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 Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 9:39 am
My friends - I'm tired of working for other people - I'm sick of thinking I should call in sick to work.
- And oddly enough - there isn't an "Anime Shop" - in the Chicago Area!
So! I've decided - Mine will be the first and more awesome anime shop in this vicinity.
- - In case you've wondered where in the devil's name - or in heavens name? I've run off too - I've really been trying to write ideas and ask for help and e-mailing friends and call my sisters and asking and planning and.... 'stuff'...
Now it's your turn.
biggrin
What would you want in an anime shop?
~ I realize anime may not be your 'thing' ~ But, if you have any good business suggestions that's cool as well...
I plan on having ~ Couches / TV's / a cosplay - fashion section! / plushies / a gashapon machine (it's kinda like a snazzy 50 cents machine - japanese awesome style) / general cute stuff / computers / Pocky... and things of this nature....
Okay - - go for it...
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Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 12:58 pm
Holy cow, that's too cool! Go for it!!
Might I also suggest that after you have the actual shop open in person, that you open a matching one on eBay? It might help with sales! You could advertise each place on the other. smile
In addition to Pocky, there are many other Japanese products you could offer. There are tons of candy products, and other things that typical Otaku like: tabi socks, sake sets, chop sticks, tea sets, and the like. For instance, I used to have a shop near me that was Japanese gifts; they went out of business, why I cannot tell, I think the mall just forced them out because the store next door wanted to expand into that space. But the shop was ALWAYS crowded, mostly with Japanese folks, but also with all us geeks that wanted fun Japanese stuff to buy and couldn't get it anywhere else.
If I were entering an anime shop and saw a cosplay section (books as well as items! kitty ears, kitsune tails, toy weapons, certain costume items...) I would totally freak and spend my whole paycheck. Well... I would once I have a job again and HAVE a paycheck. *grins* If you need a supplier for simple cosplay items... PM me. I do a LOT of cosplay and am always being asked to make costume items for friends. I'd be happy to help out there if you decided on such a thing. smile
You wouldn't want to dilute your anime focus with too many gifty-type items... but anime-related toys would be cool, and a small selection of things people who love anime are likely to want as well. Try canvassing your customers once you're open: have a suggestion box perhaps!
You might also consider contests, like "shop in a kimono" day: 20% off your entire order if you show up in full Japanese kit! Think of the attention you'd get when your customers walk down the street toward your shop... And any time a new anime DVD or manga collection comes out, you could throw a shop party: discounts on items related to the show or book, encourage employees and customers to cosplay from the series, etc. You could also have Cosplay Day (maybe one Saturday a month?) and if there's an anime convention in town, DO get a dealer's table to sell a cross-section of typical stuff from your store... also leading up to anime cons, see if any of your customers are big cosplay geeks--and see if they would consider coming in to give a talk, you could serve refreshments, etc. ... smile
Don't forget to have a cordoned-off section for 18+ anime items, so the children don't accidentally see the naughty stuff. *grins*
Anything that gets you attention of a positive sort is a good thing. smile
Anyway, I think it totally ROCKS that you're doing this--and I wish you complete and delightful success! Let us know how things progress!
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Posted: Mon Jun 02, 2008 10:06 am
What part of the Chicago area? North side? Because there actually is a shop for Japanese toys and the like in Arlington Heights, just a few blocks from the Mitsuwa Japanese shopping mall (they used to be inside Mitsuwa, but grew too large for the tiny, tiny space they had). They're pretty much only toys and import CDs and DVDs, though, so if you branch out into more than that, you're golden.
A cosplay section would be really sweet. My suggestion is to stock good theater makeup (my brand of choice is Graftobian) and some of the more obscure things like fake-scar fluid. Also, a good selection of wigs and wig-styling supplies.
Berz.
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Posted: Mon Jun 02, 2008 10:33 pm
Wait, so we've only tracked down one anime shop in the Chicagoland area? That is... odd.
I personally would go for the foodstuffs and Sanrio stuffs.
(Hey, look, I'm wearing a Chococat shirt right now...)
Have fridge in there so you can have yummy drink things cold.
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Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 12:02 pm
That's one more than we have up here in the Madison area. Four gaming stores, three costuming shops, two comic book stores, and yet the only place we have to buy Anime is Best Buy. rolleyes
Berz.
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Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 2:33 pm
Best of luck with yer shop Faux! I already suggested about offering trading card games in that shop of yers. Especially if you have toys from anime shows such as Yu-gi-oh! or Pokémon. They both have trading card games but I'm sure you already know. mrgreen
I don't really have any other suggestion for you and I hope you'll still have time for the guild even if it's just a little. 3nodding
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Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 5:56 pm
Okay, so college-town comparison...
In Ann Arbor, walking distance from campus area, we have one Anime store, three gaming/comic book stores. And Bubble Tea. So that sounds about right.
East Lansing has two gaming/comic book stores (one being more comics and the other being more gaming). No anime store, though. But there is Bubble Tea once again.
I don't know the costuming shop count for either town, but somehow I think it might be near the 0 mark.
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Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 9:36 pm
Looks like all of my suggestions were... suggested already.
Good luck with your store, and let us know how it turns out!
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Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2008 4:47 pm
Yes, yes! Updates please! mrgreen
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Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 11:01 pm
i'm gonna have to come up there and buy some stuff from you!
I live in Edwardsville, about 3-4 hours away, but i'll still come
good luck with it all!
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B-rad the Vampiric Shadow
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Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 4:52 pm
I'd buy if I could. Say Faux, will you be selling videogames there too? It'd be neat to go in there and buy a popular one like FFTA2 for DS or whatever...
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Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2009 6:41 am
Good luck! I don't live in Chicago, but good luck anyways! I bet it'll be fun running a store. ^^
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Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2009 11:08 am
Yeah, I suppose it depends on the store.
You know, I think we should lock this topic and retire it. After all, Fauxlorne is no longer on Gaia so... it doesn't seem like there's a need to keep this one alive.
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