The Valeyard

Read this over at Bleeding Cool. A 19-year old cafeteria worker with Downs Syndrome has started his own business - Comic Book Vending Machines.

Link ----> http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/vid...clipId=9943987


Since the newsstand is essentially dead, it might be a good way to get comic books back into the public eye. With them displayed like that, it would be hard for a kid not to notice My Little Pony or Adventure Time.

I don't see collector's jumping on this because they'd probably never get a NM copy. But then, it's not for collectors anyways. I did notice he made the effort to bag and board the issues tho.

I hope it's a success for him.


EDIT: I can't get the video to embed!

Groucho

Pretty cool idea. I hope it takes off.

fujishig

Cool story. Practicality of the business is dubious, though. Only way spinner racks were profitable to the bookstores and such were when comics were returnable like magazines, which they aren't through Diamond. Profit margins are low, then you have the cost of the machine, the cost of renting the space, the cost of restocking, etc. Pretty cool idea though, and it seems like he's just selling off his existing collection (that Busiek Avengers issue is pretty old) so it's not like he's getting himself into too much debt besides the cost of the vending machine.

You could maybe go get a bunch of 10c bin comics or whatever and if you have a premium location you could maybe sell through those, but you'd have to price them to move and the comic store can't even get rid of those.

davidh777

Interesting idea, and yeah, my first thought was how the comics were going to survive coming out. The random selection is interesting. "I WANT THAT SPIDER-MAN BUT IT'S QUEUED UP BEHIND TWO ISSUES OF THE *&$% SMURFS!"

fujishig

Ahem... Peyo's Smurf comics are awesome.

JasonF

Years ago, I got Daredevil #188 out of a vending machine. I was about 8 years old and it was way over my head.

A couple years later I got issue #4 of DC's Star Trek comic out of that same vending machine. That was more my speed. It featured Kirk, Captain Kor, the Organians, and the Excalbians.

Mike86

This is actually a good idea. I'd probably be tempted to get more single issues if machines like this were around and the issues were sold at a decent price. Seems like it could be a good way for some casual fans to be attracted to picking up an issue here or there too without having to go to a comic book store. The big problem is if there would be repeat customers or not. I also question how the issues will make it out of the machine safely without getting bent or ripped to hell.

PhantomStranger

Wouldn't trade paperbacks make more sense? Higher dollar figures and more of an adult, impulse market for them. If I saw one of these I'd probably buy one issue for the novelty aspect, but modern comics are so decompressed from a storytelling basis that a single $4 issue isn't very satisfying unless the art is absolutely fantastic.

Good luck on the venture, I hope it works out for him.

Mike86

I do think trades would work better because a lot of people might miss an issue and get lost and just give up on the story all together. The problem there though is most trades are $10-$15 minimum so I don't know how many people would impulse by something like that.

movieguru

I saw a comic vending machine in NYC years ago, back in 1984. It had all Marvel and DC comics. The only one I specifically remember was Captain America #300. I never bought any from it because I was concerned about condition.

The main problem is most modern comics have multi issue storylines, so you'd only be buying one part of a story. Also, if they don't have part one, you could be lost on the story.

I heard that comic vending machines were popular in Japan with manga.

PhantomStranger

Most people carry $20 bills on them. Charge $20 for a new trade, located in a vending machine situated in a busy terminal or an area where people need reading material. An airport or train station would be ideal.

Mike86

Yeah but I'm just saying to the casual reader who doesn't know a lot about comics that's sort of a lot for an impulse buy (which is a lot of what vending machines are aimed at). I just don't know how many people would be willing to drop that kind of money on one unless they're a big comic reader already.

PhantomStranger

You let the shiny covers featuring heroes like Iron Man and Batman sell themselves, which is how comics built its market in the first place. I think most adults and teens have a passing familiarity with the idea that comics are collected now in larger book formats for adult consumption.

There are many more people watching Marvel movies than buying their comics these days. Capitalize on that market.