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Diamond Raises Wholesale Benchmark Minimum for Publishers (Update 2)
posted on by Egan Loo
Publisher Simon Jones of Icarus Publishing reports that Diamond Comic Distributors is raising its purchase order minimum for all publishers from US$1,500 retail to US$2,500. According to Jones, "books not expected to reach $2,500 in retail orders (that's copies x cover price) will be far less likely to be relisted in Previews," Diamond's monthly catalog. Many manga publishers rely on Diamond to distribute their titles to comic book stores and other retailers that do not return unsold copies. In addition to the change in the purchase order policy, Diamond will no longer publish a Previews Adult print supplement for mature material; the distribution company will instead provide retailers with a form in PDF format.
The Comics Reporter website is reporting the same changes in Diamond's policy, but was unable to confirm them directly with Diamond. The Diamond Comic Distributors company is run separately from Diamond Book Distributors, the affiliated company that deals with more traditional book trade retailers such as Barnes & Noble and Borders. Some retailers deal with manga publishers directly or through another distributor, and not through Diamond.
Update: Jones posted a new piece that describes the difference between a purchase order minimum and the general sales threshold. He also explains in more detail how the higher purchase order minimum could affect smaller publishers.
Update: Jones has clarified, based on input from Slave Labor Graphics publisher Dan Vado on the Comics Worth Reading blog, that the US$2,500 is the wholesale benchmark, not the purchase order minimum. That effectively raises the number of publishers and titles affected by this policy change.
this article has been modified since it was originally posted; see change history