Hollywood Empire

topdollar

Forbidden Planet rocked they had a cool file system there so you could put stuff away for a week or two before buying , i know coz i had one great store , and cool people worked there .. town is full of Euro shops right now , its a pity, but I know from experience that the overheads are still stuck in the boom years, landlords won't give breaks.. and rates are a joke , thousands for what !! hope HMV don't go , they are fighting to stay alive in UK ...

kiersm

Would luv to see sumwhere like this open in Limerick the OH is a WoW player and the only way to get any stuff for him is to go to Other Realms in Cork and that can be a pain sumtimes.

I tried using the Gathering but the guys in there were soooooo unhelpful and i wasn't impressed with them.

Imbatman

i always believed if you looked after customers they would look after you,when i sold comics privately on ebay or donedeal etc i always threw in something extra for free,backing boards,comic bags,extra comics,it kept everyone happy and people always came back.would there be a steady demand though in town for a new shop?????

brianregan09

Best of luck with opening you're new shop dude if it happens just to let you know i'll be in there weekly if you do marvel graphic novels , Love going up to forbidden planet in dublin such a long trek though and you can't get hardly anything in Easons or O Mahoneys anymore

Imbatman

cheers brian,seriously thinking about it,would like it to be a mix of forbidden planet/dublin city comics/biblios.a relaxed athmosphere and friendly helpful staff.

kiersm

Have to say that sounds like a very cool shop, wud luv that. I used to order stuff up from Cork and always went back cos i found the staff there to be so helpful

brianregan09

Making the trek to Forbidden planet tommorow, do it once every 3 months or so love the place up there, Thats the thing you'd have going for ya there is flip all interesting inside in town nowadays i try to avoid it like the plague i do make the very odd trek into easons but after the last few times its not even worth you're while, i think with the likes of Green Lantern, Thor , Iron Man and soon Captain America hopefully all been big succeses and becoming main stream characters beside Spiderman and Batman i think there probaly isn't a better time to open a comic/collectibles shop, Every time i go into FB in Dublin place is full of tourists too, the thing you've got to nail i think is gettin a good spot in town, think thats what killed FB in limerick eventually and hollywood empire most people who went in there were going in there specificlly, They weren't stumbling upon it if you get what i mean

Imbatman

Hi folks,looked into setting a similar type shop like andys,the overheads and start up costs are frightening,buying stock and having enough funds to survive even 6 months would be up to 30 grand,i would be putting a massive debt onto myself which i cant afford,my other option is to see about a friday stall at the indoor market and see how it pans out.my question is for the Limerick lads,would it be viable,is there still a demand for comics,graphic novels and toys

brianregan09

Where is the indoor market ? down at the milk market ? Well i'd be down to you for new trade paper backs at least every 2nd week anyway without a doubt, And if you got in stuff like Forbidden planet have (movie,videogame,comic toys id buy that off ya too, so theres 1 customer and also it sucks awfully that it cost so much to just set up not worth the risk even but a stall im all in for

aN.Droid

How did I miss this thread?

I used to spend every penny I had in Hollywood empire when I was a teenager. Card games used to bleed me dry! However I would love to see somewhere like it open up again.

I would love to buy graphic novels locally rather then traveling or finding them online. If you did the stall, I think ti would give you an idea of the demand you might see if you open up a bricks and mortar. However the market is very early and I don't know if most of your possible clientel would be around at those times. I would. But that's just me!

I don't know how much the stalls are going for but if it's not too much I say go for it!

Mc Love

Having a market stall is quite a good idea!

Touch Fuzzy Get Dizzy

Can't believe I forgot Hollywood Empire! Would defiantly go down to the market to check that out! Know a good few people who would as well.

kiersm wrote: »

I tried using the Gathering but the guys in there were soooooo unhelpful and i wasn't impressed with them.

oh stop, they're very bad! Last time I went in there my friend was asking about Warhammer, he was just "mm yeah yeah no mm well now *obscene about of money* yeah...mmmmm *showing boxes of things he wasn't asking for* yeah yeah yeah" and kept starring at me, I had to leave (・´ｪ`・)

topdollar

thanks to Sera and Limericks for supporting Hollywood Empire when I had it again thanks to all that helped keep it going... sadly town is in bad shape for retail more than ever .. hope in time it gets better , an indoor market sounds cool ... Andy

phill106

Maybe you can couple your market stall idea with a website? People could see all the stuff you have online, then could either order online or collect and pay in person. You would have a small selection of your stock in the stall each weekend of course to further advertise.

caspa307

yeah a website with laser payment option too please lol, but seriously if theres a store or stall id be hugely intrested in buying pretty much everything that has been mentiond so far

whatdoicare

Dude, great idea setting up yr shop- you'll have a regular with me too if you get good comics and art supplies in
Also, word of advice, town is falling apart- the place with the most footfall is the crecent shopping centre- easy to get to and plenty of parking- also the most footfall of teenagers- who I assume will be a big part of your business.
Any big businesses in Limerick are moving out there.

