Whose Job is it, Anyway?

I recently came across a post on publisher SLG's web site saying that the Warlord of Io graphic novel would not be distributed by the major comic book distributor, Diamond. Within that article is a link to a post on The Comics Reporter that seems to blame the Direct Market (comic book retail) for this, and the potential decline in the industry itself.

In 2009 Diamond Distribution changed it's thresholds for products, making $2500 wholesale their cut off. In other words, if an item's initial Previews orders are less than $2500 Diamond will cancel the item and not distribute it.

If you have ever seen the Previews catalog you know that there are LITERALLY thousands of items solicited for sale each month. You should also understand that Diamond, while having a monopoly on the Direct Market distribution channel and often pulling some crazy stunts, is a BUSINESS. A for-profit company with overhead like warehouses and employees. Like any business they want to turn a profit and minimize expenses. It is not a government agency spending other people's money no matter the cost, nor is it a dude in his basement trying to spread the word about comics by giving them out to anyone he can. I know sometimes people have a hard time understanding the concept of BUSINESS when it's close to home, they make it emotional, but it isn't. If Diamond determined that it is not cost-effective to distribute an item that hasn't brought in $2500 +, it only makes sense that they would cancel the item. Sure, if you are a fan of that item or the creator of that item you might be bummed out, but it's nothing personal.

You know what else is a business? Each Direct Market comic book store. Sure, some of us barely make a profit, but that IS our goal. We want items in our store THAT WILL SELL We don't just buy things because it's good for the comic book industry or to have cool stuff sitting on racks collecting dust. We buy with the intent of selling that item and making a profit. Part of having that comic book store is bringing in customers. Each retailer does what he or she can to market their store, to bring customers in. We might buy ads, we might hand out free comics or coupons, we might do presentations at schools or libraries, we make it a part of our business to get people into our places of business. Then once those people are in the store we try to sell them something we have in stock. Again, we buy items that we believe WE CAN SELL. If customers come in and pre-order an item, or ask about something, or if we've heard good buzz or seen a great preview of an upcoming work, we order it, believing that once it arrives we have the ability to sell it.

You will notice that I do not assign the task of promoting a comic or graphic novel to either Diamond or the retail store owner. Diamond is in business to move products from one point to another. A retail store owner's job is to get people into the store and sell them something once they've arrived. Both of these businesses promote the Direct Market in the process of doing their jobs because they are an important piece in the process of getting comics into the hands of readers.

So whose job is it to promote works like Warlord of Io? It is the job of whomever stands to profit by its sale or experience a loss if it isn't sold. Diamond has plenty of items to sell, and if they need to see $2500 wholesale before they profit, then they obviously do not experience a loss from not distributing items that fall below that. The retailer, if they have the item IN the store, profits from selling the item and looses if it isn't sold. However, a smart retailer does his or her best to avoid buying something that doesn't have the ability to sell due to lack of interest.

Get where I'm going with this? It is the job of the publisher and the creator to promote their comics and graphic novels. Make me want to order them for my store. Get consumers asking for that item or issue. Just like Craig and I, and all other comic book retailers have to work to promote our stores or see them die, creators and publishers need to get out there and promote their works or expect that the item won't survive in the mass market. If the publishers and creators aren't out there creating interest in their work, or if they are but it isn't working, then they should not expect Diamond or the Direct Market to experience financial losses just so their item can see the fluorescent lights of comic book stores. On occasion a creator or creator's representative will contact us at the store, giving us information on a work they have in the Previews catalog. We look at it, and if it looks like something good, that we believe we can sell, we will order it. But that happens very rarely. Sometimes a work has a fan buzz, for example Atomic Robo and Umbrella Academy had a good deal of fan buzz - people came in asking for those works before they even were in Previews. Retailers knew there would be demand, so we ordered those items. But again, this happens on rare occasion.

In a sea of new items, it only makes sense to do what you can as a creator and publisher to get your items to rise to the top, and if you do not, then EXPECT to fail. To blame Diamond and/or the Direct Market because no one wanted to buy your comic book is not only irresponsible, it is RIDICULOUS. I know many in today's society prefer to blame everyone else for their own failures; it's easier than doing the work. But it doesn't fix or accomplish anything. As a business owner and as a human being I resent being blamed for the failure of others to do their jobs. Sure, occasionally a good thing meets with disaster - there have been some comics I thought were great (The Miscellaneous Adventures of Stykman for one) and whose creators were out working the front line to promote their works, but still were unable to meet Diamond's distribution cutoff. But by and large the failure of a work to meet the cutoff lies directly in the lap of the publisher and creator, no one else.

If there was an opportunity to profit from the distribution of smaller works to the retail market, a company would be doing so. However those that have tried in the past have met with failure. If a store really believes in a creator the owner will bring in that person for a signing and/or do an in-store promotion to build up interest in that person or work. It isn't like there isn't opportunity for these smaller publishers or creators. The opportunity IS out there. Yes, this current economy makes it harder for everyone, but there is still potential if you are willing to put in some effort. And sadly, in this life there is no guarantee that you will succeed. Today, for good creators who have works that have fans, but not quite enough to make the cut, there are GREAT opportunities on-line to get works to the fans. Maybe not through a retail outlet, but that isn't the only way to succeed today.

I enjoy comics, as do most comic book retailers. Even Steve Geppi, the owner of Diamond, likes comics. We WANT the direct market to grow and thrive. Because we love it, AND because we can profit from it. We are not choosing not to distribute or stock an item because we want to limit the market, we make these tough choices because even though we love comics, we fail if we don't also pay attention to the bottom line. We do our part to grow and promote comics each and every day. The Direct Market doesn't fail because some works are unable to gather enough interest to get them through Diamond to retailers - it fails when the essential pieces of the Direct Market close down due to bad business decisions that lead to financial ruin. Every time a comic book store closes comic book consumers are lost, but every time one opens new ones are found.

Is The Shine Coming off the Gemstone?

There is a small publisher called Gemstone that has, for years, published Disney comics and the Overstreet price guide. This publishing company is owned by Steve Geppi, the owner of Diamond Comics Distribution and Geppi Entertainment Museum. Rumors have been out there for a couple of years now that the museum was hemorrhaging money and that Geppi had sold a home and a number of pieces of his collection to stop that bleeding.

The viability of Gemstone has recently become even more questionable lately. Found on the Gemstone website:

Announcement

"In the past few days, there have been a number of rumors circulating about Gemstone Publishing. As has been the case with many businesses across a wide array of industries, there has been a reduction in staff at Gemstone, and this included the departure of many valued employees. This, however, is not the end of Gemstone Publishing," said Steve Geppi, President of Gemstone.

