What makes a good Comic Book Store?

[Wyclefdoug]

I looked around, but didn't find anywhere to post this. I don't even know if I'm in the right room to be starting this thread, so if I'm not please direct me.

So, I have visions of starting up my own comic book store in the future, and I just want to get a better feel for what you, the buyer thinks makes a good Comic shop. What is neccesary for every Comic store, and what are some things that aren't needed at all.

Also, I'd like to hear some opinions from any current Comic store owners. Would you suggest this job, or would you steer clear.

I think that's enough to get us started. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

[StoneGold]

When they're actually fronts for selling meth.

[Wyclefdoug]

How did you know my true intentions?

[DrewTheXenocide]

1) Friendly employees. Can't stand it when I'm trying to buy something from douchebags. Also, they should be in the know about comics, at least somewhat, but should also be inviting to new readers.

2) Varied stock.

3) Location! Location! Location!

[StoneGold]

Discounts, discounts, discounts.

[Wyclefdoug]

What about collectibles and toys? Is that something you should have a big supply of, or maybe just a little bit?

[tricksterpup]

Have Comic books, is a must and Chicks with Big Boobs hanging about the store. You may laugh but damn once word got out, your store will be filled with horny Fan Boys.

[StoneGold]

Have Comic books, is a must and Chicks with Big Boobs hanging about the store. You may laugh but damn once word got out, your store will be filled with horny Fan Boys.
That or scare them off. Because fan boys fear women.

[Steven Faulkner]

BACK ISSUES. At least, that is what gets me there. If I go in and they have a sucky bask issue selection...I don't go back.

[Prelude]

I've briefly worked in a comic shop and have had relatively in-depth conversations about running a store with at least two current comic shop owners. Here's my summarized suggestions about what makes a good store from a buyer's perspective:

Attainment of Customer Loyalty
I remember a conversation I had with a first-year comic shop owner. He expressed his frustration about how people weren't afraid to purchase a few comics from his store, but were ultimately reluctant to leave their comic shop. Be a cool person to talk to and cater to your customers' needs. Make your people happy. I appreciate when a dealer gives me the comfort zone I need to regularly purchase from his or her store.

Cleanliness and Organization
I've never understood the rationale for owners to leave their store messy and unorganized. It's very simple to move from behind the counter and clean just a little on a slow-moving day. The relationship between my current local comic shop (LCS) and I began when I seen how organized he was with his inventory. Don't make it hard for me as a customer to find something.

Employee Competence and Knowledge Base
Customer service skills are obviously needed. Also, I don't expect the employee or owner to be able to answer all my comic-related questions, but I do expect him or her to at least answer basic questions. It's not hard to browse through comic publications every once in while. Easy Internet access is always helpful (unless you're constantly looking at underage pornography). Basically, if you don't know an answer, know where you can find it.

Product Diversity
There's more to comics than just comics. It's a culture! There are only a few comic shops I can recall that didn't sell comic-related statues and toys. Some shops sell posters, shirts, and everything else that's related. I'm not into all that stuff, but I'm sure there are some fans are.

Hey! Wake up. I'm done babbling.

[tricksterpup]

That or scare them off. Because fan boys fear women.
FAN BOYS do not fear the Clitoris it is your Friend. Touch it, know it, love it and it will love you back.

[Ryan K]

BACK ISSUES. At least, that is what gets me there. If I go in and they have a sucky bask issue selection...I don't go back.

Yeah. That's my number 1. Just good stock in general. Only one of the comic book stores in this are EVER adds any thing to their back issue stocks. The rest don't replinish at all and as a result most only have either overpriced items or issues from the 90's when print runs were obscene. I realized there's not a huge demand for most back issues, and it becomes a financial problem for store to restock them, but its definatel (IMO) what takes a good comic book store and makes a great comic book store.

I n keeping with the "good stock" point, I also want to mention availability of new titles. Many comic book stores around here order strictly how many copies of the book they think they will sell to regulars. This leaves no copies for people who may want to just try out a title. I have to go across town every month to get the new issues of Runaways and Legion of Super Heroes because the store near me runs out BEFORE the store even opens. Makes me not want to spend my money there at all anymore.

I'm not really a toys, cards, etc. kind of guy so I won't really give an opinion there.

