THE WEST COAST GETS STIFFED - TWO WEEKS IN A ROW

[MattBrady]

<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/marvelnew/CivilWar/06/MCW006_cov_100_t.jpg" border="0" align="right">By now, the rumblings have made it across most of the internet – West Coast comics shops serviced by the Los Angeles Diamond warehouse won’t be getting many copies of one anticpiated comic this week. From what Newsarama has learned, Marvel’s <b>Civil War #6</b> will be, as Comix Experience retailer (and Newsarama columnist) Brian Hibbs put it, “massively allocated” to the tune of shops receiving somewhere between 10-15% of their copies ordered.

The situation mirrors what happened the previous week when West Coast shops received allocated amounts of DC’s <b>Justice #9</b>, and no copies of several other DC titles that were due in stores. All of the missing DC titles that were originally due in stores last week will be arriving this week, while all of the missing Marvel titles due in stores this week, will be included in next week’s shipment from the LA warehouse.

So – what happened so that two weeks in a row, books were late?

Weather, mostly, and transportation. The first week (Christmas week), reportedly, there were transportation problems with not enough transportation being available between Plattsburg and Los Angeles. As a result, the following titles were late arriving at the LA warehouse, and did not get shipped to retail stores. The missing comics should be arriving in stores <i>this</I> week (that is, Thursday, January 4th):

DARK HORSE COMICS
OCT060024..........HELLGATE LONDON #2 (OF 4)
SEP060042..........STAR WARS KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC #11

DC COMICS
OCT060155..........BATMAN #661
OCT060267..........BOYS #6 (MR)
OCT060186..........FLASH THE FASTEST MAN ALIVE #7
OCT060198..........GUY GARDNER COLLATERAL DAMAGE #2 (OF 2)
OCT060290..........JACK OF FABLES #6 (MR)
OCT060205..........JSA CLASSIFIED #20
OCT060201..........JUSTICE #9 (OF 12)
OCT060209..........JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #5
OCT060210..........JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA VAR ED #5
OCT060225..........SUPERGIRL AND THE LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #25
SEP060204..........SUPERMAN BATMAN #31
OCT060263..........WETWORKS #4
OCT060264..........WETWORKS VAR ED #4

IMAGE COMICS
SEP061828..........SAVAGE DRAGON #131
JUN061747..........TOMB RAIDER COMPENDIUM TP
OCT068232..........WALKING DEAD NEW PTG #33 (MR)

MARVEL COMICS
OCT062138..........ALL NEW OFF HANDBOOK MARVEL UNIV
OCT068172..........DABEL BROTHERS FREE SAMPLER
OCT062181..........EXILES #89
OCT062201..........PTOLUS CITY BY THE SPIRE #3 (O/A)

A. D. VISION
NOV063210..........CROMARTIE HIGH SCHOOL MANGA VOL 9 TP

BONGO COMICS
OCT063245..........BART SIMPSON COMICS #33

COMIC SHOP NEWS INC
OCT063815..........COMIC SHOP NEWS 50CT BUNDLE #1019

DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT
SEP063241..........ARMY OF DARKNESS #13
SEP063243..........ARMY OF DARKNESS NEGATIVE INCV
SEP063242..........ARMY OF DARKNESS VIRGIN INCV
AUG063189..........BATTLESTAR GALACTICA #4
AUG063191..........BATTLESTAR GALACTICA KIRKMAN NEG CVR INCV
AUG063190..........BATTLESTAR GALACTICA KIRKMAN VIR CVR INCV
SEP063213..........BATTLESTAR GALACTICA ZAREK #1
SEP063215..........BATTLESTAR GALACTICA ZAREK ADD CPS SKETCH
SEP063216..........BATTLESTAR GALACTICA ZAREK NEG INCV
SEP063214..........BATTLESTAR GALACTICA ZAREK SKETCH INCV

GLINT OF HOPE
OCT064852..........HERO ENVY VOL 1 DVD

OPUS GRAPHICS
OCT063269..........DEMI & VAMPIROONI REG CVR #1

SABABA TOYS
NOV064641..........FAMILY GUY TALKING MAGIC 8 BALL
NOV064677..........FRAGGLE ROCK RED 14 IN PLUSH W/DVD
NOV064678..........FRAGGLE ROCK WEMBLEY 14 IN PLUSH W/DVD
NOV064630..........SUPERMAN MAGIC 8 BALL (O/A)

SUPERVERSE PRODUCTIONS
SEP063545..........ZOOM SUIT BART SEARS METAL SKETCH ED
SEP063544..........ZOOM SUIT BART SEARS SKETCH ED

VANGUARD PRODUCTIONS
MAY053054..........FANTASTIC ART OF ARTHUR SUYDAM
OCT063733..........FANTASTIC ART OF ARTHUR SUYDAM

VIZ LLC
AUG063647..........SHONEN JUMP DEC 06 #48
OCT063748..........SHONEN JUMP FEB 07 #50
SEP063634..........SHONEN JUMP JAN 07 #49

WILDSIDE PRESS, LLC
AUG063833..........NEIL GAIMAN READER HC
AUG063832..........NEIL GAIMAN READER SC

As mentioned above – some copies of <b>Justice #9</b> did make it through, and they were allocated and shipped to stores.

So – as for this week – the snowstorm. They slow down trucks, too. The trucks that picked up the books from Diamond’s Plattsburg warehouse got mired in bad weather, reportedly in Texas, last week as the second round of snowstorms hit the Rockies and Midwest. The trucks were late arriving in time for the contents to be broken down and re-distributed at the LA warehouse for being in stores on-time this week. Retailers found out about it Saturday evening/Sunday morning, when invoices were made available on Diamond’s website. Again, as with <b>Justice</b> the previous week, some copies of <b>Civil War #6</b> (most likely due to a split shipment on multiple trucks, given the volume of copies) did make it through to the LA warehouse, and those copies were allocated among all the accounts serviced by the warehouse. Some titles due to be in stores this week did make it through (again, they were most likely on a truck that made it through the weather), and will be in stores on Thursday, despite the <b>Civil War #6</b> allocation.

Additionally making matters worse for the situation was the fact that retailers did not become aware of the missing comics until the weekend of New Year’s Eve, and Diamond was closed on January 1st, leaving retailers without answers – or options.

Diamond sent the following to its retail accounts:

<blockquote>Due to weather-related shipping delays, customers serviced by Diamond's Los Angeles Distribution Center will not receive the following titles this week.

These titles will ship to Diamond Los Angeles customers next week.

SUPPLIER
ITEM CODE......TITLE

PREMIER
IMAGE COMICS
JUL061696......ANT #9
OCT061846......CRYPTICS #2
OCT068121......FREE ANT RETAILER ED VAR CVR #9
OCT061874......GODLAND #15
MAY051534......HELLSHOCK DEFINITIVE ED VOL 1 HC
MAY051535......HELLSHOCK DEFINITIVE ED VOL 1 HC REMARKED (C: 0-1-0)
OCT061858......JACK STAFF VOL 3 ECHOES OF TOMORROW TP (C: 0-1-2)
NOV061873......MELTDOWN #2 (OF 2)
SEP061829......STRANGE GIRL #13

MARVEL COMICS
AUG062033 .....CIVIL WAR #6 (OF 7) (NOTE: a small quantity of this title was received in time to be distributed this week, but the bulk of orders will not fill until next week.)
NOV062300......IRON MAN HYPERVELOCITY #1 (OF 6)
NOV062289......IRREDEEMABLE ANT-MAN #4
NOV062303......MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN #23
NOV062341......RED PROPHET TALES OF ALVIN MAKER #5 (OF 12)

COMICS
BURLYMAN ENTERTAINMENT
NOV063413......DOC FRANKENSTEIN #2 (O/A)
NOV063415......DOC FRANKENSTEIN #3 (O/A)
NOV063417......DOC FRANKENSTEIN SKETCH CVR B #4 (O/A)
NOV063416......DOC FRANKENSTEIN SKROCE CVR A #4 (O/A)
NOV063418......DOC FRANKENSTEIN SKROCE CVR A #5 (O/A)
NOV063414......DOC FRANKENSTEIN VAR CVR #2 (O/A)

DENIS KITCHEN PUBLISHING CO.
JUL063080......DRAWING COMICS IS EASY (EXCEPT WHEN ITS HARD) HC

DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT
OCT063315......RED SONJA #18
OCT063316......RED SONJA HA B&W CVR INCV #18 OCT063317......RED SONJA
LOPRESTI NEGATIVE CVR INCV #18

OPUS GRAPHICS
NOV063420......DEMI & VAMPIROONI NUDE CVR #1 (A) (C: 1-0-0)

TRADING CARDS
ACE AUTHENTIC, INC.
OCT068033......ACE 2006 AUTHENTIC GRAND SLAM TENNIS T/C BOX

TRI-STAR PRODUCTIONS
OCT068136......TRI STAR HIDDEN TREASURES MLB 52 TOPPS PACK T/C BOX

GAMES
COMIC IMAGES
OCT064696......WWE RAW DEAL CCG REVOLUTION STARTER DIS (C: 0-1-2)</blockquote>
Hibbs posted the following on Millarword, with his experience being typical of virtually all West Coast retailers:

<i>I'm still not sure how Comix Experience will deal with this. If I just go first-come/first-served, then every one of my preorders has the right to be upset at me. If I pull subs first... well, I'll have to sort it by "who put in an order first" because we can't even cover 1/2 of our subs. Or I could not put them out at all, making everyone equally upset. What would make YOU less upset as a customer?

I put this up to warn people on the West Coast that you probably won't get CIVIL WAR #6 next week, unless you're one of the first people at your LCS.... and you probably won't even get it then. Don't be mad at your local store -- this is not thier fault (they're less happy then you are, believe me!) -- and it is affecting all stores basically equally.

Also, on behalf of all retailers, everywhere, we'd like to ask you to just be a little patient, and not run all over town to try and grab a copy. Most comics shops have extremely tight cash flow, and have you down for "your" copy of CIVIL WAR. If you buy it somewhere else, YOUR store still has to pay for that copy!

