shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,871
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Post by shaxper on May 12, 2016 8:19:59 GMT -5
Similar story (kinda): There's a local shop that has a ton of old promo material (freebies that shops displayed in the 90's) that they're usually willing to sell, but at ridiculous prices. Apparently they have a warehouse full of stuff, so new items float in on a semi regular basis. Last year I noticed a mobile for the '93 Green Lantern/Darkstars/LEGION crossover, Trinity. It was on top of a pile of stuff fresh from the warehouse. Cool item from one of my favorite eras, so I inquired. After a bunch of "um, uh..." the owner said he's take $100 for it, and that he's seen the same item go for $200 on eBay. I offered $50 and he declined, stating that it would sell in a hearbeat for $100 once he displayed it. Fast forward nearly 6 months, and I see the damn thing has been shuffled to a different pile on the other side of the store, and it's now banged up beyond any sellable price. I visit the store regularly and never once saw it on display. I realize it's the guys prerogative to ask whatever price he wants for something, but since then I've had another instance where he passed on what I thought was a reasonable offer - this time for a Zero Hour promo poster that's now being used as a coaster by his staff. How long has this guy managed to stay in business? |
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Post by The Captain on May 12, 2016 8:35:19 GMT -5
Similar story (kinda): There's a local shop that has a ton of old promo material (freebies that shops displayed in the 90's) that they're usually willing to sell, but at ridiculous prices. Apparently they have a warehouse full of stuff, so new items float in on a semi regular basis. Last year I noticed a mobile for the '93 Green Lantern/Darkstars/LEGION crossover, Trinity. It was on top of a pile of stuff fresh from the warehouse. Cool item from one of my favorite eras, so I inquired. After a bunch of "um, uh..." the owner said he's take $100 for it, and that he's seen the same item go for $200 on eBay. I offered $50 and he declined, stating that it would sell in a hearbeat for $100 once he displayed it. Fast forward nearly 6 months, and I see the damn thing has been shuffled to a different pile on the other side of the store, and it's now banged up beyond any sellable price. I visit the store regularly and never once saw it on display. I realize it's the guys prerogative to ask whatever price he wants for something, but since then I've had another instance where he passed on what I thought was a reasonable offer - this time for a Zero Hour promo poster that's now being used as a coaster by his staff. How long has this guy managed to stay in business? The problem is, guys like this can stay in business as long as they want to, particularly if they are the only game in town. With the end of the newsstand distribution model, dealers in areas with no or few other options can operate however they want because their customer base can't easily go somewhere else. It makes no sense to me, as I would think making money would be their prime motivation, but I've met too many of them that are more interested in "winning" a negotiation than working with the other party to figure out a "win-win" solution. They'd rather refuse my $75 offer for a book even if it means they don't move the product just because someone on eBay from Walla Walla, Washington got $100 for the same book a month ago. |
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2016 10:42:04 GMT -5
My biggest complaint about Comic Shops is the fact that they don't have ample parking spaces for your cars and I have to park my car a half mile away every time I go there and that's the fact.
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Post by tingramretro on May 12, 2016 11:40:20 GMT -5
My biggest complaint about Comic Shops is the fact that they don't have ample parking spaces for your cars and I have to park my car a half mile away every time I go there and that's the fact. I have lived in various parts of the UK, and in the last thirty-odd years have regularly patronized maybe half a dozen different comic shops in different counties. Without exception, they have all been in town centres. Without exception, as a result, they have had no parkig spaces available to them. That is simply a reality of owning a business in a busy town centre. What are they supposed to do? They don't usually own the building they're in, so they almost certainly don't own the land outside it! Is it really a hardship to walk half a mile? |
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2016 12:09:45 GMT -5
My biggest complaint about Comic Shops is the fact that they don't have ample parking spaces for your cars and I have to park my car a half mile away every time I go there and that's the fact. I have lived in various parts of the UK, and in the last thirty-odd years have regularly patronized maybe half a dozen different comic shops in different counties. Without exception, they have all been in town centres. Without exception, as a result, they have had no parkig spaces available to them. That is simply a reality of owning a business in a busy town centre. What are they supposed to do? They don't usually own the building they're in, so they almost certainly don't own the land outside it! Is it really a hardship to walk half a mile? That's half mile walk is translated to a 45 minute walk going through several crosswalk intersections that makes you wait for your turn to walk and that's can be a time-consuming process. I read your note earlier (offline) and I had to re-trace my steps getting there and I have to go through 8 crosswalks and a bridge getting there. The bridge is a narrow and heavily congested one because it's go through a section that have high employment areas and that's can be a pain to navigate in and out. I only go there once a month usually around 1 PM in the afternoon because it's takes nearly a hour getting their by car. So, I have to take the whole afternoon just to shop at the store that I like because it's clean, safe, and has the best collection of comics everywhere. It's a private store and because it is becoming a hassle to go there and they will be getting into the mail order business this June so I can have them mail the printed comics to my home at my own disposal. I'm making my last stop there next (Wednesday) week and that's will be the last time I go there. |
