Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Aug 23, 2014 8:58:55 GMT -6
www.cantonrep.com/article/20140818/Business/140819463
Geeking out: Local comic shops draw an audience
In TV shows and movies, comic book shops are often the haven of hapless geeks. But in reality they attract a diverse array of customers and operate like any other small business with long hours, lots of help from family and friends and a close connection to their customers.
Steve Hazel, owner of Hazel's Heroes in North Canton, is zombified on a customized cover of an issue of The Walking Dead made by a local artist.
CantonRep.com Bob Rossiter | Steve Hazel, owner of Hazel's Heroes in North Canton, is zombified on a customized cover of an issue of The Walking Dead made by a local artist.
Steve Hazel, owner of Hazel's Heroes in North Canton, is zombified on a customized cover of an issue of The Walking Dead made by a local artist.Linda Hazel puts comics in protective bags.Lucas Stottsberry browses.
• Bill’s Books and More
2215 Sixth St. SW, Canton
330-453-3996
• Hazel’s Heroes
1664 N. Main St., Suite 12, North Canton
330-244-9988
Just after the doors were unlocked Wednesday afternoon, customers began streaming into Hazel’s Heroes. The North Canton comic shop was ready for its most hectic day that week — Wednesday, new comic book day.
The owner, Steve Hazel, greeted them — some by name — as they went to browse new books and dig through boxes of back issues.
“The store is a haven for comics fans,” Hazel said, between ringing out customers.
In TV shows and movies, comic book shops are often the haven of hapless geeks. In reality they attract a diverse array of visitors and operate like any other small business with long hours, lots of help from family and friends and a close connection to their customers.
A few miles away, at Bill’s Books and More, owner Bill Pappas and his staff were getting ready for a crowd of their own.
Most comic shops have a subscription model, called a pull list, where regular customers can request that certain books be held back as soon as they arrive, ensuring that an issue won’t sell out before they have a chance to pick it up. Customers stop by and purchase the books every week or so, usually on Wednesday when new releases for that week can be sold.
But shops are active more than one day a week.
Running a comic shop is a seven-day-a-week endeavor, Pappas said. Customers stop in every day, but there is a pattern.
Monday and Tuesday are for gearing up for Wednesday — picking up shipments, sorting pull lists and putting out new products. Wednesday and Thursday are big sales days, for recurring customers picking up their pulls and new customers checking things out.
Bill’s has more than 200 people with pull lists; Hazel’s, a younger shop, has about 90.
The weekends are spent restocking and putting the shop back in order.
Pappas also spends many weekends at comic conventions. It gives him a chance to sell books and other merchandise that doesn’t sell in-store and an opportunity to meet new customers and bring them into the shop.
THE COMICS BUSINESS
Pappas has been a collector and seller since he was 8 years old, and he made his first foray into ownership in the ’90s.
“I got the bug and decided to open up a store,” he said.
Like many other shop owners, Pappas had a full-time job outside of the store. His store did well and soon started taking up more of his time. And when his employer gave him an ultimatum — his job or his business — Pappas closed down and put comics on the back burner.
Geeking out: Local comic shops draw an audience
In TV shows and movies, comic book shops are often the haven of hapless geeks. But in reality they attract a diverse array of customers and operate like any other small business with long hours, lots of help from family and friends and a close connection to their customers.
Steve Hazel, owner of Hazel's Heroes in North Canton, is zombified on a customized cover of an issue of The Walking Dead made by a local artist.
CantonRep.com Bob Rossiter | Steve Hazel, owner of Hazel's Heroes in North Canton, is zombified on a customized cover of an issue of The Walking Dead made by a local artist.
Steve Hazel, owner of Hazel's Heroes in North Canton, is zombified on a customized cover of an issue of The Walking Dead made by a local artist.Linda Hazel puts comics in protective bags.Lucas Stottsberry browses.
• Bill’s Books and More
2215 Sixth St. SW, Canton
330-453-3996
• Hazel’s Heroes
1664 N. Main St., Suite 12, North Canton
330-244-9988
Just after the doors were unlocked Wednesday afternoon, customers began streaming into Hazel’s Heroes. The North Canton comic shop was ready for its most hectic day that week — Wednesday, new comic book day.
The owner, Steve Hazel, greeted them — some by name — as they went to browse new books and dig through boxes of back issues.
“The store is a haven for comics fans,” Hazel said, between ringing out customers.
In TV shows and movies, comic book shops are often the haven of hapless geeks. In reality they attract a diverse array of visitors and operate like any other small business with long hours, lots of help from family and friends and a close connection to their customers.
A few miles away, at Bill’s Books and More, owner Bill Pappas and his staff were getting ready for a crowd of their own.
Most comic shops have a subscription model, called a pull list, where regular customers can request that certain books be held back as soon as they arrive, ensuring that an issue won’t sell out before they have a chance to pick it up. Customers stop by and purchase the books every week or so, usually on Wednesday when new releases for that week can be sold.
But shops are active more than one day a week.
Running a comic shop is a seven-day-a-week endeavor, Pappas said. Customers stop in every day, but there is a pattern.
Monday and Tuesday are for gearing up for Wednesday — picking up shipments, sorting pull lists and putting out new products. Wednesday and Thursday are big sales days, for recurring customers picking up their pulls and new customers checking things out.
Bill’s has more than 200 people with pull lists; Hazel’s, a younger shop, has about 90.
The weekends are spent restocking and putting the shop back in order.
Pappas also spends many weekends at comic conventions. It gives him a chance to sell books and other merchandise that doesn’t sell in-store and an opportunity to meet new customers and bring them into the shop.
THE COMICS BUSINESS
Pappas has been a collector and seller since he was 8 years old, and he made his first foray into ownership in the ’90s.
“I got the bug and decided to open up a store,” he said.
Like many other shop owners, Pappas had a full-time job outside of the store. His store did well and soon started taking up more of his time. And when his employer gave him an ultimatum — his job or his business — Pappas closed down and put comics on the back burner.