BID Mailbag: Marvel’s Slashback program

Originally published March 16, 2001, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1426

Well, we’ve been discussing Marvel a bit here at BID (what with this being, y’know, a newspaper about comics, so I figured I should do it on occasion just to keep my hand in). I should mention, by the way, that artist Michael Collins came up with what I think is a perfectly nifty name for the Marvel Silent Month. Ready? “Nuff Said Month.” So there it is.

I also tossed out a question to retailers, soliciting feedback over Marvel’s apparently abortive attempt to introduce what they called Marvel’s Slashback Month.

Having nothing to do—as one might have thought—with either slasher films or chiropractors, Slashback was designed to showcase individual titles on a month-by-month basis by cutting their prices back from a hefty hefty hefty $2.25 to a wimpy wimpy wimpy $1.99. The theory was that fans would be inclined to then sample the comic while using the twenty six cents they saved to purchase—I dunno—a one minute phone call.

The idea, however, is now on the verge of being voted off the island by Marvel’s counsel of retailers, who far prefer a retailer incentive program instead of a straight-up savings to consumers. This prompted such ire from retailers on my AOL folder, however, that I tossed the notion open to the public. The results of this very unscientific fishing for opinions is not remotely binding on Marvel; however I have every reason to suspect they’ll be more than a little interested in what folks are saying.

The responses flooding here into the home office have been, shall we say, interesting. Some retailers confined their remarks to Slashback, while others used the opportunity to rail against Marvel for a variety of grievances. I’ve had to edit some of them, particularly those that went off track and instead started addressing remarks about my work or me. I really had no choice: The effusive praise, the compliments, the lewd propositions, the obscene photographs, the Xeroxes of people’s buttocks, the death threats… it becomes repetitive after a while. Why bore you with it?

First up, J. Rider from Hot Comics in St. Paul, Minnesota:

In response to your column about the Marvel Slashback program, I have to say in my best Bill Murray from Meatballs: It just doesn’t matter.

As a program itself, the Slashback idea is an ok one. I’m not likely to order more of a Slashback title unless it contains a new direction, writing-art team, or,as you tried, a done-in-one issue that I could introduce as a jumping on point. The Slashback seem to me like a reverse “chrome” cover idea, except it cost my customers less. It is suppose to get interest in a title, but unless the writing and art is good, no one will really care.

Extra incentives, to me, are a waste of time. Most of Marvel’s seem to be an “order 1 get 1 free” reorder that I usually do not take advantage. I have already ordered my initial order, and usually ordering more doesn’t fit into my plan. Extra discounts also do not excite me, unless they are doing it on their scant backlist.

But Marvel can do all the price breaks they want, and all the art changes they want, and all the great creators in existence can write and draw and create all they want, and… it just doesn’t matter.

It doesn’t matter, because as you mention earlier in your column, Marvel doesn’t overprint, and I couldn’t get those issues even if all the choirs in heaven wanted those issues. Marvel wants me to order so flawlessly and so precisely the exact numbers I can sell. Marvel wants me to put up all my money IN CASE a title goes ballistic. But it isn’t going happen. I isn’t ordering more, I isn’t reordering any incentives, and I isn’t falling for it.

But I will tell you what is happening.

Take the Defenders title. I sold out of first issue. No reorders available. Issue two has come out, and although customers are interested, they have a real anal attitude about starting at number one. So my sales on number two are 50% less than #1. Take Avengers #38. Many customers would like to try it, and it IS a Slashback title, and I did order more of this issue. But I sold out, and sold out I shall stay.

Now take the current run in the Superman titles, “Return to Krypton”. I bumped my orders up. I sold out. I reorder. I sell out again. I sell out again. I happy, I mean I’m happy.

So Marvel can offer all the incentives they want, but if I can’t reorder their titles, I’m not going to preorder extras. They don’t want to spend their money, why should I spend mine?

Plenty of DCs available for reorders, and no Marvel. Ouch, babe. That can’t be fun stuff for the folks at Marvel to be hearing. Now let’s turn to P. Callanan at Cave Comics in Newton, CT:

 I’m not one of the Top… Men that Marvel deemed important enough to consult with, I’m just a small store in a small town. I don’t believe that the Slashback program went far enough. Just dropping the price by 25 cents is not enough of an incentive for people to pick up a book. I’d rather see a price of 99 cents or $1.50. I don’t mind the short term profit loss if it means I have the chance to pick up some long term readers.

