when opening a comic store??????

[synch]

What I hate is when the store owner is there actually playing as well .. its like you feel you are in the wrong for wanting to buy something or ask for help with something while he is sitting there playing ! Other wise I don't mind the game people at all. ..

[dupont2005]

It has been my experience that they tend to be loud and obnoxious, sometimes downright rude (not to mention that their diet consists of caffeinated beverages, Pringles, and beef jerky.

 

+1 on this...the ones I have seen are exactly as you describe

My old LCS used to be owned by an old man who would have store signings, kept the place nice and bright, and always helped customers. I remember I went in there one day and bought all the Marvel/Epic Elfquests he had. He went into the back area and grabbed a Warp Elfquest mag and gave it to me for free, It wasn't a first print, but there was no way I was ever going to own one of those back then living in the small town I did. It was awesome.

 

I guess he got older and his son took the store over. His son was a gamer, They set up a huge table in the middle of the tiny store, it dominated the floorspace. They kept the place dark for some reason too. The owners son and his friends would stink-eye me when I came in to buy comics, and they did act like I was interrupting their game.

 

Then they sold the store and some new owners bought it. The gaming table was replaced with a baby playpen The owner was cool, but they weren't into older comics.

 

So just from my personal experience, the gamer owner really brought the place down. But on the other hand one of the coolest comic stores I have been to is also into gaming. They have a dedicated LAN Party area with like 6 or 8 computers. They have a fighting game I have not seen anywhere else, I wonder if the store commissioned it? It features all the characters of all the fighting games I have ever seen. It's pretty cool. I am pretty sure they host Magic and Pokemon games too, but they don't have it going on all day every day because I haven't seen it and I have been in there a handful of times. If the store does it right, it can bring in the gamer revenue without alienating those who don't play.

[nocutename]

I go to a shop in CT every few months and visited just recently. He cleared out one wall to put in gaming tables and opened up on Sundays to events. Too bad that I missed out on the inventory clearance sale though.

[mikephoen]

I added games almost 16 years ago to my store and it was the best decision I have ever made. We use our entire second floor as a gaming area. The nice thing about that is it keeps the magic players and their noise mostly contained.

[Random]

Magic the Gathering has really picked up the last couple of years. It is "the" game. You are leaving a lot of money on the table if you do not get involved.

[Mark 1]

A new comic shop opened by me this past Halloween weekend (same guy who runs Florida SuperCon). They have a big store...half of it looks to be dedicated to gaming and non-comic related hobbying. I'm wondering if he will be able to compete with an already large competitor in the area who is established for years in all these hobbies. I hope he can survive...I love the idea of start ups and trying to build the hobby.

 

The new store has my attention already though with discounted pricing on MSRP of new items so being competitive on price will certainly make friends in this economy.

 

 

[PEP]

Just wondering, do the LCS owners "charge" for the gamers to play there? How do they make money?

 

The LCS I go to has two separate areas for gaming and comics. The gamers dont bother me because I go once every 3 weeks and its usually about noon on a Thursday when all the "kids" are in school.

[Not*Sure*]

Just wondering, do the LCS owners "charge" for the gamers to play there? How do they make money?

 

The LCS I go to has two separate areas for gaming and comics. The gamers dont bother me because I go once every 3 weeks and its usually about noon on a Thursday when all the "kids" are in school.

 

Put in a soda machine with $4 red bulls and mountain dew..maybe some swanky cheetos and chips add sugar..charge them obscene money..

 

But honestly I couldn't imagine opening a strictly comic books only business.

 

Sell used DVDs or CDs on the side..I don't see the current market holding up a lcs anywhere back issues or new stuff..unless you have another draw for customers..

 

Overhead is too high unless you just have a storefront full of comic books you want to store expensively..

[dupont2005]

Just wondering, do the LCS owners "charge" for the gamers to play there? How do they make money?

 

The LCS I go to has two separate areas for gaming and comics. The gamers dont bother me because I go once every 3 weeks and its usually about noon on a Thursday when all the "kids" are in school.

Dice, card decks, and little pewter figurines add up

[MrBedrock]

I opened my own comic store about 7 months ago in NJ. Initially it was a back-issue only kind of store - you know, what people have been talking about for a while now on these boards. Recently, many of the local comic stores including collector's comic shop (opened 1977?) closed, as well as my friends at wild pig. They didn't have gaming - which i will point out as a huge factor in why they closed.

 

So if back issues don't sell often - and if you don't have a clientele built up for years on your new comics - it is impossible to neglect how powerful the gaming community is. Especially from the start.

 

I don't see any store making it these days - as in turn any amount of profit unless they consistently do eBay and hold gaming tournaments for at least 2 out of the 3 big games (AD&D, Magic, Yugioh).

 

Since when do comic people have such a problem with gamers? Most of the time they are the same person!

 

Is obvious there are two things going on

1) New comics are not selling as well as they did

2) Gaming is quietly becoming one of the biggest hobbies in the world

 

Exclusive/specialty stores are an ancient thing. Much like wal-mart, target and other "get everything here" places, the same thing is going on for hobbies. Only not many people have went into that field, because they don't have the knowledge of so many different things. The most successful of these places is probably Toy wiz (owned by wizard magazine.) But i dont think they carry any back issues of comics.

 

To finally update my initial post 7 months ago, i will say im doing very well. Between selling back issues of comics, records, cds, toys, videogames and lastly the gaming hobbies it seems i'm the hobby version of wal-mart. Just on a .000001% scale.

 

The best thing i went into was gaming. Comics, although they take up a good portion of my store are of little interest. Nobody comes in off the street who collects comics anymore. Maybe once or twice a week i get someone in who actually flips through the comics for maybe 30 seconds. Usually its a housewife looking for a $1 batman or superman comic for their son - which I'm fine with.

 

So for right now ill leave this post like it is, and ask again why is there so much hate at gamers?

As a retailer, if you want gaming, include gaming.

But I have four stores that are surviving just fine without it. The reason...real estate in a retail establishment is expensive. A game store chooses to devote that space to areas for game play. I've chosen to devote that space to displaying retail product. There are pros and cons to each. But at the end of the day if you are opening a store you have the final say on what your store is going to be and how it will project itself to your customers. If you want a gaming store include gaming. If you want a comic book store fill the space with comics and comic related merchandise.

Your choice.

[BaltimoreLauren]

Magic the Gathering has really picked up the last couple of years. It is "the" game. You are leaving a lot of money on the table if you do not get involved.

 

+1

 

We have Friday Night Magic at the shop I work in, and each person has to pay a $9 fee to play. From there, they (usually) will buy whatever snacks we have, as well as more Magic Cards, play mats, ect. We also do Yu-Gi-Oh tournaments, board gaming, HeroClix, and lots of other gaming things to bring people in. While he's doing ok for the most part with comics (he has a steady list of people with pull boxes), tabletop/RPG games is bringing in the most money.