It's a business and you're wanting to take up some moral position here? Is your LCS clerk getting paid a living wage? Are you paying cover price or a jacked up price on variants? Are we really gonna argue there's some nobility about a system that routinely gouges its customers on whims because a TV executive sneezed out the name of a comic series? That perpetuates abstract rationales behind arbitrary values on the first appearances of no name characters? That's done nothing to challenge the scalper and secondary market on back issues? That continues to perpetuate the idea that a #1 slapped on the cover means anything?
And if retailers are sitting with their thumb up their asses complaining about what to do with a few extra books and ignoring that there remain options that they can profit off then yes I will tell you right here that I know more than they do. Because they clearly lack some fucking basic business sense. My LCS doesn't have this problem Ryan Higgins loves to go on about. The LCS that's 30 minutes away from me doesn't have this problem. The BaM in my area doesn't have this problem and shit, they give me cash for old shit that sure as fuck doesn't sell in my life time. B&N doesn't have this problem and if you think overstocking is an issue at and LCS buddy don't walk into any actual bookstores.
Because the big two make up less of a % of the total market
You gonna back this up? Nah hold on I'll do the homework for you since.
Let's first take a look at Year End figures starting in 2010 and going on to today.
2010 Dollar - Unit
2011 Dollar - Unit
BOOM! STUDIOS 1.73% 1.43%
Image's rise in market share has only eaten away at IDW, Dark Horse, BOOM etc. Meanwhile DC's been sitting at 30% for at least six years now with Marvel hovering around 40.
And Variants are variants. Marvel may have a cluster fuck of a form but they are still asking retailers to buy more of something they might not need in order to get something Jim Lee shit out on a lunch break.