With the comic book industry as a whole still in a tough position as a result of the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation, IDW Publishing has pledged its support to the comic book Direct Market by extending its risk-free return window and waiving all associated fees.
In a statement, IDW explained that it is extending the full returnability on all of its new releases through at least the end of this July, with all fees being removed for the "foreseeable future." The San Diego-based comics publisher explains this has been done with the intention to "help provide comic specialty shops a risk-free opportunity to stock new launches and other key IDW releases -- allowing retailers to order with confidence and effectively gauge customer demand."
Furthermore, IDW says that to support the comic shops taking advantage of such risk-free return programs even further, it will "aggressively promote store traffic" through social media initiatives and e-mails to subscribers, as will as various other channels.
"Comic shops are the frontlines of the comic industry, where word-of-mouth, spinner racks and staff hand-selling make all the difference in a comic book's success," said IDW President, Publisher and CCO Chris Ryall. "It's our responsibility as publisher to make that process as low-stress as possible for our partners in the retail community. During a time like this, making it easier to stock our books is really the least we can do."