Pike's Comics

-DETAILED BREAKDOWN OF CONVENTION COSTS Let's use this weekend's show Megacon Tampa as an example. This is a local show for me so less food expenses and no hotel expense. 1. Booth costs: 4 booths, two are corner booths. $2400 2. U-Haul rental: $250 3. Labor/staff: 2 volunteers, 2 booth staff and 2 people who just help load in/out: $900 4. Food/Parking: $150 5. Hotel $0 Total: $3700. For a large show that is pretty good. Extra one time expenses already purchased: -tables (I bring seven 8" and two 4") - high quality dolly (I've broken 3 of the ones from home depot hauling Comics) - grid wall or some other wall display -sheets or tarp to cover comics - Signs - plastic bags Knowing all this and not including labor cost to prep books, bags and boards and actual comic costs I need to clear 4k just to cover my additional expenses of doing a convention.

2016 Conventions: Megacon Tampa: This is the shows last chance to prove the new owners can run a show where vendors can make a profit. Megacon thus year was a nightmare. 2017 Conventions: 1.Megacon May 25-28. This matters on how well the show goes this weekend. Will not be doing any of their shows anymore. 2. Heroes Convention June 16-18 3. Tampa Bay Comic Con June 28-30 4. Soda Pop City Con Aug 26-27 5. Suggestions? 6. Suggestions? Smaller shows: -Daytona Beach Comic Con. Great mid sized one day show tun by Tom Raupp. -Clearwater Library Con

So a little about myself: - Based out of Tampa/Clearwater - I have owned a Comic shop. First Comic book series read: Xmen right around the Hellfire club first appeared. -Most expensive comic owned: Brave and the Bold 28 5.5 -Favorite book ever owned: Giant Size X-men 1 9.4 -Most copies of one key comic: 13 copies FF 52 - Most Comics owned: ~450 long boxes - Currently own: ~275 long boxes 2017 Goals -Set up at at least 6 major conventions within 8-10hr driving distance. -Start submitting to auction sites such as Comic connect, my Comic Shop, ect. Want a 4-5x turn rate with 30-40% margins. -Increase quality of inventory. -Become more organized. More details to come.

This thread definitely motivated me to start my own journal.

we do have free play, we don't charge if you play in our store if thats what you mean. anytime anyone wants to play, i let them. we already have a D&D group that comes in every other sunday. 7 people so far. its nice to have that many people in the store but D&D people dont spend money. at least my D&D people don't. all good though/ So if you give them a free place to play anytime, what do you get out of it? It's an awesome thing that you let them hang out, but I'm just curious. as far as D&D goes, I get nothing out of it. they bring their own snacks, they buy supplies online for cheaper. some people tell me that D&D people also play magic but not the ones that play here. they just play d&d I hear that it's pretty standard with all d&d people though. which is why it's considered a basement game. no stores want them in because they are cool as people but they are trash as customers. The trick my Pathfinder Society players (D&D game you can take your character anywhere and play it) instituted and has now expanded to all my RPG games in the store is anyone who buys anything in the store can use their receipt for one free reroll during the game. Does wonders for getting them to spend money.

I agree with you guys about squirrel girl. This book had so much potential but once you open it to the first page you are disgusted by the art work. I am hoping they come to the realization it just doesn't work.

Just reminded me I need to order more Todd trades for the shop!

Gator, Last month we had a few people posting their top ten dealer lists. Since you are in Florida who would be on your top ten list for Florida dealers? You can base it on anything you want!

Retracted....rereads rules...

Doubtful. The pic they have for Entertainment weekly has both of them in it standing next to each other.

Do any of these scan faster than the others? Or do any of these things take forever to scan a slab? Just thinking I will be scanning 100+ books at a time fairly soon and this will be a definite factor. If it matters I will be running Windows 7. Epson GT-2000 HP 7310 HP 7400 (7710 is the actual number for a search) HP 7410 All-in-one. HP 7780 AIO HP Scanjet 8200?? (may not be legal size) HP 8250 HP 8300 HP 8350 HP 8390 (according to HP specs) Microtek Scanmaker i800 plus Microtek V6UPL Microteks 9600-9700-9800

What about the COA from MCS that says there are only 5k copies? http://www.auctiva.com/hostedimages/showimage.aspx?gid=1172680&ppid=1122ℑ=676776509&images=676776464,676776509&formats=0,0&format=0 The COI is from Lone Star Comics. Lone Star Comics and mycomicshop are one and the same. Pwned! ....yep I just went there Not anymore. Buddy sold all his retail stores last year.

That is a great looking wall and the comic strips are beautifully mounted! My goal is to one day have a wall like that but with Calvin and Hobbes!

That's Jim Lee's first X-Men work, not his first work. It'd have more potential if Marvel hadn't systematically eroded the X-Men comic franchise over the last 20 years with a combination of poor stories and overexposure. I thought he did a backup story in Xmen classics?

Oh yeah..before we moved in my wife kept saying that she was going to get a 37" TV for my room. I knew it was too small and kept telling her that we needed to wait to get in there. We have discovered that all our TVs were too small. The one in my room used to be our bedroom TV. Our current bedroom TV was our living room TV. I'll eventually get a new one in there.. I do have a 63" TV behind my desk I could plug in for the mean time I was about to ask about that!

As long as it's a Campbell cover of just some female marvel character it will sell like crazy.

I literally have a short box full of batman 497!

I'm sitting on a few copies of this comic. It is the first (and so far only) modern comic I speculated in. I bought my copies last year when I heard the announcement for the TV series for less than cover. I'm not sure what to do next though: send them to CGC for grading, put them up raw on eBay with a high BIN, etc. Unless you REALLY feel strongly about a title and feel comfortable sitting on them, it's always better to hedge your bets and sell a few early and hold a few for later, IMO. I would go so far as to say sell a few now, a few just before show release and hold a few in case tv show is a hit (again, imo) Less than a hundred? Your numbers are way off. Add a zero to that at the minimum for some characters.

What cons are on your hit list this year? I was hoping to see you make it down to Tampa Bay Comic Con!

How purchase price is to be paid is an essential term of the contract. Buyer made a counter offer regarding this term. That would count as a rejection of the original offer. Seller did not accept the counter offer. Seller accepted Gators offer to his original sale. As I see it putting it on hold was a kind gesture but doesn't denote acceptance of his offer. Interesting take. Its just basic contract law. Though I do see above that he may have accepted the counter offer but I am not sure...

How purchase price is to be paid is an essential term of the contract. Buyer made a counter offer regarding this term. That would count as a rejection of the original offer. Seller did not accept the counter offer. Seller accepted Gators offer to his original sale. As I see it putting it on hold was a kind gesture but doesn't denote acceptance of his offer.

They also have no clue how to ship them.

We really need to update this list. Half the links we list here Dont work anymore or go to websites that are no longer monitored...

Modern Ft Submitted 1/21 Shipped 2/7

Modern fast track Received: 1/21 Graded: 2/4 Encapsulated: pending Shipped: pending