Save Villainous Lair
Donation protected
Villainous Lair is not just any comics and gaming shop, it's a beloved community with over 400 comic subscription customers and regular table top gamers.
The hope is that if sufficient cash is raised to retire the debt the balance sheet will improve enough to tempt a new owner or investors to save the lair. There are no guarantees but the current owner has pledged that the funds raised will either go to retiring debt to secure a new owner or to help with severance packages for the employees. (Either way the current owner takes nothing) If everyone who loves the lair chips in we can save her.
Villainous Lair is Eisner nominated and has won several local awards. They are an asset to the Comics industry. as they encourage interest in comics by bringing in new readers and suggesting titles for current readers.
For the 400 pull customers, if we all donated $50 (which equates to buying 1 comic a month for a year), that would yield $20,000 that would go a long way!
This GFM campaign was patron created out of love for the lair. Here is the owner's acceptance of the GFM from her Jan 5 facebook post:
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Another Message from the Evil Overlord of the Villainous Lair
The outpouring of love and support we've had from this community these last few days has been... absolutely overwhelming. I've been speechless a lot, and, if you know me, you know that never happens.
Many of our friends and family have asked if they could contribute financially. My first impulse was (and still is) that I can't take your money.
It is with no small amount of soul-searching and trepidation that I've decided to gratefully accept this offer of a GoFundMe campaign, for one of two purposes:
1) The Lair has 30k in debt. I've been frantically trying to find a buyer for the company, but that fact, coupled with historical shortfalls, doesn't help attract them. If we could clear some of that debt... it actually may help. Directly. A lot.
2) My minions are the best minions on the face of the planet, and if our community is willing to give them a severance bonus, I will not let my pride prevent it.
So. Any funds raised through this campaign will be held, with full visibility, until either we are bought out or we close.
If we're bought out, it will be given to the buyer as an asset to balance out our liabilities.
If not, the full proceeds of this campaign will be split among the minions. The aforementioned liabilities will be covered from liquidation proceeds, instead.
I will not take a dime.
Thank you. Thank you all.
-Alison Flynn
(Note: I didn't choose the picture, but I have to admit, looking at the picture of our original location from back in 2011 is giving me All The Feels. This has been the best 6 years of my life.)
----------
Here is the original Facebook post by the store's owner, Alison Flynn. and here are all the sad customer responses.
--------------------
This is a post I’ve been hoping beyond hope never to make.
The Villainous Lair will cease typical operations at the end of this month.
Despite our best efforts, sales have been down all of 2017. We’ve trimmed expenses and boosted promotions to try and keep pace, and summer gave us hope, but this last season was brutal. We didn’t cover costs in either November or December. I don’t know if it’s the new world of Amazon, or consumer confidence/lack of discretionary funds, or something we could have fixed with more time, money, or energy, but I do know that I, now, mathematically, can’t keep it going.
I’ve searched high and low for alternatives, for buyers and for investors. While there was some serious interest, ultimately, none have chosen to take the plunge.
(This has always been a labor of love, rather than profit)
(That said, if anyone IS interested in a turnkey comic and game store for less than the cost of inventory, please don’t hesitate to contact us, the sooner the better)
Starting today, all not-otherwise-discounted, not-consignment product is 15% percent off.
All single issues older than four weeks are $1.
Trade paperbacks are, in addition to other discounts, buy-4-get-the-5th-free.
Store credit and gift certificates may be used from now through Jan 31 for all purchases of any nature, including tournament buy-ins and card singles. I want to close with a zero balance for all customers.
New comics every Wednesday through the 31st. We’ll have limited hours in February, as we’re looking to be mostly down to fixtures by then, so please handle your pulls as soon as possible. If you are deployed or otherwise away this month, please contact us for arrangements.
Tournaments will proceed as scheduled through Jan 28, including the Rivals of Ixalan prerelease and our last FNM on Jan 26.
I’m taking solace in the fact that, for the last six and a half years, I’ve owned a community space that has brought some measure of happiness to some of the awesomest people I’ve ever met. You guys have been the best minions and customers an Evil Overlord could ever have asked for. The creative energy, the nerdy camaraderie, the long nights of geeky discussions, the dreams and the quests and the stories, oh, all of it, the stuff makes us human, it all comes back to the storytelling…
Thank you.
Thank you all.
It’s been an honor.