As for customer service, I'm happy with a genuine "hello" when I enter. Brief conversation about my purchase is welcome at the counter, but only if you know what the hell you're talking about. For example, I buy a copy of X-Men, an example of good coversation "Oh how did you like the last issue?". An example of bad (and frequent) conversation "I heard Wolverine's going to di next issue!!!" *sigh*

Also, anymore, I think I sizeable and eclectic graphic novel section is a must. Not just Batman and X-Men books either. Indie stuff is a must. I know tons of people who don't often visit comic book store or read comic books but know of and frequent the one store in town with the good tpb selection. It's a distinguishing feature.

[Iangould]

I
Also, I'd like to hear some opinions from any current Comic store owners.

As I've said here before - comics retailing is a worthwhile and potentially profitable profession provided you're prepared to put the money and come in with a realistic, well-considered and adequately-finannced busienss plan.

[Harlock]

I currently live in a town that has no comic book shop. We used to have three. The 90's killed them. One other opened in the mid to late nineties but it died as well. I bought from all of them, but for different reasons, so maybe you should hear why and what I liked as a customer.

Comic Shop 1: They bought back issues with store credit. I happened to have some desirable back issues and wanted new issues, so store credit was okay with me. They would also buy for cash, but for like half or a quarter of what I could get on credit. This helped them keep their backissues up and it got me new books. This store also actually ordered more indy comics than the others and would have them on the shelves. I got the original Cry for Dawn series at this place when it was new.

The people that owned and were employees at this store were the best part. They talked to you, not at you. They read comics and liked them and could talk about them. They weren't elitist buttholes about anything. If you wanted to buy Lobo, Wolverine, Punisher and Morbius they didn't go, "Wow, really into cheesy antiheroes, eh?" They also were informative and knew how to sell. Let's say I was into New Mutants, actually picking up some back issues and the last two months books of the shelves and X-Force was coming out soon: "Hey, did you know that New Mutants is ending soon and a new series is coming out with Liefeld drawing them still? It's gonna have new characters and a new team. All the X-teams are changing up. Would you want me to order you a copy?"

Simple as it sounds, they'd sell to you as you purchased. This also gave them a chance to get you in on weekly pulls and make you a real regular. Finally, these guys were always cool to talk to. They didn't mind you hanging out in the store just looking, killing time, shooting the breeze or whatever. Real inviting atmosphere.

Comic Shop 2: This place was more generalized. They had toys and collectibles. Star Wars stuff was everywhere; from cards to posters to statues to figures. Their Indy selection wasn't as hot, but they had a better back issue selection than the other stores. The people at this store weren't as inviting or easy to get to know. They basically sold you your stuff and went back to talking with their friends. They were not as knowledgeable about comics either. It was obvious they didn't even bother to skim the Previews books. I mainly bought hard to find Star Wars stuff here.

Store 3: This was a hole in the wall. An older man owned it, and his daughter worked the counter most of the time. I assume the back issues were his collection, mostly, and then stuff they picked up here and there. Their back issues were so so, but were mostly mainstream. They had hardly any Indy stuff on the shelves. The best thing about this store was their "subscription" program or pulls. They gave the biggest discount in town. They didn't have a limited number of folks they'd pull for, either. The girl at the counter knew nothing about comics except what she heard and didn't care about or want to learn about them either. This was the store you went into, got your books and left, barely checking the shelves.
__________________________________________________ ___________________


So, that's my experience with local comic shops. My ideal shop would: have knowledgable and friendly owners/salespeople who were approachable and not condescending, sell books at a great discount, also offering bag and board service on new books, carry a nice selection of back-issue comics at a good price, would be aware of what I was buying and inform me of related titles and upcoming events in those books, would look at the back issues I purchase and say, "Hey, I can get some more New Mutants in if you want", carry the collectibles and related comic-geek paraphanalia, would buy books on credit or for cash to add back issue inventory, carry supplies like bags and boards and boxes, and be friendly and knowledgable (yeah, I have mentioned that already, but that's the biggest part.)

If you want to succeed in selling things, you have to try and sell them actively, not by sitting behind the counter playing solitaire. The comics cannot speak to me from the shelves and I have no idea what is in your back issue boxes without going through them myself, and hey, I may not have that much time to kill. That comic owner that looked at what I was getting and then would say, "I see you bought some Batman back issues, do you want me to find you something in particular or start ordering that new series starting next month?" made more money that way!