Now on to Marvel’s other lunacy. I’ve had my store for 12 years now and one of my laws of business is that you never go out of business by selling through. I run a six week cycle after which the books go into the back issue bins. There are some books that I plan to have a few left over at the end of my cycle, but for the most part I aim for an 80% to 85% sell thru rate. Occasionally I have underestimated the demand for a book. I ordered the first 2 issues of Ultimate Spider-man at 1 1/2 times my Amazing Spider-man sales. I probably should have ordered twice that. But because of Marvel’s print to order idea, I was never able to get anymore. What that says to me is that, even with a major title launch, Marvel wants me to have more faith in their product than they do.

That’s why Marvel’s old habit of overshipping key titles generated so much good will: Because it sent a message that Marvel was willing to stand behind its product. Now Marvel’s coming across like Darth Vader, making finger-choking gestures to the retailers and saying, “I find your lack of faith disturbing” while the retailers are being strangled.

Here’s a cool name: Buck Walker. Sounds like a space-going kung-fu guy. Buck is the manager of The Time Capsule in Colonial Heights, VA, who says:

As a comic retailer, I think the Slashback program is a good idea that allows store owners, such as myself, to try to cultivate new readers on books. If the books are priced less, I’m more inclined to order 3-5 more copies of titles that I can’t sell very well (ex., anything not ordered at 15 copies or more per month), to see if I can hook some more subscribers to it. If I’m successful at targeting the potential likes of my readers, I can increase the number of subscribers to the book at my store while simultaneously creating goodwill for myself AND Marvel by bringing attention to the lower cover price. The cover says it’s part of the slashback program, a concerted effort from Marvel–and the retailer if they choose to take part by ordering a little extra like I stated above–to make it easier for new readers to jump on to the book. In the long run, both myself and the publisher stand to benefit from these business practices.

If Marvel decides to go the other way, using increased discounts on books to supplement increased ordering, for one thing, chances are they’re going to set the required order level to obtain these discounts pretty high. I’m not as willing, even at a higher discount level, to increase the number of copies I’d carry and THEN discount the book at store level to try to facilitate sales. Frankly, most retailers won’t even do that; just as you stated in your column, they’ll just use it as another way to make more money, benefiting no one but themselves, and not helping the industry in general.

As I read your column, and as I’m writing this, it has become even clearer to me that Marvel has little to no interest in supporting their dedicated retailers, or the comic industry. With what is effectively a “no reorder” policy on their books, a horrible trade paperback program, and what seems like an abandonment of any further corporate level assistance with increasing readership, they have moved to dead last on the list of companies I choose to support. The majority of my rack space for both new books and trade paperbacks s is dedicated to DC products, and I carry a large selection of the DC Direct products. Why? Because not only is it good material, but the company supports me. I get weekly phone calls from a DC rep, and she makes sure I have or can get everything I need to successfully market and sell their product. Every couple of weeks, I get at least one, if not two, killer promo posters for DC stuff that I can stick in my windows.

What do I get from Marvel? Nothing. Maybe a poster every once in a blue moon, a nice memo each week that tells me that they’ve “continued to reduce the number of copies” of their books available to me, and, as you stated, a middle finger in my face when I ask for more than I’d originally ordered.

Could they make my choice any easier?

The pattern is becoming clear: Retailers want to support Marvel, but feel that Marvel isn’t supporting them, due to a variety of policy decisions or outright neglect that they feel cause them to be left out in the cold. There’s hostility, resentment, but at the same time an obvious desire to work with the company. It’s like the old joke about Myrtle and Sadie, two old women at a resort who run into each other in the lobby. Myrtle says, “So, Sadie, what do you think of the food here?” “Oy, it’s terrible! Horrible! Worst I’ve ever had!” says Sadie. Myrtle bobs her head and says, “Absolutely! It’s terrible! And the worst thing is: Such small portions!”

More retailer feedback next week.

(Peter David, writer of stuff, can be written to at Second Age, Inc., PO Box 239, Bayport, NY 11705.)