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ComicsPro is hands down the most influential comic book store support group. They are a truly valuable resource for physical comic book stores, and their annual meetings in Texas are legendary. Things change because of ComicsPro, and sometimes for the best, and sometimes things do not change. As a liaison between physical stores and the publishers, as well as providing huge service and support to comic book stores, the key on that is physical only.
Maybe it is time for ComicsPro to open their arms to online only comic book shops.
About two years ago I asked to join ComicsPRO and was turned down because I operate an online only comic book store. I love my store, it does well, and we sell cool stuff. We have fantastic customers that we know, who ask for special orders, or ask us to find things for them. It works and operates just like a physical store, but without the overhead of retail rent. You could not ask for more from a comic book store, profitable, fun, with some amazingly cool customers. We have all the right suppliers including Diamond Comics, and we operate just like a physical store including conventions, special covers from publishers, and being involved in the community.
But we cannot join comics pro because we operate only online.
The online market has the same issues as the physical store market:
- We are also impacted by the down turn in the overall market
- We are overly reliant on three main channels, eBay, Amazon, and our own store web sites
- We face unique issues with competition in that most sellers on those markets are at wholesale or below wholesale in their sales structures, with the fees and commissions taking an ever larger chunk of change from online sales – we are just as sensitive to pricing pressures as a physical store would be.
- We are reliant on publishers putting out awesome comics that people want to purchase and read
- Digital is going to have the same impact on online sales as they will on physical store sales
Some of the comic book stores I know have closed down their physical stores and gone online only or they only do convention circuits. Making it in retail comics is hard, and every time I run the numbers to open up a physical store I am losing 1 to 2 thousand dollars a month just in overhead. I wish I knew how comic book stores did it.
With the entire comic book industry retreating in the face of impossible odds, a recession, high unemployment, lack of credit for bank funding, customers who are tapped out, product that people cannot afford or do not want to purchase at any price, the online side of the comic book industry is equally as troubled. The online side of the industry will go the same way as physical stores over time, we might just last a few months longer than a physical store as customers change how the consume comics.
What I am thinking is that ComicsPRO is one of the most important trade organizations out there, and as physical comic book stores fail, or move into the online only environment, that ComicsPRO open the doors to online only retailers.
We could use the help, ComicsPRO could court that market segment and add to their paying members, and everyone would win from this.
The question is will ComicsPRO go in this direction, while I see it as a win for the industry, and opening up new ways of supporting the change in the comic book market from physical to online. It is something that is worth looking at, and something that some online sales only comic book stores would do. I know I would be a strong advocate for ComicsPRO if I was allowed to join, but then there is that pesky clause that makes it impossible.
Maybe it is time for ComicsPRO to be more inclusive, and invite their online only brethren to join the club.
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I think a lot of us aren’t against the idea in principle. It’s practical application where the problems come in. The physical storefront requirement is an easy one to verify, it shows a specific level of commitment (see your own comment about the extra capital required and “I don’t know how they do it…”), and it’s the model that the retailers who founded the org in the first place all work under. But you certainly raise valid points about the growth of the online-only sector.
Since you’re asking to be included, what do YOU think the minimum standards for membership should be? Because these specific sort of criteria are the big, fat can of worms. For my part, I’d be perfectly willing to see motivated, smart, full-time internet retailers of comics included in the organization, but will admit I have no good or easy answers about how to screen for them.
-Jim Crocker, Managing Partner
Modern Myths, LLC
ComicsPRO member
Hi Jim
Minimum standard, maybe we should just leave that to the Diamond Account, I know it took me a year to get the Diamond Account because I was online only, they had a lot of restrictions that went into place before I could get it, and caused us to move into a direction where we were more of a comic book shop online. Believe it or not, Diamond has some very interesting rules when it comes to working with their online only retailers. We were willing to do it, and again it took about a year for us to get everything in place that met the requirements that Diamond had.
Rather than putting up a barrier at the ComicsPRO level, and assuming that overhead at the ComicsPRO side, we simply rely on Diamond to do this for us. We just provide our Diamond Account number and our representatives contact information so it can be easily verified by e-mail.
When I approached ComicsPRO to be a member two years ago, it was on the advice of many in the comics book industry (I have an awesome group of advisers) but was politely told no, well ok maybe not so politely but that is ok as well. It was not until the last couple of months where we are looking at our next expansion phase (keep on doubling the company, but we have limits on what we can do, meaning warehouse next) we need to do things. One of those things is a warehouse, and then the next one is a physical store. Depending on multiple factors, banks, rents, economy, we need to hit a boom phase so we can get firmly established and save up money for the next bust phase.
Eventually maybe in 2 or 3 years I will have a physical store front which will be cool, because the online component will pay for the operations.
So as a minimum, I would say if they have a diamond account, let that be the minimum standard, takes the managing of that data out of ComicsPRO expense sheet and keeps it with Diamond.
r/d