Lionel Ruland of BAD MOO Comics and Collectibles in Denville, New Jersey sent in his feedback regarding FCBD 2007:

Once again I am underwhelmed by the 'phenomenon' that is Free Comic Book Day.  This year I tried something new: I tried.  I sent out my Press Releases, I contacted the newspapers, I cross promoted with the movie theatres.  The result?  Not much better than last year.

I see, year after year, stores in the Midwest talking about people lining up before the store opens.  Here in New Jersey, I got people who were obviously going from store to store getting as much free stuff as each store would allow (I can throw a rock at 7 other area stores).  This year I limited the haul to two items per person, but I probably didn't need to.  We had leftovers, and I didn't over order as I had in the past.  Are there just too many stores in the New York/New Jersey area for anyone to make an impact?  Or is everyone going to that BIG store in New York City?

Those that came had a great time.  They got some free stuff, got to meet and speak with, DC artist, Shane Davis, and had lots of people to discuss Spider-Man 3 with.  Was it a record sales day?  No.  Did I get anyone to sign up for our subscription program?  No.  Will they come back and sign up?  Maybe.

As I beginning planning for next year, the question isn't 'What should I do?,' but 'Should I do it?'  Or worse yet, 'Can I afford NOT to do it?'

It just seems like Free Comic Book Day is a day to reward my loyal customers with some freebies (and I give all my subscription customers a copy of each item as a thank you) and then another day to realize just how different my area of the country is from others.

The opinions expressed in this Talk Back article are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.

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