John Jelley of Pyrimid Comics & Games in
I have been in this business for 16 years and find this the beginning of another disturbing trend.
We have been doing comic books all this time and when they started signing exclusive contracts with Diamond Comics, some thought it was great and would streamline the comic book industry. Well if you deal with comics you know this is not the case and that this has made for an unhealthy business community.
Without a competitive market place, we have complacency. I have seen this problem in the comic book industry, where one company sets their standards and rules and no one can challenge them. Without competition the comic book industry has become fat and lazy. The pricing, marketing, distribution and sales are set by one company and this is never good for the retailers, manufacturers or the consumers.
Soon others will do the same deals and the standards will be set for the marketplace again by one company.
Competition is healthy for the marketplace and will help you make a better business for yourself and for your customers. We have all seen what the big box stores have done to the marketplace, but this has been a good thing in the long run. At lease for me it has made me be more competitive, trim the fat from my store and offer things that they could never offer, like great customer service, friendly atmosphere, and quality products at a reasonable price.
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