James Deckert of Collectors Pair-of-Dice in Salina, Kansas saw Steven Bates' comments on running ads for comics (see 'Steven Bates of Bookery Fantasy on Free Comic Book Day'), and expresses his opinion that retailers would have to ultimately pay for such advertising:

In response to the last half of Steven Bates' letter about running ads for comics, he needs to remember who pays for things in this industry.

FCBD - several comic stores on ICv2 have questioned why the retailer is paying for this, and yet we have little control over what we buy.  The fact is - we pay for at least part of the cost of printing the comics.  I would be interested in knowing how much of the cost we pay for.  What does a comic cost to print in massive quantities?  We paid 30 cents or so each plus postage.  To the best of my knowledge Diamond didn't cut us a break on postage.

CSLS - Diamond is probably making a profit at the cost they charge for this.  Retailers pay for it.  If it was truly a comprehensive locator service, all retailers who buy from Diamond should be automatically added to this.  Hey, I don't have to pay any game manufacturers to be put on their Internet locator services!!  The more we sell, the more Diamond makes.

Previews - Publishers pay Diamond for ads.  Retailers/consumers pay Diamond for the catalog to order from.  This is another area that Diamond uses as a profit center.

I think Steven has a great idea, but unless the retailers pay for it, I don't see it happening anytime soon.

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