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Business Profile: P. Dot’s Comics and Collectibles
Business May 06, 2016
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P. Dot’s has the area’s largest collection of thousands of hard-to-find back-issues. – Photo by Gus Herrera
By Gus Herrera
Lawrence Persky, owner of P. Dot’s Comics and Collectibles, is a comic book entrepreneur.
The store, which opened in 2013, is the result of Persky’s business savvy and passion for comic books. Under Persky’s guidance, P. Dot’s evolved from a childhood hobby, into a successful business.
Persky describes how his love for comics began, “I remember reading a bunch of my dad’s comics and just being interested in Superman, Batman, Flash, as a kid. I always loved the different stories, the artwork, the cool covers from that era really got me into collecting and then I just stuck with it through middle school and high school.”
Not only was Persky passionate for comics, he also got a taste for the business side of the industry at an early age, “my dad, he used to have a thrift store, so from time to time he would get different comic book collections and he’d have me price them out and help him sell them at different swap meets.”
As the years went by, it started to become clear that Persky’s passion would grow into much more than just a hobby, “It just eventually turned into a business … I saw an opportunity to sell some of my books for side money and then I thought, ‘well if I can flip one or two, then I can flip 10 or 20,’ then it turned into a 100 and it turned into a different business and monster all its own.”
In 2007 Persky scouted the comic book selection at local swap meets and was able to begin growing his inventory at a much larger scale, “I noticed different dealers had books that they were blowing out for about a dollar each, but I knew those were worth more than a dollar … I started buying a little shoe box, then it turned into several boxes worth, then entire collections … eventually what kick started the store, in 2011/2012 I ended up buying a warehouse worth of comics in Vegas and I was like, ‘well now I need to find a way to move this stuff.’”
Owner Lawrence Persky, a Pasadena native, opened P. Dot’s in 2013. – Photo by Gus Herrera
This massive collection of hard-to-find back-issues is what separates P. Dot’s from the competition, “For me, when I thought about opening the store, it was a quirk for me, because I used to go to some of the local stores and they would never have the back-issues I was looking for … so I figured that was not an opportunity I wanted to miss … With back issues, you actually have to know the market, it’s hard to keep up with and a lot of stores choose not to. That’s the void we try to fill,” says Persky.
In addition to their fantastic selection of older, collectible comics, P. Dot’s also receive weekly shipments of new comics and graphic novels from some of the biggest publishers: D.C., Marvel, Image, Valiant, among others.
Dot’s will be celebrating Free Comic Book Day on Saturday, May 7. The store will open early at 9 a.m. and, in addition to giving out free comics from some of today’s biggest publishers, they will also be holding a special half-off sale.
You can also find P. Dot’s at Comic Cons and other conventions throughout the southwest. With “convention season” beginning soon, P. Dot’s will be busy in the upcoming months, participating in events from Hawaii to Las Vegas.
Dot’s Comics and Collectibles is located at 1505 N. Lake Ave. in Pasadena. For more information, call (626) 798-1455 or visit P. Dot’s on Facebook and Instagram.
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