Jim Schifeling of Acme Comics in Normal, Illinois has seen the recent comments on Free Comic Book Day comments ('Jay Bardyla of Happy Harbor Comics & Toys on FCBD Sponsors' and 'Gail Burt of Metropolis Comics on Free Comic Book Day') and feels that retailers get out in proportion to what they put in:

While I think having FCBD in July is a bad idea (not only because of the heat but because of July 4th weekend), it can only be a failure if YOU let it.  For the first FCBD I ordered comics light, did no promotion whatsoever and was returned in kind by a complete flop.  I couldn't give away 100 copies of Ultimate Spider-Man #1, not even to people who came in accidentally.  If you expect people to show up because they found out on their own or your regulars told them no wonder it's going to be grim.  You don't have a party and expect people to know about it!  Sometimes we actually have to get off the stool and work for our money.  In the two months proceeding last years event, I mailed and emailed every radio and TV station in a 50-mile radius of my shop, which included small 'shopper' papers and college publications.  I had several interviews on local news television and radio as well as a front-page color story and interview in the Pantagraph the main local paper.  I contacted several restaurants and hooked up free pizza and cookies for my customers and to top the whole thing off we had a local radio station broadcasting live from inside the store with hourly trivia questions.  I had signage out as well as balloons and we had a very lucrative day.  The event paid for itself even after giving away more that 3,000 comics and I didn't have enough, I ran out with about an hour to go.  People were lined up at 8:30am and we open at 10am.  The success of FCBD is tied into your own excitement and work done for the event no one will do it for you.