"Our flagship title, The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, remains a vital tool for comic book collectors throughout North America and around the world and it continues to be a highly profitable item for the retailers who carry it. I look forward to making announcements regarding new developments for the Guide's 40th anniversary next year," Geppi said.

"At this time, no final decision has been made regarding The EC Archives or our comic books featuring Disney's standard characters, but it seems certain that both lines will continue in some form," he said. "We all anticipate resolving the issues facing us and moving forward, and I will be happy to announce the specifics once things have been finalized."

A couple of years ago Gemstone temporarily halted publishing the Disney comics. And just couple of weeks ago it was announced on CBR's Lying in the Gutters that Gemstone would no longer be publishing Disney comics. If you look in the newest issue of Previews you will see that there are no Disney comics solicited by that publisher. In the future the Disney titles will be published by the newer publisher who has proven to be a real up-and-commer, BOOM! Studios.

If you attended Free Comic Book Day at your local comic book shop last month you might have noticed that Gemstone's comic, a Disney title, was not there. It was cancelled shortly after orders were submitted earlier this year.

The publisher also had, as many companies have, to lay off staff a few months back, as reported by The Beat:

An email to Publisher Russ Cochran got the following response:

We have unfortunately been forced by circumstances to close the West Plains, Missouri office of Gemstone Publishing. This included laying off five staffers here. I personally have worked with these people for over thirty years, so this was a very difficult decision, one that was painful for all involved. Going forward, I am still a part of Gemstone and we will be moving The EC Archives project to our York, Pennsylvania office. We fully expect to be able to get EC books and the Disney titles back on track, I look forward to continuing my association with the great EC material for years to come.

Disney Worldwide Comcs reported in February that Gemstone was being sued for unpaid bills by it's broker:
Creditors Trade Association is suing Gemstone, Diamond and owner Steve Geppi for $373,000 on behalf of Global Interprint, which is the print broker for many of Gemstone’s deluxe editions such as the EC Archives. Gemstone owes the large sum for printing bills that were run up between December 2007 and September 2008.

Going back to the end of last year, The Maryland Daily Record reported that the Geppi Entertainment Museum was 19 months behind on their rent, owing in excess of $700,000 to the Maryland Stadium Authority (leave it to a government agency to let tenants go that long without paying rent - I know we couldn't do that at the comic book store). While the museum is a separate company, the financial difficulties here do highlight the overall issues with cash flow for Geppi's holdings.

Many companies have been hurting financially these days, Gemstone is not alone. Of course these developments leave retailers wondering if next year's Overstreet Price Guide will be available. Execs at Gemstone insist it will, but if things go from bad to worse I would bet that could all change. Will copies of the recent guide be available? They are for now, but will that continue?

As long as someone takes over Gemstone's licenses, like BOOM! Studios has with Disney, it really isn't a big impact on the comic book industry. Retailers will still be able to provide the material for our customers. But of course it's sad to see a long-time publisher become weak in the knees. Maybe Geppi needs to contact the government - why wouldn't taxpayers want to own a comic book publisher? We already own an automobile manufacturing company and several banks, after all.

Outlaw

A new publisher of graphic novels is entering the scene, according to ICV2.com.

"New company Outlaw Entertainment has announced three graphic novels for June, the first in the “up to fifteen titles a year” it is planning. The company plans to produce a diverse line of graphic novels, and also be a source for intellectual property development. The graphic novels will be 112-page, color books at $7.99."

The price is nice, provided the quality of the material and the production value is good. The guys involved in the company have anime and video game creation backgrounds, so they should have a sense of visual quality, I hope.

Regardless of price it can be difficult to get adults to buy product that they aren't familar with - either characters or talent involved in the project. This particular publisher might be best off creating all-age and young adult material. They might be going that route--I couldn't quite tell from the brief column. Those age groups are much more open to trying new things, especially since most of them are new to the medium anyway.

The column doesn't mention if the publisher is selling these items through the monopoly distribution channel Diamond Distribution, or via their own web site. I'll have to check out the June Diamond Previews catalog next month and see. With Diamond's order regulations it can be tricky for a small publisher to meet the requirements and get their stuff out into comic book retail stores, so any new publisher has to do a good deal of PR to get the word out and order numbers up where they need to be. I've seen many a good comic disapear when order numbers fell below Diamond's required minimums.

To read the column on ICV2 click here.

Has Gemstone Lost it's Luster?

Diamond Distribution and Gemstone Publishing owner, Steve Geppi, has been having some financial troubles, as many of us have. It's been out on the web for a while now, no secret. But a lot of it has been speculation, not fact. Recently Diamond shared a statement from Geppi about the situation:

"In the past few days, there have been a number of rumors circulating about Gemstone Publishing. As has been the case with many businesses across a wide array of industries, there has been a reduction in staff at Gemstone, and this included the departure of many valued employees. This, however, is not the end of Gemstone Publishing.

"Our flagship title, The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, remains a vital tool for comic book collectors throughout North America and around the world and it continues to be a highly profitable item for the retailers who carry it. I look forward to making announcements regarding new developments for the Guide’s 40th anniversary next year. "At this time, no final decision has been made regarding The EC Archives or our comic books featuring Disney’s standard characters, but it seems certain that both lines will continue in some form. We all anticipate resolving the issues facing us and moving forward, and I will be happy to announce the specifics once things have been finalized.”

I hope they continue Disney - those are nice books. I could live without EC Archives. And to be honest people don't seem remotely interested in buying Overstreet this year. When people call or stop in and want help pricing books and we show them the guide they look at the price and are no longer interested. This could be partly due to the economy, partly due to people thinking Wizard is the ultimate price guide (I'll argue that not only is it not now, it NEVER was), and partly due to people being able to just use the internet as a resource. But Overstreet is a good guide, probably really only needs to be updated every other year, but that's just my opinion.

(Side story - we got a call today from someone who works for an estate sale company wanting my help pricing comics to sell at an estate auction. When I told her that we charge $75 per hour to do appraisals she seemed shocked. Then I recommended she buy a guide - she had a price guide (Not Overstreet) that she picked up at the library but couldn't quite figure it out and didn't know how to figure out the quality grading. I noted again that if she wasn't sure we'd be glad to appraise them for $75 per hour. Well, she'd have nothing of it, thanked me and hung up. Now I'm pretty sure they make money selling the stuff, but I'm supposed to do her job for free? Doesn't make sense, does it?)

One thing Geppi doesn't mention is what will happen with the Geppi Entertainment Museum in Baltimore MD. I know they don't get very good attendance there, but the museum consists of Geppi's collection and I've heard he gets a really good rate on the rent. Still, I wonder how much that museum eats up off of his bottom line.

The Big Move

It's been a little bit since my last post. But life has been very busy here.

