Friday, April 09, 2004

A tale of two markets: At ICv2.com, Torsten Adair of Barnes & Noble (speaking for himself) responds to earlier comments about Marvel comics being distributed at bookstore chains:

"Comic books are like wine. You can pick up a bottle at your local grocery store and trade expertise for price and convenience, or you can go to a wine or liquor store and become an oenophile. Drinkers of wine fall into three categories: those who like a glass of wine every now and then but don't really care about vintage, those who drink it socially and decide to cultivate their knowledge without being obsessive, and those who are introduced to fine wine by an oenophile and are seduced into the hobby.

"Newsstands, libraries, and bookstores serve two markets: the casual reader and the customer who avoids comic book stores. The casual reader is difficult to entice unless you have a location with a lot of foot traffic. The customer who avoids your shop can be enticed by making your store more welcoming (clear the windows of posters, install carpeting, offer seating for drag-along parents). You can entice the casual reader to go out of his or her way by fostering "moles" at bookstores who will recommend your store, donating (and selling) books to libraries, and by engaging in outreach (such as handing out free comics and fliers at movie theaters showing comic book movies)."

Comics retailer David Craig also replies, hoping to distance himself from "angry, negative, antisocial comic store owners":

"Well, unlike most retailers I do run my shop as a retail establishment, not a cave for my collections that allows select few people to come in and browse MY stuff, only sometimes relenting to let an outsider buy something! I run a store like it is a giant retailer -- no antisocial, card-wielding, 'don't wrinkle my comics' employees allowed. Just people who are interested in getting the CUSTOMER what they want when they want it and at a reasonable price. Contrary to popular belief, the comics specialty market is STILL a customer service field ... let's remember that retailers!"