We sell between and two copies of each issue of N Gamer magazine. Only once since the start of this year have we sold three copies and that was in July. The magazine allocations team or the computer system at Gordon and Gotch shifted us from two copies to four in November and then from four copies to six in December. Based on our sales history we should have been kept at two copies, maybe three. Either the switch to six is a mistake or it is Gotch needing to place the stock somewhere – just not in their warehouse.
Click on the image to see our sale and return history for the last eleven issues and make your own mind up.
The folks at Gotch will have an excuse for the increase and if they don’t they will say that I can return the stock. Sure, but I am paying for their decision / mistake.
There are too many examples like this, an extra couple of copies here or there. Newsagents are funding this. Our space, labour and cash are being sucked by these decisions / mistakes and no one at Gordon and Gotch appears to be accountable.
Publishers who wonder why their magazines are early returned without justification, talk to your locate newsagent about why they do this and you will soon see that it is oversupply decisions relating toothier titles, like N Gamer maybe, which causes the sometimes wrong shop floor decisions to early return.
Mark what reply do you get from them about this ?
Mark
Do you really think distributors tell publishers their magazines have been early returned?