Comic Zone is Closing on Monday, May 30th

It is with a heavy heart that I share this news to anyone following.

As you can tell, we haven’t made a blog post since August, and it was shortly after that when we knew we needed to close. We kept hoping against hope that we could avoid it, and I think we did pretty well to hang on for another 9 months. But it hasn’t been an easy 9 months at all.

When I first realized we would need to close, I felt really sad and depressed for a couple of months. We kept calling people and trying to work out deals to keep the store going, even if we were not involved, or perhaps not AS involved in it. We had lots of nibbles, lots of ideas were tossed around. We even hired a business broker to try to sell the business for us, but in the end, nothing has panned out, and we had to make a decision.

After planning to close the store at the end of December, then the end of January, then February, then March, we finally set a solid date to stay open through Free Comic Book Day and close at the end of May.

And that time is now here.

As I look back over the past three years – we had at least six months of planning before we even opened – I can say that I am really glad we did it. It’s been an amazing experience and we have met some primo quality people… our customers.

In thinking back over the past two and a half years, I realized that we have never had a bad customer in our store. Comic book fans are the BEST people! Intelligent, creative, appreciative, polite. More than anything, I have valued our customers, and more than anything, my heart is heavy for letting them down by closing.

One of the reasons I personally wanted to open the store was so that my sons, my partner, and I could own a business together and learn some of the ins and outs of being entrepreneurs. On this count, I would say that all four of us benefited greatly. It gave us a different mindset to take into the world, and into our next ventures. And for that I am very grateful.

I am also grateful for the opportunity to have worked with my sons in such a setting. It’s a different kind of bonding experience. Oh, it wasn’t all milk and honey, but for the most part, we could discuss and settle our differences in a satisfactory way. Our strength was always our individual gifts. Between the four of us, we had it all covered.

In looking back as to what we could have done better, I would say that our marketing was always our weakest link. We all knew that, and in fact, had hired three different consultants to help us improve on it, but alas, at the end of the day, we didn’t do as well as we possibly could have. If I had it to do over, I would have approached it differently. However, back then, I didn’t know what I know now.

Monday is our final day. I want to end it on a good note. We will be open from 10 am to 6 pm. We will have huge sales all day. We will have pizza, just like when we opened.

I could get all sappy here about how it’s felt like home to be here, how this has been OUR creation, and the joy that I got from that… and how much I will miss having the store. But honestly, there will be time to lament after we are closed. For now, I just want to make the most of the two days we have left.

Hope to see you on Monday!!!

Phoenix Comicon 2010 by Linda

From my perspective, Phoenix Comicon was AMAZING!

After much preparation, the day finally arrived where we could set up our booth. Unfortunately, at the beginning of the week, I had been stricken with an abscessed tooth and, although on the mend, was still recuperating, so I didn’t participate in this part. Still, I was very encouraged to learn that we had a great opening night – making more money at the Con than we did in the store! This would continue to be the trend for the next few days, although I also noticed that store activity was also greater than usual. Comics were in the air.

On Friday, I had the privilege to work our booth all day, along with Avery and Sean. Andy manned the store for the few hours we were open. I really enjoyed myself! It was great to be a part of the energy, to watch the Con really gaining momentum, as costumes became wilder and more prolific as the weekend unfolded. The vendors were all gearing up for Saturday, purported to be the busiest day of the Con. I absolutely loved that we had the WorldWide Villains and Tosh Delaney in the booth next to us, since they have been guests at our store many times and it felt like home. Andy had also done some art in Tosh’s newest publication, so that was cool too.

We had a good Saturday, although I wasn’t at the Con during the day. I was at the store from 10 am till 7 pm; and we had a pretty good day at the store too! I actually enjoyed hanging out there, although my thoughts were constantly with our booth at the Con – the guys were all so busy, they didn’t update me on anything until almost closing time!

After I closed the store, I headed out to the Con so that Avery and I could attend the Guests of Honor Dinner. The table settings were festive and impeccable. The food was great. The company was superb! We got to sit with Tony Parker and a few others that we hadn’t met before. I was sort of surprised that there were no speakers or introductions of the Guests, but all in all, it was a fun night.

Sunday morning, I headed out for the last day of Con – I had a couple of hours before the store opened. Things were already gearing up for the final day. We had decided to run a blow-out sale which moved a LOT of merchandise for us – something that we really needed to do. So, again, a great success.

