Behind the Counter
As anyone who has read my column with any regularity will know, I own a game store that sells a LOT of other stuff. Though the name is Titan Games & Music - our top selling categories are actually Video Games and DVD Movies. We also sell rare coins (and collecting supplies), Board and card and RPG games - of course, used novels, Music CDs and Records, and more.
Over the years, I have changed from the store I wanted to own, to the store I do own - and that has been a LOT of changes, and compromises. But, it has kept my retail doors open - and my kids fed. Through those times, I have known a lot of fellow retailers who were forced to close their stores, or sell them to someone who was more willing to make changes - and adapt to the new retail environment than they were. Several stores come to mind.
But, my #1 concern has always been providing for my family - not owning the "kind" of store I wanted to own. eBay and other online discounters have changed retail forever. Why pay $143.64 (+ sales tax) for a box of magic cards - when you can buy them online for $85? I mean, it is the same product, at a MUCH better price. Duh! I realize that some gamers think "Retail Store Owners Are Greedy" (and suck!). But, get real. Why would I invest $78 into a box of magic cards to sell it for $85? That would be stupid of me. Making $7 is not a good deal - unless, like online discounters, you can do it 1000 time a month. My store can't sell that many boxes a month. So, my box is $143.64 + tax. And, if you want it today, from me, that is what you pay. I don't blame YOU for buying it online and waiting a week - but, you know, don't blame me for taking my $78, and investing it into something I can double my money on.
Cause I have to. I have to double my money. After cost of goods, I pay rent, labor (and tax on labor), property taxes, utilities, insurance, and other expenses. If I have a good year, my business will profit by 5 to 8% (and that is assuming that my store maintains a 49 to 52% cost of goods). ANY time I buy something, and don't double my money, I am hurting my cost of goods, and not being profitable. The margins on actual profits are thin. Razor thin.
But, that is why I carry things other than games. Cause, it is -frankly- kinda stupid for a customer to buy more than a few packs of Magic (or Yugioh, or HeroClix, etc) from me at a time. If they want cases/boxes of sealed product - eBay, Trollandtoad.com and other places are a much better (though, not immediate) choice.
But, that is not what this months column is about. I am just illustrating for you "why" it is that Titan Games had to turn into "Titan Games & Music" - and why we have continued to add new product choices, and whole new categories to our customers.
COMICS:
This month, though, I am going to talk about Comics. As a category comics have been something we have never been profitable with, though we are approaching our 3 year anniversary in November of this year. The reason we don't make a profit with comics is two fold. First, I don't know the product category very well - and though I love to read comics, and I believe in the positive influence of comics on young people, I just am not "comic-hip" enough to know what is the hot titles, which are the hot artists and authors, and that sort of thing. Additionally, Comics don't do terribly well for me because - my competitor in town offers a pretty substantial discount to his subscribers (he beats me in price), and he DOES know the category very, very well.
But, I do love comics, so over the past two and a half years I have done the cycle sheets, and the inventories, and reorders, and order adjustments as best I can - and, finally, we are profitable. Part of that is due to my distributor, Diamond Comics - and my rep there, whose name is Brian, and who has consistently helped me learn my way through comics and ordering procedures, and stuff. Without Diamond, and Brian, I would have given up long ago.
Another portion of my success has come from the CBIA - an online forum on Delphi Forums, that is for comic book industry professionals - like writers, distributor reps, publishers and retailers - and where I learned about things like Cycle Sheets to begin with. I won't bore you with the details of cycle sheets, but they are an essential tool to tracking what sells, and what doesn't.
Lastly, my success has come from my customers - great comics enthusiasts who like to read and share their knowledge about comics. They have imparted uopn me a great wealth of comics related knowledge that I would never have accumulated otherwise.
COMICS - Why they are good for kids:
As a young man I read comics a lot. They were 25¢ back in the day (when I had to walk barefoot, uphill both ways to and from school, in the snow, even in summer!). (you know how old-timers stories are!). Anyway, those quarter-comics taught me a lot of things that my parents likely tried to teach me, but I was too stubborn, dense, or slow to catch onto. Things like "sticking up for your friends at your own peril, because it is what you would want them to do for you" - and "Not judging people by the color of their skin" and other things. Looking back at my life, I am fearful of what I might have become without comic books in my life, or of what I may have been like.
