Hey there.
Penguin Random House's first week of delivery for Marvel product and the many delays Marvel announced for their Omnis earned some harsh reactions in retailer online groups — and not only there. I thought it would be useful to contribute my perspective.
First, the issue of distribution. We received the first box shipments from PRH a few days ago and had virtually zero damage. We were actually surprised by this ourselves. A few weeks ago we decided to focus on larger, less frequent deliveries on pallets; especially because we do not trust trans-atlantic shipping in boxes (we had some really bad experiences with Hachette previously).
Of course consolidating stock for multiple weeks is not ideal for the shop, as we will not always have everything on the release date. But first and foremost, we want to secure our pre-orders. Our first rule is reliability. You have placed pre-orders with us and we guarantee that you will get your books cheap and in top condition. I think that in some cases waiting a few weeks longer is worth it. Especially in times when publication dates are constantly being postponed anyway.
So let's move on to the other topic: delays. Since Covid, we have learned to live with the fact that international transport routes are even more fragile than before. Our goods make a long journey all over the world: from China(Malaysia via the USA, sometimes with a stopover in the UK, and then to Germany. There's a lot of potential for problems there, whether with the delivery routes or customs.
And now there's a new problem: paper shortages.
A lot of November and December releases have been moved into next year. This is frustrating for everyone. But especially for those of you who followed our recommendation and organized your orders by release date. Rest assured that we will find a way to reorganize all of this and get you to re-bundle your orders, certainly not let your paid shipping expire. As soon as parts of your pre-orders have arrived we will check with each of you and find a reasonable solution.
Here's an overview of the latest changes to the release calendar. Don't forget that the current release date is also updated on each article page!
Kull Conqueror Orig Marvel Yrs Omnibus HC: Nov 10, 2021 (OLD: Oct 6, 2021)
Young Avengers Gillen McKelvie Omnibus HC: Nov 10, 2021 (OLD: Oct 6, 2021)
Aliens Original Years Omnibus HC: Jan 1, 2022 (OLD: Nov 3, 2021)
New Mutants Omnibus Vol 2: Jan 12, 2022 (OLD: Dec 1, 2021)
X-Men by Hickman Omnibus: Jan 19, 2022 (OLD: Dec 8, 2021)
Captain America Lives! Omnibus: Jan 25, 2022 (OLD: Nov 24, 2021)
Fantastic Four by Hickman Omnibus: Jan 25, 2022 (OLD: Nov 24, 2021)
Wolverine and the X-Men Omnibus: Feb 1, 2022 (OLD: Dec 22, 2021)
Star Wars Legends: Rise of the Sith Omnibus: Feb 8, 2022 (OLD: Nov 3, 2021)
Excalibur Omnibus Vol 2: Feb 8, 2022 (OLD: Nov 3, 2021)
Captain Britain Omnibus: Mar 1, 2022 (OLD: Dec 1 2021 / Oct 27, 2021)
Avengers By Jonathan Hickman Omnibus Vol. 1: Oct 18, 2022 (OLD: May 10, 2022)
Incredible Hulk by Peter David Omnibus Vol. 4: Jan 12, 2022 (OLD: Dec 1, 20221)
1 comment
Geoffrey Suter
Change is always difficult but PRH fumbled the ball on the first play, at least in the USA. the one thing that people agreed upon was that Diamond had a problem with damages. First go, PRH managed to be worse than Diamond. Still give them a chance to correct the problems and see what happens next. Have to say thedelays in product shipping is frustrating, but then it always has been. Again let’s wait and see. If the delays are not sorted by May 2022 we might have to call out Marvel and PRH.