Posted in: Comics | Tagged: comic store in your future

Comic Store in Your Future: Some Things Are Just Out of Your Control

Rod Lamberti of Rodman Comics writes weekly for Bleeding Cool. Find previous columns here.

July so far has been a great month here for Rodman Comics. Being open on July 4th was a good move. I had no idea we would be so busy that day. Had wondered if we would see a major drop off for the rest of the week thanks to so many people being in Wednesday. Meaning, did our customers that usually make it in later in the week all come in Wednesday due to having the day off? The following Thursday was passable. The following Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were great sales days thanks in large part to Magic sales and comic buyers from out of town. One of the best sales weeks we have ever had.

Things go well in store. Biggest headache of the month is UPS delivering our comics. Very long weird puzzling story. Being told multiple different stories by people at UPS.

Still puzzled that Marvel has not turned things around yet and that even with Axel Alonso out and C.B. Cebulski replacing him, after reading the latest Previews about upcoming product and reading online what titles Marvel has planned in the future, I am left wondering what has changed.

Read about DC Comics upcoming crossover Heroes In Crisis. I hope it does well, but dealing with superheroes having PTSD is mixing a serious subject with fantasy. PTSD is something that is very real and what many people deal with. If anyone went through what a typical character or group of characters with their own comic title goes through, none of them would be able to go on. What a typical comic book character deals with is a loved one is kidnapped, secret ID issues, alternate universes, people that not only wish they were dead, but also trying to kill them, space travel with no training, time travel, watching whole worlds be destroyed, and so on. Usually this is all back-to-back nonstop. Readers take it in as "normal" even though often times everything I just listed in the previous sentence happens to the character or characters within a short span of time. Comic readers accept that the characters can accept this as they accept that they have super powers. Sanctuary is a murder mystery. Death has been done so much in comics I think a lot of people would like to read about something else. That said, I will read the first issue and hope it impresses me and everyone who buys it. Comics have tackled real life issues before; here's hoping it all works out.

With things going well in store and nothing, much currently to write about coming out in the future I figured another new column about opening up a comic store was in order. After over seven years in the business, I would like to think I have learned some things. Some advice for people curious about opening up their own store. As I have said before, the more outlets out there for comics the better. When opening a store many factors come into play. Location is a big factor. A location on a street with a high volume of traffic is good for exposure for the business. Population base. Here in Ankeny, Iowa, it will be far less than say Houston, Texas. If a store is located near a major university that should be a big help in bringing in a bigger customer base.

How big is this amazing new comic store going to be? Mine is small; I had wanted a bigger store, but with a bigger store comes more costs. By keeping the fixed costs down I was able to use money in other ways to survive until profitability happened.

When I travel, I do stop in and visit other comic stores. There are a lot of great comic stores out there. Often times if the owner is in we will talk and have a good conversation about comics. That said, there are some stores I stop in and wonder why they do things that they do. I do not have all the information, such as their finances. Meaning a store could be hurting for money and unable to make improvements. Though for those that are interested in owning your own comic store here are some things to consider.

A store's lighting. We all have habits due to what we grew up in. I grew up reading with well-lit rooms to read in. I know that sounds odd, but I have met people that will read in a dim-lit room and not even bother to turn on the lights. It is their eyes and they can do what they want, but a comic store should be well lit. It is easier on the eyes and makes the place more welcoming. Changing the commercial lights here is not a favorite task of mine, but it is something that I know is important to do. A well-lit comic store is an inviting store.

What did you enjoy at other stores? Meaning I shopped for over a decade at Dragonfire Comics. Before he sold his half of the store, Jeff became a friend of mine. He was a good listener. Most everyone likes to talk, fewer like to actually listen to others. I try to talk to people that come in and listen. Not everyone wants to be social which is fine, I try to find what people want and go with it.

Dragonfire Comics had free bags and boards with every purchase. Human nature is wanting to get a deal. Something free with every purchase sounds like a deal. It does give value to a person's purchase from us. I have had people tell me that my store reminds them of Dragonfire Comics and that is why they shop with us.

I try to remember why I shopped at Dragonfire Comics. There were other comic stores in town, and I did deal with two before Dragonfire. One store was mostly games though they did have a good stock of comics. A rude employee there that if you just told someone was a comic collector about that rude employee at the store they knew who you were talking about. No one seemed to know his name, but everyone who had been there seemed to have a story about dealing with the rude employee.

There was a shop I enjoyed shopping at after that one, but the internet was gaining popularity and people were starting to buy more and more online. The free gaming at his store was turning into play here free and buy online. It was getting to him, and I could tell. That was not the only reason I left. There was gaming on Wednesdays. Magic the Gathering was becoming more and more popular. To the point that it was so popular to play that, people were playing on the floor right next to the comics. It became a pain to buy comics because I was stepping over people to get to them and trying not to step on them. A friend of mine at the time told me about Dragonfire Comics and we went there. Jeff was fresh, new, and wanting business, and I was happy with taking my business to a place where I did not need to worry about stepping on someone when buying comics.

