Why are comics shops closing as superheroes make a mint?8909
 Collector
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GanaSoth private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @martymann Yes. Probably tied to the mob. | ||
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 I don't believe this....and I know you don't care that I don't believe this.
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GAC private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by doog Cool...yeah, it looks like its incomplete...it'd be cool to see it when its finished. |
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Collector
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GanaSoth private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @GAC it is finished. If ya look closer, you will see the wire Batman is balancing on. | ||
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I don't believe this....and I know you don't care that I don't believe this.
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GAC private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @GanaSoth his left foot/leg is on a wire correct...what about his right leg? Where is his right arm connected to his right hand grasping the wire? Why is his left leg behind his cape? How is this a complete picture? | ||
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Collector
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GanaSoth private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @GAC I see what ya saying. Yeah, he's just gotta finish the leg & part of the arm. | ||
| Post 30 • IP flag post | ||
 I hear their hourly rate is outrageous!
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sportshort private msg quote post Address this user | |
| or maybe it is complete and that's his interpretation that body parts under the cape are almost, if not completely, invisible. if you allow yourself to follow that train of thought the painting is complete. | ||
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Collector
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GanaSoth private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @sportshort Yeah. Since he is in the "shadows." | ||
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 Collector
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akiva private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Mile High Comics just closed two of their locations. The store in Lakewood Colorado, which had been there since the 1980s I believe and the store in Glendale. Now the only Mile High location is the warehouse. Definitely moving towards being a online business model from retail. My local comic shop is Vision Comics in Sheridan. They stay in business by selling a little bit of everything and unless you order a comic for the weekly delivery, its really hard to get one. Honestly, I won't even go to the Mile High warehouse anymore, if I want a new comic that I didn't pre-order I go to mycomicshop.com or to ebay. Mile High is actually on the way home for me, but the owner didn't hold the door open for me once during a snow storm. I figured if he couldn't hold a door for me, I can't get off the highway to buy comics from him. Customer service. It starts before they even enter the door. |
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I don't believe this....and I know you don't care that I don't believe this.
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GAC private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by sportshort Does this really look finished to you?  |
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Collector
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GanaSoth private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @GAC guess it depends if the artest thinks it is or not. @doog how long it's been in this state/stage of limbo? |
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 Forum Crier
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OGJackster private msg quote post Address this user | |
| It's an older article but, proves the point. Fifty Comic Stores That Have Closed Since January 2017 clickable text  |
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 Collector
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moodswing private msg quote post Address this user | |
| It is hard to stay afloat when you are forced to buy crap you don't want and can't return the unsold comics. Add to the fact that many fans do not like the current direction of comic books, you are going to have many stores going out of business. | ||
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Forum Crier
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OGJackster private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by moodswing What direction would that be? The storyline, political slants, changing the ethnic or sexual orientation??? I'm curious about what the younger generation thinks of the direction comics are going. |
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 past performance is no guarantee of future actions.
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KatKomics private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @OGJackster first words from my 11yr old when i brought home the new guardians of the galaxy book was "where is rocket??" So i would say he is looking for same characters that are in the movies to be in the books | ||
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I don't believe this....and I know you don't care that I don't believe this.
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GAC private msg quote post Address this user | |
| theres no question online business have a huge impact on bricks n' mortar businesses. theres really no such thing as local when I can buy comics from the comfort of my home from someone 5000 kms away and delivered right to my door. | ||
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Collector
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moodswing private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by OGJackster Yes all of those you listed. The younger generation do not read comics (my general observation) so when you alienate your core base, you don't make money. I have tried getting my students to read anything, encouraging them to read comics. I have not had much success. |
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Collector
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moodswing private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by KatKomics Imagine liking Thor then finding out his is not called Thor and was replaced by Natalie Portman  |
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Collector
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moodswing private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by GAC Comic stores need to adapt by selling online too. I see on facebook all the time stores doing live auctions on Tuesdays. Great way to sell inventory, I just hope they save some issues for their in store customers. |
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 Collector
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X51 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| A store recently opened about 3 miles from where I live. Two collectors started it. They seeded the stock with items from their personal collections. Typically that will be duplicates of things they already own or lower grade copies that they care less about. The rest is new comics. If rent is $1000 a month and sales on new comics are $1000 a month, they've lost money. They didn't break even. They'd have to sell $1500 worth of comics just to break even on the rent and the replacement inventory. They have employees to pay. Light bills to pay. Comic supplies. If you add up all those costs, the amount you have to sell is a lot just to break even. To pay yourself and actually make a profit, you have to be turning inventory at a high rate and generating a high volume of sales. When I look at the amount of inventory in that store it seems too low to me. It doesn't seem like they have enough inventory dollars worth of material to pay their rent every month. On top of that, I see maybe three customers shopping and they are buying maybe one or two comics. The back issues in the back stock bins look like the same comics they had a month ago. In my mind, these guys will not last long. They were excited when the store opened, but how long can that last when the profits aren't rolling in? As they realize they aren't making money, the first line of defense is to start pulling better comics out of their personal collections. Once their personal collection starts getting depleted, they lose all emotional attachment to the joy of collecting. Customers know when a shop owner doesn't care anymore. It hasn't happened yet, but I hear the toilet flushing. I will be amazed if this store stays open even 2 years. The guy who owns Dragon Con sold off the stores in his chain awhile back. The guy who bought them has sold one and he's about to sell the other if it hasn't happened yet. There's fine line between the product making enough to pay for the overhead costs involved and being too expensive for the customer. They only thing that can fix the problem is selling in bulk. The price has to be low enough that the consumer will buy high volume. The volume has to be high enough to pay for the handling & distribution. Even in the 90's stores everywhere had credit slaves. Customers would bag comics and help around the store in exchange for comics rather than money. It allowed stores to get labor at 50% the going rate. I don't know how the IRS would look at that, but comic shops are a shaky business model. If you can build up a Golden age clientele spending big money, your chances are better. You still have to have liquid cash to restock the product along with sources from which to restock. |
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I don't believe this....and I know you don't care that I don't believe this.
