Is this for real? DC Cuts Ties with Diamond Comic Distributors 5 5

[ExNihilo]

2 hours ago, dupont2005 said:

Is DCBS set up alongside Diamond or are they a Diamond account?

As I understood it, prior to DC's cancelled agreement with Diamond, DCBS served as a retailer (like any other LCS) and had a Diamond account.  The new set up has them distributing at a wholesale level (thus setting them up as a competitor to Diamond).

 

(now to the speculative bit as I don't have any information on the microeconomics of the comics industry)

I suppose the part that confuses me is whether DCBS will still have an account with Diamond for all other publishers (Marvel, Image, etc).  From Diamond's perspective, it would seem counterproductive to continue providing books to someone who is now your direct competitor.  On the other hand, I have to imagine that DCBS must be one of Diamond's biggest accounts and probably not one they can afford to lose if they are experiencing major financial issues.

[Prince Namor]

4 hours ago, ExNihilo said:

As I understood it, prior to DC's cancelled agreement with Diamond, DCBS served as a retailer (like any other LCS) and had a Diamond account.  The new set up has them distributing at a wholesale level (thus setting them up as a competitor to Diamond).

Currently, their pricing is the same as it has been. Individual new release DC Comics for June 2020 order are 40% off, and they have bundle packs at 50% off (Get 1 of every DC Universe title - Limit 2 bundles per customer - $103.74 per bundle) and trade paperbacks are 50% off. It's the same as they usually sell Marvel Comics for - but so far there isn't a whole lot of Marvel new product on their June 2020 inventory... wonder what that's all about...

Quote

(now to the speculative bit as I don't have any information on the microeconomics of the comics industry)

I suppose the part that confuses me is whether DCBS will still have an account with Diamond for all other publishers (Marvel, Image, etc).  From Diamond's perspective, it would seem counterproductive to continue providing books to someone who is now your direct competitor.  On the other hand, I have to imagine that DCBS must be one of Diamond's biggest accounts and probably not one they can afford to lose if they are experiencing major financial issues.

Yeah, they are a HUGE customer. I can't see that they could afford to lose EACH OTHER. Might put both out of business.

Edited June 10, 2020 by Hieronymus Bosch

[Prince Namor]

18 hours ago, MrBedrock said:

Spin is a wonderful thing, so let's spin this around entirely. Diamind relies on 3000+ accounts to make their money. DC relies on 30 or so accounts to make 80% of their money. So almost 3000 accounts look at DC as just another publisher, or don't look at them at all. DC is looking for ways to more accurately make their message heard to the retailers who actively support their product. To me it makes perfect sense to change the model of delivery and messaging. 

Is that spin or fact? I suspect that's very much how DC is looking at it. Still, some will see it as DC's BS (pun intended), and some will see it as it is what it is.

I don't know if it will actually help with their sagging sales - but DC Comics WILL benefit from DCBS's absolutely superb packaging and colorful and easy to use ordering system.

One area that some SMALLER comic retailers are over looking, is that they can order various other publisher product through DCBS to spread their shipping costs out. Some of the discounts they get through Diamond for a small retailer, they can get the same as through DCBS because DCBS buys through Diamond at a higher quantity.

And they should have less damages, less wrongly shipped product (if DCBS can handle the sudden jump in business), and just a better overall customer experience with DCBS. In all my years of using them, I never had a problem.

Edited June 10, 2020 by Hieronymus Bosch

[Bookery]

7 hours ago, dupont2005 said:

If Diamond can only survive as a 100% monopoly then it’s not anyone’s fault but their own if they fail when they lose an account that according to one retailer here makes up little more than 10% of their orders. 
in most industries it’s the manufacturers and retailers trying to look out for the consumer. In comics it seems we as retailers are supposed to look out for the publisher and retailer. 

You make a valid point.  And it's all just speculation about how this affects Diamond... the reports of their demise may be greatly exaggerated.  But they did also just lose a major games distributor (which I suspect will add up to more $$$ than losing the DC account).  I'm not making excuses or even defending Diamond (beyond believing they made the right move during Covid-19) -- I don't know the internal gripes they have with these companies.  I only look to how it will affect shops if this isn't handled smoothly and efficiently, and even in the best case scenarios I see shop costs increasing at a time when they are most vulnerable.  However... Bookery will be a very different operation, but we can survive without new-release comics if it comes to that.

