Results 1 to 9 of 9
  1. #1
    Extraordinary Member superduperman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    Metropolis USA
    Posts
    7,207

    Default So I saw something disturbing today....

    Today my LCS had one of those after Christmas sales. All used comics were buy one, get one. So I rifle through the $1.00 bin and I find a bunch of recent comics. As in, within the last few months. Stuff that was on the shelf two or three months ago. And at least one that was still on the shelf. Both DC's and Marvels. Maybe this is just them putting excess inventory in the boxes but I wonder if this is indicative of a larger problem. When new books are put in the dollar bins, what does that say about the industry as a whole?
    Assassinate Putin!

  2. #2
    Ultimate Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    15,235

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by superduperman View Post
    Today my LCS had one of those after Christmas sales. All used comics were buy one, get one. So I rifle through the $1.00 bin and I find a bunch of recent comics. As in, within the last few months. Stuff that was on the shelf two or three months ago. And at least one that was still on the shelf. Both DC's and Marvels. Maybe this is just them putting excess inventory in the boxes but I wonder if this is indicative of a larger problem. When new books are put in the dollar bins, what does that say about the industry as a whole?
    That has BEEN happening for years.

    You ask what does this say? It says there are TOO MANY VENUES to get comics CHEAPER that at a comic book store.
    This is ESPECIALLY true when you talk about books like Batman, Superman, Hal Jordan and others.

    Doomsday Clock just finished.
    Go on Ebay and see how much those sets go for. Anywhere from $30-100. Depending on the variant cover you want.

    Midtown comics FOREVER have online sales. Along with other online stores.

    Half Price Books & Movie Trading Post gets comic from individuals and STORE owners. That end up being sold from 25 cents to half the cover price. With Movie Trading Post having buy one get one free sales 4 times a year.

    Barnes and Nobles foes buy 1 get 1 free trades of Marvel, DC & Image.

    If you live in an area with more than one comic book store.....
    I have one store that does 40% off sales 2-4 times a year and a 25 cent sale for 2-3 weeks
    I have another one that does buy 3 get 1 free on EVERYTHING.
    I just had a store do ALL books before November 2019 for a dollar.

    So if you are a store with tons of copies of Doomsday Clock 1-12. Charging cover price or MORE-why would I go to YOU? So you get books in those bins that normal folks would not expect.
    Also those variants are not helping move the regular cover of books. I have seen way too many House of X and all that junk on shelves to let me know what will be packing bins soon.

    Store owners have to understand the environment around them-they do not have a monopoly on comics anymore.

    My store does early cutoff when folks ORDER & PAY for what they want before he puts in his order. It helps as I have seen more books SOLD out and few unsold copies on a lot of books. It has also allowed him to give new books a shot and LOL they end up selling out too.

  3. #3
    Black Belt in Bad Ideas Robanker's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Location
    San Jose, CA
    Posts
    7,986

    Default

    It means the Big Two are aggressively pushing books on retailers and the Diamond system of preordering based on speculation is hurting comic book retailers and that nobody on the top end of the industry cares because local comic stores are no longer considered the desired delivery method.

  4. #4
    Uncanny Member Digifiend's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Posts
    36,490

    Default

    Diamond should care. If all the comic shops go, so do they, because digital doesn't need them.
    Appreciation Thread Indexes
    Marvel | Spider-Man | X-Men | NEW!! DC Comics | Batman | Superman | Wonder Woman

  5. #5
    Spectacular Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Location
    FL, USA
    Posts
    146

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by superduperman View Post
    Today my LCS had one of those after Christmas sales. All used comics were buy one, get one. So I rifle through the $1.00 bin and I find a bunch of recent comics. As in, within the last few months. Stuff that was on the shelf two or three months ago. And at least one that was still on the shelf. Both DC's and Marvels. Maybe this is just them putting excess inventory in the boxes but I wonder if this is indicative of a larger problem. When new books are put in the dollar bins, what does that say about the industry as a whole?
    Some of the issues MAY have been extra copies the store was willing to order from Diamond to reach certain milestones publishers offer, such as higher discounts, special cover variants, etc. Marvel in particular is notorious for this. Hopefully your LCS knows what it's doing and not losing money playing that game. On the other hand, sometimes stores just misread demand and have to cut its losses. At least get something for unsold stock. It's tough deciding how much to order unless you are very in tune with your customers and have good business sense.

  6. #6
    Black Belt in Bad Ideas Robanker's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Location
    San Jose, CA
    Posts
    7,986

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Digifiend View Post
    Diamond should care. If all the comic shops go, so do they, because digital doesn't need them.
    But if we squeeze a little harder, this rock's going to produce water.

  7. #7
    BANNED
    Join Date
    Dec 2018
    Posts
    1,278

    Default

    To tell you the truth, I'm really surprised that comics stores are even still around. It seems to me they would have gone the way of Blockbuster Video by now. Personally, I haven't been inside one in over...I think the last time I was in one was in about 2008. There are two within about a 15 minute drive from me. I've never been inside of them. I just learned about one of them about two weeks ago, because someone told me. Whatever I might want to buy from them, I just get online. I stopped buying floppies a while ago. I buy single issues digitally and get trades, back issues, and things like figures from mostly eBay.

  8. #8
    Incredible Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Posts
    978

    Default

    Dont see what problem is. A book only has a shelf life of 3 weeks. If its not gone of the racks by then its just clutter that needs to be out the door by any means.

    You dont say "i saw week old bananas reduced in the supermarket, is this indicative of problems in the fruit industry"

  9. #9
    Extraordinary Member Restingvoice's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Posts
    9,574

    Default

    Yeah but almost ten years ago, in my case at least, the bargain bin is filled with the comics from the 90s, not last months.

    I'm not surprised though, with digital comics and them having a sale every month

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •