I'm opening up a brick and mortar this year and want some advice!! 7 7

[the blob]

I think a problem here is that selling online is a turn off to you.

 

If you like dealing in back issues it just makes sense to have an online presence... brings in cash flow, gives you an alternative venue for selling your stuff. when you get a collection with 16 copies of Rom 1 in it...it might take a while to move those "live", as in maybe forever, but by some miracle you can get $15-$25 a pop on ebay for them.

 

I know, packing and shipping sux. I hate it. But unless you have a giant nest egg and are doing the store for fun in your middle age, the $750-$1000 a month a decent ebay store can give without even having a lot of prime stuff in it can be a life saver.

 

But I get it, it's a hassle. Maybe the hours you put into selling online could be better spent making a better store. I dunno.

Edited January 25, 2017 by the blob

[HouseofComics.Com]

The POS I've heard about is Moby so take a look at that one too.

 

You don't need to carry every comic. You do need to read Brian HIbb's columns--all of them. And he covers this extensively. His store is more indy focused,plus he recognizes the dangers of overordering (that is well covered in this thread). The example I remember is that there was a new Thor title that he wasn't excited about. He maybe had one pull list customer order it. He decided not to rack it. Because if he racked it not only would one copy take up selling space (and maybe look silly with just one copy) but if it didn't sell (as was likely) he has to sell four other books just to break even on that one.

 

 

[shadroch]

Did Hibbs ever settle his suit against Diamond and Marvel over not producing material they solicited?

His Tilting at Windmills columns are must reads.

[DeadOne]

Did Hibbs ever settle his suit against Diamond and Marvel over not producing material they solicited?

His Tilting at Windmills columns are must reads.

 

If this is the one

 

http://icv2.com/articles/comics/view/4054/brian-hibbs-marvel-class-action-settlement

 

then it sounds like they did reach a settlement

[Zapp Comics]

Great thread!

 

I will chime in here.

 

My shops have been open for nearly 24 years and we're still at it. Business is very good and has been for the past 4-5 years. I've learned a lot from my mistakes and am still constantly learning.

 

There are myriad, obvious reasons that stores don't succeed,like location, insufficient capital, macro-economic, inventory issues, personality problems, etc.

However, I've observed one major reason that most stores fail:

 

The new owners bring tons of passion, but have NO experience buying and selling stuff.

 

Before committing to a full time brick and mortar, and all that it entails in cost and time, I would buy and sell part time for as long as possible, either at conventions, ebay, facebook groups, etc.

This experience and knowledge of actually having to buy and sell correctly and manage that bankroll is something that is best learned by doing. And, is best learned on a small scale so your mistakes don't bury you.

 

I have seen many, many shops that had plenty of capital and plenty of passion, but zero expertise in running a business where you have to buy and sell correctly. They run into trouble fairly quickly. I would also highly recommend doing that road trip suggested earlier and get as many ideas from other shops as possible.

 

[DougC]

I will add to this from my experience.

 

I live in a very small town of 9k people the closest place to buy anything comic related is over an hour away. When asked for advice on opening a comic only focused shop here I strongly advised against it. Last year a couple a gave the advice to opened their coffee shop/comic store on main street in the town square between a bar and restaurant. As of today they are drowning in debt with only the coffee shop keeping them afloat. The actual building they are in is an amazing three story brick store front with the coffee shop on the first floor, comic shop on the second, and the third is currently inventory storage.

 

The coffee shop is great and caters to a robust and returning customer base. Given the low overhead for product it prints money. The comic shop is a sea of new manufactured pop culture that is a cancer.

 

I have been asked and given advice over this year on why it seems to be failing and here is the short of it.

 

 

• Comics are too expensive!
  New single issues are $3-$5 cover price and out of the range of anyone just looking to get into them.
  
• Trades where priced to high.
  While the shop stocked hundreds of trades they were priced at 90% of cover when anyone can go on amazon and pick most up for half that.
  
• They were buying to many "toys"
  From Q-Figs, Pop Vinyls and Retro-Action Figures that look pretty but never sold and cost to much.
  
• Nothing was older than the day they opened the shop
  Anything that could be confused for "vintage" was of the newly manufactured retro style
  
• The Customer base was either never defined or a targeted base was never realized
  Imagine if Hot Topic was a comic store, it has a lot of pretty stuff but after returning to the store a couple times it all look the same.
  