-------------
The hope is that if sufficient cash is raised to retire the debt the balance sheet will improve enough to tempt a new owner or investors to save the lair. There are no guarantees but the current owner has pledged that the funds raised will either go to retiring debt to secure a new owner or to help with severance packages for the employees. (Either way the current owner takes nothing) If everyone who loves the lair chips in we can save her.
Villainous Lair is Eisner nominated and has won several local awards. They are an asset to the Comics industry. as they encourage interest in comics by bringing in new readers and suggesting titles for current readers.
For the 400 pull customers, if we all donated $50 (which equates to buying 1 comic a month for a year), that would yield $20,000 that would go a long way!
This GFM campaign was patron created out of love for the lair. Here is the owner's acceptance of the GFM from her Jan 5 facebook post:
----------
Another Message from the Evil Overlord of the Villainous Lair
The outpouring of love and support we've had from this community these last few days has been... absolutely overwhelming. I've been speechless a lot, and, if you know me, you know that never happens.
Many of our friends and family have asked if they could contribute financially. My first impulse was (and still is) that I can't take your money.
It is with no small amount of soul-searching and trepidation that I've decided to gratefully accept this offer of a GoFundMe campaign, for one of two purposes:
1) The Lair has 30k in debt. I've been frantically trying to find a buyer for the company, but that fact, coupled with historical shortfalls, doesn't help attract them. If we could clear some of that debt... it actually may help. Directly. A lot.
2) My minions are the best minions on the face of the planet, and if our community is willing to give them a severance bonus, I will not let my pride prevent it.
So. Any funds raised through this campaign will be held, with full visibility, until either we are bought out or we close.
If we're bought out, it will be given to the buyer as an asset to balance out our liabilities.
If not, the full proceeds of this campaign will be split among the minions. The aforementioned liabilities will be covered from liquidation proceeds, instead.
I will not take a dime.
Thank you. Thank you all.
-Alison Flynn
(Note: I didn't choose the picture, but I have to admit, looking at the picture of our original location from back in 2011 is giving me All The Feels. This has been the best 6 years of my life.)
----------
Here is the original Facebook post by the store's owner, Alison Flynn. and here are all the sad customer responses.
--------------------
This is a post I’ve been hoping beyond hope never to make.
The Villainous Lair will cease typical operations at the end of this month.
Despite our best efforts, sales have been down all of 2017. We’ve trimmed expenses and boosted promotions to try and keep pace, and summer gave us hope, but this last season was brutal. We didn’t cover costs in either November or December. I don’t know if it’s the new world of Amazon, or consumer confidence/lack of discretionary funds, or something we could have fixed with more time, money, or energy, but I do know that I, now, mathematically, can’t keep it going.
I’ve searched high and low for alternatives, for buyers and for investors. While there was some serious interest, ultimately, none have chosen to take the plunge.
(This has always been a labor of love, rather than profit)
(That said, if anyone IS interested in a turnkey comic and game store for less than the cost of inventory, please don’t hesitate to contact us, the sooner the better)
Starting today, all not-otherwise-discounted, not-consignment product is 15% percent off.
All single issues older than four weeks are $1.
Trade paperbacks are, in addition to other discounts, buy-4-get-the-5th-free.
Store credit and gift certificates may be used from now through Jan 31 for all purchases of any nature, including tournament buy-ins and card singles. I want to close with a zero balance for all customers.
New comics every Wednesday through the 31st. We’ll have limited hours in February, as we’re looking to be mostly down to fixtures by then, so please handle your pulls as soon as possible. If you are deployed or otherwise away this month, please contact us for arrangements.
Tournaments will proceed as scheduled through Jan 28, including the Rivals of Ixalan prerelease and our last FNM on Jan 26.
I’m taking solace in the fact that, for the last six and a half years, I’ve owned a community space that has brought some measure of happiness to some of the awesomest people I’ve ever met. You guys have been the best minions and customers an Evil Overlord could ever have asked for. The creative energy, the nerdy camaraderie, the long nights of geeky discussions, the dreams and the quests and the stories, oh, all of it, the stuff makes us human, it all comes back to the storytelling…
Thank you.
Thank you all.
It’s been an honor.
-------------
Organizer and beneficiary
Marilyn Tawatao
Organizer
San Diego, CA
Alison Flynn
Beneficiary