Twenty six years ago I started Collectors’ Corner (then
Comics Corner) as a single page Xeroxed ‘What’s Hot, What’s Not’ newsletter
given away at my local comic book shop.
Soon Comics Corner began very popular, the print ran
higher and eventually expanded to eight pages and included reviews on ALL
things collectible such as toys, trading cards, etc.
For a number of years I hand-delivered copies to shops
around town and mailed others across the country (paid for by ad revenue)
For the first 15 years all I had to do was notify
manufacturers and publishers that I wished review samples of their products and
PRESTO! within a week literally boxes of items would show up on my doorstep.
Never mind that most review sites lasted on a few months,
or years, and many falsified their readership/visitors numbers.
It is getting increasingly difficult to obtain review
samples. It’s frustrating because I turn
out a consistent, well-written product and of those whose items I do review,
love my reviews. If only I could crack
the review sample nut.
Being retired and on a fixed income I can no longer
afford to buy collectibles, of any kind.
Even a $4 comic book is out of the question. A dollar here, a dollar there-it adds
up. My wife and I need to eat, pay our
bills and use what income we do have to last us through our retirement.
I’m tired. I ‘m
worn out from asking/pleading/begging for review samples.
I’m exhausted from dealing with ‘newbie’ public
relations/marketing people who only look at numbers (most of which are
fabricated), videos by fan boys with no real content or context and badly
written reviews from people who have no idea what it means to thoroughly review
products instead of gushing about how ‘pretty’ or ‘awesome’ products are.
I’ve fallen victim to being old. It seems many younger
people do not appreciate what I have to say.
Few take the time to read anything longer than a paragraph, if
that.
Everything is presented in snippets. Getting to the meat and bones of a product
review or a commentary is uncommon. It takes time and effort.
Too many people want to be entertained, not realizing
that their critical thinking skills are slowly dissolving.
I want to succeed, to have my reviews appreciated and to
have product support from publishers and manufacturers.
I refuse to promote anyone’s products presented to me as
a press release. I will not endorse any
product unless I can see it, feel it, take it apart and analyze it on my own.
I don’t want fame and fortune, but I do demand respect
and it seems that it is a vanishing attribute today.