Joe Ferrara of Atlantis Fantasyworld in Santa Cruz, California has been following the various Talk Backs regarding Diamond's "Day Early Delivery" survey (see "Diamond Surveys Tuesday Comics") and joins the discussion:

I am absolutely in full support of receiving comics Monday for a Tuesday release day.  I have actually been in favor of this idea for many years.  I have had many discussions with fellow retailers and read many comments on line and by retailers who are not in favor of such a move but in my opinion none of the points made are strong enough to outweigh the benefits of the change.  Change is always difficult.  The hardest thing to overcome is your own inertia.  We have all worked out our own systems to maintain a level of efficiency that works for our own store.  In the 34 years that I have been a comics retailer new comic day has, at one time or another, been every day of the week causing me to rewrite procedures a ridiculous number of times.  The distributor wars were the chief architect of the changes and they came fairly often.  Since Diamond became the exclusive distributor of comics things calmed down and for the last 15 years and retailers and customers alike have all "settled in" to our Wednesday routine.  Don't worry about losing customers, the locusts will always come for the honey.  When comic day changed in the past customers were quick to adjust.

I would never tell another retailer how to run their store, or that my way is better.  Anyone who is still in business knows what they are doing.  I am just saying don't be afraid of change.  I believe we have a rare opportunity to make changes that will benefit the great majority, if not all of us.  Over time the new routine will be come just as comfortable as the old one.

I BELIEVE A TUESDAY RELEASE DAY WILL
- Increase foot traffic on the weekends
- Increase total weekly sales
- Synchronize with other media

I BELIEVE RECEIVING BOOKS ON MONDAY WILL
- Reduce labor costs
- Reduce man hours in reporting shortages and damages
- Reduce Wednesday morning stress levels
- Reduce the number of errors when processing subscription customers
- Allow for timely reorders (especially for accounts serviced out of LA)

I believe losing a week of FOC time is a small price to pay for the benefits returned.  The secret shopper service is another matter.  It is unfortunate that a few unethical individuals can make life so difficult for the rest of us.  If someone steals from me I call the police, prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law and they are banned from my store FOR LIFE.  No mercy, no second chance.  I don't have much of a theft problem.  Diamond has neither the desire nor the resources to police a street date.  I would be willing to pay a small fee to initiate the secret shopper program but I believe Diamond should be firm and strong with the penalties, starting at $1,000 a month and escalating by an additional $1,000 with each additional offense.  The cost of this program should be amortized over the offending stores.  Don't ban them from buying comics for life, just make them pay for the program FOREVER.  When was the last time you got a ticket for parking in a handicapped zone?  Never, right?  Why?  Because we all know it is so damned expensive.  No mercy.  You break the street date ONCE and it can be PROVEN you just bought a handicapped parking ticket for life.

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.