Walmart Killed the LCS Star
[QUOTE=Lee Stone;3789696]If he keeps saying it, it'll become true.
Walmart won't put comic shops out of business. No more than Walmart putting Gamestops out of business.
The important thing is that Walmart brings the industry to more potential readers than just the comic shops.
And comic shops are still the prime location for back issues.
Been away from this discussion for about a week but the aftermarket stores are having an effect on GameStop because they can undersell GameStop by larger inventories of used games and are often in lower rent buildings than the malls GameStop inhabits. Less traffic in malls these days for various reasons as well. ... .. Ironically the aftermarket shop I go to expanded into comics and is drowning in back issues they can't move because a former employee over bought a few years ago. My LCS has culled his back issue inventory way back and very seldom buys collections any more especially 90's Marvel. Too much inventory to count at tax time for product that doesn't sell.
Walmart Killed the LCS Star
[QUOTE=Lee Stone;3790133]And regular comic shop patrons aren't going to buy those back issues. They have no need for them.
Unless you get new readers in, from outside the shops, they won't move.
On the bright side... If the Walmart thing does end up bringing comics back out of the dark ages and back into public view, a bunch of comics from late '90s up through mid-'10s could go up in value because of the low print runs and an increase of demand.[/QUOTE]
Nothing Walmart has done has ultimately benefited any industry or any worker over the long haul but create profit for Walmart. A large part of the reason is they are constantly moving from marketing bubble to bubble as any retailer would do. I don't see the larger market you do coming on board because it's all about smart phones and video games. Now the scalpers on the other hand may keep the boat afloat for awhile. The reason why much of the 90's Marvel is still sitting around is because it was overprinted,repetitious,and horribly drawn in an over the top Liefeld/Manga style that is nearly impossible to follow panel to panel. Alonso tried to bring that style back with his international art school crowd and saw the lowest sales for Marvel at the tail end of his career.You seem to think that the LCS's are running some sort of conspiracy to keep sales down. The simple fact is that readers aren't signing up for dozens of titles because of lack of interest. Low print runs are the direct result of this. The same reason that boxloads of Marvel and DC are sitting around from the past. As others have suggested here the damn things are too expensive and need to come down way down. By the way do you own stock in Walmart or work for them in any capacity?
Walmart Killed the LCS Star
[QUOTE=Lee Stone;3791230]No, I do not.
However, if the comics industry is to survive, it needs to get out of being restricted to comic shops.[/QUOTE]
I know of no restrictions on any publishers to market exclusively to LCS's. Direct Marketing to shops allows certain promotional advantages to LCS's because they became the most direct channel to comic buyers and helped build the industry. Spinner Racks in various stores and Newsstand shelves were always available to any retailer willing to stock comics. Unfortunately Newsstands could return unsold copies but comicshops could not unless damaged in shipment. The free read syndrome or in-store shoplifting at Barnes and Nobles killed off that experiment at our location. It will be interesting to see how this Walmart deal expands the readership. I find it hard to believe that random people will impulse buy a 4 dollar comic just because they see it in Walmart. Maybe you are right because anything that improves bottom line sales for print would be welcome.