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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2018 11:38:52 GMT -5
Hey MRP, do you know what disc. % diamond gives to shops on trades? Because I'm wondering if they would be better off ordering from a wholesale bookseller (like Ingram or Baker and Taylor) I know Ingram gives 40% on most trades (maybe not small press, but definitely Marvel, DC and Image), and they do allow returns (up to 10% of your total purchases, after that there's a 10% fee) I suspect B&T is similar. Diamond discounts depend on volume. The more you order form them,the better discount you get in some cases, the biggest accounts get the best discount. It starts around 40% for the big 5 I think, or it did, but I haven't been behind the counter or behind the curtain in a shop in a little over 2 years now, so things could have changed. One cost additive for multiple accounts to get books form is that you are now paying shipping on multiple orders as well and shipping charges eat into margins quite a bit, sometimes enough to make a slightly smaller discount irrelevant when ordering if you get all your books in one shipment to save on the shipping costs, especially if you have ot pay the shipping on the returns as well, you still end up losing money on the unsold stuff, since you have to ship it back not remainder it. -M |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jan 3, 2018 11:47:38 GMT -5
I've honestly always wondered how comic shops manage to sell trades at retail when you can buy them all day long online for far less money.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2018 11:51:32 GMT -5
Another Bleeding Cool visit and another shop...not closing but dropping comics because they don't want to deal with Diamond's bs anymore and lose money because of Diamond's business practices... store dropping comics because of DiamondEssentially one less place to buy comics in the world. We're three days into 2018 and down 4 comic outlets already (and that's only the ones noticed by BC). -M |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jan 3, 2018 22:25:01 GMT -5
Shipping shouldn't be an issue, at our small book store that spend maybe 40K annual with Ingram, we got free shipping as long as it was 10 items at a time. I would assume someone that runs a comic store would have thought of it and probably diamond is better, but I was just curious. It could be they need the trades to get the volume up to get a better % on the comics.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2018 22:48:01 GMT -5
First thing I see in my newsfeed when I get home form work another BC article about a comic shop closing, this time Villainous Lair in San Diego because sales were too far down for all of 2017. I need to dig out my abacus to keep track of all the shops closing so far this year, and I suspect it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better, especially if shops had a disappointing holiday season and tax time draws near.
-M
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2018 13:28:13 GMT -5
Ok this one was different, this Seattle-based comic shop decided to do something a little different in reaction to the down-turned market. Instead of following a path that wasn't working, they became a non-profit focused on providing schools & libraries with comics and graphic novels/trades for circulation. Many libraries have increased overall circulation by adding or beefing up their graphic novel/trade sections over the last few years, and it is one of the few accessible places people can find comics to discover them. DC took steps to dip their toe in this field by adding content to Hoopla, a digital content provider for libraries, and other publishers (IDW, Image, BOOM! Dark Horse, Archie, Valiant, First Second, etc.) had preceded them in offering their stuff to the service, but DC made a big (pardon the pun) hoopla about it when they joined, the first thing offered up were the first volumes of the Rebirth trades, complete with a staged release over time and a checklist of when releases would be available. They have also provided a lot of older content to the service now. Marvel was alte to the party, and just added a limited slate of product to Hoopla last month for the first time. Some offer trades, some individual issues to be borrowed (BOOM! and some other smaller publishers do single issues, DC, Marvel, Image and DH trades only). There's a limit to how much stuff you can check out on Hoopla (each patron gets 10 borrows a month-I am not sure if that is set by Hoopla or the local library as there may be a cost structure to the libraries based on number of borrows, I haven't seen behind that curtain to know), but it is a place where people can encounter comics and read them at no cost outside the comic shop. It's a babystep, but it is a step. -M |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jan 4, 2018 14:36:10 GMT -5
I've noticed the libraries are getting better at keeping track of comics as well.. Here in SE Massachusetts, out Library network was TERRIBLE at it just a couple years ago.. sometimes the author would be the writer, sometimes the artist, sometimes they just listed Stan Lee randomly. Often volume numbers would be left off, so it would just say 'Marvel Masterworks: Spider-man', or in a couple instances just 'Marvel Masterworks'.