We're moving the comic book store to a new location, and will open there tomorrow. There's so much to do and so little time to do it. If you follow me on Twitter, you've seen some of my pictures of the move. I don't have them posted to Flickr yet, but will once it's done. Progress is being made on getting Neptune up to speed at our Moorland Blvd home, but there still is a lot to do. It was a long day yesterday, and today probably won't be much different. Even if we don't get it completely done, we'll be ready for business on Wednesday. And it never would have happened if it weren't for the great customers of ours who made Sunday's big move go so quickly and smoothly. I just can't say thanks enough to that crew. Really great people who gave up their Sunday to sweat for us. I've never seen a move go so smothly.

Thanks to all of our great help that came out on Sunday!!!!!! Everyone really hauled a** and we had the entirety of the store moved in just a few hours. Putting the fixtures back together turned out t o take a little more time, but even that got done in one day, thanks to everyone's help. Now it's just getting all of the inventory counted and put away that seems to be taking forever. LOTS of potential, and LOTS of work to get there.

We're also going to be using a new POS program. The Microsoft RMS program bundled with Diamond's ComicsSuite. The program works - a HUGE step up from what we were using. Of course now we have to do a complete inventory from scratch. Doing an inventory wouldn't have to be difficult, except that about 80% of the graphic novels just show up in a long list that say the same exact thing on the title line. "JLA TP" and "Fables TP" and "Ultimate Spider-Man TP" displays, but no volume numbers, so then Craig calls out a portion of the bar code number and I have to search through the list to find the one that mataches and then fix the title. Sometimes they're in order, but other times they're not, and after a few hours of looking at bar code number strings my eyes and brain start to hurt. Diamond really needs to fix that! In the next 20 minutes before I get to the store to start it again would be great.

Of course you remember my sister had her baby a few weeks back, so I have been helping her when I can. So that has also been occupying my time.

Plus, I'm going to Las Vegas on a bank trip the 27th. It's for a Quiz contest where we could win $10,000 if we know the most bank trivia and win the playoff. There are 5 of us going from my branch. We made it through the first two qualifying rounds, one of only two branches from the entire state going. The team is our branch manager, our assistant manager, myself and two other bankers. I got the spot by placing top in the branches' qualifying quiz-off, so I'm sure to play in the first round in Vegas. There's 221 pages in the Quiz Bowl book that have to be virtually committed to memory so we can win. It's a lot to learn, especially for someone like me who is the newest person to banking on the team. So every free moment I have that isn't taken up by working at the bank or store or by helping my sister I've given to studying for the big contest. Wish me luck!!!

OK, enough of this. Craig's out of the shower and we've gotta head out to get Neptune ready to go.

Looking for a Home in Maryland?

I saw this on "The Beat," and thought it was interesting. The owner of Diamond Distribution, the single source for new comics in the U.S., is selling two of his Maryland homes. They're VERY nice. See for yourself.
4040 Stewart Rd. Stevenson MD
and 4 Laurelford Court, Cockeysville MD
Neither one looks very lived in. And I think I could fit my whole house into the kitchen of the Cockeysville house (pictured). Both are quite beautiful and WAY out of my price range.

The question is, of course, what's happening to Mr. Geppi? Not only does he own Diamond, but he is one of the owners of the Baltimore Orioles. He is, they say, a big player in the Baltimore area, a major business man there. I don't know if he owns more homes in the area or not. If not, is he leaving the area? And why is he selling real estate in such a bad market? Does he need the money? Is he eying up another investment and wants extra cash? Is the museum hemorrhaging money (it's been reported in the past that few visit the place) and forcing him to free up some money from these real estate investments? I don't have the answers! A reporter from the Baltimore Sun claims to have contacted Geppi but didn't receive a call back.

This might be news, or it might be nothing. We'll keep our ears to the pavement on this one!

Valentine's Day Gift Suggestions

Diamond sends their accounts a monthly catalog called "Dialogue," that gives retailers some information on upcoming products - basically highlighting and categorizing items in the most current Previews. The December Previews would have items arriving in February, so they had a page of "gift suggestions" for retailers to order and suggest to customers for St. Valentine's Day. The page is below, you can click to enlarge. (It was too amusing for me not to share it.) Then tell me, which one of these is not like the other?


Let's see, we have Archie - an all age book typically purchased for kids
A non-fiction book examining the history of American Romance Comics - could discuss some rape situations depicted back in the pre-code era, but on the cover it looks harmless
Grey's Anatomy Magazine #7 - a magazine about a prime-time network TV show - not for kids but probably work safe
Two manga, one called Mamotte Lollipop and mentioning young girls in the description and the other called Monkey High that would probably appeal to teen girls
And then there's Love & Beauty Full Color Portfolio - Jim Balent art work featuring Tarot and Raven Hex.

I am wondering what man buys this for his wife? Or what wife would go into a comic book to buy it as a gift for her husband? I am sure they are out there, but I bet they are few and faaaaaaar between. We only carry Tarot upon special order because we won't shelve it. And in all the times we have ordered it, it has been men getting it for themselves. Jim Balent is a fine artist, and he loves his wife, but, well, ummmm... look at the prints...

The page just made me laugh at first glance. Here are all these fun and relatively safe looking items and then the Balent art stuck in there looking oh so out of place. Then I showed Craig - he quickly glanced at it and had a similar reaction. What a weird selection of Valentine's Day gifts! I could just imagine putting together a Valentine's Day gift display with these exact items - it would definitely get some attention. I am wondering if these were just sold as ads in a special section. If not, then I question weather or not the person putting these suggestions together actually knows anything at all about comics, and maybe is also blind.

But, if you DO want to order the Love & Beauty Full Color Portfolio for your loved one, I have people standing by to take your order. Just give us a call! But I don't recommend buying it WITH Archie - mixed messages there.

Feeling Bad for Th3rd World Studios

I know a guy who works with Th3rd World Studios. In fact, he is a customer. They are a newer publisher on the scene, and have a couple of comics in the pipeline right now.

One of their comics, Omega Chase (pictured), had its first issue ship the first week of October. On my invoice for November 7th is an overship for more of the Omega Chase #1's. Which is VERY weird because we almost never get an overshipment of an issue more than a week after the initial shipment.

For those of you unfamiliar with the term, overshiping is an optional thing where a publisher can have extra comics sent to every store that ordered the regular issue. After a certain point in time, the retailer can send back any of these unsold overshiped comics and the store account is not billed for the overship comics until after the return window closes. The store is then asked to pay for any unreturned copies. Personally I like the program - it has saved us a few times by giving us more issues than we ordered originally on comics that would have otherwise quickly sold out. And if we don't sell them, we just send them back to Diamond - no harm no foul.

