Same people buying more or new readers coming onboard ??

[Jungle_Junkie]

Evening Chap's,

With comic sales going up in the last 6 months or so, do you think that it's new blood coming in or the same people just buying more books ??

Since I've been back in the game (about 2 years now) I started off just with Batman now it's Spidey,X-men,Vertigo,Ultimate universe, etc,etc.

 

On roughly the same topic I can't understand why they didn't scrap "free comic book day" and instead give out shed loads of spidey books at the opening of spiderman 2 in theaters in the US.

 

Thoughts anyone ??

[blowout]

With comic sales going up in the last 6 months or so, do you think that it's new blood coming in or the same people just buying more books ??

 

Speculators.

[Chicagophil-migration]

I just got back into comics after being out of it for four years. I've spent a pretty penny over the last two weeks. There might be more people like me coming back into comics & spending a lot of money getting there collections updated.

[plitch]

I just got back into comics after being out of it for four years. I've spent a pretty penny over the last two weeks. There might be more people like me coming back into comics & spending a lot of money getting there collections updated.

WELCOME!!!

[joe_collector]

Are you talking New or Back Issue sales, and either way, what makes you think that it's up?

[Zonker]

 

On roughly the same topic I can't understand why they didn't scrap "free comic book day" and instead give out shed loads of spidey books at the opening of spiderman 2 in theaters in the US.

 

Thoughts anyone ??

 

From Lighthouse's previous posts on FCBD, apparently the retailers put up some money for the "free" books (remember, even if the publishers absorb the cost of production, there is still shipping/distribution to consider). Since the retailers are part of the equation that pays for making FCBD go, presumably those retailers want to draw customers into the stores so they will buy other stuff.

 

On the other hand, movie theatre owners might really not appreciate the creation of a zero-revenue additional litter problem to clean up after!

[DKB]

I think there are plenty of folks re-interested in comics because of the movies and because of the significantly higher quality of books now then anywhere from 1988-2000. That time period saw sales plummet because mainstream comics weren't any good. I've got plenty of twentysomething friends who I've been able to get to read (and buy) some of the new stuff, and they've been really happy with what I've suggested. Each one, go down the line, stopped buying because they stopped being well written and started being entirely too far-fetched.

 

Also had a friend from outside comics buy my Classic X-men collection (about 30 minutes ago) that was bound for eBay because he just plain wanted to read the books. Chalk that up to the movie.

 

I don't think though, that kids are entering the marketplace at any pace at all. Most of the "new" readers are actually "old" readers who left when the product lacked quality.

[DKB]

I've seen a few articles that have analyzed industry numbers, specifically on Newsarama, and they generally point out that things are steadily increasing. A 5% gain in sales isn't too much to get excited about considering the numbers are so low, but, a gain isn't a loss, which makes me happy.

 

Of course, that doesn't indicate if its new readers, or old readers spending more as they earn more.

[eddly]

I got back into comics in May...

 

Here's how much I've spent since then:

 

May - $9

June - $9

July $9.5

 

All from ebay purchases. Here's what I have to show for it,

 

Hulk 105, 111, 331

and Star Wars #1

 

I don't think I am making that big of an impact.

[Murph]

As you'll quickly learn on these boards, there can never ever be anyone new interested in comics. It can ONLY be speculators or old dying people that are buying comics... never, ever, ever ever ever can it be someone new to the fold.

Please note the sarcasm..

 

Brian

[dudesim]

Well ,I've been out of collecting about 6 yrs.... An just in the last 3 months came back to it

[joe_collector]

I've seen a few articles that have analyzed industry numbers, specifically on Newsarama, and they generally point out that things are steadily increasing. A 5% gain in sales isn't too much to get excited about considering the numbers are so low, but, a gain isn't a loss, which makes me happy.

 

We've already went through this on here, but this "5% gain in sales" means NOTHING, as it's being accompanied by a "cover price increase" and actual UNIT SALES are down.

 

So let's put this into perspective.

 

Let's say a comic sells 100K a month at $2.95 = $295K (approximate net sales)

 

Now let's say the comic price increases to $3.25, but sales drop to 95K a month = $309K (approximate net sales)

 

Do you see how a slight increase in price can yield higher net sales, even while losing 5,000 readers?

 

That's what is going on right now, and the industry is pumping these illusionary "dollar sales" while hiding the fact that unit sales are down or stagnant.

[MikeS]

I've seen a few articles that have analyzed industry numbers, specifically on Newsarama, and they generally point out that things are steadily increasing. A 5% gain in sales isn't too much to get excited about considering the numbers are so low, but, a gain isn't a loss, which makes me happy.

