aerischan

Curious, do they have Duck Hunt and the gun available?

IMO, Donny's two previous efforts, GHOST FLEET and THE PAYBACKS were both solid books which were marketed poorly by Dark Horse and never found their audience. The only difference with GOD COUNTRY is Image. For Dark Horse's sake, hope they figure out what Image is doing right.

Image has built up a lot of good will after series like The Walking Dead and Saga. Because of that built-up reputation, I reckon readers are more likely to sample new titles from Image than from other small pubs.

That will look fantastic stabbed...assuming they are packaged/shipped in an acceptable way!

I dunno. I think stabbing may reduce the value.

 

To the BEK. It will make you look at kids after dark a little differently than normal.

 

As for Marvel, they've had some enjoyable books but not a lot of them imo. It still seems they do best with natural vs forced developments. Hopefully they fix your digital deal. I read a lot of stuff digitally now though it isn't as kind on the billfold being the final user. Haha !

Heh, I never sell anyway.

Good thing with digital is I don't have to buy multiple copies (one reader, one to keep pristine) to feed my OCD. No separate variants thus far, too. Bonus, DC includes both regular cover and variants when you purchase digital comics.

Also, I don't have to keep track of digital purchases - Comixology does that automatically. I have 3+ print copies of certain issues because sometimes I forget I already have it. I recently started cataloging my meager collection via CLZ Comics for iOS to prevent future purchase of unwanted dupes.

Physical comic storage has also been becoming a problem for my print collection. Thinking of donating the dupes to Comics4Kids or something. I make backups of my digital comics on multiple hard drives but storage is easy. One portable 4TB HDD (~$100) can hold probably around 30,000-60,000 issues in just a few cubic inches and even three of those would still use less space than a stack of, say, 20 single issues.

I'm buying East of West, The Walking Dead, and God Country. All look great but my absolute favorite has to be Invincible. Looks like it would have fit right in with that cover.

Getting Kill Or Be Killed #6 (The Walking Dead #1 homage) and WalkingD.E.A.D. #164 (WildC.A.T.s #1 homage). Funnily enough, they're both TWD-related even though I'm not a big fan of TWD. Kill Or Be Killed is on my pull list and I like the 25th anniversary cover. The TWD #164, I'm only getting for the Jim Lee homage.

December 2016

 

Yearly sales were flat for 2016 versus 2015. A 0% change surprises me, especially with DC's Rebirth hitting hard this year. Looking forward to a great 2017 !

Followed by Marvel tanking.

In any case, thanks to Marvel's asinine change to the Bonus Digital Edition program, I'm cutting down the Marvel pull list and will stop sampling their new series. That gives me more funds available for smaller pubs and trades. Already added Black Eyed Kids to the pull list.

Nice cover, but it looks like these AFV are never going to end!

Quite honestly, themed variants such as AFV probably sell more in aggregate than some of Marvel's other titles. Also, the ordering requirements in order to qualify for these variants probably increases orders for the regular cover, too (e.g. buy 125% qty of Comic X issue #xx of the regular cover and variant is free to order).

As long as it's making Marvel money, I don't see why they'll stop producing them.

My local shops have forced me into getting my monthly moderns from dcbservice.com 40-50% off cover price and books shipped to me. If shops offered better incentives and discounts I'd buy local

Problem with that 40-50% discount is I don't know of any LCS that has the volume that DCBS and Midtown have to qualify for the same discounts. Also, since DCBS's online store is a preorder-only service and you prepay for your items (typically around the 15th of the month prior release), they don't carry the same risks of unsold product that a normal LCS does.

Maybe the LCS can offer a preorder service similar to DCBS and Midtown's so they can offer bigger discounts. The LCS makes a smaller profit per item but that profit is guaranteed and carries no risk as well as providing advance revenue to help with cash flow. That said, given rent, labor, etc, are fixed costs, they might need to make up for the lower margin with higher volume.

My LCS has a preorder program like this and they give all preorder customers 30% discount off DC/Marvel and 20% off on all other pubs. Discounts are regardless of order size so whether you preorder 1 comic or 50, you get the same discount.

X-Men #1

 

Cover A (Prof. X, Jean, Storm, Archangel, Beast) - $2

 

 

Cover B (Colossus, Rogue, Gambit, Psylocke) - 2 copies - $2 each

 

 

Cover C (Wolverine, Cyclops, Iceman) - 3 copies - $2 each

 

 

Cover D (Magneto) - 2 copies - $2 each

 

 

Please add one copy each to my pile.

Things that will make me search for another LCS or buy online:

1. Require a 3-5 book minimum but not much more than that.

4. Set a 1 month grace period with either

A. A late fee equal to 15% of the total due

And things I think will cause the LCS undue hardship:

9. If you mistakenly sell out or forget to include titles for your subscribers, go out and buy the best available copy from another local retailer or online retailer.