Usually the overship copies of the comic come the same week as the issues we originally ordered, occasionally a week later. But I cannot remember, although I am sure it must have happened on very rare occasion, having a month's gap between the initial order shipment and the overship delivery. This one I noticed right away because I know the guy from Th34d World.

So I sent him an email to find out if he knew about this month-long gap between the regular and overship issues and if he did, why they made that decision. Now here is where it gets bad! He calls me up and tells me that they had no idea until a week ago that the overship comics had not yet gone out. He also found out at that time that Diamond decided to hold off on shipping issue #2 because they wanted retailers to have time to sell the overships and increase their orders for #2 before they send out the #2's. Well, they weren't exactly happy about any of this over at Th3rd World Studios. And they have tried contacting their Diamond representative several times. However, they have received no return calls or emails FOR THREE WEEKS. He also told me that they received information from Diamond before the first issue shipped, telling them that Omega Chase #1 would be shipping in September 2007. That's it - no week of shipment, just a month. And then it STILL didn't actually show up in stores until early October.

You might remember by "Why Steve Geppi Should Hire Me" post a couple of months back. I discuss this very disconnect and lack of communication that seems to be happening between Diamond and everyone else. And there isn't anywhere that Th3rd World Studios can go to get their stuff distributed - Diamond is the monopoly comic distributor to the US. Their only options are to put up with Diamond or self distribute.

Also keep in mind that comic book retailers tend to dislike publishers who offer their comics via a web store while also offering them in Previews for retailers to buy. Many retailers feel like they should be the source of comic book sales, or else do not put the comic in Previews. Some retailers, if they find out that the comics are also available directly to the public via a web store, will refuse to buy any copies for their brick and mortar stores. In addition, many comic book retail store owners ONLY buy from Diamond. If for no other reason than it is easy to keep track of orders and payments when they all go to and from one place. So, having publishers sell directly to comic book retailers is an uphill battle.

The other frustrating thing is that unless retailers like myself contact the small publishers to find out what's going on - why comics arrive late or overships are sent out a month after the initials - they probably just assume it is the publisher's fault. I know I often do. Now I am starting to really question that because I have heard from more than just Th3rd World that Diamond ships out stuff when they feel like it, without really adhering to when the agreed upon date originally was. Distributors have told me that Diamond has had copies of their comic sitting in warehouses for WEEKS and WEEKS before they finally get around to shipping it. I would assume that Diamond has some rhyme and reason for what they're doing, but I have not been told of it, and apparently they do not share it with the publishers either.

Craig and I are in charge of putting together a publisher report card for ComicsPRO members to use. On this report card we will be evaluating publishers on things like weather or not their stuff arrives on-time. Hopefully if small press publishers score poorly here they will step up and inform retailers if it is not their fault, but Diamond's. And hopefully, if enough of a stink comes off of it, Diamond will work on improving the climate they have for small press publishers.

Sure, small houses like Th3rd World don't put much of a dent into Diamond's pocket overall, so they focus on the big guys who do. But doesn't the comic book industry NEED and WANT small press too? And don't those guys work just as hard as the guys at Marvel and DC to get comic books created? In fact, I think many of the small press guys work HARDER at getting their comic books into the hands of the consumers than the big guys do. So, what can be done? Even if the little guys cry out will anyone hear them? Will we eventually see only Diamond's top 10-20 dollar sale publishers distribute through them and the rest of the small press go with web comics and self distribution? Can another publisher step up and survive by distributing all comics that are non-exclusive with Diamond?

I am not sure. But I do know that now that I have taken the time to find out from some of these small publishers what is really going on, I feel bad for them. It is a difficult job to sell a comic no one has heard of, often done by creators few have heard of, via a publisher that few have heard of, with discounts that comic book retailers wish were larger to a largely super hero buying public. They do not need that complicated by a distribution channel that seems to undermine them at every turn.

Diamond Holiday Shipping Schedule

This year Diamond Distribution has changed their holiday shipping schedule a bit. In the past, the rule was if a holiday occurred Monday - Wednesday then the new product would arrive one day later because UPS would be closed one day. As long as the holiday was Thursday or Friday - like Thanksgiving - then books would arrive on the usual Wednesday.

Well this year Diamond is tweaking that schedule. (click to enlarge)


The week after Thanksgiving new comics will arrive on Thursday, Nov. 29th instead of Wednesday. And on the week of Christmas Day and New Years Day, both of which occur on a Tuesday, comics will arrive on Friday the 29th of December and 4th of January respectively, instead of Thursday, the usual one-day delay.

On one hand I find this annoying, as these delays always confuse shoppers and throw the whole balance of the week off. A problem I have specifically is that on Friday we write the check to Diamond for that week's shipment, having had a couple of days to sell the items. Now, if we still keep to our schedule and send the checks on Friday, we won't have had any time to sell the products before we send out the check. Or, if we hold off on sending the check, waiting until Monday or Tuesday, then after New Years we'll have two Diamond checks hit the bank very close together. In comics cash flow is essential, and we pay more for inventory than any other expense.

But, on the other hand, I appreciate Diamond's attempt at honesty. During the holidays it seems that it is extremely difficult for Diamond to get shipments to stores on-time. I think they have a lot of staff take time off during the holidays, and the quantity of products shipping is probably fairly high, at least until after Christmas. Plus UPS has tons of stuff to ship and can't guarantee on-time shipments during the holidays. So, it is a perfect storm where, more times than not, one area or another would not get their shipment on time. A couple of years back it was us in the Midwest. Last holiday season I know there were a bunch of stores on the northwest that had delays. As long as they stick to their regular schedule this new holiday schedule might actually work. However, if they decide to waste that extra time, I would expect delays on top of the new, longer holiday shipping schedule.

At any rate, mark these delays down so you don't visit your comic book store looking for new comics on the wrong day.

Greedy Bastards

I know I promised a blog about those that take everything in site at the retailer summits, but I just haven't had time. But here it is Monday and the store is quiet at the moment, so I'm jumping into it.

For the last three years we have attended one of the Diamond retail summits. The first in Fort Wayne, IN and the last two in Baltimore MD. And at all three, in both locations, they have an exhibit hall where retailers can wander through. It gives us all a chance to meet publishers and even some creators, and talk to them one-on-one. There are also usually some game company reps from places like Mayfair Games and Wizkids, etc. that answer questions and give game demos. Many of these exhibitors give things away to retailers. Even Diamond has a bundle of stuff they give to us for attending. These items are supposed to be used: 1. to promote the publisher and the comics/books/games/whatever they're selling and 2. to help recoup some of the costs of attending the summit. The items vary - you've seen many of them pictured here and here in the last few days. There were other items we've already given away to customers we know will enjoy them. And, our Diamond stuff probably won't get here for another month or so.