After Jeff left, collecting became a challenge. After buying almost all of the DC action figures at the time (known as DC Direct then) I was surprised they were not being ordered anymore. The new person working at the counter would not even bother ordering in the JSA set that was new at the time that had just come out, even though I had bought a set of almost all the previous figures. I went to another store to get them and would have to keep going elsewhere if I wanted to keep collecting action figures.

Dragonfire also stopped ordering Heroclixs, another item I was collecting. Therefore, when a new HeroClix set came out I had to go to another store to buy them. I wouldn't know this until I opened up my store, but back then a store could just order a few boosters and not even a brick (10 boosters) or case (20 boosters) as is required now. After years of shopping at Dragonfire, my habit of shopping there was changing. It became easier to just shop at another store that carried comics, action figures, and Heroclix. This is part of the reason I try to order variants that my customers want. Once I start saying I cannot or will not order what they want, they very well could do just like I did and shop elsewhere.

The other place I started shopping at had everything I was collecting, but to me it felt soulless — less fun than when Jeff owned Dragonfire. After shopping there for a while, they still had no idea what my name was, and I did not get the feeling they cared much about comics. I felt like I might as well just be getting my comics online. Though years ago I tried a mail order service, and it often failed to send me everything I had ordered. When I did have to deal with people from their business, they were rude about their mistakes. The bad experience got me to keep getting my comics at local comic stores. I would walk in on new comic Wednesday get what I wanted and that would be that — no waiting on the mail and then finding out I was shorted on what I wanted to read and having to go to a local comic store anyway.

I was foolish enough to have gaming events on Wednesday when I first opened the store because Wizards of the Coast would only allow their D&D events on Wednesdays. They wanted it to be like Friday Night Magic was for their Magic the Gathering card game. Having any type of gaming on Wednesday is a mistake for us. It is new comic Wednesday, and that is what we should be focused on.

When I first opened, I did not sell anything on the internet. My focus was in store; have everything available for people that came in was my thought process. For us that was a mistake. I learned if something was going for a good price online, such as a one per store exclusive comic for $50 or more then getting it online and sold is far better instead of the item sitting here and as time goes on most likely dropping in value.

Be ready to adjust and change. If I had not changed from the nicer, more naïve person I was when we first opened to the more experienced businessman that is not afraid to say no to a person that I am today, then the store wouldn't be open still.

If serious about opening a store. Have a plan and have money. People already in the business have called what I have wrote about in the past about opening and running a business as "common sense". It may be "common sense" to us, but to new people and people that are not in the business it is not. To be truthful I should have waited another year and saved up more money. When I first opened the economy was recovering from the recession. It was a very slow recovery for the average person. Wages were not growing as much as in previous recoveries. Though knowing the future is not a super power I have. Working through my lunch writing these is the closest to a super power I have.

What often kills a comic business is lack of money, meaning odds are one is not just going to open their doors and have a mob running in throwing money at them. Most new businesses close within two years. A new business is like running a marathon, not a sprint. I made the mistake of trying to force growth by spending more money on things like advertising. For us, advertising through the same outlet for a long period was a costly mistake. What I noticed was, be it radio, TV, or the newspaper, advertising for a short period was the best. Whatever medium we advertised in we would see new people at the start of the advertisement but hardly anyone new if the advertisement lasted for months. What I came up with is that everyone who listened to their favorite radio show, while we advertised on the radio during their show, either heard about us and was interested showed up at the store. It did not matter if they heard it for months straight — they would not change their mind. It would be like an advertisement for baseball cards. If I was into baseball cards and heard or saw an advertisement for a baseball card store, I would be interested. If I am not into baseball cards then hearing or seeing an advertisement for baseball cards for months straight is not going to change my mind about wanting to check out a baseball store.

Online advertising is cost effective and can last for just days.

If I have a bad sales day at the store often, I will remind myself what a truly bad sales day was by looking at sales from when I first opened. Seven years means Rodman Comics is established. The store has stood the test of time, and in many peoples' minds, since we have been here for years, we will be here for years to come.

I tell all my employees to greet everyone who comes in and let them know if they need help to let them know. I have been to many stores where I walk in and the person or people running the store do not say a word to me. Some even disappear and just leave me there alone. They go to their backroom as if I was not even there. Greeting people does not take long and increases purchase rates.

Have a clean store. I took this for granted at first. We have people that come in commenting how clean the store is compared to others. We did just put in new carpet last year. I do not allow outside food or drink. We sell snacks and soda with lids on it to minimize spills. Some people do gripe that other stores let them bring in outside food and drink. That is other stores. If another store has everything for a penny, we are not following that either. Standards help separate stores. In addition, if someone ignores the no outside food or drink sign, odds are they are not a customer we would want.

If you open a comic store up what makes it different from other stores in the area?

