It's very different from what I'm used to, as well. Even the distribution system is different as all companies use one sole distributor for North American distribution (Diamond Distribution (diamondcomics.com)). Diamond gets the big discount (that 60%-65%) and then sells non-returnably to comic book stores (this system is known as the Direct Market - as opposed to the ID or newstand distribution system).
The retailers can get upwards of 57% off cover price (though this varies widely depending on the publisher) but own the stock forever. The advantage for the publisher is all sales are final - no returns save damages. The disadvantage is the whopping discount to Diamond. And a whole bunch of other sundry details I won't get into here.
The Direct Market is changing rapidly. The discount and non-returnability structure was initially set-up in the 1970s to deal with periodicals only. It wasn't created to deal with trade paperbacks and their perennial nature. So there's a disconnect right now between what's called, in the Direct Market, the "bookstore model" and how comic shops have historically operated. How this plays out will be quite interesting to see. And just a tad scary!
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Date: 2006-04-24 02:47 pm (UTC)The retailers can get upwards of 57% off cover price (though this varies widely depending on the publisher) but own the stock forever. The advantage for the publisher is all sales are final - no returns save damages. The disadvantage is the whopping discount to Diamond. And a whole bunch of other sundry details I won't get into here.
The Direct Market is changing rapidly. The discount and non-returnability structure was initially set-up in the 1970s to deal with periodicals only. It wasn't created to deal with trade paperbacks and their perennial nature. So there's a disconnect right now between what's called, in the Direct Market, the "bookstore model" and how comic shops have historically operated. How this plays out will be quite interesting to see. And just a tad scary!
Von