With the comics industry slowly returning to business as usual during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic,  retailers have voiced their concerns over increased shipping rates, leading Diamond Comic Distributors to place blame on publishers.

"Our base shipping rates have not changed, but the landscape in which we are all operating has," Geppi Family Enterprises Chief Relationship Officer Chris Powell told THR. "Freight costs increase as a percentage of an order’s value as the weight decreases — smaller shipments cost more to ship per pound than large shipments. A number of publishers have reduced their publishing activities in response to the [COVID-related] challenges in the retail space, and that was appreciated by many retailers who saw the need for a slower ramp-up to full production."

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"As we approach a more normal capacity, shipment sizes will increase and the freight as a percentage of the shipment’s value will go back down," he explained. "Some discounts from the various shippers are passed along to retailers but are also based on specific weight thresholds. Some retailers are missing those thresholds now, but we hope will soon exceed them again."

Since it began shipping comics again in May, Diamond has been facing some pushback. Notably, DC cut ties with Diamond after a 25-year exclusive deal. This was preceded by the comics giant serving retailers through other distributors during Diamond's COVID-19 shutdown.

Along with placing blame on publishers, Powell felt comics shops diversifying their supply chain might be another factor in the shipping increase. "A consolidation of orders from one source has always been the best way to maximize overall freight cost containment, and was a strength of Diamond’s distribution that greatly benefited retailers for the past 25 years," he noted. "Retailers who have now moved some of their purchases to other distributors, whether by their choice or when forced to do so by DC’s recent changes, are experiencing a reduction of that benefit, and are seeing their overall costs go up for goods. They’re going to have to look at their ordering procedures as part of a holistic process, determining how savings in one place may result in additional costs in another, and make the best decisions for their businesses."

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Despite retailers' concerns, Powell wrote, "In most of the cases we’ve researched so far, the cost increase was caused by the factors I outline above, so we have not issued freight credits. We have always done so when we identify an error on our part, but in most cases it’s simply the economics of shipping the goods."