I reckon subscribers would be quite understanding about missing an issue as long as the LCS doesn't make a habit of doing it. If the LCS finds it difficult to organize and keep track of pull lists, then use a service like Comixology's.

4. Set a 1 month grace period with either

D. Notification of subscription cancellation if no response received after 45 days

E. Sale of all pull box comic after 60 days

Unless pull box items are prepaid, I don't think the retailer even needs to wait 60 days as long as subscribers are made aware of the one-month hold policy. I think automatic subscription cancellation following failure to pick up items by deadline should be included in the store's pull list/subscription policy. Contact the customer and at the most, give them a one week grace period/firm deadline to pick up their items or have them forfeited and their subscription cancelled. The LCS may consider extending deadlines on a case by case basis.

I will bag and board one for my collection.

 

Will it be 25 cents on iTunes

For what it's worth, the $0.25 Red Sonja #0 was available for free on Comixology.

They need to be on top of things. They can't let something sit for more than a month. My old LCS would call people requently, gently remind them,and offer to charge the CC and deliver the books if need be. No $ after a month and they're done.

I reckon that's a fair way to handle it. Definitely don't let pull lists pile up for month after month. One month is long enough for a customer to pick up and pay for their items. You can make an exception if the customer has contacted you and requested an extension due to a family emergency or something but make it like one strike or you're out to limit losses.

For obscure items that you don't normally carry and have to special order just for one or two customers, then perhaps require full prepayment or maybe 50% down payment by FOC or something. That should at least cover your costs if the customer leaves you holding the bag.

"Whether it's time payments or lay away on new comics, it's crazy when you think about it."

 

Charging the card on file is going to be a problem once it is disputed and the shop loses. All the customer has to do is say they cancelled a long time ago.

 

Many shops I see charge a fee for opening an account.

 

Time payments are a way of making a sale. And there is a chance someone defaults and you keep the money and the book.

 

Every furniture store I know is running zero % interest for 1-2 year sales and what not to get you to buy something. this is how my wife buys furniture. she will not get a new item until the prior one is fully paid off within the interest free period. you need to be disciplined though, because if it isn't paid off they usually charge you some insane rate once the deal expires.

Not sure how time payments/lay aways would work well for relatively inexpensive comics where the customer "buys" new product every week/month. The problem there is the customer buying too much stuff that he can't afford.

Maybe for a special order for something like a Sideshow Collectible figure or DC Absolute Editions or IDW Artist Editions, yeah, layaway is a totally workable solution and time payments can be spread over a few months. For a pull list with 50 items every month totaling $150-200, then those time payments need to be $30-50 per week or $60-100 biweekly/semi-monthly (I think a lot of people get their paychecks twice a month) or it's just gonna keep ballooning. Those installments are pretty much akin to paying when you get your weekly pull anyway so don't really see the benefit of layaway/time payments. Sales tactics like layaways work well for large one-time purchases (e.g. furniture, electronics, Christmas shopping). Not so much for a subscription service where the subscription is ongoing.

Agreed on CC company siding with the customer when it comes to chargebacks. Pull lists are more like a gentlemen's agreement rather than sales contract. Enforcement will be difficult. Probably more cost effective to just cancel the customer's pull list and sell the products to other customers rather than try to go to small claims court.

One issue for comic shops is they're walking a tightrope between keeping customers happy and keeping the lights on. Make requirements for pull lists too onerous and you run the risk of losing customers to another LCS, TFAW, Midtown or DCBS. If you're too lax, you run the risk of having tons of unsold product tying up your capital.

But I absolutely agree that customers should pick up their freaking books regularly, for which they should be charged after one week even if they don't pick them up, and then put back on the shelf after a month without contact.

 

They're a store, not a storage unit for your back issues.

Imho, way too harsh. I like the way my LCS does it. They require pick up at least once a month for pull list afterwards, comics go back on the shelf. Imho, that's pretty fair since it gives sufficient time for the customer to pick up their order (and maybe make the trip worthwhile if they're only getting 1-2 comics a week) while still allowing enough time for the LCS to rack copies that haven't been picked up.

For prepaid, preorder items, they hold the item longer (3 months after arrival?) after which if you don't contact them and they can't contact you, the ownership of the item reverts to the store (and the LCS does make you sign a form where you fill in contact info and agree to the terms of service).

I really have no idea and that is why I ask this question. Do pull lists automatically include all of the 10 + variants for a particular book that month?

Guess it depends. With my LCS, whatever is on my Comixology pull list is exactly what I have in the pull box.

