This post speculates how comics will be consumed in Australia in the future (using myself as an example); how consumers will get their comics; where they'll buy them from; for how much; and what this means primarily for the handful of comic retailers in Australia.
My comic buying agenda has for a long time consisted mainly of graphic novels and collected editions just because I lived too far away from a comic shop to buy single issues and keep up with the monthly output. When I frequented a comic shop I'd browse and pick up a few issues, usually a #1 or one-shot.
I now live in the Melbourne and have the opportunity to hit comic stores more often. The impetus for this post came from the fact that to buy a single issue comic in Australia it now costs double the US cover price.
I bought four comics recently (which are reviewed on this blog) - Nemesis #1 and 2, Bullet to the Head #1, and Scarlet #1, cover prices $2.99, $3.99, and $3.95 respectively. So that translates (roughly) into $28 Australian.
That's a lot for four comics.
To put it in perspective, I can buy a 500 page novel for $30 and that's going to take me days, maybe even weeks to read. I finished Nemesis 1 and 2 on the commute home.
This is just a price example. Let's just stick to price for the sake of argument. We can debate the merits of novels vs comics another time (might be a good comic in itself- Smackdown! Zombie Novel vs Werewolf Comic! The Final Confrontation!).
At the going exchange rate (as of 4 September 2010), one Australian dollar buys 91.65 cents US. So a $2.99 US comic costs approximately $3.26 Australian.
To give a further overview (exchange rates sourced from www.xe.com) -
US AUS
$0.99 = $1.08
$3.99 = $4.35
$4.99 = $5.44
$7.95 = $8.72
$9.95 = $10.86
So in straight cover price that's not much of a difference. But wait! Before you go off at me, this isn't a post about comic shops ripping off customers by overcharging because I don't believe that for one second. I understand that shops have to ship the comics out here, pay their rent, employee wages, insurance, and everything else that comes with running a business which means they have to raise the retail price accordingly.
But now there's also digital to contend with. With the iPad and the plethora of tablet computers to come which host comic reader apps from ComiXology, Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, etc reading comics on these devices looks to be a much more pleasurable experience.
At between $0.99c and $2.99 US for digitally downloaded comics via a tablet app - probably cheaper via a subscription - the digital price kicks the ass of buying hard copy single issue comics in Australia.
Even though I don't have an iPad or similar, the idea of buying the yearly DC or Marvel 'event' stories via download is now very attractive to me. We're talking probably 50% cheaper more attractive and I tend to buy the graphic novel of these if at all. If and when I get a iPad-like device I'll be looking at downloading comics. I do like the physical comic in my hands, but not all of them. Physical storage is a problem in itself, and if we're being environmentally friendly, then isn't digital better? (We'll disregard for the moment the energy and resources consumed in production of the computer.)
Now let's look at graphic novels. The recently released (and excellent) hardback edition of Revolver by Matt Kindt retails in Australia for between $31.95 (the price I bought it) and $55.
It hardly needs to be said that I look for the cheapest price. In Sydney that was at Kinokuniya. But even they can't compete with the online store The Book Depository. Why? Because they offer free international shipping. That's gotta be bullshit, I hear you say. It's not. I don't know how they do it (probably something to do with long tail marketing I suspect, and shipping being built into the price), but they do.
Price for Revolver at The Book Depository is $24.42 Australian.
Amazon is often cheaper for the product itself but the shipping blows their price right out which is sort of confusing considering their size, but anyway...
However even as I write this there's another player in the market - Better World Books. They charge a minimum standard price for international shipping but the product price is way cheap too - comparable to Amazon.
Some other price comparisons (prices as of 4 September 2010) are provided below. These price comparisons are courtesy of www.booko.com.au which trawls book store websites and provides prices and shipping in Australian dollars.
Batwoman: Elegy (Hardcover) retails for $31.95 at a specialist comic retailer in Melbourne.
Price Delivery Total
| Better World Books | $17.98 | $4.33 | $22.31 | |||||||
| Book Depository UK | $23.88 | $0.00 | $23.88 | |||||||
| $17.99 | $10.89 | $28.88 |
Alias Volume 3: The Underneath (TPB) retails for $22.95 at a specialist comic retailer in Melbourne.