When I closed the store, I headed back for the inevitable loading. It got complicated. I think the system may have been the best it could be, but it broke down in a few places, and I was stuck waiting for over an hour. We finally worked everything out, loaded up the car with all it could hold in all of 5-10 minutes, and Avery and I headed back to the store. Andy and Sean waited for Sean’s friend to come with the truck for the bulk of the boxes.

I still need to enter the sales and we still need to put away the comics we still have left, but all in all, it was an awesome weekend!

You can see pictures at our Facebook page.

First Friday shut-down

Friday was my birthday, and it was also First Friday. For the past several months, we have participated in First Friday. A friend of ours has allowed us to set up a table at her space so that others can know about Comic Zone.

Well, this past Friday didn’t go as planned. For one, it was my BIRTHDAY! Did I really want to be working HARD on my birthday? As a matter of fact, yes, I did. I love Comic Zone and anything I can do to make it successful makes me happy. So, I was really okay with that part. However, because it was my birthday, some friends took me to lunch, and afterwards, I didn’t feel so well. I’m not sure why – all I had was salad and hummus – but for some reason, I was feeling blech. Hanging out in 100˚ heat didn’t sound like as much fun. But, Comic Zone prevailed, so I bit the bullet and we headed on down to 5th St.

When we got to the shop, no one was there, so we just set up on the lawn as normal. Then, just as we finished, our friend’s new partner arrived, and said that he wanted to set up there and we’d have to move. Lovely. At that point, I wanted to go home. I began to think that maybe I hadn’t been feeling well because we weren’t meant to go to First Friday this month.

But, again, Comic Zone prevailed, and we moved everything over to the other side of the sidewalk, on the lawn between the sidewalk and the street. And we waited.

Business doesn’t really begin to pick up at First Friday until about 9 pm. Between 6-9, there are lots of people looking and a few small purchases, but we really don’t get going until later – and then it is non-stop for 2-3 hours! But if we don’t set up by 4 pm, all of the streets are closed off, and we don’t get a good parking spot.

So, there we sat, and waited… helping a few customers, answering lots of questions, etc. Two guys came up with clip boards, and asked us if Comic Zone was our store. We said yes, and then they proceeded to tell us that we were not allowed to vend there due to zoning laws, that we had to be associated with a shop. We told them that our friend rented the shop we were in front of, but he said that wasn’t enough, that we couldn’t even have an exchange of money outside. It all had to be done inside. Who knew? We asked why all of a sudden, and they said that the vending was just getting out of hand and that they had to reign it in. He gave us an hour to take everything down.

Well, our friend wasn’t there that night – just her partner. We told him, and he didn’t say a word. The zoning folks went in to talk to him too. We packed up and left.

So, no more First Fridays for us in downtown Phoenix.

It was fun while it lasted, for sure, but I am really okay with not peddling comics on hot summer nights anyway.

In the meantime, we are exploring other gigs, other possibilities, so stay tuned.

Pitching to a different crowd

Comic Zone had a presence at the 3rd Friday Gallery Walk. We felt like experts as we set up our tables and comic books. We had chosen our selection with care, and didn’t bring quite as much merchandise with us as we had for 1st Friday. As a result, we were set up relatively quickly.

We noticed immediately that there was a big difference from 1st Friday. For one, the streets weren’t closed off. We were able to park on the street RIGHT in front of our tables. I was much more relaxed knowing I could keep an eye on the car, not to mention that I left many personal things IN the car, knowing I could retrieve them as I needed. Unloading was MUCH easier. No lugging many boxes and tables from behind the house in the back alley.

Another big difference was that there were hardly any people walking the street. On 1st Friday, we saw a steady stream of folks. On 3rd Friday, not so much. And the folks that did pass by didn’t glance our way much at all. They were a different crowd. Not as bohemian, not as artsy, and most seemed like they had a mission to get to their destination. *sigh*

Thirdly, our hostess, Maryana, didn’t show up. Due to a few bizarre twists of fate, no one was there to open up the host house! But, we didn’t really mind. Between the Conspire coffee shop and the Lost Leaf, we were able to take care of our needs.

Given all of that, however, we still had a blast! A few people stopped by, and right near the beginning of the evening, one young man gushed and practically drooled over the comics. You could tell that he is definitely a comic book reader, and was so very excited to find out that we would be selling comics on 1st Fridays from now on. His enthusiasm was very welcome, and in fact, kept us warm for quite a while after.

