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Post by Jaymz on Dec 2, 2008 0:48:09 GMT
Got an e-mail from Diamond UK today saying they're putting up the price of comics as the exchange rate is rubbish and shipping costs have gone up.
Comics are basically going to cost shops 20p more each, tpbs £1 more.
So thanks for that Diamond. Nice of you to pass on the savings when the exchange rate was good too. Oh wait, you didn't.
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Dec 2, 2008 0:50:03 GMT
The joys of someone having a monopoly in the business.
Arsebiscuits.
Andy
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Post by The Doctor on Dec 2, 2008 10:53:46 GMT
Ah, Diamond.
Not entirely unexpected though, with current exchange rates/Diamond being what they are.
The final nail in the coffin for me picking up floppies though. With the market edging towards a $3.99 price-point, comics will now cost over £3 here*. Just as well I'd pretty much moved to trades. I mostly get them from amazon/ebay and if Diamond are sticking another pound on trades in stores there will be less in-store impulse buys from me, unless they are on sale or in a promo.
So walk-in stores will get even less of my business.
Oh well.
-Ralph
*Glasgow stores currently charge £2.85 for a $3.99 comic.
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Post by legios on Dec 2, 2008 13:07:07 GMT
Does figure Diamond would be doing this. They certainly wouldn't lower their prices when the exchange rate moves in the other direction, because that means their potential profit drops on each comic/trade.
It is going to hit my comics buying I have to admit. I'm already at the stage where the price/content ratio of a lot of stuff has already passed the breakover point for me. With the number of $3.99 titles proliferating a price increase is going to make me less likely to try new stuff as the investment being put in "maybe it will be good" is a lot higher. Once you get into the realms of half the price of a book for an issue of a comic it doesn't encourage me to buy them.
And given the discounts that I can get at places like Amazon on trades I am less inclined to buy them in bricks and mortar stores in any event.
I miss the days when there was competition in distribution.
Karl
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Post by The Doctor on Dec 2, 2008 16:37:28 GMT
Well technically, there is competition when it comes to trades (if not individual comics). If I'm not happy with the price of them I try online retailers or if Waterstones has ones I want in when they do '3 for 2' offers.
I do think with price rises in general of comics 2009 might be the last hurrah before trades really take over. Marvel already put out almost everything they publish in timely and cheaper collected editions, in multiple formats/price-points. All is needed is DC to get there act together a bit more.
Indvidual comics will still be around for many years to come, but I do expect them to increasingly become more of a niche with trades becoming dominant. Unless the Big Two start doing newsprint black and white anthologies (like Shonen Jump) and becoming the cheap disposable option individual comics used to be, with trades repositioned as the more permanent format.
Or I could be talking complete bollocks. We shall see!
-Ralph
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2008 10:14:24 GMT
Bad news people. I've just had a letter from a top bod at Diamond Comics UK saying they are hiking up the wholesale price of comics. The $2.99 books are going up by about 16p and the IDW Transformers comics (all $3.99 titles basically) are increasing by 24p. The reason given is the falling value of the British pound against the American dollar as well as rising "air and shipping" costs. More here - oneshallstand.proboards37.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=general&thread=535 |
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Post by The Doctor on Dec 9, 2008 11:11:43 GMT
Not your fault (bloody Diamond). This is the reason why I bought my last single issue IDW comic at the weekend. Now they will be over £3 a pop in stores it's just not worth it anymore. Not when trades are around £10-12 a pop on Amazon for usually 4-6 issues.
-Ralph
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2008 11:28:19 GMT
Hmm yeah. It could be another nail in the coffin for single issues for sure. I hope not, because it's a long wait between trades, and I have a certain nostalgia for collecting comics an issue at a time, born of my obsession with collecting the Marvel TF comic in the 80s.
The price was increased from Monday December 8th so presumably FP and other stores will already have put up the prices. Can anyone verify this?
It's been a while since I bought a comic in a store (Diamond supplying most my needs direct) so what are the prices these days? Last one I bought was £2.60 and that was June 07 at Orbital in London.