On behalf of all West Coast readers, I'd also strongly urge no one to post any reviews or comments on CIVIL WAR #6 for the week. I know it's really hard, but you don't want to spoil the story for 1/3 or more of the country! (plus all of Australia.... they're served out of LA)</i>

According to a handful of retailers Newsarama spoke with, having some or all of remaining copies of <b>Civil War #6</b> direct shipped to stores was an option – at the retailers’ expense, given this was a weather-related problem. Given the volume of copies ordered by retailers, if any are taking it, it’s only for a portion of their order.

That said however, Newsarama has learned that Diamond has asked those stores that have had additional copies of <b>Civil war #6</b> shipped to them <i>not</I> to sell the additional copies. All stores are permitted and encouraged to sell the copies they were allocated, but to keep the playing field level, those stores who will receive additional copies – those copies should be held for a week until all West Coast stores receive their full shipments.

<i>Newsarama Note: Out of respect for those readers who will not be receiving their copies of <b>Civil War #6</b> this week, all <b>Civil War</b>-related articles will be clearly marked with spoiler warnings. And finally, a note/request for civilility in the thread that follows - <u>yes</u> <b>Civil War</b> is an issue that fans like to debate - heatedly. This is <u>not</u> an issue related to the story, Mark Millar, Joe Quesada, or virtually anything Marvel. <u>Yes</u>, the book was late, and yes, in a perfect world, had all the issues been on time, there wouldn't be an issue of <b>Civil War</b> shipping this week. And yes, this issue was pushed back, skipping last week for this week. There were problems last week as well, and no one can definitvely say that if you added the volume of books that <b>Civil War #6</b> represents on top of last week's problems, things would have turned out any differently. So - again - this is <u>not</u> a Marvel-bashing thread, a Marvel vs. DC thread, or "Marvel is teh sux" thread. Those looking to treat it as such will be shown the door without ceremony.</i>

[Darthphere]

Wow that sucks, big time.

[cncoyle]

On behalf of all West Coast readers, I'd also strongly urge no one to post any reviews or comments on CIVIL WAR #6 for the week. I know it's really hard, but you don't want to spoil the story for 1/3 or more of the country! (plus all of Australia.... they're served out of LA)Oh, yeah, this isn't going to end well. AT ALL.

(but should make for some interesting reading--and I'm not talking about the actual comic!:p)

[Quail-Man]

Yeah it's gonna turn into a real sh*t show around here. Comics aren't out until tomorrow anyway, right?

[House Of Me]

And this is why I'm glad I live on the EAST COAST.

[Scorned1]

If the folks at USPS is delivering the comics it wouldn't be late. Isn't their moto is something like "Rain, sleet or snow won't stop us".

[MattBrady]

If the folks at USPS is delivering the comics it wouldn't be late. Isn't their moto is something like "Rain, sleet or snow won't stop us". U<ib>P</b>S. Differnet guys. Brown shorts.

MattB

[Scorned1]

Comics aren't out until tomorrow anyway, right?

Today is Wednesday buddy. A Comic Book Day of the week.

[wishlish]

So it's official.

GOD hates Civil War.

Wonder if He (or She) is more miffed at Spidey's unmasking or Iron Man's characterization?

Theological discussions, please.

[Hurnslice]

No Irrdedeemable Ant-Man!?!?!

That's a direct kick to the nuts!

:mad:

[scorpion mk]

is Calgary, Alberta west coast?

[CodeGuy]

Oh, yeah, this isn't going to end well. AT ALL.

(but should make for some interesting reading--and I'm not talking about the actual comic!:p)

Yeah, but, what can actually happen? People will go to the store and complain that the comics aren't there. The comic store owners will agree with them, since they'll be more hurt by it than the customers.

That's pretty much it. It sucks that a snowstorm delayed shipping, but there really isn't much to go to war about.

[TurdFerguson]

well, this sucks ass. So that mean i shouldn't even bother goin today. yah?

[immortus]

Someone find a way to blame Joe Quesada for this!

[FChamberlain]

Today is Wednesday buddy. A Comic Book Day of the week.

This week saw News Year's Day buddy. Because of that, books are due in stores tomorrow. ;)

[DAV!S]

And thus started the Civil War riots, in which many a fan was crushed in an effort to get a book they probably would hate anyhow. A sad, sad day :(

[DBHughes]

Civil War delayed by Civil War.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/da/SC3.jpg

[kingofcities]

So it's official.

GOD hates Civil War.

Heh! :D ...

[cncoyle]

Yeah, but, what can actually happen? People will go to the store and complain that the comics aren't there. The comic store owners will agree with them, since they'll be more hurt by it than the customers.

That's pretty much it. It sucks that a snowstorm delayed shipping, but there really isn't much to go to war about.I'm talking about the online b!tching and moaning, especially when the spoilers start rolling out. I can only imagine what it's going to be like here for the next few days.

*looks for pic of 12-year-old girls fighting*

Oh, what about the East Coast? Will it be Thursday or Friday? The USPS took off yesterday for President Ford's funeral, but what about UPS?

[Kolimar]

And this is why I'm glad I live on the EAST COAST.

The West Coast SUCKS!! East Coast RULES!!! And Australia... well, it's Australia. :p :D ;)

[GOSD]

Wow! The East Coast wins again?!?

Who'd thunk it?

Hey Vic?

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/ATA/24818BP~The-Simpsons-Nelson-Haha-Posters.jpg

:p :D

[Marc_Spector]

Maybe they should try shipping by train instead of truck.

[cncoyle]

*looks for pic of 12-year-old girls fighting*Note to self: Don't do that again.

(And, uh, anybody know a good lawyer?:o I'm not sure the Eric Clapton defense will work.)

[Sean Walsh]

So it's official.

GOD hates Civil War.

Wonder if He (or She) is more miffed at Spidey's unmasking or Iron Man's characterization?

Theological discussions, please.

Actually. God is displeased with the deaths of Bill Foster and the Jester.

We were told this at Sunday's sermon.

I was the only one to get it.

[Darthphere]

So it's official.

GOD hates Civil War.

Wonder if He (or She) is more miffed at Spidey's unmasking or Iron Man's characterization?

Theological discussions, please.


God hated JLA last week.

[BriRi]

Oh, what about the East Coast? Will it be Thursday or Friday? The USPS took off yesterday for President Ford's funeral, but what about UPS?


I know DHL was working yesterday (I got a shipment from DCBS) so i'm guessing all the other "shipping" companies were at work too.

[Simon DelMonte]

It could be worse. Remember the UPS strike a few years back? All the comics were affected for three weeks. And that was the month Byrne's awful Genesis minisereis came out, so if God hated anything, it was that. :)

[Sean Walsh]

Also, I believe this proves without a shadow of a doubt that East Coast >>>>>>>> West Coast.

Sorry, friends in Washington state and Cali.......but Diamond has proven me right 2 weeks in a row, apparently.

[Goldenboy]

Hey Matt, is War Room still on course for Friday?

[ScottsdaleSaint]

oh no, books will be a little late, my world has ended...:rolleyes: any retailers affected by this, i feel for, other than that who cares. the comics will get here soon i'm sure.

[jaredgood1]

Bugger. I hope Denver doesn't get supplied from the west coast. That damn blizzard delayed comics for me the last two weeks.

[NobleNutter]

Ehh..its not Marvels fault. I blame the weather! God wants you to wait! :-)
Yay Midwest.

[ALIEN_freak_jimbo]

Note to self: Don't do that again.

(And, uh, anybody know a good lawyer?:o I'm not sure the Eric Clapton defense will work.)

Hahaha, oh man!!

[GOSD]

Maybe they should try shipping by train instead of truck.Or by plane since sales are kinda important...

[Kid Omega]

Waaa Waaaaaa. Shut the f**k up, get a life, or move to the East Coast bit*hes...:p

http://conquest.rpg.pl/conquest2005/files/komiksy/jakub_kolecki/waszak8.jpg

[BC 1]

Oh, what about the East Coast? Will it be Thursday or Friday? The USPS took off yesterday for President Ford's funeral, but what about UPS?

USPS is, technically, a federal service and observes federal holidays, as yesterday's day of mourning was. UPS, a private business, is not obligated to follow that, so likely won't affect anything. It might affect anyone who gets comics by mail though.

This does suck, but at least the books will get through. Nobody died (hopefully) in the process of transporting the books, and no product (hopefully) got ruined, so it ends up being an inconvenience rather than a tragedy or total loss. The holidays always screw up delivery schedules anyway, so there'll really be less than a week to wait- next week will have a normal Wednesday release instead of Thursday.

[cncoyle]

If only Lex Luthor had succeeded, this situation wouldn't even be happening!
http://www.ifanboy.com/images/otisburg1-thumb.jpg

[EMeadow]

Someone find a way to blame Joe Quesada for this!

There actually is a way to blame him. But in the end its really nature's fault on this one.

Brownie points to the first person to figure it out. :D

[nickmaynard]

at first glance i thought this was an article about the WEST COAST AVENGERS, and i almost crapped my pants.

but, this in fact is more like the opposite of the west coast avengers, because the wca were cool and this is not.

[Quail-Man]

There actually is a way to blame him. But in the end its really nature's fault on this one.

Brownie points to the first person to figure it out. :D
I've got it... if the book wasn't delayed already, then this further weather-related delay wouldn't matter to those who want Civil War!

AM I RIGHT??

Note: I would never really complain like that, but I am trying to beat the haters to the punch.

[Darthphere]

I've got it... if the book wasn't delayed already, then this further weather-related delay wouldn't matter to those who want Civil War!

AM I RIGHT??

Note: I would never really complain like that, but I am trying to beat the haters to the punch.


This issue was exactly, 2 weeks late.:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

[kalorama]

Note to self: Don't do that again.

(And, uh, anybody know a good lawyer?:o I'm not sure the Eric Clapton defense will work.)

I think you mean Pete Townshend.

[Hu5h]

okay, i've got to say this, and i hope i don't get banned...

like the post says, this isn't and shouldn't be a "marvel sucks" or a "dc vs. marvel" thread. And i hope it wont be. But there is some blame to be thrown around here.