We made a few sales. We talked to some great folks. We gave out business cards. So, more people know about the store. More people know about US. And we had a good time catering to a fun bunch of people.

We had decided to pack up around 11:30, when I got caught up in a great conversation with a couple of guys who were also into real estate investing. We actually didn’t break down until nearly midnight.

On Saturday, my butt was dragging. I never knew how much sitting outside in the cold for 8 hours or so saps your energy!

All in all, it was a great experience. We’ll just have to learn how to pitch to a different crowd on 3rd Fridays.

I Have Issues

We had Tom Healy and Shaun Kronenfeld from I Have Issues in the store on Wednesday. This was their first visit to the store, and I was happy to hear that they liked what they saw. They did their show, and hung out with us for a bit, and then went on their way. The show aired on Friday. You can see it here: http://blip.tv/file/3091468

Enjoy!

Fun Times at the Zone

Today we had a meeting to discuss plans for events in the coming months. I am really excited about our offerings.

For one, we have the writing group which I facilitate on the fourth Saturday morning of each month. The emphasis is on good, interesting writing of any kind, including comic book writing! To expand on this, we are also going to start a drawing group, facilitated by Andy, on the third Saturday morning of each month, starting in February. Similar to the writing group, we will emphasize all sorts of drawing, and will include drawing for comic books. To put the two of these together, in March we are planning to do a 24 hour comic book making marathon, where everyone will leave with a comic book that they created.

We are also planning to hold a comic book discussion group on the second Saturday of the month in the late afternoon, early evening. Andy will facilitate this, but I am also really looking forward to this, so that I can get some good data and information for a series of articles I plan to write on comic books as modern mythology.

We are also talking about having a game night – all sorts of games, including video games, card games, role playing games, board games, etc. Each month we will announce a new game, or maybe more than one. I am tentatively scheduling them for the first Saturday evening of each month, but I’ll keep you posted on this.

I am also researching the feasibility of doing a movie night once a month. That would be so fun!

As usual, we will have guests in the store on a regular basis. We are currently working with Tom Leveen on a book-release party, as his fantasy book will be released in April. Also, beginning conversations with Jeff Mariotte who will be releasing his 5 issue mini-series, Fade to Black, in May. We are conversing with Daniel Davis, who produces a web comic called Monster Commute as well as being the creator of Steam Crow for sometime this spring, and hope to have Diana Gabaldon in once her graphic novel based on the Outlander series is released.

And of course, we will have an ongoing presence at the First Friday Art Walk going forward.

So, stay tuned. There’s never a dull moment with Comic Zone!

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays!

Wishing you and yours a very warm and wonderful

holiday season, and a fun and prosperous 2010.

Many blessings,

Sean, Andy, Linda, and Avery

of Comic Zone

Highlights of 2009

Comic Zone celebrated their one year anniversary

Linda launched Wholistic Prosperity, a personal growth coaching business

Sean moved into his own place with three other housemates

Andy continues to live with his three other housemates

Avery and Linda’s solar water heater broke, flooding four rooms, all of which have been renovated to be better than before

Linda renewed her real estate license and is currently going for her Green designation from the National Association of Realtors

Sean continues his studies in real estate investing

Andy works part time in the theater dept of Scottsdale Community College

Avery continues to work on his writing

Linda joined Toastmasters

Avery and Linda went to California three times for various druid events

Comic Zone has a wonderful new website: http://comiczoneaz.com

Why Gift Certificates?

Honestly, there isn’t anything better than getting your favorite comic book fan a gift certificate for the holidays or for a birthday or any special occasion. Why, you may ask? There are several good reasons for gift certificates.

1. You may not know precisely what they like as there are many issues of many different comics

2. You may not know exactly what they have as there are many issues of many different comics

3. A gift certificate is easy to wrap

4. They can use the gift certificate at their leisure, so if they are waiting for a certain issue that isn’t coming out for awhile, they can use it in the future.

5. They can use it in our online store and never leave their home

6. They can use it to get gifts for other people

7. They can use it to buy a graphic novel which entitles them to our preferred customer punch cards which awards future discounts

8. They can use it to buy a Comic Zone t-shirt which would give them a 10% discount on any purchase made while they are wearing the shirt

9. You can just come in and buy a gift certificate quickly when you are in a hurry

10. And finally, you can buy one for yourself when you want to treat yourself as a reward for some success or accomplishment in your life.

You’ll be happy to hear that Comic Zone sells gift certificates in any denomination you may want. They are available year round.

And if you are still looking for last minute gifts, we are open tonight until 8 pm and on Christmas Eve until 5 pm.

Success

Well, we have joined the ranks of new businesses considered successful in that we are not among the 50% of businesses who fail in the first year. To what do we attribute this success?

The first quality that has really helped us is perseverance. We have continued through the ups and downs. We have persisted, insisted on making this work. More than once we have been down to our last $1000 and wondered how we would continue. A few times we were rescued by our private financing source. A few times one or another of us made a small member contribution so we could continue. All four of us made great sacrifices in time and money to keep the store going.

The second quality that has made a huge difference is our ability to take a step back, assess where we are at, and not be afraid of changing things up. If something wasn’t working, we tried something else. We found out that, for our business, costly display ads in popular periodicals do not pay off for us! I think we got one or two customers from our display ads. We found out that having remotes from radio stations frequented by our target audience works like a charm. Two hours, for a fraction of what a display ad costs, would more than pay for itself that day, and we’d continue to realize positive repercussions for the next week or more. We found that simple flyers and word of mouth were very effective marketing tools, and right now, we are exploring a solid marketing presence in social media. Every step is a learning experience and we keep what works, and let go of what doesn’t.

The third quality that serves us well is knowing when to say no. We learned very quickly not to order too much from our distributor. We learned that sometimes it’s better to run out of an issue than to stock too much. We learned that people want to sell us their comics, and hope to make a fortune doing so…. we usually tell them if they want to make a fortune, they need to do the work and sell their prizes individually. We really don’t have time to do that, nor can we pay what they are hoping to get. But sometimes, people just want to help us out, as they de-clutter their garage or what-not. We have learned that even at a very reasonable price, we need to be discerning. We really don’t need a bunch of comics that aren’t in demand.

Most important of all, however, is our dedication to our customers. We bend over backwards to please our customers. We have a solid and healthy pull-box membership. We have regular sales for our preferred customers. We will go out of our way to help our customers find something that they want. We love and appreciate our customers, and always give a little more than what they expect. Our customers are our life blood, and we want them to know that we appreciate them!

We had a huge celebration on Saturday – one year after our preview party on Dec. 5th, 2008. It was a great day. We had cake. We had balloons. We had coffee. We had comic book artists and writers from 12:30 to 7:30 pm. We had bellydancers for two hours. We had sales throughout the day. We sold t-shirts with our store logo on them, which grants the wearer a 10% discount on any order. We gave away our new loyal customer punch cards which entitle a customer to a free trade paperback after purchasing 20. Everyone had a blast.

And that’s another important quality. We appreciate our customers and we celebrate our successes. Comic Zone – the best comic book store in Scottsdale, AZ.

Comic Book Artists Converge on Comic Zone for One Year Anniversary

On Dec 5th, 10am to 8 pm, four guest artists help Comic Zone celebrate their first year in business: Tosh Delaney, Tony Parker, Ben Glendenning, and Jay Fotos. Of the Earth Belly Dance Troupe will entertain customers, and chocolate cake will be had.

PR Log (Press Release) – Dec 04, 2009 – Comic Zone has been serving the community for the past year as the only comic book store in Scottsdale. They have had a lot of fun serving the community and now it’s time to PARTY!

On December 5, 2009, four guest artists will be featured at the store throughout the day to help Comic Zone celebrate their first year in business: Tosh Delaney of Stump Comix, Tony Parker, artist of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Ben Glendenning, artist of Skulljammer, and Jay Fotos of Death Dealer.

In addition, from opening at 10:00 am until closing at 8:00 pm, they will be having various sales and specials throughout the day.  As a special treat, Of the Earth Belly Dance Troupe will be providing entertainment in the afternoon, and there will be cake all day long. Come on out and help them CELEBRATE this special occasion!

Comic Zone is the best and only comic book store in Scottsdale, Arizona, conveniently located at 5909 N. Granite Reef Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85250, just off the 101. Take McDonald Drive to the third traffic light (Granite Reef Road) just two doors down from Casella’s Deli.

In addition to all of the latest and greatest comic books, trade paperbacks, and graphic novels, the store features ever-changing and ongoing sales on merchandise, regular video game tournaments, and much more. Come on by. You will like what you find!

http://prlog.org/10438884