New Comics Priced Over Cover Price

[Danscomics]

Ok, this is a question that has spawned from a fight that I'm having with my business partner that came about because of how well DC's new 52 are selling. How would you react to stores selling sell out new issues above cover price?

We both have our opinions on why it should be or shouldn't be done, but I would like an idea of how the community feels about the practice.

[abysslord]

Well it depends. As a store owner, are you obligated to sell comics at the cover price or is everything set as you see fit? Could you sit there and say "Every new comic on the stands is actually $1 over cover price"?

In that case, you are a business and if you can get more money out of your product, then do it.

If you're talking about holding back issues until the others sell out, THEN selling those for a higher price, I think that is probably unethical. You're artificially creating a lower supply to take advantage of a high demand and I think that would probably be illegal for a large business.....I mean, that has to be illegal right?

[BobBretall]

Ok, this is a question that has spawned from a fight that I'm having with my business partner that came about because of how well DC's new 52 are selling. How would you react to stores selling sell out new issues above cover price?

I would never shop at a store that tried to sell new comics at above cover price just because they are "hot" or in demand. It would make me actively avoid that shop from that point onward.

It's OK to mark up a chase variant or something from last month, but the current issue should be cover price (or less). If there is a run on the issue, limit sales to 1 per customer.

[abysslord]

Ok, this is a question that has spawned from a fight that I'm having with my business partner that came about because of how well DC's new 52 are selling. How would you react to stores selling sell out new issues above cover price?

I would never shop at a store that tried to sell new comics at above cover price just because they are "hot" or in demand. It would make me actively avoid that shop from that point onward.

I agree. If what I said in my first post is accurate and they can charge whatever they want, then I think it's fine for them to do that ... but I wouldn't go there anymore.

[Danscomics]

Well it depends. As a store owner, are you obligated to sell comics at the cover price or is everything set as you see fit? Could you sit there and say "Every new comic on the stands is actually $1 over cover price"?

In that case, you are a business and if you can get more money out of your product, then do it.

If you're talking about holding back issues until the others sell out, THEN selling those for a higher price, I think that is probably unethical. You're artificially creating a lower supply to take advantage of a high demand and I think that would probably be illegal for a large business.....I mean, that has to be illegal right?

I have yet to deal with a distributor/company that told me I couldn't price something at over the MSRP (hence the reason it is called the suggested retail price). I do have one that says I can't price at under x% off the retail price, but that is a different story.

And no, I'm not asking about a case where I am artificially creating a low supply, I mean pricing them higher from the beginning with all available copies on the rack. And sadly creating an artificial demand isn't illegal.

Just to clarify, I'm looking for feelings on the subject from the customer point of view (just like Bob said). I know what I "can do" as the business owner, I'm just trying to figure out whether my perception of customer reaction is correct without hurting my business through trial and error.

[BadDeacon]

If a store I shopped at did that, I would find another store to buy comics from.

[Trev]

I'm with Sean and Bob, I would probably avoid that shop if I could. Seems like gouging to me and I find it a little underhanded.

What's to stop that same shop from 'creating' scarcity on hot books by simply holding them back and parceling them out one at a time? Slippery slopes.

Also agree that a business is free to do that, but I would take my money elsewhere.

[BadDeacon]

To expand a bit, if a comic shop I regularly went to sold new books at above cover price, I would feel like the store is more interested in making a quick buck than providing quality service to customers.

I prefer shops that seem more interested in treating their customers well, here's an example from Progressive Ruin, from two weeks after Justice League #1 came out:

…this week, when we received a big ol’ stack of Justice League #1, first printing, with our regular weekly shipment. Not sure how our distributor came across these (warehouse find? initial order for a now defunct store?) but there they were. And I threw them back on the new comics shelf, with a little "1st printing!" tag on them, and sold them for cover price.

This guy runs the comic shop I went to as a kid in my home town, and they have always been "customer" and "service" oriented. They could easily have put all those up on eBay for $15 to $20, but stuff like this is the reason that whenever I am back in my home town and have some time, I stop in and find something to buy.

Treating customers well, and they'll remember. Treat them as a means to make a quick buck, and they'll remember.

[Gilgabob]

I am assuming your goal ultimately is to generate a loyal customer base that returns to your store on a regular basis. If so, I would NOT charge over cover price for anything that isn't a variant etc.

[J. Farrell]

I have mixed feelings about this...

