Is the variant bubble going to burst?2691
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JLS_Comics private msg quote post Address this user | |
It looks familiar. Oh I know why:  |
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DarthLego private msg quote post Address this user | |
| It's Venom 150 because Marvel is returning to legacy numbering, thus counting up all the comics as if there had never been a break in numbers. They are basically copying what DC did with with Action Comics and Detective Comics, only not in any intelligent way that actually serves the collector community. | ||
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DarthLego private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I said it before and I'll say it again. Marvel has been choosing piss poor covers for the 1:1000s. Covers that you'd expect on regular issues. | ||
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KingNampa private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Variants are great for short term investments. Buy them and flip them for more. As a Long term (10+ years) investment not so good. Your kids will be buying them from dollar bins. | ||
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 I bought a meat grinder on amazon for $60 and it's changed my life.
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kaptainmyke private msg quote post Address this user | |
| That's why I chase newsstands, old early work, and low print run versions of today's "rock star" artists. JSC's old early work on Spider-man will gain more weight and value over the 3-cover variant sets he's burning through signing on his own studio website. Those aren't going to be worth anything but the Half Price Bookstore bins in a decade. |
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DarthLego private msg quote post Address this user | |
Considering the unconstitutional inflationary policies of the corrupt federal reserve system that was illegally ratified in 1913 our kids and grandkids will only have $5 bins.  |
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 Beaten by boat oars
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Studley_Dudley private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Star Wars killed the variant fun for me. I bought a bunch of the variants during the early run of the series, then stopped. Outisde of the TF incentive books, if a book has a variant that I can dig, I'll pick it up. Maleev's variant to Punisher #1 of the current series being the one I really liked. Black and white/sketch variants might be the most lazy ones I can imagine seeing. | ||
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Oxbladder private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Lonestar I agree and have said as much for quite a while now. I would also add that retailers should be grouped in with the collectors as well. Both are THE reason bad habits of the big two publishers persist. Not that it matters much the practice of looking at the numbers is far to great that no matter if rational voices speak up to the publishers and point out the error and dangers of their practices it falls on deaf ears. Oh and I can see variants becoming valuable even if they drop in value at first. Despite the artificial nature of their rarity the lower numbers of these issues can come into play again. |
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Lonestar private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Are there any retailers on this forum? I'd really like to hear what an owner of a LCS has to say about this topic. How much does selling variants at a premium affect your bottom line? | ||
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rtdcomics private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I run an online store. We're just about to finish our website and then we can add new releases to our stock options, including these variants that I am starting to dislike so much. It then becomes a moral dilemma as to whether its more about paying the bills or helping stop the rot in an industry I enjoy so much (which in turn could eventually stop me paying those bills anyway!). Realistically we wont be at the level of obtaining the 1:1000 variants and probably not the 1:500 for a long long time but from a business point of view selling one of those big variants can cover close to, if not all of, the outlay to obtain the 1000 standard cover books. Were then on a win win situation of selling the rest of the stock risk free. I would presume this is causing huge amounts of left over stock for many retailers who just don't have the customer base or outlet to sell that many of a standard cover with all the other competition out there. We traditionally buy pre-owned books from 60's to modern day and due to low buying costs are able to sell these on for what we deem to be reasonable prices. Although we haven't had a full price breakdown the figures we have been shown highlights how tight it can be to sell the basic standard covers after purchasing costs. Its clear that independent retailers are using these variants and their own artist variants to be able to survive within the 'new' comic market. I had a similar issue with my video games business. For 'new' games the buy price was so close to the sell price that generating enough margin to survive/thrive was virtually impossible, i switched this to pre-owned stock and had great success. We have bought some great variants in comics from customers in the UK for a fraction of what they paid for them as once its owned far too many of them lose their retail value. |
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comicsforme private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I have a LCS and sells variants at regular price. He knows they dont last on high prices then after 6 months they are useless. Can be a waste of money. | ||
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ZosoRocks private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by comicsforme Great question! |
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ZosoRocks private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by comicsforme Hi CFM....may I ask, how quickly do the variants sell on average? Do they sell out within two days?....or a week?....or more? Thanks! |
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rtdcomics private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @comicsforme I take it he has a cut off point though on the variants that he sells at standard price? does he stay below the 1:25 ones? | ||
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comicsforme private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Most in our area go in minutes. They fight teeth and hands. I got first in line one time and still did not get my comics. They ran me over so i stop going to the stores. Once a month mabey if i feel good | ||
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comicsforme private msg quote post Address this user | |
| The owner is nice and gave me a few get one for each store special like Star Wars party cover. I went 2 days ago and went to buy all his Redneck #1 and had 7 covers and he only let me get 3 but thats still a nice guy Remember regular price on all covers even Redneck #1 even when price was going up | ||
