my friend growing up went in to purchase the "Death of Superman" comic book the day it was released, at a shop where they had guaranteed you could get a copy; well, when he went it had been completely sold out.

Being only like 15 at the time, he decided to write DC comics and complain about how he was disappointed their distribution wasn't large enough for normal kids like him to be able to get a comic he was a huge fan of.

In short, a week or so later, he received the platinum limited edition of the Comic, some other limited edition stuff, DC swag and an apology note. I don't think it they were "buying him off" but rather, just making sure their customers are happy.