SKY CAPTAIN vs. THE RETAILERS: RETAILERS WIN

[MattBrady]

If you picked up any of DC’s “War Games” crossovers, as well as a few other DC titles over the past couple of weeks, you noticed them - Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow promotional CD-ROMS were polybagged with the comics.

Yay! Free stuff, right?

Not if you’re a retailer.

In his latest Tilting @ Windmills column, retailer Brian Hibbs explained the problem:

“When people can’t flip through their comics, sales are hurt. When the anal-retentive can’t find their perfect copy (because of CD dents, and packing problems), sales are hurt. When your racks look cheap and tawdry with ugly bags popping up across them, sales are hurt. When the stacks of comics fall over because of the CD unbalancing them, sales are hurt.

The insult to injury? Oh yah, man – we have to pay for the shipping. This week’s DCs came out to 18 pounds of weight in polybags and CDs (I’m not even counting the thick mini-poster bound into each book) Retailers pay for that shipping, and we don’t even get any benefit from it whatsoever. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Effectively, we’re being asked to pay for DC’s advertising, and that’s about as perfect of a definition of “unfair” as one could ask.”

Or, in translation, DC was paid by the film’s marketers to place the CDs into the comics and polybag them (as well as attach the poster in the middle). The CD and the poster increased the weight of the comic, from 1.5 oz without for a typical DC book to 2.8 oz with the poster, CD and polybag. Retailers didn’t know this was coming, finding out about it only when they recived a larger shipping bill than the previous week. Increased weight meant increased shipping costs, as well as the variety of problems mentioned by Hibbs.

As Hibbs explained, shipping charges (always the responsibility of the retailer) increased across the board due to the 1.3 extra ounces per book – roughly 12 copies of the polybagged books added another pound to the shipment. To cover other problems of sliding copies and obscured covers (as on some comics the Sky Captain blurb on the polybag completely covered the book’s logo), some retailers reported they were removing the comics from the polybags before putting them on the shelves, and stacking the CDs nearby as a free giveaway.

Retailers complained. It took a while, but DC listened, and yesterday announced it will offer a $0.02 rebate per shipped copy of all the books shipped for initial orders only. “In the future, DC will offer a freight credit on all comics that include unbound promotional materials not connected to DC Comics' properties or that of Warner Bros. and other Time Warner affiliates.”

Translation: If Paramount wants to do it again, retailers will get a freight credit, but if Warner Brothers wants to do it with Batman Begins, start saving pennies now for shipping.

Titles eligible for the shipping credit include:

In stores 8/11:

BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #182 (JUN040189)
NIGHTWING #96 (JUN040190)

In stores 8/18:
ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #631 (JUN040315)
BATGIRL #55 (JUN040193)
BIRDS OF PREY #72 (JUN040200)
THE BOOKS OF MAGICK: LIFE DURING WARTIME #2 (JUN040945)
FALLEN ANGEL #14 (JUN040391)
HAWKMAN #31 (JUN040401)
H-E-R-O #19 (JUN040403)
LUCIFER #53 (JUN040950)

In stores 8/25:
THE LOSERS #15 (JUN040948)

[tralfaz]

the comics store that I go to opened up a copy and had it as a display item so people can flip thru it.

[GOSD]

Put me down as anal retentive then

I want to be able to see my books first before I buy them.

As a consumer, that's my choice.

I hate the packaged crap!

What were they thinking?

This is such stupidity on their part.

The 90's are here...

[Nobody]

Sorry. No pity.

Sucks you got screwed, but that's business. Expect the unexpected.

Other than the shipping costs, the other reasons Mr. Hibbs mentions are pathetic at best. I've been a comic fan long enough and worked at a comic store long enough that most fans don't really care. They dig the free shit. If there's someone out there looking to pick up a Bat-title they've never read, and they're put off by the packaging, they can either wait for the next issue or pick it up at a grocery store. Or read a friend's copy. I doubt that small percentage of people who unanimously all decided that this week - this is the week, man! - was when they were gonna start reading "Nightwing" on a regular basis are gonna shift the tide toward doom for the comic industry, all 'cause Sky Captain fucked with their plan.

[algertman]

god forbid someone puts out free stuff

[algertman]

Originally posted by tralfaz
the comics store that I go to opened up a copy and had it as a display item so people can flip thru it.

\\

problem solved, now quit your bitching people

[Vyper]

I'm totally with the retailers on this one. Plus, there are other ways to advertise the damn movie.

[CrazyFool]

Honestly, I can't say I flip through books at all, at least for the most part. If it's title I don't normally buy, I've probably made up my mind ahead of time to buy it. But that's just me.

It definately sucked for the retailers to get stuck with the shipping costs, though.

[MattZitron]

Yeah, christ its just comics.

The likelyhood you'll ever be able to make money off your copy of Nightwing is very low.

And you got a free game.

Retailers, I feel your pain. but the majority of people will buy the books anyway.

[Vyper]

Originally posted by algertman
god forbid someone puts out free stuff

That's not the point of this. DC could've just as easily sent the CDs separately, and requested that the retailers place them in a visible spot. The point is, by packaging the CD with the comics (without notice, mind you), the following happened:

1. Retailers had to pay more for their regular shipment because of weight.
2. More comics were damaged. I'm not talking about a minor crease, or some other anal idiocy - try putting a CD in the same bag as a comic (which is already fairly fragile due to the quality of paper it's printed on) and think of all the fun, creative things that can happen with that setup. Damaged comics will not sell - thus, retailers lose more money.
3. If I can't flip through it, I won't buy it, it's that simple. Yes, it's possible for the retailer to remove the comic from the bag and give away the CDs separately - but the point is, they shouldn't have to.