Even though that shop closed over a decade ago, I still remember the owner's name and face. He knew my name and face, (doubt he still does, after all, he had more to memorize than I did) and that meant a lot to me. He rememberd in general, what books I bought and he'd keep me abreast of new developments which only increased his profit margin.

No one ever did this here, but I imagine a special discount on Number Ones is a good way to hook people on a new series. "Oh, I can get Ms. Marvel 1 for 50% off instead of your normal 25% off for pulls? Yeah, I'll take it!" Collectors, being OCD about having complete runs, can then in turn add one moer book to your sales each month. Also, run a weekly or monthly special on back issues. 25% off Batman back issues in conjunction with the next Batman movies' release, etc.

Finally, as a dealer, you have to be on the lookout for good deals. Check eBay and just see if sometimes you can't get a 10 book run of McFarlane ASM for $0.99 and $6.00 shipping. It happens everyday, some decent back issues go for nothing simply because no one bids on them. Call your friends who used to collect and see if they even want their collection anymore. What with the bottom falling out in the 90s, most folks are rather disheartened by their massive collection and have wives who could use the storage space anyway. You can get them cheap, especially if it's a friend.

So, sorry this is such a long post, but I wanted to share with you what I think would make a really nice store. Best of luck.

[i_mmmchocolate]

Approachable and knowledgable employees.

[Joe Rice]

rocketshipstore.blogspot.com

[Violently Apathetic]

No high pressure tactics from the employees, lots of selection and no dingy smell. Oh, and employees who don't stare at my ass (or at least do it discretely) as I dig through the long boxes are always nice.

[Ryan Day]

Lots of selection, and lots of knowledge by the staff. Most of the bad stores I've been to have been run as more of a hobby than a business - store owners who are only interested in, and only carry, the titles they personally want; most of the time, that's Marvel/DC/bits of Image & Dark Horse. Carry lots of different books from lots of different publishers, and maybe you can a) attract different customers and b) expand your current customers' reading habits and get them to spend more money.

And the knowledge part is key: Even if you can't afford to carry everything - and few stores can - you should know what's going on in the industry with different publishers and creators. I remember getting blank look at one store when I asked about Shaolin Cowboy - and I certainly wouldn't consider a book drawn by Geof Darrow and published by the freaking Wachowski Brothers to be particularly obscure. If you say "We don't have it," the very next words out of your mouth should be "but we can order it for you." (unless you know it's sold out or something)

Generally: Have a clean, organized store. I don't mind a bit of mess or untidiness, but it shouldn't feel like I walked into your bedroom. It shouldn't feel like a clubhouse, either - I don't want to be surrounded by 500 posters of the X-Men or a bunch of semi-naked women. And while a friendly and casual atmosphere is good, that shouldn't extend to your employees' swearing or putting their conversations ahead of the customers.

[Iangould]

When they're actually fronts for selling meth.

That's unfair, they also make good fronts for selling porn.

(Aside: I heard a rumor about a Games Workshop store in England that had exceptionally good sales for 2 or 3 years running and, I think, even won some sort of commendation.

Then the company's management found out that the staff were using the store to sell drugs and ploughing some of the profits back into their own massive
GW collections.)

[Wyclefdoug]

Thanks for the all the insight guys. The area I was hoping to open a store up doesn't have any comic shops right now, and if I opened a shop I'd like to make sure I can offer what the customer really wants.

To be honest, I don't have a huge background on comics. I've only been collecting for about 10 months, but I've had a huge amount of fun getting into comics and I'd like to open a store. I just like the environment of comic stores. My girlfriend even likes going to comic shops, and she has no interest at all in comics.

Like I said, I don't have a huge comic background, but I'm willing to put in some time to learn, and I'd like to think I'd be very customer friendly. The only problem right now, is that I'm 23, and have $0. I'll have to work on some things to get a store open, but for now, I'm just trying to gather as much info as possible about opening a store.



New Question:

To those of you who do buy Magic Cards and all that, if I would decide to sale those in my store, how many of you would be interested in holding tournaments and what not at the Comic Store?

[Ullar]

What I like about my store is it has everything. your store should have
Statues, Busts, Maquetess
Action FIgures
Shirts
Banks
Cotten Candy
Subscriber Service
TCG
CCG
Heroclix

[Harlock]

New Question:

To those of you who do buy Magic Cards and all that, if I would decide to sale those in my store, how many of you would be interested in holding tournaments and what not at the Comic Store?