• The market was to small for the business.
  There just is not the foot traffic or inventory turnover for it to be a destination type store
  

 

My best advice to him was to shrink the amount of comic material and branch into MtG and RPGs which is very popular in the area. A local pawn shop had about 1200sqf of empty space they put tables in and rented them out for gaming (and later began selling cards/books). This was very successful to the point where it became the business focus over the pawn shop. The owner passed a couple years ago during a tornado and the shop was never reopened (either portion) so there was an obvious hole to fill. Unfortunately this was deemed as undesirable and "not comic related" so out of the question.

 

Overall this was a dream that was never thought out properly. All of the above issues are still relevant today with the same results. At this point I hope the comic portion closes and they focus on coffee or the entire business will go under.

 

 

[Zapp Comics]

One of my LCS just closed last year after being in business for 18 years. He ended on his best year including selling an AF 15. He said he wanted a vacation and some time off. He is in his late 40s now.

 

He did well selling $1 books and then stocked his wall with keys. He constantly flipped his $1 books bringing in inventory weekly then blowing it out every few months just in case it wasn't selling. Even then he still made money. When you buying collections cheap and you don't put a lot of money in new issues you can do well.

 

New shops make mistakes ordering too much new inventory. Nothing wrong with having new books in small amounts, but inventory can choke you. He required a 50% down payment on anything he ordered for a customer. He learned this after getting burned a few times. Pay attention to that. Someone wants you to order for them? Sure, but you are going to pay 50% down upfront which covers your cost.

 

I still buy my supplies locally so you can do well off of those. Even buying it bulk its still easier to just drop buy and buy what I need locally for suppliers.

 

Make sure you have plenty of walk traffic in front of your store. Master social media to increase your web traffic. Price your books. I know it sucks sometimes when someone finds a $50 in $1 box, but I hate stores that wont price their books.

 

There is a lot of downtime in owning a comic shop. Use the time constructively. List books on a facebook or ebay to sell some of your inventory. Keep it separate so it wont get sold by accident.

 

Good Luck

 

Some great advice here, thank you!

I have 2 LCS owners that are guiding me with new comics and ordering...I may not do it right away as some people have suggested, but I was told by a few LCS that "new comics" is what brings people in weekly and they inevitably buy some back issues as well...of course the risk is there and I'll have to start slow...

 

Unless rent is really cheap,will be very hard to survive without new product arriving weekly to bring in traffic. If Long Island rents are like Jersey, you'll need that steady traffic and daily volume. We do a lot with vintage material. It's profitable and a great differentiator, but not consistent enough for storefront with the high rent clock ticking.

[Zapp Comics]

Why not focus on the gaming but have the comics as a side aspect. Develop a business plan that attracts gamers so they somehow pay money. Either through snacks and drink or time played or supplies, something / anything so you basically break even.

 

Then you have your wall books of $10 to $500 books to show you are a comic guy. Have maybe 10-40 long boxes of old stuff only GA/SA/CA and a smattering of quality 1990s on up. Then Man Cave it up so it's wicked sweet with what you like. Posters, art, statues, 1970s toys - you name it.

 

The point of the comics is to sell and make a little there but really your goal is to acquire walk in collections. Buy those at 30-50% on the dollar (as in what will sell easily not full retail)

 

So you don't have to deal in new inventory and the Diamond hassle. You hang out with comic folks but that will mostly be slow. And the Gamers keep the place relatively lively.

If you buy a couple $5000 collections a year and hit on one really good one, then you can make the $25,000 or more a year. The gamers and back stock pay for the bills.

 

You still need to sell online. Part of your comments worry me (if I were playing shark tank) in that you don't want to box and ship. ???? That's called work. Every avenue must be utilized or the odds of failure increase. You don't need to sell online 40 hours a week but at least 10. And maybe more in a slow month to make ends meet. It simply has to be done IMO. Also it is a good way to clear stale inventory.

 

I probably wasn't totally clear...I don't enjoy boxing and shipping...that's why I wouldn't want to do it full time...of course it's a necessary evil and something I would have to do, but I wouldn't want to do it full time...I'm not afraid of hard work...just wasn't totally clear...

I like your image of the store...It will be mostly MTG and gaming as I reflected in a later post...I've been building up some inventory the last few months and have some nice minor keys...nothing ultra high end, but hopefully I can build up to that...

 

Awesome feedback, thanks!

 

I don't have the time to read through this entire thread but just saw the the title, "Opening up a brick and mortar".

 

I would NOT suggest opening up a comic book store mainly for the reason that present day comics, like other print mediums, are going completely digital. In the next few years current print issues are undoubtedly going to be obsolete with tablet/iPad prices dropping, more readers owning them and everything print going digital and mobile. Diamond has already begun selling lots of their stuff on eBay and unless they can survive on the Gemstone publishing brand alone, they too are likely gone. Comic Books stores who rely solely on flipping new issues, hardbacks and trades will be closing their doors. It's already started happening to them but you'll see more and more in the years to come.