Many of the exhibitors at the summit put their free stuff out on the table, so as people walk by they can grab it. Others put items they are promoting or want to sell out. Well, some attendees at the summits don't seem to know the difference. I was talking to a woman about how we don't order DVD's from Diamond because they don't show up on time. As we were talking she was taking most of her stuff off of her table because it wasn't for taking - it was for promotion of upcoming video releases - but people were just walking up and grabbing them without asking and walking away before she could stop them. I saw some people at one publisher's booth looking at manga displayed and waiting for the person at the table to turn his head - at which time they'd grab a handful of the manga and walk away.

We saw one guy in Baltimore with two huge bags full of stuff, about 1 hour into the exhibit time, sorting and flipping and figuring out what he had. His forehead glistened with a bit of perspiration as he tossed out some "unnecessary" items to make room as he prepared to make another lap around.

There are some items that are given out one per attendee, and we've seen people bringing in their children to claim a copy. People will also use children to try to con more free stuff off of the tables. Even if a kid has come by the booth once or twice before, of course the vendor is going to let them take the freebie again - how can you say no to a kid?

Some exhibitors do a good job of monitoring things. They will give one per person after a dinner, or have Diamond monitor the handing out of items by marking off registered accounts from a list. Others just let people have a free-for-all, the operative word being "FREE."

Typically most retailers are good. Some take absolutely nothing. Others make sure to get the quality items in the one per account or one per person quantities they're supposed to be distributed on. Top Shelf looked like they were selling a TON of graphic novels - people weren't just taking them. So, I'd have to say that overall it isn't that bad.

But you know what they say about the bad apple spoiling the bunch... there are still a good number of people at these summits who show up for and only attend the exhibit portion - not any of the other programs, meals, demos, etc. They come for the free item grab and run back out. There are those that make trip after trip, grabbing as much as they can get. There are those that hear booths having giveaway drawings at the end and calling off store names and when no one claims it will run up and pretend they're from that store. (I witnessed this one!)

The picture at the top of this post is of the group I call the "Greedy Bastards." The two on the right were part of a group of three that just continued to do laps and grab everything that wasn't tied down. ALL of that stuff pictured was theirs. Even if they each represented one store that's a LOT of stuff. We had one Diamond double box and some stuff in our suitcases. That was it. These people would take turns guarding their growing stacks of stuff and running to grab more. When vendors were packing up they REALLY went nuts, grabbing everything they could and running back to throw it onto the stack and go back for more. The Dark Horse stand pictured is one example of their madness. We saw a stack of at least 20 of these in their pile - and those were just the visable ones. WHO needs 20 of these?? Sure, they look cool, but that kind of quantity seems a little, ummm..... unnecessary. They don't come with the comics - just the stand - you fill it yourself. You don't even get a coupon with them to use toward a Dark Horse purchase. They are JUST cardboard stand up displays. You saw the post with the Garth Ennis M&M's right? People even took those - and tried to sell them on eBay. Last year we saw Michael Turner at his booth - alone - no one was talking to him or anything - because he'd run out of the free comics he was signing and giving away. In fact, you can usually tell which exhibitors have run out or didn't bring anything to give away - they don't have a soul at their booth.

These greedy bastards can make the rest of us look bad. Many retailers sit back and shake their heads at these types when we see their kind, every year, at every retailer summit. And I know there are people at every con or exhibit that do the same kind of thing, so it isn't just us comic book folks that try to freeload. There are things that Diamond and the exhibitors could do to keep this from happening - like not having exhibit day registration or having registered account lists and once someone from that account gets their stuff they can't get more from that exhibitor. I didn't think that this year's Baltimore summit was as bad as the two previous Diamond summits I attended in terms of folks going nuts for anything that wasn't tied down. With the exception of that group pictured at the top, who seemed to try their best to make up for the rest of the usual "grubber and glutton" crowd.

Big Stuff at Baltimore

From Lying in the Gutters yesterday on Comic Book Resources:

"... Diamond have enjoyed an effective direct market monopoly on comics distribution by brokering exclusive distribution deals with the four largest "Premier" comics publishers.

But I understand that there are one or two companies interested in entering the direct market distribution system right now, who will be making themselves known at Baltimore next week. Initially they are interested in working with high profile independent publishers who don't feel best served by Diamond, first in bookstores, then into comic stores. But their interest may extend across the independent publishers and to Premier publishers whose exclusive contracts with Diamond may be up for renewal.

Could this be the beginning of the end of the Diamond monopoly? Are Diamond's upcoming announcements the sign of them fighting back?

And will Baltimore be the perfect setting for a bunch of distribution hoodlums to make a grab for Stringer Geppi's territory?"

This is HUGE! I am really glad that we made the decision, even though it was rather last-minute, to make the trek to Baltimore. This could really be interesting! Competition for Diamond and it being announced at Baltimore Comic Con, the home of Diamond's HQ. WOW! Really, WOW.

Plus Marvel & DC have been rumored to be sharing some actual news at this con. And there's a bunch of GREAT comic talent that's going to be there this year. AND we're looking forward to meeting up with a bunch of retailers we only get to see once in a great while. And there are some new friends and acquaintances we're looking forward to talking to that will be there. Maybe even a Meeley sighting?? We were planning on going to Washington DC one of the two days, but now it looks like we might not even make it there, as there is just so much going on.

We went to this convention all day on Saturday and a couple of hours on Sunday last year, and we really really enjoyed it - even though we all had to evacuate on Saturday due to a fire alarm going off because a plastic bag was caught in some vent or something. If you are in the area, I definitely recommend checking out the Baltimore Comic Con!

Diamond Select is Irritating

Diamond Distribution also owns a toy maker or two whom they use to license and create a variety of action figures and toys under the name Diamond Select Toys. And you know what? Much like the distribution arm, this division is irritating me!

First, a lot of their stuff isn't the greatest quality. Especially the action figures. Often the faces don't look anything like the character they're supposed to resemble. Check their web site if you don't believe me.

Then this week we find out that they decided to completely change the packaging for the Marvel Mini-mates. We had a space cleared out for the box that we thought they would come in, but they didn't come in that master box. Instead they were just in a plain cardboard box and inside were the boxes for the pairs of figures, much bigger and with a hook for hanging them. Granted, this is a nice system - but we have grown accustom to the way they were before and having them carded differently forces us to put them in a different spot, away from the others.

Then there is the case make-up of their action figures. Usually retailers have to order a full case of any figure set they make. Now, instead of having 4-6 different figures in a case, Diamond Select Toys will have a grand total of 3 different figures in a case, and one is a variant figure and there will be only one variant per case. (In fact, another annoying thing is that they ALWAYS feel the need to have a variant - even with Mini-mates.) Take the Star Trek figures pictured. Those are one full set! Those three, and two are Picard - a regular and then a variant.

