Another fifteen minute post.

§ July 29th, 2014 § Filed under retailing § 3 Comments

So I just threw a bunch of Avatar variant covers on the eBay, since I had a few sittin’ around the shop that hadn’t moved out just yet. The threshold to order these is actually pretty low, so it’s sometimes too easy to check those off on the order form. It can be a real guessing game on these variants, the Avatars in particular, in that I know there’s a chance I won’t sell them, but I can’t sell them if I don’t have them in the first place. They sell more often than not, but there are always leftovers. Especially now more than ever, since everybody’s cranking out variant covers as quickly as they’re able.

Some cases, it’s not so much a big deal. There’s that coming Deadpool variant with the 3D cover, in the style of DC’s event debacle from last year that, with any luck, will be less of a debacle this time around. Anyway, even as regular Deadpool sales seem to be dipping due to oversaturation (example: one of Deadpool’s every-three-weeks monthly issues, an issue of the weekly series, and Deadpool Vs. X-Force, all coming out last Wednesday), its variants still maintain strong demand, and that 3D cover will likely sell for crazy prices.

Oddly, more difficult is ordering DC’s latest variation (har) on variant covers, which unlike the usual method of operation in which the variants are tied to specific order plateaus (such as 1 for every 25 of the regular cover), DC’s recent “Bombshell” and “Batman 75th Anniversary” and the coming “Selfie” covers were orderable in any quantity. What makes this difficult is trying to predict if a) folks are going to buy both covers, or b) buy the variant instead of the regular cover (or vice versa), or c) buy just the variant because they’re collecting the variants on titles they don’t ordinarily buy, or…ugh. There’s no consistency across the board, as it turns out. Options A, B, and C all seem to apply, depending on which book it is, what the cover looks like, etc. Harley Quinn and Wonder Woman variants are easy sells regardless, but there’s a lot of looking at variant covers and comparing them to the regular covers and trying to decide what my customers were going to prefer months (or weeks, in the case of the Final Order Cutoffs adjustments I get to do after placing initial orders) from now. Sometimes comic ordering is an art, not a science, and alas I’m a bit sloppy with my paint sometimes. And my analogies, come to think of it.

And that’s fifteen minutes. Also, I’m doing this again which can get pretty dark. That’s a feature, not a bug.

3 Responses to “Another fifteen minute post.”

  • swamp mark says:

    I think DC is making a mistake by making their variants so easy to order. What makes them popular is their scarcity and as you say, I think people will buy the cover they like best. It’s no longer a variant, it’s just cover B. They won’t command those high prices on ebay and that’s what drives their popularity. I’m dying to get the Swampy Robot Chicken covers but won’t pay the price. Now if DC were to second print those covers and allow me to order them straight up, I’d be all over it.

  • Snark Shark says:

    “Deadpool”

    They have WAY overdone Deadpool, no surprise!

  • amrothery says:

    Of course they’ll bring Wolverine back! They’ve already started, what with the teenage clone running around.