Diamond; three legged critter.

The is another shoe to drop in the discount levels; I know, that's the third shoe, but Diamond Dist. is a very strange creature.

Now that DC and Marvel have set their discount levels, it's probably time for Diamond to firm up it's discounts levels, as well.

I have a suggestion: count all product.

Our monthly catalog from them comes in at roughly 600 pages and roughly 5500 items. The first 200 pages or so are the big four comic publishers: Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, and Image, who nationally account for about 80% of all comic sales. The next 200 pages are all the other comic publishers.

Followed by separate sections.

Magazines
Books
International Books
Trading Cards
Apparel
Toys, Statues, Models
Designer Toys
Import Toys
Prints and Posters
Novelties
Games
DVD's.

Everything a pop culture store could want.

It's very handy, all in one. Because Diamond is more or less just a distributor, they give us access to a huge amount of material that otherwise would be out of reach, either because of discount levels, minimum orders, or just the sheer work it would take to set up an account with each manufacturer.

The downside is, that I need to order months in advance, and if I miss something, there is not much likelihood that Diamond will have it it stock. I have to grab it as it goes by, so to speak. Only I'm guessing how much I'll need in the future.

I could easily supply my store strictly through Diamond; at about the same discounts as I get otherwise. But something has always made me keep other distributors active. Something inside me rebels at putting all my eggs in one basket.

But Diamond has also made it easy for me to use other distributors. The discount structure is set up so that the 'exclusive' publishers, (most of the comics) which I have to order through Diamond because of their monopoly, usually gets me to a discount level that doesn't budge much with the addition of other product.

The biggest hurdle is that they have a large amount of 'net' product; that is, product without a SRP and without a discount. Almost all the trading cards and DVD's; much of the games and toys; don't have discounts, giving me absolutely no incentive to order through Diamond. Nothing I order that is net counts toward my discount.

I prefer to order more on a 'just in time' basis from other manufacturers for most of that product.

And because the comics have always ensconced me at a certain mid range discount level, I really don't have much incentive to order books from them, either.

So I order all my trading cards, almost all my games, most of my books, from elsewhere.

I do order all my toys from Diamond, because Toy Manufacturers are impossible to deal with; they have huge minimums and lousy discounts.

All this is leading to a suggestion I've made once on Comic Industry Board, where I'm given to understand Diamond lurks.

Make the games and toys and DVD's and trading cards count toward a higher discount, and you might get more of my business.

I don't know if other stores, especially stores that are focused on mostly comics, would much like this idea.

So my second suggestion is to have an opt in, opt out type discount. That is, you can opt in to have the back of the book product count toward your discount, or stick strictly to the front of the catalog.

I'm kind of torn by this suggestion. As I said, I like ordering on a 'just in time' basis, and many of my other distributors have more or less free shipping.

But I wouldn't mind having the option.