$3.99 price point...will WE show Marvel it's a bad idea?

[Wood]

As most of you know, I love the numbers. It comes with the territory of being a portfolio manager.

But I love comics a LOT more than the numbers. It's why I'm doing 11 O'C and why I listen to a dozen other comics casts and why I spend ridiculous amounts of time and money on the hobby. And a lot of the time people joke about my obsession with the numbers, they might not realize that I talk about them because I see a lot that concerns me and yet sometimes feel powerless to stop it.

As a capitalist, I don't begrudge anyone their right to make money, and make lots of it. If the market will bear a price point, it's not only reasonable, it's optimal to charge the highest price that will be acceptable to the market. So for a long time I've sat back and scoffed at the cries of how expensive comics have become. Because the reality is that, cry as we might, we hardcore guys/gals keep on buying.

In fact, about 2-2.5 years ago the first time I ever had a conversation with Vince was about the price of comics.

Fast forward to today. There's been a lot of talk that Marvel is prepping us for a line-wide $3.99 price point. I had been holding out hope that people were putting the cart before the horse. But then I took a look at the March solicitations:

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/081216-marvel-march-2009-solicitations.html

By my quick count, 34 books are priced at $3.99. Of those, only 13 have more than the standard 32 pages.

This disturbs me.

We are in the worst economic recession in, at least the last 40 years, and when all is said and done the economic destruction is going to be worse than anything outside of the Great Depression. Millions of people are going to lose their jobs. And we are experiencing DEFLATION; meaning the price of goods and services is declining in aggregate.

Yet, Marvel is pushing toward a 33% price increase at a time when even the most insulated businesses are feeling pain.

So why are they doing it?

They want you to believe it's because they need to. I'm sure they will argue to investors [myself included] that costs are higher, the market is shrinking, and the price is necessary to keep the publishing business healthy. Sounds great but it's NOT TRUE. Over the last nine months, Marvel's publishing division has generated 37.2% operating margins. Those are FANTASTIC margins, and would be the envy of most publishers [in any type of publishing, not just comics]

So why are they REALLY doing it?

I believe it's a combination of two things.

A) What has helped, now will hurt. Lots of talk about how great it has been for comics to leave the direct market and move to bookstore shelves. However, with the economy getting rough, that causes a major problem. Stuff sold to book stores and conventional retailers = RETURNABLE. And Marvel [and DC] run lean operations. They don't have a business model built on warehousing tons of returned trades. They are lean, and the vast majority of their inventories are held by Diamond. Returns = erosion of profits. Quickly. And with Borders verging on closure, Barnes & Nobel struggling, and Amazon getting leaner [inventory wise], that means the golden goose of the last few years is laying an egg.

B) The audience is stagnant, but loyal. We talk all the time about the importance of new readers. And while there are always anecdotal stories of new people getting into comics, the trend is undeniable. Not many new people are finding monthly floppies and starting to read them in the direct market. As a result, despite lip service, Marvel [and DC and others] know where their bread is buttered. But they don't have a lot of respect for us either. They view us a cigarette smokers. We are loyal to a fault. We'll pay higher prices because we need our fix. And we have this belief that we need to endure higher prices to "support the industry."

So here's the all important question...ARE THEY RIGHT?

If we all sit down to fill out our DCBS orders or to tell our LCS owners what to pull for us, and don't blink an eye toward those $3.99 books, we are PROVING THEM RIGHT. We are, effectively, telling Marvel that they SHOULD move the line to $3.99, and that DC and others should follow suit. Because we may bitch online about prices, and we may get on our podcasts and rant. BUT WE ARE STILL BUYING THEM.

The ONLY way we can stop this from happening is to SPEAK WITH YOUR WALLETS. Don't buy those $3.99 books. You love Jeff Parker? So do I but I'm not paying $3.99. You think Red Hulk is great popcorn fun? Superb, but $3.99 is what they're tempting you with. Think Jon Hickman is a natural for Secret Warriors? Me, too, but paying $3.99 for it would only be adding fuel to the fire.

