Hondo's Comic Shop

[The NZA]

Wanna thank you guys for your input here, makes me think this could be even more a possibility. here goes:

 

I completely agree that a comic shop should mostly stay a comic shop instead of morphing into a gaming shop. But are really willing to completel abondon that crown and not allow any gaming there or supplies? I remember when Outland station switched over from mostly comics to gaming when they were still in South Miami and it through me off a bit. It kind of sucked that all the comic stuff was both figuratively and literally pushed to the back. They seem to some sense of balance now in there new location but thier prices still suck. What exactly would you do about maintaining such a balance, it's a slippery slope, or is gaming stuff in the store just not going to happen?

 

talked with arc last night, and ive decided i might not want to alienate the tabletop gaming. i dont want to pander to them as i saw some shops in texas do, but a night for that crowd (with, as arch pointed out, popular things like heroclix/etc going on the side) isnt a bad idea. My only concern was that crowd not meshing with the others im trying to get into there, but he made the point that if its gaming, comics, social venue etc im shooting for, that crosses over into that group as well, so i shouldnt necessarily alienate them.

as for your questions on the layout, ill address that soon, its a good one.

 

Joel - youre right that comic shops absolutely must cater to something or other beyond comics to survive; anime obviously made their choice, again, texas shops love the huge amount of disposable income from tabletop gaming, and all of the above indulge in trendy pokemon/yu-gi-oh type shit to pay bills. my model would incorporate these (hopefully less of the pokemans, but if we gotta eat, we gotta eat) but bear in mind im all but going for a clean sweep of numerous niche markets that, with the right setup/floor space, woudlnt cost me a great deal to do so. so while i cant yet point to one and tell you "thats our cash cow, that's what we bank on" i do believe the collection of them would be more than adequate, but i acknowledge i need to study further marketing to solidify this idea.

 

ASC -

you are really serious about this, are'nt you?

it sounds like a really good idea. the only thing is that people would have to work regular jobs at the start and volunteer here at the same time. it's a lot of work, ye'd have to be very passionate about the shop and also be confident that everyone would see it out through the tough early stages

 

Yeah, i am, but again its not happening any time soon, im talking 5 years down the road from what i can see from here, but who knows? mebbe i can work it out earlier, mebbe later, im just forming ideas right now.

bear in mind that while yeah, id have to get by with help from my friends here & there:

1) that'd just be the start; again, we could pay very low wages but have a relative pay scale - since this isnt my primary source of income, again, as friends/employees spread the word (take panch, he's good at innovatively trying to pimp us out at various functions) and we see a better bottom line, id want that to reflect in the pay of said help. its one thing to go to an indie video store and have a wall with each employee's pick of the month (and idea id like to implement here) & make them feel like theyre a part of the place, i think its another to have them feel a part of the place's success as well.

2) as a firefighter, i work 1/3 of the year with a lot of days off in between that as well (every 3rd week, i have 5 days off straight, still paid, for instance). i dont want a side-job, and when not pulling overtime shifts for $ (another way to help keep the place going at first if need be) i could practically live there.

 

Jax -

Nick, you might have to get financing first before finding a location, as any good location might not stay available while you get financing. The exception is in a new development. There, you can sign a lease and have lots of time (sometimes years) before you'll need to have you financing in order.

 

true, and im definitely gonna be talking more with you around the time i was ready to take such a step. Youve been here, and even the other week when you were showing me your store's electronic supply manager/universal messenger system thing, i was thinking how things like that would improve efficiency, so yeah, id have a lotta questions for you man.

 

The fact is, your retail end of this business model (let's call it that for now) is facing an uphill battle looking into the future. Retail, especially geared to a tech-savvy market, is going to face stiffer competition from the internet as overhead and expenses are obviously lower. So, emphasizing the social interaction might be the crux, then perhaps making the name reflect that (like using the word "club" instead of "store" or "shop"). Also, I would find people interested in these events who own cars, and give them a discount admission to be carpoolers for students without cars (most students without cars live on campus, so it's an easy carpool, not many stops). This will only help create the social cohesion that will make your place unique.

As for names, unless you want to name it Hondo's Bar, how about Buena Vista Comics Club?

 

mind you, the retail end is largely comics/graphic novels mostly, with a coffee shop onna side till i can manage a bar along with it. we could do odds & ends (again, PC parts for LAN nights, and let's say on console gaming night, Rock Band's such a hit people want in, we could go pick them up a copy, natch) but since floorspace/inventory's a concern im not trying to market much beyond what's said here at this point.

you're right that social interaction is key, and that's how itd be sold.

 

More to come on your carpool idea, but i was going over names with arc last night and he thinks it should be more Hondo's Comics & Cafe (as an example) than Hondo's Comics & Bar as the markets of bar & comic shop arent as friendly with the daytime/mainstream market, so i gotta sort that out. Club's not a bad angle but this part really needs fleshing out.

 

back to joel:

 

Let's say its Firstly comics, secondly gaming (either electronic or RP...or both?) and tertiary a social gathering spot. You have a few things you need to decide, since this will impact, well, everything else.

