I'm playing with the idea of becoming a comic pawn broker.

[DiceX]

I'm playing with the idea of becoming a comic porn broker.

Send me comics, I send you porn.

 

 

[DoubleCovaBrotha]

A comic porn broker sounds like a service where a customer comes to you with their specific pornographic predilections and you recommend/procure some books with your vast knowledge and experience of the field.

 

Why haven't I thought of this before...?

[mintcollector]

 

 

You may not be aware, but I am educated in business and have gone through something similar. That being said, let me offer two pieces of advice on your comment above.

 

Number one, be careful with SCORE. I know some members very well. That being said, I would advise you to hire a consultant.

 

MY REPLY-- If I could find a consultant who specialized in this and who worked cheap enough I would. If I were to reach 100% sellthru my first year, my profits would be under $20,000. Not going to buy much top shelf consulting with that.

 

Number two, I would be very cautious with your idea to use 'grad' students to work on a business plan of this magnitude.

 

MY REPLY- This is where I lose you. A plan of this magnitude? What magnitude? This is a low key operation designed to help out fellow collectors and put a few dollars in my pocket. I'm not launching a huge web based pawn store that is all things to all people. On a scale of 1 to 100, with my first comic shop being a 10 and 30-30 being a 100, I'd put this as a 5.

 

Just my two cents. Please let me know how this works out for you. If you need assistance, you can PM me.

 

my Reply- thank you.

 

PS If you can get students to write a plan for you, I would do it, then use it for comparison purposes. This would be great overall.

 

My Reply- Thats the idea, they do the grunt work, study the drawbacks and write up a report for credit in their classes. I take their reports, fine tune them if I like them, add and subtract as I will. Obviously i wouldn't blindly follow everything they come up with, but fresh eyes often find things others have overlooked. The whole idea behind this thread, by the way.

 

 

'mint'

 

Hello Shadroch,

 

I appreciate your reply. I just wanted to offer some further insight into this:

 

First, are you not planning to design and have a website? It was my understanding that this would be operated as a business; is this correct or am I misreading something? Unless you have someone willing to work on your website nearly free of charge (which I think someone may have offered), creating a professional looking website is costly. I am sure there are people on this forum who may be willing to help you out in this regard, but keep in mind that updating it can be costly too (it does depend on your end goals are plans along the way).

 

Second, if this is not a large scale operation, to be honest; I personally would not go through with it. The costs of obtaining good legal advice, possible licenses, registering a business (i.e. deciding whether to use a(n) LLC or a 'S' corporation versus a 'C' corporation alone); may not be worth the hassle. It all depends on what you are planning. I would definately NOT consider this without incorporating. The liability risk is fairly moderate. This will be stated in the business plan the MBA grads work on; guaranteed. No one would recommend operating this as a sole proprietorship. This alone will increase expenses (yes, write offs, but still expenses).

 

Lastly, if you do get a website how are you going to possibly control growth to the point were you could keep this small? That being said, if it were to grow why would you want to prevent that from happening? I see no reason why; aside from a lack of operating capital or other hidden issues not addresses by your business plan.

 

By stating this I am by NO means attempting to criticize what you are trying to do or your plan. I am trying to understand what you are trying to do. If my margins were going to be about $20,000 a year gross (first year) as you indicated; this may not be the best business to attempt. It is very difficult to control growth in a business like this. What happens when someone wants to 'advance' (not the proper word in this case, but to use someone else's terminology) their AF #15 in 9.0? Are you really going to turn them down? Imagine walking into a pawn shop and they state that they are 'not lending money today.' What would your opinion be of that business? If they state they only lend to certain people, I would consider that a 'private club' not a business. Again, I would still research the legality of this issue at hand.

 

These are just some questions I would encourage you to consider. I know you have the answers (I am as stated not questioning that). Just in your conversations with me you have come across as very friendly, knowledgeable, and intelligent. Can I ask how you got the $20,000 number indicated in your response above? It is possible I missed it in your initail post. If that is the case I do apologize. Again, if you need advice or even just a recommendation of where to look; I would be happy to help. You have a good idea in theory, the question is the legality and liability issues of this plan.

 

Please keep us posted. I hope it all works out for you; I really do.

 

Respectfully yours,

 

'mint'

[shadroch]

Growth would depend on capital. I've set aside a certain amount and when that dollar amount is reached, the 'shop" shuts down. I don't see it any different than when MCS puts a stop to their buying for a time period. How many times have you taken a book into a shop and been told they don't buy that book, or maybe they don't buy any books.

The general idea is to do the least work possible for the max return.

Not to work for he money, but to let the money work for you.

 

 

Anyway, thanks for all the insights and helpful suggestions.

I believe this thread has pretty much run its course.

[mintcollector]

Growth would depend on capital. I've set aside a certain amount and when that dollar amount is reached, the 'shop" shuts down. I don't see it any different than when MCS puts a stop to their buying for a time period. How many times have you taken a book into a shop and been told they don't buy that book, or maybe they don't buy any books.

The general idea is to do the least work possible for the max return.

Not to work for he money, but to let the money work for you.

 

 

Anyway, thanks for all the insights and helpful suggestions.

I believe this thread has pretty much run its course.

 

I would agree, but please keep me posted. One final thought though; your goal (as should be the goal of any business); is to maximize profit. MCS stops buying generally (and I could be wrong) due to an increase in supply; with no increased demand. By theory your comparison is not equal (at least in my analysis); as you would continue to make money on the outstanding loan amount or in the sale of the said comic. Now if everyone wants to 'pawn' (er...'advance') their copy of Hulk #181 in CGC 9.4+ you may have a problem-!

 

Kind Regards and I wish you well!

 

Respectfully,

 

'mint'

[shadroch]

When business gets too big, I'll franchise (thumbs u

[ComicConnoisseur]

Compound Interest is one of the most powerful forces known to man.

 

Thats why I always encourage people to invest when they are young. I don't have the figueres in front of me, but every dollar saved before age 30 is worth many times what a dollar saved after 40 is at retirement.

Thats the whole reason I'm going to do this. If I was getting a decent rate on CDs, it wouldn't be worth it.

+1

[thirdgreenham]

When business gets too big, I'll franchise (thumbs u

 

 

 

....sorry, I meant to keep that to myself.