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Post by legios on Dec 9, 2008 12:49:18 GMT
It's been a while since I bought a comic in a store (Diamond supplying most my needs direct) so what are the prices these days? Last one I bought was £2.60 and that was June 07 at Orbital in London. Off the top of my head I seem to recall paying between £2.75 and £2.85 for most titles depending on where I am buying things. (Could be wrong though, that is just off the top of my head) IDW are going to get at least one more single issue from me as I intend to sample the first issue of "Maximum Dinobots", and then decide whether I will be sticking with it and if so in which format. Other than that most things I buy have already switched to trade. Between the increase in the wholesale price and the move toward a uniform $3.99 price-point single issue comics simply no longer look worthwhile. Karl |
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Post by jameso on Dec 9, 2008 12:56:37 GMT
The price was increased from Monday December 8th so presumably FP and other stores will already have put up the prices. Can anyone verify this? Yes, James, from Orbital, started a thread about it in the comics board the other day. |
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Post by The Doctor on Dec 9, 2008 16:27:23 GMT
FPG and A1 in Glasgow charged £2.85 for $3.99 comics before Diamond UK changed their prices. I'm not sure if the hike has been passed on to customers yet.
I've mostly changed to trades for other comic series due to price and convenience so IDW TF issues were the only single issues I still picked up direct market wise/US comics but now with price rises and me living further away from a comic shop an issue would cost over £6 to get, about half the price of a trade on Amazon so it's not worth it anymore. I'm not overly fussed as now I'll get nice chunks of TF stories I want in a year in the book format and I'll still get a regular fix of the Furmanverse every 4 weeks from Titan's UK Movie comic.
I do miss the buzz of picking up most comics on a single issue basis (I do have a love for serialised storytelling) but it's down to economics.
-Ralph
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Post by The Doctor on Dec 10, 2008 23:31:09 GMT
FP have put $3.99 comics up from £2.85 to £3. $4.99 from £3.60 to £4.15. The $2.99 will go up tomorrow in all likelihood with the new comics.
The chap in A1 Comics seemed must unhappy with Diamond.
-Ralph
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Dec 11, 2008 0:07:28 GMT
Well I think they know it's going to be a dealbreaker on a lot of purchases. Add to that the fact that Diamond really don't give a flying **** about their customers and are a textbook example of why monopolies do not mean good service.
Andy
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Post by The Doctor on Dec 11, 2008 0:11:17 GMT
I do feel sorry for comic shop employees in the next few days as they face annoyed customers not too happy about sudden big price hikes. Not everyone reads up on distributer's charges and/or cares it's not comic shop's fault. LITG on price rises: www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=19081It's worse if you've been reading, say, New Avengers which is going from $2.99 to $3.99, add on Diamond increases and your comic in FPG goes from £2.15 to £3! Oh dear oh dear. -Ralph |
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Post by Jaymz on Dec 11, 2008 0:19:23 GMT
It's been a while since I bought a comic in a store (Diamond supplying most my needs direct) so what are the prices these days? Last one I bought was £2.60 and that was June 07 at Orbital in London. Well, Orbital prices for stuff off the shelf were $2.99 = £2, $3.99 = £2.60, and I believe all the London shops were the same price [if not very similar]. This all changes this week to who knows what, but I'd expect a price increase of 10p per comic at the least, 25p at the most. As for tpbs/collections/etc, I was only expecting a £1 increase on stuff [as per what Diamond told us in that letter stating the most common prices] But no, the stuff over $14.99 has had a £2 increase. $19.99 books are now £14.99 instead of £12.99 for example. Thanks for the early christmas present Diamond! An extra £500+ a week on our bill. And hey, there's more Marvel comics at $3.99 this week than $2.99, so thanks for that too Marvel. |
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Dec 11, 2008 0:26:18 GMT
Damn you Diamond you assclowns!
Andy
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Post by The Doctor on Dec 11, 2008 19:49:51 GMT
$2.99 comics up from £2.15 to £2.35. The £2 increases on the trades did provoke an 'ouch' from me!
I did notice that Pannini's UK reprint titles are starting afresh with line-wide Civil War stories next month. Good timing. Never been a better jumping on point!
