Kirby Tardy of Tardy's Collectors Corner in Grand Rapids, Michigan saw retailer Noah Broessel’s comments on shipping comics one day earlier (see “Noah Broessel of Pop Culture Paradise on Weekly Delivery Schedule”) and says he’s all for it:

Noah Broessel of Pop Culture Paradise has hit upon an important topic!  I also pick up at UPS to pad my lead time on comic set-up day, even though I pay for delivery to my store.  Every Wednesday an employee and myself drive to, and are dutifully waiting at UPS to open in order to hustle our comics to the store and begin the check-in process.  One-half hour after we check in, two more employees show up to process pull and holds, damages, shortages, etc.

Two years ago I calculated that if comics arrived ONE day early, I could trim expenses by over $20,000 every year.  I tried desperately to convince Diamond that this would go a long way toward keeping my business alive and profitable, but to no avail.  Apparently, even after 30 years of business, I can't be trusted not to violate the arbitrary "new comic release date."  Once, I did manage to get them to ship a day early for two weeks in a row due to vacation scheduling.  Things went so smoothly that of course that should/could not continue.

I encourage everyone to study their own situation, calculate how much this policy is costing you and your business and let Diamond know.  Also, keep in mind that next week’s comics are ready right now to ship and that one day early would still mean six days late!

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