On the one hand, it seems ethical to provide customers with the option to buy the product for cover price for a reasonable length of time after release. "Reasonable" is open to interpretation but would certainly include the week of release. After all, it's not as if a customer is able to offer half cover price for an issue that has little to no demand...it's kind of an unwritten contract between seller and buyer that the MSRP can be expected to be the price for a new issue. It's also the more far sighted practice; no matter what mark-up a shop gets today, they won't survive without customers returning tomorrow. Feeling taken advantage of isn't going to encourage customers to give a shop repeat business.

Then again, a shop doesn't HAVE to charge cover price. They can theoretically charge whatever they want if people will pay it. With thousands of people buying these new DC issues simply to flip them on Ebay for three times the amount they paid, shop owners might well feel no obligation to be "fair" to them. If they raise the price for their subscription customers, that's one thing. If they raise the price of their shelf copies, that might not be smart, but I can better understand it.

Side note: I went to a comic shop (long gone) once that rounded everything to the nearest dollar (a $2.95 comic become $3.00, etc.) They didn't indicate that beforehand, they simply didn't hand me any change. That annoyed me a LOT.

[BobBretall]

This guy runs the comic shop I went to as a kid in my home town, and they have always been "customer" and "service" oriented. They could easily have put all those up on eBay for $15 to $20, but stuff like this is the reason that whenever I am back in my home town and have some time, I stop in and find something to buy.

Treating customers well, and they'll remember. Treat them as a means to make a quick buck, and they'll remember.

I agree. Doing something like that engenders positive customer loyalty points. I'd go out of my way to shop someplace like this.

As an example, the LCS I go to is about a 20 minute drive from my house & 3 or 4 other shops are closer to where I live. Why do I go to Comics Toons'n'Toys? (1) They have a great selection of Indie books in addition to the big guys. (2) They do stuff like putting up the "normal" variants of DC books at cover price on the rack. In the old days it was the 1:10s and nowadays the "regular" variants of books, for instance I got the variant to Batman today for cover price (actually cover less 10%). They also put up the Dynamite 1:10 & 1:15 covers on the rack at cover price.

They could charge more for these variants, but they don't. I've also never seen them up-price a book that is the current issue.

[Danscomics]

Ok, everything that has been said is exactly what I expected. I have long held fast on not charging above cover on new issues, however with the new 52 selling so fast my partner is convinced we need to do so. He is arguing for it on the basis of supply and demand, I'm arguing against it on the basis of customer service and not being "that store". I have given him the link to this thread so hopefully he will look it over and it might sway his opinion a bit.

Side note: I went to a comic shop (long gone) once that rounded everything to the nearest dollar (a $2.95 comic become $3.00, etc.) They didn't indicate that beforehand, they simply didn't hand me any change. That annoyed me a LOT.

I can imagine that being annoying. I still remember how annoyed I was at one of the local shops when they charged me sales tax on a new comic I was buying.

[torchsong]

Simply put, this is not the economic climate to be pissing off your customer base - even the looky-loos or first-time people may become regulars - but not if you're doing stuff like that.

Hold a few back, sell 'em on ebay. At least wait a month before increasing the price, at the absolute bare minimum.

[BadDeacon]

One of my buddies on my podcast is a part time comic dealer on the side, and he makes the round to a lot of SoCal stores. He said that he saw some stores selling the books above cover price, and that they were selling.

That wasn't our topic of discussion, so I didn't really ask more about it then, but apparently this is happening, and people are willing to buy. Also, I'm not sure if this in a rack in a store, or at something like Frank n Sons. When we talk again next week, I'll ask more about it, and see if he was there long enough to gauge customer reaction.

Just throwing out a counter-point. Still don't agree with the practice.

[Danscomics]

One of my buddies on my podcast is a part time comic dealer on the side, and he makes the round to a lot of SoCal stores. He said that he saw some stores selling the books above cover price, and that they were selling.

That wasn't our topic of discussion, so I didn't really ask more about it then, but apparently this is happening, and people are willing to buy. Also, I'm not sure if this in a rack in a store, or at something like Frank n Sons. When we talk again next week, I'll ask more about it, and see if he was there long enough to gauge customer reaction.

Just throwing out a counter-point. Still don't agree with the practice.

Thank you for the counter-point. It will be interesting to hear what the customer reaction is if he knows. I know that online they are priced above cover on sites other than Ebay (such as CCL). I don't know if they are selling, or if the people buying them are only doing so because they are desperate and think ill of the sellers. As was pointed out, the goal is to use this to bring in new customers long term, that is worth way more than the little extra I would make by upping the price above cover.