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shrewbeer private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Lonestar I'm guessing it helps them stay in business. Kid working at the biggest LCS near me knows nothing about comics, and told me the owner wants him to concentrate on Magic card sales  Asked him where the "good stuff" is and variants availability, and he says the owner bought the store so that the "comics come to him", no dice for customers. Back issues galore, but thats it. Havent been back to that one since. |
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aerischan private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Oxbladder Well, without customers willing to pay premium pricing, retailers would stop inflating their orders to qualify for the incentive variants. Mind, ever since Rebirth, it seems like DC has forgone incentive variants and they just release open to buy variants for every comic. I like DC's approach much better than Marvel's. Granted, I do wish DC would release the cover images upon initial solicitation instead of waiting until FOC. Oh well, at least they show the cover artist. Some of Marvel's variants are solicited as (CA) TBD. |
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DarthLego private msg quote post Address this user | |
| As long as the covers are good, people will buy them. If they are horrible, like Marvels incentives have been lately, people will not buy them. All variants are not created equal, and they should not but lumped together as such. | ||
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Foghorn_Sam private msg quote post Address this user | |
| It's too bad they have to rely on these gimmicks to sell comic books. What a load of #$%^@!!! | ||
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Oxbladder private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by aerischan The inflated price of variants came on the secondary market first. The retailers didn't want leave money on the table so they followed suit. |
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KingNampa private msg quote post Address this user | |
What's going to burst first? The Variant Bubble or Stan Lee Signed bubble? hmmm  |
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I bought a meat grinder on amazon for $60 and it's changed my life.
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kaptainmyke private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Stan Lee bubble is going to B L O W U U U U U U P P P PP PPPPP H U G E after he dies. Just saying. You know it's true. |
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Beaten by boat oars
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Studley_Dudley private msg quote post Address this user | |
| He signs more shit than Pete Rose and at a higher price. | ||
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KingNampa private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @kaptainmyke He won't die. His agent will hook him up to an iron lung and make him sign forever. | ||
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Darkga private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by KingNampa The thought of that literally made me laugh out loud, because that's what his agent probably wish he could do.  |
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Beaten by boat oars
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Studley_Dudley private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @KingNampa LOL! I think Ditko is only hanging on out of spite. | ||
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James private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Lonestar I am a retailer. The variant game is fine as far as I'm concerned. You just have to order on a scale that works for your store. Blaming retailers for the phenomenon is sort of misguided - if a customer wants a 1:50 of a book I only order 25 of, then I offer the book to them at the price of the difference in my order cost. Smaller variants, like 1:10 or 'Order 250% of this item code' variants get put on the shelf at cover. In the case of the 1:50 I now have 25 copies of a title that probably wont sell. This is fine with Marvel, because now their product is taking up more space on the shelves (that is IF I put them all out). Eventually they get placed in a $1 box and taken to a show, or moved some other way, but it's at no loss to me and the customer is happy. So is the publisher, and so is Diamond. The problem with variants for many stores tends to be: a store normally orders 25 copies of a book, and takes a chance ordering a 1:1000 that then depreciates 50% after the first month if it doesn't sell (ASM #25 is a perfect example). Then a store is left with 975 copies of a book no one wants, AND a massive variant that they cannot recoup their costs on. I tend to hear more retailers complaining about unsold variants than anything else, and the key here is that they should never have ordered them in the first place. Only do it if A: it's a sure sale, or B: you are already at that ordering threshold. As soon as collectors stop buying these covers retailers will stop ordering them and publishers will stop printing them. But that's not going to happen any time soon. The risk is, and should be, on the collector with regards to variants such as this. If they want them and the price drops in half over 3 weeks, that's their investment. That said, personally I don't care for variant collecting but it is a market that helps stores keep more product on shelves and in many cases helps their profit margins, if only by a small amount. |
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James private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Studley_Dudley Eh, I get where you're coming from but the problem is that the definition of the 'Incentive Variant' is to incentivize retailers to order more books so they can unlock a book to sell at higher cost. It is an incentive to the retailer, not the customer. I agree with you on open to order variants, and stores upcharging for, say, variant covers on the Rebirth line are scumbags. But as with anything else the rest is up to the buyer. If a store overprices a 1:50 variant they reached to get, it wont sell and will probably depreciate before they recoup their costs on it. Likewise, a fairly priced 1:50 will most likely only be bought by someone looking for that book specifically, so why chain the stores hands behind their backs when someone is willing to pay it? |
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Lonestar private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @James Thanks for the input. I was certainly not blaming the retailers. At least not mainly or solely. There is certainly enough blame to go around. Publishers, retailers and collectors all bear a portion of responsibility. I'm glad to hear that these only account for a small amount of the profit margin. I was worried that if it was a large amount, many LCS would be in financial trouble if/when the bubble finally bursts and they no longer have the profits from variants to rely on. |
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