The other thing they like to do with figures sometimes is to have more of the obscure figures than the popular ones. Now how is anyone supposed to sell a case made up like that? Take, for example, the Battlestar Galactica figures pictured. That's Lee Adama, Six and who do you think that other one is?? Any Guesses? Hotdog. Yeah, that's what I said! WHO is going to seek out a Hotdog action figure? Especially when it hardly looks like him to begin with.

They are also infamous for lateness. I know... you're shocked by this. But yes, they often solicit a product for a date and it arrives several months later.

And, to top it off, instead of exclusively making their product available to stores, they also sell their products on-line. And sometimes they have more available on their on-line store than they have available for purchase for retailers. What I mean is, it will show an item is out of stock when we try to reorder it through our Diamond account, but meanwhile I can see it showing as available on the Diamond Select Toys website.

Like I said, we don't get much Diamond Select stuff for the reasons above. However, we do carry the mini-mates (awesome Marvel Zombies set just came in) because they're always pretty cool. We have a couple of the Star Trek ships because they're popular and we don't have to buy a case of them. There are a couple of others we carry because Diamond Select has the license and the licensed product has a fanbase that we want to cater to - like Stargate and Battlestar Galactica. I just wish that DS wasn't so irritating! See, if Steve Geppi gave me a job this is another thing I'd work on fixing.

Why Steve Geppi Should Hire Me

Mr. Steve Geppi (pictured) is the owner of several businesses, one of which is the infamous monopoly holder of all comic book distribution in the United States - Diamond Comic Distribution. He needs to hire me, or at least whomever runs Diamond needs to hire me.

Why?

Because there is such a disconnect between the company and the people on either end of their services. I think the company needs someone who can bridge those gaps - well probably a few people, but they can start with me and see how it goes. The communication between Diamond and the comic book retail outlets is really pretty bad, and from what I understand the communication between comic book publishers (especially the small guys) and Diamond isn't great either. Yes, we all have "Diamond Reps" that are supposed to be the go-between from the stores and publishers to the corporation that is Diamond, but it seems like there is some kind of lack of organization or supervision or something that causes little communication to actually go up and down the pipelines.

When someone wants information on starting a comic book store Diamond is of little to no help. They mail out a Diamond catalog and that's about it. As if all the answers were there.

We had our Diamond sales rep get a promotion and for MONTHS we were without a rep, so when we had a problem we were LITERALLY on hold for 20 minutes or more waiting for the "next available Diamond sales representative" to take our call. Eventually when one did, if there was something they'd have to "look into" and get back to us, we almost never heard back and would have to call back and see if we could track down that rep for the answer or solution. Then this week we called with a problem and Craig asks when, if ever, they're going to finally give us a new sales rep. Turns out Gary is our rep, and he's been it for a couple of weeks now. Gee... you'd think he'd call or something. Wasn't Gary wondering why his job seemed easy - not getting any calls from his current accounts?

Diamond also asks every day on their mailer for stores to send them their sales ideas. What I'd like to know is WHAT happens to these ideas? Either they've never had a single store send them an idea, or they just archive these for use "some day" because I have never ever seen the list of retailer submitted sales ideas appear anywhere.

Diamond also does an occasional survey to find out people's satisfaction with the service they get from them - mainly being the weekly shipments. I think I have seen one report that had the accumulated data on it in the nearly 4 years we've been working with Diamond. There might have been more that I haven't seen. But let me tell you it is one thing to collect data and make nifty reports with it - it's another thing to use that information to try to fix problems. Problems like week after week of damaged shipments or wrong comics and books being sent out or shipments arriving at stores a day or days late. Yes, there will always be errors. And yes, accidents happen. Sure, Diamond does replace damages (as long as they still have replacements in stock) and send correct items out when the wrong ones come. But the infrastructure for this process is difficult and seems to change from week to week -- sometimes they want damages sent back in the same box they came it, sometimes they don't want damages sent back at all, when the wrong item is sent they seem to not have any kind of process to reclaim those items (we have an entire shelf of incorrectly shipped items that we don't know what to do with).

When I call my rep to find out where an item is - why it has not shipped yet - they typically have no idea at all. Often they cannot give me any kind of new shipping date either. Then when I take the time to contact the publisher myself I find out the reason. Sometimes it's a publishing issue like the printer or something. But other times they tell me that Diamond has had the item for WEEKS and they have no idea why it hasn't shipped yet. Clearly there is not a good line of communication between publishers and Diamond and then down the chain to stores. If a comic book or other item is not shipping on time I think the folks at Diamond should have an idea why - and if it is just sitting in their warehouse they should know that too.

Here's what could help the situation - some organization and a person who's job it is to make sure these lines of communication stay open and go both ways. So when a store has a problem they can feel like Diamond is actually doing something about it. If a store looses a rep this person makes sure that the store is still serviced properly and then knows who their new rep is as soon as that person assumes the position. Someone who maybe has run a store and has some idea what it's like to be on that end of the service. Someone who collects data from publishers and retailers and compiles it into usable data for both Diamond and the folks on either end of their service. Someone who makes sure that these go-between reps are doing their jobs and that both stores and publishers have some idea that they're actually being helped. Someone who works on improving the shipping times for certain areas of the country. (Washington State is one example of an area that experiences constantly unpredictable shipping from Diamond) They need someone who is organized, friendly, smart, tenacious, persistent and appreciates the comic book industry. Someone just like me.

Of course the problem is that Diamond does not have any competition when it comes to distributing comics, so they really don't have to try to improve anything. And I don't really want to move out to Baltimore, MD and leave my comic book store and great customers. But, I really would like to see Diamond do more than create a Point of Sale and inventory management program and host two retailer summits in order to try to get retailers to feel like they're being helped. Forget those big things and focus on little things like helping new stores and making sure that existing stores know who their sales reps are.

Looking Forward to Baltimore

Once again this September we are going to Baltimore MD for the Diamond Retailer Summit. We will get there a couple of days in advance and spend one day going to the Baltimore Comic Con and one day playing tourists in D.C.

We didn't think we'd go this year because at first money was tight and flights were expensive. Then we got some money but were going to put it into the house we were buying. Then we lost that house deal but hotel rooms over that weekend (September 8,9) near the convention center were extremely hard to come by unless one wanted to pay over $200 per night. Finally, we lucked out, finding both affordable air fair and a hotel room under $200. Unfortunately the hotel isn't by the convention center, but it is easy to get there via the train, so it shouldn't bee to bad.