 

I'm sure you've already thought through this but what else do you plan on selling? You're probably better off just setting up at cons and trying to flip back issues. There's no money in selling modern stuff. You'll undoubtedly have to mark things up and because you've got rent/retail space, you won't be able to compete with Amazon/eBay.

 

While this may be a passion it sounds more like a sinkhole given the current state of storefront retail.

 

Not true. While in the very long term print could be on its way out, in the present and near term, physical comics are still very much alive. Digital has been around for many years now, and sales on print have steadily risen the past 5 years. not gangbusters, but certainly not dead yet.

Edited January 25, 2017 by Zapp Comics

[SquareChaos]

I'm a total convert for reading prose digitally. I still buy hardcover trades, not sure I will ever stop doing so.

[fastballspecial]

I think a problem here is that selling online is a turn off to you.

 

If you like dealing in back issues it just makes sense to have an online presence... brings in cash flow, gives you an alternative venue for selling your stuff. when you get a collection with 16 copies of Rom 1 in it...it might take a while to move those "live", as in maybe forever, but by some miracle you can get $15-$25 a pop on ebay for them.

 

I know, packing and shipping sux. I hate it. But unless you have a giant nest egg and are doing the store for fun in your middle age, the $750-$1000 a month a decent ebay store can give without even having a lot of prime stuff in it can be a life saver.

 

But I get it, it's a hassle. Maybe the hours you put into selling online could be better spent making a better store. I dunno.

 

You will have time when you open the store to do this stuff as well. Maybe not at first, but there are going to be slow days.

 

[Buzzetta]

The death of many comic stores came from leaching kids who came to game but did not spend cash. Powerhouse Comics in Levittown / Hicksville comes to mind. It pushed comic customers out and that was that.

 

 

I was one of those kids

Learned to play Magic there...I did spend cash...there...bought a Beta Lotus, Legends packs, and probably about a case or more worth of revisedI, also bought and played Spellfire and Illuminati......loved Jeff and Serge...great guys...there was a 3rd guy involved I think, but never met him...heard there was difference of opinions that caused the closings but I was young then....moved over to Comic Book Depot for my MTG needs after that...

 

I only shopped there to finish up my vintage Star Wars collection. If I remember right, one of the owners was a music teacher and I forget what the other guy did. After Collector's Comics closed they allowed one of the guys from Collector's to run the store so they could focus on other things. Shortly after the store shut down.

 

Back then I mostly shopped at another local comic store that is also long gone.

 

 

Trying to remember who was who from Collectors in Wantagh...

 

Owners moved out of state and sold the business.

Joey wound up working for Diamond and eventually passed away at a young age from an illness.

Zeb(?) wound up opening a store on Wantagh Avenue called Collector's 2000 that was short lived.

Unknown (Dave? Doug?) wound up running Powerhouse...

 

 

[ParamagicFF]

I think I may have some relevant advice for you, as I ran a comic/gaming store similar to what you describe for a while before changing careers. I'll keep it simple and provide what I think are important steps.

 

- Are there other gaming stores around where people play card games and other table top games (Warhammer, etc.)? If these are plentiful, or there is one place with a hardcore fanbase, this could be a hurdle for you. Gaming has a MUCH higher margin when you factor in labor and shelf space as compared to comics. If you can offer warhammer and magic events, you can have great repeat business.

 

- You MUST buy new comics. This is difficult when you first open, as you don't want to be stuck with a ton of inventory. But you must have something to sell. You will never get new comic customers, if you don't have new comic to sell. Would you become a customer of a store that will "eventually" have new books?

 

- In gaming, casual players are where you will make your money, not the overtly competitive types. Foster an environment that emphasizes fun competition so as not to scare off those that see it as a softer hobby. Believe me, those are the guys who will be buying boxes and cases on release day instead of online.

 

- Have set gaming time, and don't encourage gamers lingering all day. They will require your constant attention, distract you from operational work, or else you risk alienating a core customer.

 

- Get the numbers for some distributors and see what it is going to cost you to have their product lines on your shelves day 1, and their next line of seasonal product. If you can't afford to pay for those shipments, you don't have enough reserve cash.

 

This post went a little long, but this can be done, and I encourage you to chase your dream. I've been out of this for about 6 years now, but I ran a contemporary store that sold things to people who buy things, not variant chasing collectors. Those people don't keep your doors open. If you have questions I'll be happy to help how I can.

