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Opening up a comic book shop

Started by inovrmihd,

26 posts in this topic

inovrmihd

inovrmihd

Posted
Posted

I am sure this has been discussed before, but does anyone have any thoughts on the advisability of opening a comic shop? Assume that you are in a good location,that you have experienced people you can trust, and that you will offer manga, collectible cards, etc, and that you have good relations with all the major suppliers. Even if you have all that, it strikes me as a very tough business to make profitable. I would appreciate any thoughts on the matter. Thanks in advance.

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Bluetooth-migration

Bluetooth-migration

Posted
Posted
I am sure this has been discussed before, but does anyone have any thoughts on the advisability of opening a comic shop? Assume that you are in a good location,that you have experienced people you can trust, and that you will offer manga, collectible cards, etc, and that you have good relations with all the major suppliers. Even if you have all that, it strikes me as a very tough business to make profitable. I would appreciate any thoughts on the matter. Thanks in advance.

 

Don't do it

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Gsims718

Gsims718

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Absolutely very tough to stay in business. They have been going out of business in my area left and right.

 

If you are going to stay in business you HAVE to have the other stuff now it seems. Games and what not.

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Dr Chaos

Dr Chaos

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With the trend leaning towards more shops closing than opening it would seem to make more sense to buy out or take over an existing store from someone looking to get out of the business than to start your own store from scratch. This way you would already have established relationships with vendors and a steady stream of customers than know where your store is.

 

Either way, plan ahead and make sure you have a know what your income and expenses will look like before you commit.

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sufunk

sufunk

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Absolutely very tough to stay in business. They have been going out of business in my area left and right.

 

If you are going to stay in business you HAVE to have the other stuff now it seems. Games and what not.

 

+1

 

It's not "your area", its EVERY area pretty much. opening ANY business is tough as hell. Opening a business where you have a million and 1 online competitors with little or no overhead is 10 times as tough. Unless you are prepared and able to lose money for a pretty long time, i wouldnt even consider it.

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Bookery

Bookery

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With the trend leaning towards more shops closing than opening it would seem to make more sense to buy out or take over an existing store from someone looking to get out of the business than to start your own store from scratch.

 

I've shelled out $11,000 for building repairs in the past 2 months, and still have a partial roof to replace! I might know of a shop you could buy cheap!!!

 

:frustrated:

 

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Junkdrawer

Junkdrawer

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Having been just turned 1 year in business last month I would suggest a strong financial backing or a landlord that's cool when your a few weeks late with the rent pretty much every month. There is nothing more gratifying than working for one's self. If you love the business with a passion, than go for it. Be open to being a little diversified though as just comics being sold to folks coming through the front door may be not enough in the building stages. Hence that strong financial backing.

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DeadpoolJr.

DeadpoolJr.

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A lot of the more recent and even sometimes succesful stores advertise to a more diverse costumer demagraphic. Such as in addition to selling comics they also go into selling RPGs like dungeons and dragons, some of those stores even have rooms that can be rented out for playing it and have monthly competitions so you know they'll come back. Also they serve food and drinks where i've noticed many new stores also have an area for coffee and small snacks with tables to seat at, while you read the books, like a Barnes and Noble of comic books. Last and maybe even the most important thing is to be unique and well priced, come up with a really cool name for your store and also have special and deals all the time. In fact the comic book store i go to always gives me a 30% discount no matter what i buy for repeat bussiness. The store itself should look different and signes and mabey even a statue or two to make people interested and want to come in. Basically you have something interesting and unique to make people curious, they go in buy something small that can turn into something big then buy a coffee or other kind of drink and mabye a muffin so double profit right there,they sit down and and enjoy. When they relize how cool and relaxing the place is you get repeat bussiness.

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mikephoen

mikephoen

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I am sure this has been discussed before, but does anyone have any thoughts on the advisability of opening a comic shop? Assume that you are in a good location,that you have experienced people you can trust, and that you will offer manga, collectible cards, etc, and that you have good relations with all the major suppliers. Even if you have all that, it strikes me as a very tough business to make profitable. I would appreciate any thoughts on the matter. Thanks in advance.

 

As long as you are smarter than your competitors and are willing to work harder than them you can do quite well. Also, make sure the city you are opening in isn't one being raped by the current economic conditions.

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batman_fan

batman_fan

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You know, if I were going to try to open a comic shop, I would try to spend some time at a few successful shops outside the area I were planning to open to see how they are doing things (assuming they would let me). WOuld give me some insight into what they are doing right.

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thehumantorch

thehumantorch

Posted
Posted
I am sure this has been discussed before, but does anyone have any thoughts on the advisability of opening a comic shop? Assume that you are in a good location,that you have experienced people you can trust, and that you will offer manga, collectible cards, etc, and that you have good relations with all the major suppliers. Even if you have all that, it strikes me as a very tough business to make profitable. I would appreciate any thoughts on the matter. Thanks in advance.

 

As long as you are smarter than your competitors and are willing to work harder than them you can do quite well. Also, make sure the city you are opening in isn't one being raped by the current economic conditions.

 

Mike, how long have you been in business? I know you've survived a long time and you probably have learned an awful lot.

