As a store that’s used Lunar since the start, this week we were planning on signing up for a UCS account as a backup because of the lack of support and issues with Lunar we’ve been having…
2 Likes
So the story is : during the first days of the switch, retailers were calling CONSTANTLY and complaining about every little thing. Not just customer service, but also the reps on the facebook page. Thats when they decided to change phone number and not list it. Only emails and the facebook group.
Now they discountined the DC facebook group and only perticipate in retailer group FOC or aomethingnof that nature. BnM stores only, online accounts are not allowed.
Usc has been great as a distributor. I have no complaints at all. If i have a problem i email both CS and Alex the rep. Usually hear something within a day or two
1 Like
If they’re going by cover price, at $4 a book that’s 125 books per month. Given the number of $5-$10 issues DC frequently offers, potentially even less books are required. Unless a shop is really, REALLY small, this doesn’t seem that high.
Does this minimum include TPBs or hardcovers at all?
There are a lot of smaller stores out there who may only order a couple copies of issues each month, or only order Detective/Batman.
Exactly. Might not sound like much on paper but I’m willing to bet there’s plenty of shops that don’t qualify now… if they’re basing their orders on store subs and pulls…
The main concern here is the small brick and mortar comic shops in my mind. I have an LCS that I go to that will have huge issues with this. Many of these stores do not sell online, so they buy just enough to keep the shelves stocked. Not to mention that they are making these changes during the pandemic, when people are strapped as it is.
I think some people are overestimating how much some shops order. I imagine many of the people in these forums are used to bigger shops with an online presence that order enough to regularly offer 1:100s. I’d be lucky to find a 1:25 variant at one of the shops around here. These smaller places are filling their customers pull lists and then maybe ordering 5-10 for the shelf. The last thing they want to do is be stuck with a ton of comics for their already overstuffed back issue bins.
Makes one wonder about the number of shops over ordering as well, as they get stuck in the consumer mentality instead of “running it as a business” mentality…
1 Like
Shop employee 1: “Hey, we got 10 pre-orders for Title X. But if we order 50 copies, we get a really cool ratio variant”
Shop employee 2: “Yeah, let’s do it, if we sell that variant at X amount of dollars, it pays for the 40 extra copies that will lie around the shop for years…”
^^ Bad way to conduct business… particularly if you end up not selling that variant. Ratio’s are a way to turn a lot of “shops” into consumers, buying more than the actual demand. 
3 Likes
This is my lcs, but there are usually so many damages that they get big credit anyway.
The $500 monthly minimum tells me that UCS wasnt making any decent profit for DC.
1 Like
Or that they are tired of dealing with small accounts. Back when I did freelance design work years ago, it was always the smaller clients that were the biggest pains. I get it. They had less money to spend, so they felt they needed to be super involved with every decision, even when they should NOT have been making those decisions.
But, the admin costs were so high for those smaller clients.
Or weening out the “collectors and speculators” who have accounts… buying to collect or flip books only, not running a real shop as a retailer.
1 Like
I think it just points toward what we all kind of knew when they got bought: the new owners would love for the shift to more digital and more graphic novels/trades over single issues to happen sooner rather than later.
Digital scares the living hell out of me. Its another piece of the 1984 agenda falling into place…
My LCS is 800sqft. Can’t get much smaller than that! They order at least 100 copies of Batman, and usually have back issues BUT I’d wager they sell 75-80% of what they ordered on average. This doesn’t include ratios, and I’m basing my numbers off of the number of 1:25 ratio covers I see on the shelf when they open at 9am. They have superior customer service and people will travel from many miles away to visit their shop just for that reason ( I drive 38 miles round trip, others come from out of town ). I think an LCS can make this work by ordering more than just Batman or Tec, expanding their line up, and maybe dipping a toe into Facebook live sales? Perhaps a mail service? DC has a lot of movies and shows coming up and that will drive more sales, too.
Im no shop owner, nor an expert, I’m just trying to see the positive here.
Positive is great! But the wording of the statement issued is what gets me. If its not 125$ worth of inventory they wont ship it till the order reachs that minimum target. thats around 32 comics a week. Sure your local every day shop is going to order $100 in batman related titles, but thats maybe 2 weeks out of the month. what about the other weeks when they only order 5 of each title? ( and thats taking a risk in some cases).
I dont think it will be an issue. i think most places will met that min. but when a single publisher sets a threshold, that it makes me pause. For ref Diamond has a similar policy, but its spread out amongst many publishers. I think Brendon is correct, I think the higher ups are pushing Digital.
1 Like
I’m fairly certain that the $500 monthly minimum is based off of the retailers discounted wholesale price, not the retail cover price. So, you’re looking at closer to $2 per book, or 250 copies of Batman. 
So you still have an old analog rotary phone? Wait, how or why are you on the internet? If you’re scared of digital then you better get rid of your NSA approved listening device with your smart phone that’s recording everything you say…
1 Like
It’s based on the cover price. So yes, if a dealer is buying books at $2 each and they have cover at $4, the minimum is the $4 cover price.