Ron Catapano of Ron's Comic World in Mount Holly, New Jersey is  wondering why the Direct Market is being asked to sign up for early release of the upcoming The Walking Dead Vol. 13 TPB in order to match the Mass Market release date.

Why is it that I, as a member of the Direct Market, have to sign up for early release of the 13th volume of The Walking Dead if I want to be able to put it on sale as early as mass market stores?  I didn't have to qualify for special consideration for the last 12 volumes or the last 78 individual issues that I purchased for my store.  Why instead, isn't this being made available to the Direct Market six days before it goes to mass market instead of one day after?  Why is it that the first of six TV episodes hasn't even aired yet and the Direct Market is already getting the short end?  Is it so hard to show comic book stores even the slightest bit of consideration?

The Mass Market generally pays less for your books than the Direct Market does.  The Mass Market generally gets to return up to 40% of their order while the Direct Market purchases your books with no returns, so in general, your profit margin is greater with the Direct Market than the Mass Market yet the best we're offered is to be able to sign up so we can sell your book as early as the Mass Market stores.  Gee, thanks!

I still remember the number of damages I called in from early volumes of The Walking Dead because my reorders were being filled with returns from Mass Market stores with their price stickers still on them.  This has obviously worked so well in the past.  I don't even know why this upsets me so much, but I should be used to it by now.

Remember Spawn toys?  Or when DC and Marvel started their own toy lines?  How about Pokemon or anime and manga?  All of these things became popular through specialty stores like ours and then as soon as they were able to make a sale to the mass market they didn't just forget about us, they seemed to go out of their way to stick it to us.

The shame of it is, that one day, these people will get their wish and specialty stores like comic shops will be a thing of the past as the retail market becomes so homogenized that it won't matter where you shop.  You'll be able to buy a patio set at the grocery store, buy meat at the department store, toys at the pharmacy and…  Oh, wait, you already can.  But I have to wonder, when we're gone where will these people sell their new stuff that doesn't come with an already established customer base?

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