 

If comics is your primary function, are you also going to include fanboy collectables (like statuettes, cards, heroclix, comic book boardgames, RP games, electronic games, etc) or just your a typical 1980's style comic book store?

 

yes, id like to have a small section for shirts, comic props & statues and such; i saw a professional display up in midtown comics in manhattan that really sold me on the idea of that working, which i could show pics but those're definitely things id want to implement.

as for the sales of RPG books, figures, heroclix etc, i could have a small display section for them as well, as again, they would pay bills. id like to talk to mike over at anime hurricane to see if such merchandise often pulls in more than the books themselves or not (though we both know its fansubs & anime that pay most of the bills there, id assume). now, stretching out into things like actual video games might be harder when there's no way we can compete with big box stores like best buy, but we might have one option to help...ill post it at this thread's end.

 

If you're going to include things like games, are they going to be Electronic games (and then the consoles associated with them, or not) and Role Playing Games and other table tops, or just one but not the other?

 

see above.

 

What kind of gameroom are you going to have? What consoles, if any? How many? What games?

 

Are you going to have a space for Table Top games? Will this be on top of the electronic games?

 

im gonna need to have someone do sketches and post them here.

initially, i thoguht: walk in the door, counter to your left. new books to the right (tho arc points out, instead of chicken wire displaying them, we could have something wood & fancy, like a bookstore look), and most of what's in front of you is wood bookcases with trades of all kinds - mainstream & indie both. i thought id partition of the wall to the cafe/bar behind there and the gaming room (accounting for more than 50% of the store's total square footage, id imagine, so maximizing space is a must, but again arc pointed out isolating that might not be ideal, so currently, it looks like:

entrance, refreshments over to the right, counter to the left, bookcases & such in front of you, and a clear look at the big space in the back that changes by theme of the night, mebbe to also let costumers know "hey, come back after 9 (or whatever time), were doing (x) here tonight, be good to have you around." and such.

said space, again, could theoretically go like this:

monday - bootleg movie night. obviously, we cant advertise this without licensing, so uh, people have to be there and whoops, the digial projector's showing cult films. Mebbe we dont charge admission that night to avoid trouble? anyway, the anime club could mebbe use our joint that night too if they wanted, as an option.

we could just stack chairs and beanbags in the corner till we're ready to use them this night.

tuesday - LAN night. we just need tables and mebbe a server, which i imagine said LAN people'd be happy to provide to have a regular joint for 40+ player deathmatches. charge however much to join the fray, and again, sell disposable media & drives, mice etc at a slight markup for convenience.

weds - console gaming night, were we'd need a few 360's, few wii's, few ps3s. same digital projector for big wii sports battles, smash bros, halo 3, we could even put up the stage for rock band/guitar hero competitions. same chairs & beanbags as the other nights, so as long as we can store a stage, no troubles.

thurs - tabletop gaming. we literally need tables as much of this group brings what they need, tho again, we could sell rule books/games/figures that night and do well for ourselves too.

friday - local bands/karaoke/more music games if anything. same stage, setup, just need a sound system.

 

so the initial investment to get all those things going is what, $5-10k im thinking? not to shabby considering i dont see much maintenance past that.

 

If it's a social gathering spot as well, are you going to be offering food and drinks (forget alcohol for now). If so, are you going to need to have a 'mess hall'? What are you going to serve? Are you going to have to cook there or not, or will you be relying on neighboring stores for that (you can usually strike up a deal with them

).

 

im thinking coffee at first, obviously water and the like. food-wise, we could just do popcorn on the hush-hush b-movie night, im reluctant to commit to more foods than that just yet cause wouldnt we then be an eatery and have a lot more fees/rules to comply with? i have to look into this, as well as if itd be a worthwhile venture.

i like your idea about working with local places, but again, we'd be open kinda late too....though we could always have an employee take orders and go on wendy's/KFC etc runs.

 

If you answered 'yes' or 'maybe' to at least two of the above, where can you find a local central to your target clientelle that has enough space and amenities that will allow you to do all you want to do?

 

question of the day, man. tho at the moment, im thinking doral. its central, its near a university. the warehouse district is cheaper but hard to find; this week, im thinking of calling that place in the winn dixie shopping center i mentioned just to get a rough price/square footage. this part, more than anything, will need looking around.

 

How late do yo plan to stay open?

 

also a good question. we could try it out & see, i was gonna say 3-4 AM but we'd have to ensure we could have even minimal staffing at that time, and still be turning anything resembling a profit after midnight. again, if we were to obtain a liquor license, i think itd be a lot easier. for now, offhand, id wanna say at least 2 AM. thoughts?

 

How much do you plan to charge for each of the different events? Will you have a VIP 'club' which offers discounts and the like? Raffles? Host Competetions or Conventions?

 

also talked with arc about this - perhaps for console gaming night, we dont charge to voyeur, but do charge to play. id have to consider how much by the hour or a "whole night" pass that'd make a profit and still be considered reasonable (again, youre getting to play expensive games/system on a good setup, with friends), but things like LAN night, mebbe table top gaming and such could charge at the door just to participate. id have to work on the exact #'s, but i recall Red-Eye LAN charging like $20+ to participate once a month or so when itd go down, and nobody complained.