Wow. I jumped at the right time.

 

Sales won't chart.....

 

Hey guys we just presold 730,000 copies.

 

https://imagecomics.com/content/view/the-walking-dead-163-the-highest-ordered-comic-in-nearly-two-decades

They also didn't make any money on any single one of those copies. Hmm, possible they might have lost money, too.

Wonder if we'll be seeing copies of these for FCBD 2017 giveaway.

Not sure about the margins on new books, I've heard they're paper thin. So having credit cards for prepayment, and then by law being obligated to refund, seems like a rough spot for the store. I think the picture proves that having a pull list doesn't guarantee people coming in regularly, right? So why have a pull list? I would think that if the new issue collectors had to go to the store each week that their books were released, it would generate more traffic, lessen problems, etc.

The pull list is good because it gives the store a better idea of what customers want and more or less guarantees the customer will receive a copy of a comic he wants even if some jerk cleans out the store shelves to sell for $20+ on ebay. The problem isn't really pull lists themselves. Rather, it's the customers who abuse the system.

Also to blame, I guess, are comic shops who put comics the customer doesn't want in their pull box but not the comics they requested. I've never had this problem with my LCS in the first couple of months I used a pull list (via http://pulllist.comixology.com) prior to switching to preorder.

Policy at my LCS is pick up the pull list at least once a month, else they go back to the shelf. For stuff they don't normally carry (and possibly won't be able to sell to other customers), they require 100% prepayment. On the upside, they do offer 30% discount on DC/Marvel and 20% on other pubs for preorders with no minimums. Order forms due on the 18th, full prepayment required by end of the month.

 

I wish my LCS did this. They require the prepayment but only offer a 10% discount...no incentive for me to switch over from Midtown, as I'm ordering some pretty significant quantities each month.

Discounts via Diamond are tiered based on volume and seem to start at around 35%. For DC/Marvel, it should be easy to qualify for 50% discount (at $2.99/3.99 list price, estimate just need 300-350 comics minimum per publisher per month). Judging by products on shelves every Wednesday, I'm guessing my LCS qualifies for around 53-55% discount. That makes for 100+% markup if selling at cover. Alas, 100% markup on an item that cost them $1.50-2.00 is still just $1.50-2.00 so they need to make money by volume. Also, since comics are non-returnable, each comic not sold eats into profits and cash flow.

Guess that's probably why my LCS is willing to offer huge discounts on preorders. The more they purchase, the greater the Diamond discounts (ergo possibly lower cost for shelf copies) and there's no risk involved since they get payment upfront which also helps with their cash flow. That said, they probably need a minimum volume of orders to make the program worthwhile.

Midtown and DCBS probably qualify for like 60% discount. Since DCBS is a preorder only service, they carry very little risk.

January is the first month I'm receiving preorders and I must say, it's nice to just go in the store and not have to spend anything. Granted, I did just drop off my order form for March and will need to pay in full next week after they confirm my order total. Guess that's one positive to Marvel dropping digital codes from my comics. Price for my preorder went down from $150 list to just $90 after I removed/stopped sampling majority of Marvel's stuff.

Policy at my LCS is pick up the pull list at least once a month, else they go back to the shelf. For stuff they don't normally carry (and possibly won't be able to sell to other customers), they require 100% prepayment. On the upside, they do offer 30% discount on DC/Marvel and 20% on other pubs for preorders with no minimums. Order forms due on the 18th, full prepayment required by end of the month.

That said, I religiously pick up my comics every week (usually on Wednesdays). If I was willing to wait, I'd just order all my comics from DCBS. The $6.95 shipping is likely on par or cheaper than gas and parking.

I think so, but how long before someone removes a sticker, leaving no trace? Probably won't make a difference in the long run, whether your 1st print has a sticker or not, since it may be undetectable.

 

If they all have it, it would be known to have been removed.

Right. Possible removing the sticker might actually be considered a no-no where CGC is concerned.

So, do the first prints have a sticker over the barcode or not?

Yep, they do. Don't all 1st prints have a UPC issue so they released 2nd print earlier while they put correct barcode stickers on 1st prints?

B&N staggered shipments, but happy to report everything is First Printing. :hehe:

Seems like some of Amazon's is 1st printing, too. Crossed my fingers and ordered a single copy there hoping for a 1st print for PC since I had Prime shipping anyway. Got lucky.

Surprisingly, the book came in NM condition so as much as I hate the packaging they used and found it a pain in the neck to open (large pieces of cardboad glued together with a kinda draggy/rubbery/sticky feel in the interior), it seemed to have done a decent job protecting the book.

...there'll be sun.

...tomorrow

bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow...

I need that. What comic or comics (publisher/date range) have that ad?