We went to the Baltimore CC last year and aside from getting ripped off by Mark Texeria it was a lot of fun. It is a good size convention but not so crowded that one can't get to talk to creators. Although some artist were very snobby, sitting at their table working on paid-for sketches with signs up that they were not to be bothered until their scheduled signing time for the day. But most were up-beat, friendly and accessible and it was fun to check it out.

This year they're having some cool guests like Joe Kubert, Amanda Conner, both Romita's and Louise Simonson. Plus a ton of other bigger name comic book creators, so it should be really neat to walk the floor.

Then there's the Diamond retailer summit after the convention. That is always a fun time, meeting up with comic book store owners that we've not seen since last year. Sharing the pains and victories of owning our own comic book stores. They give away door prizes as well as other freebies just for attending (that stores can then sell to recoup their costs of going). Complete set/autographed Strangers In Paradise Pocket Books is the one door prize I’d like to win. And the 1 per store - exclusive cover, The Mice Templar #1-A Mike Oeming Release will be nice, not so much to sell, but just because this sounds like a nifty comic.

The programs aren't all that exciting this year though. Only one I really want to go to: Location, Location Location: Opening a second store - When, Where, Why & How to Open an Additional Location or Upgrade Your Present Store; How Suppliers Could Help; etc. Speakers: Chris Powell Lone Star Comics, Gary Dills Phoenix Comics/Laughing Ogre.

The other one I might check out is: Satisfying Your Customers’ Yen for Manga - How to Add or expand Manga to Your Already Successful Specialty Retail Store’s Product Mix
Speakers: Chris Oarr from ADV Films, Dirk Wood from Dark Horse Comics, Fletcher Chufong from DC Comics, John Wagenski from Lost World of Wonders, Lisa Richards from Tokyopop and Christopher Boily from Viz Media. But it kind of just sounds like manga publishers pitching their books... so it will just depend on what I feel like at the moment.

The BEST part of the summit is when they have open the exhibit hall. They often have some great give-away stuff there, plus many of those creators from the convention stay the extra days to set up for this, making them even MORE accessible. Last year we saw Michael Turner sitting in his Aspen booth with NO LINE (he'd run out of free stuff) just casually doing some art. This year some of the guests will be Garth Ennis, Terry Moore, and Andy Runton - the three I'd really like to meet, plus several others.

Now that we've made the decision to book the rooms, flights, and spots at the summit, we're getting excited for it! Sure, it is a work-related vacation, but last year we really had a fun time and we can't wait to do it again.

Diamond Comic Shop Locator Kiosks

From our Diamond Daily email...

As part of its improved trade show presence debuting at this year’s Comic-Con International: San Diego, Diamond will introduce a computerized kiosk designed to introduce consumers to the Comic Shop Locator Service (CSLS) and the thousands of specialty retailers it represents!

Available at Diamond’s all-new booth, the kiosk will attract passersby with flashing messages, inviting them to find their local comic shop and receive coupons for Previews, Gemstone Publishing’s EC Archives and Disney Comics and admission to Geppi’s EntertainmentMuseum. Furthermore, different coupons will be available as the convention season progresses.

After touching the kiosk’s screen, users will be able to enter their ZIP code to view a listing of comic shops in their area. Better still, they’ll have the option to look at those stores’ online CSLS profiles when available, giving them a wealth of information about participating businesses. Users can then print the list of comic shops, with coupons attached.

Finally, kiosk visitors will have the option to join an email mailing list to get the latest updates on industry events, new products, additional coupons and much more from Diamond and its vendors. The kiosk will be present at each convention and trade show that Diamond attends, helping to gain new customers for stores in the area.

“There’s no better tool for putting potential new consumers into our customers’ stores than the Comic Shop Locator Service, and we believe that the CSLS kiosk will go a long way towards making that happen,” said Diamond Director of Marketing Dan Manser. “We’re also interested in hearing retailers’ reactions to the kiosk, and invite any suggestions on how we can improve it down the road.”

Interesting. On one hand I'm really glad they're pushing the Comic Shop Locator Service. On the other hand, I'm not sure how the whole thing will work out. If you see one of these kiosks at a convention check it out and let me know what you think of it.

The Exclusive Problem

You all know about Diamond Distribution by now - and the fact that they've got a monopoly on comic book distribution. This is due largely to the fact that they signed contracts with DC and Marvel to be their exclusive distributor to the U.S. Then other publishers followed suit and soon it didn't make sense for people to buy comics from other distributors because the bulk of the comics would come from Diamond anyway, and it's just easier to keep track of orders when you work with one company.

Diamond also has a sister company that distributes games: Alliance Distribution. So far the game industry still has a lot of distributors, and Alliance is just one of them. But, recently Alliance signed an exclusive contract with game maker Wizkids - so now Wizkids games like Heroclix and Pirates are only available through Diamond and it's sister Alliance. This caused quite an uproar in the game industry, and people are still upset about it. The other distributors who supported Wizkids are angry that they were left out of the loop. Game stores that don't have a Diamond or Alliance account were angry because they had to either get an account with them or not get these popular games. But Both Alliance and Wizkids insisted that it was the best thing for EVERYONE.

This week is a big game release - Marvel HeroClix Avengers. Wizkids is making a few changes to the HeroClix games, and the Marvel Avengers set is the first one to have them, so people are interested in checking it out. Knowing that these would be in demand, and that many stores don't get shippments from UPS until hours after they've opened, Alliance said they'd ship out the game a day early to stores, so that we'd have it ready to sell first thing when we opened on Wednesday. This sure seemed surprising from a Diamond company - since they refuse to do anything like that for comics unless you're one of the few accounts that have so many stores that your comics are freighted out on pallets.

Well, guess what, it didn't happen. Our Marvel Avengers HeroClix did NOT show up today via UPS. Our Alliance rep made some excuse about how it was UPS's fault (now that's what a Diamond company would do) and he claims we'll get them tomorrow afternoon when UPS arrives in the afternoon. This is all well good, except that I know I'll have customers come looking for this game in the morning and we won't have it. And, it wouldn't have been so bad if we weren't told we'd get them early.

Now it turns out that it would have been better for us to order them from Diamond instead of it's game arm, Alliance, because at least if we got them from Diamond we'd be picking them up at UPS in the morning instead of waiting until 2 pm for UPS to deliver them.

Diamond Blues

We lost our Diamond customer service rep, Kyle. He worked for them for around 7 years and finally got promoted. In the mean time we don't have a rep, which means when we have problems we get stuck with whatever rep isn't working and answers the phone or generic email. It stinks! We ordered a Wasp mini-bust for a customer and it didn't show up - it took the random rep a week to get back to us, after we bugged her three times, to tell us she couldn't get us any information and she'd get back to us in another couple of weeks. So, we asked around and found another retailer who was willing to part with one for cost so we will have one for this customer.