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Post by tingramretro on May 12, 2016 13:23:23 GMT -5
I can't actually imagine it ever taking 45 minutes to walk half a mile.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 12, 2016 13:34:32 GMT -5
My biggest complaint about Comic Shops is the fact that they don't have ample parking spaces for your cars and I have to park my car a half mile away every time I go there and that's the fact. I have lived in various parts of the UK, and in the last thirty-odd years have regularly patronized maybe half a dozen different comic shops in different counties. Without exception, they have all been in town centres. Without exception, as a result, they have had no parkig spaces available to them. That is simply a reality of owning a business in a busy town centre. What are they supposed to do? They don't usually own the building they're in, so they almost certainly don't own the land outside it! Is it really a hardship to walk half a mile? I'm a bit perplexed as well as to how it's comic book shop's fault there's a lack of parking. I have seen shops in strip malls. And those usually have adequate parking. But I've also seen a number of shops in downtown areas where parking is always a hassle. I would guess that 99+% of comic shops rent their retail space. So it's not as if they can just invent parking. It exists or it doesn't. |
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Post by tingramretro on May 12, 2016 15:01:37 GMT -5
I have lived in various parts of the UK, and in the last thirty-odd years have regularly patronized maybe half a dozen different comic shops in different counties. Without exception, they have all been in town centres. Without exception, as a result, they have had no parkig spaces available to them. That is simply a reality of owning a business in a busy town centre. What are they supposed to do? They don't usually own the building they're in, so they almost certainly don't own the land outside it! Is it really a hardship to walk half a mile? I'm a bit perplexed as well as to how it's comic book shop's fault there's a lack of parking. I have seen shops in strip malls. And those usually have adequate parking. But I've also seen a number of shops in downtown areas where parking is always a hassle. I would guess that 99+% of comic shops rent their retail space. So it's not as if they can just invent parking. It exists or it doesn't. Exactly. How is this the shop's fault? |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 12, 2016 15:03:14 GMT -5
I'm a bit perplexed as well as to how it's comic book shop's fault there's a lack of parking. I have seen shops in strip malls. And those usually have adequate parking. But I've also seen a number of shops in downtown areas where parking is always a hassle. I would guess that 99+% of comic shops rent their retail space. So it's not as if they can just invent parking. It exists or it doesn't. Exactly. How is this the shop's fault? It's not. It's simply the fact of that location. I guess in theory they could move somewhere else. But that doesn't take into account rent, demographics of the area vs. demographics elsewhere, cost of moving, etc., etc. |
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Post by DE Sinclair on May 12, 2016 16:47:04 GMT -5
Exactly. How is this the shop's fault? It's not. It's simply the fact of that location. I guess in theory they could move somewhere else. But that doesn't take into account rent, demographics of the area vs. demographics elsewhere, cost of moving, etc., etc. Though it's not necessarily the fault of the shop, it can be a factor in the shop's survival. In a country/world where convenience is prized, having to walk through the maze that Mecha described can be a real turn off. They can't control it, but it's a factor they need to consider when choosing their location because if it's too hard to get to, some will look for alternatives. |
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Post by wildfire2099 on May 12, 2016 16:50:53 GMT -5
I'm not sure how I missed this thread before! For perspective, I haven't had a regular shop for about 10 years, but I have been in probably 50 different ones thanks to my travelling at work... so I think I have a bit of a unique perspective.
First, the main thing, and the reason I don't have a 'regular' store:
the store much SHOW they appreciate your business with some sort of incentive to buy. None of the stores in my area give any sort of discount for having a pull list... on (the chain one that has 5 or 6 locations) does a punch card kinda thing, but that doesn't cut it when I cant get 40-50% from DCBS. I work in a book store, so I know well the thinness of margins, but you get nothin' if the customers don't come in.
Things I love at a shop:
-- organized back issues with clearly marked prices
-- unique merchandise, such as stuff from local talent, rare indy books foreign titles, etc
-- friendly, knowledgable staff that can chat with you about what you're looking at without a hard sell
-- Dollar bins!
