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You can view the page at http://alphaflight.net/content.php?9...-Sales-Figures
500 copies isn't bad at all. That's really good to hear
So... can someone explain how comic books being on the shelf work? I've been looking for Captain Marvel #3 for weeks at the two comic book shops I know of in Toronto (Silver Snail and 1,000,000 comics). And every freaking time I go in, I can't find Captain Marvel #3. All I see is that Captain Marvel and Carol Corps crap.... no Alpha Flight in there.
I guess my question is: can I registered to have them mail me by post the comics I want without having to go in a comic book shop? It seems I start collecting something and then I miss two of three issues, and I lose patient and stop buying them.
DRIVES ME TO DRINK (more than I usually do)!
At my comic shop I have a pull list and I tell them which comics I want and then they put it in a seperate box. So when I go in all my stuff i want is waiting for me. Lots of comic stores do that
- Reminder for me to come back to this and write a huge post in reply to Sypes' Question -
Bump!
Phil, write your huge post. :)
K-M-, I do the same thing, but Sypes didn't want to go into a shop.
It's not that I don't want to go into a comic book shop, but that it's inconvenient to do so on the right day/week when the issue comes out. Being on the road a lot for work and with other life matters (i.e. family, friends, etc), I don't have a chance to do it on the comic book publisher's schedule. I do realize that buying the electronic version would be the best option for me, but I prefer the paper read (how very vintage of me!). I'd even be willing to pay more to have it delivered to my home. What I've been doing for the Transformers series is buying the issues when they are bulked together in a neat little book, which is mailed to me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Le Messor
Hey Sypes!
This is a Canadian Subscription service out of Markham, Ontario which will ship the books you want to your home.
http://www.allnewcomics.com/
I've never used them, but their Ontario based.
Cheers!
Right... as short a version of this as possible:
Since the decline of the Newsstand and comics becoming a specialty/collectors item in the late 80's/early 90's Comics are now sold exclusively through what is known as the Direct Market.
Due to varying bankruptcies and buy-out's, the only company left in the Direct Market are Diamond who essentially now have an exclusive distribution deal with comics publishers. These are the titles that appear in Previews Catalog every month.
All comics solicited will have an FOC which is a Final Order Cut Off. This is the latest date a retailer can order issues of a title.
Now in order to purchase from Diamond to get the comic printed, distributed to Diamond and then distributed to the individual retailer comics solicitations are set 2 months in advance.
The BIG issue with this is that an FOC for #3 will most likely be before #1 has even come out.
This makes it incredibly hard for a retailer to work out which numbers of a comic to order as all copies are sold on a non-returnable basis, unlike back in the newsstand says.
If a retailer orders too many they're stuck with them on the shelves taking up space forever.
These inevitably move into Back Issue Bins and then Dollar Bins, losing the retailer money.
If a retailer doesn't order enough then there are customers like Sypes who miss out.
(This is usually where all of Marvel's Second Printings come in - retailers tend to err on the side of caution.)
Most stores, in order to help them judge how many copies to order will run a pre-order/subscription/pull service wherein the customer will receive a folder or a file and list all the titles they wish to have held for them, with no pre-payment necessary.
These specific copies never go on public display and are put straight into customer's files.
These numbers are often used to help retailers judge how many copies to order in total; if the pre-order numbers are high then chances are they'll sell copies from the shelf too, to casual or passing customers.
If only one regular standing order customer has requested a copy of a specific title, chances are that not many other people will want it either and they can literally order just the one copy for that one customer.
This is why pre-ordering is so important in this day and age. Albeit unfortunately.
Every shop is different and will have a different market, so there's never one hard and fast rule.
Some shops will sell around a specific character, or a specific creator.
If anyone is on twitter there's a great store called Big Bang Comics in Ireland who give a rundown of their previous weeks sales, every Monday afternoon.
In Sypes' particular case:
You could speak to Silver Snail and set up a standing order. This way they'd add one copy to their regular ordering and hold it for you.
However, they may require you to collect every 4 or 8 weeks (or another number) which might not be suitable for you.
Alternatively there are stores like http://www.milehighcomics.com/ or http://www.midtowncomics.com/ who'll essentially let you do any online version of a Standing Order.
Not sure how postage would sting you for Canada though.
It might be worth trying http://www.comicshoplocator.com/Home/1/1/57/575 to find an online retailer in Canada that does the same.
Hopefully that makes some kind of sense...
And that doesn't even cover the hoops stores have to jump through for variant/incentive covers...
Sypes, without knowing your buying habits (and ability to get to a store), I highly recommend a standing order.
Some stores will do that, then mail the comics out to you.
I don't know about Canada, but postage from Mycomicshop to Australia is a killer - which is why I only do big orders from them. They're likely - very likely - to be much, much cheaper to Canada, though.
~ Le Messor
"Have you ever imagined a world with no hypothetical questions?"
~ Geroge E. Bradley, print media column, "Ever Wonder?"