In my area we've never had an RPG/Comic store. I know this isn't exactly what you asked, but I will answer your question, I promise. We had the 4 stores I mentioned before and we have one RPH/Hobby Game store. It does a decent business. This is a college town and we have a military base here as well, so there is a definite market for comics and hobby games.

The RPG store does well. In fact, George has expanded the store 4 times in the last decade and now has a second store. If you have enough square footage in your space, having an area for folks to play D&D, Magic (or any of the countless other card game sout now), Hero Clix or just to sit and read a comic while sipping a soda can be a good thing. George has gone so far as to install an old Coca Cola machine and sell snacks. You can pick up a box of 100 slim jims and a case of Mt. Dew from Sam's Club and resell them individually for a decent profit.

I, for one, would love a store that could seriously cater to gamers and comic book fans because oftentimes they are one in the same.

[tricksterpup]

I am just saying if its good enough for Hooters, its good enough for my local comic shop.

[Wyclefdoug]

Thanks for all the good advice. You've brought a lot of ideas to my attention I wouldn't have thought of otherwise.

New Question: What about adding a small Lan for gamers to play on? Is that something that would fit into a comic shop, or is that better suited for something else?

[Iangould]

New Question:

To those of you who do buy Magic Cards and all that, if I would decide to sale those in my store, how many of you would be interested in holding tournaments and what not at the Comic Store?

For whatever reason, a LOT of comics fans resent gamers intruding into "their" stores - and gamers can be pretty loud and obnoxious.

I'm a big fan of in-store gaming as part of a comics/gaming store - on the proviso that you have a completely separate gaming area in a different room to the main body of the store.

[Brad Curran]

A well stocked, eclectic selection and helpful but not pushy staff are big ones to me. That's why I will go an hour out of my way to go to two shops out of town more often than I will to the one 5 minutes from my house. Certainly, being well lit and clean are nice (what's with the dim lighting in so many shops?) but as long as the place isn't a hovel and I can get what I want without a pull list, I'm cool. A good selection of trades is a plus, but I usually buy those outside shops. But if there are only like 5 new single issues on your walls, three of which are in bags and marked up... god, Waldenbooks has a better selection than that. That is my local shop. I'm tempted to start one myself, except for my lack of money or any business savy at all.

[Brad Curran]

For whatever reason, a LOT of comics fans resent gamers intruding into "their" stores - and gamers can be pretty loud and obnoxious.

I'm a big fan of in-store gaming as part of a comics/gaming store - on the proviso that you have a completely separate gaming area in a different room to the main body of the store.

Yeah, the seperate room thing seems best. My crappy local shop gets clogged up with gamers on Saturdays, and makes it nigh impossible to go in there if you want a comic. Beyond the fact that there a barely any comics. But the good one I go to, and even the collectibles place in the mall that only sells back issues, has a room for the gaming.

[Iangould]

Thanks for all the good advice. You've brought a lot of ideas to my attention I wouldn't have thought of otherwise.

New Question: What about adding a small Lan for gamers to play on? Is that something that would fit into a comic shop, or is that better suited for something else?

A couple of points:

- as with other games, you'd need to segregate them from the shop - which could create problems ifyou need to leave the counter to debug the machines;

- LAN gamers tend to spend long strecthes of time playing and often seem to prefer to play at night - is it financially viable to keep those sort of hours?

- Do you have the tech skills to keep the network running?

- what would the capital cost be?

[Chiasm]

At risk of offending half the posters here ;) Just kidding. Er, not really. ;) :D

A store that doesn't attract the people that make you embarrassed to buy comics or if it does attract them has a special room for them to hang out with one another. You know who I'm talking about. The ones who not only look like a stereotypical comic book geek but smell like them and talk like them. You know who I'm talking about. The ones who start foaming at the mouth when discussing whether or not Batman could beat Captain America in a fight. The ones who talk a little bit louder than required and have a bit of a lisp. The ones who have never used a comb. And the ones for whom basic hygiene is a once a month experience. My comic shop has at least four of these kind. One who slobbers (literally) all over the counters looking at Magic cards. Two who talk (actually yell) as if life depended on it to everyone who comes in why Batman could beat Goku in a fight (or something like that - the fight changes each week). And one who just stinks, so bad in fact that you almost don't pick up your weekly shipment if your unlucky enough to be there at the same time.

[Wyclefdoug]

Thanks. I'll try and keep the stinky kids out of my store. Here's a little summary of what I've learned you want in a comic book store so far.

