...but it seems to me that new books are a much easier product to carry than comics. For a number of reasons, but this morning it occurred to me that one good reason is that with books I can actually wait to see if a title is a hit before I order it. Not only that, but I have a couple of hundred years worth of titles that have proven track records.
With comics? It's a guess, and if I don't order them upfront, I don't get them at all. Graphic novels improve the odds--the hit series can be collected that way. But as a full-service comic shop, we have to order any significant comic title up to months in advance, with limited information, and no ability to return unsold copies.
Not that I return new books. I've decided that the discipline of ordering only what I think will sell should be applied to any product.
Books are now my best selling category--if I split comics and graphic novels into two categories. Comics and graphic novels are still my most important product, accounting for roughly half of all sales, but new books, games, and toys are a good solid other half, and I can adjust my orders accordingly.
I've kept the store completely stocked during the last couple months--something I've never accomplished before. Usually by the time I pay off all the end of the year bills, my store is somewhat depleted of product and the money to restock. I've always been aggressive about restocking, willing to go into debt to be paid off in the summer, but this is the first year I've stayed stocked from day one and also stayed even in my accounts.
I'm happy with the mix of product, and I don't feel like a major reinvestment in something new is needed--also one of the first times in my career that this has happened. Now I'm just trying to make what I've got better on an incremental basis.
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