 

Raffles could certainly be an option, no doubt, that's another good idea. Competitions are a must - team entry for halo 3, Rock Band etc are big events just waiting to happen, and i could charge a one-time solid fee for entry into such things with unlimited play as long as its your team's turn. i think such events'd be a lot more exciting than just having games set up and people randomly playing them on game night, so id like competitions to be a regular thing, mebbe just alternating game/genre each week.

 

Will you get licensing permission to use the likeness of any Marvel or DC Characters for your promotion? How many?

 

i guess we'd have to look into this, but for selling books, mebbe having employees do professional cosplay etc i dont think itd be essential till we get more notice - i.e., a wizard magazine article, which'd really help and i think theyd be all about it if submitted right - free advertising is nothing but good.

 

I may be a bit far away to volunteer to work behind the counter, but if you get something going I'll do your advertising for free.

 

as a fan of your work, sir, ill hold you to that.

 

 

 

one more point id like to emphasize that such stores arent known for is customer service. arc, satcha & i talked about how shitty it is when comic shops dont open at their posted hours, employees seem annoyed or busy watching anime, showing up wearing whatever, etc - again, i want a friendly place of fans but i want relaxed professionalism. the place'd be punctual, and if not uniforms, then good cosplay or wearing some of the shirts we sell. greeting people at the door, helping them find shit (without hounding them), suggesting similar works, and making people aware of tonight's events are all essential.

comic book regulars know about subscriptions & having your "bin" of reserved books. satcha suggested a small deposit for such a personal bin, so that if you dont show up for a few months to collect your books (naturally, we'll call to inquire), we can sell your books and at least not take a loss. Again, i dont want back inventory of older books so whatever's left likely gets liquidated on our ebay store if the book's not a hot item.

 

Another idea i wanted to get feedback on was arc's one of a delivery service. Seriously, one of 2 ways:

1) an employee, in a car with hondo's decaling a la the smoothie mobile, could theoretically bring you your books/merchandise ordered this week once paid for, at a charge. theyre advertising along the way, and if we did such, id be tempted to get into some video games as well, as nobody right now delivers games & such locally, offline. itd be that-day delivery.

 

2) the lower maintenance option - also ideal for running said ebay store for excess - is to have an account with USPS/etc where they pickup orders every day and handle it from there. as long as we well package things and ensure your books/merch etc in very good condition or money back, i think its a solid idea.

 

now, if such a system could, in any way, favor jax's idea of carpooling or any other means to help people get to & from the store/events, that'd be cool too. What do you guys think? of this feature, and all the aforementioned shit.

[Reverend Jax]

so the initial investment to get all those things going is what, $5-10k im thinking?

If you're planning on building this comic shop, literally in the Silver Age....

[The NZA]

no no, i meant, just for the electronics and such to run the entertainment area.

 

the inventory/merchandise can be had for a similar startup price, i wanna say; the big cost naturally being startup fees & rent. im gonna try to figure a ballpark of inventory, electronics, and insides like the bookcases & such, im gonna have to look into how much the bar/coffee table & operation'd be.

im assuming the cost to get everything up & running would be well into the six figure region, just not quite sure where.

[Reverend Jax]

That's more realistic. I'm not sure what you want the electronics entertainment area to have, but I still think your figure is low.

[The NZA]

So, i was talking this idea over with Panch & Space Cowboy last week over by Tate's Comics (place is amazing, if you're a local & get a chance to see it), and they both seemed to dig it: Panch seemed all about being the guy behind the counter running shit, and Space really ran with the idea of a subscription service, perhaps even one with tiers that include a 30% discount, full access to the after-hours hangout shit, and a premium service that brought the potential for a delivery service.

 

I think points like that, and the digital archiving/ability to log into the store's site, check out scans of Previews each month and click on what you want held, etc will make a lotta the difference, at least on the customer service end. Space even helped create the idea of user profiles, like besides this forum, a myspace-like site for regulars/subscription members to chat & plan/see who's coming to what events that week. Anyway, even a $10/month subscription thing would garuntee a fair amount of revenue, and itd certainly look better than charging at the door.

 

Again, cant help but think it could be done; im willing to bet the owner of Anime hurricane'd be down to sell off what he's got in stock to be bought at by that point. and most of the services we'd offer woudlnt put us so much in direct rivalry with other comic stores, anyway, cause i dont know of anywhere else trying this.

[CjDucky]

I think its a great idea Nick.. youre talking ALOT of code though for the web end.

[The NZA]

oh, yeah, no doubt, i just think once ive ponied up & the infrastructure's there, it should be solid, you know?

[crimsonfire]

Interesting idea Nick overall. You seem to have the drive and wherewithal to make it work.

 

I can kind of relate. My goal is to one day own a bookstore with a heavy fanboy/sci fi/pop culture bias (delete as appropriate). I know, I know. Whimsical flight of fancy at best and unrealistic pipe dream at worst. Despite the difference in medium its still interesting to see the kind of things i'd need to figure out first.