Perfect Example of Temptation.

The Book Barn closing is a perfect example of temptation.

I've had pretty good response to my new book section, but my inventory is relatively small. Up to now, I've been able to be very selective and choosy. Hell, on SF I've pretty much read every book. I could easily do the same with Mysteries. In fact, I am such a reader, could probably do an entire store that way.

I've kept my ears open to good books, but didn't pay too much attention to new bestsellers. I even had a bit of holier than thou attitude, saying carry the cool books, not the bestsellers, if you want to distinguish your store from Barnes and Nobles.

It's different trying to be a full service store.

I think I could do it. I think that trying to be a comic store is about the hardest thing I could've chosen to do. Linda's experience has taught me that maybe I long ago tied myself to a limited opportunity. My experience with just about every other product has taught me the same thing. I've been surprised by how relatively responsive the customers are to things like books, games and toys.

But in order to pursue any other business model, I'd have to completely make-over my store and put it all at risk. Besides, I like comics and I like my customers, so that ain't going to happen.
Maybe if I was younger, and knew what I know now.

So, just like I have every other sideline, I'll look for a balance between exploiting an opportunity, and not pulling the rug out from under the product I already have.

I already had a plan in place to become more a real bookstore, but I wasn't in any hurry. I was going to reorganize the front of the store, and then spend most of summer filling it in, paying for it within normal cashflow. I think I'm going to stick to that plan, though maybe hurry the reorganization a little (since I've already bought the bookcases.) But the filling in, I've got to wait until summer.

So I might lose a few potential Book Barn customers -- I don't think I would've got many of them in the best case scenario. They just wouldn't be thinking of me that way. No, if I'm going to get book customers, it's going to be browsers, tourists and visitors. Plus, slowly, if I do a good job and am very responsive to customers, I'll slowly gain newcomers to town who don't know I'm not supposed to be a bookshop but see me as a bookshop because I have the books they want.

If, on a scale of 1 to 10 in potential, Pegasus is currently at a 1, and if I did everything exactly right I might be able to get to a 6; rushing it might get me to a 3 by the end of summer, and a 4 or 5 by Christmas. Taking my time, might get me to a 2 by summer, and a 3 or 4 by Christmas.

By rushing it, I mean spending money. Borrowing it. Risking it.

That's my dilemma. I had the same problem last year when Gambit went out of business; and the same problem last summer when American Sports went out of business. Opportunity arises just as I'm trying to save money.

It makes sense when you think about it. The same conditions that impel me to want to reduce debt and raise cash also are impacting on other businesses; thus creating opportunity.

My problem is that I'm solid enough to actually pursue those temptations, but not quite solid enough to do it without risk.

I went ahead and pursued the games to the best of my ability, and the sports cards, and the new books (cause, frankly, I saw the Book Barns closing coming). I didn't go in debt to do it; but I also didn't save up as much cash or reduce debt as much as I originally intended.

And sure enough, just as I was getting 80% of the way to my stocking goal on games, and 60% of the way on sports cards, the housing bubble popped. Despite knowing it was coming, it still caught me off guard. (I had guessed it wouldn't happen until this spring......)

I think, when you own a small business, you can't avoid risk. Sure, you can buy less inventory and save a few bucks, but you are also limiting your opportunities. It's a fine line.

What's kind of cool is to have the opportunities. There was a period of time in the late 1990's when I watched every product I carried go down in demand. And I couldn't find any other product to shore up the bottomline. That was scary. At least, now I have too many opportunities; I can pick and choose.

For instance, I keep eyeballing Warhammer. The one store in town that was carrying it, doesn't seem to be doing much with it. There was rumor of another store coming to town, and that hasn't been dispelled yet; but there is a temptation, a tantalizing chance to get that business.

But not if I do books, because then my head would explode.

I don't believe I've ever regretted taking up the gauntlet. I mean, I'm only given that small window to respond, I can't just say, present me with this opportunity when it's more convenient. Because the opposite holds true -- when it's convenient to me, it will also be an opportunity for everyone else.

