Hey, Folks!
Am I the only one who finds it almost impossible to believe that Thanksgiving is next week? I mean, time just seems to be flying by at hyperspeed! This year has been an eventful one between the pandemic, all of the changes being wrought within the industry, and, of course, dealing with the store as an owner versus the “Head Cook and Bottle Washer”. I am excited at the prospect of handling my first holiday season as the erstwhile owner and I am filled with trepidation over dealing with my first end of year tax season, but if it was easy then anyone could do it.
I’d like to take the time to announce that Monarch Comics will continue its annual Black Friday Sale tradition this year! On Friday, November 26th, we will be featuring a preview of our post-holiday sale that runs in January and February with a while host of items on sale for your holiday gift needs! The sale will encompass the following items:
25% OFF HARD COVERS/TRADE PAPERBACKS (INCLUDING ALREADY MARKED DOWN SALE ITEMS!)
25% OFF SHOWCASE COMICS (THESE ARE THE BACK ISSUES CURRENTLY DISPLAYED IN THE SHOWCASES AT THE COUNTER)
50% OFF BACK ISSUE BOXES
$2 OFF POP VINYL FIGURES
As mentioned above, the trades and hardcover sale deal will encompass items already marked down and if we don’t have the book you’re looking for in stock we will extend the 25% off discount for any title that we can order in for you. We will be open regular Friday store hours (11am-7pm) and Brian and I will both be on hand to help with your shopping needs. Whether you are looking for that one special comic related holiday item or just want to splurge a little on yourself while out and about, Monarch Comics is here to give you a little cheer and big savings!
So, I actually got the new Shipping List and Subscription Form finished pretty quickly this week despite Diamond’s system still not being quite back up to speed. I spent a couple of hours on Monday night figuring out some work arounds on my current system and I think I did a pretty good job. The only hitch? I still don’t have a completely reliable list of Marvel Comics that are DEFINITELY coming out next week because I still don’t get my official PRH invoice released before Friday afternoon. So I wanted to give you a little warning that there maybe items offered as being on sale next week that might actually be rescheduled. I figure that after I receive my Marvel invoice tomorrow that I will take a moment to edit anything out of either list that isn’t actually shipping. I apologize in advance for any confusion that this causes and also reassure you that if an item ends up disappearing from the form that it will be included again once it ships.
Another apology goes out to those of you who are awaiting any special orders that have been placed in the last two weeks. As I mentioned above, Diamond is still trying to put the pieces back together after the devastating ransomware attack that they were hit with and one of the continuing casualties is their reorder processing and shipping system. I have not received any reorders from Diamond since the attack despite putting in my regular orders like clockwork. After e-mailing Diamond to ascertain whether these missing reorders were still going to be filled, Diamond released information suggesting that their reorder system is now scheduled to be back in motion as of Monday, November 22nd. Of course, they initially told us it would be up and running by last Saturday, but clearly the problem is more insidious than they realized and more time was needed to get things running properly. I have been assured that all of the orders that I have already placed are still good and that I should be receiving them once they get the problems sorted out. If you have any questions about an item you’ve ordered please don’t hesitate to contact me about it.
I also probably note that I will be out of the office on Friday and Saturday this week and won’t be in until later in the day on Sunday. Hillman is whisking me off for an excursion to the Indianapolis this weekend. I think I have it worked out so it shouldn’t affect anything behind the scenes and Brian will be here to fill in for me the whole time I’m gone. This should be good practice for him…I mean, at being me…lol. I will probably be incommunicado while out of town, so if you have any issues that you need me to deal with then I should be back in the store by 2pm on Sunday.
That’s it for me this week! I hope everyone has a great weekend and let’s all collectively hope that the threat of a snowstorm next week is just a long running gag! I should also mention that I will do my best to get the shipping list and subscription form ready to go at the usual time next week, but it may be delayed by 24 hours due to the holiday!
Eddie