The store I shop losses $2/ issue they sell to there DC subscribers due to shipping costs of the new companies.
I always wanted to go to Mile High comics but I stopped following them on social mediaâŚalong with other stores that bashed DC.
90% of what my family buys is DC.
I donât know how many times Diamond has just thrown merchandise in a box and it arrives trashed.
Our LCS is always receiving damaged products or getting shorted. Diamonds customer service was poor before all Covid.
DCâs contract ended, they have the right to go elsewhere.
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@WonderWoman_85 From what Iâve read and seen so far, the New Kids are doing a glowing job at getting product out in exemplary condition.
I hadnât heard about Mile High on social media (I donât use it), but knowing that, Iâm now even more inclined to do comic-related business elsewhere when Iâm next in Denver.
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Hoping when I go to my LCS tomorrow they may have a bit more of an idea of what course theyâll be taking with DC. Hopefully they are not dropping them. The bulk of my pull list is DC.
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Mile High only orders new comics on request, which is a good strategy for all LCS. Meaning, the shopâs not stuck with a bunch of comics sitting on the stand that nobodyâs going to buy.
Instead, Mile High buys back issues in bulk. Theyâre kind of like a closeout store.
However, in addition to requested new comics, Mile High also fills orders for merchandise. And this is their relationship with Diamond (requested new comics and merchandise).
Because Mile High is one of the few âwarehouseâ stores (like a Walmart or a Target), they can really capitalize on bulk shipping. Plus, theyâre a big customer for Diamond and enjoy the benefits that this status grants to them.
DCâs move is nullifying some of Mile Highâs benefits. Theyâre going to lose money on increased shipping costs, and theyâll need to build a relationship with two new vendors.
All that said, Mile High is still a comic shop. Thereâs no such thing as a comic shop which is rolling in economic security. No doubt, Mile High is more secure than most, but these changes still sting. I respect Chuck; heâs been around forever, and heâs always trumpeted the industry. I have a feeling his recent posts are out of frustration.
This post is mostly conjecture on my part.
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Sure, I can understand Chuckâs frustration(s). Again, itâs his business to do with as he pleases.
However, I think heâd be better off privately communicating his ire to DC (and I would imagine he has, and may continue to do so) than publicly thumbing his nose at them, a move which will cost him at least some business in the short term, possibly more in the long run.
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Iâm sure youâre correct. Iâm a die hard DC guy. I first heard about the DC/Diamond breakup from Chuckâs post. And my gut reaction was, âperhaps itâs time to stop reading Chuckâs posts.â 
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@RandallusPrime, does this make sense? I canât wrap by brain around this one. Doesnât seem like additional shipping costs could be that astronomical.
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Agreed. What MHC and other stores did is so unprofessional
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It sounds like the retailer is either lying or exaggerating. Or they order so little DC titles that it appears that way. The more you order, the more it offsets the cost from shipping. If you only order 10 DC titles a week, at 35% off and you give the customer 20% off. Itâs only a 15 percent profit before subtracting cost of shipping. 10 books at 4 each. Thatâs 40 dollars, so that gives a total of 6 dollars profit. Itâs 15 to 20 dollars on average for shipping. Weâll say itâs 15, minus 6, puts the retailer at 9 dollar loss. 20 dollars is 50% loss to 10 DC titles if he says he or she is losing 2 dollars per issue. 9 dollar loss is almost 25% loss. 25% off is a dollar per book. Just doing the math means theyâre wrong & exaggerating.
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On the one hand Manopolies are not really a good thing, on the other seems from what I read most stores canât afford the shipping. Honestly, I am no business major but I am a little surprised none can survive two distributors. Most retail businesses donât rely on one distributor, when I worked at the comic/used book store they had multiple distributors as they also sold new books, used books, RPGâs and bought collectables from more then just Diamond. So while I again am not a business owner so donât deny there is probably something I am missing, I am a bit surprised that now that there are two distributors to deal with⌠like most retailers in most retail businesses always do, that now it seems like they think they are done. Seems comic shops really were just Diamond franchisees.
