Do Comic Book Gimmicks Really Work Anymore?

This may seem like a redundant but with the recent release of Ultimate Spider-man #160 in all its polybagged glory are we going to see the comeback of some of these 90's gimmicks?  After all, when I started collecting 20 years ago that where I started!  First appearances, foils covers, holograms, embosses, cut out and the infamously polybag just daring you to open it and see what goodies came inside.  Now while the others would incite most collectors back then to purchase a copy of a book they wouldn't normally buy, the polybag gimmick was especially effective in its time because collectors would buy not just one copy to own but, sometimes two and three copies (like my three copies of Adventures of Superman #500 which, at the time, promised to be QUITE the collectors item): 1 to keep closed, 1 to open and (for the die hard fanatics) 1to sell in the future when it invariably became worth a fortune.  As the 90's closed we saw the demise (for the most part) of these sparkly shiny gimmicks and the promises of priceless issues that came with it, and, as the 2000's opened, we all discovered that they were worth nothing because of the way they were FLOODED to the market during their release.  Que sera sera!

But Alas!  What have we here...Ultimate Spider-man #160 featuring the death of Ultimate (not to be confused with the real) Peter Parker...in its own opaque polybag.  So did this much hyped storyline and polybagged conclusion gain the extra readership and boost sales the way it was supposed to?  Not according to Gary Loring of Gary Comics and More who told the New York Post that the specific issue sold less then even a typical issue of Ultimate Spider-man.  The cause of this is cited that people would come in and ask for the issue but would be dissuaded by the polybag because they could see the issue or contents before buying.

So let this be a lesson to you Marvel.  There is a reason comics took a down turn in the 90's and all the gimmicks and tricks used during that time were more or less abandoned.  Not to mention that collectors are a little savvier now (with less younger collectors and most having collected for aroudn as long as I have) and aren't likely to fall for such blatant marketing tactics anymore.  Now granted instead we get multiple tie-ins to every story and variant covers to EVERYTHING, but at least we get more story or different artists instead of just a flashier cover.