-- runs packaged together for a discount
-- grab bags
Things I hate in a shop:
-- getting the evil eye when you walk in and you're not a 'regular'.. or worse, being completely ignored
-- poor lighting, dirt, or general disregard for the physical space
-- Long shelves of Marvel and DC trades for full price
-- over focus on emphemera (t-shirts, toys, etc) of hot properties
-- Staff who are playing a card game in the back instead of being staff
-- Lack of organization.. 6-8 months of a tile randomly strewn of the 'new shelf'
-- Focus on massively overpriced variants
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Post by wildfire2099 on May 12, 2016 16:55:35 GMT -5
Digital is killing all print media. Comics , because of its collectable nature , might be the last to go. I don't see any evidence of this at all. What the internet age has done is made it so nothing is rare... there's very, very few items (even collectible comics) that can't be had if you're willing to pay for them. That being the case, it's all a matter of finding your 'deal'. The sense most people have it that those deals are to be found on the internet more than in actual shops (not just for comics), so even if they see something they want, or discover something on the shelf, they're much more likely to snap a picture of it or look it up on the spot to 'get the best deal' instead of just buying it. I find the vast majority of book buyers who buy digital weren't buying anything before, or use digital as a try out to buy an actual book. Maybe that's less true in more rural areas where the mail is less reliable and there is less retail, but it certainly is here. |
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Post by Pharozonk on May 12, 2016 17:12:50 GMT -5
I have lived in various parts of the UK, and in the last thirty-odd years have regularly patronized maybe half a dozen different comic shops in different counties. Without exception, they have all been in town centres. Without exception, as a result, they have had no parkig spaces available to them. That is simply a reality of owning a business in a busy town centre. What are they supposed to do? They don't usually own the building they're in, so they almost certainly don't own the land outside it! Is it really a hardship to walk half a mile? I'm a bit perplexed as well as to how it's comic book shop's fault there's a lack of parking. I have seen shops in strip malls. And those usually have adequate parking. But I've also seen a number of shops in downtown areas where parking is always a hassle. I would guess that 99+% of comic shops rent their retail space. So it's not as if they can just invent parking. It exists or it doesn't. At this point, I assumed having a shitty parking lot was a requirement to be in business as a REAL comic shop.  |
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Post by SJNeal on May 12, 2016 19:07:39 GMT -5
Similar story (kinda): There's a local shop that has a ton of old promo material (freebies that shops displayed in the 90's) that they're usually willing to sell, but at ridiculous prices. Apparently they have a warehouse full of stuff, so new items float in on a semi regular basis. Last year I noticed a mobile for the '93 Green Lantern/Darkstars/LEGION crossover, Trinity. It was on top of a pile of stuff fresh from the warehouse. Cool item from one of my favorite eras, so I inquired. After a bunch of "um, uh..." the owner said he's take $100 for it, and that he's seen the same item go for $200 on eBay. I offered $50 and he declined, stating that it would sell in a hearbeat for $100 once he displayed it. Fast forward nearly 6 months, and I see the damn thing has been shuffled to a different pile on the other side of the store, and it's now banged up beyond any sellable price. I visit the store regularly and never once saw it on display. I realize it's the guys prerogative to ask whatever price he wants for something, but since then I've had another instance where he passed on what I thought was a reasonable offer - this time for a Zero Hour promo poster that's now being used as a coaster by his staff. How long has this guy managed to stay in business? At least as long as I've lived here, so 16+ years...? |
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Post by SJNeal on May 12, 2016 19:17:23 GMT -5
How long has this guy managed to stay in business? The problem is, guys like this can stay in business as long as they want to, particularly if they are the only game in town. With the end of the newsstand distribution model, dealers in areas with no or few other options can operate however they want because their customer base can't easily go somewhere else. It makes no sense to me, as I would think making money would be their prime motivation, but I've met too many of them that are more interested in "winning" a negotiation than working with the other party to figure out a "win-win" solution. They'd rather refuse my $75 offer for a book even if it means they don't move the product just because someone on eBay from Walla Walla, Washington got $100 for the same book a month ago. In addition to lots of oddities and OOP/hard to find merchandise (comics, movies, TV), this shop has a huuuge selection of back issues and $1 bins stretching as far as the eye can see. However a lot of the merch doesn't move, and has been there for literally years. I've always guessed they make just enough to stay open, which is a lot less than they could potentially make it they drop prices. Not too long ago I spoke with a former employee who now runs his own shop, and according to him the owner of the former place is just a hoarder. He doesn't necessarily want to sell/part with what's basically his personal collection on display.  |
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