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I'm opening up a brick and mortar this year and want some advice!!
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3 minutes ago, youmechooz said:

should just get the bags and boards from diamond.

actually think it's cheaper per bag and board with diamond.

Could be - no idea what diamond charges - as an example though - if you order direct through BCW for something like shortboxes - you can get 10 for 2.63 each ( this is anybody) .... the wholesale account - is about 30% less.  Some obvious drawbacks - large order for free shipping and you have to deliver to a commercial address, but cheap ( to me ).......

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Hey folks!  

Finally got home about an hour ago...another 14 hour day...I'm either taking the morning off or taking the evening off tomorrow.  Need to catch up on some rest...can't be dead on my feet come Friday night into the weekend...

Everything has been so exhausting that I haven't had time to sit and really appreciate what I'm doing.  It's been a dream of mine for so long that it doesn't feel real...it's been weird though...I thought I'd be filled with such joy and giddiness, but the crazy part is, I haven't had time to really appreciate it all...that's one of the reasons I keep these updates going as I'm hoping I can sit back one day and re-read through all the trials and tribulations and enjoy it through these pages.  It's kind of like when you get married...there is so much to do that you really don't get to appreciate it while it's happening, you really didn't know what was going on, it moved so fast, that when you get the picture album it seems like someone elses wedding.  So I think tomorrow morning, after I drop off the U-Haul, I'll head to Starbucks, grab a coffee and just sit in the store for a while and enjoy what it's becoming...sometimes we are working so hard to live that we don't take the time to enjoy the process of life...I'm going to make sure I do that tomorrow!

Here is a link to the facebook page...please like and share if you can...I would really appreciate it...even if you are not in the area you may have a friend or family who may see it etc...trying to get my name out there as much as possible.  https://www.facebook.com/genesiscomics/

My wonderful, patient, caring, and beautiful wife and daughter went in early this morning to finish the painting in the back...we were just too tired last night.  With the air conditioning still not working it was not only hot in the store, hovered between 81-84...but with the ridiculous rain we were getting on and off the humidity was off the charts...took a while to get the paint to dry...we had fans set up everywhere!!  There is still some detail work to do here and there, but the hard part is done.  

So I picked up the U-Haul early this afternoon...had 2 stops to make...first to a commercial supply store to pick up slat wall, slat wall fixtures, and a drop bin for plushes for the kids...got that loaded up and taken care of quickly so I was about 1 hour ahead of schedule!! 

Next stop was the gaming store that is going out of business (store's name is Game Master Games in Bethpage...if you are on the island and are looking for some great discounts on  board games/miniatures/trading card games stop down...they have stuff 30-60 percent off right now...there are about 5-6 comic boxes there that are out front...I think he has a bunch more in the storage area, he had tried to do comics a while back, but it didn't work in his location so he stopped ordering...didn't get a chance to take a look but there could be some good stuff in there!) ...I had purchased a bunch of fixtures at a very reduced cost so I saved about 2-3k if I had to buy the stuff new...

As we were loading the truck, I began to realize that there was no way everything was going to fit, I don't know what I was thinking...it wasn't even close...I had to return for a 2nd trip for 2 magazine racks, a 4x4 cube, and 4 glass showcases plus a few odds and ends, there goes my one hour ahead of schedule to 3 hours behind schedule!...even if I hadn't picked that other stuff up there was no way it was all fitting...poor planning on my part...didn't do the math on that one...not only did we have to make 2 trips back and forth, but now I have to pay double as I'm being charged by the mile (1.89/mile)...that added a quick $120 to my bill.

