Or just send me shoeboxes filled with twenties.

§ March 25th, 2020 § Filed under retailing, sterling silver comics § 8 Comments

As I’m sure you’ve already heard, Diamond Comics has, after this week’s shipment, suspended delivery of new comics to retailers until further notice. I feel this is, in general, a good thing, preventing unsold stock from piling up in stores in currently locked-down areas (like mine) with bills for invoices piling up.

I mean, at least in the short term. The new comics I have now I’ll be shipping out to customers who’ve paid via PayPal or called-in credit cards…packing is going to be taking up most of my Wednesday. It won’t be as lucrative as a normal New Comics Day, but it’s still going to be income, and I can still use it, as I do have to pay for this week’s shipment. And last week’s, as I’m on a “net-14” pay schedule with the distributor, meaning I have two weeks to pay each invoice. It shouldn’t be too much of a problem covering both bills, I think, as customers have been pretty willing to buy stuff from me over the last few days, thankfully.

I’m not 100% looking forward to new comics-less weeks and not getting those sales, though I have have enough stock here to sell to hopefully keep at least some money coming in. The trick is getting it up somewhere where folks can pick through it. I don’t have an online store aside from my eBay listings, and that isn’t necessarily representative of what I’ve got in the back issue bins and on the shelves. A lot of my business came from walk-ins, and that’s where I focused things. Now that I don’t have walk-ins, I’ve got to figure out a new strategy, which will be my new project once I’m done dealing with this week’s new comics cycle.

One place to keep an eye on is my Instagram page, where I’m probably going to be posting some choice items out of the case in the next few days. That’ll be relatively quick and easy, though I don’t want to overwhelm the feed. And I may be posting things on my store website, so keep an eye out there, too.

Of course, you can just send me want lists, and I’ll see what I’ve got. I never have a problem with that.

I do have to admit, I wasn’t entirely prepared for this, but then I wasn’t expecting most of the U.S. economy to just up and shut down. But I plan to hang in there, and I think I can make it through to the other side of this. I mean, what else am I going to do, quit the comic business and get a real job? FERGIT IT

8 Responses to “Or just send me shoeboxes filled with twenties.”

  • Pedro de Pacas says:

    Then… KOREA! Stay strong, Big Mike.

  • Thom H. says:

    Real jobs are for squares.

    Also, did you get interviewed by a comic news blog?

  • Bruce Baugh says:

    Pedro, that was a brilliant Korea deployment. I’m envious.

    Mike, super best wishes from here.

  • RDaggle says:

    “I do have to admit, I wasn’t entirely prepared for this,”[…]

    If you had been prepared for THIS, you would have the super power of seeing into the future, or, been a lunatic ‘prepper’.

  • swamp mark says:

    mike
    i admire your optimism.
    i admire your work ethic.
    i admire your stubborn attitude.
    i despair to watch these things fade and disappear as the weeks, months, and years pass.
    dear lord, i pray i’m wrong.
    take care, be well, and good luck to us all.

  • Hooper Triplett says:

    Hey Mike – the Ebay link goes to “page you requested not available” nonsense.

  • Donald G says:

    I need new glasses. I initially read the title of this blog post as “Or Just Send Me Shoeboxes Filled With Twinkies.”

    You know evildoers and creditors can’t resist that spongy cream-filled Hostess goodness.

  • Snark Shark says:

    “my eBay listings”

    Will look!

    Hey, I’m using one of those Archer mousepads RIGHT now!

    and how the hell did you end up with a Lindsay Lohan limited framed print??