Phantom variant program

[revat]

Looking at the date of the last post, I'm guessing that the Phantom Variant program has ground to a halt?

 

taking a break...

Market has spoken.

I did it, then everybody did it...

 

 

good for you

 

this is why I don't think the market will crash. People can adjust their strategies more easily now. Add that to the fact that you have a whole internet world to sell your excess comics to at least partially recover your costs (if not more), and you won't have industry wide crashes in same way there were before. YES there can still be 'individuals' left holding the 'bag' if they over speculate and miss, but the current market is too spread out, too flexible, and too diverse currently to all crash at the same time.

 

You completely misunderstand.

I made a conscious decision to take break from commissioning shop variants for a bit based on 2015 observations that were:

 

#1-Collectors frustrations with them.

#2-The number of shops producing them.

#3-Publishers & artists producing them for themselves.

 

I'm going to do more at some point.

Just not now.

 

The comic market & my shop are healthier than at any point in my 26 year retail career.

Like to adjust my strategies based on market conditions.

 

For moderns my 2016 theme is: "Hey, Hey, Hey....Cover A"

 

I was talking more in generalities. You seem to have a firm grasp on your market and concepts, and the flexibility to act in the way you feel is necessary, as do many if not most other retailers. There are some 'variant critics' who think the sheer number of variants will somehow lead to another crash. I think you're a good example of why there won't be a crash. You have better information and more control and a larger available market as a safety net should things turn south, even a little bit. That's not to say every comic business is safe, but it does seem like they won't all fail at the same time, and other shops can learn from the behavior and success or failure of other shops much more easily than 20 years ago. This ability to learn from others and be flexible will prevent variants from being the death knell it was before.