I might give the Dredd Megazine a try. Suddenly, it's price-point does not seem so excessive anymore. Not read it in a while and the issues are polybagged. Anyone know if the current line-up is good?
I am feeling the urge to support the UK newsstand.
-Ralph
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Post by legios on Dec 11, 2008 21:50:29 GMT
Well, it has successfully driven me out of the single issues market almost entirely. Picked up "Maximum Dinobots"#1 at lunchtime. £3 and change for 22 pages of comic. That is the point at which I declare "don't be silly". Think I may wait for the trade on the rest of this one, and make my last "regular" monthly title "Legion" for its remaining couple of months. The jury is still out, but comics are going to have to do something very clever to lure me back to single issues at this point in time.
Karl
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Dec 11, 2008 23:41:12 GMT
Hit up the 2000ad website it will let you know what's the lineup with the megazine.
Andy
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Post by Deleted on Dec 13, 2008 12:16:29 GMT
The lure of buying single issues still entices me whenever I step into my local Forbidden Planet but I agree that the prices are going to drive some dedicated comic fans away.
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Post by Jaymz on Dec 17, 2008 22:26:09 GMT
Secret Wars Omnibus came in today. Pre-Diamond price rise it was £65 [and notably the price at which I ordered it], post rise it is now £75.
A £10 increase! You can literally order it from Amazon for less than my cost price. Thanks Diamond!
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Dec 17, 2008 22:31:58 GMT
What a bag of assholes. Hope the shop manages to weather this particular storm James.
Andy
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Post by The Doctor on Dec 17, 2008 22:57:15 GMT
Secret Wars Omnibus came in today. Pre-Diamond price rise it was £65 [and notably the price at which I ordered it], post rise it is now £75. A £10 increase! You can literally order it from Amazon for less than my cost price. Thanks Diamond! £10 more! Good lord! -Ralph |
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Post by Jaymz on Dec 17, 2008 23:00:43 GMT
What a bag of assholes. Hope the shop manages to weather this particular storm James. Andy Cheers Andy! No problems so far, just reducing orders by large amounts. And we can always use Amazon for stock if they're gonna be cheaper than Diamond. |
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Dec 17, 2008 23:09:06 GMT
Makes sense and why not - Diamond's monopoly in the DM is going to cost them quite a bit I'd imagine, given the fact they've no competition means there is no incentive to actually improve.
Andy
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Post by The Doctor on Dec 17, 2008 23:10:29 GMT
Yeah, I can see Amazon picking up a lot of extra trade, from stores and individual customers.
-Ralph
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Post by The Doctor on Dec 21, 2008 16:07:56 GMT
I have noticed since the price hike that FPG are being consistent with prices for $2.99 and $3.99 comics but seem to be throwing darts at the board for $4.99 comics, which are either £4.15, £4.35 or £4.99. Hmmm.
EDIT: I wonder if that's due to different discounts on ordering from different purchases. Or maybe there have just been a few mix-ups, what with the comics now having individual price stickers when before the prices were marked up on the stands.
It saddens me that some comics, once a cheap and affordable disposable item at pocket money prices, can now cost as much as a penny under five pounds.
-Ralph
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Post by Jaymz on Dec 21, 2008 19:13:26 GMT
The more you order from Diamond UK, the higher your discount. FP are on the top tier as far as I know, but yeah it also changes depending on publisher, but not by much.
Diamond US have much higher discounts and if the pound was still worth dollar I'd be ordering from them instead.
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Post by The Doctor on Dec 22, 2008 12:00:08 GMT
When I started buying comics they were 27p*!
27p!
-Ralph
*Secret Wars UK #1
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Gav
Drone
John Travoltage!
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Post by Gav on Dec 22, 2008 23:55:35 GMT
I haven't bought a comic for about 3 weeks now, and to be perfectly honest I'm not missing it as much as i thought it would. There's still Trades I'll be getting like Ex Machina and Fables - but on the whole i can do without the singles. Except for anything with a strong Sub-Mariner presence.
I need those.
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