A Word of Caution for X-Factor Fans

Posted By: Peter DavidPosted On:

I’m getting reports that X-Factor is getting harder to find at local stores. That’s possibly because Diamond is routinely selling out. Every issue from #39 through #44 has sold out or nearly so. So it might not be a bad idea to take advantage of your retailer’s pull service, presuming they have one.

PAD

37 comments on “A Word of Caution for X-Factor Fans”

  1. I *do* 😀

    I have had to cut back on which I collect do to financial trouble. X-factor is one of 5 I still collect, and would only stop I had to stop comics altogether (or if you stopped writing)

  2. I always zoom straight to Union Station right after work and get my X-Factor fix before it disappears.

  3. So, is that like a double-edged sword, PAD?
    .
    Can we assume that Marvel has not decreased its print run; that the same number of copies are being printed but more people are buying them? That is indeed good news.
    .
    But is the counterpoint that X-Factor is now harder to find? New readers won’t be as able to give it a try? An already fickle fanbase might simply become disgruntled with “that X-book they’ve heard about but can’t find”, and simply stop bothering? That would indeed be a shame.
    .
    At what point does Marvel recognise that supply is not meeting demand? Who decides to increase a print run, and under what circumstances?
    .
    I hope X-Factor does triple its sales – I just hope Marvel can adapt to the change.
    .
    Cheers, JB

    1. Here’s where the disconnect is: Fans go into the store and if X-Factor isn’t there, too many don’t say to the retailer, “I need you to get in X-Factor.” If they did that, the retailer would reorder it or even up his initial order. Instead many fans will either go to another store, or just complain on line that they can’t find it. The retailers don’t know that there’s increased interest and they don’t up their orders. They figure they ordered just enough copies of X-Factor to sell out and keep it exactly at that level, oblivious of interest beyond what they have in their store.
      .
      It’s not Marvel’s job to realize that supply isn’t meeting demand. Marvel’s job is to produce enough to supply the demand they’re getting. As long as fans don’t tell their retailers (or just wait for the trade) the reorders don’t increase. If reorders don’t increase, Marvel isn’t going to go back to press.
      .
      PAD

      2. That’s why I always ask for a comic if I find it sold out. Of course, the store I currently go to always orders a million copies of everything, so I never really have a problem with comics selling out anymore.

      3. I think some people just aren’t assertive enough to do this sort of thing in person, but find typing a message to nobody particular on the internet a whole lot easier…

      4. I’ve said this before, but there are always new retailers who ought to learn this, so forgive me for repeating it, but…

        As a retailer, I consider it a failing on my part if I sell out of a title, ANY title, especially in the first couple of weeks. I don’t want to over-order any title, but my goal is to have exactly one copy left over by the time the next issue ships. That way, every fan of the title is satisfied when they leave my shop, and I have one near-mint copy left for my back-issues bins. If I sell out early, I have no idea how many later customers feel they can’t count on me. Of course it’s impossible to know how many walk-in customers I’ll get for any given issue, but I usually can guess pretty closely after about 4 consecutive issues, and I don’t really mind if I over-order on the first few issues, as those are the ones I’m most likely to sell in the overall run.

      5. I’ve said this before, but there are always new retailers who ought to learn this, so forgive me for repeating it, but…As a retailer, I consider it a failing on my part if I sell out of a title, ANY title, especially in the first couple of weeks.
        .
        Except I’ve encountered quite a few retailers over the years who very specifically order to sell out. To them, if they order a book and it sells out in a week to make room for a new title on the stands the following week, then that was the right number to order. It used to be that most retailers would up their order the following month, but as prices have increased, they’re just happy to have no copies sitting around.
        .
        PAD

      6. And that’s a money losing tactic that hurts that retailer (as I’m sure you’re well aware, Peter). If anything, an increase in the cover price should encourage retailers to order more copies if they have any belief in the salability of a title since it generates more profit per copy. My shop has survived more than three decades of wacky economic turns because my customers know I’ll get their books for them.

        But yes, by all means, tell your local shop you want that title ASAP to make sure you get it. Give ’em every chance to work with you. If they won’t, then ask for the name of a shop that WILL. Be sure the store knows that some other shop will get your cash if they don’t want it.

      7. Trust me, Neil, you don’t have to convince me of the rightness of the way you’re handling it. I hope I didn’t come across as if I thought your ordering methods were wrongheaded.
        .
        PAD

      8. Oh, no, not at all! I’m aware of your history of working with retailers from your days with Carol Kalish up to the present, so I know you’re sensitive to situations with retailers who don’t always have the best instincts for business. I just jump in when opportunity presents itself to offer my two cents with a guideline that works for me.

  4. So deserved. Congrats!

    I mean, I think this is a good thing on your end right?

    Hopefully the boost supply…

    I’m always baffled when titles sell out these days, I didn’t even bother to start the “new” New Mutants series because there were no copies of #1 around and I didn’t feel like driving all over town chasing it, or paying triple online for it. So, lost money for Marvel I guess.

