Gabriel Hagman of DreamStrands Comics in Seattle, Washington has run the numbers on Marvel Previews and doesn't like what he sees:

 

As I finish up my July order this is what I run into:

Marvel Previews - $.60
Diamond Previews - $2.70
Previews Order Form - $.15
NET COST per copy - $3.45

That's per copy, folks. Previews' cover price is only $3.95.

Tell me again how the Marvel Previews book is free.

I don't know about other retailers, but I ordered exactly five copies of Previews this month, down from a number that usually ranged from 50-75 copies.  I polled my box customers as well as my regular walk-ins and gave them the option to A) Pay for it, B) Peruse shop copies, or C) Don't want it/Didn't use it anyway/Don't care.  Most of my customers, it seems, would rather spend their four dollars on actual comic books!  Imagine that!

I'm hoping that by bringing this issue to light again, it can act as a reminder to everyone.  For some reason, I have this fear that the retailer community will whine and complain, but slowly return to the regular ordering of Previews.  If we want to do something about this problem, our orders of this overpriced catalog need to reflect our dissatisfaction.  NOT just for the next couple of months, but for the next six!  Or eight!  Or however long it takes.

 

As an aside, I did receive a call from Diamond last week, wondering why I hadn't ordered any Previews.  Was this just a courtesy to see if I'd forgotten, or was it something else?