Anyone else had their comic shop screwed by Diamond?

[The Xenos]

They were supposed to have sent my shop the Absolute Long Halloween last week. They still demanded he pay for it before he got his order. As of this week it's still missing. Diamond says it's being shipped from some different center. We shall see. I had saved up some birthday money for this and was looking forward to this. I gave him the cash because the poor guy already had to pay for it.

Besides those two copies (one of which was mine, dammit), he was also missing a few manga. The second copy of the new One Piece came in this week and I think he's still missing the new JoJo.

Then this week he finally gets in Gunsmith Cats weeks late. He also gets in Fullmetal Alchemist Vol 12 and 13 in the same week. They were so late in shipping the last volume, it came with the new one.

Another shop, one in Boston, I know gave up on Diamond because, unlike comics, there are alternative distributors for manga. They are now using the same one the anime store and bookstores use. After seeing the crappy shipping schedule Diamond keeps, I can see why. All the other stores were getting manga on time if not ealier than the Diamond ship date.

Anyone else with a shop or who goes to a shop hear about similar problems? My shop is already barely hanging in there for various reasons and this crap is really just adding to the trouble.

[Spike-X]

I think it'd be easier to ask if there's anyone this hasn't happened to.

Diamond caused two shops in my area to go out of business - one before they'd even started!

[TomStillwell]

I think the solution is to stop ordering Manga.









Joke. It's a joke.:D

[Joshua Pantalleresco]

Tom

Don't make me send you some manga now...

Seriously, Diamond screwed us in Phoenix around the holidays. We didn't quite a few books until after the holidays, including the Boys and a few other books. Diamond is the only game in town. As such, they get away with it.

JP

[matterconsumer]

Xenos, I wonder how much business your shop is doing.

One shop that I have visited seems to have this problem from time to time. It makes me wonder though:

1. How much business are they doing?

2. Are they paying their bills on time?

Does Diamond actually have the books? The books can't be shipped until they have them.

Does Diamond actually have enough books to satisfy all the orders?

How's the weather? If inclement weather creates shipping delays then it's going to have a ripple effect.

It's frustrating for the buyer to not be able to get the desired books but Diamond may have good reason(s) for why this happened.

[Kid Omega]

They were supposed to have sent my shop the Absolute Long Halloween last week. They still demanded he pay for it before he got his order. As of this week it's still missing.

Depending on his credit line, he would have to pay for his books upfront (most stores do), but he will get a shortage/damage credit on the next bill.

Diamond can't recalculate every bill every week for every store on the date of arrival... no distributor operates that way.

[Kid Omega]

Diamond is the only game in town. As such, they get away with it.

JP

There are actually several distributors, and many offer better deal than Diamond. For example, there is really no good reason to get Pantheon titles (best-sellers like PERSEPOLIS, BLACK HOLE, ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY, MAUS) from Diamond. The discount is better through a book distributor, or direct from the publisher, the shipping is cheaper (if not free), and they are returnable.

But Marvel, DC, Image, Dark Horse... these companies chose exclusive deals with Diamond. They must have seen a benefit somewhere.