Excuse me while I steal this blog for my soapbox even more than usual, but… Well, let me tell you what I thought about yesterday’s Justice League of America #60. No, wait, I can’t, because my local store didn’t get any copies. In fact, JLA was just one of a staggering thirty-eight titles that my local store was shorted by Diamond yesterday, with others including all but one of the Flashpoint tie-ins for the week, Generation Hope and X-Men: Schism and the deluxe We3 hardcover with additional story pages.
Apparently, this isn’t even an uncommon occurrence these days. Sure, most weeks don’t see 27% of the titles ordered not show up in time thankfully, but from asking around, it seems that it’s far, far more rare that Diamond shipments show up complete to any store in the area than show up missing at least one title or with a number of damaged copies (Another local store apparently had more than 100 books arrived damaged this week). From what I’ve heard, this is just the way things are these days: Retailers order books, and maybe they’ll show up on time, and maybe they won’t.
This is insane. I get that Diamond is essentially a monopoly and therefore can get away with this kind of behavior because of that, but, I mean, seriously. Retailers have pretty much no recourse here; they can (and, I’m sure, do, on a regular basis) call up their Diamond rep and complain, but beyond that, what can they do? They can’t go elsewhere. So who can fix this? Readers? Publishers? Everyone ganging together and demanding that Diamond improves shipments? I have no idea, and really just wanted to vent my frustration on behalf of the various retailers who, it seems, are getting completely screwed by their distributor here. Consider this an open thread for retailers to commiserate, Diamond reps to explain why distribution is so spotty, and everyone to agree that this kind of thing is what may make DC’s day-and-date New 52 more of a success than they might have expected.
August 18th, 2011 at 11:05 am
probably the simpliest and most likely recourse is to completely reverse time to a point where the comic industry, and indeed the whole print industry, isn’t a moribund, failing enterprise, so that Diamond would still be making enough money so that they have enough resources to easily fix this problem.
or maybe you can solicit warren buffet to give a billion dollars to Diamond, or a to create a whole new competitor with better customer service. he seems to be feeling guilty about all the money he has lately.
August 18th, 2011 at 11:39 am
>>> This kind of thing is what may make DC’s day-and-date New 52 more of a success than they might have expected
And if your store signs up with Comixology to sell the books on their website, they’ll even get to keep a pittance…
August 18th, 2011 at 11:50 am
Keep shouting Graeme. This is one of the unsung crimes of the comics industry and has been for at least 10 flippin’ years – every single comic shop I’ve patronized has suffered for it. Seriously, all these comics are pre-ordered two months in advance – what excuse could Diamond possibly have?? The only effective counter-maesure I’ve ever seen was a owner willing to pour down verbal abuse on any man, woman, or child at Diamond unlucky enough to pick up their phone.
August 18th, 2011 at 12:05 pm
I rarely have this problem at the shops in NYC. Which implies that where you live matters. Which is yet another facet to things.
I wonder if maybe there people at DC who are hoping day date digital breaks up the Diamondopoly.
August 18th, 2011 at 12:49 pm
Hey, let’s start a comic distributor to compete! Who’s in?!?! Wait, where are you guys going?…
August 18th, 2011 at 1:11 pm
Happens all the time. We got 6 titles one week at the store I work at. 6. Titles. This was the week when Fear Itself and Flashpoint came out on the same day. Stuff like this can kill a store.
August 18th, 2011 at 1:37 pm
Hopefully day and date digital serves as competition, so they are forced to clean up their act and actually care about quality of service.
August 18th, 2011 at 1:46 pm
I, too, have heard this from almost every comic store owner I have talked to in California. From my understand, from an LCS POV, Diamond is evil.
You know, regarding Jill P.’s article about the collapse of the comics industry, when you look at s#!t like this & constant lateness & such, you wonder how it even survived this long.
–J.
August 18th, 2011 at 3:04 pm
I pre-order a monthly shipment from a large online mail order site, and I didn’t get the July issue of PREVIEWS because Diamond managed to short them ON THEIR OWN CATALOGUE! Fortunately, the site was great and emailed me pdf’s of Previews, and then refunded me to boot!
August 18th, 2011 at 4:22 pm
“I get that Diamond is a monopoly and therefore do get away with this kind of behavior”
Fixed that for you.
August 18th, 2011 at 9:40 pm
What can we all do? Switch to digital, of course!
August 19th, 2011 at 7:54 am
At my local shop in St. Louis, MO it is rare for Diamond NOT to short orders. And for me, if I can’t buy a book that is marginal for me or that I’m curious about trying because it isn’t there when I’m in the shop, then it’s likely I will either drop the marginal book or never remember to pick up the one I’m curious about because I forget about it. If Diamond wants to hurt their own business through this incompetence and seeming indifference, that’s one thing. But the harm that consistent short ships cause to the retailers who are working hard to just keep their doors open is a shame.
August 20th, 2011 at 5:29 am
August has been a bad month for Diamond at my LCS, damaged copies and short orders almost every week this month.
“What can we all do? Switch to digital, of course!”
This will put some very good stores out of business.