It didn't take long for us to start getting comments on Marvel's new trade terms.  Jason Bardyla of Happy Harbor Comics and Toys of Jasper, Edmonton & Calgary, Alberta and Vancouver, BC sent us his thoughts:

This announcement certainly creates a mixed reaction with me as it seems to address a 'problem' that I wasn't even aware of nor had I seen anyone complain about.  The 'Order flexibility' is a much appreciated and excellent move as it allows more time to adjust, either up or down, orders based more on sales and much less on speculation.  However, the 'New Discount Calculation' is a tremendous blow to my business.

My business has been growing slowly and steadily for the past three years but recently an excellent opportunity has placed me in a position for a big leap.  In the process of looking to open our fourth store, we realized that the size of it would double our total order each month and bump us considerably into better discount plateaus, especially with Marvel, a 'Premiere' comic supplier with a very poor discount structure.

Each month we plan very carefully to order just the right amount of product from Marvel; not too little to ensure that we reach a respectable discount level but not too much that we are not loading ourselves up with stock and tying up our money.  This was very easy to determine as a simple program would tally up our orders and tell us what we were spending and how much of a discount we would be receiving.  Very simple and easy to see if we needed a couple more books to get a few more percentage points.

Reaching particular discount plateaus has been taken away from me with this new system.  I can no longer, on a month to month basis, determine if buying one more trade paperback will put me where I want to be as now the discount is determined for me based on the previous year's orders.  And further, this system will completely destroy my potential for increased profits from my new store during the most crucial stage of its existence.  Where I will be ordering substantially more product, I am being punished with a lower discount based on sales when I had fewer stores and Marvel was offering less product than they are now.  It will take me a year to see the benefits of my increased orders while Marvel gets my money right now.  This process is not only unfair for the 'overnight' nature of which it was sprung on us but also because it prevents me from ordering effectively and takes more money from my pocket.

As from below, 'Under the old terms... Reorders had orders placed after the initial order date would not positively affect your discount' is false logic for this new policy since Marvel doesn't have books available for reorder or after the initial cut-off date.  This system is a terrible idea and was unnecessary.  It discourages growth and prevents retailers from accurately knowing what kind of discounts to expect from month to month.