*ADDED INFO 9/17 - Options in Getting Variants 30% Discount

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drmirage
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*ADDED INFO 9/17 - Options in Getting Variants 30% Discount

Post by drmirage »

NEW INFORMATION WAS ADDED on SEPT 21ST. PLEASE SCROLL DOWN AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST

First of all, I am not sure if this should be in the "General Valiant Discussion" OR "Buy / Sell / Trade" section of the boards.
(If this topic should be moved, mods, please move it to the correct/appropriate forum... Thanks... drmirage)
(Also if this needs to be sticked, deleted... you know what to do.)

(If anyone also has another option to get Valiant Variants at a better discount. Please PM me or reply to the post / thread. I think all VF Fan members can benefit from this information.)

So recently, I was asked by a number of VF members here where I've purchased multiple Valiant Variants at a discount. Let me begin....
(Its a very long post, but I did my best to explain how I get them and I hope some members here can benefit with this too. I know a few members have difficulty aquiring Valiant Variants locally because their LCS does not order enough to qualify. So here we go...!)

In the previous months, before the Summer of Valiant, I have been purchasing my books from Impulse Creations. I have ordered most of my Valiant Variants from them and have been very happy with their price, service and most importantly the condition their books. My first order with them was when the Harbinger Hardcover was being sold. I was very pleased when the books arrived.

***I am not affiliated with this company in any way, nor am I getting paid to do this, but I thought about sharing this information to all the Valiant Fan members because in my opinion, this a great option to purchase/pre-order variants at a 30% discount without going through the secondary market. Their website is http://www.impulsecreations.net" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Basically their reserve system is a pre-order system. It doesn't require prepaying a month or more in adanvce. All you have to do is set up a reserve account and then start adding titles or specific issues or other items to it. Any upcoming item can be added and it will be reserved for you automatically when it becomes available. Billing then occurs when the order is generated which is typically one week before the item is available to ship. If you have any other questions about this system just let them know. Their email is sales@impulsecreations.net

To explain the billing system in an easier way: I ordered several copies of X-O Manowar #5 1:50 Variant two months ago before the Previews deadline and I my credit card was charged on Friday, Sept 7th. The books shipped on Wednesday, Sept 12th.)

My most recent orders have been the following. (Note that I had to pre-order these books before deadline set by Previews, but remember I don't need to pay until the order is generated so I was only charged last Wednesday)

X-O Manowar #1 1:100 Gold @ $69.99
X-O Manowar #5 1:50 @ $34.99
X-O Manowar #1 1:50 QR @ $34.99
(The X-O #1 QR was an incentive with the X-O Manowar #1 4th Printing)

Currently, you can pre-order any of the following titles at 30% Discount.

SHADOWMAN #1 1:50 SIENKIEWICZ CVR for $34.99
SHADOWMAN #1 1:20 JOHNSON CVR $14.00
HARBINGER #6 1:25 CLARK CVR $17.50
BLOODSHOT #5 1:25 ARCIA CVR $17.50

(There is NO limit on how many copies you can pre-order, you will get a 30% discount in everything. If a member asks what will happen if someone pre-orders 100 copies of Shadowman #1 1:50. Then we can assume that Impulse Creations will need to order 5,000 copies just to earn 100 copies of the 1:50 book. Honestly the answer is I do not know, but I am sure you will receive a $3,500 bill once its fulfilled and VEI will sell 5,000 more copies of Shadowman #1. Then, Dino / VEI can make another sellout announcement. :D

Note: You should only add items to your list if you're sure you want them since Impulse Creations cannot cancel their orders for items that you request. If you're ever unsure about the price on an item though just ask or email them before adding it. The subscription discount gets you 30% off the regular price which is the cover price for normal comics. For limited variants, the regular price is $1.00 for each regular version needed to qualify for the variant (i.e. a 1:10 variant is $9.99, a 1:25 variant is $24.99, etc.). I ordered the X-O Manowar Gold #1 earlier, since this is a 1:100 variant, the regular price is $99.99 so the discounted price would be $69.99.