And this may all be an over-reaction.  But I won't apologize for that.  Over-reacting is what I do.  And I'm the best at what I do.  But as someone once said somewhere... we shall see.

[MyNameIsLegion]

53 minutes ago, Hieronymus Bosch said:

Is that spin or fact? I suspect that's very much how DC is looking at it. Still, some will see it as DC's BS (pun intended), and some will see it as it is what it is.

I don't know if it will actually help with their sagging sales - but DC Comics WILL benefit from DCBS's absolutely superb packaging and colorful and easy to use ordering system.

One area that some SMALLER comic retailers are over looking, is that they can order various other publisher product through DCBS to spread their shipping costs out. Some of the discounts they get through Diamond for a small retailer, they can get the same as through DCBS because DCBS buys through Diamond at a higher quantity.

And they should have less damages, less wrongly shipped product (if DCBS can handle the sudden jump in business), and just a better overall customer experience with DCBS. In all my years of using them, I never had a problem.

this sounds to me like Diamond is shifting more towards being a wholesaler then, and offloading some of the distribution to the likes of DCBS.  Maybe that works out for both in the end. Diamond could do less business, with less customers, and still be a viable business.  The aggregate volume of the indy/small press business makes sense for Diamond to maintain without the hassle of soliciting to every comic shop to sell 2 copies of RabidRabbit #6 and Tales of Tofu Summer Special.

[Prince Namor]

1 hour ago, MYNAMEISLEGION said:

this sounds to me like Diamond is shifting more towards being a wholesaler then, and offloading some of the distribution to the likes of DCBS.  Maybe that works out for both in the end. Diamond could do less business, with less customers, and still be a viable business.  The aggregate volume of the indy/small press business makes sense for Diamond to maintain without the hassle of soliciting to every comic shop to sell 2 copies of RabidRabbit #6 and Tales of Tofu Summer Special.

I think the issue for Diamond is going to be, that the margins are so small for them on each item they sell, that losing someone like DC is going to hurt profitability in bad way. Large companies don't usually want to absorb those costs - it almost always gets pushed onto the customer.

This is what the worry is. The bigger comic book stores will handle it - even if Diamond collapses. They'll order direct from everyone. Some of the smaller shops will NOT and for small publishers it could have a devastating effect as well. Is that really a good thing?

If you live in, say, Dexter, Missouri, should you have to drive an hour away to go to a comic book store? They're going to start ordering online, and if the immediate need to read comics continues to be the priority, then why NOY digital for most people. Buy and read it instantaneously.  

Most growth of PRINTED comics over the last decade hasn't really been for superheroes. It's been for non-superheroes, and that leans toward more independent publishing. Something like this could force them to go all digital with their work as well. We're already seeing a lean toward this with artist/creators like Giselle Lagace, Brian K Vaughn and many others. 

These are the reasons people look at this and see it as leading to the eventual end of printed comics. If the only factor in all of this is the publishers profits (masqueraded as 'we need more retailer support!), then when they find a way to make it work, there will be no nostalgia involved for them in ending the printed floppy. 

[lighthouse]

DCBS isn’t the new DC distributor. Lunar is.

Common ownership but separate companies. Just like Kay Jewelers, Zales, and Jared are all owned by the same owners. Just like Hot Topic and Staples are owned by the same people. Just like GEICO and Dairy Queen.

DCBS is the largest Diamond account for Marvel product. They’ll be the largest DC account for Lunar. 

It’s an easy tinfoil hat to put on. And it may even fit. But they are two separate companies.

[JJ-4]

3 hours ago, lighthouse said:

DCBS isn’t the new DC distributor. Lunar is.

Common ownership but separate companies. Just like Kay Jewelers, Zales, and Jared are all owned by the same owners. Just like Hot Topic and Staples are owned by the same people. Just like GEICO and Dairy Queen.

DCBS is the largest Diamond account for Marvel product. They’ll be the largest DC account for Lunar. 

It’s an easy tinfoil hat to put on. And it may even fit. But they are two separate companies.

From an official or regulatory standpoint the two companies will have to be separate.  In practice they will do everything in their power to make sure they both are successful by sharing information, costs, discounts, resources, payroll, storage, IT, everything that you can think of to save money to compete and maximize profit.

[Juno Beach]

Just as I expected, my LCS informed me today he is no longer carrying DC due to shipping costs. This will save me about $40 a month to spend on other comic companies.

