Everybody told me not to so I opened a comic shop 2 2

[miraclemet]

2 minutes ago, Cruzin' Thru Comics said:

 I usually pick them up a few months later for pennies on the dollar lol.  

thats smart!

[speedcake]

Looks cool. Good luck! 

You opened an entire shop as a side hustle, though? You got 48 hour long days or something ? 

[csaag]

Quote

We’re in Santa Clarita (about 40 miles north of Los Angeles). 

Best of Luck and everybody should watch "The Santa Clarita Diet" on Netflix!  (nothing to do with comics but a hilarious well done show)

[Cruzin' Thru Comics]

4 minutes ago, speedcake said:

Looks cool. Good luck! 

You opened an entire shop as a side hustle, though? You got 48 hour long days or something ? 

I know. But wife and 3 older sons will help. I’ll be there on the weekends. We’ll see how it goes. 

[F For Fake]

3 hours ago, an99 said:

When I was young, around 12-13 years old, I remember my friend and I talking about opening a comic store.  We planned to call it A & A Collectables (because both of our names started with A).  It was a nice dream and something I still think about today on my 40's.  Good times ...

Best of luck!

This is funny, because one of MY best friends since middle school and I have often talked about opening a toy shop called B & B Collectibles, because our names both start with B! He moved to California for several years, but is back home now. We both have "normal" jobs and don't have the time or interest in opening a shop anymore, but I think we're going to set up at a GI Joe show next summer and fly the B & B banner just for fun. 

[F For Fake]

Oh and @Cruzin' Thru Comics  congrats on chasing that dream! Hope it works out great. Lots of very pragmatic types around here, and I understand that, but I think when it comes to big dreams, you just have to go for it, you know? So good on ya!

[Casablanca]

Love this!. All the best to you. Sending great thoughts from the East Coast!

[theCapraAegagrus]

Good luck, @Cruzin' Thru Comics . Place looks nice.

[All Be D'Oh!]

A shop with mostly comics -- love it! I would definitely stop by if I am in the area.

Congratulations!

[Cruzin' Thru Comics]

Appreciate it, everybody! 

[Senormac]

Looks great and having a shop means people can just walk in with collections to sell.  You never know what will come walking in the doors .  Good luck to you !! 

[revat]

Throw some more pictures up!  Give the people a taste!  Storefront at least.

good luck!

[James J Johnson]

12 hours ago, Cruzin' Thru Comics said:

After a few years of all my buddies telling me not to open a shop I did it anyway. I guess I just have to find out for myself if it will work . I’ve been selling at local conventions and online for a while now but just figured a store would be a great addition for sales and I could have much more inventory available to customers. Also, with the price of tables at conventions going up every year I just stopped doing the bigger shows. They’re asking ridiculous prices and honestly I’m not sure how some dealers make a profit. It took awhile to find a place with reasonable rent as selling comics is my side/secondary business and it would be tough with too much overhead.  I had a soft opening today and still have a lot of books to price and take to the shop (which is really the time consuming part). I’ll  let everybody know once we have date set for the grand opening. 

 Hope this was ok to post here. Just wanted to let any Boardie’s in the area know about the shop. We’re in Santa Clarita (about 40 miles north of Los Angeles). Stop by and say hi if you’re in the area. Thanks, John 

Why, that's the best reason of all to open one, people advising you not to, and the opposite is the main reason why I never even considered opening one. Because everyone told me that I should!

A very good ad. It looks great, an attractive, uncluttered space and layout, a good size to start with before you have to eventually take over the adjoining stores and knock down walls! Congratulations and all the best for rousing success! .

What does your window and storefront look like? Love to see it.

One last thing. Cameras. One in each wall/ceiling corner, aimed down, across the store to towards the diagonally opposed wall/floor corner should give you full coverage. Possibly another up behind you, aimed at where people stand to pay you (near where the cash transactions are conducted. It's essential and a very effective deterrent for theft and/or robbery.