[shadroch]

Search for alternative distribution channels. They exist for almost everything but new comics.

Better to work on a 25 percent margin with full returns than 45% if you overbuy.

[HouseofComics.Com]

I will add to this from my experience.

 

I live in a very small town of 9k people the closest place to buy anything comic related is over an hour away....

 

This was a good post and sounds like you've given them lots of good advice.

 

A town of 9000 is way too small, IMO. You can do everything right and have it not work out. No surprise the cafe is doing well though. You can have a successful cafe in a town of 3000, probably.

[youmechooz]

just do it.

edit: don't invest heavily with mtg. stick to back issues/key stuff.

you won't make money with magic.

selling boxes for 100 but buying them 80-85.

run fnm's and whatnot but nothing bigger than fnm's.

ptq, pptq's and all that make nothing. 100 maybe.

magic guys argue over cents for singles.

magic buyers are almost as bad as toy buyers.

stick to comics.

 

Edited January 26, 2017 by youmechooz

[the blob]

Sounds like MTG has sucked for you. My lcs sells the packs, but they have no place for the gamers, so they're investment space-wise is the space a few cartons of cards take up.

[Gatchaman]

just do it.

edit: don't invest heavily with mtg. stick to back issues/key stuff.

you won't make money with magic.

selling boxes for 100 but buying them 80-85.

run fnm's and whatnot but nothing bigger than fnm's.

ptq, pptq's and all that make nothing. 100 maybe.

magic guys argue over cents for singles.

magic buyers are almost as bad as toy buyers.

stick to comics.

 

I sold a lot of single in my gaming store. That is the best thing about tcg's, they are "upkeep" games where people are always changing their decks.

 

The best money I made out of the cards is in buying collections. Don't always rely on people bringing in cards. Look for collections at yard sales, swapmeets, Craigslist, etc. I have paid pennies on the dollar for cards this way.

 

Keep the players interested. Do random tournaments. I did a Pauper tournament and a tournament of one card set I got a lot of packs at a price.

 

Players are always looking for ways to compete with their decks and even drafts. I have done extra drafts where people can pick their packs from any set.

 

There is a lot of money to be made in this game, if you know how to do it. Even though I haven't owned a store in a while I have still made a lot of money at it.

[the blob]

What makes the players buy stuff from you rather than online or getting cards at yardsales, etc.? Is it bad form to require players to buy a pack or more to participate? I've been an adult the whole life of mtg and just don't get it. My kid tried to get me to play Pokémon with him and it was just to boring, I assume mtg is the same sort of thing but more nuanced?

Edited January 26, 2017 by the blob

[FineCollector]

There is no loyalty among Magic buyers. I've heard many store owners talk about how they'd offer a smoking deal on a box the first weekend of the release, and then buyers would feel so good about the store that they'd come back and buy overpriced packs and singles the rest of the time. Dead wrong. Price is king.

 

The big difference between Magic buyers and other collectors is that they have to have everything now. If there are a dozen stores with singles in town, they're going to visit every store looking for their card, rather than buying it online.

 

Much like comic buyers, they're heavily influenced by what they see online. Whenever there's a competition, the cards the winning player used are on everyone's want list when they walk into a store. The cards will almost certainly be rares, and if you still had any, the first guy will buy them, and everyone else will just waste your time asking if you have more. Problem is, the prices don't seem to flex with the new demand, and the desire to own the card doesn't last long enough for the online dealers to adjust, so you're still being bound by the price they see online, even if you're the only one left that has one.

[ParamagicFF]

just do it.

edit: don't invest heavily with mtg. stick to back issues/key stuff.

you won't make money with magic.

selling boxes for 100 but buying them 80-85.

run fnm's and whatnot but nothing bigger than fnm's.

ptq, pptq's and all that make nothing. 100 maybe.

magic guys argue over cents for singles.

magic buyers are almost as bad as toy buyers.

stick to comics.

 

I had a very different experience as a retailer from what you describe here.

 

The money in magic isn't in the boxes, it is in the single packs. I would sell boxes for MSRP honestly, maybe a tiny discount. You aren't going to make money off selling boxes, and those who are chasing prices will ALWAYS beat your price online. But the casual gamer will buy packs from you. You can also sell packs through booster draft events. This is where the real money is in magic.

 

I wouldn't suggest cracking packs for singles to sell, I would definitely buy singles that are good for the eternal formats and resell them. These are evergreens, like key comics.

 

Being a gaming retailer is not completely the same as a comic retailer.