As a startup business, one of the important aspects is keeping up with inventory. The way I do this is by reaching out to other sellers or dealers and making connections to purchase a new product. From there this new product is shipped to CGC or CBCS to help keep up with my business model. Recently, I have spent time buying from other sellers on Instagram (IG) which has yielded some great results along with virtually meeting some great people. I was talking with a friend of mine, showing some of the comics I have purchased and they asked why do I buy from the competition? Competition? I asked. He stated yeah don‘t you compete with them?? This was an interesting question that I never really thought about.
Yes everyone who sells comics wants to make some money to keep their business alive and thrive. Which in a way is a competitive, but we all have our own flavor of how we do things. The way I see it though is that every dealer has their reasons why they are in the comic business. Just as there are an array of reasons, there are so many different focuses that dealers have. Some focus on selling golden or silver age comics, others may focus on selling primarily modern comic, others provide mystery boxes, while some may focus on selling slabs, while others focus on raw comics. There are dealers or members of the community who love put out digital content and others want to share information to inspire others. Just as there are dealers who set up events just to raise more money for other dealers. In the end, we all share a common goal when it comes to the comic industry. This actually brings me to my point...
We are a community! Community is defined as having a common interest, which in our case is comic books. When we see members of our community struggle, we step it up to help them. When we know someone looking for a comic we don’t have, we have those we can turn to for help. We share, we assist, we do all we can to support each other. We embody what it means to be a community and we strive to do our part. Personally, I have never looked at my fellow dealers as the competition. I look at everyone as a friend that I have not had the chance to meet just yet. While I would like my startup to grow and thrive, it does not have to come at the expense of putting others down. With everything that has gone on these past few months, it will talk all of us to keep the hobby and community alive. Till next time comic family, be safe and take care.
Sincerely,
Mr. Uncanny