Very easy to put in yourself. Lorex makes all kinds of wonderful 4 and 8 camera systems that are very affordable and when standing outside your store at night, anyone looking in will see the red "eyes" of the far end corners staring right towards the front of the store. Crown molding or those vinyl/plastic wire conceal runners will allow the wires to blend right into the décor up along the ceiling/wall juncture to wherever the recorder is stored. You can mount a monitor right across from where you spend most of your time for a full view of the store from multiple angles readily available. I know there's no nooks and crannies, but as stated, a wonderful deterrent for book bag stuffers and anyone considering a robbery or burglary. The surveillance drastically reduces leakage.

Edited September 26, 2019 by James J Johnson

[Cruzin' Thru Comics]

25 minutes ago, James J Johnson said:

Why, that's the best reason of all to open one, people advising you not to, and the opposite is the main reason why I never even considered opening one. Because everyone told me that I should!

A very good ad. It looks great, an attractive, uncluttered space and layout, a good size to start with before you have to eventually take over the adjoining stores and knock down walls! Congratulations and all the best for rousing success! .

What does your window and storefront look like? Love to see it.

One last thing. Cameras. One in each wall/ceiling corner, aimed down, across the store to towards the diagonally opposed wall/floor corner should give you full coverage. Possibly another up behind you, aimed at where people stand to pay you (near where the cash transactions are conducted. It's essential and a very effective deterrent for theft and/or robbery.

Very easy to put in yourself. Lorex makes all kinds of wonderful 4 and 8 camera systems that are very affordable and when standing outside your store at night, anyone looking in will see the red "eyes" of the far end corners staring right towards the front of the store. Crown molding or those vinyl/plastic wire conceal runners will allow the wires to blend right into the décor up along the ceiling/wall juncture to wherever the recorder is stored. You can mount a monitor right across from where you spend most of your time for a full view of the store from multiple angles readily available. I know there's no nooks and crannies, but as stated, a wonderful deterrent for book bag stuffers and anyone considering a robbery or burglary. The surveillance drastically reduces leakage.

I’m actually a technician with at&t and I did install 3 cameras. 2 inside and one outside facing window and door. The shop is only 600 sq ft so figured didn’t want to overkill it with too many cameras. I’ll post a few more pictures. The storefront isn’t much to look at I’m afraid. But the next cheapest location I could find was over twice as expensive. Also, we are still moving in stuff and shop still a little empty. 

[James J Johnson]

Just now, Cruzin' Thru Comics said:

I’m actually a technician with at&t and I did install 3 cameras. 2 inside and one outside facing window and door. The shop is only 600 sq ft so figured didn’t want to overkill it with too many cameras. I’ll post a few more pictures. The storefront isn’t much to look at I’m afraid. But the next cheapest location I could find was over twice as expensive. Also, we are still moving in stuff and shop still a little empty. 

There they are! Didn't see them in the lead picture of the thread. Looks great!! Now you have to put your adjoining store owners on notice that if all goes as planned, your needs to eventually expand will supersede their plans to continue to do business at those locations!

[Cruzin' Thru Comics]

2 minutes ago, James J Johnson said:

There they are! Didn't see them in the lead picture of the thread. Looks great!! Now you have to put your adjoining store owners on notice that if all goes as planned, your needs to eventually expand will supersede their plans to continue to do business at those locations!

Yea, if I get some time I’d like to hide the wiring with molding but doesn’t look too bad. I’m just hoping for some customers lol. There are a few storefronts in same building that face the street. Would be much better for foot traffic. Maybe later on if all goes well 

 

[Mr. Spider-Woman]

Wow! Congratulations on the store. I've never seen a comic shop with hardwood floors before. It looks so classy.

Like so many others, I also dreamed of owning a comic shop when I was a kid. Believe it or not, I wanted it to be connected to a pizza place, with giant signs warning people to go to the comic shop first before grabbing a slice at the pizza place.

[707comics]

Looking good! I will have to stop in next time I bring the kids down to Six Flags.

[Domo Arigato]

14 hours ago, Cruzin' Thru Comics said:

Just wanted to let any Boardie’s in the area know about the shop. We’re in Santa Clarita (about 40 miles north of Los Angeles). Stop by and say hi if you’re in the area. Thanks, John 

One thing about living in Santa Clarita I never could stomach.

All the damn vampires.

[wombat]

How hard is it going to be to get those slabs off the top shelf?