  5. Already taking advantage of my store’s pull service, thankee much. X-Factor’s been on that list for a while now. 🙂

    TWL

  7. Just read about X-Factor #45 on AfterElton.com (I appreciate what you did there), and I’m thinking the demand on the title might rise even more. I am definitely at least going to get the trade paperback.

  8. I’m always there at my lunch hour so it’s usually not a problem. The one time it was (“Quicksilver: Quick and the Dead”) I asked at the counter and they said they’d re-order 🙂

  9. At Midtown Comics in NYC…There were fewer copies of X-Factor left than any of the other “big” Marvel books, including Amazing Spidey, Dark Avengers, New Avengers, Uncanny.

    Scared me actually, because I saw a big gaping hole where I knew the book would be, and I didn’t want to have to tell them, then wait for the reorder 🙂

  10. I never buy single issue comics anymore – they’ve gotten too expensive for my blood. But I heard about X-Factor 45’s development regarding Rictor and Shatterstar, and immediately after work went out and bought it. Thankfully they had one copy left.

    May possibly pick up the next few issues as well, at least until 50, to show support for keeping them around. Thanks for the heads up on potential low stock, but mostly thanks for doing right by the guys! It’s been something like 13 years in coming.

      1. Let’s all keep that in mind the next time anyone claims *I’m* defensive.

        Wow, you’re awfully touchy about being called “defensive.”

        Jokes aside, I find it a tad ironic that a reviewer is put in a defensive position about a negative review he wrote. I’m tempted to shrug and say, “If you can’t stand the heat, you know what to do.” In fairness, though, some of the responses from fans were less than measured.

        Callahan’s interpretation of your remark was… interesting, though. It bore little or no resemblance to what you actually said. At least Callahan acknowledged that it was a “measured response.” After all, it really was.

      2. If I wrote a 3000 word essay every time someone sent me email or did postings that were less than measured, I’d never have time to write X-Factor.
        .
        PAD

      3. It bore little or no resemblance to what you actually said.
        .
        Well, that’s becoming pretty typical these days when anybody responds to something PAD has (supposedly) said.

    2. “Apperantly, PAD, your fans are quite loyals. ”
      .
      Rabid.
      .
      We are rabid.
      .
      Anything less, and you’re just not trying…
      .
      Cheers.

    1. Jason, I think you’ve caused the Invasion of the Linkbots on the other thread. 😉

      1. That’s okay. It’s convenient to have a one-stop-shopping point of reference for seeing how many people are picking up on it.
        .
        PAD

  13. I have had X-Factor on my pull list since I was 16 (I am now 33). Thanks for reminding us how good it is and it’s nice to see it’s selling out.

    1. You are aware that X-Factor was not published for a number of years since you were 16, right?

  15. Here’s the problem with the “Tell the store owner to order you another copy of X-Factor” scenario. And this only works if there are other stores in the area where one could potentially get the sold out issue.

    If I go to the owner and tell him this, I’m kind of bound to buy it from him then. That means I have to wait at least a week for them to get the extra copy in. Instead I could drive to another store and get a copy that same day! Of course, by not special ordering a copy, I shoot myself in the foot because I might end up missing out on X-Factor again in the future.

    It’s almost a Prisoner’s Dilemma. We would both be better off in the long run if I was willing to make a small sacrifice and wait a week. But the higher payoff at the moment is to not say anything and go to another store.

    Would simply asking, “Hey, do you guys have the new X-Factor in stock?” do the trick? Or would I have to specifically order a copy to affect the retailer’s pre-orders?

    1. Ben,
      .
      Think of the money wasted because you don’t wait a week or two for that book. If you drive a vehicle that gets 20 miles to the gallon, and the other store is 10 miles away, you use a gallon of gas (10 miles each way), perhaps at $2.50 a gallon.
      .
      There are 2 shops that I visit in my town, and I only visit one of them when I go to the movie theater, because that store is just a mile from the theater.

  16. Now X-Factor is being featured on the AOL newsfeed! If you don’t have copy yet it may be too late.
    .
    Suddenly, tripling the sales figures doesn’t sound quite so unlikely, eh?

  17. @ being “defensive”: My wife and I have a running joke that the best way to bait anyone into rabid paranoia (or, in our case, defuse agita) is to say “don’t be so defensive.” This works particularly well if the person in question is not being defensive at all.

    The automatic response, usually in all caps, is “I’m NOT being DEFENSIVE,” which immediately makes them sound … you got it.

    Back on topic— I’ve been pretending to be “on the fence” about this book for over a year, and just realized I’ve bought every issue the week it came it for that entire period of time. Looks like you hooked me without me realizing it, PAD. Well done. (Also: great job on the Rictor/Shatterstar payoff.)

  18. @ being “defensive” 2: It is not defensive to say that one may not enjoy an issue when they haven’t read the issues which set up the specific issue. If a writer had to make every issue new reader friendly, then the writer wouldn’t be able to tell a proper story before the pages run out. Every X-Factor character has a very specific voice and this issue was no exeption. However i can see how a person/reviewer who hasn’t recently read any x-factor issues could think that this one was not a very good one but as i said, not every issue can or should be new reader friendly .

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