The perfect time to take advantage is when you can, and they can't.

Book Barn closing?!

Have had three different customers come in and tell me the Book Barn is closing it's brick and mortar on May 31. They say they are going online.

35 years in existence, though not all under the same owner.

Wish I could fill that niche downtown -- completely. I can do some of it; what this means is that I will be reorganizing my front in the next two weeks or so in order to about triple my available book space. (I'd planned to do this by summer, but now I'm going to try to be done by May 31.)

Mostly fiction, as in browsers. Non-fiction is huge and specific at the same time. So I'll do a bit of history, a bit of pop non-fiction, and so on. But mostly fiction.

If I can just get the rest of the downtown businesses to send people my way.

I'm on a roll...or my ADD has kicked in.

Everything has become grist for the mill. Every conversation and every incident is translated into blogsized nuggets. Kinda scary, but I've always been prone to writer's interpretations. It certainly helps with the fiction....

Wrong is Wright.

"It's guilt by association," my sister Tina says. "Everyone know's someone who's opinions are off the wall....or....." she looks at me. "A relative who's opinions are off the wall."

So...I figure by now I've expressed enough on this blog to insure that I couldn't get elected dogcatcher. Worse, neither could my wife or my sister. Or anyone of you who have clicked this site. You will be found out.

Heck, I'm probably permanently damned for associating with Bilbo.

Anyway, I've made a decision. I'm not going to listen or read any news that isn't issue oriented. If it turns out that one of the candidates has been screwing a Panda, (I won't say which one), it ain't going to matter to me.

I've had it.

Hip and Cool?

"We need to find a place," says Damien of Westside Video, "where all the hip and cool places can congregate. The indy record store, the indy video store, the indy bookstore."

(Actually, I don't think he said 'hip and cool'. He used words that were hipper and cooler than hip and cool, but that's how my 1960's formed brained translated it.)

"Oh, so you think I'm hip and cool?"

He eyeballs me. "Well....your store is....."

Hah! Exactly!

In Defense of Comic Shops

I've mentioned before, there is a prevalent attitude in the comic biz that most comic shops suck. That we'd all be better off if they just disappeared, and bookstores became the default seller of comics.

There was a really harsh blog on Noah Berlatsky's The Hooded Utilitarian, which was written as a response to an article by Alan David Doane, about Comic Shop troubles, in The Comics Journal, #386.

The title of Noah's blog was "No Future," which gives you an idea of the content. To which I answered:

I can't tell you how utterly frustrating your comments are to a direct comic retailer (Pegasus Books of Bend, Oregon) who is trying his damnedest to make it work.

You say, "But, really, folks who want that kind of material are already well served by bookstores and online markets. Those stores have already moved aggressively into the market...."

We have 8 bookstores in Central Oregon. Barnes and Nobles has a section of manga, but outside of that I think you'd be hard pressed to find a total of 50 graphic novels, of which half would be Marvel/DC.

Whereas at Pegasus Books, we are carrying 7000 graphic novels; about 3000 manga (more and a broader and deeper selection than B & N.) Maybe a third of the remaining graphic novels are Marvel/Dc. The rest are indy's.

Not only that, but I carry children's books, cartoon collections, and a large number of art books.

I go out of my way to acquaint the casual browsers of the full spectrum of illustrations, from Edward Gorey to Frazetta to a full line of Fantagraphics.

To me the most revealing statement you make is:

"I haven't been in a direct comic market store in years...."

Other Discount Shoe Drops

As I suspected, DC 's discount came in at 50%.

So the big two publishers, Marvel and DC, have flipflopped. I started with 53% on DC and 50% on Marvel, and ended with 50% on DC and 54% on Marvel.

It's a case of outsmarting myself.

The good news is that, because DC has a six month rolling discount, versus the 12 month Marvel rolling discount, it won't take too long to get back up to 53%. (They still have the best back stock in the business.) Unfortunately, not in the next two months, because I have my moritoriums on spending, but certainly by the end of summer.

