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Post by profholt82 on Feb 28, 2020 8:47:26 GMT -5
So, I've been reading the new Batman series since the end of Tom King's run. I didn't care for what he was doing, and wanted to try the new writer James Tynion. And I've been enjoying it thus far. I've been in from issue 85 through 88. However, the last 2 weeks I have been on a family vacation, and so I fell behind on my new books.
When I went to my local on Wednesday, I was informed that not only was the newest issue 89 sold out, but that "it's going for 40-50 bucks now." What?! Why? Apparently there is a first appearance of a new character at the end, so the people who buy books to put in those godless plastic grade contraptions and flip on ebay have sucked the supply dry, so the regular readers are effed.
So, apparently I'm done with the new Batman. While that sucks, it's not that bad because this new Batman hasn't been anything that special, but still, I was getting into it. Lately, I've actually been reading a lot of the 80s Batmans and Detectives as well, and they are so much better. I don't know, I guess if they do a reprint or something in the next few weeks, maybe I'll still grab it.
I'm just venting about the people who only buy new books just to speculate on. It's crazy to me in this case because they print thousands upon thousands of Batmans, so rarity doesn't even come into play. They can do their stupid graded plastic shells to them, but they'll all have high grades because they're brand new. It's not like these are golden age books. I just don't understand how a brand new book that has tons of copies printed can be worth that much money to people. It's an artificial price bubble if there ever was one.
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Post by Icctrombone on Feb 28, 2020 11:10:12 GMT -5
I'm sure the DC will release another printing.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2020 11:26:08 GMT -5
So, I've been reading the new Batman series since the end of Tom King's run. I didn't care for what he was doing, and wanted to try the new writer James Tynion. And I've been enjoying it thus far. I've been in from issue 85 through 88. However, the last 2 weeks I have been on a family vacation, and so I fell behind on my new books. When I went to my local on Wednesday, I was informed that not only was the newest issue 89 sold out, but that "it's going for 40-50 bucks now." What?! Why? Apparently there is a first appearance of a new character at the end, so the people who buy books to put in those godless plastic grade contraptions and flip on ebay have sucked the supply dry, so the regular readers are effed. So, apparently I'm done with the new Batman. While that sucks, it's not that bad because this new Batman hasn't been anything that special, but still, I was getting into it. Lately, I've actually been reading a lot of the 80s Batmans and Detectives as well, and they are so much better. I don't know, I guess if they do a reprint or something in the next few weeks, maybe I'll still grab it. I'm just venting about the people who only buy new books just to speculate on. It's crazy to me in this case because they print thousands upon thousands of Batmans, so rarity doesn't even come into play. They can do their stupid graded plastic shells to them, but they'll all have high grades because they're brand new. It's not like these are golden age books. I just don't understand how a brand new book that has tons of copies printed can be worth that much money to people. It's an artificial price bubble if there ever was one. The new comic market has been fueled by speculation for almost 10 years now. It is also a pre-order niche market, as books are printed to preorders, and shops order what they know they can sell and many do not even order shelf copies of most titles. so if you are not pre-ordering your books, there is no guarantee you will ever see a shelf copy of any book, let alone one that gets hype/buzz. It sucks, but that is what the nature of the business is now. Adapt or lose out essentially. If you don't want to have a pull/preorder than you take your chances with every issue and that is on you, as it was your choice. Periodical comics are no longer a mass-market entertainment form, where they are readily available to a causal walk-in customer. They are a niche hobby market, and just about everything in niche-hobby markets are sold to those who preorder it not to walk-in customers. Sorry you got burnt on the Batman. As icc said, there will be 2nd printings, but this is the way the market is and has been since at least 2012 when I was helping out in a local shop. It's not a new phenomenon and it's not going to change any time soon. Our local shop tries to protect against it, limiting every comic to 2 shelf copies per customer (he'll order as many as you want for you if you preorder though), but at the end of the day, shelf copies themselves of any comic are a rarity, and most shops that do carry shelf copies also track how many shelf copies they typically sell of a series and order to sell out of those before the next issue comes out (which is why you often see a massive drop in sales on series between issue 1 and 3 as early issues are ordered before retailers have actual sales data and the adjustment comes around the third or fourth issue). -M |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Feb 28, 2020 11:53:06 GMT -5
This is because comics have adopted the Franklin Mint method of sales. By and large comics are viewed as limited edition collectibles. The ability to read them is secondary. They aren't aimed at the general public but to a niche market who are already "collectors" and will go out of their way to get them from inconvenient locations.
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Post by The Captain on Feb 28, 2020 11:55:24 GMT -5
I will second a lot of what @mrp said, although I would argue that the speculator market goes back much further than a decade. Back in early 90s, I worked in a comic book shop in the town where I attended college, and that was during the era of "The Death of Superman" and Jim Lee's "X-Men" with the multiple covers and the genesis of Image. We had people who had never stepped foot in the shop coming in and buying multiple copies of Superman #75 because they heard they were going to be "hot"; they may have been at the time, but today, they sell for about $4 on eBay.