Anbo

I hope this shop opens, I'd love to have a place in Limerick where I can get comics/graphic novels!! Best of luck with it!

aN.Droid

Any more on this? Really wishing there was a place to buy graphic novels, went into easons and o mahony's and walked out pretty much straight away.

Imbatman

Andy if you read this will you send me on a private mail i need to pick your brains on something.

brianregan09

Nice to see this bumped was there any movement on this ?

Imbatman

Lads and Ladies anyone reading this thread can you give me an idea of how many people think this shop would work please and why...yes its market research and yes the ball is rolling

brianregan09

If ya do the us weekleys ul ave plenty custom,more so if ya have easy access and parkin etc u nly ave to look at the big bang in dundrum as a prime example

brianregan09

Also if ya look at the summer all the biggest movies are either comp
ic book or sci fi wich wud be ur target aundience 1.3 bilion on the avengers says it all couldnt be a bdtter time to open and also everybody is on facebook or twitter so advertising is alot easier too

brianregan09

Also if ya look at the summer all the biggest movies are either comp
ic book or sci fi wich wud be ur target aundience 1.3 bilion on the avengers says it all couldnt be a bdtter time to open and also everybody is on facebook or twitter so advertising is alot easier too

KerranJast

Ow my brain. English! Do you speak it?

Imbatman

brianregan09 wrote: »

If ya do the us weekleys ul ave plenty custom,more so if ya have easy access and parkin etc u nly ave to look at the big bang in dundrum as a prime example

will be doing current issues and have a standing order system in place and a strong back issue selection. cheers brian

Kess73

Imbatman wrote: »

will be doing current issues and have a standing order system in place and a strong back issue selection. cheers brian

You could do worse than to look at how the comic store in the Paul street centre in Cork is set up, and take pointers in terms of location, rather than looking at the Dublin set ups as I think the Dublin set ups are built around areas that have the kind of footfall and population volume that Limerick simply could never have.

FutureGuy

Kess73 wrote: »

You could do worse than to look at how the comic store in the Paul street centre in Cork is set up, and take pointers in terms of location, rather than looking at the Dublin set ups as I think the Dublin set ups are built around areas that have the kind of footfall and population volume that Limerick simply could never have.

You can also look at that store as a model on how not how to over reach. They had a gigantic store but whittled it down to what it is today. To many niche products.

Treat your customers well and you'll do well. Alot of similar shop owners are bellends. The Gathering has the gaming market cornered in Limerick with a very dedicated play group, but I say let them have it as they have the space to run events. One of the first thing that was gut from the Cork store was gaming tables.

I wish you only the very best. It'll be great to have something like this going.

whatdoicare

Sign me up- if you can get in good comics, art books and graphic novels I'll be a regular customer. I'm sick of trying to get to Cork or Galway to get comics.

Kess73

FutureGuy wrote: »

You can also look at that store as a model on how not how to over reach. They had a gigantic store but whittled it down to what it is today. To many niche products.

Treat your customers well and you'll do well. Alot of similar shop owners are bellends. The Gathering has the gaming market cornered in Limerick with a very dedicated play group, but I say let them have it as they have the space to run events. One of the first thing that was gut from the Cork store was gaming tables.

I wish you only the very best. It'll be great to have something like this going.

I was trying to be kind to the Cork store and not say anything overly good or bad about them. I think a quick walk through that store shows up what is good about it and what is not so good.

I would have to agree about space management, especially in terms of niche products, but if Imbatman is to mostly going to focus on comics/graphic novels as he said then the Cork store is probably a better model to look at over some of the Dublin stores with regards to the what to do and what not to do in a medium to small sized city.

Totally agree with your comment about some of the shop owners of similar businesses. If you want people's money then give them prices that tempt them, products that tempts them, and treat them well when you have face time with them.