Impulse Creations does carry a few newly released Valiant Variant books, but usually the most sought after variants are no longer available because they either sell out quiclky or they already have pre-sold them with pre-orders. However if you do want to purchase current new release variant issues you can go to their website to see what is available. (Note: If you buy the new variants that are available that are newly released, a discount of only 20% discount is given instead of 30%)

X-O Manowar (2012) #5 NM (1:20 Variant Zircher Cover) $15.99
http://www.impulsecreations.net/catalog ... 49489.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Bloodshot (2012) #1 NM (1:20 Variant Aja Cover) $15.99
http://www.impulsecreations.net/catalog ... 47427.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

---------------------

While I order from various online comic vendors (ie.) DCBService, Midtown Comics, Mail Order Comcis, and my local LCS etc, I still prefer to order the variants from Impulse Creations... Let me explain why Impulse Creations has worked for me when ordering strictly Valiant Variants.

DCB Service: While DCBS gives you 35% discount on regular issues or sometimes up to 50% on a few select issues, the prices of the variants are now at full retail: (DCBS used to give discounts on Variants before.. but they stopped offering those discounts)
(ie.) DCBS Shadowman #1 1:50 @ $50.00 compared to Impulse Creations @ $34.99 (includes the 30% discount)
(ie.) DCBS Shadowman #1 1:20 @ $20.00 compared to Impulse Creations @ $14.00 (includes the 30% discount)

Midtown Comics: One thing I love about Midtown Comics is they have variants available if you missed preordering them. I usually order books from Midtown if I missed the Previews deadline for preorders. (I am not sure what Midtown charges for preordering variants because I have never asked or done it. Their system does not let you make advance orders on variants, if anyone has any information on this, please send me a PM)

Presently the prices Midtown is not really discounted because after the 15% discount, the prices of the Variant books are still higher, but the advatage Midtown offers is you can order variants during and after its released. They usually offer the Variants books a week before the release dates so you can order them 1 week in advance.
Here are the Price / Ratio Midtown Comic Variants
1:100 @ $106.25
1:50 @ $51.00
1:20 @ $21.25

Mail Order Comics: I have not attempted to order from MOC before, but what I understand is you need to order 50 copies in order to get 1; 1:50 and 2: 1:20 books. (or in this type of ordering process)
Since we are talking about Variants. Lets calculate ordering 50 copies of Shadowman #1 = $140.00 and you will get the following:
50 copies of Shadoman #1 1:1, 2 copies of Shadowman #1 1:20, 1 copy of Shadowman #1 1:50.
(In my opinion, I would go this route only if I wanted to get 50 copies of Shadowman #1 Regular Cover... and keep the extra variants) :)

Last on the list is through my LCS (Local Comic Shop): My LCS is House of Secrets in Burbank, CA. These guys are really cool BTW.. I've bumped into Rames818 and Rufusharley here once on separate visits. I pre-order 1 copy of each VEI title that is released. Basically its 1 of every cover that comes out. While I do get a 25% discount on regular issues and variants, my LCS does not always qualify in earning the 1:100, the 1:50 and sometimes even the 1:25 variants.

Most times, I get the 1:20 / 1:25 variants between $5.99 - $8.99 plus a 25% discount. While I am able to purchase variants at low prices, the quantity of variants is very limited. The most copies in a single variant issue I have seen probably is 2 copies. The only 1:50 I've gotten was the Harbinger #1 1:50 QR. They did not qualify for any other 1:50 including X-O Manowar #1 QR, Bloodshot #1 Ribic. They did not even qualify for the Valiant Black Shadowman Book.

So, while I get the Variants at a great prices, one important concern I do have with my LCS is the condition of the variant books. The condition of the books are usually somewhere between a 9.0 to a 9.4. I can assume that its probably due to Diamond's distribution because my LCS only orders a few books and they get maybe only 1 or 2 of the variant incentives. I have already asked my LCS if they can get cleaner copies and I am told. It arrived that way. So it is what it is.

In conclusion, since I get the variants at great prices, I never really complain about the condition. Its sort of like, I get the opportunity to purhase 1:20/1:25 books for $5.99 - $8.99 plus a 25% discount. I just buy the book without even looking through it or asking any questions.)

