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Thinking Of Opening a Manga/Anime Merchandise Store




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otakuotaku



Joined: 20 Feb 2014
Posts: 3
PostPosted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 2:25 pm Reply with quote
hello,

I am looking to open a manga/anime merchandise store. There are none of these in my town. There are a few comic book stores that sell some manga and anime merchandise but their main inventory is comics. There are manga/anime stores but they are about 100 miles away. I have done some preliminary research so far and wanted some opinion on whether this would be a good financial idea.

Thanks

Last edited by otakuotaku on Thu Feb 20, 2014 7:05 pm; edited 1 time in total
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st_owly



Joined: 20 May 2008
Posts: 5234
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
PostPosted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 6:14 pm Reply with quote
It's a stupid idea. Don't do it. See this topic for why
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Kruszer



Joined: 19 Nov 2004
Posts: 7994
Location: Minnesota, USA
PostPosted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 8:57 pm Reply with quote
Do you have a business degree, a license, a building to buy/lease, and a whole bunch of seed money? Then go ahead. Though unless you live in an area with anime is really popular your business will probably not be very successful.

This is why brick and mortar places that do sell anime and manga generally don't specialize in it and also sell other things like comics, toys and things; to make ends meet, because anime itself is not popular enough to sustain a business in most parts of the states, with the possible exception of California.

Personally I would instead go for an anime and manga themed cafe that lets customers rent and buy manga and anime to watch while they eat or drink. The food could be your main source of income, but you can still do what you want and sell anime and manga to the fans.

Last edited by Kruszer on Fri Feb 21, 2014 6:26 pm; edited 1 time in total
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otakuotaku



Joined: 20 Feb 2014
Posts: 3
PostPosted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 1:56 pm Reply with quote
st_owly wrote:
It's a stupid idea. Don't do it. See this topic for why


Thank you for linking that.
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otakuotaku



Joined: 20 Feb 2014
Posts: 3
PostPosted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 1:59 pm Reply with quote
Kruszer wrote:
Do you have a business degree, a license, a building to buy/lease, and a whole bunch of seed money? Then go ahead. Though unless you live in an area with anime is really popular your business will probably not be very successful.

This is why brick and mortar places that do sell anime and manga generally don't specialize in it and also sell other things like comics, toys and things; to make ends meet, because anime itself is not popular enough to sustain a business in most parts of the states, with the possible exception of California.

Personally I would instead go for an anime and manga themed cafe that lets customers rent and buy manga and anime to watch while they eat or drink. The food could be your main source of income, but you still do what you want and sell anime and manga to the fans.


I do have a business degree, will be applying for a business license soon, and a general idea of where the building I would lease would be.

I do live in California and the idea is something similar to what you've suggested, which is make it a anime/manga cafe where we would sell manga/anime merc. and sell drinks and snacks and the customers can socialize.

Thanks for your opinion.
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st_owly



Joined: 20 May 2008
Posts: 5234
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
PostPosted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 3:56 pm Reply with quote
You at least seem to have your head screwed on a bit better than the guy in the thread which I linked. I wish you the best.
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