Midnight Opening a Success!

I got to the shop at 11:34 pm. My business partner had beat me there by a few minutes and was already inside as we had some last minute tidying up to do before the “crowd” rushed in. It was fairly cold outside so nobody was lined up, but there were a few cars idiling as they counted down the minutes.

We never really know what to expect with these midnight releases. We’ve done about 5 of them now and I’ll never not participate. I figured this one would do well with all the different Variant covers and Batman just being a super popular character, but ya still never truly know. I was exhausted. My back was achy and all I wanted to do was be in bed by 10 pm, yet I had to stay up as I know customers are looking forward to it. It’s just a fun event. It’s for the diehards. The ones that eat, sleep, and breathe this world. Next time I think I’ll bring these dedicated monsters some cookies or cupcakes or something. I dunno...

So we open the doors at 11:59 and to my surprise, about 20-25 people entered. Most were regulars but there were a few unfamiliar faces in the mix. There were also a few ghosts from the past that we hadn’t seen in years. One whom screwed us over on some books but that’s in the past.

They lined up in a nice single file and started plucking their picks rapidly. There was sone banter amongst them as they discussed which covers they liked or which ones they were skipping. A few maniacs bought one of each cover which at $9.99 a pop times 12, adds up quickly. Let alone the other titles released this week. Yikes!

All in all, we punched our last sale around 12:30 am. We ended up ringing up $924 bucks in just 30 minutes which is super kickass and will definitely help our Wednesday tally. Especially since we didn’t see half the folks that said they were going to come. Those sleepyheads should be in later today I’m guessing.

My partner and I along with 3 customers in Bobby, Phillip, and Matt ended up staying until I gave em the boot at 1:33 am. Just shooting the shit and telling stories. Phillip told us an interesting one. He said earlier in the day, he popped into our competitor’s shop as he was in the area. This shop and its owner have a reputation for being extremely blunt, politically incorrect, and even racist at times.

He asked the owner if he was planning on opening for the midnight release to which the lovely owner replied something along the lines of, “Are you fucking kidding me? Why? So I could have 4 morons keep me up and ask me stupid fucking questions?!?”. Apparently all this was said in fromt of a few customers, one which was a mother and teenager. I really wish Phil would have recorded that.

Onto the next one folks...

Blewitt