Image Comics Community

#1. Retailers HAVE TO communicate with their customers and visa-versa, especially more so now-a-days. I hear way to many stories that when a customer walks into a retailer shop and ask to buy a book, they don't have it and then *crickets*. Comic shops are social places, communicate, cater to the customers and make them want to come back. This is grass roots 101 that will keep a shop in business and generate new clients with no bells or whistles.

As a kid, when I got my pullbox, the retailer gave me a FREE edition of Previews magazine. I got it with my comics & he'd give me a sticky note with stuff he thought I should check out.

He knew I was a hardcore Uncanny X-Men, X-Factor, Wolverine, New Mutants, Excalibur kid and that I followed Art Adams, John Byrne, Mike Zeck, Whilce, Frank Miller, Silvestri, Simonson, Alan Davis and Todd...and then later on Jim Lee.

It helped me to focus in on the stuff that he recommended and that I might like, such as new mini-series or whatever. Then it was on me, as buyer, to tell him what I wanted in my pullbox out of that Previews, in addition to all the regular stuff.
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Related, this shop (Comics and Fantasies in San Jose, CA) ran local Cable ads, placed on specific channels, like the one who showed GI JOE Cartoons or whatever. The TV ads were for his store and prominently featured a character or books from either Marvel or DC (maybe both?).

I asked him about it because to me a commercial was a commercial, as in national and major dollars for a little local business. I had no clue about "regional advertising".

He told me that he was able to afford TV ad-buys because the Publisher offered "co-op money" and provided "canned TV ads" with room for his store Pic and info. They shared the cost of the TV time.

Anyways...bring these 2 items up because that retailing built up to audience who bought millions of Todd's Spider-Man #1 and then all of the multi-millions sold after that (prior to major bust that helped Marvel find bankruptcy.)

La8erz,
-Josh

I understand where you guys are coming from. I just don't think it would be reasonable to expect the kind of personal touches I'm seeing expressed here from a comic book shop salesperson. I mean seriously, the average comic book cost around $3 and that's there are a lot of hands in that pot (publisher, distributor, creative team, etc.). So there's not like this huge commission these guys are getting on each book sold; we're talking pennies here.

Now there are the guys that spend a several hundred bucks a month on comics and they SHOULD be given special treatment. But if these stores started catering to the degrees expressed here, I doubt they'd have time to do much else...

The LCS store I buy from 99.999% of my comics from is now called "Illusive Comic and Cards" in Santa Clara, CA. When I was in college I switched to these guys. They were near campus and next to a HUGE video game arcade!!!

Back then it was named, "Brian's Books". The manger then and now is a dude named Steve and even though I only come in once every 3 or 4 months to buy stuff, he always remembers my name and usually knows what shipped that week to draw me in.

He doesn't "WORK" at it, or study me with careful notes, etc. He's took the time to get to know me & remembers what I like. He addresses most of his regulars by first name when he sees them & welcomes us back.

He often has 1 or 2 comics up at the register and before we make the buy, he'll ask us IF we want check a book out as he thought it was good! He also has the incentive/variant covers in clear display behind the register and for kids in the showcase under the register.

If being smart, paying attention and being personable is very difficult for somebody, then customer service, frontline marketing and sales should not be their occupation.

Later dudes...
-JS

i agree, remembering someone is not that hard, i remembers everyones face i meet and most of the time remember their name, its really not that hard

thats a simple lack of people skills. unfortunately lots of hobby and sports shops are like that from comic shops, to book stores to paintball stores. fortunately the shop i go to aint so bad but yeah when they hire someone who is knowledgeable in comics or whatever doesnt mean theyre a good at sales or customer service or whatever. its the same for a doctor with bedside manners.

It is a little different when its a job and there are mad random people coming through everyday....

I think it would be easier to remember people in comic shop though... as opposed to in a resturaunt

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I HATE that. There are two shops in nearby Modesto, and one of them I refuse to ever visit again. The last time I went there to look for boxes. I didn't see them, so I asked the guy at the counter if they had any. He was sitting at a laptop and just looked up and said, "No, we don't have any." No offer to order some if that's what I wanted to or anything. Just went back to his laptop and couldn't have sounded more disinterested in my question.


I love Illusive Comics. I only discovered them last year, and I drove all the way from the Central Valley to pay them a visit. I was amazed and delighted by the sheer volume of stuff they had, both new and old, and the wealth of TPBs and HCs. Steve was working during both visits, and he's such a cool, friendly guy. The owner, Anna, is really great, too. Only been twice, but each time I walked out with nearly $70 worth of great stuff, including things I'd never seen at shops I tried. It's the single best comic shop I've found in the last few years as I've started getting back into comics heavily.


I agree on both counts. I was in the other Modesto shop (the good one) last week, and during the time I browsed about 3-4 different people came in at various times. The guy at the counter greeted each one by name, but obviously they are regulars. When I was a kid I went to my LCS so often after they opened the employees quickly knew me by name. It was like "Norm!" from Cheers every time I came in. LOL! Lately I've been trying to frequent the LCS often to start becoming more familiar with the employees. Following Marvel's "AvX" mini-series should be a good opportunity since it will require almost weekly trips.

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My Blog | Pull List: Gambit, Ghostbusters, John Carpenter's Asylum, The Shadow, The Spider, Star Wars, Thief of Thieves.

I get very upset when our fans('68) say they went to a shop to pick up our book and they say "we don't carry it" or "sold out sorry"...then *crikets* And this is pretty common folks, our fans are pretty vocal and we encourage them to let us know when this kinda stuff happens.

I make it a point when I do hear that, I get the shops info and contact them myself and politely let them know that they conducting bad business.

Like Michael24 stated...

"I HATE that. There are two shops in nearby Modesto, and one of them I refuse to ever visit again. The last time I went there to look for boxes. I didn't see them, so I asked the guy at the counter if they had any. He was sitting at a laptop and just looked up and said, "No, we don't have any." No offer to order some if that's what I wanted to or anything. Just went back to his laptop and couldn't have sounded more disinterested in my question."

With "I refuse to ever visit again." is solid proof your business will fail, in turn hurts the creators trying to deliver product.

I'm not one for pointing fingers, but like I stated it's basic 101 HOW TO RUN A BUSINESS. Take care of your customers, they will come back and they will bring more customers with them.

But we also encourage our fans to be more vocal as well with their retailers, we explain most shops can't carry an overhead to always have our product on hand...customers also have to step up too

I love my LCS... no horror stories at all. If they dont have what you are looking for they will get it... and a couple more.

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