Another recent book to do what happened with this Batman issue was Marvel Comics Presents #6, which is the first appearance of what is an alternate-reality/dimension daughter of Wolverine. The book was running around $80 a pop on eBay within the first week after release, and now, months later, it still goes for anywhere between $30 and $40 for a first printing. I have mine (I was a subscriber to the title, or else I would have missed it), but I also grabbed a second printing, and I am contemplating selling the first printing to put the profits toward my Werewolf by Night #32 fund.
Yeah, it sucks that you missed the initial printing, but unless you had planned on selling it yourself immediately, then the second printing will give you the story to read. One weird thing is that sometimes, the second printings, particularly ones with limited-availability alternate covers, have more long-term value than the first printing, so you might want to keep that in mind if and when the second printing comes out (and it will, because DC wants to make money but also not alienate the fans like you who missed the story, because the speculators aren't going to buy the next issue in any case, but you might drop the title if you feel you've missed something).
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Post by wildfire2099 on Feb 28, 2020 14:56:03 GMT -5
There's also the trade, of course, or the library  |
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Post by profholt82 on Feb 28, 2020 15:06:27 GMT -5
I actually just got back into comics about a year ago, so this whole speculation thing is new to me. I haven't had this problem with any of the books I've been reading until now, so I suppose that's the reason for my rant. I appreciate the info, everyone. Considering there are several books I pick up each month, I should probably look into setting up a pull list at my local so that I can avoid this issue in the future.
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Post by The Captain on Feb 28, 2020 15:14:33 GMT -5
There's also the trade, of course, or the library It's funny you mention the library. I was at my LCS a couple of weeks ago, right after this Batman issue came out, and there is a young woman (early 20's or so) who works at the local library and is in charge of the comics section who shops there. She was picking up some things for herself along with some things for the library, and the Batman issue was one of the library items. The owner of the LCS was explaining to her that the book was hot right now and that if she put it out for the patrons, it would likely get stolen and sold on the secondary market, and she said "oh, I'll just take a hole punch and put a notch in the front and back covers to destroy the resale value, and then no one will take it", just completely matter of fact about it. |
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Post by profholt82 on Feb 28, 2020 15:50:04 GMT -5
There's also the trade, of course, or the library It's funny you mention the library. I was at my LCS a couple of weeks ago, right after this Batman issue came out, and there is a young woman (early 20's or so) who works at the local library and is in charge of the comics section who shops there. She was picking up some things for herself along with some things for the library, and the Batman issue was one of the library items. The owner of the LCS was explaining to her that the book was hot right now and that if she put it out for the patrons, it would likely get stolen and sold on the secondary market, and she said "oh, I'll just take a hole punch and put a notch in the front and back covers to destroy the resale value, and then no one will take it", just completely matter of fact about it. That's brilliant. Hopefully it works. Now I'm curious to check out if my library curates comics. I don't think they do, but it's worth looking into. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Feb 28, 2020 17:10:20 GMT -5
There's also the digital option if you miss out on an issue; I've gone that route many a time after being scooped and on some titles that I like reading but don't have any special attachment to, like say the latest Star Trek book, I go digital every time it comes out as although I enjoy it I don't feel the need to have it in my hands.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Feb 29, 2020 0:37:14 GMT -5
I haven't seen any libraries in my area that buy single issues, but they buy trades (the library in my town, in fact, asked for my 'expert' advice on what to buy a couple times, which was quite fun)... I've seen people donate single issues, but they typically consider those not durable enough to circulate, and sell them instead.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 29, 2020 14:04:52 GMT -5
Fair warning, Batman #90 has already sold out from Diamond before it was released and a second printing is in the works, so if you want a #90 while waiting for a #89 2nd print, best tell your shop ahead of time.
-M
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Post by earl on Mar 1, 2020 20:15:21 GMT -5
There is a second print out there. I just ordered one of those.
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Post by brianf on Mar 2, 2020 0:25:13 GMT -5
I personally only collect characters, and a kinda weird grouping at that - Elric, Shang Chi, Deadman, Machine Man & The Maxx. I live in Seattle and most stores don't like dealing with my weird occasional requests to hold certain comics for me. After asking around I found a shop - Dreamstrands - that's willing to take email request for me to hold specific comics, and they've been great. I mean, I am giving them business but it's not a ton of money being spent a month, so I really appreciate the care the owner Gabriel gives me. If you have more than one comic shop in your town I'd ask around and find one who will hold the comics for you. When the 1st issue of "Batman : Damned" came out I found out Deadman was a character in the book, but then due to the Bat Penis controversy the book got hot. Thankfully Dreamstrands held one for me anyway since Gabriel noticed Deadman in the book. So yeah, I own the Bat Penis comic, but really, I read it for the articles only, I swear. |
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Post by urrutiap on Mar 2, 2020 17:13:19 GMT -5
variant covers for any new X-Men comic series including the previous Return of Wolverine or Resurrection of Jean Grey, yeah some of the variants are cool but most of the time comic shops jack up the prices from 8 to 30 bucks. So theyre about as bad as people scalping prices on ebay or amazon with the variant covers.
Im glad this kind of crap didnt go on a whole lot back in the 1990s. All we had back then were the dumb hologram covers for Spectacular Sider-Man, Spider-Man and the X-Men comics for Falal Attractions.
Arent the Scottie Young cover variants for the new Wolverine # 1 and other X-Men stuff arent they getting jacked up prices right about now anyway at your local comic shop from 8 bucks or higher?
Crazy
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