----------------------------------------------

This section are the steps on how to pre-order variants Impulse Creations ( http://www.impulsecreations.net" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; )

A few members have asked me (after registration) that they do not see the Variant books listed. So I will be explaining it here on how I make a pre-order with some images.

Just follow the simple steps after you have created an account. I have to be honest that I was a bit overwhelmed to learn how to do this on my first pre-order. I actually send Impulse a few emails and finally I understood how it works. So be patient and hopefully you can do it with following these steps.

Step 1: (OBTAIN THE PRODUCT CODE AND ADD IT IN IMPULSE CREATION'S RESERVE SYSTEM)
(I DO NOT THINK ITS IMPORANT TO USE A PRODUCT CODE IF YOU CAN DESCRIBE THE DETAILS OF THE VARIANTS ON THE NOTES, BUT I DON'T WANT TO TAKE ANY CHANCES. I JUST MAKE IT EASIER SO I USE THE PREVIEWS PRODUCT CODES OR PRODUCT ID #)

Image

Since Previews does not always show the Product Code of all the Variants Covers. I look at DCBS's Website to obtain the product code. If you follow DCBS's schedule, you will know whether you are going to make the order before the cut-off date or you are just in time. So its pretty simple. If its on DCBS's catalog, you can order it with Impulse Creations... if its not there any longer... you probably have missed the preorder schedule. Sometimes, the product codes are not always there in DCBS like the XO Manowar 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Priting because those are never shown in previews (they are sort of last minute solicitations).

We just got announcements for new printings for:

Archer & Armstrong #1 3rd Printing,
Archer & Armstrong #2 2nd Printing and
Harbinger #1 2nd Printing

What you can do is ask a board member or LCS who has access to the Previews system and you can get the product code or send Impulse Creations an email if they know what you are talking about. An example of this is the XO#1 1:50 QR which was associated with X-O #1 4th Printing. (this did not show up on any catalog except for the LCS's Previews Online System)

If you do not have a product code, its not important. (Just add it in the notes if its a 2nd or 3rd Printing)

So in review... Search for the Publisher "Valiant Entertainment" on DCBS's website and obtain the product codes. (I have attached an image)

Step 2: (FINDING THE BOOKS IN IMPULSE CREATIONS - RESERVE LIST SETUP)
Image
If you look at the dropdown section of "COMICS OTHER TITLES" you will see Shadowman 2012. (I have attached an image). If you do not know how to get here.. you need to set up an account with Impulse Creations and under my account information, you need to slect "MANAGE RESERVE SYSTEM INFORMATION ; STATUS ACTIVE"

Step 3 (Editing the Title name, Start Issue, End Issue and Quantity)
Image
Lets make the example that you want to order the Shadowman (2012) 1:50 Variant. (I have attached an image). The way Impulse Creations work is they do not list the available Variants or Prices. So you will have to do it manually. Its very simple to enter in the information. For the Title Note, Impulse Creations has told me that the Product Code is sufficient enough, but I usually add other notes like 1:50 Variant. I also add (Best / Cleanest Copies), but its not necessary since they do what they do very well.

Starting Issue : "1"
Ending Issue : "1"
Quantity : " Any quantity you want"
Title Note: "SHADOWMAN (NEW) #1 1:50 VARIANT INCV SIENKIEWICZ CVR Product Code: SEP121222"

Step 4 (Reviewing your subscriptions)
Image
When you have clicked on "Continue" after you entered the fields. You should review the subscriptions on the bottom of the Reserve Sytem Information.
(I have attached an image)

Step 5 (Adding Different Variants to the same Title Name)
Image
Someone asked how do you add both a 1:50 and 1:20 Variants and this is how you do it.
Click on "Add new entry for above title" and it will create another field for the Title Name.

The other thing I did not mention is make sure your subscription service is activated. Make sure you have a check mark on that box. Also, make sure your mailing / billing and payment info is all correct. For shipping I have Once Montly Standard. I believe Impulse Creations did not charge me for shipping on any of my orders since I placed orders regularly.

