Do you love single issues as much as we do?

Dear Single Issues Enthusiasts, It took us a while, but: We like to think that our overhauled approach to singles paired with the easy-to-use Manage Comics pre-order app will bring Walt's closer to become the premier destination for single issue fans in Europe. Nothing beats a bit of self-praise, right?

Anyway, Heiko and I have spent months deliberating the details and aimed to be as thorough as possible in our preparations. However... the true test will come as we roll these out to you!

Let's get started!

1 The Overview

Base Conversion Rate Adjustment: We're updating our base conversion rate from 1€ to €1.20 per $, based on the cover price. This might initially appear to be a disadvantage, but in reality, our new single issues have already been priced at €1.40 and higher in the webshop upon their release. Moreover, the new discounts for pre-orders will comfortably compensate for the pricing for pre-order customers. In summary: it's less expensive if not pre-ordered, and could be significantly cheaper if you do!

Discounts Based on Monthly Purchase Amount*: For those who love a great deal, spending €40 or more monthly (based on the new conversion rate) on single issues, now unlocks discounts ranging from 20-36% on your invoices. Or a still impressive 4-23% discount if you're mentally stuck on the old 1:1 rate ;)

Rewards for Subscriptions*: Prefer subscribing to series over pre-ordering individual issues? Choose to set and forget! Ensure you never miss a new issue in a series and enjoy perks such as discounted or free bag & board services, along with exclusive monthly discount codes for our single issue webshop inventory.

Fixed Prices for Incentive Covers: Say goodbye to pricing surprises! From now on, the prices for incentive variant covers are consistent, no matter the issue, series, or publisher—ensuring clarity and consistency with every purchase.

*Exception for customers from Denmark: Due to a very high VAT of 25% on books, Danish customers can only obtain max 20% Discount on the new conversion rate and cannot qualify for the subscription rewards. We are very sorry, but margins on single issues are particularly thin and higher discounts would mean loosing money on every single issue sold to Denmark.

2 The Details

Now let's get into the nitty gritty...

2.1 Base Conversion & Pre-Order Discounts (POD)

The following chart illustrates our new base conversion based on the cover price of single issues:

This graphic gives you a more in-depth view at the discount levels and how they are applied to your invoice. The "Pre-Order Value" is based on our new Singles conversion of 1$=1.20€.

To better compare with the previous model (1:1 Euro to Dollar pricing based on the cover price), we've also included that in the table. However, when we discuss the Pre-Order Discount (POD), we always refer to the discount applied to the current exchange rate of €1.20/$. Should there be significant currency fluctuations, we reserve the right to adjust this exchange rate accordingly, either up or down — but the discount level will remain the same.

The discount is always applied at the end of the month for all comics you have pre-ordered for that particular month. It's basically a discount which we apply to your invoice, before we send it out to you. Easy peasy!

A few examples: 

Let's say you have 12 comic books priced at $4.99 each, which were pre-ordered and are now invoiced at the end of the month. The calculation would be: 12 x $4.99 x 1.20 = €71.86. With a POD of 25% applied, you pay €53.89 (previously: €59.88).

If, however, you pre-order 30 comics at $3.99 each for the next month, with a POD of 30% you would pay €100.55 instead of €119.7. And so on.

For 2 pre-ordered Comics with a 5.99$ cover-price you have a POD of 0 and will have to pay 14.38€ (previously: 11.98€).

So while a large majority of our customers will benefit from the new pricing structure, those who order only a few singles per month, will now encounter a small surcharge. Handling single issues can only be optimised to a certain extent, and small orders still result in a loss for us, even with these adjustments. We hope for your understanding.

Moreover, by ordering around 7 issues per month (at an average cover-price of $5 each), you'll already start seeing savings compared to our previous pricing model.

We want to make it clear again that the POD-discount applies exclusively to pre-orders made through Manage Comics: Any items purchased directly through the webshop (for example pre-orders for special bundles or incentives) do not contribute to your POD-discount!

2.2 Subscription Rewards

Subscriptions not only simplify your life but also ours, and we’re excited to reward you with additional and completely new perks!

It's crucial to emphasise that only active subscriptions to ongoing series will be considered for these rewards! While Manage Comics allows subscribing to individual issues and expired series, these cannot be counted. We are aware of various tactics like subscribing at month-end to qualify for perks, then cancelling soon after etc. We rely on your integrity and fairness and ask you to clean up your subs on a monthly basis. If we suspect intentional exploitation to gain undue advantages, we will take action.

2.3 Bag & Board service

We finally offer the Bag & Board service for all our customers! For the service we currently use Ultimate Guard, and sometimes BCW current bags and boards, there are no other options available. In case we will switch the producer, we will continue to stay with the "modern" size format.

Once you have locked a higher B&B perk through your Manage Comics subs, you can also add the B&B service for your webshop purchases and it will be discounted at checkout to your current level (0.50/0.25/0.00).

If you want to get the back&board service for your monthly pre-orders, please reach out to Heiko (heiko@waltscomicshop.com) and tell him about it.

This chart illustrates how much you pay for the back&board service per single issue, based on the number of subscriptions you have per month.

2.4 The Webshop Discount on Singles (WSD)

YET ANOTHER DISCOUNT?! Yes: The Webshop Discount (WSD) is provided as a discount code with your latest monthly invoice. You can use this voucher as often as you like for your single issue purchases in the webshop until the end of the month. If you qualify again for a WSD, you will receive a new discount code.

This reward is designed to help our most loyal subscribers access newly released books at a lower cost. It also applies to our entire Single Issue catalog, which now boasts over 6,000 titles! Please note that for Slabs and any kind of Pre-Orders the WSD is not applicable.

2.5 Pricing for Incentives

Anyone requesting incentives from us will continue to receive a personalised offer. This is based on the cover price and is converted by us according to the table (see below). This approach will now be uniformly applied, regardless of the series or publisher. Please keep in mind that while our order volume for single issues has evolved over the last year, we're still not at a point where we can make most incentives work. We ask for your understanding if we are unable to make an offer.

For incentives priced at €30 and above (and sometimes even lower for new customers!), we require prepayment. We will create a custom item in the shop for you and send you the payment link. We will continue to offer custom bundles and higher incentives directly on our website, so keep checking back if you are interested in incentives.

It’s very important to reiterate that all purchases made through the webshop, inclusive pre-paid Incentives, are not considered for your monthly Pre-Order discount (POD) calculation.

3 What the FAQ? 

We know: that's quite a bit to absorb. Take your time. And while there are a lot of numbers thrown around here, not much will change in our overall process, so you have ample time to adapt.

Read more comics!