What i mean is, isn't it striking when Diamond shipping (or whatever their Official company name is) is asking retailers to "keep a level Playing field" when Diamond has the industry itself in such a stranglehold? If the shipping portion of the comics business wasn't held in a near monopoly by Diamond, if there was a competitive market, i'm sure more than just a handful of trucks would have made it through, or one of these competitors would have done the footwork to get the product to us, because, well, that's Good Service.

But thats not the way it is, so all we'll get from Diamond is a "whoops, sorry, books are late, deal with it, fanboys."

(and fangirls, i'm sure).


ugh. sorry. just had to rant. and matt, if I crossed any lines, please just delete my comments and don't ban me. please?

[cncoyle]

I think you mean Pete Townshend.Who?



(Damn! My jokes are teh sukk!)

[StevieCool]

I don't know if I could wait a week, and NOT go on the internet to find out the shock ending (Cap Dies) of Civil War #6.

...

Oh, sorry, "spoiler".






P.S. Kidding. Iron Man dies.

[RobbIrrgang]

If you're looking for Civil War #6 tomorrow, and are on the West Coast - do yourself a favor: stay home, and wait until next week. Seriously...

Matt, do you really think it's wise to put that on your homepage? You're basically suggesting that anyone who likes Civil War on the West Coast not give their local comic store for a whole week, making non-Civil Wars sales (hypothetically, if people were to listen to you) plummet. Over one book. Sure, it's just a cute opener paragraph, but it's kind of silly to suggest that.

[EMeadow]

I've got it... if the book wasn't delayed already, then this further weather-related delay wouldn't matter to those who want Civil War!

AM I RIGHT??

Note: I would never really complain like that, but I am trying to beat the haters to the punch.

Sorry that answer is not correct.

LOL it does have to do with a delay, but nothing to do with any of Marvel's internal reasons. (Let's see if that helps. And remember folks, this is in fun. I don't want Matt thinking I'm seriously trying to rile things up.)

[Charlie Hustle]

lol Clapton and Pete aren't even similar, yeesh.


I live on the west coast, this isn't a big deal, plus stuff like this is always a reminder of why some people like to read comics online (i'd prefer to just wait an extra week personally).

[cncoyle]

Matt, do you really think it's wise to put that on your homepage? You're basically suggesting that anyone who likes Civil War on the West Coast not give their local comic store for a whole week, making non-Civil Wars sales (hypothetically, if people were to listen to you) plummet. Over one book. Sure, it's just a cute opener paragraph, but it's kind of silly to suggest that.I've bolded and underlined the key flaw in your argument.:p

[James Seals]

This doesn't affect me all that much.

I pick up books at the end (or the beginning, depending on where that week's Wednesday falls) of each month. Since I get paid once a month, it's the only way I can budget comics. Treat 'em like a bill, and enjoy the rewards.

This did impact me last week, however, as I am a devoted DC reader, but I chose to look at it as saving a couple extra bucks for the last minute holiday rush.

People shouldn't be too upset, though. This is an act of God. (No, not Clor. The other one, the real one.) Sure, someone could point out that this book should've shipped earlier, but the artist was sick and Marvel doesn't want a huge gap between issues 6 & 7. After all, post-Civil War looms large.

But those are my thoughts,

-James

[saiyanspider]

On behalf of all West Coast readers, I'd also strongly urge no one to post any reviews or comments on CIVIL WAR #6 for the week. I know it's really hard, but you don't want to spoil the story for 1/3 or more of the country! (plus all of Australia.... they're served out of LA)


That doesn't make any sense. If a person from the west coast doesn't have the comic, then they shouldn't click on a review of CW #6. What about the people from the WC who want spoilers?

[cncoyle]

lol Clapton and Pete aren't even similar, yeesh.BAH! Both are British and play guitars! It's not like I confused Silver Sable with Crimson Fox!:rolleyes:

(Oooooh, I hates front-page posters!:mad: :p)
http://www.ezthemes.com/previews/y/yysam.jpg

[Mick]

plus all of Australia.... they're served out of LA


NOooooooooooooooo!

[scorpion mk]

nobody asnwered my question.

is calgary considered to be on the west coast?

[Mrsupertight]

I order my comics cheap thru dcbservice.com and have by-monthly shipping so this won't effect me at all. They're located in Indiana :)

[puckett]

I know DHL was working yesterday (I got a shipment from DCBS) so i'm guessing all the other "shipping" companies were at work too.

UPS delivered.

[puckett]

so with this whole east vs. west thing you guys have going on now... is civil war about to have a new 'whose side are you on' issue?

[mrorangesoda]

God hated JLA last week.

Between that and Civil War, God clearly has problems with poorly paced books. The Lord needs more in each issue than either title is willing to give...

Blasphemy aside, I'm glad I'm not on the west coast. Yay Central Time Zone!!!

[Lex]

I was going to make a joke about what I dislike about Civil War, but I decided that now's not the time.

I feel for all the comics fans on the West Coast. If I ever have to miss a week, for whatever reason, I go through withdrawal (especially if it's a week that something I've been looking forward to comes out). So, hang in there guys!

[Eli Renfro]

There's an important piece of information that's still missing. What places are served by the LA distribution center? I mean, we can figure out California, Oregon and Washington, but what about Denver, or the guy in Calgary, etc... Just knowing where the other distribution centers are would at least help me make a reasonable guess as to whether I should make a trip to the store on my lunch break tomorrow.

[Lex]

so with this whole east vs. west thing you guys have going on now... is civil war about to have a new 'whose side are you on' issue?
Wouldn't it be funny if people started making Civil War banners about that?

[calliopes]

There actually is a way to blame him. But in the end its really nature's fault on this one.

Brownie points to the first person to figure it out. :D


Is the correct answer: Had he held people to their original deadline this crossover would have been finished 3 months ago.

[GOSD]

P.S. Kidding. Iron Man dies.

http://www.splitreason.com/Product_Images/4dae6c7eca95.jpg

[SpyGuy]

DAMN YOU, MICHAEL BAY!!!



Whoops, sorry, wrong talkback...I meant to say, DAMN YOU, DAN DIDIO!!!

[cncoyle]

Whoops, sorry, wrong talkbackTalkback? Oh, HELL no! Back to AICN with you!:mad: :mad:
http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/warner_brothers/the_exorcist/max_von_sydow/exorcist.jpg
The power of Brady compels you!

[BamaRainbow]

I order my comics cheap thru dcbservice.com and have by-monthly shipping so this won't effect me at all. They're located in Indiana :)

Out of curiosity, what do you mean by "by-monthly"? Is that once a month (which is just "monthly", or, perhaps, "by the month")? Or do you actually get your books on a "bi-monthly" basis (which is once every two months)? If you mean "twice a month", that's "bi-weekly" or "semi-monthly"?
I've just never heard of or read the term "by-monthly"?

[perk9600]

On your mark.

Get set.

Bitch!

[artiepants]

eh, the world will keep spinning.

Kinda shocked the NW is serviced out of LA, though...

[khuxford]

Editing this out of respect for posts that are no longer here. :p

Blame shouldn't be thrown around at this point. I feel for the West Coast readers. I think it is ridiculous that Diamond will allow people to pay for the books to be shipped to the stores ASAP, but then try to have them sit on 'em until next Wednesday. What's the point of the expediting of the shipping then?

[The Big Cat]

EAST COAST!

[cncoyle]

I'm honestly surprised no one has mentioned Biggie or Tupac.

[tralfaz]

nobody asnwered my question.

is calgary considered to be on the west coast?
yeah, nobody cares about canadians :p :p :p :p :D :D :D :D

[Lord Ice]

Wasn't it last holiday time that the midwest was getting shafted out of their comics?

I'm not going to say that since CW #6 was already done and ready to ship, it could have shipped the week before Christmas, but the thought is there. ;)

[BamaRainbow]

There's an important piece of information that's still missing. What places are served by the LA distribution center? I mean, we can figure out California, Oregon and Washington, but what about Denver, or the guy in Calgary, etc... Just knowing where the other distribution centers are would at least help me make a reasonable guess as to whether I should make a trip to the store on my lunch break tomorrow.

Well, I'd suggest you just go in regardless. If you're just a Civil War junkie, and couldn't care less about any of the other books your store might have, then just call the store and ask if they're getting their Civil War shipment. (They might not be too happy knowing that you'll apparently only show up if you're guaranteed of a specific book. Then again, they might already know that about you, but may be generous enough not to hold that against you.)

[vbartilucci]

I'll be curious to see what percentage of dealers go for the short cash and put out the books at wildly inflated proces, claiming "scarcity". Let's get reports, shall we?

[neodragzero]

The West Coast SUCKS!! East Coast RULES!!! And Australia... well, it's Australia. :p :D ;)
Word.
Wow! The East Coast wins again?!?

Who'd thunk it?

Hey Vic?

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/ATA/24818BP~The-Simpsons-Nelson-Haha-Posters.jpg

:p :D
Double word.

[TheLizard207]

Biggie Smallz > 2 Pac

[MattBrady]

I wasn't joking - if you want to turn this into a CW-bash, or Marvel bashing thead (despite the irony that no one, save one or two said a word about JLA), you'll be gone. If you want to bash Marvel, CW, or Joe Quesada, MySpace and blogs are still there.

MattB

[Scorned1]

Or by plane since sales are kinda important...

Maybe we should call in the National Guards because this kind of weather demands such an emergency. Have the comics be airdrops.

[RedRonin]

Eh. Comics were already pushed back a day this week, a couple more is no big deal.

Besides you could always just download the comics tomorrow anyways.

[vbartilucci]

okay, i've got to say this, and i hope i don't get banned...

like the post says, this isn't and shouldn't be a "marvel sucks" or a "dc vs. marvel" thread. And i hope it wont be. But there is some blame to be thrown around here.

What i mean is, isn't it striking when Diamond shipping (or whatever their Official company name is) is asking retailers to "keep a level Playing field" when Diamond has the industry itself in such a stranglehold? If the shipping portion of the comics business wasn't held in a near monopoly by Diamond, if there was a competitive market, i'm sure more than just a handful of trucks would have made it through, or one of these competitors would have done the footwork to get the product to us, because, well, that's Good Service.

But thats not the way it is, so all we'll get from Diamond is a "whoops, sorry, books are late, deal with it, fanboys."

(and fangirls, i'm sure).


ugh. sorry. just had to rant. and matt, if I crossed any lines, please just delete my comments and don't ban me. please?

