Comics that don't sell....

[inmyblood]

New comics. What happens to them after the dates expire??

[IMJ]

New comics. What happens to them after the dates expire??

I've heard they go to that place where the missing sock of the pair go to. I wish I could go there... I've been looking for one of those lil *SQUEE* forever...

[Daniel Jackson]

They get tossed in the trash.

[Shakespeare]

New comics. What happens to them after the dates expire??

If we're talking newsstand comics, the covers are ripped off and returned to the distributor for credit.

The body of the book is thrown in the trash.

Working at Waldenbooks back in 1998, it was actually very cathartic destroying comics...after years of treating my own with kid gloves, it felt good to be able to go nuts and tear them up.

S

[Heath]

Discount bins, back issue boxes, etc.

Or do you mean those that are returned by newsstand vendors (unless something has changed, new comics are non-returnable in the direct market, but newsstands can return unsold issues)? In that case, generally the cover is tore off (or either just the title area or just the barcode is cut out) and returned to the distributor for a credit. The rest of it is discarded.

[Rufusharley]

Discount bins, back issue boxes, etc.

Or do you mean those that are returned by newsstand vendors (unless something has changed, new comics are non-returnable in the direct market, but newsstands can return unsold issues)? In that case, generally the cover is tore off (or either just the title area or just the barcode is cut out) and returned to the distributor for a credit. The rest of it is discarded.

I had no idea they could be sent back. Interesting.

[stone384]

If we're talking newsstand comics, the covers are ripped off and returned to the distributor for credit.

The body of the book is thrown in the trash.

They still do that? Huh. Cool
m

[cobra_commander]

New comics. What happens to them after the dates expire??

If we're talking newsstand comics, the covers are ripped off and returned to the distributor for credit.

The body of the book is thrown in the trash.

Working at Waldenbooks back in 1998, it was actually very cathartic destroying comics...after years of treating my own with kid gloves, it felt good to be able to go nuts and tear them up.

S

[cobra_commander]

Discount bins, back issue boxes, etc.

Or do you mean those that are returned by newsstand vendors (unless something has changed, new comics are non-returnable in the direct market, but newsstands can return unsold issues)? In that case, generally the cover is tore off (or either just the title area or just the barcode is cut out) and returned to the distributor for a credit. The rest of it is discarded.

I had no idea they could be sent back. Interesting.

Same with magazines I guess

[sonicdan]

Working at Waldenbooks back in 1998, it was actually very cathartic destroying comics...after years of treating my own with kid gloves, it felt good to be able to go nuts and tear them up.

S

That brings back memories...I worked at a retail chain store that
sold music books & movies for many years. We also had newsstand comics & magazines.
I always made sure I processed the returns. I felt the same way being able to shred
them. I'm sure I destroyed thousands of comics. Some of that
low print stuff from the lae 1990's / early 2000's I wish I would have bought. Oh well... good times.
DAN

[inmyblood]

They get tossed in the trash.

I find this horrifying

[Daniel Jackson]

They get tossed in the trash.

I find this horrifying

Yeah, sad but true.

[Shakespeare]

They get tossed in the trash.

I find this horrifying

Think of Action Comics #1 while you're at it. Most of them ended up in the garbage with all the rest of the newspaper.

S

[cobra_commander]

They get tossed in the trash.

I find this horrifying

Think of Action Comics #1 while you're at it. Most of them ended up in the garbage with all the rest of the newspaper.

S

I'm gonna stop reading this thread now

[IanAlexavier]

So heres my question... how much do new comics cost for the retailer? Whats the mark up?

[sonicdan]

So heres my question... how much do new comics cost for the retailer? Whats the mark up?

I believe the discounts for the retailer are based on the order amount.
They more they order the bigger discount they get.
I think on average they pay around 60% of cover price?
DAN

[Heath]

So heres my question... how much do new comics cost for the retailer? Whats the mark up?

Direct market retailers (comic shops) get a higher discount than newsstands (bookstores or magazine/newspaper dealers). But the books are non-returnable in the direct market. The newsstand dealers can return the book (or just the cover, or just a portion of the cover) for a credit, but their discount isn't as big.

For a time in my comic retail career, I managed the "comic book department" of a college bookstore. The average discount on most items the store carried (clothing, school supplies, textbooks, etc) was 15-20%. We got a 50% discount on comics from Diamond which helped make my department one of the most profitable in the store. But the owner just couldn't understand the comic book biz and back issues, in his eyes, were just unsold items that needed to be cleared out and it meant we were ordering too many copies.

[wrunow]

In the early 90's we carried comics in my store on the small magazine rack that we actually still have at my store/deli. When you get magazines/comics from the magazine dist. they are all guaranteed sale and what you don't sell you simply send back for credit. At that time there was a big flea market at an old closed up department store in the area on Sundays that was pretty much a comic and collectable show weekly for all intents and purposes with the scattered person selling machetes and old camera and vhs tapes. I used to see the kid that delivered my comics there selling the newstand editions that had been returned, he was probably supposed to throw them in the trash and threw them in his trunk instead. I think he was eventually fired after being caught by his company, although I wasn't the one wasn't the one to turn him in.

I really miss that flea market, it's a Walmart now, like everything else. Now that property is so expensive around here no one can do tha kind of thing anymore.