Today a bunch of our books, especially Marvel titles, were banged up. Thankfully we didn't have any where the full run was damaged so badly that we couldn't put any out (that has happened in the past). There were some trades, like 52 Vol 1, that were too damaged for us to put any out. We have enough for today, hopefully, of the undamaged ones - now we'll just have to wait until next week for replacements. When I sent in the damage report we received the replacement order report twice - so now I'm wondering if we'll get double orders.

When we did our Scott McCloud deal we got a bunch of TPB's from Diamond on consignment. We sent a bunch back - and according to the list we got back from Diamond - they lost some. So we had to call and have "random rep" check with the warehouse to see if they could find them so that we won't get charged.

Usually Diamond is OK - rarely are the problems so bad that I'm raging mad. But even these little problems get annoying when we don't have a regular rep to go to with them. And other stores have complained about their regular reps - so now Craig is worried that we'll get stuck with some idiot who doesn't know who Wonder Woman is or something.

Ultimate Error

Today is new book day. Today is also the release day, after MONTHS of delay, for Ultimates 2 #13. Not my shelves, unfortunately, but some shelves.

Diamond's box packers at the NY warehouse really need to learn to read. I've said before that I think they might be illiterate, and I'm saying it again today. Craig opened the first box and removed a large stack of Ultimate Spider-Man #109. It looked like nearly twice what we usually get. Once he counted them, it turned out that it was over double what we usually order of Ult. Spider-Man. As soon as he told me how many there were, I immediately knew we were sent MORE Ultimate Spider-Man comics INSTEAD of our order of Ultimates 2 #13. That turned out to be true. After we'd unpacked every single Diamond box there wasn't one single issue of Ultimates 2 #13, but plenty Ultimate Spider-Man #109 issues.

So, unfortunately due to illiteracy at Diamond, our customers will have to wait a couple more days to get Ultimates 2 #13. We called Diamond right away and told the guy who answered without hanging up (the first guy who answered hung up on Craig about two words into the conversation) that we HAD to have them emergency ship the Ultimates, so we should get them Friday afternoon. To make matters worse, our Diamond rep (he's been our rep since we opened the store) was promoted, and he started his new job on Monday, so we're without a regular Diamond rep. Craig had to call twice just to get someone on the phone over there.

How Do I Know?

On Monday we finished up our January Previews order and sent it on it's way. I have to say that it was one of the harder months to order from. The super hero stuff is usually fairly easy. Well, the #1 issues are guess-work most times, but I don't recall there being too many of those this month. The non-super stuff just depends upon who's publishing it, who's writing & drawing it, if anyone else has pre-ordered it, and if it sounds remotely good. We try to pick up a few new non-super comics when we order every month, just to have some other things for people to try out. Some of them do well, others sit and we stop ordering them a few issues in. It's all guess-work.

The January Previews seemed to have an enormous amount of graphic novels in them. Graphic novels that were never comics - just straight to book form. Diamond had a bunch of them marked as "Spotlight On" or "Featured Item." More that usual it seemed. Here are some examples: Chance in Hell, A Late Freeze, The Salon, Flower and Fade. Many of them sounded interesting - but those little 2-3 sentence "ads" for the books are SUPPOSED to make you want to buy them. Weather the book ends up being any good or not remains to be seen. We ended up ordering very few of these graphic novels. At least with comic books it's a small amount to invest to try something new. But with a graphic novel you're looking at $20 and more in cover price. We didn't order many Pride of Baghdad when it first came out, only recently received a copy of Fun Home, and finally ordered a second print of American Born Chinese. These three are examples of good, solid graphic novels that have gotten good main-stream buzz and sold well in book stores. So, we picked them up for our store. But how can you tell from a Previews solicitation if it's going to be that hit book? How do I know if it's any good or not? It sure would be nice if there was a better way for creators to let comic book retailers know more about their books, so we could get a better feel for it before we decided weather or not to risk our money on it. For now, we just don't order most of these and wait for the news that they're selling well and winning awards, and then we pick them up for our store.

Ultimate-ly Screwed

Anyone who reads Ultimates knows that the issues have been very late in arriving lately. That’s largely due to the writer, Millar, having Crone’s Disease, or at least that is what I’ve been told. So, people were asking week after week if we knew when it would finally come out. Last week was the week when Ultimates 2 #11 FINALLY came out. However, ALL of our issues were damaged. Rather than tell people they’d have to wait ANOTHER week because ours were damaged (and some of them would probably go looking for the issue at a different comic book store), we gave people the option of buying the damaged copy and then exchanging it for a better copy the next time they came in, or just waiting for the better copies to arrive. Many people, but not all, took the damage copy because they were so anxious to read the issue.

Let me also note that we’ve been calling in damages just about every week since we started this store. Never once have we been asked to send them back for credit. We just receive a notice that says, “Please destroy” and lists the issues and quantity we reported. On rare occasion we might sell a damaged copy as a last resort, especially in a situation like that above, where we had a high-demand product and no issues, or not enough issues, to sell to customers before the replacements arrived. But that’s usually quite rare. However when ALL the copies of a high-demand book are damaged, we had to resort to this desperate measure in order to keep money from walking out the door.

This week, unlike EVERY week past, Diamond asked us to return our damages from the last few weeks. Any unreturned damages would be billed to us. And, we have only 7 days to return them (keep in mind there’s a postal holiday during the next 7 days too) Well, we have MOST of them all set aside, except the Ultimates 2 issues. Some people brought theirs back, and we have the ones that people didn’t buy last week… but some customers don’t come in every week. How are we supposed to get the damaged Ultimates 2 copies back from people in 7 days if they don’t come back for 14 days? So, we’ll be asked to pay for damaged copies, when we just got replacements this week, and haven’t had enough time to use the good copies to replace all of the damages. I find that QUITE unfair! Give us a couple of weeks, that would be fine, a month would be even better (that’s what we get for returns on the rare other items we can return), but SEVEN DAYS from Wednesday—the day we got the replacement copies in. That’s just not fair.

Let me also explain other returns. Usually when a comic book or other item is overly late, retailers are given the chance to return unsold copies for credit. However, Marvel has what they call Final Order Cut-off (FOC), which gives retailers a chance to increase or decrease their orders on all of the Marvel products set to hit shelves a few weeks later. Doing this enables Marvel to get around having to allow retailers to return books like Ultimates 2 when issues are several months late. So, once I get all of the damaged Ultimates 2 #11 copies back in-hand, there won’t be a second chance to return the unsold ones based on lateness.

I am defiantly going to have to try to get someone at Diamond on the phone who can help with this, which will be tricky since lots of them are taking vacations around the 4th of July holiday. Craig says I shouldn’t bother because they aren’t going to care. And maybe they won’t, but it really can’t hurt just to ask.