 

We've already went through this on here, but this "5% gain in sales" means NOTHING, as it's being accompanied by a "cover price increase" and actual UNIT SALES are down.

 

So let's put this into perspective.

 

Let's say a comic sells 100K a month at $2.95 = $295K (approximate net sales)

 

Now let's say the comic price increases to $3.25, but sales drop to 95K a month = $309K (approximate net sales)

 

Do you see how a slight increase in price can yield higher net sales, even while losing 5,000 readers?

 

That's what is going on right now, and the industry is pumping these illusionary "dollar sales" while hiding the fact that unit sales are down or stagnant.

 

Top 300 comic book titles Diamond Comic Distributors sold to comics shops in May 2004 - approximately 6.25 million copies - up 10% from the same month last year. In April 2004 - up 6% from same month last year. (Per CBG).

 

Not saying there is an actual increase in readers or if it's just more speculation, but it doesn't appear actual unit sales are down on at least the top 300 titles over last year. Of course, things aren't anywhere near where they used to be....

[joe_collector]

Actually, I'm using data from early 2004 (whch I gathered for a similar thread), and the last couple of months might have shifted.

 

Were there any real whacky mini-series or special editions that sold well over $100K that might have skewed the results?

[Kevin Boyd]

Top 300 comic book titles Diamond Comic Distributors sold to comics shops in May 2004 - approximately 6.25 million copies - up 10% from the same month last year. In April 2004 - up 6% from same month last year. (Per CBG).

 

To paraphrase...

 

We've already went through this on here, but this "10% gain in sales"(in May) means SOMETHING, and it doesn't even mention any "cover price increase". It actually indicates that UNIT SALES are UP over unit sales at the same times last year.

 

So put that into perspective.

[RedSkull]

I have been out of the market for 30 years but have been buying again for the last 3 years, all silverage from the early 60's. I only flip the books I buy to upgrade. I believe the supply of early, 65 and below silverage, is limited and the census numbers do not accurately reflect the count of comics due to crackouts being resubmitted without turning in the old label. What bought me back to the market was my love for the early issues that I read as a kid and CGC assurance that the books I buy are unrestored.

[Zonker]

The Newsarama take on this is that Marvel is upping its Publishing numbers by selling fewer copies of more titles: flooding the market.

 

Marvel’s publishing arm saw an increase in net sales attributable to, according to the company, “increased strength in the direct and mass markets primarily driven by a higher title count and greater overall demand for Marvel brand products. Approximately 65 comic titles per month were published in Q2 2004 with an average circulation of over 53,800 units versus 50 titles per month at an average circulation of 64,000 units in the 2003 period. In total, there was an approximate 10% increase in circulation to 3.5 million units compared to the prior year period, reflecting success in the Company's title management strategy.

 

Publishing highlights during Q2 included, of course, “X-Men: Reloaded,” which saw the debut of Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men, with sales of the first issue inflated due to variant cover incentives; the conclusion of 1602, Marvel Knights Spider-Man, and others. Additionally, Q2 saw Marvel continue with its double-shipping of a handful of its best-selling titles, such as Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate X-Men and Uncanny X-Men, while June saw a triple-ship of Ultimate Fantastic Four, which included Warren Ellis debut issue as writer, #7. Comparatively, in Q2 2003, fewer books double-shipped, and the publisher had no events/debuts of the magnitude of Astonishing X-Men #1.

[Kevin Boyd]

http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/5361.html

 

Comic sales through Diamond Comic Distributors were up again in June for the fourth month in a row, rising 15% over June 2003. Once again gains in sales of periodical comic rose faster (15%) than did sales of graphic novels, which scored an 8% gain over June 2003. Comic dollars were aided by the fact that the number one book for the month (with sales of 163,111 copies) was Identity Crisis #1, which sported a $3.95 cover price. With no graphic novel selling more than 8,217 copies and total graphic novel sales nearly equaling May, which had Spawn Simony selling over 17,000 copies as well as popular big ticket items like The Complete Peanuts Vol. 1, it is obvious that June graphic novel sales were spread out over a number of titles with 45 books selling more than 2,000 copies.

 

June marks the fourth consecutive month of year over year increases, since we began calculating those comparisons based on Diamond's new system of reporting sales. It's also the fourth consecutive month in which periodical sales growth outpaced the growth in graphic novel sales through Diamond.

 

Sixteen months into Diamond's new reporting, we can now provide quarterly reports for the first time. Second quarter sales of periodical comics rose 13% over sales in the second quarter of 2003. Sales of graphic novels in the second quarter of 2004 declined by 1%, largely due a 10% decline in April.

