Posted by Terry On January - 18 - 2008
Funny Old Business
With over a thousand hits in a day you might think that a site attracting comic fans as well as gamers,might be a good place to publicise your product? When you add CBO-Comicbitsonline and “The Prof” sites together then you are talking a few thousand hits per day. Sound even better?
Not for some people.
Long time readers/site surfers may recall that CBO used to publicise HeroClix and other Wizkids products. Stores not previously stocking them began to and shoppers kept asking for them –both parties citing CBO. So good to keep up the publicity?
Apparently not. Despite months of Wizkids promising review figures nothing turned up but CBO kept its end of the deal. Rumours of defective figures –the dials they stood on and vital to gaming,not working- caused some concern. Response from Wizkids to this claim ? Nothing.
But when we kept mailing that promised items had not turned up we got a mixed-bag of excuses:
1] “We have no figures left in our [
US] warehouse”
2] “We cannot afford to send review figures outside the
US”
3] “The new boss has cut back” [??]
4] “I went to our warehouse [
UK] and it was empty”
Now,from an alleged international operation these excuses seem rather…crap? Well,after more rubbish excuses I pointed out to Wizkids that we had been promoting them and getting sales in an area previously poor to non-existent in HeroClix,etc..
The response was simple.
CBO was,and I paraphrase only slightly here,”too small and insignificant” to get review figures. Insulting to say the least.
So,I issued a very polite ultimatum that,if Wizkids maintained that it would not keep its promise of review figures,I would remove all Wizkid items from the site and no further press releases would be covered.
The response [remember:I keep ALL these mails!] was that HeroClix was such a big hitter on site that I wouldn’t do what I’d said.
Wrong move. Wizkid items were removed and local stores lost interest.
But this insignificant little site still continues to get press releases on a regular basis!
I thought,okay,give it a new go. Explain that we cannot carry items on new figures if we don’t see them –it’s dishonest. People come to this site expecting honesty.
The response? Another insult about the site’s significance and that Wizkids would continue sending press releases but not figures. Since then I’ve had 4 press releases.
Wizkid products will not be publicised here.
I’ve been asked why we’ve had no Archie Comics news recently? Well,since the end of November I have sent Archie several emails on CBO business but no replies. Press releases yes but that is it.
It may annoy stores who check here on Archie Comics and order based on what they see –ditto comic buyers and we have many Archie fans out there- but CBO is a two-way deal.
We do not just push press releases and doff our caps in extreme gratitude to any company. Ignore us and we deny you exist!
Companies,whether comic or gaming, have to realise that it is not a right to be publicised on CBO or our sister sites. It isn’t our loss if you are no longer included –there is a very big comic world out there with companies desperate for good and fair publicity.
Let’s not forget that.
The Boss[and I don’t mean Bruce Springstein!]
Comic Bits Online is the web version of the Comic Bits magazine Edited and run by Terry Hooper. Currently Interviews Editor at Manga Life,Terry has over thirty years experience in the comic industry as script writer,artist,freelance Editor,publisher and much more. But if you want the facts:
Curriculum vitae Name:Terry HooperDob:6th June 1957 [50 yrs]Currently living Ashton Vale,Bristol,United Kingdom ...
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