Yes. They make most of their money from games, board games, tournaments, etc. So comics/graphic novels is their side gig for most part and they’re very successful, even surviving COVID lockdowns with no one showing up due to restrictions, etc.
Yes, all new books are limited to 3 per customer. All back issues ( they keep roughly past 6 months on shelves ) are not limited. All comics are always cover price from release day to the day they sell it. They only get the ratios they qualify for based on pre-orders and shelf copies. Long time pull subscribers tend to get ratios thrown into their pulls. If they don’t want that cover, they’ll put it back out on the shelf at cover price.
Sounds like a great store but I wouldnt begrudge them if they listed their ratio variants at a higher price AFTER they looked after their regulars. I do like LCS to benefit, so I think to be more profitable they should be sensitive to the spec market. I like LCS to work and help customers, but they shouldnt give away the store.
That’s how you move inventory. Are they a big shop? I usually gage the size of a comic shop buy how many shelf copies they typically have for Batman or amazing Spider-Man.
My LCS’s are pretty small, so maybe 4 Batman’s, 5 spidermans. 1-3 shelf copies of most books depending on popularity or pre-orders
I wouldn’t either but they don’t chase variants, they order what they believe they can sell. So if they get a ratio variant, they’re still buying at likely 50% off cover price as wholesaler, so they’re still making money.
They’re pretty big but they scaled back on what they order. They use to order more indies but have scaled back since COVID as they had too many copies sitting on the smaller titles, etc.
If I ran a comic shop it’d be over the top. Wall books and pricy books in the dollar or 2 dollar bins and dreck would be up on the wall for inflated prices
Todays question of the day to the LCS (overheard) - 'I’m new to collecting. What are some books that I can enjoy but will also appreciate in time ? '.
The LCS person was clear that he could only recommend books he likes but not what can appreciate; he also advised the customer to buy based on his interests, and that value could fluctuate. This was one of the better LCS’s I visit !!!
This question IMO reflects the mindset of most (not all), of the newer customers I see at the LCS, and these are the customers that many LCS’s try to take advantage of.
I got into actively collecting and reading weekly a few years ago. Before that I didn’t have an LCS or was on a shoestring budget.
When I got to Vegas I walked into the LCS that was down the street from me, Avengers: Endgame was near release and Infinity War had me on a Thanos high. I asked for a good Thanos story, as I was at the time unfamiliar with a lot of newer comic stories. He recommended Thanos Wins, which I loved. It also turned me on to Cates who mostly hasn’t let me down.
That day I walked out of the store with Court of Owls TPB, Thanos Wins TPB, and a pull box. Couldn’t be happier with my LCS.
I don’t dig all his stuff but I enjoy most of Cates stuff. I wasn’t fond of his Venom run, Thor has been better… I have yet to really read Hulk. Enjoyed his Thanos stuff (but Lemire prior to Cates taking over was slightly better)…