 

To the OP, don't go into business unless you're well financed. Considering comic stores today carry MTG, statues, trades, t-shirts, etc you'll need a ton of money to buy inventory and it will probably take time to build the business and start showing a profit. Might make sense to look for partners who know other retail niches like MTG.

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Bookery

Bookery

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Considering comic stores today carry MTG, statues, trades, t-shirts, etc you'll need a ton of money to buy inventory and it will probably take time to build the business and start showing a profit.

 

Even if you eventually end up with a successful business (good model, right location, etc.) plan on 2-3 years before actually making a profit... it will take at least that long to build a decent client base, plus make back all of the startup costs, startup advertising, etc.

 

Plus make sure you have a good accountant from day one... do NOT try to do business taxes on your own. And keep track of your opening inventory for down the road tax purposes.

 

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mikephoen

mikephoen

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Considering comic stores today carry MTG, statues, trades, t-shirts, etc you'll need a ton of money to buy inventory and it will probably take time to build the business and start showing a profit.

 

Even if you eventually end up with a successful business (good model, right location, etc.) plan on 2-3 years before actually making a profit... it will take at least that long to build a decent client base, plus make back all of the startup costs, startup advertising, etc.

 

Plus make sure you have a good accountant from day one... do NOT try to do business taxes on your own. And keep track of your opening inventory for down the road tax purposes.

 

Excellent advice, especially the bit about the accountant. (thumbs u

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AGGIEZ

AGGIEZ

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Learn how to play MTG, and plan on that being half of your business with Friday Night Magic and weekend tournaments...and sell games too. Need to have a place for the gamers to set up and get their geek on.

 

 

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mikephoen

mikephoen

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I am sure this has been discussed before, but does anyone have any thoughts on the advisability of opening a comic shop? Assume that you are in a good location,that you have experienced people you can trust, and that you will offer manga, collectible cards, etc, and that you have good relations with all the major suppliers. Even if you have all that, it strikes me as a very tough business to make profitable. I would appreciate any thoughts on the matter. Thanks in advance.

 

As long as you are smarter than your competitors and are willing to work harder than them you can do quite well. Also, make sure the city you are opening in isn't one being raped by the current economic conditions.

 

Mike, how long have you been in business? I know you've survived a long time and you probably have learned an awful lot.

 

To the OP, don't go into business unless you're well financed. Considering comic stores today carry MTG, statues, trades, t-shirts, etc you'll need a ton of money to buy inventory and it will probably take time to build the business and start showing a profit. Might make sense to look for partners who know other retail niches like MTG.

 

Since November 1994. I have definitely learned a lot over the years, and I try to keep learning. Whenever I travel I visit some of the local stores and look for ideas to steal.

 

It is definitely more expensive to open now then when I did, but I still think it is possible. Don't forget to budget for a point of sale system. I highly, highly recommend MOBY. Here is their website: http://www.bitterendsystems.com/Bitter_End_Systems/MOBY.html

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Gsims718

Gsims718

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I also wonder how much Marvel and the other big brands are helping the LCS with there big push for Digital comics.

 

I havent been to a LCS since Bob's Comics went out of business years ago, but I think it would be nice if Marvel sold the codes to download some books in stores (not just attached to books) and gave the store a cut.

 

Might help things out.

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chrisco37

chrisco37

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Posted
I am sure this has been discussed before, but does anyone have any thoughts on the advisability of opening a comic shop? Assume that you are in a good location,that you have experienced people you can trust, and that you will offer manga, collectible cards, etc, and that you have good relations with all the major suppliers. Even if you have all that, it strikes me as a very tough business to make profitable. I would appreciate any thoughts on the matter. Thanks in advance.

 

Don't do it

 

^^

 

Unless you don't have a problem with working your arse off to just barely get by for quite sometime until you can build a pretty good base of loyal customers.

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thehumantorch

thehumantorch

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I am sure this has been discussed before, but does anyone have any thoughts on the advisability of opening a comic shop? Assume that you are in a good location,that you have experienced people you can trust, and that you will offer manga, collectible cards, etc, and that you have good relations with all the major suppliers. Even if you have all that, it strikes me as a very tough business to make profitable. I would appreciate any thoughts on the matter. Thanks in advance.

 

As long as you are smarter than your competitors and are willing to work harder than them you can do quite well. Also, make sure the city you are opening in isn't one being raped by the current economic conditions.

 

Mike, how long have you been in business? I know you've survived a long time and you probably have learned an awful lot.

 

To the OP, don't go into business unless you're well financed. Considering comic stores today carry MTG, statues, trades, t-shirts, etc you'll need a ton of money to buy inventory and it will probably take time to build the business and start showing a profit. Might make sense to look for partners who know other retail niches like MTG.

 

Since November 1994. I have definitely learned a lot over the years, and I try to keep learning. Whenever I travel I visit some of the local stores and look for ideas to steal.

 

It is definitely more expensive to open now then when I did, but I still think it is possible. Don't forget to budget for a point of sale system. I highly, highly recommend MOBY. Here is their website: http://www.bitterendsystems.com/Bitter_End_Systems/MOBY.html

 

:thumbsup: I know your store has been around a while and it was a stop for me whenever I drove south to Calgary.

 

I know my LCS's customer pull files have increased at least 3 fold in the last 10 years. Pretty good sign that they're doing ok.

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