This ties in with what should have been an interesting thread over in the news about the Geppi museum (look it up) that ended up getting petty. Diamond is not a monopoly, in the legal sense of the word. Personally, I don't think the comics industry is large enough to support more than one major distributor.

In this one particular case, there is little that Diamond could have done to change this problem - weather is weather, and no matter how big a company is (and Diamond's not all that big compared to the book or video distributors, I assure you) that won't change. If there were more than one major distributor, odds are they'd all use similar shipping and distribution methods, and weather in one area would probably affect them all equally. Things go wrong.

Now, to be fair, since there are few if any options a retailer has in getting his books, there's not too much impetus for Diamond to do anything to "make it up" to the stores for the error. Not quite the same as "go twist", but it's a fair point. Odds are there's an Act of God clause in their contract anyway.

[maritimer]

Well, I don't know about the rest of the Maritime Provinces, but here in Fredericton New Brunswick, instead of getting them today, we actually got our comics YESTERDAY!! (jan 2)

(Not really sure, but would a BWA-HA-HA-HA be okay? I can never tell....)

[khuxford]

I wasn't joking - if you want to turn this into a CW-bash, or Marvel bashing thead (despite the irony that no one, save one or two said a word about JLA), you'll be gone. If you want to bash Marvel, CW, or Joe Quesada, MySpace and blogs are still there.

MattB

Agree completely with the sentiment, sir...but you do have to admit that Civil War has at least 100k more units moving than any title held back last week...so there are bound to be more excited responses for this now.

[Scorned1]

Besides you could always just download the comics tomorrow anyways.

Could you please reply to this post with your full name and address?

[Lucifer]

The USPS took off yesterday for President Ford's funeral, but what about UPS?

I worked last night at UPS so no.

[Scorned1]

I worked last night at UPS so no.

The Devil (Lucifer) works for UPS ? I knew it. :D

[TheRay]

Bad enough we have people taking sides on the Marvel/DC camps (can't we just like a bit of both?)... but now we have a ridiculous west coast/east coast readers taunt? *sigh*

At least I'm at home enjoying the sunny southern California weather while you're... shoveling snow? :p

I keed I keed... ;)

[GOSD]

Bad enough we have people taking sides on the Marvel/DC camps (can't we just like a bit of both?)... but now we have a ridiculous west coast/east coast readers taunt? *sigh*

At least I'm at home enjoying the sunny southern California weather while you're... shoveling snow? :p

I keed I keed... ;)No snow and I'll let you know how CW#6 ends. ;):p

[Groovemaster]

Ah well, I get my comics once a month and always one month behind on schedule so this is actually an instance where I am not as screwed as the rest of you.
But yeah, most of the time I am :D.

[johnturned51]

If the folks at USPS is delivering the comics it wouldn't be late. Isn't their moto is something like "Rain, sleet or snow won't stop us".



Thats funny, and that motto is total BS. USPS wont deliver your mail unless you shovel your walk.

No offense to anyone but in my experince the USPS is the laziest most worthless mail delivery service EVER.

[catman]

First a question: Which states are serviced by the Diamond LA warehouse, will any of the midwest be affected? Second, overall Diamond has done a great job, but this is the second straight week books havn't shipped. I know this is a tricky time of year, but this has me a little worried.

[SpyGuy]

Talkback? Oh, HELL no! Back to AICN with you!:mad: :mad:

The power of Brady compels you!

Hello, Mr. Pot. Would you like to meet Mr. Kettle?

[RedRonin]

Could you please reply to this post with your full name and address?
Why?

There should been some sort of digital verison of comics for years now. Then things like this wouldn't matter as much.

[Ex-Villian]

I live in the East Coast so this won't affect me, but is Newsarama not going to be putting up the CW#6 review until next week? I think that'd only be fair for the West Coast.Sure, if you haven''t read something yet, just avoid the article or review, but when you see that little picture on a feature article next to the spoiler heading on an article, it's just so tempting, especially since the pictures usually tell something before you click the article, anyway (reviews are easier to avoid, though, since there's no picture unless you click it)! Plus, everyone here will have it if they want it anyway, so why read someone's review just to comment when you can read it yourself and still have your own opinion anyway? It's been this damn long, anyway...

[MrNEWZ]

U<ib>P</b>S. Differnet guys. Brown shorts.

MattB

Not to correct Mr. Brady, but he said "IF it was USPS."

[ziza9]

Maybe they should try shipping by train instead of truck.

or use those wacky airplane things I hear are all the rage now. :) just jk.

[MattBrady]

I live in the East Coast so this won't affect me, but is Newsarama not going to be putting up the CW#6 review until next week? there will be a link to it in the Best SHots column, rather than just having the review in the column, and have the column be a spoiler temptation.

MattB

[ziza9]

there will be a link to it in the Best SHots column, rather than just having the review in the column, and have the column be a spoiler temptation.

MattB
Cool. Thanks Matt.

[cncoyle]

Hello, Mr. Pot. Would you like to meet Mr. Kettle?Sure!;) Either way, I'll be one happy cracker if you're making popcorn!:p

[cncoyle]

Not to correct Mr. Brady, but he said "IF it was USPS."...but you are correcting him, albeit in a passive manner.

[khuxford]

Not to correct Mr. Brady, but he said "IF it was USPS."

So...the guy actually said, "If the folks at USPS is delivering the comics it wouldn't be late." Is, not was. So it didn't necessarily seem like the guy was delivering a hypothetical and knew for certain that it was the USPS delivering the stuff. In light of everything...maybe lighten up the critical eye on Matty? ;)

[EMeadow]

Agree completely with the sentiment, sir...but you do have to admit that Civil War has at least 100k more units moving than any title held back last week...so there are bound to be more excited responses for this now.

Not to mention the mini's entire shipping history in general.

Like we've said its an absolutely unrelated fact that the book got delayed again because of the weather.

But at the same time, THIS BOOK AGAIN????:eek:

I'm beginning to think THIS is the message that Pat Robertson should have been talking about today.

Clearly something is very cursed with this series. Like the Poltergeists of comics, with no real deaths.

[KryptonSite]

Well, we might not have had this annoying delay if Marvel had shipped the book on time in the first place...

I just hope we don't see individual dealers marking CW#6 up for those who want it a week early.

I give Marvel props for making a comic that people anxiously await in the first place, but not so much for failing to deliver product on time.

As for UPS... I had an issue with them losing packages that had Christmas gifts in them, the other week... and at least out where I am, they are the laziest, most incompetent people. Why anyone still goes with them, I'll never know. But you'd think there'd be SOME sort of backup plan that does not involve trucks for them to get packages to the West Coast.

[EMeadow]

I wasn't joking - if you want to turn this into a CW-bash, or Marvel bashing thead (despite the irony that no one, save one or two said a word about JLA), you'll be gone. If you want to bash Marvel, CW, or Joe Quesada, MySpace and blogs are still there.

MattB

Yeah I meant it in good sportmanship but absolutely understandable that you'd want it taken off.

[Eoghann]

As for UPS... I had an issue with them losing packages that had Christmas gifts in them, the other week... and at least out where I am, they are the laziest, most incompetent people. Why anyone still goes with them, I'll never know. But you'd think there'd be SOME sort of backup plan that does not involve trucks for them to get packages to the West Coast.

There's a clause in their standard shipping contract which basically says that delays due to weather are not their fault. In other words, they'll get paid anyway, why would they spend the extra money to ensure the stuff gets delivered?

For all that, UPS is head and shoulders above USPS which doesn't guarantee your parcels will ever get to their destination at all.

[Kingdom_Gone]

I find it funny that people are saying to blame the weather -

Not shipping these books was a business decision by somone in the supply chain to not to get these books from point a to point b. Do trucks only run one time per week or was it the additional cost involved with delivering them a day later that made them decide to not ship comics. I don't think that these companies should get a free pass for choosing not to delivery the comics to the west coast. They also choose to allocate the West Coast twice, instead of choosing to pick on another region. They are telling us that their profit margins are more important than delivering on their shipping commitments to their customers. If no one gets upset about this - then this will become more and more common.

[Snarf5181]

Well, I'd suggest you just go in regardless. If you're just a Civil War junkie, and couldn't care less about any of the other books your store might have, then just call the store and ask if they're getting their Civil War shipment. (They might not be too happy knowing that you'll apparently only show up if you're guaranteed of a specific book. Then again, they might already know that about you, but may be generous enough not to hold that against you.)


Why should they care why you are going in there? You're a customer, there for a good or service they are providing. Of course you are shopping there for specific books, how specific doesn't matter.

[khuxford]

I find it funny that people are saying to blame the weather -

Not shipping these books was a business decision by somone in the supply chain to not to get these books from point a to point b. Do trucks only run one time per week or was it the additional cost involved with delivering them a day later that made them decide to not ship comics. I don't think that these companies should get a free pass for choosing not to delivery the comics to the west coast. They also choose to allocate the West Coast twice, instead of choosing to pick on another region. They are telling us that their profit margins are more important than delivering on their shipping commitments to their customers. If no one gets upset about this - then this will become more and more common.

Other methods? Sure...more costlier methods. Other days for delivery? Sure...days that the consumer base isn't trained to show up for and many comic shops aren't scheduled/staffed for having to sort through so many delivered books.

I think one of the genuinely good natured concepts driving Diamond here on the idea of having the delayed books sent with next week's shipment is to avoid some stores having a competitive disadvantage with other stores just because the larger store can afford to eat some sort of one time increase in shipping costs. Their heart might be in the right place with that one.

[Eli Renfro]

I'm still confused. The second line of the article says the "only comic to make it through" was Civil War #6, implying that is the ONLY new comic that will be in stores tomorrow. But later it gives a list of comics that will ship next week, and that list has only a fraction of the books that were scheduled to ship this week, and no DC comics, for instance. So if I go to the store tomorrow will Jonah Hex be there? And we still don't know what places are serviced by LA.

[MrNEWZ]

...but you are correcting him, albeit in a passive manner.

Correct. Come to the defense of a fellow poster, but not rag on Mr. Brady at the same time. ;-) Mistakes happen... I just too often watch people jump down throats to correct people on these boards.

