Did they actually end up investing? I thought Bernadette and Penny both said no. Not sure about Amy, but Sheldon might not have invested anyway.

Wait. You're right. Mrs. Wolowitz was the one who gave Stuart the money to set up his shop again, wasn't she? My bad.

Ah yes, that's right. If it was a loan, then as heir it could be said that Howard (and Bernadette) "holds the paper" on Stuart's store. But if it was just a gift, then that's it.

Stuart has been struggling with his shop for years yet the store looks well stocked and pretty nice to go to and has regular customers. Maybe Stuart is not as bad off as he seems or that he just can't see the bright side of things.

It may be different now, but in the past stores - even comic book stores - didn't have to outright buy all the stuff on their shelves. They only paid for what they sold, and could return the rest.

At least in terms of new inventory.

@Jetfire59 said:

The fact that the three nerds invested in it seems to have been forgotten. He's back to his old "I'm going broke" whining.

It's been a running joke since the start that doesn't make any sense. There's no way a store that well stocked with that much clientle in that area (with probably deathly expensive rent) is not turning a good profit.

@CalabrianQueen said:

@Jetfire59 said:

The fact that the three nerds invested in it seems to have been forgotten. He's back to his old "I'm going broke" whining.

It's been a running joke since the start that doesn't make any sense. There's no way a store that well stocked with that much clientle in that area (with probably deathly expensive rent) is not turning a good profit.

Why if I took a shot every time some run into the ground running joke showed up I would be

If they wanted to show Stuart being successful they might have wanted to choose a different actor. He's fine at "sad sack" but not so good at "successful, confident..."

I'll take the leap here that this is a real store (which it's not). The store looks OVER-stocked if you ask me. Show me a store that stocks nearly everything, and I'll show you a store that's probably losing money. At the very least, cutting into it's profit margins. I'm sure that some will say that's still a good idea - to have all that stuff on hand is the way to compete with Amazon and the internet. In some cases, and with certain products, maybe. And then only to an extent. But but malls and shopping centers are littered with empty buildings that disagree. Entire industries are dying out - books, video stores, record stores. Compared to even 15 years ago, these industries have been devastated. Stuart's store is in that vein.

I had a friend come to me with a proposal to open a game store, that also sold DVD's/BluRays and some of the most popular comics and collectibles. When I refused he asked me why I didn't want to invest. I simply told him, "because I don't enjoy losing money". He moved forward anyway, against my advice. Start up costs, inventory, and overhead destroyed him within a year. Timing is everything. Stuart should have taken the insurance money, and gone and gotten a new job. But I get it, that's not funny and doesn't fit into the story.

The local store that's like Stuart's is very similar (no - I don't buy comics - but he sold plastic sleeves for magazines - which I needed for old magazines I have saved). Similar in that I RARELY if ever see anyone inside. Judging from his customer count - he might as well have opened a paper clip store.

@censorshipsucks06 said:

I'll take the leap here that this is a real store (which it's not). The store looks OVER-stocked if you ask me. Show me a store that stocks nearly everything, and I'll show you a store that's probably losing money. At the very least, cutting into it's profit margins. I'm sure that some will say that's still a good idea - to have all that stuff on hand is the way to compete with Amazon and the internet. In some cases, and with certain products, maybe. And then only to an extent. But but malls and shopping centers are littered with empty buildings that disagree. Entire industries are dying out - books, video stores, record stores. Compared to even 15 years ago, these industries have been devastated. Stuart's store is in that vein.

I had a friend come to me with a proposal to open a game store, that also sold DVD's/BluRays and some of the most popular comics and collectibles. When I refused he asked me why I didn't want to invest. I simply told him, "because I don't enjoy losing money". He moved forward anyway, against my advice. Start up costs, inventory, and overhead destroyed him within a year. Timing is everything. Stuart should have taken the insurance money, and gone and gotten a new job. But I get it, that's not funny and doesn't fit into the story.

The local store that's like Stuart's is very similar (no - I don't buy comics - but he sold plastic sleeves for magazines - which I needed for old magazines I have saved). Similar in that I RARELY if ever see anyone inside. Judging from his customer count - he might as well have opened a paper clip store.

Stuart's store is exactly like the Bulletproof comic book chain , just without games. Those stores typically have a small but loyal customer base and manage to make a profit.

Most people have transitioned to Online stores like Gamefly and other preorder options that have replaced brick and mortar comic stores that sell games , but a lot of people still like the experience of going to a comic store that harkens back to thier childhood, and those stores rely on those people.

My brother's best friend used to assistant manage a GameStop and they had the same 30-40 people as return customers most of year. They were about breaking even most of the year but turned a big profit during the holiday season.

Interesting. I too have a brother in law who used to manage a GameStop.

But chains and corporate stores are different from Stuart's store. Or the one I see that's almost always empty. A manager of a Gamestop (that isn't a franchisee) isn't investing anything into the business other than his time, and for that, he's rewarded with a paycheck. Stuart has to pay the rent, the property taxes, the regulation fees, the utilities, and has to bare the upfront cost of every single bit of inventory. I'm unfamiliar with Bulletproof - but if they are a chain, that suggests corporate backing.

For the average Joe on the street to use his own money to start a comic book store - that person better have the golden touch and a cheap but great location, because he/she stands a greater chance of ending up like Stuart than he/she does turning any kind of meaningful or live-able profit. I'm not saying it's impossible. But in this current economic environment (the online age), it's tougher than ever.

I'm sad that a book store that has been around for 50 years that I frequented had to close down this year. I talked with the owner, and he said he just couldn't compete. So many people came into the store, looked at his books and magazines, found what they wanted, decided to buy it. Then put it back on the shelf and ordered it on their phone for substantially less money - then left. It's just the way things are today.