They've now in many cases listed the title by series, with a sublisting of each volume, which is 100x better. They're still a little shaky with the credits, but you can now easily find what you want, and see what the system actually has available.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2018 19:20:59 GMT -5
This is interesting. DC Comics is opening a pop-up comic shop in Washington DC for MLK weekend as part of their DC in DC weekend Jan 12-14.  This is one way to bring comics to people outside the comic shop experience. I have also seen a few other people mention running comic book pop-up shops, though usually in the form of them complaining about getting inventory at affordable prices, but nothing officially sanctioned like this or on this scale. I wonder if pop-up shops might offer some kind of way to make books available outside the niche direct market shops again, but their transitory nature may work against them in the long term. But pop-up establishments seem to be a very strong current trend in the contemporary marketplace, so hopefully this can become something of a means to get comics to where people actually are. -M |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2018 19:24:32 GMT -5
Of course the article right after the pop up shop article on Bleeding Cool was about a shop in Utah that closed last month after 30 years in business, so another shop bites the dust, in a worrisome trend of shop closures late last year and early this year.
-M
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jan 4, 2018 20:21:07 GMT -5
Of course the article right after the pop up shop article on Bleeding Cool was about a shop in Utah that closed last month after 30 years in business, so another shop bites the dust, in a worrisome trend of shop closures late last year and early this year. -M Awww man it was Night Flight. I had a pull there when I lived in Salt Lake City from 1991-1996. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2018 23:47:50 GMT -5
Brian Hibbs 2017 year in reviewHibbs is a veteran retailer and his column Tilting at Windmills is a must read if you want any insight into the selling of comics. He provides a year end review (mostly grim news) about sales in 2017 at his 2 shops in SF. It's long, with lots of lists of top sellers, but a lot of what he said can be summed up with this... Something that he wrote also gave me pause and I think I need to rethink certain things about format at least form a retailer's perspective... and something of note for those that think cover price is a major issue in sales, his comments on the issue of Saga that had the jump on price of 25 cents vs. the issues that sell at $3.99 the normal price... Lots of food for thought a usual in Hibbs pieces. -M
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Post by impulse on Jan 5, 2018 11:38:56 GMT -5
Very interesting, and I like these creative and alternative means to get comics into peoples' hands. Even setting aside the unique peculiarities of the comics industry itself, it doesn't help that retail in general is on a major downswing, anyway. One thing I've thought would be helpful and that I'd like to see, especially amidst climbing retails prices and lease rent costs (or so I assume), say you live in a city with a nice downtown area. The ambience of that is a big selling point on your community As such, it's not a good look when a few of the very limited number of retail spaces is closed due to non-payment. It hurts the overall vibe and appeal of the area.
I'd like to see in these municipalities where the ambience and aesthetics are vital to the town, why not subsidize the rental costs to make it more affordable for specialty or niche shops to say open? Especially considering it's the high-demand part of town, rent is likely astronomical. Keep people down there spending on food and drinks and novelties, add to your local culture, keep it a hip desirable place. Maybe buy out the spaces from the current commercial owners and slowly pay it off. Just a thought.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jan 5, 2018 14:42:10 GMT -5
Very interesting, and I like these creative and alternative means to get comics into peoples' hands. Even setting aside the unique peculiarities of the comics industry itself, it doesn't help that retail in general is on a major downswing, anyway. One thing I've thought would be helpful and that I'd like to see, especially amidst climbing retails prices and lease rent costs (or so I assume), say you live in a city with a nice downtown area. The ambience of that is a big selling point on your community As such, it's not a good look when a few of the very limited number of retail spaces is closed due to non-payment. It hurts the overall vibe and appeal of the area. I'd like to see in these municipalities where the ambience and aesthetics are vital to the town, why not subsidize the rental costs to make it more affordable for specialty or niche shops to say open? Especially considering it's the high-demand part of town, rent is likely astronomical. Keep people down there spending on food and drinks and novelties, add to your local culture, keep it a hip desirable place. Maybe buy out the spaces from the current commercial owners and slowly pay it off. Just a thought. I like a good comic shop, but I couldn't see any town council going for this kind of argument because it falls apart pretty quick from a basic business stand point; if these niche kind of stores could draw people to the area and then keep them there to the point where they would then spend money on food and other outlets wouldn't they then be making enough money to pay the rent and not need any assistance? And if they are having issues being profitable then that's a possible sign that they aren't drawing in crowds so it wouldn't fit the incentive to subsidize. |
