Comments on: Six Tips for Aspiring Comic Retailers

By: Johanna

Johanna — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 21:42:15 +0000

Thanks, Joe. I appreciate you answering that point in detail.

By: Joe Field

Joe Field — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 20:45:47 +0000

Point of clarification:
The ComicsPRO Mentoring Program is more than simply gaining access to our message boards. Our mentoring forum is a dedicated message board where retailing hopefuls and new retailers can ask questions of experienced comic specialty retailers.

The ComicsPRO Mentoring program currently has about 50 people either in the research stage of opening a comic specialty shop or in the first year of running a shop, as well as more than a dozen mentoring retailers willing to lend their time and experience to help open new stores.

The $80 price is a terrific value— IF the “pre-retailer” is engaged and willing to ask questions. Our mentors post in response to questions, rather than bring up random topics.

Proud to say that the ComicsPRO Mentoring program has helped get a good number of retailers more prepared to open and run their new businesses with eyes wide open, willing to work hard to make their stores unique and profitable.

Hope this helps—

Joe Field
ComicsPRO President
(and owner of Flying Colors Comics, Concord CA)

By: blake

blake — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 03:31:55 +0000

I’ve been running a comic shop since February. I have certain advantages. 1. I own my building(no rent or mortgage) 2.I bought an existing shop. 3. i went into it with a plan 4. It’s not my only source of income, do to a decent trust fund that my wife gets. I mention these things, because I seem to be doing okay. I’ve diversified, because I had the money too, into miniature gaming, magic, RPG’s and a sci-fi bookstore. I’m doing three times what my predecessor did in volume and it’s taken alot of work. August was the first month I spent less than I took in, and it felt great. But when I went into business, I had to learn about various licenses, taxes and fees that I wasn’t initially prepared for. It’s really important that anybody who goes into any kind of business DO YOUR RESEARCH!
If we didn’t have the substantial amount of money from my wife’s inheritance,
we would not have made it. It is a tough business, and we’re doing well now, but if you’re going to succeed in a comic/gaming shop… be prepared to live off of nothing and have a back-up income for the first year. Maybe the second as well. And if you think it’s a great way to get rich… get out now. Go try opening a convenience store instead.
I’m doing the comic/gaming shop because I love it. I’m succeeding because I understand it’s a business.

By: Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes | Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources – Covering Comic Book News and Entertainment

Fri, 17 Sep 2010 15:06:15 +0000

[...] | Johanna Draper Carlson offers advice for aspiring comics retailers. [Comics Worth Reading] Detective Comics [...]

By: Suzene

Suzene — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 00:08:26 +0000

Ever since I my stint working comics retail, I’ve been wondering why any shop would willingly adhere to the typical pull-list system of ordering the merchandise specifically for a customer with no up-front charge, then hoping and praying they decide to pick it up in a timely manner. It just seemed like way too much of a gamble. The extent to which customers would abuse that service was amazing, and rivaled only by how accustomed the owners were to accommodating it. The shop I worked for regularly had hundreds of dollars worth of stock languishing in the pull bins for weeks at a time, and one of our competitors would occasionally bemoan having over a thousand dollars worth of books waiting on individual customers. There were even customers who would outright tell the boss that they were going to spend that month’s comic budget on some other hobby and expect the shop to continue to hold their books for them (and keep ordering the new ones in the meantime, of course) and the boss would agree to it. I get that no shop wants to lose customers by seeming too hardnose, but there are just some customers that you can’t afford to keep. If more shops would take credit card numbers along with pull subscriptions a la rental places, I’d imagine there would be fewer people signing up for subs, but also way fewer instances of shop owners having to take it in the shorts because their customers don’t know how to budget for their entertainment.

By: Johanna

Johanna — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 21:06:16 +0000

Well, Jeff, discounting may have been his issue. Much as I want one as a customer, they don’t make a lot of sense from a retailer perspective. They let a lot of money walk out the door, and if you’re buying customers that way, they’re often the type that will jump elsewhere quickly for a better deal.

But I hate to see any shop fail, because often, a good percentage of the customers just walk away. It’s not like all the business goes to another shop in the area (if there even is another shop in the area), so there’s a net loss to the industry.

Arthur, I’m glad you found it helpful. I was aiming to write it in such a way, and such that my admiration for my correspondent’s determination came through.

SK, it does take that kind of “never mind the obstacles, I’m going to make this work!” attitude to get a business going, though. And there are lots of people still doing this out of love.

By: SKleefeld

SKleefeld — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 19:40:25 +0000

Running a comic shop has always struck me as a terrible business. Even before I started trying to study the actual business side of things, it always looked like an insane amount of work for minimal returns. And that was well before the current recession and/or competition from digital and/or big box venues. In the current climate and for the foreseeable future, I can’t imagine a scenario where the number of comic shops doesn’t decline.

Best of luck to the dude who you talked to but, frankly, it sounds like he’s charging into a mine field with his eyes shut tight.

By: Arthur

Arthur — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 19:11:35 +0000

Thanks for this, Johanna. I always wanted to run my comics shop, but couldn’t due to time and money. But whenever I get a chance to own my place, I won’t forget what I’ve read here.

By: JeffG

JeffG — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 17:54:10 +0000

My local guy in Toronto, steps away from the subway station is closing down next month. He’s just not able to justify losing money month after month. As far as back issues, he had a whole bunch in inventory costing him money, and a number of ‘regular’ customers with their pull lists that wouldn’t come in for months on end leaving him on the hook while they did so. Apparently the trading cards and the pokemons are just not enough to subsidize this either. And although he was always trying to give his regulars a decent discount, it would be easy to find free shipping and better deals from Amazon on TPBs and the like, not to mention selection.

It wasn’t always the best organized, the handwritten pull lists and the orders being placed by his brother (dunno if there’s another family shop in the area as well) but by and large it was pretty good, and he’d backorder anything that got missed or sold out. Anyway, he’s going to try to keep something small going on the side with strictly pre-ordered (and prepaid!) from Previews each month, and then having a set time/place to distribute to his customers. I’ll stick with him for the time being and supplement anything missed at another shop close to work, having already made my ordering spreadsheet and submitted from September Previews.

I had always wondered how he made out with that small store and if he made any money at it – I guess in the end not so much. I have to admit, if the digital stuff really gets its act together then an iPad and not having dozens of long boxes of comics I’ll never read again but can’t quite get organized enough to sell/give away is starting to sound really appealing.