women, which isn't always true in comic shops. There were no kids during my visit, although there was a shelf of kid-friendly comics near the front.

Here's a negative: the trade paperback section was small and not well-stocked. It was also messy, with books falling over on several shelves. Covers were getting bent! That's a real crime in the world of comics. I recommend filling those shelves entirely, or investing in bookends. I mentioned the long boxes high up – I should also mention there are boxes on the floor. Maybe do your stretching before visiting, because you will have to scrunch down for those.

I found one older comic that I’d been after, and bought it at cover price. That was great! Doing a little online research, I found the same comic would have cost me three times as much at Mile High Comics.

In summation: a good selection of new comics, a strong collection of mostly modern back-issues, a helpful and friendly staff, nice atmosphere - ah, okay, it's rather crowded - but such great prices! This is a good store. If coins and cards help, then I guess I'm okay with it!

Addendum: All C's recently opened a second shop in Centennial, although I haven't...

Overall, i have been and taking many of my friends and kids here to purchase collectibles time and time again over the last year. The service has been great but there is a fella (i use that term loosely) with peppered hair and beard, slouches, and looks almost like The Hunchback of Notre-Dame working the register and every time he interacts with me he is hostile, abrasive, and down right rude. Unfortunately, today i had the pleasure of interacting with him again to pick up my hold box items as i had been out of town for 3 weeks. As i looked through the items in there, i came to the realization on my travels i had picked up about 3 of the comics featured and set those aside as i dod not need two copies. When i initially set up the hold box they informed me that i was not obligated to purchase the items but they were set on hold for me. So i gave Quasimodo my selections as well as those i a few new selections from the new this week wall. Upon doing this, rudely he said, "you know if you do this again we are going to stop your pull box as we have to pay for these!" In my head i began to think that a comic book store buying comics was quite weird and responded, "well sir just turn it off", i will not be given conflicted information from the same store or treated with such disdain by an individual i am helping to support the business he generates income from. Overall, because of this experience i will no longer be going to the comic portion of all c's but will still go to the game and card section as they treat people fairly and kindly. I hope Quasimodo has a better life as he seemed very upset with having to ring up 5 comic books and maybe he should find somewhere that makes him happy. Long story short, beware of Quasimodo when you check out as he is kind of an obtuse individual that holds little regard for...