Just receieved email for a virgin store variant of the regular art for Captain Marvel #9 cover A. Same stores received a virgin variant of regular art for Captain Marvel #8 2nd print. Why is Marvel doing this? At least require different cover art for these exclusives.
I assume you’re looking for an answer other than “$$$$$$$$$$$”? I used to buy up these store variants all the time and then realized how big of a hit it was taking on my bank account with little to no return. I have to be really blown away by store variants now to buy them.
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Yes, store variants are manufactured collectibles. People would much prefer first prints off of the shelves at their LCS. I just dont like how they are also killing the potential value of the shelf books with the virgin store variants.
Right now Marvel is making money on them. That is literally all they care about. If/when the money slows they will move on to something else. Marvel/Disney/ABC = one giant, greedy conglamo.
They will slow down pretty fast. What retailer doesn’t have tremendous back stock of all of their store exclusives. Their margin is great but they simply aren’t selling like they did 3-4 years ago.
Well, last I checked they are in business to make money. If they weren’t in it for the money they’d be asking for donations for their non-profit causes… 
Dont like it? Don’t buy it.
It’s like leifeld…stop giving him attention and he’ll eventually go away. We, the consumer, are to blame.
I say the same thing about spammers… if people stopped opening and clicking them, they’ll go away.
Well, that is certainly one solution. My discourse is not really about the mass wave of store exclusives. For the most part they have new/different art. People certainly have a choice to pick and chose what they want to buy. In this particular case, it is not about new art being offered by the store but it is recycled art of the regular direct to market covers Marvels solicits being offered. I mean if these were offered as retailer incentives I would understand that (1:10, 1:50, 1:100 etc.) But they are being offered by individual stores as their exclusives. Plus, IF there was any perceived value on the regular direct market cover I think these virgin variants at a minimum cap prices. Just a rant, I have been buying and selling comics for 30 years. This was just my random rant of the day.
If the store reuses art for a store book, then the store saves money by not having to pay an artist to do original work. There is little to no spec value in any store book.
From my experience, store variants do not affect the price of direct books, if there is heat. Store books, these days, are a niche market, not really recognized by long term collectors. And at an extreme mark up (typically 5x cover price + shipping), store books are a very risky investment and should only be bought for PCs, if they are your jam.
"Hey Man, if I count all my Variants and my Store Exclusives up, I have 50 copies of the same durn comic … my Grandkids are going to be living the High Life once I kick it … "
Que in Aerosmith :: “Dream On” …
Austin Books here in Austin I think is still trying to sell off their stack of ASM #666 Daily Bugle Store Variant…
Thats why you always see ‘Exclusive’ bundle sales at their shops.
Well, of course they are in it for money…I’m not going to dispute that. Every business needs to profit to keep going…Disney, well, they do tend to overdue it sometimes and have gotten a bit greedy it in my opinion. Would just like to see them tone it down a bit.Take the leave them wanting more approach.
True but remember, they don’t care about you… they have to please the share holders first. So Disney might not be greedy but their share holders are.
Although Marvel became the Vehicle for the Movies, Marvel income from the Comics side of things is a tiny fraction of what the films and merchandising bring in … in fact, I would venture to guess the merchandising alone exceeds the Comic profit revenue …
If the Comics had never existed, neither would the MCU … it’s really the tail wagging the dog …
I don’t believe Marvel/Disney really cares about expanding the actual Comic market … they care about the next Blockbuster Film / Theme Park Attraction / … if they cared about the one product that made Marvel what it is today, they would nurture and attempt to grow that Market … not churn out Variant after Variant / or sell limited rights to Store Exclusives in order to artificially beef up print runs, which are clearly directed at the “Collector / Speculator” …
I think the true blue Fans of the Genre, those that could care less about what a book may or may not be worth either now or in the future, get more and more jaded as time goes by … combine that with the ever escalating Cover Price, and what do you end up with … ??
In 1993, I attended a conference where Neil Gaiman spoke about the Publishers attempts to encourage customers into buying multiple copies / editions of Comics … it was a very dark speech and prediction … with Gaiman having been proven right as the market began to then crumble …
In late 1996, Marvel filed for Bankruptcy …
Avi Arad, then CEO of ToyBiz, and Isaac Perlmutter bought Marvel … then supplanted Stan Lee as Head of Marvel Films … then came “Men in Black” and “Blade” … the rest is History …
The point is, the lowly Comic, once considered a throw away medium, was the Nucleus of what we have today … yet, it has now devolved into just a commodity for so many …