Saturday, October 28, 2006

Variant Cover Survey- Please participate!

After talking a bit here and there about variant covers, and with the seeming resurgence of offerings, it made me wonder what other people think. If you would be so kind, please take a few minutes to fill out my survey in the comments down below or e-mail me your answers at HeidiDC@aol.com.

The questions are as follows:


1. What is your first reaction upon seeing variant covers?
a. Cool! Now I have a choice.
b. I wonder which will be the most valuable.
c. Crap! Now I have to buy them all.
d. It doesn’t matter; I just want to read the book.
e. Other- explain please!

2. How do you see variant covers?
a. An opportunity to showcase different artist’s work.
b. A marketing ploy.
c. A chance to bring in new readers.
d. A signal that this is a “special” issue.
e. Other- explain please!

3. What is the future of variant covers?
a. There will continue to be more- they are here to stay.
b. People will only buy one of the covers offered.
c. Speculators will cherry pick the market and offer said covers on eBay.
d. I hope they go away… forever this time.
e. Other- explain please!

I would like to report on the survey results next Friday, November 3. Please respond before then. I really appreciate your time on this!

Thank you!

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

1. What is your first reaction upon seeing variant covers?
a. Cool! Now I have a choice.
b. I wonder which will be the most valuable.
c. Crap! Now I have to buy them all.
d. It doesn’t matter; I just want to read the book.
e. Other- explain please!

e. Ignore it and just buy the cheapest version.

2. How do you see variant covers?
a. An opportunity to showcase different artist’s work.
b. A marketing ploy.
c. A chance to bring in new readers.
d. A signal that this is a “special” issue.
e. Other- explain please!

b. A marketing ploy. An appeal to the fan market that has to have everything.

3. What is the future of variant covers?
a. There will continue to be more- they are here to stay.
b. People will only buy one of the covers offered.
c. Speculators will cherry pick the market and offer said covers on eBay.
d. I hope they go away… forever this time.
e. Other- explain please!

d. I hope they go away...forever this time.

Carl said...

1. What is your first reaction upon seeing variant covers?

e. Other- I will buy the one I like. Maybe more if I like the artist or comic and want to show support.

2. How do you see variant covers?

b. A marketing ploy.


3. What is the future of variant covers?

c. Speculators will cherry pick the market and offer said covers on eBay.

Additional:

The comic shop guys as well as the speculators cherry pick the *variant* cover, the one that we can't buy unless by accident. After the issues come in, they get the variant or the "reward" or "premium" issues that we never see until they are on the wall behind the counter for anywhere from $9.99 to as much as $80 dollars. When the new "Astonishing X-Men" came in, a premium was on the wall later that week for $80 bucks. I am really offended by such gauging douchebaggy. So, I buy the cover I want and while that interesting variant on the wall might look good, have gold trim or have an actual real sketch made by the artist, for anything over $10 bucks, they can bite me...

Anonymous said...

1. What is your first reaction upon seeing variant covers?
d. It doesn’t matter; I just want to read the book.

2. How do you see variant covers?
b. A marketing ploy.

3. What is the future of variant covers?
e. Other- explain please!

I imagine they'll eventually lose their novelty, like foil covers did.

Honestly, I've never paid all that much attention to the covers of comics. I'm far more interested in what lies within :). I'm certainly not interested in buying more than one copy of a book just to get more covers.

Lisa said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Lisa said...

1. What is your first reaction upon seeing variant covers?

c. Crap! Now I have to buy them all.

As a store owner I feel like I have to buy them in order to keep customers happy. I wouldn't buy any if my customers weren't asking for them.


2. How do you see variant covers?
b. A marketing ploy.

It helps prop up book sales. Where I might only order 7 of an issue I'll buy 10 to get the variant someone wants. I might only order 30 of an issue but I'll get 50 to get that rare Michael Turner cover someone saw online and is begging me to get for them, no matter the cost.

3. What is the future of variant covers?
a. There will continue to be more- they are here to stay.
c. Speculators will cherry pick the market and offer said covers on eBay.
d. I hope they go away… forever this time.

I'll have to say all three. I think that there will always be variant covers, but they will probably decline in numbers from what we've seen this year - at least that's what I HOPE. Personally, I don't like the speculation they breed, the way they prop up comics, and I'd rather not deal with them. But, as long as people continue to want them, I will continue to buy and sell them.

Anonymous said...

1a. -- I would never buy more than one, and usually will buy the cheaper one (but not always). If no one's forcing me to buy two copies, I don't know why I should care that there are more choices there.

2b. -- Clearly marketing, but just because its a marketing ploy, doesn't mean you have to fall for it (or even that its bad.)

3a. People seem to like them, so they'll keep making them.

Tegan said...

1. What is your first reaction upon seeing variant covers?
d. It doesn’t matter; I just want to read the book.

2. How do you see variant covers?
b. A marketing ploy.

3. What is the future of variant covers?
d. I hope they go away… forever this time.

Notes: I don't like variant covers, but I will buy them for my favorite book (and only my favorite book). I never expected my favorite book to ever have a variant cover... but that happened recently. I did buy them, and my reaction was "Crap! Now I have to buy them all." But usually I just ignore them.

Clifford said...

1. What is your first reaction upon seeing variant covers?

d. It doesn’t matter; I just want to read the book.

2. How do you see variant covers?

b. A marketing ploy.

3. What is the future of variant covers?

a. There will continue to be more- they are here to stay.!

Comments: I think most of people that are attracted to your blog are of the same mindset. If you will were to poll the typical Wizard-fanboy, this polls would have a more diverse outcome.

David C said...

1. What is your first reaction upon seeing variant covers?
d. It doesn’t matter; I just want to read the book.

2. How do you see variant covers?
b. A marketing ploy.

3. What is the future of variant covers?
c. Speculators will cherry pick the market and offer said covers on eBay.

The ones that are "rarer" than the others will have some short-term speculator interest.

Personally, I just take the cover with the more appealing artwork if given a choice, with no knowledge of scarcity. (And not caring all that much because most covers these days are mediocre-to-poor and not much fun anyhow, but that's another story.)

RedheadFangirl said...

D. Doesn't matter; I just want to read the book

2. B. marketing ploy but sometimes D. a special issue

3. Future of variant covers
A. Here to stay and C. cherry pick