Posted in: Comics | Tagged: dcbs, tales of wonder. comics

When DCBS Acquired TalesOfWonder.com

Published Fri, 01 Nov 2013 08:00:33 -0500

Last updated Fri, 01 Nov 2013 14:31:02 -0500

Recently Tales Of Wonder.com comics mail order customers started noticing some issues with comics being shipped to them. First delays explained by TOW moving to a new warehouse, but then items being delivered to customers via rival mail order site DCBS. What was going on?

Turns out that DCBS, or Discount Comic Buying Service, the largest comic book direct mail subscription services going, with its physical store in Fort Wayne, Indiana had bought Tales Of Wonder at the beginning of last month. And TOW's subsidiary site BargainGraphicNovels.com is to close soon.

I say "buy". The official term is "acquire". So who knows what kind of deal went on. Kind of like how Boom! acquired Archaia…

And officially it's only TOW's "intellectual property". Which means they get the name, the website and the contacts… but not the stock. Tales Of Wonder customers will now have their orders fulfilled from DCBS' headquarters completely, and agreed discounts and deals will be honoured.

Tales Of Wonder will join InStockTrades.com and MyDigitalComics.com all under the DCBService.com banner.

In Stock Trades representative Cameron Merkler told message boarders how their services would differ for now.

IST.com

Same discounts (although eventually the ongoing New Year's Resolution Sales will end and we'll start some other sales)
Same 2% loyalty program
Same shipping services (USPS and Fedex)
Free shipping over $50.00
The long-promised addition of International shipping is being worked on now.

TOW site:

Same discounts
Same $5/$50 loyalty program
Change shipping service from UPS to Fedex
Free shipping over $99.00
Continue International shipping
Continue pre-order service

TOW's presidnt Joe Hovorka, now working with the Canton Street Press, told readers;

We spoke with several possible acquirers and are pleased to have ToW become part of the DCBS/IST family. We spent time with Cameron and others at DCBS. They are both good people and good managers. We believe ToW customers will be in good hands. It has been 14 years since starting ToW making the sale a bittersweet moment. I am happy to be moving on to other things, but also a bit sad to see something that I have been a part of for so long go away. Over the coming months, we will be liquidating the remaining inventory of ToW and ToWDistribution. That will largely be carried out through BarganGraphicNovels.com. Once the inventory is gone, we will be closing up BargainGraphicNovels.com as well.

I won't be leaving the industry though. I have found publishing to be very enjoyable. Our first comic book reprint book, The Complete Golden Age Airboy and Valkyrie, was shipped to Diamond accounts this week from my new publishing house Canton Street Press (www.CantonStreetPress.com). The sale of ToW has slowed the release schedule through CSP, but both Matt Baker's Canteen Kate and Magazine Enterprise's Ghost Rider have been completely restored. Those books will be available soon and can be purchased through DCBS/IST/ToW.
I plan to still be a part of these boards, although it will be in the role of publisher as opposed to retailer.

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