1. Wide variety
2. Clean well lit store
3. Knowledge of comics
4. Good Back issue collection
5. Friendly employees
6. Collectibles variety

If I have a Lan/Card Tourneys keep them away from the actual comic shop.

Anything else you guys like?

[Chiasm]

My serious answer since my last was more a bitch at comic shop groupies not what I like.

1. Back issues - don't care much. I've been collecting comics for 20+ years now. I've got a comic shop in my basement. What do I need more back issues for?

2. Knowledge of comics - again don't care. Odds are that usually I know as much as the comic shop owner in the areas I'm interested in at least.

3. Friendly - a definite plus. Don't ridicule my choices. Don't act like your doing me a favor by putting a comic in my pull box. Here's an example of what not to do - this was about fifteen years or so ago during the speculative craze. And this comic shop is long out of business. I had Ghost Rider on my pull list. Ghost Rider #15 with the glow in the dark cover came out. The comic shop owner acted like I was making him lose money because since I had Ghost Rider on my pull list he couldn't charge me quintuple the cover price. He had priced all the issues for the non pull box customers at $15.00 an issue. :mad:

3b. Go out of your way to support your regular customers. Recently something happened with either Marvel or Diamond and Hyperion #3 got shorted during shipments. My comic shop manager knew I was a huge Supreme Power fan (and thus a Hyperion fan) and went out of his way to make sure they got a copy of Hyperion #3 special ordered to me (at no cost to me). He actually did it before I had even been in to find out what happened. It may cost you money in the short term but your regular customers will reward you in the long run by being regular customers.

4. Good selection of bags, boards, and boxes.

5. If you have room put comics on one side and Magic cards and similar on the other. Besides the drooling Magic freak who haunts my store there are several who can literally clog up all the room in front of the comics while trying to decide which unopened pack has that special card in it.

6. Have a wall for comics that came out this week. Have another for comics that have come out in the last month. Then have back issues in another spot. That way the customers who don't come in every week can still find the relatively new comics without scrounging through the bins. Because if you make them do that odds are they will miss a lot they might otherwise pick up.

[Kid Omega]

My best advice?

The Worst Possible Way to build a model is straw-polling fans on a message board.

You have to have a clear idea of what YOU want, and then adapt to your local market.

You are going to get a hundred different perspectives from a hundred different POVs, and none of them may work for your location or potential customer base.

Have a vision, research your market, and be flexible within a clear business plan. That is my advice.

[Paradox]

Prelude writes the guidelines:

Attainment of Customer Loyalty
I remember a conversation I had with a first-year comic shop owner. He expressed his frustration about how people weren't afraid to purchase a few comics from his store, but were ultimately reluctant to leave their comic shop. Be a cool person to talk to and cater to your customers' needs. Make your people happy. I appreciate when a dealer gives me the comfort zone I need to regularly purchase from his or her store.

Cleanliness and Organization
I've never understood the rationale for owners to leave their store messy and unorganized. It's very simple to move from behind the counter and clean just a little on a slow-moving day. The relationship between my current local comic shop (LCS) and I began when I seen how organized he was with his inventory. Don't make it hard for me as a customer to find something.

Employee Competence and Knowledge Base
Customer service skills are obviously needed. Also, I don't expect the employee or owner to be able to answer all my comic-related questions, but I do expect him or her to at least answer basic questions. It's not hard to browse through comic publications every once in while. Easy Internet access is always helpful (unless you're constantly looking at underage pornography). Basically, if you don't know an answer, know where you can find it.

Product Diversity
There's more to comics than just comics. It's a culture! There are only a few comic shops I can recall that didn't sell comic-related statues and toys. Some shops sell posters, shirts, and everything else that's related. I'm not into all that stuff, but I'm sure there are some fans are.

This needs to be mass-faxed to every comic shop in the U.S. (only 'cause I've never been in a comic shop in another country).

[Wyclefdoug]

My best advice?

The Worst Possible Way to build a model is straw-polling fans on a message board.

You have to have a clear idea of what YOU want, and then adapt to your local market.

You are going to get a hundred different perspectives from a hundred different POVs, and none of them may work for your location or potential customer base.

Have a vision, research your market, and be flexible within a clear business plan. That is my advice.

