Is the price really worth it?

[DanH]

I stopped into a local comicbook shop today and discovered that prices had went up to 2.99 a book is the price really worth it?

[Samurai]

Depends upon the book, but in most cases, no. And if they go any higher, the number of books I collect will plummet.

[Aelo]

I stopped into a local comicbook shop today and discovered that prices had went up to 2.99 a book is the price really worth it?

Why!? What's causing the books to get so expensive?

[Paul McEnery]

I stopped into a local comicbook shop today and discovered that prices had went up to 2.99 a book is the price really worth it?
Huh. I thought you were just here to shill for your wrestling stuff, and now it turns out you haven't bought a comic in ove two years.

Shocker.

[JeffreyWKramer]

Why!? What's causing the books to get so expensive?

Small readership, more people waiting for trades. Corporate greed.

[Davideaux]

it ain't worth it

[darkkeeperjr]

A few is. Many are not. I guess it depends on what you like. Some books I need as soon they come out. So it's worth my 3 bucks a piece. The rest I can wait till the trades.

[ghostrider666]

it ain't worth it


But yet you all post on a comic book web site message board.

[Dreamer]

value is what you make. if you want it, you'll pay. example; the kingdomcome oversized hardcover is out, do you think i won't scape togethr the dough to get it? you bet you bottom i will.

peac out

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Some are worth it. Some LCS will offer you discounts if you start pulling titles from them. I'd check with them and see what is there. ;)

[Iangould]

Just to put this into perspective.

The Australian dollar price for a US$2.99 comic is around A$5.95 (and higher in some places).

That's around US$4.50.

Guess what? People still buy them.

[JeffreyWKramer]

Just to put this into perspective.

The Australian dollar price for a US$2.99 comic is around A$5.95 (and higher in some places).

That's around US$4.50.

Guess what? People still buy them.


Yeah, but you Aussies are all crazy. Everyone knows that.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Yeah, but you Aussies are all crazy. Everyone knows that.


Yeah ! "You call that a KNIFE ? This is a KNIFE." ;)

[BlairH]

Yeah, but you Aussies are all crazy. Everyone knows that.
Yeah, they chose to live upside down, now they're dealing with the consequences.

[StoneGold]

Yeah, but you Aussies are all crazy. Everyone knows that.
Of course they are. Who else would claim to be from some crazy fictitious nation?

[Gilda Dent]

That's assuming you're paying cover. Are they worth $2.99? Nah, but they're not a bad deal at $1.94, which is what I pay after the discount from my subscription service. The recent price increase on the lower tier books from $2.25 to $2.99 has resulded in about an extra $.50 per book for me on those, so I dropped a few.

Gilda

[Aelo]

Small readership, more people waiting for trades. Corporate greed.

Well, that's no fair...

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

Just to put this into perspective.

The Australian dollar price for a US$2.99 comic is around A$5.95 (and higher in some places).

That's around US$4.50.

Guess what? People still buy them.

I'd say higher at most places.

[JeffreyWKramer]

Well, that's no fair...


What are you claiming is unfair, and in what way?

[Aelo]

What are you claiming is unfair, and in what way?

All those factors you named that are making the comic book prices go up: There's nothing I can do about them! Comic books are just gonna be pricey, And I'll just have to live with it.

[JeffreyWKramer]

All those factors you named that are making the comic book prices go up: There's nothing I can do about them! Comic books are just gonna be pricey, And I'll just have to live with it.

Pretty much. Or quit buying them. Or, don't buy over-priced stuff, at very least. I pretty much avoid prestige-format stuff, because there are very few books which justify the more expensive format. Similarly, I never buy brand-new stuff in hardcover. I wait for the softcover/trade version - hardcovers are for stuff which is already a proven classic.

Vote with your wallet.

[Tadhg Adams]

Small readership, more people waiting for trades. Corporate greed.

Actually the 2nd and 3rd arn't really major factors here, replace them with rising paper and ink costs and a poor economy.

[JeffreyWKramer]

Actually the 2nd and 3rd arn't really major factors here, replace them with rising paper and ink costs and a poor economy.

You don't think some of DC and Marvel's practices are based on greed, and that that factors into the prices at all?

Okay, then. Thanks for reporting from your parallel universe.

[Tadhg Adams]

You don't think some of DC and Marvel's practices are based on greed, and that that factors into the prices at all?

Okay, then. Thanks for reporting from your parallel universe.

You're moving the goal posts there, you went from talking about this specific issue of prices increasing to "some of DC and Marvel's practices." DC and Marvel have lots of practices based solely on greed; their corporations, that's what they do. But these price increases have been spurred on the upswing of paper and ink costs as well the downturn in the economy. And trades have absolutely nothing to do with the price increase because even though the number of people "waiting for the trades" has gone up so has the sales of monthly books.


Okay, then. Thanks for being snotty!

[SUPERECWFAN1]

The Economy isn't as bad as it once was in 2001. In fact its grown pretty well and the Fed has raised interest rates a few straight times. The Dow Jones industrial average is also over 11,000 and March saw a big employment jump.


