{"id":4920,"date":"2023-11-01T02:39:19","date_gmt":"2023-11-01T02:39:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grahamcrackers.com\/blog\/?p=4920"},"modified":"2023-11-01T02:39:19","modified_gmt":"2023-11-01T02:39:19","slug":"help-us-help-you-by-john-e","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grahamcrackers.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/01\/help-us-help-you-by-john-e\/","title":{"rendered":"Help Us Help You by John E"},"content":{"rendered":"

You like comics?\u00a0 We like comics too.
\nWe also like to stock them for you; but in a world where there\u2019s more publishers and variants than ever before it\u2019s getting harder to know what to stock. Last month there was approx. 1,300 single issue covers in the new offering catalogs; and while we always want to get you the books you\u2019re looking for, it is definitely a challenge knowing what books to stock (since we can only fit so much onto the shelves) and what books need to be special order only.\u00a0 Here are some ways you can help us help you get the items you are looking for.<\/p>\n

\"\"Subscriptions and Ordering:
\nAs most of you are well aware, we offer a subscription service at all of our store locations as well as on our website.\u00a0 It\u2019s a free service we offer, we just ask that you stop in at least once a month.\u00a0 If you have been shopping with us for any given amount of time, you may be familiar with our monthly Previews summary we give out to all subscription\/club members.\u00a0 This has all the highlights of the major #1\u2019s and mini-series starting up. \u00a0Simply check off the items you would like and we will get you set up for those immediately.\u00a0 If you are interested in a title, your best option is to subscribe to it.\u00a0 If you\u2019re saying to yourself \u201cI just want to check it out first\u201d, your best option is to sign up for it.\u00a0 You can always change your mind later (Editors note: please don\u2019t forget to tell us if you do).\u00a0 If we are out of something, it\u2019s because we have only our prior sales history and subscription totals to go off of.\u00a0 We sadly can\u2019t \u201ctake a chance\u201d on everything, so subscribing ahead of time helps us beyond measure.<\/p>\n

How ordering works:
\nOur ordering goes in 2 phases.\u00a0 Initial Order, and Final Order Cutoff.
\nInitial orders for us are due by the third week of the month (On Average. Sometimes it\u2019s earlier, sometimes later depending on holidays).\u00a0 This is when we put our initial orders in for upcoming titles and the next issues of a series.\u00a0\u00a0 For example, if we have 10 subscribers for Title X, <\/em>we know we have to order at least 10 copies to cover subscriptions.\u00a0 Initial order gives the publisher an idea on what to expect so they can plan their print run.\u00a0 You know when the monthly Previews catalog comes out?\u00a0 You have just under a month to look through it before we have to turn in our orders.<\/p>\n

Final Order Cutoff (FOC) is our last chance to adjust our orders to best match what we need according to our records.\u00a0 This happens 3 to 4 weeks out<\/strong> from release depending on the publisher.\u00a0 If we don\u2019t know you want a certain book at this point, there is a chance we will not be stocking it for the racks.\u00a0 For example, Title X<\/em> from Marvel has 4 covers.\u00a0 If we have 10 people down for the book, we know we need at least 10 of the regular \u201cA cover\u201d.\u00a0 If we don\u2019t know if anyone wants the alternate covers, it\u2019s a crapshoot on guessing what people will want.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I don\u2019t know what the alternate covers look like\u201d is something we hear a lot simply due to publishers being their own worst enemies.\u00a0 We can think of nothing more exciting than “cover by TBD Artist” or “Cover not yet revealed”. Often times we don\u2019t get artist detail or cover images until the Friday before FOC is due (either Sunday or Monday depending on publisher) and occasionally not until the books arrives; and this even happens with quiet a few publishers.\u00a0 If the publisher can\u2019t give us enough time to show customers an image, it\u2019s not much incentive for us to stock it for the shelves.<\/p>\n

Once FOC comes, we are locked in with our orders and we cannot<\/em> adjust them.\u00a0 Also, we cannot simply \u201cOrder more\u201d as comics are periodicals just like magazines like Sport Illustrated or Entertainment Weekly.\u00a0 They get one initial print run and for most books, that is it.\u00a0 In the rare chance we are still able to order more of a book, it is usually from a buffer the publisher has to cover damages and replacements.\u00a0 Keep in mind as well that 2nd<\/sup> Printings do not always happen.<\/p>\n

\"\"Hopefully this helps to clear up a bit on how we order.\u00a0 When we are out of stock on day of release, many times it comes down to \u201cwe have 6 people down for this book so based off previous sales we ordered 10 copies\u201d and then 6 people sign up for the book the week before release putting us 2 in the hole.\u00a0 Other situations with small publisher releases, we don\u2019t always stock items for the shops unless people tell us they want them ahead of time which means if we don\u2019t know someone, for example, wants Al Capone Vampire #1<\/em>, we likely won\u2019t order it.\u00a0 Did it sound cool? Yes but nobody asked for it ahead of time and with zero buzz on a book, we can\u2019t take the chance of it sitting on the shelf for 6 months.<\/p>\n

\"\"PREVIEWS Catalog is your friend.
\nPreviews is your best way to know what is coming out.\u00a0 When you buy the catalog we include the Marvel Previews and DC Connect as well.\u00a0 These will tell you exactly what is coming out.\u00a0 If it\u2019s something you heard about at a convention, but it hasn\u2019t shown up in the catalogs yet, we do not have solicitations and the publishers may change details before we are even able to sign anyone up for it. Art and covers are not always finalized, but usually more often than not, the images are accurate.\u00a0 If the publisher does not have an image, the fastest way to find out is to keep an eye on social media as sometimes artists will post their covers before they hit the solicitations (again, publishers can be their own worst enemies).\u00a0 If you see a cover you want, it benefits you to let us know as soon as possible<\/em> so we can get that on order and added to our order numbers.\u00a0 If you wait until the week before release because you saw it in the newsletter, at that point it is too late to order it directly from the distributor and we may not be able to get the cover, or it will be delayed if we have to get it from one of our other store locations.\u00a0 Long story short, the earlier you tell us you want something, the sooner we can get that info added to the order and get you exactly what you are hoping to get.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You like comics?\u00a0 We like comics too. We also like to stock them for you; but in a world where there\u2019s more publishers and variants than ever before it\u2019s getting harder to know what to stock. Last month there was approx. 1,300 single issue covers in the new offering catalogs; and while we always want […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":4921,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article"],"yoast_head":"\nHelp Us Help You by John E - Graham Crackers Comics Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.grahamcrackers.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/01\/help-us-help-you-by-john-e\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Help Us Help You by John E - Graham Crackers Comics Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"You like comics?\u00a0 We like comics too. 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