How does one know if they are improving their store after they have opened? Odds are after a store opens there will be experiments to find out what makes the store more money and what does not. When I first opened, free gaming was allowed. Over 40 people could be at the store during these free gaming nights. Half of the people might by a soda or water and that was it. Getting people into the store to just hang out was not working. Free to many people meant just that go here free. By holding gaming events that cost money, peoples' mindset was going here to play and spend money.

Do not worry about bad online comments or bad reviews. Often it is just one side of the story or at times fake. I went online and left a positive review for a store I have never been in. It is that easy. Moreover, once a business deals with a large amount of people there will be unhappy people. Some whose feelings of entitlement were not meant, and some that may have a legit complaint but do not know why the employee acted the way they did when the person visited. The employee or even the owner might have just found out something bad happened to a loved one. The employee or owner might have a migraine coming on. One just does not know. It is like a movie review. Not everyone is going to love the same movie or business. The best way to find out if you like it? Check it out yourself.

When I write these up, I avoid the comments section. Or try to, I should say. I think people have figured out that is what I usually do, since I usually do not post on the comments of articles I have written. Now, I get emails and people telling me about the comments. People that are negative are not going to change their minds online. I have never seen a Twitter argument where one person ends it by saying, "you know what? You are right." Online, when people are arguing, one person could be lying or a 10-year-old kid pretending to be an adult. It just is not worth it.

People will tell me that on different online forums someone wrote something that they know is not true. That is the way it goes. If I try to counterpoint everything online, I will be wasting a lot of time. One of the many things I have learned is even when people are talking smack about Rodman Comics they are often helping the store. Gamers that are upset over not having free games here will go elsewhere to game for free, talking about how unfair we are for not having free gaming and basically give us free advertisement for the store at another store. There are people out there that would rather pay to play and not deal with freeloaders. Or even the ones that play free stop in and buy a Magic card or game from us that was not available at the store they were hanging out at for free.

My advice, as a store owner, is to not get caught up arguing online about things. It is a waste of time and wouldn't one feel like a fool if it turned out that the other person was just 10 years old? Online, anyone can be anyone.

Online likes do not mean anything. Vendors, utility companies, the property owner, they sure the heck are not checking out how well-liked a business is. They are making sure they receive payment from a business on time. They just want their money.

Dealing with large groups of people means, not everyone is going to be happy. The more people you deal with the more people that will complain. If a business has a perfect rating, often that means it does not deal with that many people. Many stores that have went out of business had a perfect rating.

People are what they are. A store owner will be dealing with an infinite amount of different types of people. Some will look down on a comic store owner for owning a store. Some will think a comic store owner makes no money. Some will think a store owner has a lot of money because they own a store. Some will just dislike a store owner because the store owner's eyes are blue. Some will like a store because they are glad a store is in their area. Some will even like the store because the store owner's eyes are blue. Concentrate on the ones that are helpful to the store.

Another thing I have learned is change will happen, whether I want it to or not. Employees will move on. Demand for products will change. Customers will come and go through no fault of our own. Two customers that have been with us since our first year are leaving us this month. One is moving out of state for a job, another is moving to be with family. One of the two was my favorite Magic player. The first Magic player to explain to other Magic players the simple fact that Rod needs to make money in order to let us play here. Another, who had just signed up for a pull box this year, is also moving out of state.

A comic store always has to be in search of new customers to replace the ones that leave.

How much work is owning a comic store? As much work as one wants to put into it. Some people put in a crazy amount of time into their store. Some people just opened their store as a buy a job to get out of work. I have people who at times want me to close the store and go do something fun with them, they think I should be able to just come and go as I please. That is not me. To me, a store needs to be open as much as possible during its stated hours. It could be slow for most of the day and then someone comes in and spends $500 or even $1000 — which has happened. The over $1000 worth of goods purchased by one person I thought was too good to be true. I was worried the credit card was stolen or something. But it was all good.

Even if it is slow, things may pick up later in the day. Again, I wish I could predict the future, but I am unable to. There are times when we are closed due to unforeseen events such as someone on the way here gets sick, it takes time to get someone else in. I was sick one day but was not worried about it because I was not scheduled to work here. Then I got a call that the person who was supposed to work was sick. I ended up going in.

I put in a lot of hours for the store. People often assume when I am not here I am not doing anything store related. Often times that is not true. This week I have been getting ready for our Rod Deals sale. My latest idea was starting with Monday to get "teasers" on Facebook of what we will have on Saturday for auction with each day having new items appearing on Facebook showing what is coming up. A way to build excitement for Saturday. The feedback so far is it is working. However, often what people say and actually do are two different things. Saturday's sales total will show if it was worth the extra work.

Best way to see if something is working is the sales and profit amounts. It sales improved then it was a good idea. If they went down maybe, tweak the idea or work on it some more to improve it. Alternatively, just not do it again. One of my saying after opening up is "We can try it, if it works we can do it again, if not then we don't."

Wouldn't want to get PTSD after all.

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