Good news is nothing got damaged in transit, well except me lol !  I twisted my knee, not by carrying anything, but by getting out of the U-Haul...I was tired, not thinking about that the truckis not the same size as my car, got out, and came down hard on my leg, slightly hyperextending it...took some pain meds and icing it up...No other real updates other than all the fixtures are in the store..had to do some creative maneuvering, but I'm still only dealing with a 1000 square foot store...but I need 1300 square feet of space for what I wanted to do lol  Thankfully my brother in law came by this evening as the truck had just been unloaded, my brain was mush and I couldn't think straight...my brother in law is one of the smartest people I know...he's got great vision and great ideas, so we were able to adjust the floor plan to fit my needs...still have the tables and chairs to set up for the gamers but that's 1,2,3...I bought a few things that I'm not going to use unfortunately...thought I may be able to squeeze them in, but no go

Flyer will be finished tomorrow and I'll post it here!  If any boardies are in the area and want to stop in, I should start to have some product in this weekend, my plan is to bring in some $1.00 comics and set them up outside in front of the store, weather permitting...please stop by and let me know what you think of the set up!  The front door will be open so come on it!

I'm exhausted, and heading of to bed in a bit...I'm sure I am forgetting some things, as always thanks for the comments/advice etc!

BTW, if you are a boardie, like lifting comic boxes in and out of cars/trucks, and work for pizza give me a call or send me a PM

One last thing...due to the fact that I've gone over budget and I am no longer in my "safe zone" I have decided to part with a big book of mine to help pad the checking account...I have a Creepy 27 CGC 9.6 Frank Frazetta signature series that I may move if the price is right...looking for $2700, but will consider offers over 2K, this is my copy that I subbed through NYComics and has never been offered for sale before.  If you are interested, send me a PM!  If anyone is into WWE I have an AFA graded 80 Brutus Beefcake as well that I am looking for $500 for...I may start a little sales thread as well once I figure out how "short" I am from what I wanted in the bank...if there are any MTG collectors looking for anything in particular I had a ton of singles and over 50 sealed boxes...figure I'd reach out here before I put them in the showcase!

Ok, just kidding, this is the last thing...still looking for a catchphrase...I like some of the ones mentioned in this thread so get your ideas to me, I'll choose my top 5 and create a poll.

Thank you all as always!!

 

 

 

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Just in the event I missed the post, is your alarm hooked up yet? My second store was broken into two days before I opened. Thieves pried open a skylight and dropped a rope ladder and several huge duffel bags down. Luckily I had an in store motion detector and the alarm went off. A gas attendant across the street was able to take a picture of the car , but not its plates. End result was I got a nice rope ladder, a few duffel bags and the landlord secured the roof but it could have been a disaster. I had hundreds, if not thousands of dollars worth of DD modules, and that sort of stuff in there. I never kept any valuable books in the store, mainly because I didn't have much in the high end category to begin with

If it isn't hooked up, don't say so, just get it done. 

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On ‎8‎/‎20‎/‎2017 at 5:57 PM, shadroch said:

Just in the event I missed the post, is your alarm hooked up yet? My second store was broken into two days before I opened. Thieves pried open a skylight and dropped a rope ladder and several huge duffel bags down. Luckily I had an in store motion detector and the alarm went off. A gas attendant across the street was able to take a picture of the car , but not its plates. End result was I got a nice rope ladder, a few duffel bags and the landlord secured the roof but it could have been a disaster. I had hundreds, if not thousands of dollars worth of DD modules, and that sort of stuff in there. I never kept any valuable books in the store, mainly because I didn't have much in the high end category to begin with

If it isn't hooked up, don't say so, just get it done. 

Actually, regardless of what the real answer is, he should say, "I got a state of the art system, with multiple cameras and motion sensors, I had my cousin install it yesterday.  He was a Navy Seal who does private security now, so he got me a really good deal.  I also lucked out because he lives less than a mile from the store."

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3 hours ago, Westy Steve said:

Hope you're selling Snacks and Drinks (bottled water and soda)  if you can figure out refrigeration.  Seems like that would be easy money if you bought it in bulk.

A great point. When I owned my store, we set up a deal with Coca-Cola -- they brought a huge cooler (not a machine) and we were able to order plastic bottled drinks through them to stock it up regularly, and we would go to Sam's to buy snack items (chips and candy).  We sold a ton of both over the years. especially to the gaming crowd (which the OP will have in his store).  It was easy profit with pretty much no downside to it.

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