It also turns out that I was selling an extraordinary number of Marvel comics last year for two or three months -- must have been the Civil War titles. (Which would explain, by the way, most of the drop in sales I've seen this year in comics). When those months drop off the rolling discount, I'll probably be back to 53%.

So, by the end of summer, I expect the discounts from both Marvel and DC to be around 53%. And easier to reach because reorders count.

The rise in discount level is affecting a lot of smaller shops. There's a smaller shop here in Oregon who is having to increase his buying level in DC, just like I am. Apparently, though, he hasn't really been doing the graphic novel thing. Some of the following is what I said to him, trying to encourage him to get in on it.


Hi,

I think I know where you're coming from. xxxxxx is an incredibly small town for a comic shop; even if you get all xxxxxxx people. Did the game/card/comic shop close there?

Anyway, in proportion, you're as small to my store as I am to Cliff's store, or something.

If it's lack of funds that has stopped you from venturing into Graphic Novels, then I totally understand. But if its attitude, I beg you to reconsider.

About 40% of my comic sales are graphic novels nowadays. I used to think a small town couldn't sell them, now I believe you can't make it in a small town without them.

This is the opportunity for you to get DC's discount level just by stocking up on the basics. Sandman, Preacher, Y the Last Man, Fables, and so on. Do a little bit each month, reorder what sells. Splurge a few hundred dollars on the DC spring sizzler sale on graphic novels -- those are good discounts.

Are you near the tourist traffic?

Manga? A little more tricky. You'll get way more requests, but you'll sell more Preachers and Sandmans. It's very easy to know what the cream of the graphic novels crop is; difficult to learn the manga except by best-seller lists.

I used to think if I sold three or four Preacher #1's, I'd surely sold to all possible locals. But they keep selling and selling and selling.

But you need a minimum range, because some month's you'll get a couple of customers running through the Y -the Last Man's;the next month it might be the DMZ's; the next Planetary.

Vertigo is a good start. A couple of hundred (it may look like the moon right now, but 5 or ten a month and you'd get there) and you might get consistent sales.

Anyway, I think you'd be surprised. But I think you have to make the commitment. If you decide to commit, I'd be willing to give you 20 or so of my overstock; they won't be best sellers, but they'd help the impression.

***********************************************************

20 graphic novel overstocks on the way.

A store has to have filler, after all. Really, not everything can be best sellers.

I have a fair amount of Marvel, and random stuff, Vertigo, Image.

I think that indy's are great, but I'd start with the big four.

I will send you ten manga on top, too. But I'd be careful there.
If you're going to do it, stick to Naruto, Fruits Basket, and Deathnote.

One thing I consistently do, is order off the clearance lists. And take Marvel and DC up with every clearance sale. You could get hundreds of graphic novels over time at about 20%.

I encourage you to go forward with this, but don't bankrupt yourself.

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If you don't mind me being a busy body, and I am a fellow Oregonian (and my wife is from xxxxxx), these are the books I'd order. Starting with DC since that is where you need the discount. Besides, you can't beat them. Some of these you may have, so just move to the next to the list.

Sounds like 100.00 retail a week will get you there.

Watchmen
Darknight Returns
#1 Y the Last Man
#1 Preacher
#1 Fables
#1 DMZ
#1 100 Bullets
#1 Sandman

Week Two

Whatever sold, plus the #2 in each of the above series.

Week Three,

Whatever sold, plus the #3 in each of the above series.

Later -- we'll talk.

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If you give it time, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. You may have to adjust your 'turnover' expectations. Maybe only expect one or two turns a year, at first. Look on it as an investment.

But I see these books as 'evergreen' ; the gift that keeps on giving.

I sell about 20 Amazing Spider-man comics a month (or per week, as the case may have it). Maybe with a real push I could sell 22 or 24. But basically, it's a number that doesn't budge.

But I can continually sell Preacher or Y -the Last Man.

I don't look at the turnover rate for each title, because they tend to sell in surges. I look at the overall section.