Price Delivery Total
| Book Depository UK | $16.51 | $0.00 | $16.51 | |
| Book Depository US | $16.68 | $0.00 | $16.68 | |
| Better World Books | $15.25 | $4.33 | $19.58 | |
| Amazon US | $16.68 | $10.89 | $27.57 | |
| QBD | $22.95 | $6.00 | $28.95 | |
| Borders | $28.95 | $0.00 | $28.95 |
Anna Mercury Vol. 1: The Cutter (Hardcover) retails for $49.95 at a specialist comic retailer in Melbourne.
Price Delivery Total
| Book Depository US | $27.76 | $0.00 | $27.76 | ||
| Book Depository UK | $31.83 | $0.00 | $31.83 | ||
| Amazon US | $23.21 | $10.89 | $34.09 | ||
| Amazon CA | $19.42 | $18.87 | $38.29 | ||
| Amazon UK | $30.06 | $14.80 | $44.86 | ||
| Borders | $46.95 | $0.00 | $46.95 | ||
| Angus & Robertson | $41.95 | $6.00 | $47.95 |
Unfortunately it's hard to argue with a cheaper price point.
Apart from the aforementioned Revolver (which I bought because I was in shop and it was there) I exclusively buy graphic novels (and regular novels) from The Book Depository. There's no question about it. It's cheaper and I can wait the ten days it takes for the item to get to me. I haven't bought a new novel in a bookstore for years and don't intend to do so in the future.
What's the only thing that stops one from buying the digital over the physical? For one, the individual's preference for having something physical in hand. Second, that fact you're there in the comic shop. You discover something or see something that you've heard about and you buy it. Basically - browsing. Hoping to find something that appeals to you.
Comics are ongoing. If you get hooked on a series, that's regular monthly income for the comic shop. But if comic consumers are buying their comics and graphic novels cheaper online, whether via tablet apps or book stores, where does that leave Australian retailers? If say, your dedicated fan decides to buy the big DC or Marvel tentpole event via app instead of trudging to the comic shop each week, that's gonna be a problem. The customer isn't in the shop to impulse buy or be recommended other merchandise, and sales naturally take a hit. How long before Aussie comic retailers start to disappear?
Warren Ellis stated recently on his Wired Magazine Column that North America’s top comic, 'a regular US-style comic single, costing $4 that goes directly to specialist comic-book shops', sold an estimated 163,000 issues in May 2010.
Of course that's North America. By way of comparison North America has approximately 300 million people. Australia has approximately 22 million. That's less than ten percent of the US so I would estimate the top comic in Australia sells maybe 10,000 copies if we're lucky. Very very lucky. With eight capital cities and approximately with 2-3 comics shops in each, they're selling maybe 200 copies per store. Australia is just a blip when it comes to comic sales overall. That's the reality. But 200 copies (of just the top selling comic) is still between $12000 and $16000 per month. Add in the rest of the top ten and that could be your monthly profit margin. I'm not a businessman or business owner so I don't know... but it sounds plausible.
Ellis again on his blog said 'every Marvel or Comixology app sold turns an iOS device into a comics store (sort of), and if more than 1800 of these apps are in operation right now, then they outnumber the number of physical comics stores in North America'. I'm assuming that has happened for Australian comic retailers too.
I guess I'm not necessarily predicting the end of specialist comic retailers in Australia, but something close to it. I mean comic shops used to have massive back issue sections but not anymore. Comic retailers dealing with back issues are generally found online now, and I'm assuming that sometime in the future you'll be able to legitimately digitally download any issue from the comic universe back catalogue. We all know you can probably get them some other way...
I have a feeling that in the next few years as digital comics take off there'll be some amalgamation of retailers so each Australian capital city will have one comic shop.
Australia is beset by the 'tyranny of distance'. Always has. Always will be. We're a long way distant from most things (even the major capital cities are distant from each other) and this affects everything. Haulage has to be factored into everything and it's not cheap. Take that cost out and Australian consumers are sitting pretty, or at least more comfortably. Australian comic retailers may well be squirming in their seats.
Shipping from the UK to Australia has always been comparatively reasonable.
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