I can't stress this enough. If you want to complain about the rising prices of books, but are willing to pay for them anyway, SHUT THE HELL UP. Seriously, I don't want to see rants from people over the next few months saying how "pissed" they are about what Marvel is doing, only to follow that up with something like, "but I couldn't resist buying them anyway." Either buy them and accept the price hike quietly, or complain and put your money where your mouth is.

I'm going to. It pains me to not buy some of these new books; but on principle I'm not going to. And you know what? I'll be able to get them at cons next year in discount bins. Guaranteed.

[aSh]

Way to go Wood! I for one will not be buying any new $3.99 books.

[VinceB]

After the DCBS discount, the standard mainstream Marvel and DC comic is $1.79. This is about what I want to pay for a 22-page comic book. In terms of the amount of entertainment/dollar, I feel like I'm getting a decent return on my investment.

A $3.99 title after DCBS discount comes to $2.39. Much more than I want to pay. If the increased cost is reflected in the price of future trades, I may just stop paying for Marvel and DC books, altogether. Notice I didn't say I'd stop reading. The more the price of comics increases, the more comics I'll download. When a runaway hit struggles to crack 50K copies, they'll get the message that there's only so much people are willing to pay for these things. They are ENTERTAINMENT, after all. Not necessary for our survival.

Charge $1 a pop for a digital download, and I'll gladly pony up for every one. Price 'em any higher, and you can keep 'em. I don't need comics that badly. Hell, worse case scenario, I revisit the 30K I already have and it won't cost me a dime.

[Wood]

After the DCBS discount, the standard mainstream Marvel and DC comic is $1.79. This is about what I want to pay for a 22-page comic book. In terms of the amount of entertainment/dollar, I feel like I'm getting a decent return on my investment.

A $3.99 title after DCBS discount comes to $2.39. Much more than I want to pay. If the increased cost is reflected in the price of future trades, I may just stop paying for Marvel and DC books, altogether. Notice I didn't say I'd stop reading. The more the price of comics increases, the more comics I'll download. When a runaway hit struggles to crack 50K copies, they'll get the message that there's only so much people are willing to pay for these things. They are ENTERTAINMENT, after all. Not necessary for our survival.

Charge $1 a pop for a digital download, and I'll gladly pony up for every one. Price 'em any higher, and you can keep 'em. I don't need comics that badly. Hell, worse case scenario, I revisit the 30K I already have and it won't cost me a dime.

I'm beginning to feel that way, too. Tens of thousands of comics in my comic room and damned if I can remember reading 70% of them.

[clever_username]

Luckily, the $3.99 price for Secret Warriors was just for the first 48 page issue. #2 is $2.99.

I agree, Wood. I wonder if we'll see a lot more people finding ways to enjoy the books without buying them.  

[Adam Besenyodi]

Karma for getting that off your chest, brother.  I was just working on a blog entry about this topic, but I'll share some thoughts here (because who knows if I'll ever get around to finishing and posting that).

As a Marvel-only monthly reader, I am really disappointed in the price hike.  When you look at the value for your dollar, it's really hard for me to justify $4 for the content.  I mean, that's nearly $50 a year per book for 12 issues.  And maybe it's just the way I personally consume comic books, but I'm much less likely to reread a monthly than I am a collected edition.

I realize not all the books I read or am interested in are affected by the price change right now, but combined with the end of Secret Invasion, now seems like a perfect time to make the switch.  I think it’s safe to say I’ll be jumping off a lot of books over the next few months... Mighty Avengers at #20, New Avengers and Cap at #50.  I don’t have a lot invested (from a number of issues purchased perspective) in Uncanny X-Men and will probably leave it either after the December book or the Annual in January.

There are plenty of new books I’m curious about: Astonishing Tales, Incognito, Secret Warriors, a slew of What If? one-offs, etc.  But I don’t see any of them being enough for me to pick them up in a monthly format.  And you have a great point about finding them in the discount bins next year if I really want them in that format.

[Matt H.O.W.L.]