The one thing I do disagree with is so many retailers are lashing out at DC for this while praising Diamond. Diamond abandoned everyone. They cut and run when the virus hit and left every store high and dry. They didnât even announce they were coming back until DC got a new distributor and they found out there was actual compition forming. I am not convinced had DC continued to just sit in a holding pattern indefinitely like everyone else that Diamond would not still be shut down.
Yet DC did what they had to do after months of Diamond just bailing and saying nothing about when it was ever going to change. So now shops are mad at DC and praising Diamond. They are complaining this is horrible after being unable to sell new comics for so long⌠Diamond is why they couldnât sell them. DC probably wouldnât have a new distributor if Diamond hadnât bailed in the first place. Diamond created this problem but shops are blaming DC. And that I donât get.
Edit to add: I will say though, that âthe end of the comic shops businessâ has been predicted for decades now. Not saying it may not come, but this is not the first time everyone thought it was the beginning of the end. So precedent would suggest it might survive yet again. but yeah, does not look great if this many shops are freaking.
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The comic collapse of the 90âs can almost be directly tied to Diamond. Itâs almost the exact time DC/Marvel signed their exclusive deal to create a monopoly for Diamond and removed comics from news stands, grocery stores, hell even regular book stores.
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Itâs funny I just commented on a post in The Watchtower sort of wondering this same thing.
It looks like at the moment there wonât be a great deal of shops carrying physical DC books at least releasing within the next few months. Iâm sure the list will grow, Iâm just worried it might not get back even close to what it was.
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They donât sell physical DC books they will lose customers. The average customer wonât give a crap about Diamond and competition, behind the scenes power plays, and shipping cost. They will know that they want DC and Marvel or just DC, and they have to go somewhere else to get it or order it because the store doesnât have it. This whole âI am not buying anymore DC so there!â as if that isnât going to hurt them as much if not more is baffling to me. Proves what I always deep down knew. A lot of comic shop owners (not all obviously likely not most but a lot) are fanboys who had some money and have no experience in retail or business or anything else. And open a shop that barely squeeks by in part because sometimes they are one of if not the only game in town, because at the end of the day they have literally no head for business.
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Definitely agree with you about comic shops being run by people who know little about business. Wonât name names but the largest shop specializing in comics in my region seems to be run by people who know business and use the input of their employees who are fans to reach customers. AND IT WORKS! They also donât use Diamond, so I definitely think itâs possible things will be back mostly to normal eventually. How soon is also key though.
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Great point. I came from a low income household. I can definitely relate to this. The only comics we could afford were old 90s books that were sold for $5 a stack at our local goodwill. Also, that was bi-monthly if we were lucky. We also did not have a car, so it was more convenient to move on to manga which I checked out at my school library and local library the latter was easy to get to via public transportation. I did not have internet at home until 2010 when I was a teenager, so I couldnât even read it online for free had I wanted or knew until then.
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My family wasnât wealthy at all growing up, and neither were any of the of the families of the kids that I knew. We just happened to live a block and a half away from the the townâs only comic store. (which incidentally was also a used bookstore, and the local greyhound station) I can remember lots of hunting up pop bottles and doing odd jobs for elderly people in the neighborhood to be able to get something new, or digging through the bargain bin. Sometimes if you got lucky theyâd have a blind bag sale with the stuff that wasnât selling and youâd get something cool out of it. Of course this would have been the very early 80s when I started going there on my own , so even a little bit of money seemed to go a lot further then.
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I do like digital comics myself. Comixlogy is a holy grail for comics. Marvel Unlimited is a holy grail Marvel wise. DC Universe has a good selection of comics too. But my biggest fear is that Comixlogy for example if they shut down or something a person could potentially lose everything they bought and imagine all the money they wasted. Sure Comixlogy ainât going nowhere anytime soon. But there is that possibility
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And if your home catches fire, the cardboard boxes full of stapled paper will burn up.
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Iâve thought about that too @SpiralStorm. Not too worried for 2 reasons:
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Theyâre owned by Amazon, so pretty strong backing.
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If that were to happen, my guess is theyâd probably give us some time to download everything weâve purchased and back it up somehow. At least thatâs what I would hope
.
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