Hey...I read USA Today. I can't help it. :p

[Weetomuncher]

I think that the big two in particular are trying to make as much as they can out of the current market by increasing the cost per book instead of trying to get more people buy cheaper books.

The current industry is geared towards hardcore readers who buy a wide variety of titles (hence the big crossovers we're constantly getting) rather than pushing major titles into the mainstream by selling more in newsagents and bookstores rather than comic stores.

When I was a kid in the 80s and early 90s (I'm 26 btw) I was able to get US original books in all the major newsagent stores here in the UK. Now all that is available is reprints and 2000AD. The UK had a booming comics industry through the same period but it slowly died out.

Now the only place I can get 1st print US books is in the comic stores (2 main ones in Glasgow) and many of the major newsagent chains don't even sell reprints, which are available in bigger towns.

I think that the industry has to try and bring in more outside readers and stop grabbing money off the existing fans.

I would say that comics should be maybe up to 25-30% cheaper but more widely promoted outside the 'comics circle' to gain more sales overall.

[Thanos_6383]

Depends on the comic.

[Cei-U!]

A month ago, I would've said no, they aren't worth it. But since buying Justice #1-2 (the first new comics I've bought since New Frontier), I have to say yes, under the right circumstances they are.

Cei-U!
I summon the equivocation!

[JeffreyWKramer]

You're moving the goal posts there, you went from talking about this specific issue of prices increasing to "some of DC and Marvel's practices." DC and Marvel have lots of practices based solely on greed; their corporations, that's what they do. But these price increases have been spurred on the upswing of paper and ink costs as well the downturn in the economy. And trades have absolutely nothing to do with the price increase because even though the number of people "waiting for the trades" has gone up so has the sales of monthly books.


Okay, then. Thanks for being snotty!

Mind you, I'm not saying material costs have nothing to do with the price increase - clearly, they do, and that was worth mentioning. But let's not pretend the greed factor doesn't play in, too.

Marvel and DC are both trying to jack up market share - if possibly, at cost to the other, and certainly to any competitors. So, they both periodically put out a pile of new books. Both are doing so right now, with big crossover events and numersous tie-in/spin-off titles, plus the odd standalone title like THE THING. Putting out more books tends to result in overall more sales, *but* since you have a fairly limited customer base, this tends to drop the overall sales of individual titles lower than they would be were there fewer books out there. Thus, the need to jack up the costs on the individual titles, when you are putting out more of them. Thus, attempts to make more money while not selling a lot = increased price.

As to waiting on trades, I think this phenomenon clearly has some impact on the sales of weaker-selling books, like some of the marginal Vertigo titles. That's why some of those titles get axed, even when the trade sales aren't bad - the individual issues aren't selling enough to keep them afloat, because more potential buyers for those titles are waiting for trades. And, again, if sales are lower, costs for the remaining units sold tend to go up, to account for the drop in numbers sold. Really, DC should consider going to a trade-only format for some of these books, but that's kind of a separate issue.

The greatest problem, though, is the low readership. If you have huge circulation, you can absorb some cost increases without jacking prices dramatically; this is much less the case when you aren't selling much to begin with, and when your customer pool is so small.

[JeffreyWKramer]

A month ago, I would've said no, they aren't worth it. But since buying Justice #1-2 (the first new comics I've bought since New Frontier), I have to say yes, under the right circumstances they are.



I knew you'd like that book!

And, I agree with you. I think JUSTICE is worth the cover price. On the other hand, I don't think this about HAWKGIRL or BIRDS OF PREY or NEW AVENGERS or a lot of other titles, so my pull list is going through a purge right now.

[Aelo]

Pretty much. Or quit buying them. Or, don't buy over-priced stuff, at very least. I pretty much avoid prestige-format stuff, because there are very few books which justify the more expensive format. Similarly, I never buy brand-new stuff in hardcover. I wait for the softcover/trade version - hardcovers are for stuff which is already a proven classic.

Vote with your wallet.

Seems that's going to be my only option. But I wanna be able to just run up in the comic book store and buy whatever catches my eye! Now I gotta have a strategic game-plan on what titles to get, or else I'm gonna break the bank! That's that BS...

[SUPERECWFAN1]

I knew you'd like that book!

And, I agree with you. I think JUSTICE is worth the cover price. On the other hand, I don't think this about HAWKGIRL or BIRDS OF PREY or NEW AVENGERS or a lot of other titles, so my pull list is going through a purge right now.


Lotta my books are being trimmed come May. Its sad to see it happen. I do remember that Marvel tried rising prices on the Spiderman titles in the mid 90's and had to go back and price them back at $ 1.50 so theres always hope this price increase will go away.

I just see it killing a lot of good books like Manhunter.

[JeffreyWKramer]

Seems that's going to be my only option. But I wanna be able to just run up in the comic book store and buy whatever catches my eye! Now I gotta have a strategic game-plan on what titles to get, or else I'm gonna break the bank! That's that BS...

It's reality. Unless you're wealthy, you can't afford to buy all the things you would like to buy. So, you're in the same boat with 98% of the population.

That said, I think this round of increases is likely to be problematic for the industry. The sales had been on a general upward trend, but I won't be surprised if we see a turn there. This will probably especially hurt all the new titles - always a hard sell anyhow, and now moreso with costs going up. I know it's taking a toll on me, and I've been a comics fan my whole life.

