Starting a business is a serious venture, and you need to be prepared with industry knowledge and a good plan. Don't be discouraged, though — simply take it one step at a time and make sure you're thinking realistically. Know the challenges you'll face and how to overcome them. The better your preparation is, the more likely you'll be able to take any hits the business world throws at you.
The following tips will help guide you through the process of planning, starting, and growing your online comic book shop.
- Know Your Audience
Since people tend to share content that affects them emotionally, it's more important than ever to understand the demographic you're selling to. Fans of comic books are deeply invested in their favorite characters and stories, so you have a way to connect with them right away. But you still need to decide which types of comic book fans you're going to try to attract to your store. Writers are often told to "write what you most want to read." This adage translates well into eCommerce. What comic books fueled your passion to collect, and which new comics and graphic novels pique your interest now? Why do you love them? What defines you as a customer, and what do you have in common with other comic book collectors? Should you sell collectible classics like The Amazing Spider-Man and The Dark Knight, or jump on the fast-moving graphic novel train? What about manga? Should you expand into trading cards and other licensed merchandise to satisfy your target audience?
Knowing who you want to sell to can often help you define what you want to sell and why. In marketing parlance this is known as branding. Knowing the answers to those brand identity questions is over half the battle to creating a successful online comic store.
- Checking the Stacks and Boxes: Inventory
You might be starting out by selling off your own massive collection, but even so, you will quickly need to plug into a reliable and good-quality product supply chain. After all, if you want to keep your business running, you'll need to source more comic books to keep selling after you've sold out of the ones you already have. You can start by finding comic book outlets that restock popular series and carry a few marquee early edition classics. Online resources like eBay can be useful, and you can also visit your favorite wholesalers, gaming/comic shops, and conventions to acquire physical inventory.
However, the most reliable way to restock comic books and get all the newest releases is to form a relationship with a distributor. Distributors work directly with publishers to provide comics to retailers in bulk and at wholesale pricing. Buying wholesale makes it much easier to turn a profit — eBay sellers, for example, may be selling collectible comics at a price already high enough to make it difficult to flip for profit, but you can occasionally find an underpriced treasure. Whichever way you choose to supply, be sure to tailor your stock to your brand concept.
- Understand Comic Book Pricing
If you're selling back issues or rarities, you'll want to make sure your pricing reflects the actual value of these comics as collectibles. There are several resources to help you learn about pricing. The Wizard magazine used to be the go-to source (and has attempted a comeback), but today, you can find comic book pricing guides online.
Some comic pricing guides are free, while others offer paid services. Examples of online comic pricing guides include ComicsPriceGuide.com, QualityComix.com, and ComicBookRealm. Sell My Comic Books is a buyer and appraisal service with a useful article about how comic book price guides work, and while they do want you to use their service, this is a good introduction to the process and pitfalls of comic book pricing. Wikipedia also has a small list of both printed and online comic book pricing guides (as well as a brief explanation of quality grades that should only be used as a starting point).
- Understand Comic Book Grades
Comic book grades also come into play if you're selling used or collectible back issues. They represent the condition of the comic and run from Near Mint condition down to Poor. Near Mint comics sell for the most, while Poor comics sell for the least and in many cases aren't worth much as collectibles at all. You need a solid understanding of these grades in order to price your comics appropriately and to prevent customers from being upset that their purchase didn't match the quality grade at which you advertised it.
The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide is an annual print publication that is considered the top authority on how to grade comic books. If you want to read about comic book grading online, Lone Star Comics' website MyComicShop.com has an excellent guide you can use to grade your own comics. Their standards are based on the same ones found in the Overstreet guide.
- Choose the Right Shopping Cart Software for Your Website
Once you're ready to start building your online comic book store, you're going to need the right eCommerce platform to serve as your foundation. This means choosing shopping cart software that has everything you need to sell online and meet the unique needs of a comic book retailer. For example, you need powerful and flexible inventory management that works equally well whether you have dozens of a particular issue in stock, or only one of a highly collectible issue. Unlimited product categories will help customers find the comics they're looking for. Waiting lists are great for customers who hope you'll be getting more of a sold-out issue in stock, and pre-orders are fantastic for promoting new releases ahead of time.
Other important features include unlimited product photos with zoom, especially for selling collectible issues that customers will want to inspect closely before buying. And Shift4Shop's Make-an-Offer Price Haggling feature will allow you to accept the best offer from customers, and submit counteroffers until both of you agree on a price.
- Create a Super Marketing Strategy
The comic fandom is huge, so your most effective marketing will be interacting with them in some way. Naturally, SEO is crucial for attracting those customers who start out Googling the comics you sell. Blogging about your comics is a great way to boost SEO and also establish yourself as an authority that readers will respect. People love to read about their interests, and this is also your chance to share your opinions. You can blog about both new releases and classics, write reviews, or go into historical discussions — perhaps about the history of comics and the different ages they went through, periods of popularity, and trends like the antiheroes of the 1990s.
You can also expand your marketing with Facebook posts, Instagram stories, and even YouTube videos. Participate on comics forums without acting overly promotional, and even visit conventions from time to time. If your potential customers see you first and foremost as a person who loves comics and not just a faceless online store, they're more likely to trust you and to buy from you, again and again.