[SpyGuy]

No pity here either...If Paramount wants to market their film toward one of their key demographics, then I see no reason why they shouldn't, especially if the advertising helps to keep prices on books like BIRDS OF PREY down.

As far as books "falling over," on the shelves, did no one grasp the simple idea of just shaking the CD in each copy until it falls toward the bottom of the bag? Of course they're going to fall over if they're top heavy!

And I'm as anal-retentive about my books as the next person, but I had no problem with taking an extra minute to scrutinize my copies of BIRDS OF PREY and ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN to make sure they weren't dented. If you take care with cutting open the bag, there's no reason why you should have a dented copy unless all of the store's copies were dented during shipment.

[Hdefined]

Originally posted by Ghost of ScooterDoom
The 90's are here...

Because this was, clearly, all a marketing plot by DC?

[whippis]

I sympathize with retailers but only slightly- it sucks that this was sprung on them and that they had to pay for it, but now they are being refunded so the main complaint is solved. Otherwise it doesn't seem all that big a deal.

For the readers who were annoyed- perhaps if you expanded your horizons to books of better quality instead of juvenile Name-Brand junk you wouldn't be inundated with lame promotional shite for a crappy movie. If you’re actually a juvenile this does not apply.

Did Mr. Hibbs bother to note if anyone picked up a title they normally would not have because the free stuff was a slight added inducement? Didn't think so.

I used to frequent Mr. Hibbs’s shop- I don’t any longer. Terrible customer service, poor layout and his constant holier-than-thou columns are a real turn off. One retailer out of 3500 is hardly a significant statistical sampling.

[SuperStories]

I remeber getting two copies when they did the X-cutionor's Song with the cards. I had to get one copy I could read and another copy that would be safe and unopened. They could do anything to get you to buy multiple copies at time.

[Stemp]

I feel bad for the retailers, cuz comic store owners never do anything questionable to make money.

[GOSD]

Originally posted by Hdefined
Because this was, clearly, all a marketing plot by DC?

Only if you see it that way.

This was/is a stupid way to merchandise a movie.

How many of you really loaded up that CD?

I threw mine right in the garbage.

[Kolimar]

Sigh...

[The_Adventurer]

At any rate, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorow is going to kick untolds amout of ass, because 1930s Pulp Action stories are the best kind. GIVE ME SOME EXPLODING ZEPPLINS NOW!

[grphxkindaguy]

Originally posted by Nobody
Sorry. No pity.

You're right! Comic book companies should make it even HARDER for retailers to sell their over-priced color pamphlets, that drop in sales (pretty much) across the board every month...

Tool...

[JAG]

Originally posted by Ghost of ScooterDoom
Only if you see it that way.

This was/is a stupid way to merchandise a movie.

How many of you really loaded up that CD?

I threw mine right in the garbage.

Than you were obviously not the target market. Look, I think it was originally a stupid thing to do, (Not the CD, but not letting the retailers know). DC stepped up to the plate though and they will get their shipping costs back. No harm, No foul, IMO.

[gredenko]

I'd like to know if this really did hurt retailers' sales or if the major concern was just the increased shipping costs. I understand it, but also see it as something that could potentially help sell more copies. If picky collectors skip the bagged and possibly dented books, how many fresh faces see the addition of a free game and pick the book up to offset that loss? I'm just curious because it seems like while this is somewhat of a burden on retailers for the shipping costs, I can see it working in their favor in terms of selling units, especially to speculators who will want a bagged, sealed copy for whatever reason, and a copy they can read.

Numbers would be helpful here.

[Moonbeam]

Complain about the marketing deals all you want -- but would you like it better if there were no ads, no freebies, no coupons -- and you had to pay $6 per comic? The ads pay the way, so you can't have the price if you don't put up with the ads.

I didn't mind the bags, but I can see where retailers might be worried that this is a wave of the future.

But the truth is that we should be thankful advertisers are interested in putting this much money toward reaching us. If they weren't, we'd pick up the difference.

[grphxkindaguy]

Originally posted by whippis
For the readers who were annoyed- perhaps if you expanded your horizons to books of better quality instead of juvenile Name-Brand junk you wouldn't be inundated with lame promotional shite for a crappy movie.

Oh, so now those books that have this polybagged crap are of low quality and those who buy them are like juveniles?!?

Are all the TOOLS just popping out of the woodwork today, or what?!?

[Frillip]

I don't care if my comics are in less then 100% condition, I do about about:
1. The Environment, like AOL Cds, these pieces of crap went straight onto my pile of one-shot coasters and then the trash. They're gonna get landfilled eventually and mess up my countryside all for a needless promo stunt that I could care waaaay less about.
2. The pointless posters- taking them out without bending the spine or damaging the staples is damn hard and while a little damage wont bother me, creased pages and loose staples does. Its that orput up with an awkward ad in the middle.
3. My Local comic store - His continued business is based on profit, if he has to pay excess for DC's marketing crap, it damages the business. So he either raises prices putting off new readers, or pays throught the nose. Not on DC, not on at all...

[LIEFELDISGOD]

As a consumer I absolutely HATE inserts like this. They're cumbersome and 9 times outta 10 I have NO interest in the crap they're trying to push on me. Usually, it's for movies or projects that the studio or whoever knows is going to crash and burn and they try their best to save their own ass with a ill conceived marketing push.

It's like getting the AOL CD-ROM that used to coassionaly come with Wizard or the f@@king supscription cards in magazines.

Free shit is still SHIT.