The Energon Pub

My LCS got taken over recently...well actually about 4 or 5 months ago now and has a new owner with a total makeover and sadly a totally different way of doing things.

To set the scene for you, I've been going to my LCS since I was about 12 or 13 (1993) back when G2 first started in G.I.Joe etc and have been a loyal shopper through and through. He later moved down the road to bigger building and I kept on going.

He was the only comic shop in the town and the owner would order lots of comics in, during the period of 1996 - 2002 when TF comics were few and far between I didn't really purchase much new stuff, I mainly got mainstream marvel stuff like Iron Man and Galactus but focused on trading cards and the reprints by Titan.

Now when DW started I was in there more and more, he would always have lots of copies of issues and I would thumb through and get what was new, if I liked it I would get more next month. As I travelled alot at weekends and wasn't always able to go there I might "defect to forbidden planet" in say Birmingham or London as thats where I was that weekend and couldn't wait a whole week for my TF fix.

Now fast forward to being taken over....

The new owner is one of those types of guys who blinds you with all his talk of what he has done how smart a business guy he is and how the last guy got it all wrong thats why he had to sell...lalalala...keeping in mind this guy was my local supplier of comics for over 10 years and I liked him and got on well, didn't like this new guy badmouthing....

Well come to release of a comic on a Thursday (Spotlight sideswipe) and I go in to see this on the counter and grab a copy..

"You can't have that, that's on order for someone else"

I'll spare you the convo word for word, but seems he doesn't order any more than what he has on pre-order so I'm pretty peeved there is an issue in front of me that I want yet I can't even read it.

He then tells me I need to put it on standing order to get a copy, so I do....that was 4 months ago and I'm still waiting for Spotlight sideswipe to arrive. I hate having to order through one store as If I out and about then I have to wait until I have a free weekend to go and collect my haul as I'm comitted to buying from there.

Next thing that irked me was when Max dinos started I went in to be told this is a different title series and he only put Spotlight on order for me...again pretty pee'd off so I asked for this to be placed on order for me and I wanted a copy of issue 1 ordered.

He has managed to get issue 3 for me last week but no sign of 1 or 2 which spoils the whole reading order for me. I know there were issues with issue 2 being shipped so thats not ALL his fault.

The final thing that really annoys me is when I go into a store just to mooch and see if there is anything I fancy, I have my MP3 player on and earphones in and this moron keeps coming up and bugging me asking what I'm looking for, how my day was, and shoving things at me he says "I will love." I know some people are hard sellers, but jeez, know your audience, if someone comes in and isn't engaging you in convo and is just browsing, maybe that want to be left alone to decide if they want to part with their cash.

Now my point here is that did my old comic owner spoil me with not restricting me to ordering just from him and being quite down to earth and leaving me alone, or is the new owner what everyone expects from a comic store owner.

At this stage I've not been in for a few months as I begrudge lining his pockets with my money as he can't order anything in and I know if I want to browse and buy something new there will be next to nothing available other than hardcore Marvel and DC titles that everyone knows.

Everyone elese opinions on this???

Wait....so he turned the comic shop into a "Gamestop"?

The only way in which to get a new issue is to preorder it then maybe you'll get a copy?

If I'm right, time to find a new comic shop. Barring that, if this guy is that much of a douche bag, time to resort to other methods of getting comics.

I gotta say, he probably won't be in business for that long if he keeps up this ridiculous "business plan" of his.


Also: http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/ ... -for-real/

Its not a huge problem to take my trade elsewhere, it was just nice having a comic shop on my doorstep that I could go in some days and look around and maybe buy a back issue or three to enjoy on my few days off I get.

Thank god for the the internet for helping me get my fix...evilbay all the way

the comic store in my town is ra by a d-bag. if you werent in a class with his son you couldn't use the bath room. if you wanted to trade magic/pokemon cards with somebody, he had to get 10% of the cost of the cards. even though the werent his. if he or his teenage kids wanted to play magic, they'd grab the rare cards on display. constantly rideculed their customers, and ooggeled the few female customers they got.

i shopped ther for about 8 years, now i shop 2 towns away with an awesome shop owner.

Go to another store.

Seriously, just go to Forbidden Planet, there is a reason they have lasted as long as they have, Plus I find it a treat to go there when I'm visiting family.

Having worked in a comic store, and knowing a few people who have run or work in others, there are two constants that keep reguler customers.
A) Location. I have dealt with 6 store which at different times have been my 'local' shop, and ease of access for people to get to it has always been a top priority, with a number of peopls i have known choosing where to shop simply because it was near by. Clearly this was an initial reason you started going there and likely the same reason you continue to.
B) Customer Service. This runs everything from a hello when you enter to how they stock the shelves. The old owner, likely had the passion for the biz, and was more concerned about having extra stock for people understanding that he may need to hold back-issues (another small plus, depending on the type of store the owner is trying to build) where as this new owner is simply bringing in just what is needed to ensure he's not stuck with stock.

Running a comic store is truely a position you need to have passion for, and I know of people who have looked at it, and seen what looks to be a 'simple' venture, they usually learn soon after that they were quite wrong. It is not easy to sit down on order day with the latest previews and figure out what will bring you the best return for your investment. Do you stock that movie adaptation if the movie could bomb? Is Wolverine popular enough this month to warrent extra copies? A new art team is taking over Green Lantren, should be increase copys? Decrease them? Who knows, because every store is different as are their clients. What I can say is that most guys who operate on a "you want it, you have to order it" stance, don't fare well in the long run.

He may understand business, and he may like comics, but that does not make him a good candidate for running a comic shop. That said if he is bad mouthing the person who he took over from, and in turn, alienating people who liked the previous management, then he is on a fast road to losing customers, so I question his understanding of basic business for that alone.