How to save money on Comixology

After years of buying physical comic books, I switched to digital comics in a bid to combat one of my most pressing problems – a distinct lack of storage space. Since switching to the digital realm I’ve quickly built up a large collection of titles, providing me with plenty to read when I’m on the go.

Not only did switching to digital comics save me space and increase my reading material, it has also saved me money too. Want to know how? Then check out my guide to Comixology hacks which WILL help you build up your library without breaking the bank.

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Regularly check for free comics

Everyone loves a freebie, but freebies are hard to come by, right?

Wrong!

Comixology has a dedicated zone on its store specifically for giving away free comics! Yep, you read that correctly – FREE COMICS. What’s more, Comixology regularly updates this section with new titles!

On average, Comixology showcases around 100+ free comics every day, with around six new titles being added at regular intervals. These comics include titles from the Big Two (Marvel & DC), as well as from smaller publishers.

While these books might not always tickle your pickle, they’re worth downloading because they are FREE and they might help you fill in gaps in your collection at a later date.

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Compare prices

Got your eye on a graphic novel/trade paperback and about to click the ‘Add to Cart’ button? Well, before you do, make sure you check to see if it is the only version of that book.

Comics publishers regularly reprint classic comic book tales in new fancy editions. What’s fancy about them? Not much, just usually a new cover and maybe a different intro page. The contents tends to be the same. Thing is, that new edition will also carry a new price tag on Comixology, that could be quite expensive.

Before you part with any cash, use the search facility to see if another (older) version of the book exists on Comixology. If it does, then chances are it will be cheaper. Why pay two or three times as much for effectively the same contents?

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Only buy graphic novels during the sales

This is a very, very important hack to remember and one you should never deviate from: Only buy graphic novels during the sales.

Every week, Comixology runs a series of sales, usually on a Monday, Tuesday and a Friday. As a rule of thumb, DC has one big sale a week, Marvel has two-to-three sales a week, and all the other publishers (IDW, Dark Horse, etc) set out a themed monthly/bi-weekly offer.

The sales offer huge discounts (and I mean huge discounts), often cutting prices by up to 85%! This means buyers can regularly pick up vast collections of books during a sale for the same amount of money they’d pay for just one or two books outside of a sale.

Using these sales I’ve managed to amass a large collection of Buffy, TMNT, Batman, Superman, X-Men, and Aliens comics for a fraction of what these books usually retail for. Not only has this saved me money but it has also meant I can read titles that I’d normally skip due to insufficient funds.

Always keep an eye on the sales and make a rule never to buy a graphic novel unless it is part of a sale. All graphic novels will fall under one sale or another at some time, so why pay more when you don’t have to?

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Utilise sales codes/promotions

The following hack is another VERY IMPORTANT point to remember and one that will save you money.

Every so often, publishers will present a huge sale that fits into one of two categories: Buy One Get One Free or 50% Off. When these sales are active, Comixology will present a selection of titles from across the publisher’s portfolio, to showcase what is on offer.

And this is the important part.

Most buyers will presume that the titles being showcased are the only titles in the sale – but they’re not! If the sale is a Marvel Buy One Get One Free sale then it will apply to almost all Marvel graphic novels and single issue comics on Comixology.

If you check the terms & conditions on the sale (usually located on the home page), it will state that this particular sale is line-wide. Therefore, the sale covers almost all the books in the publisher’s portfolio except the most recent titles (usually books from two weeks previous).

To take advantage of the savings all you need do is locate the book you want, type in the sale code and boom, the discount will apply. These sale codes can be applied to individual comics too and this means you can often pick up comics for pence.

So if there are a couple of comics you really like (a run of The Punisher, a stack of Fantastic Four, etc) and you know you will buy them at some point in time, then hang fire until there is a line-wide sale. Once the sale is live simply use the promo code and fill up on what you need – there’s no limit!

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Keep track of all reductions

And finally, keep track of all reductions.

If you like to buy individual issues rather than graphic novels, don’t always be in a rush to pick up new issues on a weekly basis. Comixology has a dedicated section called ‘Recently Reduced’, which features a heap of newish titles that have been knocked down in price.

Single comics get reduced on a rotational basis, and usually by half the original price. So, if you are happy to wait a few months for your new titles you will save yourself some money. Simply hold off buying your books until they get added to the reduced section, then fill your cart!

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Recap

To recap: In order to save money on Comixology do the following:

• Regularly check for free comics
• Compare prices
• Only buy graphic novels during the sales
• Utilise sales codes/promotions
• Keep track of all reductions

Buying digital comics on Comixology does not have to be expensive! I have saved so much money by simply sticking to these rules and you can too!

Thanks for taking the time to read this post. Please bookmark the post for future reference and feel free to share these tips (and this post) amongst your comic buying friends.

Read more:

• Buying digital comics
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• What are the best Fantastic Four stories?