[Aelo]

It's reality. Unless you're wealthy, you can't afford to buy all the things you would like to buy. So, you're in the same boat with 98% of the population.

True, True.


That said, I think this round of increases is likely to be problematic for the industry. The sales had been on a general upward trend, but I won't be surprised if we see a turn there. This will probably especially hurt all the new titles - always a hard sell anyhow, and now moreso with costs going up. I know it's taking a toll on me, and I've been a comics fan my whole life.

Now that really sucks. How are new titles supposed to get off the ground if nobody's got enough money to pay for them?

[SUPERECWFAN1]

It's reality. Unless you're wealthy, you can't afford to buy all the things you would like to buy. So, you're in the same boat with 98% of the population.

That said, I think this round of increases is likely to be problematic for the industry. The sales had been on a general upward trend, but I won't be surprised if we see a turn there. This will probably especially hurt all the new titles - always a hard sell anyhow, and now moreso with costs going up. I know it's taking a toll on me, and I've been a comics fan my whole life.


Jeffrey do you think once the numbers come in and thier bad for the industry...do you see them back pedaling and trying to take the prices back to where they were ?

Thats my question. Whats sadder is Marvel & DC had went to $ 2.50 less than a year ago. Now thier raising them again.

[JeffreyWKramer]

Now that really sucks. How are new titles supposed to get off the ground if nobody's got enough money to pay for them?


Good question. Keep in mind, though, that very few new titles succeed anyhow. Think of all the non-miniseries titles which have been launched over the past decade, then look at how few of them went past issue #20.

[JeffreyWKramer]

Jeffrey do you think once the numbers come in and thier bad for the industry...do you see them back pedaling and trying to take the prices back to where they were ?


I doubt it. As Tadhg noted, material costs are also a factor. NEWSWEEK can eat higher paper/printing costs without jacking prices, simply because - even though circulation is down for all magazines - it has a circulation multiple times that of the best-selling comics titles. Something that sells only a fraction of that, you can't just absorb the losses like that and still make money.

If I was DC and Marvel, I'd focus not on trying to have a pile of titles, most of which sell like shit, but rather on having a small, very strong core of books, each selling pretty well. What that means is, they have to stop putting out marginal books that appeal to only the most fanatic of an already-small fan base.

But, in the long run, what they really have to do is increase the readership numbers.

[Aelo]

Good question. Keep in mind, though, that very few new titles succeed anyhow. Think of all the non-miniseries titles which have been launched over the past decade, then look at how few of them went past issue #20.

Yeah, that's really discouraging. does this mean fewer peoples will try to release new ongoings, in favor of just doing minis?

[JeffreyWKramer]

Yeah, that's really discouraging. does this mean fewer peoples will try to release new ongoings, in favor of just doing minis?


Well, that strategy didn't end up panning out really well for Marvel, back in the day, but who knows? DC is trying something similar right now - only one of the titles spinning out of their upcoming crossover event is planned as an ongoing, the others are minis. If that works, we will probably see more short-term titles spinning off big "event" series, which themselves act as little more than advertising for the new spin-off titles. Really, that's what a bunch of INFINITE CRISIS was anyhow.... all these scenes with the Spectre and Shadowpact and the pile of characters out in space had less to do with the main story than they did with providing teasers/lead-ins to the spin-off titles.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

I doubt it. As Tadhg noted, material costs are also a factor. NEWSWEEK can eat higher paper/printing costs without jacking prices, simply because - even though circulation is down for all magazines - it has a circulation multiple times that of the best-selling comics titles. Something that sells only a fraction of that, you can't just absorb the losses like that and still make money.

If I was DC and Marvel, I'd focus not on trying to have a pile of titles, most of which sell like shit, but rather on having a small, very strong core of books, each selling pretty well. What that means is, they have to stop putting out marginal books that appeal to only the most fanatic of an already-small fan base.

But, in the long run, what they really have to do is increase the readership numbers.

Damn...there goes that prayor. :(

[JeffreyWKramer]

Damn...there goes that prayor. :(


Hey, I'm not going to pretend that I'm psychic here. Maybe they will find a way to cut prices if their sales go limp from the price increase. Seems unlikely, though.

[Aelo]

Well, that strategy didn't end up panning out really well for Marvel, back in the day, but who knows? DC is trying something similar right now - only one of the titles spinning out of their upcoming crossover event is planned as an ongoing, the others are minis. If that works, we will probably see more short-term titles spinning off big "event" series, which themselves act as little more than advertising for the new spin-off titles. Really, that's what a bunch of INFINITE CRISIS was anyhow.... all these scenes with the Spectre and Shadowpact and the pile of characters out in space had less to do with the main story than they did with providing teasers/lead-ins to the spin-off titles.

Hmm... Guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Hey, I'm not going to pretend that I'm psychic here. Maybe they will find a way to cut prices if their sales go limp from the price increase. Seems unlikely, though.


LOL I know...just bein my usual dramatic self sad to say. I've already trimmed down my pull list to what I want anyhow back in March.