[JoeMaggio]

God hated JLA last week.

That makes two of us.

[jd_sch]

is Calgary, Alberta west coast?

By definition, yes. However, we are serviced out of Seattle and the books all shipped on time (both weeks). I picked mine up around 2pm today, and can attest that all the listed books (provided that they were ordered) arrived.

[Kingdom_Gone]

Other methods? Sure...more costlier methods. Other days for delivery? Sure...days that the consumer base isn't trained to show up for and many comic shops aren't scheduled/staffed for having to sort through so many delivered books.

I think one of the genuinely good natured concepts driving Diamond here on the idea of having the delayed books sent with next week's shipment is to avoid some stores having a competitive disadvantage with other stores just because the larger store can afford to eat some sort of one time increase in shipping costs. Their heart might be in the right place with that one.

It happens once, I consider it an "unforseen" situation, twice I consider it either incompetence or calculated indifference.

I would say they are putting retailers at a distinct disadvantage by shipping books a week late - Of the three major online retailers - all three of them are not in the West Coast region. those people will get their books at least a day to 2 before the rest of the region.
Retailers are the ones that should be the most upset about this.

Last week I went into a shop to get books, and Diamond hadn't even told them that the books wouldn't ship - so they didn't know what to tell me. there are going to be alot of annoyed people that the poor retailers will either not know what to tell them , or will try to explain that the shipping company made the same mistake two weeks in a row.

[mattguthrie]

I find it funny that people are saying to blame the weather -

Not shipping these books was a business decision by somone in the supply chain to not to get these books from point a to point b. Do trucks only run one time per week or was it the additional cost involved with delivering them a day later that made them decide to not ship comics. I don't think that these companies should get a free pass for choosing not to delivery the comics to the west coast. They also choose to allocate the West Coast twice, instead of choosing to pick on another region. They are telling us that their profit margins are more important than delivering on their shipping commitments to their customers. If no one gets upset about this - then this will become more and more common.


there was record snowfall in the rockies, the books start out on the east coast and then travel across the country in trucks out to the west coast...they arrive at diamond where they are split into the correct orders and shipped to the rest of the west coast...so yes it is the weather...on the news they were showing a big ass construction plow things where the snow was up to its roof...what are they supposed to do...?

its only comic books not medicine for dying kids and food for puppy dogs...

[mattguthrie]

Bad enough we have people taking sides on the Marvel/DC camps (can't we just like a bit of both?)... but now we have a ridiculous west coast/east coast readers taunt? *sigh*

At least I'm at home enjoying the sunny southern California weather while you're... shoveling snow? :p

I keed I keed... ;)


thanks to global warming its nice and warm out here in jersey...where 10 years ago you might have been right....:p

so we get out comics AND nice weather...:cool:

[Kingdom_Gone]

there was record snowfall in the rockies, the books start out on the east coast and then travel across the country in trucks out to the west coast...they arrive at diamond where they are split into the correct orders and shipped to the rest of the west coast...so yes it is the weather...on the news they were showing a big ass construction plow things where the snow was up to its roof...what are they supposed to do...?

its only comic books not medicine for dying kids and food for puppy dogs...
So there is only one road between point a and point B?

nice try.

sure it's not medicine, but why would you even make that ridiculous comparison. We are customers, and they should make best effort to make us happy. I suppose you'd be happy getting Sunday's paper on Thursday?

[EMeadow]

I'm still confused. The second line of the article says the "only comic to make it through" was Civil War #6, implying that is the ONLY new comic that will be in stores tomorrow. But later it gives a list of comics that will ship next week, and that list has only a fraction of the books that were scheduled to ship this week, and no DC comics, for instance. So if I go to the store tomorrow will Jonah Hex be there? And we still don't know what places are serviced by LA.

I think this should be more clarified as saying the only comic from the stuff that got delayed to have some material show up will be Civil War.

[mattguthrie]

So there is only one road between point a and point B?

nice try.

sure it's not medicine, but why would you even make that ridiculous comparison. We are customers, and they should make best effort to make us happy. I suppose you'd be happy getting Sunday's paper on Thursday?

these are truckers...they take their route from the est to the west...they do their job and are union backed...they arnt going out of their way for some comic books...no matter how important WE think they are...to a middle aged truck driver he could care less...his route was blocked and he got through prob taking a little longer...but he wasnt gonna bust his ass or drive all night just to get some comics through...

[rwsmith]

Interestingly enough FedEx didn't seem to have any transportation problems due to the weather.

Too bad Diamond uses UPS.:(

[CodeGuy]

I find it funny that people are saying to blame the weather -

Not shipping these books was a business decision by somone in the supply chain to not to get these books from point a to point b. Do trucks only run one time per week or was it the additional cost involved with delivering them a day later that made them decide to not ship comics.

Yes, the trucks run more than one time per week, but those other days they are making *other* deliveries. If all the trucks have already been scheduled by other companies, then the only way to ship on a different day on extremely short notice is by paying a ton of money. One way or another, that cost would make it back to us.

[0bsessions]

Bad enough we have people taking sides on the Marvel/DC camps (can't we just like a bit of both?)... but now we have a ridiculous west coast/east coast readers taunt? *sigh*

At least I'm at home enjoying the sunny southern California weather while you're... shoveling snow? :p

I keed I keed... ;)

Haha, I'm as far north as New Hampshire without a hint of snow. We saw maybe two inches on the day before New Year's Eve that was melted by morning. Given, I'd appreciate some more sun, but I can use artificial lighting to read Civil War.

[Kingdom_Gone]

Interestingly enough FedEx didn't seem to have any transportation problems due to the weather.

Too bad Diamond uses UPS.:(
neither did DHL.

[artiepants]

Not to mention the mini's entire shipping history in general.

But at the same time, THIS BOOK AGAIN????:eek:

Clearly something is very cursed with this series.
but really, assuming that the last issue ships on time like they've claims, CW is only going to finish about 2 months behind schedule. All-Star Batman and Ultimates 2 aren't even in the ballpark (of course, they also aren't holding up launches and tie-ins)

[mattguthrie]

Interestingly enough FedEx didn't seem to have any transportation problems due to the weather.

Too bad Diamond uses UPS.:(

do they use UPS to go across the country? i know they use them to go to the individual stores but wouldnt they be using teamster truckers like most bi-coastal commercial transport...?

[Kingdom_Gone]

these are truckers...they take their route from the est to the west...they do their job and are union backed...they arnt going out of their way for some comic books...no matter how important WE think they are...to a middle aged truck driver he could care less...his route was blocked and he got through prob taking a little longer...but he wasnt gonna bust his ass or drive all night just to get some comics through...
I think you are thinking about how things used to run in the past. Trucks now have GPS and uplinks to be able to receive updates from headquarters - it's not the old days where they got a clipboard at the start point and only used CBs to communicate. Also - if it's UPS - they probably work for UPS, so they are a corporate entity with resources to fix these problems, not some poor trucker driving 48 hours straight to get to the destination.

I'm not blaming the truckers, I'm not blaming DC or Marvel.. I'm saying someone is responcible for making this decision to make everyone on the West Coast wait an extra week. I just hate to see people say "its the weather or it's because the truckers are just pointed in a direction and told to drive". Making it no one's fault makes it easier for it to happen again and again and again.

[Kingdom_Gone]

Yes, the trucks run more than one time per week, but those other days they are making *other* deliveries. If all the trucks have already been scheduled by other companies, then the only way to ship on a different day on extremely short notice is by paying a ton of money. One way or another, that cost would make it back to us.
Then the people responcible for not planning appropriatly two weeks in a row should eat the cost...

you know it snows 4-6 months of the year - are we going to give them a free pass to do this 50% of the year? eventually they should learn and plan around it accordingly.

[paulski]

Editing this out of respect for posts that are no longer here. :p
The fun I miss by only coming into the office twice this week... ;) :p

Blame shouldn't be thrown around at this point. I feel for the West Coast readers. I think it is ridiculous that Diamond will allow people to pay for the books to be shipped to the stores ASAP, but then try to have them sit on 'em until next Wednesday. What's the point of the expediting of the shipping then?
Yep, it's garbage. I say if retailers are that committed to getting extra copies into their stores - AT THEIR OWN EXPENSE - then they should be able to do with them what they want. Screw Diamond.

[mattguthrie]

thats why they call things that happen because of bad weather an act of god...because you cant blame someone because of record snowfall...they have enough to fill some stores full orders but it wouldnt be fair to the rest so everyone gets a few comics...

i think seeing how some comics got through no prob...was that they were going through following each other (not right behind but proba few hours) and somthing happened blocking the roads and they were stuck while the rest of the comics got through...and its quicker to wait and have roads cleared then turning around and finding another route through...GPS doesnt do much when your stuck on a blocked road in an 18 wheeler in the rockies...

[paulski]

Incidentally, as one of those Aussie customers affected by this whole clusterf*ck, I'm just relieved that it looks like none of the books I buy are going to be delayed. This week, that is. After getting screwed on 5 of the 8 I wanted from last week's shipment, it'd make a nice change. :rolleyes:

[Kingdom_Gone]

thats why they call things that happen because of bad weather an act of god...because you cant blame someone because of record snowfall...they have enough to fill some stores full orders but it wouldnt be fair to the rest so everyone gets a few comics...

i think seeing how some comics got through no prob...was that they were going through following each other (not right behind but proba few hours) and somthing happened blocking the roads and they were stuck while the rest of the comics got through...and its quicker to wait and have roads cleared then turning around and finding another route through...GPS doesnt do much when your stuck on a blocked road in an 18 wheeler in the rockies...
gps alone does nothing - but combined with a weather forcast, it turns into something called ability to choose an alternate route.

Back to getting the Sunday paper on thursday is ok because your paperboy can't walk around the tree that fell at the end of the street. Guess he better wait til the city comes to move it on Wednesday.

[Eoghann]

I'm not blaming the truckers, I'm not blaming DC or Marvel.. I'm saying someone is responcible for making this decision to make everyone on the West Coast wait an extra week. I just hate to see people say "its the weather or it's because the truckers are just pointed in a direction and told to drive". Making it no one's fault makes it easier for it to happen again and again and again.

