Norristown, PA -- (SBWire) -- 02/25/2015 --A former commissioner of two professional sports leagues who doesn't read comic books has built a comic-book store as big as any of the imaginary creations that populate the periodicals it sells. Jim Drucker started NewKadia.com on Jan. 1, 2000, after years of listening to first his mother, then his wife, ask him when he was going to throw out the comic-book collection he had amassed during his youth.

The former head of the Continental Basketball Association and the Arena Football League largely ran the company as a hobby until five years ago, when he moved its distribution center into a new, larger facility. Since then, its growth has skyrocketed. NewKadia.com has an inventory of more than three-quarters of a million comic books, is selling 200,000 comics a year, and is poised to sell its 2 millionth comic in late winter or early spring.

"In just a few years, we've literally become the biggest internet-only comic-book store for people buying comic books in the world," Drucker said. That's in spite of the fact that Drucker, even though he couldn't bring himself to dispose of the comic books of his childhood, isn't a comics fan. "I'm the only owner of a comic book store in the world who doesn't read comic books," he said.

Drucker attributes NewKadia.com's success to its ability to satisfy both the people who buy comic books online through its website and the people whose comic books it sells on a consignment basis. "Instead of getting 5 cents on the dollar, they're getting 50 cents on the dollar," he said.

A big reason for that is NewKadia.com's technology. The company has developed algorithms that adjust the prices of all its comics based on supply and demand, and that recommend comics to visitors of its website based on their search and purchase history. Additionally, Drucker said, NewKadia.com's computer system enables him to run the company with two full-time and three part-time employees, even though a brick-and-mortar store of its size would require about 15 people.

NewKadia.com prides itself on customer service with a free shipping program that Drucker modeled on Amazon Prime and custom-designed shipping containers that ensure its comic books reach their new owners in their advertised condition.

In 1999, Drucker read an interview with Jeff Bezos in which the Amazon.com Inc. founder said he had made books Amazon's first focus. Not because he was a bibliophile, but because books were easy to ship and display on computer screens. "I said, 'Bingo, the same is true of comic books,'" and launched NewKadia.com the following year, Drucker recalled.

NewKadia.com's growth has Drucker thinking of expanding the company into other areas that are similar to comic books, such as board games or vinyl records. His ultimate goal, he said, is to make NewKadia.com the place to go for anyone who wants to buy comic books and make the website the world's most efficient sales platform for used products.

About NewKadia.com
Based outside of Philadelphia, in Norristown, PA, NewKadia began operations on January 1, 2000. Among stores with no brick and mortar outlet, NewKadia is the longest continuously operating online comic book store.

In 2013, over 1.6 million shoppers visited NewKadia.com. Inventory includes over 625,000 comic books and trade paperbacks, representing nearly every comic book title ever published.

The store's best-selling title is "Amazing Spider-Man comic books" and it has topped the store's monthly best seller list in 178 of the 180 months NewKadia has been open for business.

To schedule interviews with Jim Drucker or get more information about NewKadia.com, contact Peter Key, 484 463-8359, peterkey@comcast.net.

For more information, please visit http://www.newkadia.com