From: v070km6q@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu (John B Schutkeker)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
Subject: Re: Valiant sucks
Date: 27 Aug 92 22:53:00 GMT
Organization: University at Buffalo
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41

In article <1992Aug27.193817.1187@unixg.ubc.ca>, jcomeau@unixg.ubc.ca (Joe Comeau) writes...

>Nobody is getting heart except speculators, and they can be hurt on any number
>of books.  

I agree, but these multiple first issue gimmicks magnify the the hurt by the
number of different versions printed.  I can handle some risk, but not that
much.  So I (and others like me) bail out, and DC loses money it could have
made.

>How many "DEATH of Superman are you going to buy?!"

Zero, unless I find out that it was written up in the popular media, which
I haven't heard.  Besides, he'll be back...

>So, in case you are interested I also speculate.

Funny.  At first it sounded like you were morally opposed to speculators
the way r.a.c people used to be morally opposed to selling comics.  If I've
insulted you, I apologize.  But I don't understand why you don't have more
sympathy for the speculator.  These days, the big two is just trying to
squeeze them dry, and if you're one, then you must be feeling the pinch,
too.

How many copies of Team Titans #1 did you buy?

>You have to buy something to know that it is good.  Just knowing Byrne, Miller
>or any other good artist/writer or special apperance will not guarantee
>that the book will be good.  Some unknown artists/writers/characters are
>great and can only be discovered by reading the book.  That includes dealers
>who are sometimes to busy running their store and miss a few good books.

This is all true, and it represents a dilemma for me.  Except for stuff that
is hyped (and therefore oversold), I rarely get a hot book fresh off the
stands.  I can buy them cheaper than their peak price, but never at cover
price.

It seems to me that the only way around this is to buy one copy of everything
every week.  Then I'd have no money left to speculate with and no time left
to live my life.  In 1975, it could be done for $7. per week (that was my
allowance in high school), but now it would cost a fortune.  In order to
do better, you would have to know, whenever an artist whose name you've
never seen appears in _Advance_Comics_, whether (s)he's new to that company
or you've just never seen that name before.  The advance info that you get
is just never good enough.  You have to get tips, and they come sporadically.

I'm open to suggestions, as long as they don't read "Give up speculating
and get a life!"  I like to think I have a life.

>Good dealers don't speculate(at least not in extremes) they buy a book and
>plan to have at leats a 75-80% sell out.  If they can't average this across 
>their comics they get stuck with a lot of crap that doesn't move.  This dead
>stock is the same as overspeculating.  Yes as you said this does hurt the
>industry that is why dealers go out of business, miss management of stock
>is always #1 reason.

I've always wondered whether this is true or not.  Many dealers both over-order
to fill extra demand on predicted "hot" books and keep some copies off the
shelves in case of a sellout.  I don't believe that they all go under.  It's
true that dead stock from regular orders produces the same result as dead stock
from overspeculating, but I doubt that these guys try to distribute all their
overstock across all titles.  They try to distribute it across all their
non-"hot" titles.  Overspeculation losses on "hot" titles just have to be
eaten, and I think that these are the titles that they try to get the 15%
overstock on.  They will err on the side of caution because they have to eat
their mistakes ;-), but they will hit some accurately (like I do), and make
more money from that.  For regular issues, I think that they try for 0%
overstock, ie. occasional sellouts and occasional leftovers. 

>Speculating is gambling, and you can lose.

Oh, sure, but when the risk is multiplied by these big numbers, it's more
like "You *will* lose."  Why play if the odds are that bad?

>There will always be collecto's who seek everything.  

These are the guys that *I* think are suckers.  Can you introduce me to a
few?

>				....I am also collecting the stupid hockey
>cards you get in Kellogg's cerial.  As you probably guessed... I eat a lot
>of cereal.

Sounds like a good idea to me.  Just like the Magnus and Image #0's and the
Trial of Venom that I await expectantly.  Having to go to the extra trouble
will make people ignore it at first, so there will be a shortage.  Prices
will go up.

>It's the nature of the beast...

Well, I think that they've invented some new beasts here, and they're pretty
vicious.

							-- John Sch...
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc