Newsstand date stamp question 0

[NoMan]

Ok, who has (or has seen) the most recent comic with a date stamp and what year did that comic come out?

 

For example: Are there date stamped comics from the 80s? the 90s? the 00s?

[Bomber-Bob]

Thinking about this from a logical standpoint, could retailers have stamped one copy and placed it behind the other copies? That way they could keep track of arrival dates for an issue without stamping or marking every issue (seems a little tedious). Might have even kept one last copy like a file copy of sorts to know exact arrive dates.

 

Just spit balling but seems reasonable

 

How would the retailer prevent a customer from picking out the stamped copy first ? Placing it at the back does nothing. If one was stamped, all were stamped. Maybe some creative retailer figured out something different but I doubt it. Why would the retailer care. Not much work to stamp a few more books.

[Ken Aldred]

Every copy of the book was stamped. It seems like there would be lots more copies of books date stamped. It seems that date stamped books are in the minority.

 

Most selling venues didn't stamp their books (which is why I wrote 'some selling venues').

 

I bought comics off the rack for five years in the 1970s, and only a tiny handful of places put date stamps on their comics for sale.

 

Same period as this, I never once saw that done here in the UK.

[KPR Comics]

Ok, who has (or has seen) the most recent comic with a date stamp and what year did that comic come out?

 

For example: Are there date stamped comics from the 80s? the 90s? the 00s?

Since the advent of direct market, what would be the point?

[shadroch]

Only time I came across date stamps in the 1970s was while on vacation in Bermuda.

Date stamps weren't really needed because every book had a month listed on it, except Annuals. The rule of thumb was to keep books until the next issue came out or the month expired. Books would come out in May with July listed. Newstands could return books anytime they wanted, they didn't have to wait a set time.

[NoMan]

Ok, who has (or has seen) the most recent comic with a date stamp and what year did that comic come out?

 

For example: Are there date stamped comics from the 80s? the 90s? the 00s?

Since the advent of direct market, what would be the point?

 

Books were still sold in non-comic shop situations up until the mid 90s. did they have date stamps?

[valiantman]

If you own a date stamp, you can stamp your own.

 

But seriously, I like date stamps but I don't think we want any situation where counterfeiting date stamps becomes a thing.

 

[KPR Comics]

Ok, who has (or has seen) the most recent comic with a date stamp and what year did that comic come out?

 

For example: Are there date stamped comics from the 80s? the 90s? the 00s?

Since the advent of direct market, what would be the point?

 

Books were still sold in non-comic shop situations up until the mid 90s. did they have date stamps?

But they weren't returnable, so I don't see the point in putting arrival dates on them.

[shadroch]

Sure they were. I'm not sure about todays market, but returnable books were out there just a very few short years ago. I pay zero attention to todays market so someone else can say if they still exist, but well in the 21st Century, newsstand copies of books existed and were sold on a returnable basis.

[NoMan]

I didn't know comics in drug stores type of situations became un-returnable at some point. I figured newsstands could always return stuff. Didn't know the rules changed at some point.

[shadroch]

If you own a date stamp, you can stamp your own.

 

But seriously, I like date stamps but I don't think we want any situation where counterfeiting date stamps becomes a thing.

 

 

Loose lips sink schemes......

[KPR Comics]

Oh. Hmmm. Well, I've never seen any 90s or 00s with date stamps .

[01TheDude]

Thinking about this from a logical standpoint, could retailers have stamped one copy and placed it behind the other copies? That way they could keep track of arrival dates for an issue without stamping or marking every issue (seems a little tedious). Might have even kept one last copy like a file copy of sorts to know exact arrive dates.

 

Just spit balling but seems reasonable

 

How would the retailer prevent a customer from picking out the stamped copy first ? Placing it at the back does nothing. If one was stamped, all were stamped. Maybe some creative retailer figured out something different but I doubt it. Why would the retailer care. Not much work to stamp a few more books.

 

Well the second part of my thought sort of gave a method to do this using a file copy system. So you get in books-- date stamp one of them and put it in the folder. Then you would not have to bother stamping every single book--- just one copy. If you sold out of that book, you could place that copy on the rack or decide to return whatever ones were left to return to send back.

 

Yeah-- the back of the rack idea was sort of far fetched -- but the file system would be fairly easy to use and a quick way to keep track of books that retailers could pull for returns.

 

again-- all this is pure guess work on my part. If I got in hundreds of comic books-- I would inventory/count them -- stamp one book to hold in the record file -- then put the non-stamped books in the rack. Not so much about being lazy but why waste the time stamping all those comics if the point was to know when they are able to be returned or considered stale stock.

 

also-- I am only suggesting some of the retailers might have done something like that. I imagine there were others who had clerks stamp the whole lot of them.

[Crimebuster]

I love date stamps, and given the choice, I'll pretty much always buy copies with date stamps rather than without. I have several date stamps from 1985, a couple from 1986, and one from 1987. I would swear that in another date stamp thread, someone said they had one from the 90's, but I have never seen one. May 11, 1987 is the latest in my collection so far.

 

Here are three late ones - the one on the left is the one from 1987, middle is October 30, 1986, and on the right is March 25, 1985. These all came from the same collection, and were probably bought from the same store that was still using old school methods:

 

[NoMan]

That awesome, Crimebuster. Great find!

 

It's like trying to find the last 8-track title that was part of the Columbia House 11 LPs or 8-tracks for a penny club.

 

I believe is was Bruce Springsteen's Tunnel of Love.

Edited February 4, 2017 by NoMan

[lizards2]

Ok, who has (or has seen) the most recent comic with a date stamp and what year did that comic come out?

 

For example: Are there date stamped comics from the 80s? the 90s? the 00s?

I have/had some from about 1992/1993