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Hastings - Bankruptcy which means discounted comics

Started by Lucky Baru,

65 posts in this topic

Lucky Baru

Lucky Baru

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Went by our local Hastings today. Found out that the chain filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. If they can't find a buyer in the next 30 days they are going to consider closing their stores.

 

All comics are 50% off and trade paperbacks are 40% off. I picked up a bunch of blank variant covers, and some trades. Clearance back issues are .50.

 

Got $115.00+ at retail pricing for $62.00 and change.

 

If you live near one they might have some books at the prices I paid. Not that I hope they close but I'll be watching to see if their big dollar comic toys go on sale if things don't turn out right.

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Doohickamabob

Doohickamabob

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Went by our local Hastings today. Found out that the chain filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. If they can't find a buyer in the next 30 days they are going to consider closing their stores.

Sorry to hear that; I used to go to the Hastings stores in Albuquerque quite a bit. Often found great stuff there (all types of media, not just comics).

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spidey300

spidey300

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That's sad to hear. My best friends and I would travel to near Mount Pleasant, TX once or twice a year to go camping, and we loved hitting up Hastings in town. Always wished there was one in the DFW area.

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Anfield Fox

Anfield Fox

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Shame. I ordered some of their variants from them online. They did some cool stuff and increased comic sales to people who normally don't buy them otherwise.

 

Wish i could go in and pick up some discounted comics and books.

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Aweandlorder

Aweandlorder

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More details here

 

This is a pretty big blow to our industry

 

Could be good for the LCS? (shrug)

 

Not good news for Diamond that someone owes them 1.6 million bucks.. And Hastings were BIG on exclusive variants, a current trend which has one goal in mind - selling to collectors.

If they have failed, god only knows how many others are behind them...

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ygogolak

ygogolak

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More details here

 

This is a pretty big blow to our industry

 

Could be good for the LCS? (shrug)

 

Not good news for Diamond that someone owes them 1.6 million bucks.. And Hastings were BIG on exclusive variants, a current trend which has one goal in mind - selling to collectors.

If they have failed, god only knows how many others are behind them...

 

Haven't store exclusive variants been passe for over a year now? Sounds like Hastings thought they could buck the trend or just didn't pay attention to it. I don't feel bad for Diamond. How do you let someone get that far in the hole?

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Aweandlorder

Aweandlorder

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More details here

 

This is a pretty big blow to our industry

 

Could be good for the LCS? (shrug)

 

Not good news for Diamond that someone owes them 1.6 million bucks.. And Hastings were BIG on exclusive variants, a current trend which has one goal in mind - selling to collectors.

If they have failed, god only knows how many others are behind them...

 

Haven't store exclusive variants been passe for over a year now? Sounds like Hastings thought they could buck the trend or just didn't pay attention to it. I don't feel bad for Diamond. How do you let someone get that far in the hole?

 

One could make that observation about ALL variants based on the 90s crash. But we didnt learn then and we dont learn now.

Its not like Hastings were a store that tried something and failed.. They were at it for awhile and made progress. Until this happened.

Also, there are plenty of B&N stores that hit the ditch this year. Printed media is a dying format, we all know that. And abusing it with failed retail tactics will result in what Hastings experienced.

 

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Aweandlorder

Aweandlorder

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More details here

 

This is a pretty big blow to our industry

 

Could be is definitely good for the LCS? (shrug)

 

Fxt

 

Im not one to favor one over the other. But they both account to Diamond.

And I wouldnt be surprised if there are hundreds of LCS that owe similar proportionate moneys to them but we will never hear about them until they all run out of gas

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HighRadArt

HighRadArt

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I actually like Hastings and would hate to see them go under. Only because I like some of their other offerings and not because of their comics. Mainly, because the comics they have out usually have some form of wear (spine tics, bent pages) from people that care nothing about condition. So I go to my LCS for new releases. When Hastings initially started selling exclusives, they did well, but they've now flooded the market which is why you can find bends full of their exclusives at 50 cents each (plus, most of them are in ruff shape).

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dupont2005

dupont2005

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I think this is going to be a hit to Diamond and the bigger publishers big time. You may think the LCS will fill the gap, but there will be a transition period that could take a year, and in the meanwhile readers will be lost and never recovered.

 

Not saying Diamond won't come out of it okay. And as far as the bigger publishers are concerned, they can afford to lose a little market share. But those top sales figures could look a bit different for a time to come.

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JollyComics

JollyComics

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I thought about opening my comic book store in 2005 (thanks God, the market was crashed in 2007) and realized Diamond was too pricey and expensive. My father was against it (thanks my dad).

 

There are too many comic book stores that have too many unsold books are still sitting there while Diamond is making money (now the company is losing money).

 

For future comic book owners, they will have a hard time to make money.

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