JetGirlArt

Opening a dream store.

Just because I want to do something doesn't entitle me to start trying, and the opposite - I can't ignore things that need to be done before I waste time on hobbies. (Just because I want to open a store doesn't mean I deserve to.)

BUT

In a perfect selfish world, I'd run a shop. Two years ago I had plans to grow Hardcopy Collectibles into a physical store within a year. Given prices and all that, it was feasible according to the numbers. But prices went up last year, not just up but doubled. Now I only break even. One set does bad and I lose money, another set does well and I make the money back. But it isn't enough to net a profit to expand into a retail space with more inventory.

I know you are supposed to go get a loan to start a business. That or have money saved up to start it. I mean, we did use some money to do the website and get cards and shipping supplies. Selling cards online has a very low barrier to entry and should have scaled up quicker. After a year I had planned on getting distributor access to product, which is what a physical store has. The problem is you can't get a distributor without a physical store.

So clearly I need to pivot to something else to sell online that I can get distro/wholesale prices for that isn't hard to ship while earning enough to afford a shop to sell what I really want.

What would I sell?

At worst I have to compete with things available at Walmart and Amazon. But those places don't have everything. Half the stuff on Amazon is a knock off by a company named AECOJOY or WUBWOOP. Walmart is fine for groceries but their website ships from 3rd parties. A chunk of eBay ships from China. All the same slop.

I can compete with slop all day.

I would pivot Hardcopy into a specialty hobby supply and book shop. We have several antique stores in town that people drive in from Dallas on the weekend to pick through. A few have used books but they are like, cookbooks from the 90's, self help, giant coffee table books, etc. I wouldn't want to carry contemporary commercial fiction because most people read that on Kindles and Walmart does carry most of the popular stuff.

The closest place to get comics, manga, gundam, etc is 30 miles away. Same goes for any art supply shops (That aren't for sewing/quilting.). And you have to haul over to Dallas for the closest stationary shop.

List of things I would like to sell:

Basically a micro Kinokuniya. Now how could that possibly thrive in a town of 5k people? Easy. There are two main demographics here: retirees and families with school aged kids. There is also a strong group of folks my age (the ones with the kids) who run their own businesses or work in offices where having fun sticky notes or a "good pen" livens up the office.

I'm not talking about 500 dollar Montblanc pens (I could carry those for the hardcore folks.) but Pilot and Uniball make tons of extremely affordable and disposable quality pens and stationary that anyone could use. Journals, Planners, Notebooks, Gel Pens, Mechanical Pencils, Labels, Tags, Dividers, White out tape, all kinds of stuff that isn't at Walmart.

Then there are stickers. Cat stickers. Pokemon stickers. Food stickers. All the stickers. Stamps. Rulers. Scissors. Stuff to store your pens and stickers in. Sanrio and Ghibli branded everything.

Just five minutes ago someone on FB asked where to find postcards with local stuff on them to send to a friend and very few options were available.

And that's just one corner. I'd have a wall of the latest popular manga titles. A few kid friendly American titles (Spiderman etc). Books and magazines can be risky and take up a lot of space. They are also easily found online to read but once in a while you want to go buy the copy to gift to someone. Having nicer options that can be used as gifts is the real goal here.

But the bigger thing is the ability to offer more physical hobbies. Parents want their kids to do something other than play Roblox that doesn't involve travel sports or dance. Offer hobby models like Gundam, Model cars, and supplies for them. There are a number of teens and older kids in the area and not a lot of places for them to hang out. There never has been. Not everyone can travel an hour to get hobby supplies.

The real hurdles aside from sourcing things is 1. The rent cost of a shop. and 2. Theft. Rent for a storefront around here is about 3-4k a month. Then I have to pay for power, internet, insurance, fixtures, display cases, and security cameras. Small items like stationary are extremely easy to steal. Shove it up your sleeve, drop it in your big giant purse, if people can get away with it they will. I could handle a few missing 1 dollar pens but I would really have to watch out for those coming in with a buddy to distract me at the counter while they grab something expensive off the shelf and run out. It happens at every retail place I've worked at.

But that initial investment of retail space is the big problem. I could go set up accounts with supply distros and create an online shop just like Kinokuniya or whatever and deal with high shipping prices. Oh and now there is the whole issue of tariffs. A chunk of the things I'd want to sell have US based locations like Pilot and Bandai but most of it would have to come in from Japan. But if my customers are already online I have to compete with other online retailers. Customers in person mean your shop becomes a destination to visit. Like Yoseka Stationery in New York. If I went to New York I would make the effort to stop there, even though I can buy the majority of the same stuff online at JetPens.

Shipping things has it's own risk of damage, theft, and costs. The postal service has raised prices three times in two years. It now costs me a minimum of 5 dollars to ship a bubble mailer with hardly anything in it three towns over. What happens when you buy books and paper online? Amazon distro doesn't know what's in the boxes so they get left out in the rain, now you have wrinkly pages and paper. Plastic stuff gets smashed. Paints and inks get broken and everywhere.

There are tons of seasonal things aside from holiday sales, I could run back to school bundles, new year organization bundles, various starter kits, basically setting customers up with what they need to get started so they can come back for more. And getting them to come back is the most important part because so many people right now are broke and basics are expensive.

Having a shop with fun and affordable supplies would do well if I could keep sales up high enough to pay rent. I'm already breaking even on cards but breaking even is not good when I want to expand.