Saw an online retailer I am friends with post this on Facebook.
The argument is that with rising costs of labor, shipping, and lower discounts from the distributor, some online retailers want to stop giving discounts on open to order comics (basically anything you order from Midtown, Villain, Tfaw, DCBS and the likes.
Would this change your buying habits?
We have already seen the supply chain affect paper supplies and Image has announced no more second prints for a while.
No. I’m going to buy what I want to buy. Before I bought online pre-orders, I bought all my comics at my local shop who gives zero discounts (even no discounts if you got a pull or subscribe with them). The only one that did do pre-order pull/subscribe discounts was Capstone before they closed shop.
I think I would probably stick to things I know and like and not try new comics quite as frequently. There’s something psychological about “I can try this at a discount and see” that while the full price isn’t different enough to actually matter to me, my brain would do its thing and tell me it was.
Yeah, I now apply this to most Marvel titles. If I think there’s spec to flip, I’ll buy but a lot of titles now I can just read and check out on the MU app 3-4 months later. It’s completely worth the $80 or so per year for the subscription. It’s great for searching through back issues to confirm stuff too.
I will definitely buy less. It may just be a few bucks per book, but it all adds up. I won’t be upset about it though as I need a reason to stop buying so many books anyways.
Definitely buy less. I realize that they still aren’t “that expensive” relatively speaking, but they are just a non essentially discretionary purchase for most. As much as I love comic books, they are the first to when times are tight or I’m saving for something. The discounts from sites allow me to justify spending and buying what I do just a bit more.
I’m that way with any of these $9.99 issues that are becoming more common such as the recent Spiderman issue. I personally feel $9.99 is an absurd price for a comic book regardless of anything “fancy” about it a few extra pages. Definitely won’t touch one without a discount.
None of us “need” comic books…sellers of comics at any level need to understand that.
Oh the day comic cover price exceeds $5 on average… I’m out entirely. In the early 90s when I was collecting baseball and basketball cards, when the number of cards went from like 15 down to 4 or 5 and nothing but people chasing the inserts while the prices went from 50 cents to $2 and up… I quickly said, nope, I’m out.
I’d like to see more loyalty type programs. I spend a decent amount at TFAW as an example and wouldn’t mind if they sent me an occasional promo code or something to reward/keep my business.
I agree. My local shop asked me since I was buying so many comics each week if I wanted to start a pull or subscribe… My response was, “Do you give discounts then?” Response was… “No”. So I told them, what’s the point then if I can just walk in on Wednesdays and grab most if not all the books I want that week then without the actual commitment of subscribing or pulling? He thought for a minute and said, good point. Said the only reason he could think of to subscribe to a title was to make sure you didn’t miss an issue. Most books I read, if i miss one I can always just buy the digital copy honestly… so yeah, no real reason to subscribe. Loyalty rewards go a long way I think… discounts, promo merch, etc.
Uhh, what lol. I think discounts really help and also make some people actually willing to spend more. For me I end up buying more books than if they were cover price. Comics elite stopped doing the 35% off a long time ago and personally I think that was a really bad decision
I hope this doesn’t come off as condescending or holier-than-thou but for the last 6-8 months or maybe a little longer (well before the paper shortage) I have seriously cut my pulls back. It’s a combination of baby budget, saving for a house, and focusing on what I enjoy reading. For me, comics are an escape and I enjoy the characters. I’ll spec here and there and sell a book if the pro e is right but I can’t make it a priority of mine.
Also, my LCS closed one of their 3 locations due a landlord wanting a 10yr lease and increased rental rate. In the depth of the pandemic he felt that it would be irresponsible to commit to something like that so he closed the store. As an incentive to stay with him, he offered the customers of that location a permanent discount in product if they migrated their pullbox to one of the other 2 stores. For me, it means a 36 mile round trip for ~$10-25 worth of comics. However my Hyundai gets 32+ MPG on a windy day so I am fine with it.
Also, I have only purchased from an online comic store MAYBE 4 times. I only did it because I was worried the incentives I wanted wouldn’t be on the shelf when I got to my LCS. In all instances they were on the shelf and due to shipping I ended up paying at TFAW than I would have otherwise. I just don’t enjoy online shopping and I can’t bring myself to sell my community members down the river to maybe save a buck on a comic. Small business is so important! If you don’t have an LCS I totally understand needing to shop online.
My habits would not change. It’s all about receiving books in NM condition for me. I plan on ordering 5-20 books per month, so it’s not a big deal.
I don’t know what is up with my LCS, but all their new comics every week are all dinged up. It is rare to find anything close to a 9.8 on their shelves. We are talking usually 9.2 at best. So, to hedge my bets on an issue I think will be worth a spec, I order my second or more copies on line.