Honestly its really not that complicated. It's about money (this is a business after all). Comics are expensive to ship. They're heavy compared to the profit margin involved. They are going to get sent the cheapest way they can be transported without damaging them. The alternative is for them to be more expensive.

Complaining that comics don't all get sent UPS RED Next Day Air is like going to Walmart, buying a shirt for $3 and then complaining when the buttons fall off.

And for the record shipping stuff by plane doesn't remove the problem anyway. Planes are extremely susceptible to weather delays and as I mentioned before the standard shipping contract allows for delays at no cost to the shipping companies.

[winkerbean04]

I feel very bad for the West Coast retailers. We went through a Diamond shipping problem last year out of Plattsburgh, where 4 out of 5 weeks our area saw ALL of the books delayed an additional day. This always makes being a retailer harder, and since there's no other place to get comics from, it makes it more difficult to hold Diamond's feet to the fire. I even had a former customer who moved out west contact me about switching where he gets his books and I told him that I wasn't going to let him get them from me just because of a Diamond error. Sure, if the local retailer out there wasn't doing a good job for him then I'd gladly let him mail order, but I wasn't going to let him switch over something his poor retailer can't control and will have to suffer through.

I encourage people to write to Diamond and the L.A. warehouse manager letting them know how disapointed they are. Maybe if enough people get together on this Diamond will work on improving their shipping problems that seem to happen this time of the year. You can check out my blog if you want contact information (http://sequentiallyspeaking.blogspot.com/2007/01/more-west-coast-problems.html).

Lisa, Neptune Comics, Waukesha WI
www.neptunecomics.com

[Kingdom_Gone]

Honestly its really not that complicated. It's about money (this is a business after all). Comics are expensive to ship. They're heavy compared to the profit margin involved. They are going to get sent the cheapest way they can be transported without damaging them. The alternative is for them to be more expensive.

Complaining that comics don't all get sent UPS RED Next Day Air is like going to Walmart, buying a shirt for $3 and then complaining when the buttons fall off.

And for the record shipping stuff by plane doesn't remove the problem anyway. Planes are extremely susceptible to weather delays and as I mentioned before the standard shipping contract allows for delays at no cost to the shipping companies.

That's exactly what I have been saying all along - someone is responcible for making a business decision. there are not random factors at work - someone made a decision.

I totally agree with the Wal-Mart argument, but I think at some point we have to hold these companies responcible as consumers. they need to know that we realize that we're not happy with this, and it may effect their bottom line if it continues. claiming that it is the "weather" or "the truckers" is about the same as blaming it on the bogeyman. And it makes everyone think that the people that decided not to eat the expedited shipping costs are victims, not the people behind what is happening.

[Kingdom_Gone]

I feel very bad for the West Coast retailers. We went through a Diamond shipping problem last year out of Plattsburgh, where 4 out of 5 weeks our area saw ALL of the books delayed an additional day. This always makes being a retailer harder, and since there's no other place to get comics from, it makes it more difficult to hold Diamond's feet to the fire. I even had a former customer who moved out west contact me about switching where he gets his books and I told him that I wasn't going to let him get them from me just because of a Diamond error. Sure, if the local retailer out there wasn't doing a good job for him then I'd gladly let him mail order, but I wasn't going to let him switch over something his poor retailer can't control and will have to suffer through.

I encourage people to write to Diamond and the L.A. warehouse manager letting them know how disapointed they are. Maybe if enough people get together on this Diamond will work on improving their shipping problems that seem to happen this time of the year. You can check out my blog if you want contact information (http://sequentiallyspeaking.blogspot.com/2007/01/more-west-coast-problems.html).

Lisa, Neptune Comics, Waukesha WI
www.neptunecomics.com

awesome post - thanks for the information.

[MattBrady]

claiming that it is the "weather" or "the truckers" is about the same as blaming it on the bogeyman. And it makes everyone think that the people that decided not to eat the expedited shipping costs are victims, not the people behind what is happening. Huh? A truck. Got stuck. In Texas. Due to the weather. He was a professional trucker, in a modern rig, travelling on the shortest route bettween A and B, and he got stuck. It happens. The retailers aren't happy about it. Diamond's not happy about it, and, as this threead shows, readers aren't happy about it. The books were in Texas, they could not be shipped out of there to make it to the LA warehouse. They got there, but arrived to late to be broken down and shipped with this week's order. There were other issues of CW #6 in other warehouses, but not enough to fulfil all the demand of the West Coast retailers who were being shorted, and (apprently) the decision was made not to direct ship these books to the retailers at substantial cost to Diamond (or the retailers).

To keep looking for a boogeyman in this particular situation is a short road. Could other decisions have been made? Sure. Do there need to be new systems in place? Probably, but given the tight window that comics shipping already works in, it would be incredibly tough. Would any of that have resulted in the books getting there faster/when they were supposed to? No one can say for sure.

MattB

[Eoghann]

I totally agree with the Wal-Mart argument, but I think at some point we have to hold these companies responcible as consumers. they need to know that we realize that we're not happy with this, and it may effect their bottom line if it continues. claiming that it is the "weather" or "the truckers" is about the same as blaming it on the bogeyman. And it makes everyone think that the people that decided not to eat the expedited shipping costs are victims, not the people behind what is happening.

Eating the shipping costs was never going to happen. At most they would have paid up then upped prices a few months down the line to make it back. The comics economy isn't nearly rich enough to absorb those sorts of additional costs.

Better to just get the books a week late.

[POWRSURG]

Is my new signature too mean? :)

[khuxford]

Interestingly enough FedEx didn't seem to have any transportation problems due to the weather.

Too bad Diamond uses UPS.:(

Two things:

1. I highly doubt that FedEx Ground had ABSOLUTELY NO PROBLEMS DUE TO THE WEATHER.

2. Are we all even sure that the delivery for an entire distribution warehouse was going via UPS? Such large freight shipments from one location to another can often go by freight carriers, such as BAX GLOBAL. I know Diamond uses UPS to get from their warehouses to the retailer, but I'm not 100% that UPS is the method that all books get to their distribution centers.

[khuxford]

The fun I miss by only coming into the office twice this week... ;) :p


Yep, it's garbage. I say if retailers are that committed to getting extra copies into their stores - AT THEIR OWN EXPENSE - then they should be able to do with them what they want. Screw Diamond.

LOL...now you know how it feels, Paul! :p

Yeah...I really don't understand their rationale on this.

[Snarf5181]

So there is only one road between point a and point B?

nice try.

sure it's not medicine, but why would you even make that ridiculous comparison. We are customers, and they should make best effort to make us happy. I suppose you'd be happy getting Sunday's paper on Thursday?

If your local paper is coming over a mountain range in a blizzard, then I would expect it to be late. Of course there is more than one road, but it doesn't only snow in one spot. The area was only a few days out of the first storm when the second one hit. If you ask me, that isn't enough time to develope a new strategy to get your product delivered on time, let alone put it in effect. I live in brooklyn so I'm not feeling the effect, but I sympathize. I would be bummed, maybe even pissed, but lets be realistic about the situation.

[Jeffrey D. Smith]

As a point of interest:

In the pre-Diamond days, I was a customer of Steve Geppi's, back when he had one little store.

When, for whatever reason, a book was shorted, it was treated as if it didn't exist. If he had received ten copies out of the fifty he ordered, no-one got those copies. They sat in the back until he had all fifty, and then they were released to customers. He didn't think it was fair that some would get them and some not, so we all waited a week.

It didn't happen all the time, but it happened several times a year.

[paulski]

Is my new signature too mean? :)
Nah, it's funny. :)

[Alextron]

Civil War is Joe Quesada's Vietnam.
:rolleyes:

[khuxford]

As a point of interest:

In the pre-Diamond days, I was a customer of Steve Geppi's, back when he had one little store.

When, for whatever reason, a book was shorted, it was treated as if it didn't exist. If he had received ten copies out of the fifty he ordered, no-one got those copies. They sat in the back until he had all fifty, and then they were released to customers. He didn't think it was fair that some would get them and some not, so we all waited a week.

It didn't happen all the time, but it happened several times a year.

That's admirable...though it wouldn't work so easily during the internet age, unfortunately.

[KusanagiFire]

Wow, strange... I'm in Hawaii, so I'll just assume my LCS is serviced by the LA branch of Diamond, although we still have no clue which states are. I looked at next week's shipping list and said, "heh, finally, a week where I don't have to go down and buy comics." If my LCS doesn't have Civil War when I go, guess I'll have to go next week. Yup, God hates me (or he really wants me to go to my LCS every week).

[Kingdom_Gone]

If your local paper is coming over a mountain range in a blizzard, then I would expect it to be late. Of course there is more than one road, but it doesn't only snow in one spot. The area was only a few days out of the first storm when the second one hit. If you ask me, that isn't enough time to develope a new strategy to get your product delivered on time, let alone put it in effect. I live in brooklyn so I'm not feeling the effect, but I sympathize. I would be bummed, maybe even pissed, but lets be realistic about the situation.

I have some inside information on the shipping industry...and I can tell you that they have command centers where they monitor these conditions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Traffic, weather.. all conditions that can effect delivery, they have the ability to re-route trucks on the fly, and respond to conditions that will impact delivery. Having that information, I know that things happen - and not everything can be planned around - but two weeks in a row? Last time it happened (to Pittsburgh - it took 5 weeks to fix)

is everyone going to feel the same if they do it again next week?

I think everyone is mis-interpreting what I am saying - I know things happen, but let's not let people make every little issue into a crutch. Businesses aren't successful by sitting back and accepting things as they are, someone should be finding out why this is happening, and how too insure it doesn't happen again. If not - maybe the publishers should take away Diamond's monopoly of distribution. If it's not Diamond.. maybe Diamond needs to look need to look at their relationship with UPS. It's too late to fix this screw up, but I would like to think someone is working on making sure it doesn't happen again. Let's not continue to punish the (West Coast) consumers for their mistakes.

also - ever tried to explain the comic business's lackadaisical delivery attitude to a new reader? I have two friends that I pulled into Civil War.. and I have to keep explaining why one issue sometimes takes 2 months, then take an extra week after shipping is announced.. not easy. Glad I didn't talk them into All Star B&R .. heh heh

[KusanagiFire]

also - ever tried to explain the comic business's lackadaisical delivery attitude to a new reader? I have two friends that I pulled into Civil War.. and I have to keep explaining why one issue sometimes takes 2 months, then take an extra week after shipping is announced.. not easy. Glad I didn't talk them into All Star B&R .. heh heh

Heh, makes you wonder how Marvel is going to pull off two issues of Civil War in a month :rolleyes: My brother was into All Star Batman and Robin... bought the first 2 issues and then completely forgot about the series after that.

