Comments on: Beyond T-Shirts

By: Fleen: Written by bitter, haggard wordbeasts » Oh GOD, Yes

Fleen: Written by bitter, haggard wordbeasts » Oh GOD, Yes — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 16:48:33 +0000

[...] Gary From a January discussion on webcomics merch: The only attempts at quantities of actual action figures (with accessories!) that I’m aware of are from Messers Bell and Rosenberg. And these are fraught with delays, as the only manufacturies are a) far overseas; b) speak a different language; and c) hate you and want to make you suffer. [...]

By: Rick the Wonder Algae

Rick the Wonder Algae — Tue, 17 Jan 2006 14:02:29 +0000

Having had a grandfather who ran his own specialty advertising business I can safely say that the issue with production of more complex products is setup costs. While creating poster, or a compilation of pages 1-200 of your comic is as simple as sending the artwork to the printer, selecting paper stocks, and paying the per piece cost, more complex things like dolls have a greater setup cost for the creation of the prototype and the re-tooling costs make producing small runs cost prohibitive. Until such a time as an artist can make an order large enough to properly absorb the original setup and re-tooling costs, the price of such complex products will remain prohibitive. Either that, or production will have to be located in China where workers can be paid .12 an hour.

By: Fleen » Something A Bit More Official

Fleen » Something A Bit More Official — Mon, 16 Jan 2006 13:43:39 +0000

[...] We have previously reported on the failure of Vault Distribution and the impact it had on the creators that were involved. At that time, we also pointed out that there now an open niche in the market and creators who were looking for someone to help sell their stuff. (As a side note, if you’re one of the small distributors out there, and are looking for some exposure - please use our contact form to tell us your story.) [...]

By: DJ Coffman

DJ Coffman — Sat, 14 Jan 2006 14:00:07 +0000

Over the summer and fall I made “fake bricks” , which were from our regular gag “Brick o’ Silence” –and sold hundreds of them– it was a little extra work and took some time to make them, but it was well worth it… I’ll probably be doing another batch when the weather warms up. (I have to dry them outside on the porch)

By: zach

zach — Sat, 14 Jan 2006 04:56:45 +0000

Meta-off topic!

By: Horus

Horus — Sat, 14 Jan 2006 04:35:54 +0000

I’d say talking about what’s off-topic is probably off-topic…

By: Eric Johnson

Eric Johnson — Sat, 14 Jan 2006 03:45:14 +0000

I’m actually spending this weekend working on the “hopefully” final prototype for our first batch of plush Radioactive Pandas. We’ve been looking at doing this for about six months, and only now getting to the point where we have something I’m happy with. We’re going through the same people who made the Bun Bun beanies for Sluggy, and they seem to do good work.

It’s a large investment, but we’re hoping it pays off. We’ll see soon.

By: Gary Tyrrell

Gary Tyrrell — Sat, 14 Jan 2006 03:07:42 +0000

It’s always about Garfield with you, isn’t it, Jeff?

By: Jeff Lowrey

Jeff Lowrey — Sat, 14 Jan 2006 02:31:03 +0000

I think that Little Dee is close to off-topic.

And Garfield is definitely off-topic. Except by way of counter-example.

So, not everything is on topic.

By: zach

zach — Sat, 14 Jan 2006 02:09:36 +0000

Well, offering to print individual strips is less cost effective, but a single large run (by large run I’m talking over 200 pieces) poster sold for $10 can net you $8-9 per unit easily.