Ilan Strasser of Fat Moose Comics in
Kudos to Marvel for having overprinted Captain America #25 in anticipation of the extra demand that was generated by the media buzz for the book. However, when I placed my reorder on the Wednesday the book came out, I was told by my Diamond rep that it would go to reorder and that I would 'probably' get the books. So as to not create bad feelings among those seeking the book, I told everyone that their best bet would be the 2nd prints and that we would not count on getting the 1st prints.
My customer service rep is hardworking, determined, and truly cares about her accounts. She is by far the best customer service rep I have ever dealt with in my 25 years of business. Therefore, I believed her when she told me that the books would 'probably' come was Marvel hedging the 'stun factor' of the story and the media effect. This in spite of the fact that Marvel already knew we would be getting the books.
Obviously if I had been told at the time of reorder that the books were definitely coming (which by Friday was common knowledge), I could have told all those looking for the book that yes, they could reserve a copy with confidence. The next two weeks will tell how many of those sales I lost because I acted responsibly as a result of having less than complete information.
So again, kudos to Marvel for overprinting; but next time, please let us retailers know where we truly stand so we can properly advise our customers (especially the new ones coming into our stores for the first time) as to whether or not they can really get the book(s) they want. Or better yet, how about an overship in such an obvious case of extra retailer demand?
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