I agree that I need to have a vision and research and all that, and I do. I know what I like and think, but it's also helpful to get other points of view. Being that I've only been in a handful of comic shops so far, I don't know everything that might be out there. A lot of the stuff people have said, I've already thought about, but then they've also pointed out some interesting things to consider.

With that said, the area I'm considering opening a shop has never had a comic shop in my lifetime (24 years). How should I guage how much interest there is in comics before opening a shop? Do I try to get into high schools somehow?

[Iangould]

My best advice?

The Worst Possible Way to build a model is straw-polling fans on a message board.

You have to have a clear idea of what YOU want, and then adapt to your local market.

You are going to get a hundred different perspectives from a hundred different POVs, and none of them may work for your location or potential customer base.

Have a vision, research your market, and be flexible within a clear business plan. That is my advice.

I agree that I need to have a vision and research and all that, and I do. I know what I like and think, but it's also helpful to get other points of view. Being that I've only been in a handful of comic shops so far, I don't know everything that might be out there. A lot of the stuff people have said, I've already thought about, but then they've also pointed out some interesting things to consider.

With that said, the area I'm considering opening a shop has never had a comic shop in my lifetime (24 years). How should I guage how much interest there is in comics before opening a shop? Do I try to get into high schools somehow?

You should think very seriously about engaging the services of Mel Thompson who can be contacted at www.comtrac.net.

Mel is, so far as I know, the only retailing consultant who specialises in comics and he has a great deal of demographic information which he can use to predict the likely sales of a store of a given size and product range in the proposed location.

In addition to everythign that Omega said I would emphasise the need to be adequately capitalised and the value of actual comic shop experience - even if you have to contact an out of state retailer and offer to work for them for free for a week.

I'll also mention the 90/10 rule. The hardcore comics fans are likely to make up about 10% of your customer base - and make 90% of the noise. If you concentrate on making them happy - e.g. by offering big discounts - you will end up making decisions which either are irrelevant ot the other 90% of your customers or actively alienate that 90%.

[Kid Omega]

In addition to everythign that Omega said I would emphasise the need to be adequately capitalised and the value of actual comic shop experience - even if you have to contact an out of state retailer and offer to work for them for free for a week.


Absolutely. maybe more than one.

Here's the thing... The comics DM is in a state of flux these days, like no other no time since it's inception. There are as many types of comic shop as there are mainstream bookstores, and you should be aware of all of them, or be prepared to create your own model from the ground up.

As Ian pointed out, catering to hardcore fans and making your store accesable to a general audience are two very different things.... and you have to know what balance to strike.

(As an extreme example, a mom with a stroller looking for birthday presents can spend a pile of cash in a store that she's comfortable in (no piles of statues cluttering the floor or posters of lady Death in the window), while the fan who demands a large back issue selection may only need one issue to fill his Punisher set.)

There are so many variables out there, until you have a clearer of idea what you want, it's hard to give concrete advice...

Ian's advice is sound and probably the best so far.

[Michael P]

For whatever reason, a LOT of comics fans resent gamers intruding into "their" stores - and gamers can be pretty loud and obnoxious.

I don't resent gamers being in the store as much as I resent the employees gaming while I'm standing by the register with my purchase, and then acting all pissy when they actually drag their fat asses over to do their job.

So, if you put in a gaming room, institute a "no gaming on duty" rule for the employees. They want to hang around and game after their shift, go for it, but when they're on your time, customers come first.

[cable guy]

My best advice?

The Worst Possible Way to build a model is straw-polling fans on a message board.

You have to have a clear idea of what YOU want, and then adapt to your local market.

You are going to get a hundred different perspectives from a hundred different POVs, and none of them may work for your location or potential customer base.

Have a vision, research your market, and be flexible within a clear business plan. That is my advice.

Sound advice to actually succeed in any market.

But it is a very good idea to get peoples opinions who have a passion in the very market you are getting into. Good, helpful, friendly service is very important in this field for instance.

But again I agree that you can't listen to every suggestion of every 'customer', or you'll be out of business.

[mgs]

makes it good:
-large, varied and updated selection of comics
-friendly, helpful staff
-uncreepy, well lit store

makes it bad:
-messy, books strewn all over the place
-really a porn store/toy store in disguise (note: the comics should NOT be secondary in a comic book store)
-creepy, unfriendly staff
-boys club, smells bad and feels like a girl would have to carry mace on her to enter such store.


it's really pretty easy, it's odd how many don't observe these general recommendations