The Bendis Board suspects a disturbing trend:
“It seems like the past couple of weeks I have seen a number of posts detailing that people['s local comic stores] are closing down. Anyone else kinda suprised by this due to the supposedly money machines like 52 and Civil War.”
“Well it’s getting harder to sell comics, especially in smaller markets. The margins on comics aren’t amazing. Back issues have great margins but the trade market is slaying that dragon. Also the side things have hit a slump, there’s a flux of games (both ccg and RPG) that flooded the market and the bubble collapsed. Action figure hunting has become a thing of the past with the creation of ebay. Can’t sell Anime because the margins are stupid low and you can just d/l it off stream it off your computer now days.”
“I would like to see the sales numbers on some tp’s/hc’s from Marvel & DC compared to comics, I along with a lot of other people i know now stick mainly to trades. I bet the big two make a killing on collections now. Look at the marvel zombies hc, thats onto it’s 4th edition, and thats gotta be a $20/$25 book. With regards to shops shutting, I havent noticed any, but the UK market is a LOT smaller than the US market, also, there is no company like dcbs to undercut stores over here.”
“Comics is a difficult business. But that’s the key, it is a business. I work really hard to plan ahead, get creative about presentations, etc. Just ordering the comics isn’t it. I have to get people ready for their arrival and think about what I’m going to do with them once they get there. Its difficult, but not impossible.”
“It’s cause that issue of Civil War was delayed.”
April 4th, 2007 at 9:36 am
I blame Heinberg on Wonder Woman.
April 4th, 2007 at 10:35 am
If this turns into another argument over piracy then I’m out.
April 4th, 2007 at 11:32 am
I visited Victoria, BC, recently and there are three comic book stores on the same block downtown. It just boggled my mind. I asked one of the owners and he said the stores cater to different markets. One specializes in back issues and indy books, one has comics and games, and one has comics and toys. He said they all do okay, and have all been there for years. I still had trouble believing it.
April 4th, 2007 at 3:59 pm
I know of only one that shut down over the last couple of years (East Side of Detroit), and to my surprise about a month ago, there was a new shop that had opened up right around where that one had closed. And it was so much better. The old one made my claustrophobic and you couldn’t find anything. This one is wide open.
But I digress. I would say trades are hurting the LCS. I do get 25% off trades at my LCS, but considering I can find 37-40% off trades on-line at Amazon or even cheaper on E-bay, then I usually buy the more expensive books on-line. The more I save, the more I can buy. But, I’m of the rare breed that also still buys back issues, so stores like to see me come in.