Today we’d like to introduce you to John Cirami.
Hi John, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Oh lord, where do I start? Haha. Ok, so I have always enjoyed reading and collecting comic books since I was a young child. Being able to enter a world I could only dream of in comics thrilled me.
Fast forward 40 years, still collecting and reading comics. I met at the antique mall to purchase a large collection. The owners asked if I would have any interest in renting a booth to sell comics from. I declined as I had a full-time project management position. My wife talked me into giving it a shot, so I rented a 4×4 booth, put out some of my collection, and sold a few here and there. I was hardly making my rent and thought about just calling it since I couldn’t really dedicate the time to putting new stuff out. again, my wife talked me into continuing. I think she really just wanted me to get rid of some of my boxes taking up rooms in our house. So I kept it going. Trying to add more stuff to bring in more sales. things got better, and we moved into an 8×8 booth. Eventually into the corner of the space we are in now, maybe 10×10.
Then Covid hit, my company furloughed me, and suddenly, I had a lot of time on my hands. So I went to the mall every day and priced new books and met a lot of people. It was that interaction with the community of comic book collectors, readers, artists, writers, and investors that lit the spark under me to make this work.
Word spread quickly that there was a new place in the antique mall that had a great selection of comics and a guy working there that was fun to talk to. Many customers told me they wanted to spread the word about our shop but, at the same time, wanted to keep it their own little hunting spot and not share. LOL
Eventually, we expanded to take the full room in the mall and have never looked back. Now, we are a full-blown comics and collectibles shop in the mall. We offer cleaning, pressing, grading services, subscriptions, and more. we work with nonprofit organizations such as the SID Foundation and more. we work with and love supporting local artists, writers, and more.
I tride to give the cliff notes, but there are so much more to write. I have been blessed with amazing help along the way, an amazing staff, and an amazing community. Everyone at Syndicate is family to us; we wouldn’t have it any other way.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The biggest struggle was actually making the decision not to pursue a new job after being laid off from COVID. Investing in staff, getting connected with and learning how to order from new companies, dealing with the massive growth has been a major struggle, we are growing as fast as people can talk about us and it has been difficult to keep up with the growht.
We’ve been impressed with Syndicate Comics & Collectibles, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We specialize in building the community, vintage comics, and giving back to the community by helping local artists/writers get their books to the public.
We are best known for having an incredible range of back stock books, major keys for investment, and offering services for our customers to help enhance their investments and give them the knowledge to do the same.
I think what sets us apart from the rest of the stores is our commitment to getting to know our customers, treating them like family, and providing a welcoming atmosphere where all feel welcome. We love talking with our customers more than anything. Our reviews say it best and mean the world to me as the owner that my staff are an extension of myself.
Big, small, invester, collector, or just want to talk all things, we are the barbershop of comic shops.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
Taking risks is something I am very hesitant to do. I have a family and staff to worry about. Making the safest decision for them is always on my mind; it prevents growth at times, but in the long run, protecting the ones that need to take off every business venture is a risk, and I am glad the community supports us the way they do.
Pricing:
- Comics range from .33 – $30, 000
Contact Info:
- Website: syndicatecomicshop.com
- Instagram: @syndicatecomicshop
- Facebook: Syndicate comic shop
- Twitter: Syndicate comics
- Other: linktr.ee/syndicatecomics
