Omnibuses and the like : cost (!) and usability

[jamxl5]

I'm not sure what kind of response I'm expecting but I can't believe I'm the only one who can't afford (or perhaps more correctly, can't bring himself to spend that amount of money) Omnibuses and the like.

Maybe the only response is that I am a miser or that somehow I should gain more disposable income. I just can't justify spending so much money on a book (admittedly a BIG book)!

I'm in the UK and matters have been made so much worst by the slump of the British Pound. *sigh*

Over here we have a discount book store ("The Works") but they don't get many graphic novels and the like (perhaps that's a peculiarity of my local branch). Do you guys stateside have discount stores where you can pick up omnibuses at a reasonable price? (Even that doesn't help me due the huge shipping costs to the UK).

Also, on usability : how they heck do you read an omnibus? I like to read graphic novels lying on my back, that must be impossible with an omnibus!

I guess what we really need is for a UK publisher to reprint these books over here ... I would still imagine they'd be beyond my reach in price.

So, I'm sorry, I guess I'm just having a moan. Please don't be too harsh in your comments.

[Balakin]

you have to put things into perspective. An omnibus collects loads of issues in hardcover format and it is oversized. Yes, there are overpriced books but in a lot of the cases the issue/price ratio is pretty good. So you're basically spending the same amount of money but instead of spreading it you just drop it in one go.

Also buying an omnibus in a shop for RRP is for the wealthy. Go online and you get them half price or for 30-40% off. Packaging can be shoddy but not all the time. Sellers like speedyhen, wordery or different amazon marketplace sellers offer nice discounts.
Also there is cheap-comics.com and they always have some kind of sale and even with the 15 euro flat rate shipping it's usually worth it and their packaging is superb.

[zevious zoquis]

Yup, you really have to consider a few things here...

If you take a marvel omnibus, they generally collect what you might find in 2 or 3 masterworks. If you figure out the retail pricing for the formats, the better value is usually the omni. That's especially true if you are patient in purchasing and wait for good sales and such. In Canada where I am there's really only 2 good options - Amazon or Indigo. I have a great lcs near me, but the way they are currently pricing books is US cover price plus 30%! I'd like to support them a bit as it's a good shop, but that's way more than I'm willing to spend when Amazon books are generally anywhere from 10-25% off the CDN cover price even without waiting for one of the periodic sales they have. I shoot for at least 20% off the CDN price and often get 30-40%. You also learn to keep an eye on the used bins at the lcs too. I've gotten some great deals that way.

As far as the physical act of reading goes, meh. You do what you have to do. I don't really find any one reading position all that comfortable for extended periods. I tend to change it up a lot whether I'm reading a trade or a big book...

[zevious zoquis]

Having said that, it's certainly worth mentioning that - once you get on the omni treadmill, it's extremely difficult to maintain control. Lol. I've just come through a month where I pretty much lost it and spent more than I should have. I don't regret it since I did get some good deals, but I now need to reign myself in for a while and let the credit card cool off.

[DebkoX]

I can't afford any and, personally, I would never buy one unless it was dirt cheap due to the following reasons;

I wouldn't have the time to read it all
Too expensive
Nowhere to store it properly

[zevious zoquis]

You say it's too expensive. On what basis do you figure that to be the case?

[JAG2045]

I'm not sure what kind of response I'm expecting but I can't believe I'm the only one who can't afford (or perhaps more correctly, can't bring himself to spend that amount of money) Omnibuses and the like.

Maybe the only response is that I am a miser or that somehow I should gain more disposable income. I just can't justify spending so much money on a book (admittedly a BIG book)!

I'm in the UK and matters have been made so much worst by the slump of the British Pound. *sigh*

Over here we have a discount book store ("The Works") but they don't get many graphic novels and the like (perhaps that's a peculiarity of my local branch). Do you guys stateside have discount stores where you can pick up omnibuses at a reasonable price? (Even that doesn't help me due the huge shipping costs to the UK).

Also, on usability : how they heck do you read an omnibus? I like to read graphic novels lying on my back, that must be impossible with an omnibus!

I guess what we really need is for a UK publisher to reprint these books over here ... I would still imagine they'd be beyond my reach in price.

So, I'm sorry, I guess I'm just having a moan. Please don't be too harsh in your comments.

Like you I live in the UK and have seen the cost rise up for the DC Omnis, the best thing I have found is to preorder early on Amazon so you get the best price with the pre-order guarantee (eg the Brave and the Bold vol 1 only cost me £32.00 instead of £82.00!)

Otherwise you can try 3rd part sellers or wait for the paperback's of the omnis (where 2 TPB volumes = 1 omni) Also you could try the digital comixolgy store (where the TPB versions are under £15.00 each)

Lastly you could try and get the older archives which were smaller and still hardback which people have been putting up for sale on ebay as they replace them with the omni's however be aware that same are OOP and go for high prices also the fact that they all have endpoints when the program ended which the omni's will be (hopefully) passing in the future.