So that is how I get Variants at 30% off on the books.

They will not charge your cc until the books ship. (to be exact, they will charge your cc on that Friday before the books leave on Wednesday.. so technically 5 days before the books ship)

Remember the prices on variants are:

1:100 = $69.99,
1:50 = $34.99,
1:25 = $17.49,
1:20 = $13.99,
1:10 = $6.99


I have asked Impulse Creations before of they can guarantee NM/M condition books. I was told that there is simply no way for them to guarantee a particular grade for any book as all books are all mass produced items which may be subject to minor defects as part of the production process. However they do reject any books that don't arrive in "new" condition and the vast majority of books do arrive in NM or better condition. Upon receipt, they handle every book with extreme care, bag and board them immediately, and have them stored carefully so that they are not subject to further handling. Because of this, you can count on receiving the best condition books possible but they cannot guarantee a particular grade or that a book will be completely free of even a minor defect.

Regarding about guarantee on pre-orders. Please check the Question and Answer Section at the bottom of this post. So far to date, I all my orders have been fulfilled without any problems.

As of last week, I did pre-order 12 copies of the Shadowman 1:50 When I receive these books, some will be submitted to CGC and I'll also be reselling a few copies to hopefully none of you @ $50.00.. (Just kidding...) :D :twisted:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=38150" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Again, If anyone has another option to get Valiant Variants at a better discount. Please PM or reply to the post / thread. I think all VF Fan members can benefit from this information.

I think this is the longest post / thread / topic I have written. I apologize if its long and repetitive, but if it can benefit a few members, that's great.

Cheers :thumb: 'drmirage'


--------------------------------------------------

NEW INFORMATION ADDED on SEPT 17TH

There are some new information that needed to be added because there were several important questions from board members that I did know what the answers were. I asked Impulse Creations if they could answer them:

I received a response from Ryan who is from Impulse Creations. (I highlighted some imporant things in red)

How can you offer low prices on the books?

We're able to offer lower prices on most books due to the fact that we can
order as many as we need to meet the demand so the prices are largely
based on the cost of the extra regular books required to get the variants
we need.

Can you guaranty pre orders?

As for guaranteeing preorders, we guarantee to order sufficient stock to
meet advance requests for customers who requested variants before our
orders are due in to the publishers each month.
We usually order extras
beyond that and can fill most late requests but we can't order more after
the publishers' deadlines have passed.

While we always order to meet demand, there are some circumstances where
not all orders can be filled such as books with a set print run limit that
causes allocations to stores and books that arrive damaged or shorted and
can't be replaced. Such situations are beyond our control but they occur
with far less than 1% of all books so most customers are never affected.

What are slightly more common are books that are damaged or shorted and
are replaced but not in time to fill orders shipping that week. In such cases a
book does get backordered but fills as soon as replacement copies arrive

Do you have any plans to raise prices on variants?

At this point we have no plans to raise prices on variants. Those prices
are based on the cost of the regular covers needed to get the variants
though so they could change but cover prices would have to go up at least
beyond $3.99 before variant prices would be affected.

Do you have any plans to change the 30% discount?

We also have no plans to change the 30% discount for items requested in
advance through the reserve system.


Could you make pre-order changes in the reserve system?
At what point is the pre-order locked in where you can no longer change it?


Technically you can add and remove items up until Tuesday at 6 PM of the
week before an item is released. However, as mentioned above, we can only
guarantee the availability of variants which are requested before our
monthly deadlines which are usually around the 25th or so of the month of
the most recent Previews catalog (i.e. variants from the September
Previews can only be guaranteed if requested by September 25th).

You can still remove items up until the Tuesday before release but we do
ask that you try to avoid that if possible as it costs us in already
ordered but unsold items and if that occurs often enough from multiple
customers it would force us to raise prices to offset that cost.

Thank You,
Ryan
Impulse Creations
http://www.impulsecreations.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

-------------------------------------------------------------------

NEW INFORMATION ADDED on SEPT 21ST

After waiting for months.... I've finally received my most recent order on Tuesday, Sept 18th. I have examined each book and here is my feedback and thoughts about the condition of the books.

X-O Manowar #1 Gold (20 ordered copies)
13 copies NM+/M
5 copies NM
2 copies NM-

X-O Manowar #5 1:50 (20 ordered copies)
8 copies NM+/M
11 copies NM,
1 copy VF+

X-O Manowar #1 QR
(6 ordered copies - 5/6 copies back ordered)
1 copy VF+

(1 ordered copy)Bloodshot #2 NM+/M
(4 ordered) copies) X-O Manowar #2 2nd Printing NM+ (1) copy NM
(12 ordered copies) of X-O Manowar # 1 4th Printing NM+/M
(6 ordered copies) Archer & Armstrong #1 2nd Print NM+/M
(3 ordered copies) of Bloodshot #3 1:20 NM+/M
(4 ordered copies) Archer & Armstrong #2 NM+/M

So, a majority of the books were in NM+ condition. Overall, I am pleased professional packaging and condition of the books. I believe that Impulse Creations is the best in the business that is why I order from this company. I was missing 5 QR because the replacment copies I was told were rejected. IC told me that the QR's had significant thumb creases on the spine due to poor handling. I was told the distributor is currently working to get me replacements. Though there were some books that had a few minor issues and a two books that were VF+, I have decided that will be keeping all these books.

I know that there are a few stores that do guarantee higher grades but they do so by charging much higher prices which allows them to order thousands of extra books to be disposed of or sold for pennies on the dollar. Its an option for me to consider, but I believe Impulse works very hard to keep their standards high and their prices low and I believe that they offer the best overall value anywhere.
Last edited by drmirage on Fri Sep 21, 2012 11:16:56 pm, edited 25 times in total.

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Re: Options For Getting Variants 30% Discount - *Very Long P

Post by rjrjr »

Notice how for the Valiant titles, all the mail order retailers upped the price for the variants. The prices for the variants from other companies are less expensive, by quite a bit. DCBS started at a much lower price with X-O Manowar #1 and doubled the price the following month due to the demand.
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Re: Options For Getting Variants 30% Discount - *Very Long P

Post by arghh! »

If everyone hits one of these sites like impulse creations they will either be unable to fill all the orders or they will have to raise their price on them. They are already blowing out copies of the regular books on eBay from the variants they are selling now. :?

(but it is cool for you to help people out nonetheless)

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Re: Options For Getting Variants 30% Discount - *Very Long P

Post by drmirage »

I stated that their pricing for limited variants, the regular price is $1.00 for each regular version needed to qualify for the variant (i.e. a 1:10 variant is $9.99, a 1:25 variant is $24.99, etc.) Plus they have always honored the 30% discount. I have been placing multiple variant book orders and they have all been fulfilled. :hope:

I also most recently placed an order for quite a number of X-O Manowar Gold #1's. They were also all fulfilled.
arghh! wrote:If everyone hits one of these sites like impulse creations they will either be unable to fill all the orders or they will have to raise their price on them. They are already blowing out copies of the regular books on eBay from the variants they are selling now. :?

(but it is cool for you to help people out nonetheless)

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Re: Options For Getting Variants 30% Discount - *Very Long P

Post by arghh! »

If 20 people were to order multiple 1:100s of the valiant books do you think they could sustain that? As full disclosure I have had my sub service with impulse creations for 10 years now and they have always managed to get everything I have ordered.

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Re: Options For Getting Variants 30% Discount - *Very Long P

Post by tchalla8 »

So I went through all the steps just to try it out, but at the end it doesn't show me a final price. How do I know the correct discount it being applied?
Spooooon!!!!

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Re: Options For Getting Variants 30% Discount - *Very Long P

Post by drmirage »

The prices are not listed on the reserve system, but you will receive the 30% discount. If you have questions, you can email them.

Also as a disclosure, I also pre-ordered:

I did order a dozen copies of X-O #1 1:100 Gold, X-O #5 1:50 and X-O #1 QR

All of them were fulfilled.
tchalla8 wrote:So I went through all the steps just to try it out, but at the end it doesn't show me a final price. How do I know the correct discount it being applied?
Last edited by drmirage on Sat Sep 15, 2012 1:33:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Options For Getting Variants 30% Discount - *Very Long P

Post by tchalla8 »

Wow, this is a convoluted process. Ok, last question. It only allows me to add Shadowman to my list once, but if I want both a 1:50 and 1:20 do I add them both to the edited notes for that entry? And do I then make it quantity 2 and not 1?
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Re: Options For Getting Variants 30% Discount - *Very Long P

Post by drmirage »

Good question. You need to add each one of them. I separate all orders by product code. So if you are ordering the 1:20 and 1:50 they should be separate. Hope that makes sense.

You can add Shadowman to your list more than once to separate the variants.
tchalla8 wrote:Wow, this is a convoluted process. Ok, last question. It only allows me to add Shadowman to my list once, but if I want both a 1:50 and 1:20 do I add them both to the edited notes for that entry? And do I then make it quantity 2 and not 1?
Last edited by drmirage on Sat Sep 15, 2012 1:35:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Options For Getting Variants 30% Discount - *Very Long P

Post by arghh! »

Dr. M,

I only ordered 1 X-O 1:50 and it is listed as back ordered. I did get a gold in but it is probably a vf+/nm-.

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Re: Options For Getting Variants 30% Discount - *Very Long P

Post by drmirage »

I ordered 20 of the 1:50 and they were fulfilled. Did you receive your books yet? I always get new NM or better copies from them.

I get my package from them on Tuesday and I am not anticipating any problems.
arghh! wrote:Dr. M,

I only ordered 1 X-O 1:50 and it is listed as back ordered. I did get a gold in but it is probably a vf+/nm-.

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Re: Options For Getting Variants 30% Discount - *Very Long P

Post by arghh! »

Yea I live the next state over so I got mine yesterday. It is only the second book ever to go back ordered. Manhattan Projects was the other. My harby 1:50 was beat up bad and they sent me a new one and it wasnt much better. I blame diamond and the cover stock for all those issues though not them. They pack pretty well and bag and board.

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Re: Options For Getting Variants 30% Discount - *Very Long P

Post by tchalla8 »

drmirage wrote:Good question. You need to add each one of them. I separate all orders by product code. So if you are ordering the 1:20 and 1:50 they should be separate. Hope that makes sense.

You can add Shadowman to your list more than once to separate the variants.
tchalla8 wrote:Wow, this is a convoluted process. Ok, last question. It only allows me to add Shadowman to my list once, but if I want both a 1:50 and 1:20 do I add them both to the edited notes for that entry? And do I then make it quantity 2 and not 1?
It doesn't allow me to add the Shadowman title more than once.
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Re: Options For Getting Variants 30% Discount - *Very Long P

Post by rambone »

thanks for the help lcs is the houston area are horrible

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Re: Options For Getting Variants 30% Discount - *Very Long P

Post by drmirage »

OK to order additional Product Codes of Shadowman.

You need to click on "Add new entry for above title"

Then you can enter SHADOWMAN (NEW) #1 1:20 COPY INCV JOHNSON CVR Product Code: SEP121221

I have attached an image.

Image
tchalla8 wrote:
It doesn't allow me to add the Shadowman title more than once.

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Re: Options For Getting Variants 30% Discount - *Very Long P

Post by cjv »

Well, presumably if they keep getting order for the variants only (or mostly variants) then they won't be able to fill them all. It's simple math.

I don't know how much a store pays for comics, but let's say they pay 50% of retail (??). So to order a XO Manowar Gold, they have to order 100 regular issues ($200).

If they sell the XO Manowar Gold for $70 (based on your price list), they still need to sell 8 regular issues to break even.

The demand for regular issues is probably pretty steady - it won't increase in the same as the supple will when they order the variant issues. So basically there is an upper level cap for the number of variants they can sell at that price and still make money. Presumably the cap was not met previously, since Dr.Mirage was ordering, and getting, 20 of the various high variant issues (1:50's and 1:100's).

Let's just hope that the Valiantfans.com people don't push them past that cap.

Chris

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Re: Options For Getting Variants 30% Discount - *Very Long P

Post by arghh! »

cjv wrote:Well, presumably if they keep getting order for the variants only (or mostly variants) then they won't be able to fill them all. It's simple math.

I don't know how much a store pays for comics, but let's say they pay 50% of retail (??). So to order a XO Manowar Gold, they have to order 100 regular issues ($200).

If they sell the XO Manowar Gold for $70 (based on your price list), they still need to sell 8 regular issues to break even.

The demand for regular issues is probably pretty steady - it won't increase in the same as the supple will when they order the variant issues. So basically there is an upper level cap for the number of variants they can sell at that price and still make money. Presumably the cap was not met previously, since Dr.Mirage was ordering, and getting, 20 of the various high variant issues (1:50's and 1:100's).

Let's just hope that the Valiantfans.com people don't push them past that cap.

Chris
This is what I was trying to say before! They are already selling the regular issues on eBay at a discount. Plus they have to pay some one to list them, pack them, ship them, then eBay fees, PayPal fees, credit card fees, and pretty soon they aren't making anything on the regular issues. No business can operate just breaking even. DCBS ran in to this problem so they had to raise the price on their variants (drastically).

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Re: Options For Getting Variants 30% Discount - *Very Long P

Post by drmirage »

I've thought about this and this is what I can assume.

Pre-orders maybe canceled due to the following circumstances:

a. Pre-Orders are off the roof (say if 100 of their customers pre-order 5 copies of a 1:50 Variant)
b. Pre-Orders surpass VEI Print Numbers.

As of date, I have not yet had any cancellation with my orders.

About raising their prices like DCBS. This is possible, but I have been ordering from Impulse for quite some time now and the discounts have always been 30% store wide on pre-orders. I look at it this way. I believe Impulse sells more Marvel and DC books than any other publisher. I am positive that they sell a ton more of Marvel and DC variants and those prices have not been raised.

All the major online comic vendors (Midtown, MOC, DCBS, Impulse) have their own way of doing business and have a different business model as I have discussed on the first post. I am sure Impulse knows what they are doing. Lets see what happens in November.

I ordered 12 copies of Shadowman #1 1:50.

I think pre-orders are there for a reason. Correct me if I am wrong, the publisher gets some sort of an idea of how many copies are pre-ordered through all the different stores. The publishers get a gauge of how many issues they need to print. This is done 2 months so it gives printers and publishers time to work together.

It all supposedly works out.

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Re: Options For Getting Variants 30% Discount - *Very Long P

Post by cjv »

It all supposedly works out...until it doesn't.

All I am saying is that their model is not economically viable is the orders for the variants starts to exceed a certain number. That number depends on how many regular issues they can sell, the amount they are charged, and the profit margin they are working on.

Once the orders for variants, even if the are pre-orders, exceeds that threshold, it is no longer economically viable for them to continue to offer variants the way way are. Either they will have to raise prices, limit orders per person, or cancel some orders (based on customer time? volume? putting your order in first? who knows).

To use your example of the Shadowman 1:50 - you ordered 12. That costs you $420. They have to order 50 Shadowman #1's for each that your ordered. That's 600 Shadowman number 1's. Assuming it costs them 25% of cover price (this might be off, as I said!), that costs them $600. They have no paid $600 to get $420 for you. They need to sell about 60 of those Shadowman #1 (assuming about 70% off cover) just to break even. Maybe they sell on average 150 regular issues, so they are fine. Now, add another person doing the same thing - that's another 60 regular issues they need to sell! But they can still cover it. Another person comes in, only buying 6 1:50 comics. The store now needs to sell 150 to break even - they are at their critical point. Their profit margin was decreasing for each additional order of the variant, until now if someone wants to buy them, they are losing money.

(And yes, it is not linear, since the expenses are not increasing linearly for each customer, but you get the idea)

For every person buying 12 of the 1:50 variant, they need to sell 60 more regular issues just to break even. Presumably for every customer coming in who wants to buy Valiant, they are not buying huge numbers of the regular issues. The demand for the variants grows faster than the demand for the regular issues.

It is true that many people can't afford even the discounted variants, and so they focus on simply buying the regular issues. And you can make up some of it buy blowing out the regular issues on eBay ($2 per issue or something) but you still need to sell a lot of those to account for the initial outlay of costs. That is a not a viable business mode if the orders for the variants exceed a certain level. The model works fine when there are limited people ordering the variants, or you limit the number of variants a person can purchase, but with large numbers of people ordering lots of variants, they won't make money. What the actual limit is depends on a lot of information I don't have.


Let's just hope that posting this thread doesn't push them past that limit. :)

Chris

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Re: Options For Getting Variants 30% Discount - *Very Long P

Post by drmirage »

There are some new information that needed to be added because there were several important questions from board members that I did know what the answers were. I asked Impulse Creations if they could answer them:

I received a response from Ryan who is from Impulse Creations. (I highlighted some imporant things in red)

How can you offer low prices on the books?

We're able to offer lower prices on most books due to the fact that we can
order as many as we need to meet the demand so the prices are largely
based on the cost of the extra regular books required to get the variants
we need.

Can you guaranty pre orders?

As for guaranteeing preorders, we guarantee to order sufficient stock to
meet advance requests for customers who requested variants before our
orders are due in to the publishers each month.
We usually order extras
beyond that and can fill most late requests but we can't order more after
the publishers' deadlines have passed.

While we always order to meet demand, there are some circumstances where
not all orders can be filled such as books with a set print run limit that
causes allocations to stores and books that arrive damaged or shorted and
can't be replaced. Such situations are beyond our control but they occur
with far less than 1% of all books so most customers are never affected.

What are slightly more common are books that are damaged or shorted and
are replaced but not in time to fill orders shipping that week. In such cases a
book does get backordered but fills as soon as replacement copies arrive

Do you have any plans to raise prices on variants?

At this point we have no plans to raise prices on variants. Those prices
are based on the cost of the regular covers needed to get the variants
though so they could change but cover prices would have to go up at least
beyond $3.99 before variant prices would be affected.

Do you have any plans to change the 30% discount?

We also have no plans to change the 30% discount for items requested in
advance through the reserve system.


Could you make pre-order changes in the reserve system?
At what point is the pre-order locked in where you can no longer change it?


Technically you can add and remove items up until Tuesday at 6 PM of the
week before an item is released. However, as mentioned above, we can only
guarantee the availability of variants which are requested before our
monthly deadlines which are usually around the 25th or so of the month of
the most recent Previews catalog (i.e. variants from the September
Previews can only be guaranteed if requested by September 25th).

You can still remove items up until the Tuesday before release but we do
ask that you try to avoid that if possible as it costs us in already
ordered but unsold items and if that occurs often enough from multiple
customers it would force us to raise prices to offset that cost.

Thank You,
Ryan
Impulse Creations
http://www.impulsecreations.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

-------------------------------------------------------------------

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Re: Options For Getting Variants 30% Discount - *Very Long P

Post by Carson »

Thanks for the info!
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Re: *ADDED INFO 9/17 - Options in Getting Variants 30% Disco

Post by DirtbagSailor »

Need to study this entire thread. I checked out their website for some of the upcoming raw variants and they were not listed. Does this mean I must first communicate my desire to purchase several copies of a specific issue before it will be ordered/obtained? If so, understood.

Of course I still owe Bloodshot and Paradise business in the near future as promised, which for me is more important than saving 30% at the moment. Will see down the road though.

DBS

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Re: *ADDED INFO 9/17 - Options in Getting Variants 30% Disco

Post by corey »

Hmmmmmmmmm I got my order placed.by I would like to use PayPal to pay monthly. And I'm lost on finding that option. Will they just send an email 5 days before money is needed and then I pay?

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Re: *ADDED INFO 9/17 - Options in Getting Variants 30% Disco

Post by drmirage »

It’s been years since I placed an order. I would email them at sales@impulsecreations.net to see if the discounts are the same and if they accept PayPal.


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