No statues at comic stores!

[imthebestatwhatido]

I'm new to the forum and I just wanted to pose this question: How are the dealers in your areas as far as stocking statues/busts? I live in MA and many dealers who used to carry statues have gone away from this. They constantly stocked "random" statues and then complained that these items were not selling thus losing money. The random person walking into these stores if they were so inclined to spend 100 dollars plus on a statue would do so for mainstream characters not a bust of fing fang foom or the crimson dynamo. I just find this to be extremely frustrating for me due to the fact that I have to rely on ebay or buying directly from the companies websites. I have always just liked the time where I could walk into a comic book shop and browse all the statues/ busts on display.

 

[CelticWarrior]

Consider yourself lucky i have petioned comic book store owners in my area to sell statues, and they simply are not intersted so i have never had the oppurtunity to see statues in person before ordering, AND the closest comic book store is an hour away so i can only go there every so often... ok im done venting..

 

[karamazov80]

My comic shop closed down altogether, so consider yourself lucky for that, as well

 

[CaptainTrenchcoat]

The store I frequent will only sell them on a prepaid basis. Which I can understand due to the cost of them. Since I buy most things online, I never bought any from him though. He doesn't discount.

 

[Anthos]

Comic stores around here (Philly area)are few and far between, we just lost Comics and More at the KoP mall which has been around for something like 25 years. The other stores locally are pretty terrible and most sell few if any comic statues.

 

[woozie0]

Welcome to the forum!

A lot of the comic book shops that I've been to in my area don't like stocking Sideshow statues because they take a lot of space. One of the owners said he doesn't like the profit margins on Sideshow stuff either so it's not worth it for him to stock...he'll just order stuff at the request of individuals.

The shop that does stock a lot of statues in my area is annoying to work with and they think they can charge as much as they want and are ENTITLED to your business because they're local and convenient...so I stay away from there as much as possible..I'd much rather order online. If they went out of business I wouldn't be the least bit surprised or sad...

 

[wookielovin]

People need to make money, But store can charge as much as they want so i can take a look and order it online!. but if people want willing to pay high prices sucks to be them.

Also investing in say 200 statue to let it sit on the shelf is pretty crazy if you think about it. The goal of any store is to bring it and sell it asap they dont want to sit on inventory and that's tuff if the market is soft.

 

[robbiethepainter]

Comic stores are going to have a hard time competing with orders on the net. You can get them cheaper and usually faster.

 

[budafett]

Yeah my local comic book shops having nothing high end so I rarely shop there to be honest...

 

[The Mike]

There is one comic book store in my area for 20 miles each direction (probably more) and that particular place does carry DC Direct statues, they used to carry Diamond, Bowen and various others but they do not stock Sideshow, Medicom or Hot Toys in any format. They are willing to order them for you but they charge full MSRP to do it and therefore it realistically doesn't make much sense. They only have one sale a year after Thanksgiving and the savings aren't that high anyway.

They've still got statues from 2002 rotting the shelves at full MSRP that I can get for 70% off on eBay. Even if my LCS were to carry items I'd never buy from them.

 

[imthebestatwhatido]

Well I guess things aren't so bad up here then. Especially since after I posted this I went to a store 20 minutes down the road and was surprised to find they were having a sale. Just picked up a sideshow premium format wolverine and full size war machine bowen statue for $300.00. This place usually has a low amount of statues but for the sale I think they brought some stuff in from sister stores.

 

[toms123]

You can pretty much blame that on technology and online retail. Many online stores offer discounts which brick&mortar store's cant compete against. Also given the minimal profit margins offered by the producers it does not become cost effective to hold stock of this pricy items. I'm lucky that a county away there's a comic shop that holds pretty much everything. I purchase my HT figures from him and although I do not get a discount like the online retailers he doesnt mark it up either. So, the way I see it, buying from him keeps him in business and gives me a place to visit. A lot of the individuals that purchase at the store have the same mentality and loyalty and a think that is what keeps him in business. You can check out the store online -Tatescomics.com - The shop has come a long way and the owner is a hell of a guy.

 

[Colossus]

This is where I work part-time and we have Statues, good online prices Tom
https://www.capstonecomics.com/

 

[CelticWarrior]

I can imagine working there would have it's advantages Would be pretty neat

 

[nemenforcer]

You can pretty much blame that on technology and online retail. Many online stores offer discounts which brick&mortar store's cant compete against. Also given the minimal profit margins offered by the producers it does not become cost effective to hold stock of this pricy items. I'm lucky that a county away there's a comic shop that holds pretty much everything. I purchase my HT figures from him and although I do not get a discount like the online retailers he doesnt mark it up either. So, the way I see it, buying from him keeps him in business and gives me a place to visit. A lot of the individuals that purchase at the store have the same mentality and loyalty and a think that is what keeps him in business. You can check out the store online -Tatescomics.com - The shop has come a long way and the owner is a hell of a guy.

I agree with you Tom. My shop is the same way. They dont hold SS but they have a lot of other stuff, mostly diamond, bowen, etc. The owners are both older Men who have collected for years and they have extensive comic knowledge. They always know how to hook me up, whether its a rare comic or free comic box. They go out of their way to back order statues for me if I miss cutoffs. Heck I even buy extra sometimes just to give them business and thats the culture of locals who go there. Some people want a good local shop and Im happy to have that. Also, they let me get all kinds of random stuff.
Im going to my shop tonite to pick up

New Fathom Aspen Matthews Statue
Aska PVC statue by Shunya Yama____a
DC Direct AH Harley Quinn, my 2nd

I have more random stuff on order like an Adam Hughes Poker set (there giving me a free joker set) and a resident evil T-Virus display. Umbrella Academy Watch haha

Im lucky to be in San Antonio, TX, we have several comic shops and a chain of about 4 stores that carries SS.

 

[jye318]

True, very hard to find one comic store sale statues, I hardly find one and find Thor pf and spiderman comq. , also got great price on both!

 

[Colossus]

I can imagine working there would have it's advantages Would be pretty neat

Yes I have to agree it does have it's advantages on Comics & Statues, some nice discounts + some Cool Shows including Movie Premieres, Free

 

[IronLungs31]

Even though I never buy statues form them, but "Things From Another World" carries statue out here in Cali. But just like other local statue retailers, they charge a little extra. I was just by there last night at City Walk and they had a Reg. Silver Surfer for $417 before 8.75% sales tax.

 

[Colossus]

Even though I never buy statues form them, but "Things From Another World" carries statue out here in Cali. But just like other local statue retailers, they charge a little extra. I was just by there last night at City Walk and they had a Reg. Silver Surfer for $417 before 8.75% sales tax.

Sold a Silver Surfer Reg. at a Show just last week to get rid of it for the store $225.00 cash, the procrastinators lost out, True Story

 

[budafett]

Sold a Silver Surfer Reg. at a Show just last week to get rid of it for the store $225.00 cash, the procrastinators lost out, True Story

Damn I would of jumped on that!