I am a mormon with tattoos. I look a lot like a skinhead biker - but I have gay friends, friends of different ethnic backgrounds, and think I am extremely unbiased when it comes to people. Of course, part of that is from 12 years in the army, too. But, growing up in a very white neighborhood, where we had 4 black kids bussed into our school........ my opportunities to meet people who were a lot different than I was - just didn't exist until I was in Highschool. And, by then, most people's feelings about what kind of people they like to be around is already set, at least partially.
Comics taught me that people are people. Luke Cage, Powerman - my all time favorite comic book hero, is a black guy. I loved those comics as a kid. I found it interesting to read about Luke Cage, and his friends (some of whom were criminals!), and his different associations. I started reading that one with issue #1, and followed Luke Cage for now about 30 or 35 years. He was part of the Fantastic Four for a while! (yes, I realize that knowing that kind of thing makes me an extreme dork - I'm actually quite proud of that). Powerman-IronFist was another favorite comic of mine, I still have every issue ever published of that series.
Luke Cage is still my favorite hero - and, I was like a kid in the candy store when he joined the Avengers a couple years ago. I would love to see a Luke Cage movie (dude, come on, I mean they did Ghost Rider!! They could do Luke Cage - get Michael Clarke Duncan or Ving Rhames to play Luke. I mean, totally! (sorry, geeked out, didn't I?)
I think comics today can also teach young people good messages - about choosing good over bad, about being a good friend, about making good decisions in their lives.
AND THE MOVIES:
Today, a lot of comics are done in limited-runs (4 to 10 issues) with HOLLYWOOD as the intended target. MANY comics have been turned into movies. Not just Spider-Man and Batman - but, lots of movies you have watched have been comics first, and you didn't even know it.
300, Road to Perdition (Tom Hanks), A History of Violence (one of my faves!!!), Men in Black (I didn't know that until I researched this article today), The Mask and many others are some of the lessor known comic to movie adaptations.
One of my favorite comics recently which I think was aimed to attract a movie producer is NORTH WIND. Upon researching this comic today, I find a link that says that North Wind is, indeed, being made into a movie (http://www.wizarduniverse.com/040708northwind.html). And, I look forward to watching it - as I have really, GREATLY enjoyed reading it and experiencing it this past several months.
North Wind by BOOM! comics is a 5-issue mini series about a post apocalyptic world where staying warm in the new ice age is REALLY a major concern of everyone alive. I like post-apocalyptic stories, and enjoyed films like Resident Evil, The Postman, Water World, and others. So, this comic was right up my alley, so to speak.
Something unique about his one - you could read it for FREE online at the Boom! MySpace page - yet, my readers bought me out of this series this past year - and it was one of my best selling series of comics my store has ever (remember, 2 1/2 years only) had.
Going Forward: My store, Titan Games & Music - will continue to adapt, change, and carry what our customers want. We are adding a GAME-ING section to our store (game tables) this summer, and hope to have a good board-gaming club this fall and winter - and throughout 2009. And, I am sure we will add, drop and change other aspects of our store.
And, that is what retail is like. When I opened this store, I have a strong, even firm, vision of what my store would be. What my store is, however, is nothing like what I had planned. Yet, though adaptations and changes, Titan Games & Music has become more profitable, and healthy as a business.
I used to go to this great game store called TLC - and they provided a LOT of space for gamers to play. Free. Gamers gathered there to play magic two nights a week, in heated or air conditioned comfort. Nice!! But, the lack of purchasing caused them to close. It seems they could not pay their rent on selling pop and snacks.
So, if you are contemplating opening your own game store, that is something to keep in mind - the margins you will have, and the hurdles to success, and the need to adapt to stay viable. If you are a gamer, who likes to play at a local game store - remember, that play space that you are using for free - isn't. Someone is providing that at a major cost to them, for you to use. Even if you buy your magic cards online (or boxed games) - you should likely support that store financially in some manner.
Marcus King
Titan Games - Owner
269-963-3773
Titan-Games on eBay
