Introducing Comicsy - The small press marketplace

[Ghastly McNasty]

Here's a new venture of mine that everyone's welcome to join. Who needs Comixology - support small press instead.



What is Comicsy?
Comicsy is a brand new online marketplace designed to help UK small press creators sell their products.
Whatever you're looking to sell, comics, artwork, books, posters, sketches, graphic novels, or anything well...Comicsy, you can be up and running in no time. Simply open your own 'Comicsy Shop', add your products, and start receiving orders. The advantage of being a member of the Comicsy network is that your goods will sit alongside other UK small press creator's work. Buyers will be able to browse all items on the site, resulting in more sales for everyone.

With Comicsy you can sell your products in 3 different ways:



Comicsy is suitable for those looking to get their goods online, in an easy to manage web store, or for those who have already set up their own sales site but want the benefits of being part of a small press shopping network. Think of it as a permanently open, online comic expo.

How it Works
Each shop owner manages their own products in their own dedicated area. Comicsy simply displays all the items, from all stores, in one easy to search area. When a buyer is ready to purchase an item, Comicsy directs them to the store where the product is located.



Buyers can fill their shopping cart with products from up to 10 different Comicsy Shops.

Why sell on Comicsy?
We've listed a few simple reasons why you should join the Comicsy network:

• Tangible or digital goods
  On Comicsy you can sell both physical goods (ideal for selling items that are already printed) and digital goods (suitable if your print run has been exhausted). If someone purchases a tangible product, you will receive an email containing the customer's details. Simply package the goods and ship them off. Digital products can be uploaded to our site and, after making a purchase, customers receive a link containing instructions on how to download the item instead.
• Link elsewhere
  If you have already built your own website, or added your products to another marketplace, you can link your Comicsy products to these existing sites, so customer looking to buy your products are automatically directed there. This option is ideal for users who sell products via print-on-demand services such as Lulu, or for users who have their items on Amazon.
• It's FREE
  No, you don't need your eyes checked. Comicsy is all about promoting the UK small press scene and rewarding its sellers for being on the Comicsy network. Without your products, this site wouldn't have anything to sell, so to say thanks, there are no insertions fees, no sign-up fees and no membership fees.   
• Easy to setup
  All you need to get up and running on Comicsy is a Paypal account and some products to sell. You can have your own store up and running in a matter of minutes.
• Safe, secure and reliable
  Comicsy is built using the Wordpress platform. According to Wikipedia, "Wordpress is used by over 16.7% of Alexa Internet's 'top 1 million' websites and as of August 2011 manages 22% of all new websites. Wordpress has become a global brand thanks to their system's easy to use controls, flexibility and security.   
• Safe, secure and reliable
  Comicsy is built using the Wordpress platform. According to Wikipedia, "Wordpress is used by over 16.7% of Alexa Internet's 'top 1 million' websites and as of August 2011 manages 22% of all new websites. Wordpress has become a global brand thanks to their system's easy to use controls, flexibility and security.
• Customisation
  If you're looking to create or develop your own brand you can style your 'Comicsy Shop' to reflect your image. Upload your own banner/logo and choose your own colour scheme to make sure your customers know who they are buying from.
• Connect with your audience
  As a Comicsy seller you can add news updates and articles so your customers can keep up with your latest products and news. Include text, pictures and videos in to your posts using the standard Wordpress technique.
• Upload Your Products
  Use the inbuilt product uploader to import your catalogue of products.

For talented individuals who are not technically inclined, setting up your own website can be a real pain. Some already have their own website to sell the fruits of their labour, but being discovered amongst the millions of other websites out there, in the big world wide web, can be virtual impossible. Our goal is to bring these people together in one simple, easy to use website. It's a simple idea – strength in numbers. We hope you agree it's worth your time.
www.comicsy.co.uk
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[Bolt-01]

I'll be joining up to this soon and intend to take advantage. It looks like I may even have found a suitable method for digital editions of out of print issues.

[WhitBloke]

Big effing yes.  Just wandered across to have a gander and a Class-A Instant Favourites Tab Event duly followed.

[CrazyFoxMachine]

Dr WTF 2011 is up - !!!

[Van Dom]

As are issues 1 and 2 of Vanguard and the one-off Speed Date collection. Issue 3 of Vanguard coming soon as well.
This is a great site, very well put together and organised, much props to Ghastly for setting it up. I think its a brilliant step in the right direction for spreading the Small Press word.

[Ghastly McNasty]

Cheers guys, I hope it's a roaring success.

Delia Smith moment - c'mon everyone else, get purchasing some of the great stuff that's already on the site. All proceeds go to the creators, the way it should be.

[Mardroid]

Seems a good idea.

I tried to order Psircus #1 and Vanguard #1. Unfortunately the Paypal link appears to be broken. You just get that cycle thing suggesting it's being processed... and you're just stuck with that.  The same happens in both Google Chrome and IE.

I can log into Paypal separately which suggests the issue isn't there but something to do with linking to paypal from the Cart.

I chose the straight to buy option rather than signing up with Membership. I don't know if that way works better.

[Mardroid]

Okay, the same thing happens when you set up an account.

Also when asked to select whether you want a shop front or just a username, there doesn't seem to be an option for either. You just click the one button and the username is set up. Not a big deal for me, as I was only planning on going with that option at present.

[maryanddavid]

Have joined, looks great!

[Ghastly McNasty]

Mardroid - Well spotted sir, there was an error with digi downloads, now fixed. Apologies for the inconvenience. Go forth, spend money on comics, it will only make you happy.

maryanddavid - Good work

[judda fett]

Good idea this. Ill give it a go payday.

[Mardroid]

Mardroid - Well spotted sir, there was an error with digi downloads, now fixed. Apologies for the inconvenience. Go forth, spend money on comics, it will only make you happy.

Thanks.

Now it lets me log in to Paypal, but at the end I get a message telling me that there has been a problem and that I must have missed a step.

I've tried a couple of times. On checking my paypal account transactions I have actually been credited twice for the Psircus #1 download and 0 for the Vanguard #1.

That means I've spent a penny more than intended but for the same thing twice.

Although I can't access either.

At least I was only charged twice. I actually went through the process four or five times trying stuff out.

Never mind, best we find these teething problems in the early stages.

[Danbell]

Mardroid, looks like you paid me three times so I've refunded you £2.00. Hope you managed to downlaod it. Cheers for reading!

Dan

[Trout]

This is a worthy cause. I'll support it when my Paypal account settles down a bit. It's seen some use lately. 

[Bolt-01]

And the first item from FQP is now live. The FutureQuake Family special is now available once again. Previously this could only be purchased from us at conventions. The issue is 48 pages and ALL COLOUR! It contains selected strips from the first three issues of FQ that we produced as well as the first issue of MangaQuake.

If this works out I'll be uploading more as time goes by to supplement the range.

FQP on Comicsy