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Post by impulse on Jan 5, 2018 18:10:19 GMT -5
Very interesting, and I like these creative and alternative means to get comics into peoples' hands. Even setting aside the unique peculiarities of the comics industry itself, it doesn't help that retail in general is on a major downswing, anyway. One thing I've thought would be helpful and that I'd like to see, especially amidst climbing retails prices and lease rent costs (or so I assume), say you live in a city with a nice downtown area. The ambience of that is a big selling point on your community As such, it's not a good look when a few of the very limited number of retail spaces is closed due to non-payment. It hurts the overall vibe and appeal of the area. I'd like to see in these municipalities where the ambience and aesthetics are vital to the town, why not subsidize the rental costs to make it more affordable for specialty or niche shops to say open? Especially considering it's the high-demand part of town, rent is likely astronomical. Keep people down there spending on food and drinks and novelties, add to your local culture, keep it a hip desirable place. Maybe buy out the spaces from the current commercial owners and slowly pay it off. Just a thought. I like a good comic shop, but I couldn't see any town council going for this kind of argument because it falls apart pretty quick from a basic business stand point; if these niche kind of stores could draw people to the area and then keep them there to the point where they would then spend money on food and other outlets wouldn't they then be making enough money to pay the rent and not need any assistance? And if they are having issues being profitable then that's a possible sign that they aren't drawing in crowds so it wouldn't fit the incentive to subsidize. I disagree. Especially in cutesie little downtown areas with the village looking shops etc. I live in one such area (and have lived in others previously) , and the rent has got to be ASTRONOMICAL nearby. It's also not so much that a shop itself inherently adds enough revenue to justify it, but the inherent non-monetary value of the shops making it a cutesie desirable hip old town square type downtown makes the area a desirable one which may draw traffic to the restaurants, bars, nightlife, etc. I certainly do not think this is a good model for every area, and I don't even have the numbers to know if it makes sense, but I don't think it's all that far-fetched. I seem to recall reading that one part of the current retail apocalypse is local areas used to subsidize the land costs for malls and shopping plazas but that has stopped and without that just paying your rental/lease is unrealistic. I think it basically comes down, at least partially, to towns deciding what to prioritize. Is taking less in for rent/lease in favor of not having boarded up closed storefronts in your hip area valuable enough to offset whatever costs? Maybe it makes more sense to replace a store that couldn't cut it with another bar that is more likely to make money I guess, but I have to think some areas would place more emphasis on the atmosphere they want to create for their town's image. Without seeing the actual numbers it would be hard to say of course. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jan 5, 2018 19:18:17 GMT -5
I like a good comic shop, but I couldn't see any town council going for this kind of argument because it falls apart pretty quick from a basic business stand point; if these niche kind of stores could draw people to the area and then keep them there to the point where they would then spend money on food and other outlets wouldn't they then be making enough money to pay the rent and not need any assistance? And if they are having issues being profitable then that's a possible sign that they aren't drawing in crowds so it wouldn't fit the incentive to subsidize. I disagree. Especially in cutesie little downtown areas with the village looking shops etc. I live in one such area (and have lived in others previously) , and the rent has got to be ASTRONOMICAL nearby. It's also not so much that a shop itself inherently adds enough revenue to justify it, but the inherent non-monetary value of the shops making it a cutesie desirable hip old town square type downtown makes the area a desirable one which may draw traffic to the restaurants, bars, nightlife, etc. I certainly do not think this is a good model for every area, and I don't even have the numbers to know if it makes sense, but I don't think it's all that far-fetched. I seem to recall reading that one part of the current retail apocalypse is local areas used to subsidize the land costs for malls and shopping plazas but that has stopped and without that just paying your rental/lease is unrealistic. I think it basically comes down, at least partially, to towns deciding what to prioritize. Is taking less in for rent/lease in favor of not having boarded up closed storefronts in your hip area valuable enough to offset whatever costs? Maybe it makes more sense to replace a store that couldn't cut it with another bar that is more likely to make money I guess, but I have to think some areas would place more emphasis on the atmosphere they want to create for their town's image. Without seeing the actual numbers it would be hard to say of course. You can have shops that add atmosphere and make money, and that's what a healthy down town business association wants which sort of precludes the incentive to subsidize certain businesses. |
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