Eloquent post, Wood. Unfortunately, I'll be trimming my already-meager pull-list down to just one title. I've been buying New Avengers and events (  ) for several years now and this hike is the tipping point. I've been thinking of buying just one floppy and getting other stuff in trades or downloading things then reading and deleting them. This just broke the camel's back. I'm sick of longboxes, I'm sick of filing sh*t in my basement, and I'm tired of being pumped in the rear by Marvel via my wallet. I will become a diabolical villain and take what I want. I have ethical issues with it, sure. I know it's not like stealing a loaf of bread to feed my family, but damn it, I've invested a lot of time and money into this company over the last 25 years. I deserve to be treated with a little respect.

[Dave A]

Notice I didn't say I'd stop reading. The more the price of comics increases, the more comics I'll download. When a runaway hit struggles to crack 50K copies, they'll get the message that there's only so much people are willing to pay for these things. They are ENTERTAINMENT, after all. Not necessary for our survival.

Charge $1 a pop for a digital download, and I'll gladly pony up for every one. Price 'em any higher, and you can keep 'em. I don't need comics that badly. Hell, worse case scenario, I revisit the 30K I already have and it won't cost me a dime.

What about the stuff that isn't available for download? Even through services like Marvel Digital, a lot of stuff isn't available, even after waiting more than a year. (Oh, how I wish that weren't the case....)

[VinceB]

What about the stuff that isn't available for download?

Everything is available for download. 

[Wood]

What about the stuff that isn't available for download? Even through services like Marvel Digital, a lot of stuff isn't available, even after waiting more than a year. (Oh, how I wish that weren't the case....)

Vince is talking about taking matters into his own hands, like music fans did for years before iTunes [I realize lots of folks still do use illicit means, but iTunes legitimized the process for a lot of folks, myself included].

[Ryan 'gobo' C.]

Everything is available for download. 

Literally.  Sometimes it's the ONLY way to get stuff without digging through back issues for things like Hitman or Flex Mentallo.

[Dave A]

Ahhhh... gotcha. The old "it's ok to steal something if I think it costs too much" argument. 

[VinceB]

Ahhhh... gotcha. The old "it's ok to steal something if I think it costs too much" argument. 

Most of the stuff I download isn't available in trade format, anyway, so a publisher isn't losing any money from my actions.

[clever_username]

I download some comics. It hasn't decreased the amount I spend on books per month. Sometimes it's to see if I want to buy the issue. There are serveral comics I'm picking up now in singles or in trades because I tried a couple online (for example Kull and Conan). Sometimes it's an issue I'm dying to read but can't stand to wait a month for my DCBS box to arrive or for the library to get the trade.

[Wood]

Most of the stuff I download isn't available in trade format, anyway, so a publisher isn't losing any money from my actions.

As long as you realize it's a rationalization, so be it. I did the same thing with music. Kept telling myself that as soon as the music industry gave me a viable way to pay for digital music, I would switch. But I never lost sight of the fact I was stealing in the interim.

[Ryan 'gobo' C.]

I'm sure Vince does, and I feel the same way.  If I had access to pay for digital books for $1 a pop, or some reasonable monthly subscription I absolutely would, ESPECIALLY for independent stuff that I'm trade waiting on.

Even more especially if some colour e-paper reader comes out.   

I feel far less guilty (although still somewhat) when I grab a scan of a company owned instead of a creator owned book.

Like Wood I don't pirate music anymore, mostly because my tastes have skewed fairly far away from the mainstream and I want to make sure the artists I like are getting as much money as possible so they can keep making music.

[Scott C.]

Most of the stuff I download isn't available in trade format, anyway, so a publisher isn't losing any money from my actions.

Isn't available in trade or isn't available yet?   Just wondering if the downloads are more for older stuff that has never been collected or this week's books where the trade could be anywhere from 1-6 months away.

[Dave A]

Hey, I'm not passing judgment on anyone... that's for Jesus to decide. 

[aSh]

Hey, I'm not passing judgment on anyone... that's for Jesus to decide. 

He says we are all forgiven, I can continue my download of 80s Hulk issues.

[VinceB]

Isn't available in trade or isn't available yet? 

Never collected, as in the original floppies/magazines are all that exist.