One of Canberra's most prominent comic book shops is closing down as customers cut back on orders.
Dee's Books and Comic Shop is shutting down after more than three decades in business.
Owner Brendon Dann said the current economic conditions had squeezed their customers and their own bottom line.
"We've got no shortage of customers but we have a shortage of customers that have expendable income," he said.
"I'm actually really busy all the time, it's just the average spend is less than half of what it was. We're not quite getting to where we need to be to keep running now."
The pandemic had dramatically changed the way people shop, said Mr Dann, with Canberrans preferring to work from home and order online.
More than 12,000 public servants used to come into Belconnen city centre every day, but that number has dropped substantially in the last three years.
"Now with flexible working arrangements, there's lucky to be 3000 to 4000 people come to Belconnen each day," Mr Dann said.
"Immediately we've lost a third of our potential customer base, which we've noticed has hit our sales pretty hard."
The hikes in interest rates and resulting increase in peoples' mortgages had forced customers to cut back on non-essential spending. Arts and entertainment were the first to go, Mr Dann said.
Many of his customers had comic subscriptions where they would get 12 titles a month, but now they could only afford four.
"Some of them have tears in their eyes when they're telling me they have to drop the eight titles," he said.
"People are cutting more off their order than they're adding ... we've kind of hit a point now where people have halved their order and things have plateaued.
"Luxury items or little treats, which is what I sell, they're the first thing that gets cut out of people's budgets."
Mr Dann said he'd received many messages of support and consolation from his customers since he announced the shop's closure, some calling "every day" to check on him.
It's a devastating end to the comic shop that opened more than 36 years ago in Charnwood.
The original owners, Dee and Stuart, were one of the first Australian businesses importing comics from overseas.
At the time, importing comics was a complicated process, said Mr Dann, with many delays compared to today's ordering schedule.
Mr Dann said the comic industry had changed substantially in the past three decades, with a greater focus on digital stories.
But paper comics were still a critical part of the scene, readers preferring a physical format for collections. The most collectable Marvel and DC comics can be sold for more than $US2 million for a single copy.
Mr Dann said the diversity of their collection was something that had always made them proud. He himself has worked on the creation of an Australian-based comic.
"We don't just champion Marvel and DC, we champion the little guys, the local Australian creators," Mr Dann said.
"We've just always tried to look after our local talent."
Dee's Books and Comic Shop will close in August 2024.