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GAC private msg quote post Address this user | |
| buying old books is ALOT of work. you have to be constantly buying...constantly hunting and buying at prices that make sense to your business. That's why the Chuck Rozanski's and Buddy Saunders' of the world are ALWAYS on the road searching for collections to buy to fulfill inventory...incredibly hard work. |
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Collector
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X51 private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by GAC They try to stock everything... so it's definitely work. Full comic boxes aren't light. You have to deal in books that are big enough and expensive enough that other dealers refer their opportunities to you. |
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 Collector
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ZosoRocks private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by OGJackster I disagree with vinyl being killed. There is actually a surge happening in vinyl LP sales. From July 2018: https://bestclassicbands.com/2018-vinyl-sales-7-10-18/ Vinyl LPs....do sound pretty good.....*shrugs*....but then again, I'm a collector since I was 13....and bias. |
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| Post 47 • IP flag post | ||
 I bought a meat grinder on amazon for $60 and it's changed my life.
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kaptainmyke private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Vinyl is huge now. You can buy a brand new vinyl album and get free digital codes to the songs most of the time now. So now you have a digital version on your ipod, and you still have a vinyl record you can trade in at a later date for more vinyl. Win / win. | ||
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 Collector
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doog private msg quote post Address this user | |
| The other huge thing for buying and selling is video game systems like Nintendo 64 and all the associated games. As that group has gotten older and richer, they want to buy back their youth. The current online crowd won’t have that opportunity. Nostalgia sells well. | ||
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Forum Crier
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OGJackster private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Here's a nice article... A Fresh Look at the Comic Book Store Looking through the eyes of two children April 27, 2019 by J.R. Reed  clickable text |
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I hear their hourly rate is outrageous!
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sportshort private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Because of the article In the above post I am forced to give you give you all some terrible news. In my personal experience the above comic book store experience is the exception. I have been collecting off and on for 45 years and exposed my children to comics since they were young. In over 90 percent of the time including currently the comic book store people care little to none about their customer even the polite ones that greet you as you enter then return to reading their comics or playing with their phone. This has always been the case for me I have almost always felt more like an intrusion than a welcomed visitor. You might argue that you’re experience is better because you’ve know your lcs guy for years but that shouldn’t be the case. Most lcs employees don’t know anything about customer service as they are usually the owner or friends or family of the owner. They are a big reason why people have turned to online because they have no personal connection the the Lcs employees. Excuse typos as I wrote this on my phone at a local fair. |
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Forum Crier
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OGJackster private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @sportshort Agreed, customer service is always an issue and greatly reflects on the business. | ||
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 Collector
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comic_book_man private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @sportshort I think what you are describing is actually more of a snowball effect. Comic books alone aren't generating enough cashflow for their stores outside of major cities. This in turn leads to skeleton crew staffing, often over-worked and underpaid so the customer experience becomes questionable at best. It all builds on each other, starting with a drop in steady revenue. To the titles question, I think technology is the attraction lately so cinema, encapsulated books, and online auction houses are basically forcing the hand of brick and mortar establishments. Shopping in a store for a paper book is less appealing to the masses than buying the encapsulated original and reading the story on their iphone at their convenience. Like even right now, I'm choosing to type a message here on the forum instead of chatting up Endgame at my LCS... That's just my opinion based on my experience. |
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Collector
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X51 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| If comic shops quit existing tomorrow, I'd feel no sense of loss. In my area, they aren't selling items I want to buy. | ||
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past performance is no guarantee of future actions.
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KatKomics private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by X51 Nooooo....its not often but my lcs will add a book to my bag that wasn't on my pull list because he knows what i like. The last two series i was turned onto were Skyward and a little something no one has heard of....Immortal Hulk. Thanks to my lcs I was on board from issue 1 all at cover price with 15% store discount. When Damned Batman came out...again not on my list he saw how fast they were flying off the shelf and set aside a few copies for people with pull lists...pays to be a regular!!! Why sell to a one time walk in customer and stiff the people who keep the lighs on?? |
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