Interesting read about the current state of print comics 1 1

[slg343]

On 7/14/2018 at 3:09 PM, RockMyAmadeus said:

It is the decades-long treatment of comic books as collectibles first, and entertainment second, that the comics shop community created, fostered, and encouraged every step of the way that led to the decline of the Direct market. It's why even mainstream DC and Marvel comics struggle to sell 50,000 copies a month, in a nation of 325,000,000 people. 

Readers are going to tolerate seeing "sold out" signs before a store even opens on new comics day only so long before they give up in disgust, and that's exactly what has happened. Speculation is fine if people are ordering before FOC. Having speculators comb your store, grabbing up every available copy AFTER that is foolish and shortsighted. 

That, combined with the Museum attitude that many stores have...that is, they're showcasing what they own, rather than pricing at realistic prices, the unrelenting drive to get the highest price possible for every single item...and being mortally offended when anyone asks for any type of discount, treating people who spend money no better than those who don't...goes a long way towards explaining why stores fail. 

I spend tens of thousands of dollars a year on comic books. I haven't spent more than $500 in comic book stores since about 2011. 

And I'm not alone.

Comics specialty stores had their chance...perhaps it's time for a new model. 

This was me maybe 5 years ago.  Details are fuzzy but some normal comic I was reading and never put on my pull list had some event which sold out before my after work pick up.  That was straw on camel back.  I called in next day closed my box and now only by floppies during twice year $1 back issue blowout sales.

[FineCollector]

I like the WalMart idea in principle.  More distribution is a good thing, but in order to entice a retailer, you need to give them a competitive advantage.  Usually, that means selling cheaper, or offering something exclusive.

I like the throwback to 100 page giants, I'd probably buy them if I happened across them.  Who the heck would clear the store of them, though?

[WeR138]

I'm seeing the 100 pagers in the stores I've stopped in. Not the Teen Titans, but the others are there, usually multiples.

 

[Fan Boy]

Interesting idea to have these comics in WalMart. Are they only in America and not available in Canada, I presume? Once every few months, I would find a 1000 page giant Archie digest at 40% discount in Walmart near me. 

As for the declined slope of printed comic books monthly. That has been going on for a long time, and I am not surprised. I stopped buying new comics since then. Even my favourite LCS now told me they had that problems for a long time and they are having a tough time drawing in new readers to buy that comics. 

Yes, it is mostly all spectaclers to make quick flip$ on new bazillion cover variants of every title. Me, I am long past that fad. But I am glad I had lived through the good days back then. 

[1Cool]

15 hours ago, jcjames said:

Digital audio media almost killed physical records. Almost.

Now there's a steady resurgence of vinyl records (over 10 years of growth and still growing) in #'s of sales and as a share of all records sold.

More people are wanting physical copies of their music. Maybe this bodes well for physical copies of comicbooks too.

And it's the younger adults (18-30) who are driving this resurgence of physical record sales, not so much the aging baby boomers trying to reclaim their lost yutes, even though last year's top 10 selling vinyl albums were mainly the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Prince, Michael Jackson and other artists from 30-40 years ago.

Maybe the same trajectory may be in store for the future of physical comicbooks - doubt they'll ever go away completely (like vinyl did for many years), but stores devoted almost exclusively to selling records/tapes/CDs (like LCSs are to selling comicbooks/TBPs/GNs) are pretty much gone.

So there may be a good chance that comicbooks will survive the decline of the LCS (rather than the other way around), maybe in a way that returns us to "the old way" of finding comicbooks for sale in grocery and department stores, spinner-racks... and of course now, Amazon. 

 

 

Great analogy between records and comics.  Records account for about 6% of all album sales and the sales of albums is about a third what it was 10 years ago.  Comics over the next couple decades will become a niche market which will have a growing number of fans but when you look back on the sales numbers from days gone by it will be a pittance compared to what once was.  Things always change. 

[SteppinRazor]

On 7/15/2018 at 9:17 AM, ThreeSeas said:

It's been a while since I have bought any new DC comics, so yesterday I had to pick up a few things at the local Walmart, and while there I thought I would look for the 100 pagers. I finally found where they keep their collectible cards and sure enough, they had some DC comics, but not the 100 page giants. Instead they had $5 three-packs. So I got three cover price $2.99 comics for five bucks. Let's see, that comes out to a price of about 55% of cover cost or 45% off, however you want to look at it.

I bought four packs for the heck of it. If anyone wants to know what I got for my twenty bucks:

The New 52 Future's End 7, 8, 14, 15, & 17.

Supergirl (rebirth) 1

Harley Quin (rebirth) 1

Batman Trinity (rebirth) 1

Batman: I am Suicide (rebirth) 1

Batman: Eternal 23,

Grayson (the new 52) 4

Infinity Man and the Forever People: Future's End 1

They are dated from 2015 through 2017

So for a $1.67 each I'm not complaining, That is until you all chime in and tell me you can find these in the dollar bins at the lcs's lol, but that's okay, as long as I get my entertainment value out of them.

Anyways it appeared that there were enough comics there that I didn't envision them running out any time soon.

Five dollars today is probably what it felt like when I spent a dollar or so back in my childhood so I see this as a good thing. And anyone buying this hodge-podge of different numbered issues may end up going to the local comic shop to get the missing issues so as to have a complete story. I have to believe this is a win win situation.

 

There was a thread on these last fall I think in the modern forum.  I went and bought a couple of packs as well.  There was also a marvel pack, but those were reprints.

[ComicConnoisseur]

18 hours ago, FineCollector said:

I like the WalMart idea in principle.  More distribution is a good thing, but in order to entice a retailer, you need to give them a competitive advantage.  Usually, that means selling cheaper, or offering something exclusive.

I like the throwback to 100 page giants, I'd probably buy them if I happened across them.  Who the heck would clear the store of them, though?

What was kind of sad about these Wal-Mart 100 page comics was a good number of speculators scooped them all up to sell on eBay for 3 to 4 times their cover price value,so the original audience that they were intended for (new readers) most likely never saw them, as most of them went right into speculators hands and flipped on Ebay for profit.

 

Edited July 17, 2018 by ComicConnoisseur