The Virtual Store

After several months of development more than should have been necessary, MacGuffin has launched the online portion of our store at MacGuffinComics.com. At the moment it essentially functions as an online mirror of the graphic novel selection available at our brick and mortar storefront and acts as one more way for us to provide access to the widest range of graphic novels possible. Our online storefront will feature rotating specials on both graphic novels and runs of single issue comics and allows local customers to search our inventory before arriving at the shop.

Okay, announcement out of the way, time for a bit of internal monologue. Obviously we can't compete with Amazon on price, but we can try to compete on product. Now, the majority of what we carry is available from Amazon, but there are always times when Amazon is simply out of stock on certain books (a couple volumes of Cerebus and Torso, for example, are out of stock at the moment). Then again, the reverse is also true, as we're currently without Lost Girls while Amazon has it in stock. But then, the point really isn't that we're competing with Amazon any more than our brick and mortar store is competing with the Borders down the street. We're simply getting our name out into the ether in one more venue and if someone would like to get their hands on Kevin Huizenga's Ganges via us, then we're more than happy to oblige. Ultimately our online storefront is really one more form of advertising if nothing else. Or at least that's what one side of my brain says to the other.

UPDATE:
All is now well, nothing to see here, move along to MacGuffinComics.com.

UPDATE: Despite a week of testing, turns out as soon as I announce the opening of our online storefront, it decides to fall apart on me. From what I can tell everything should be working again this evening (Wednesday Nov. 1) or tommorrow morning at the latest. We appreciate your patience and hope that you'll stop back by tomorrow to check it out.

The Fantagraphics Store

Fantagraphics has decided to open a brick and mortar storefront in Seattle, and thankfully the reaction has been mostly positive (if somewhat skeptical regarding the feasibility of such an undertaking). No retailers threatening not to carry Fantagraphics in protest to theoretically direct competition from what is theoretically a direct business partner, but then half the reason for opening the store is that (according to Fantagraphics' Eric Reynolds) most Fantagraphics titles are ordered by fewer than 40% of Diamond accounts. Now, to be fair, we order very few Fantagraphics titles via Diamond since we get the rest via W.W. Norton (Fantagraphics' bookstore distributor) and I know of several other stores that do so as well.

From what I hear, Fantagraphics has always allowed visitors to Seattle to shop straight from their warehouse, it was just difficult to do so given that such shopping would have to take place in the middle of an actual functioning warehouse (not to mention the option wasn't widely advertised). The intention of the new store seems to be to create a more buyer friendly environment while also adding something of a tourist attraction element to Fantagraphics' Seattle presence. One of Reynolds' specifically stated goals is to get the store listed in tourist guidebooks as a store/exhibition space, and to that end I think they should be successful.

To my mind, though, the best element of this new store is the "soon-to-be-legendary damaged room." This is an element of the graphic novel industry that's gotten very little play (although to be fair, it gets somewhat limited play in the mainstream book industry as well). Primarily due to the non-returnable nature of the direct market, there are very few remaindered graphic novels to be bought in bulk and sold at a sharp discount. That, however, is essentially what this damaged room will be, a place for Fantagraphics to sell off extra stock that simply won't move via the book market or Diamond. Possibly due to the fairly recent rise of graphic novels (coupled with the industry's fascination with monthly singles), there hasn't developed a particularly significant secondary market for graphic novels. Sure a few might pop up here and there in used bookstores but for the most part used, damaged or remaindered graphic novels simply aren't available. I suspect that may begin to change if I'm correct in my guess that the damaged room will be the most successful element of the Fantagraphics Mega Mart.

Making the List

Publisher's Weekly debuted their list of the top ten bestselling comics and graphic novels this week (although the list includes only long form comic work). I believe that the titles are listed in order of units sold, but that is one of many assumptions about the list that we're forced to make because no methodology was offered. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as these sorts of general bestsellers lists that offer next to no description of how the data is compiled are prevalent from the New York Times to Booksense to Publisher's Weekly's own collection of best seller lists. And based on the credibility of the source, such a bestseller lists can have a significant impact on marketing on a local, regional or national level.

This list has been in the works for several months now and as a part of the CBIA, MacGuffin had the opportunity to volunteer our own sales data for Publisher's Weekly to use as they saw fit in compiling this list. We very nearly did so for the simple fact that, on a personal level, I'm all for making as much sales data available to as many facets of the industry as possible. We ultimately decided not to even volunteer in the initial planning stages because not only would it require some additional work on my part (not too much, but time is time) but also because our sales numbers are so miniscule as to be statistically irrelevant.

Presumably some description of the methodology was made available to those stores participating (at least on a confidential basis) but as the kinks get worked out and the list is expanded to 15 titles, hopefully some information about the data sources will be released to readers. I'm particularly curious to know if this list is based solely on a poll of general bookstores and direct market shops or if other sales data (i.e. Bookscan) was factored in as well. While a bestsellers list is nice for marketing and even water cooler purposes, it really won't be of much value to the industry without some more specific description of the methodology behind it.

Then again, the significance of this particular list is its attempt to combine data from general bookstores and direct market stores into a single unified list. Unfortunately, what we're likely to see is exactly what showed up in the first list: manga dominated, taking 8 of the top 10 spots with two titles that did well in general bookstores taking the other two spots (Halo and the 9/11 Report). In other words, the data from most direct market shops became statistically irrelevant (even as a group) when combined with data from general bookstores. In other word, no book that sells well at just direct market stores is going to crack the top 15 from general bookstores but books that sell well at both may get boosted a spot or two by doing well in direct market shops.

For comparison (and entertainment) purposes, MacGuffin's top ten bestsellers for September (although based on what I've heard, PW's list actually covers something more like a 4 week period from late August to late September) including, as PW does, only titles published in 2006:

1. Pride of Baghdad
2. Naruto vol. 11
3. Halo GN
4. 9/11 Report
5. Marvel Zombies
6. Ultimate Galactus Book 3
7. Captain America: Winter Soldier vol. 2
8. Losers Endgame
9. American Born Chinese
10. Batman: Face the Face