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DC Announces Limited Returnability...

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This information comes from the password-protected Diamond Retailer site, so I can't provide you a link, but I have quoted the bulk of the story here (with a few sections edited for privacy reasons)...

 

DC Initiates Limited Returnability with Share the Risk Program

Lead Stories, Diamond Daily, Tuesday, January 21, 2003

 

DC Comics announces its new Share the Risk program of limited returnability for retailers serviced through Diamond Comic Distributors U.S. beginning with select titles for release from April through September. Under this program, when retailers order the issues listed below in quantities at or above their earned discount tiers' minimum quantities they will be eligible to return up to 20% of their initial orders.

 

The program kicks off in April with Green Arrow #23, Beware the Creeper #1, Mucha Lacha #1, and Sweatshop #1. These books will be announced as returnable at a later date in Diamond Dateline and will be eligible for returns for a limited time only. Retailers will be billed for the titles in the normal way and then credited for the returns at a later date.

 

"Share the Risk is the result of a saturation test we conducted in 2002 with a small group of diligent retailers," said DC Vice President - Sales & Marketing Bob Wayne. "The test yielded fascinating results: some that we predicted and others that were totally unexpected. This new phase is the logical follow-up to that saturation test and will allow us to see if the results we found are applicable to the entire market.

 

"Share the Risk begins a new era of publisher/retailer relations," Wayne continued, "and it's our hope that the ultimate result of a limited returnability program will be to take advantage of missed sales opportunities, both for retailers and DC. We extend our thanks to the retailers who participated in the saturation test. We owe a special thanks to Brian Hibbs of Comix Experience of San Francisco, CA, who worked closely with us from the very beginning to develop this program."

"It took a long time to make this happen, but I think the rewards we stand to reap will make the effort more than worthwhile," said Hibbs. "This program could be the beginning of a shift potentially as significant as the day Phil Seuling convinced publishers that direct market comics retailers represented a market to be pursued. Clearly, the results of the initial saturation test show that a lot more comics can be sold than any of us thought."

 

The four titles included in the initial month of the Share the Risk program will be solicited in the February issue of Previews (Volume XIII #2) and are scheduled to reach comic book stores in April.

 

The issues eligible for limited returns are:

GREEN ARROW #23

* Scheduled to be in stores on April 9

* Written by Ben Raab; art and cover by Charles Adlard

 

BEWARE THE CREEPER #1 (of 5)

* VERTIGO

* Scheduled to be in stores on April 16

* Written by Jason Hall; art and cover by Cliff Chiang

 

MUCHA LUCHA #1 (of 3)

* Scheduled to be in stores on April 23

* Written by Eddie Mort; art by Ricardo Garcia Fuentes and Mike DeCarlo; cover by Lili Chin

 

SWEATSHOP #1

* Scheduled to be in stores on April 23

* Written by Peter Bagge; art by Bagge, Stephen DeStefano and Bill Wray; cover by Bagge

 

"I want to thank DC for listening," Hibbs adds. "DC has proven itself, time and again, to be the retailer's best partner in the direct market, and this program really cements that relationship."

 

For those who may not be aware. DC did a test run the past summer with a handful of stores where they allowed limited returnability on certain titles to encourage retailers to have more copies on the shelf. Although the results were mixed, overall they showed that with more shelf copies, more comics were sold...

 

While I don't see this as a great harbinger of the downfall of the direct market, it is an interesting example of the differences between Marvel and DC. Both companies are well aware that putting more copies on the shelf generates sales. Marvel sought to generate this by eliminating reorders, forcing retailers to put extra copies on their initial orders. DC goes the opposite direction, agreeing to share the risk with the retailers...

 

BTW, the full story includes the various ordering thresholds, and for the most part they are very reasonable. A typical small comic shop is expected to order 6 copies of Beware the Creeper #1 in order to qualify. A typical multi-store chain is expected to order 45 copies of Green Arrow #23. Even accounts the size of Mile High, Lone Star and Graham Crackers are only expected to order 107 copies of Green Arrow (which they certainly do already).

 

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