Okay that was all off-topic... I wonder if it's safe to read Front Line or any other Civil War-related comic this week :mad:

[khuxford]

Personally, I think they should go to racking comics on Fridays. Make retailer contractually obligated not to rack the new comics until Monday, but still aim to have comics in the hands of retailers Tuesday or Wednesday. This puts some breathing room into the situation.

[EmeraldGuy32]

Don't feel like reading the whole thread, but can someone tell me if Oregon is affected?

[jd_sch]

Personally, I think they should go to racking comics on Fridays. Make retailer contractually obligated not to rack the new comics until Monday, but still aim to have comics in the hands of retailers Tuesday or Wednesday. This puts some breathing room into the situation.

Interestingly, I was just thinking about the distribution of CD/DVD materials that use this type of system. In many cases, the product arrives at the store three to four days ahead of time, date stamped with "DO NOT RACK UNTIL . . ." on neon labels. They have a strict enforcement policy, with penalties ranging dependent on the product and circumstance. I know that stores honour this fairly well (a local Future Shop (Best Buy) accidently racked Ultimate Avengers DVD 2 a week early. When I took a copy to purchase, the clerk found the terminal flashed a caution, she called the manager and he, in turn, apologized profusely, explaining that he couldn't sell the DVD).

The problem with this is that the media industry is much bigger than that of the comic industry. In the case of the comic industry, a penalty by Diamond could potentially close a store permanently (think of the implication of a store not receiving Marvel Comics for two weeks (making the material essentially unsellable or Diamond on the hook for the comics) vs a chain like Walmart not receiving their Fox releases for two weeks; not the same thing).

Perhaps more energy should go into proposing solutions for this problem. One solution was that, in past years, Christmas week was a skip week for many reasons (lack of transportation, shipping and custom limitations, store hours, etc.); while this would not have helped the weather situation, it certainly would have levelled part of the playing field. Of course, 52 would have been an anomoly, but not the end of the world. A second response might have been a sellthrough date for just this type of situation - in the case of critical books, an honour system (with some sort of merit for those who participate) could have been arranged.

Anyone have any other suggestions?

[grendel824]

Just the latest in a long line of my store being screwed over by Diamond - we still haven't gotten ANY of the copies of the first issue of the new Sandman series we ordered, and no explanation has been forthcoming. Our rep seems to be avoiding us and our messages and e-mails go unanswered. Monopolies are wonderful, aren't they?

[zeraze1]

Maybe they should try shipping by train instead of truck.

Snowstorms impact trains, too.

zeraze

[superate]

And this is why I'm glad I live on the EAST COAST.


1) Hotter girls.
2) Waking up at 10am on Sunday with the first games of the NFL already starting.
3) Weather.
4) Snoop Dogg

If all I have to worry about is an out-dated shipping system delaying my comics for a week, I'll take the west.

On a side note - SNOW! Is this 2007 or 1907? Did they have to kill the horse that was pulling the buggy full of Justice #9 because it broke it's leg?

[theWeapon]

That sucks...I feel for you guys.

[pop monkey]

Just the latest in a long line of my store being screwed over by Diamond - we still haven't gotten ANY of the copies of the first issue of the new Sandman series we ordered, and no explanation has been forthcoming. Our rep seems to be avoiding us and our messages and e-mails go unanswered. Monopolies are wonderful, aren't they?

Not to defend Diamond, or anything, but you've clearly got a crappy sales rep. I can seriously count the number of weeks my store's order was completely correct last year on one hand (hell, probably one finger!), but our sales rep is always very helpful in returning calls and messages and doing the best she can to fix the warehouse's screw-ups. Every week we have missing books or wrong items sent!

This is the first I've heard about last week's issue of JUSTICE being allocated on the west coast, which is strange because we got DOUBLE our copies of JUSTICE at the store! Every once in a while, they err in our favor and send us triple or double our copies of certain books.

[Scorned1]

Huh? A truck. Got stuck. In Texas. Due to the weather. He was a professional trucker, in a modern rig, travelling on the shortest route bettween A and B, and he got stuck. It happens.

OMG, they still use truckers? I did not know that. I learned something new everyday.
I thought since the invention of the airplane, I thought people in the publishing world would try to take that as another method of delivering the goods from point A to point B. The fine folks at USPS, UPS, FedEX and DHL all have their own planes and vans delivering stuff every single day except for Saturday and Sunday. Now that the trucks are stuck, the drivers got something to read. :D

I totally agreed that this should been thought about before the snow hits.

[mattguthrie]

1) Hotter girls.
2) Waking up at 10am on Sunday with the first games of the NFL already starting.
3) Weather.
4) Snoop Dogg

If all I have to worry about is an out-dated shipping system delaying my comics for a week, I'll take the west.

On a side note - SNOW! Is this 2007 or 1907? Did they have to kill the horse that was pulling the buggy full of Justice #9 because it broke it's leg?


ok...NYC...

1. the girls in manhatten are prob the hottest around...soho in the summer is a beautiful thing
2. getting to drink until 4 in the morning sat night and then wake up at 1 and football is on...
3. no earthquakes and crazy wild fires
4. WU TANG!
5. no arnold...
6. both big boys sharing the city with you...
7. oh just the greatest city in the world...

and to all those who say planes....do you know how many planes it would take to send out everysingle comic fpr the entire west coast and australia...? more than a few...and that is WAY more expensive...

[Scorned1]

ok...NYC...

1. the girls in manhatten are prob the hottest around...soho in the summer is a beautiful thing
2. getting to drink until 4 in the morning sat night and then wake up at 1 and football is on...
3. no earthquakes and crazy wild fires
4. WU TANG!
5. no arnold...
6. both big boys sharing the city with you...
7. oh just the greatest city in the world...

Thank god you didn't list "baseball" or anything like that related to it with NYC so I'm with ya on all of those yays :D

[mattguthrie]

Thank god you didn't list "baseball" or anything like that related to it with NYC so I'm with ya on all of those yays :D

let me guess your a bosstoneian?

i just plum forgot that the best baseball team ever plays here as well...:p

[Kingdom_Gone]

ok...NYC...


and to all those who say planes....do you know how many planes it would take to send out everysingle comic fpr the entire west coast and australia...? more than a few...and that is WAY more expensive...
uhm.. certainly they don't use ships to send the comics to Australia? they must be just getting Infinite Crisis #1 if they are...

[EMeadow]

but really, assuming that the last issue ships on time like they've claims, CW is only going to finish about 2 months behind schedule. All-Star Batman and Ultimates 2 aren't even in the ballpark (of course, they also aren't holding up launches and tie-ins)

Yep but that's still why Civil War gets held to something of a higher standard. Because of all those launches and tie-ins that got caught up in it.

[beta-ray]

Even though I read my comics months later, kind of a bummer. I like to have them in my sweaty little hands even though I won't read them for a while yet.

Well, as long as I get it I guess... I was wondering what happened to certain titles last week (and I guess we are West Coast!)...

[Darth Tigris]

If we had a digital comic option then this wouldn't be a problem ....

;)

[superate]

ok...NYC...

1. the girls in manhatten are prob the hottest around...soho in the summer is a beautiful thing


Summer maybe, but what about fall, winter, and spring? Tough to tell if she's cute when she's wearing 7 layers.


2. getting to drink until 4 in the morning sat night and then wake up at 1 and football is on...


And right back to bed about the time the second round of games are on because you have to get up early on Monday.


3. no earthquakes and crazy wild fires


No snow-shoveling and no ice storms


4. WU TANG!


Snoop Dogg.


5. no arnold...


You say that like it's a good thing. I have Arnold's signature on my college degree - do you?


6. both big boys sharing the city with you...


Not sure what that means, but we got the second most hated franchise in sports!


7. oh just the greatest city in the world...


Not according to Homer J. Simpson...

I guess we could go on forever and never resolve it. Point is - SNOW?!?!?! Seriously! Snow delays comic books? I can understand comics were printed in Denver and they had that big snow storm a couple of weeks back, but come on!
Retailers have a right to be pissed off. Can't say I blame them...

[SynapseAttac]

Actually. God is displeased with the deaths of Bill Foster and the Jester.

We were told this at Sunday's sermon.

I was the only one to get it.

I want to go to church with a priest the quotes Marvel stuff...:rolleyes:

[scorpion mk]

By definition, yes. However, we are serviced out of Seattle and the books all shipped on time (both weeks). I picked mine up around 2pm today, and can attest that all the listed books (provided that they were ordered) arrived.
thank you jd_sch

[igno]

Someone find a way to blame Joe Quesada for this!

LET ' S SACRIFICE HIM TO OUR GODS ! ! ! :D :D :D

[Supreme Convoy]

Bummers indeed... hopefully I can manage not to click any of the spoilers...

[BamaRainbow]

Thats funny, and that motto is total BS. USPS wont deliver your mail unless you shovel your walk.

No offense to anyone but in my experince the USPS is the laziest most worthless mail delivery service EVER.