 

 

The top 25 comic titles in May, estimates based on the numbers sold by Diamond Comic Distributors to North American comic retailers, are as follow:

 

 

209,389 Astonishing X-Men #1

208,105 Superman #205

178,865 Superman/Batman #10

116,611 Secret War Book Two

112,129 Uncanny X-Men #444

107,185 X-Men #157

99,320 Marvel Knights Spider-Man #2

96,698 Ultimate X-Men #45

96,652 Ultimate X-Men #46

90,963 Ultimate Spider-Man #58

89,863 Ultimate Spider-Man #59

81,944 Amazing Spider-Man #507

76,885 Batman #627

76,416 New X-Men Academy X #1

74,348 Batman #628

71,757 Excalibur #1

69,965 JLA #98

69,058 JLA #99

68,728 Wolverine #15

67,813 Teen Titans #11

63,292 Supreme Power #10

55,711 Avengers #82

55,280 Avengers #83

54,012 Daredevil #60

51,036 Spectacular Spider-Man #14

[Kevin Boyd]

http://www.icv2.com/articles/home/5360.html

 

In May three titles topped 175K in sales while in June no title even made it within sniffing distance of 175K. Seven of the top ten titles in June actually showed declines in sales compared with previous months, but June's dollar total up substantially from May (and from June of 2003). The $3.95 price tag on Identity Crisis #1 helped and the Ultimate Spider-Man titles and Amazing Spider-Man #509 registered solid gains (a certain movie can take some of the credit), but solid performances from the middle tier of comic titles kept June numbers rising.

 

DC took the top two spots with Identity Crisis #1 and Superman #206, but Marvel took the next 14 slots and 24 out of the top 30. Seventeen of the top 25 titles declined and only six scored gains.

 

Graphic novel sales declined slightly from May's totals, but still represented a gain versus June of 2003. With the debut of Spider-Man 2 in the offing, Marvel took the top two spots with Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. #9 and Essential Spider-Man Vol. 6 with the Spider-Man 2 movie trade grabbing the seventh spot. Dark Horse, Gemstone, and DC had two titles each in the top 10, while Viz grabbed the last spot. Dark Horse's Hellsing 3, which recently topped the BookScan list of graphic novel sales in bookstores, was the highest rated manga title at #5. There were two manga titles in the top 10.

 

The top 25 comics based on the number sold by Diamond to North American comic stores in June 2004 are as follow:

 

163,111 Identity Crisis #1 (of 7)

162,095 Superman #206

133,784 Astonishing X-Men #2

104,789 Ultimate Spider-Man #60

101,159 Ultimate Spider-Man #61

100,972 Ultimate Fantastic Four #6

99,485 Ultimate Fantastic Four #7

98,660 Uncanny X-Men #445

96,759 X-Men #158

96,694 Ultimate Fantastic Four #8

95,254 Ultimate X-Men #47

94,238 Ultimate X-Men #48

88,289 Amazing Spider-Man #509

83,947 Wolverine End #4 (of 6)

82,715 Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #3

82,268 Amazing Spider-Man #508

75,434 JLA #100

72,020 Batman #629

67,519 Wolverine #16

66,424 Teen Titans #12

60,468 Amazing Fantasy #1

59,791 Excalibur #2

58,855 New X-Men #2

57,083 Avengers #84

53,770 Daredevil #61

[joe_collector]

We've already went through this on here, but this "10% gain in sales"(in May) means SOMETHING, and it doesn't even mention any "cover price increase". It actually indicates that UNIT SALES are UP over unit sales at the same times last year.

 

Actually, the analysis suggests that any unit sales increase is TOTALLY INHERENT on a few of the top-selling speculator books (ie. Astonishing X-Men 1) that sell far in excess of regular books, and is not being carried through all the comic book titles.

 

So yes, I'd say rampant speculation has a great deal to do with the rise in comic sales. Otherwise, all titles would be up, and not just the latest Marvel #1, Hot Artist, New Relaunch books would be seeing the huge sales spikes.

 

For example, the Top 3 comics from May 2004 sold 600K, while in June 2003, these sold 400K. Now if you take out the Top 20 "hot selling" comics, then it would have to go to over #100 to reach a 200K discrepancy.

 

Basically, the latest comic sales are highly weighted at the top-end, with the "hot selling" books like Astonishing X-Men, Identity Crisis #1, Lee's Superman, Superman/Batman, Secret Wars, etc., not to mention double-shipping of Ultimate titles (thereby front-loading the chart even more) making up the vast majority of the sales difference.

 

Of course, we know these books aren't being speculated on, or mass-submitted to CGC.

 

Look over those numbers and put that in perspective.