[ttfitz]

13 hours ago, Hieronymus Bosch said:

One area that some SMALLER comic retailers are over looking, is that they can order various other publisher product through DCBS to spread their shipping costs out. Some of the discounts they get through Diamond for a small retailer, they can get the same as through DCBS because DCBS buys through Diamond at a higher quantity.

From the DCBS FAQ page:

Do you sell to retailers, re-sellers, speculators, or buying clubs?

DCBS does not sell to retailers, because we are prohibited from doing so in our contract with our distributor. This includes storefronts, websites, and pop-up storefronts. A retailer is defined as a business operating a website selling comics or operating a brick and mortar location that sells comics. Any platform used to sell product in multiple quantities from a physical location or a unique URL falls under this definition. A unique URL includes a social media page defining itself as a business, but does not include an eBay account.

[Prince Namor]

2 minutes ago, ttfitz said:

From the DCBS FAQ page:

Do you sell to retailers, re-sellers, speculators, or buying clubs?

DCBS does not sell to retailers, because we are prohibited from doing so in our contract with our distributor. This includes storefronts, websites, and pop-up storefronts. A retailer is defined as a business operating a website selling comics or operating a brick and mortar location that sells comics. Any platform used to sell product in multiple quantities from a physical location or a unique URL falls under this definition. A unique URL includes a social media page defining itself as a business, but does not include an eBay account.

Well that just isn't true. They have and at this point... they are.

[piper]

7 hours ago, Juno Beach said:

Just as I expected, my LCS informed me today he is no longer carrying DC due to shipping costs. This will save me about $40 a month to spend on other comic companies.

I think my shop plans to combine their order with other local stores to lessen the shipping costs.

[Juno Beach]

2 hours ago, piper said:

I think my shop plans to combine their order with other local stores to lessen the shipping costs.

Mine talked to another LCS (on the same city block) but they were probably dropping DC too. There's another comic store (again on the same city block, weird, eh?) but I haven't talked to them yet.

[ExNihilo]

8 minutes ago, Juno Beach said:

Mine talked to another LCS (on the same city block) but they were probably dropping DC too. There's another comic store (again on the same city block, weird, eh?) but I haven't talked to them yet.

You have three comic shops all on the same block?  That's unheard of.

[piper]

4 hours ago, Juno Beach said:

Mine talked to another LCS (on the same city block) but they were probably dropping DC too. There's another comic store (again on the same city block, weird, eh?) but I haven't talked to them yet.

Are you in Victoria?

[Tec-Tac-Toe]

10 hours ago, Hieronymus Bosch said:

Well that just isn't true. They have and at this point... they are.

A few board members over the years have noted that DCBS notified them of its intent to commence charging them regular shipping fees, as opposed to their discounted one, because they were purchasing multiple copies of the same comic book and, thus, DCBS flagged them as retailers. I do not recall if any member noted that DCBS inquired whether they were selling their DCBS comic book purchases via eBay (edited to deactivate link). Of course, since I am not affiliated with DCBS I do not know if they adhere to this stance.

 

DCBS is a retailer selling to individual customers.

Our flat rate shipping and discounts are based on a single consumer purchase. Customers selling on eBay, Amazon, or other auction sites, that are not eligible for a Diamond account, may place orders with our approval. Those customer orders are not eligible for flat rate shipping and are subject to actual shipping costs.

Orders that contain multiple quantities of more than a quantity of 2 are clearly orders for resale, speculation, or group purchase, and are also not eligible for flat rate shipping and are subject to actual shipping costs. Those accounts will be noted accordingly.

Edited June 11, 2020 by Tec-Tac-Toe
To remove e B a y links.

[Juno Beach]

5 hours ago, piper said:

Are you in Victoria?

Yes, I am.

[Juno Beach]

9 hours ago, ExNihilo said:

You have three comic shops all on the same block?  That's unheard of.

I know. There's only three shops in the entire downtown core and they are all within 100 yards of each other.

[greggy]

10 hours ago, Juno Beach said:

Mine talked to another LCS (on the same city block) but they were probably dropping DC too. There's another comic store (again on the same city block, weird, eh?) but I haven't talked to them yet.

Legends. Yellowjacket, or Curious?

[Juno Beach]

Just now, greggy said:

Legends. Yellowjacket, or Curious?

Yellowjacket. The owner Ed talked to Gareth at Legends. Curious has three locations so they might be okay with shipping with the volumes they order.