Yeah, well YOU try delivering a few hundred million pieces of mail every day to any point in the USA for a mere 39 cents and see how well YOU do.
Sorry, but I work for the USPS and if you think it's bad now, just wait until the Service gets privatized like the Bush Administration wants. You'll see postage rate increases at the drop of a hat (currently, it takes a minimum of a year from a rate increase *proposal* until implementation and the Service has to seek input from customers of all levels--from individuals to the bulk mail services; of course, individuals don't often show up for the hearings which leads to the bulk mailers getting bigger discounts for which ordinary people wind up paying more) and there won't be any guarantee that you'd even get your mail delivered. You could wind up like many people in small towns all over the country and have to travel 10 to 30 miles away to a "central" post office to get your mail.
I'd also like you to understand that when the anthrax scares were taking place, EVERY SINGLE postal worker was at far more risk than you ever were. More postal workers died from anthrax exposure than any of the intended "targets". Our "illustrious" congressmen were evacuated and their offices were closed before they were inspected. Postal processing plants were inspected for spores while still fully staffed. Congressional staff were tested for exposure at public expense. We, on the other hand, had to pay for our testing and only if we tested positive for exposure would the Postal Service pick up the tab (of course, the Catch-22 was if we didn't get tested but became sickened from anthrax, employees' insurance plans weren't obligated to pay for any costs incurred from the sickness).
You're perfectly well within your rights to complain about the service, but don't think that I'm going to allow you to get away unchallenged. If you have genuine complaints, contact your local post office's postmaster (if you live in a city with a processing plant, you can also contact that facility's plant manager). I will note, however, that USPS carriers DID deliver mail on Christmas Eve to residents of Colorado who'd been affected by the snowstorms the previous couple of days, and were working on their day off (since Christmas Eve Day fell on a Sunday). This little bit of information made it on the national newscasts.

[BamaRainbow]

There's a clause in their standard shipping contract which basically says that delays due to weather are not their fault. In other words, they'll get paid anyway, why would they spend the extra money to ensure the stuff gets delivered?

For all that, UPS is head and shoulders above USPS which doesn't guarantee your parcels will ever get to their destination at all.

Bull. If you're going to take the CHEAPEST way out, then your comment has some truth. But, if you're willing to spend a little bit and buy insurance or request "delivery confirmation" or get a return receipt card, you will certainly have the same guarantee that UPS provides. I would note that UPS has lost and misdirected shipments from Diamond. My LCS was charged for, but never received, the Looney Tunes Series 3 Action Figures set. Diamond claims it sent out the package and provided the Tracking Number; UPS has no record of delivering that package, but won't say if they accepted that package. (The USPS has a number you can call or a page on the web for any item you ship with a tracking number and, as long as you retain that tracking number, you can find out exactly where the piece. If you haven't received a package with a tracking number, you can contact the shipper and get the number and track it yourself, either via the phone number or the postal website.)
The ONLY time that the USPS does not guarantee delivery is to a foreign postal address, and the reason for that is because the mail is being handled by a foreign postal office. (Also, the USPS will not guarantee mail being sent overseas that gets seized by Customs agents when the sender has included prohibited material. Foreign postal services have the right to open ANY article without regard to the sender's desire or request.)

[BamaRainbow]

Quote:
Originally Posted by BamaRainbow
Well, I'd suggest you just go in regardless. If you're just a Civil War junkie, and couldn't care less about any of the other books your store might have, then just call the store and ask if they're getting their Civil War shipment. (They might not be too happy knowing that you'll apparently only show up if you're guaranteed of a specific book. Then again, they might already know that about you, but may be generous enough not to hold that against you.)

Why should they care why you are going in there? You're a customer, there for a good or service they are providing. Of course you are shopping there for specific books, how specific doesn't matter.

Well, the point I think you missed is the "just call the store and ask". If you go in, and turn around because they don't have the book in their shipment, you've still gone in. If you're just a dweeb who calls to find out if there's any reason for you to even show up, then you're likely to be wasting the store employee's time (time which that employee could be using to wait on a REAL customer in front of him just eager to part with his cash).
The people working at the store actually appreciate someone who comes in and leaves the store WITH A PURCHASE. But, they will appreciate someone who does come in to the store to find out more than someone who just calls to find out if a book will be there and then NOT come in JUST BECAUSE that one single title isn't there since there's a much greater chance that the in-store customer will buy something while the phone-in can't possibly buy anything (okay, there's the minor possibility of an over-the-phone credit card purchase, but still much less of a chance than an in-store customer).
Perhaps the fact that I buy a large number of titles every week (I have 18 items scheduled to be in this week, plus 5 others that weren't in by the time I bought my book last week) leaves me somewhat unsympathetic to people who won't go to their LCS just because ONE BOOK won't be in on a certain day. Perhaps the fact that my LCS owner sends out a weekly e-mail to his regular customers with a list of titles scheduled to be in with any changes in shipping schedules because of holidays contributes to that lack of sympathy. (Hell, because of my signing up to attend 2006's HeroesCon, I get a weekly e-mail from Heroes Aren't Hard to Find with their list of books--and I've never even been in their store. I didn't have a chance while I was in Charlotte last summer, but hope to this year.) Perhaps the fact I know which Diamond warehouse ships books to my LCS also adds to my lack of sympathy here. (I have to say, since Diamond closed their Atlanta warehouse and consolidated it with Memphis several years ago, the stores I've dealt with have been less than thrilled with the service they're getting. It's better now than it was, but that's not really saying much--kind of like service is now 4/10 when it was a 3/10.)
Hell, I even made a weekly round trip of nearly 200 miles for nearly three years until I finally changed my comic shop from where I used to live to my current one. So someone who can't motivate himself to just go in to a shop to find out if one book is there or not gets zero sympathy from me. If he can't even think about just calling to find out (which *was* my second comment in the post), then I don't feel he really needs to be bothering with the book at all.

[Scorned1]

let me guess your a bosstoneian?

i just plum forgot that the best baseball team ever plays here as well...:p

Nope, I'm in Maryland. All of our sport teams here sucks at everything. But we have the greatest Redskin fans ever. :)

[vbartilucci]

Bull. If you're going to take the CHEAPEST way out, then your comment has some truth. But, if you're willing to spend a little bit and buy insurance or request "delivery confirmation" or get a return receipt card, you will certainly have the same guarantee that UPS provides.
(The USPS has a number you can call or a page on the web for any item you ship with a tracking number and, as long as you retain that tracking number, you can find out exactly where the piece. If you haven't received a package with a tracking number, you can contact the shipper and get the number and track it yourself, either via the phone number or the postal website.)

The only thing that delivery confirmation gives you is exactly that - it verifies the items reached the destination. I've tried tracking items with it for a long time, and have never succeeded. I've been told by numerous employees that they do NOT track every time the package touches down, just that it's gotten where it's going. Just ask anyone who ships stuff with ebay.

If you've got a better URL, please present it.

I'm all for the post office, rain and sleet and all that (just don't mention Mrs. Cake), but when it comes to express delivery and trackability, the private carriers have it all over them.

[FChamberlain]

The only thing that delivery confirmation gives you is exactly that - it verifies the items reached the destination. I've tried tracking items with it for a long time, and have never succeeded. I've been told by numerous employees that they do NOT track every time the package touches down, just that it's gotten where it's going. Just ask anyone who ships stuff with ebay.

If you've got a better URL, please present it.

I'm all for the post office, rain and sleet and all that (just don't mention Mrs. Cake), but when it comes to express delivery and trackability, the private carriers have it all over them.

I have used delivery confirmation with ebay items for years. I used to be able to see packages as they traveled to various locations on their way to the final destination. Recently, I have attempted it a few times and have had the experience you have. I don't know if it is cost cutting, but the snotty comment that I received from a postal worker via phone when inquiring about an MIA package was enough to make me pause before using the USPS with anything but the most inexpensive books I sell.

[khuxford]

1) Hotter girls.
2) Waking up at 10am on Sunday with the first games of the NFL already starting.
3) Weather.
4) Snoop Dogg

If all I have to worry about is an out-dated shipping system delaying my comics for a week, I'll take the west.

On a side note - SNOW! Is this 2007 or 1907? Did they have to kill the horse that was pulling the buggy full of Justice #9 because it broke it's leg?

2 is not even close to a positive and 4 ceased being a positive a long time ago. Who wants to HAVE to wake up early on Sunday or risk missing the game? I missed the first half of many Jets games when I lived in Los Angeles.

[khuxford]

Not to defend Diamond, or anything, but you've clearly got a crappy sales rep. I can seriously count the number of weeks my store's order was completely correct last year on one hand (hell, probably one finger!), but our sales rep is always very helpful in returning calls and messages and doing the best she can to fix the warehouse's screw-ups. Every week we have missing books or wrong items sent!

Funny how even a defense of Diamond will always have to include how much and how often they screw up. Nah...this couldn't be helped by actual competition. :)

(I know you weren't trying to say competition would be no help, pop...just pointing this out...)

[khuxford]

and to all those who say planes....do you know how many planes it would take to send out everysingle comic fpr the entire west coast and australia...? more than a few...and that is WAY more expensive...

Ummm...Australia isn't getting their books via UPS Ground, ya know? :p

[khuxford]

The only thing that delivery confirmation gives you is exactly that - it verifies the items reached the destination. I've tried tracking items with it for a long time, and have never succeeded. I've been told by numerous employees that they do NOT track every time the package touches down, just that it's gotten where it's going. Just ask anyone who ships stuff with ebay.

If you've got a better URL, please present it.

I'm all for the post office, rain and sleet and all that (just don't mention Mrs. Cake), but when it comes to express delivery and trackability, the private carriers have it all over them.

Yeah...I had a problem where I shipped to Canada with delivery confirmation...which is worthless because they don't have any way to track it once it is going through customs. Nice when I have customers that can claim they didn't receive anything and require me to reship at my loss. But it is extremely cheap that way, at least...which is why I eventually decided to continue taking that risk.

[Jeffrey D. Smith]

No offense to anyone but in my experince the USPS is the laziest most worthless mail delivery service EVER.

How much experience do you have with different mail delivery services?

I don't know how delivery service is in Italy now, but years ago they routinely -- not they got caught at it once, but routinely -- destroyed mail when their warehouses backed up. It was just how they got back on schedule when they fell behind.

And I don't even know if <i>that</i> was the "most worthless mail delivery service EVER."

[khuxford]

How much experience do you have with different mail delivery services?

I don't know how delivery service is in Italy now, but years ago they routinely -- not they got caught at it once, but routinely -- destroyed mail when their warehouses backed up. It was just how they got back on schedule when they fell behind.

And I don't even know if <i>that</i> was the "most worthless mail delivery service EVER."

There have been more than a few USPS caught doing the same thing to mail. There was a guy who, over years, destroyed tens of thousands of pieces of mail.

[MazingMan728]

Just the latest in a long line of my store being screwed over by Diamond - we still haven't gotten ANY of the copies of the first