We usually sell two or three copies of Grazia from ACP Magazines. We actively support each issue of Grazia with co-location in high traffic locations without success. Somehow, ACP or their allocations system has decided we need to go to eleven copies. I can’t see anything in this issue of Grazia or in our sales history to justify the supply increase.
While it may be put down as an error by the publisher, the reality is it’s an error the newsagent has to endure and it happens all too often.
This is the type of oversupply newsagents complain about. It is the type of oversupply that causes newsagents to strike out when early returning titles out of anger.
Magazine distributors demand and bully newsagents to pay their accounts on time. They hold us responsible. Yet they do not give us reasonable levers with which to control our level of indebtedness. This is unfair. It has been unfair for decades.
We received 7 copies of TL this morning, what am I supposed to do with 7 copies as we sold out with 15 minutes of opening the doors and will get no extras until friday at the earliest.
Luke, contact Gotch and Pacific.
I normally sell just a couple of copies of top gear ,yesterday someone come in chasing it and I did not realise I have not received any for a month ,so I called up NDC and they informed me that because I did not sell any in May that my supply had now stopped .WTF I have magazines that I have never ever sold one of that continue to turn up every week or month and yet they see it fair to keep sending them .
This whole system is going down hill fast and I am not sure that working with one publisher at a time is going to fix anything ..the distributors need a major wake up call before more and more agents cut back more and more mags because we are sick of dealing with these idiots .
Last week we got 410 xwords of the some one, part works turn up after being canceled g g need to have a good look. We are going on line with each invoice and checking our numbers and each week we early return some stock that has not moved ,seems to work ,if some have sold we always hold some stock ,can not see what all the noise is about.Just need 30% and i would be as happy as a pig in poo
Shaun I agree, but all the so called experts in the industry keep saying it is the newsagents fault and we need to change go figure.
Ted, you’re wrong. There is plenty written here about the responsibility of publishers and suppliers.
The fact is that some damaging behaviour by newsagents has reached epidemic proportions. Now I can ignore that or talk about in the hope it changes so we all don;t suffer.
Absolutely, there needs to be some newsagent re-education about magazine management, if I understand your assertion about the increase in careless magazine management, Mark.
But I would hazard a guess that the implied increase in the number of newsagents engaging in ‘damaging behaviour’ stems from frustration with dealing with a broken distribution system, or blatant refusal to be used and abused any longer. As evidenced from Luke and Shaun’s comments above (and the many, many others on other blog entries), the distributors CONTINUE to get it wrong – despite the introduction of systems (eg. edi) to improve standards AND efficiency – because there’s no incentive for THEM to change THEIR behaviour. Yet, when newsagents react (yes, perhaps spitefully or perhaps carelessly) using the only tool at their disposal, suddenly the industry is under threat of publisher withdrawal?
It may seem as though I am stomping my foot here, crying “It’s not fair!!” (and it’s not), but my point here is that publishers who may be considering withdrawing from newsagencies as a whole obviously don’t see the big picture. Punishing those who do the right thing, or those that consider themselves magazine specialists (regardless of shingle or banner or group, etc) will not change the broken distribution system.
Yes, newsagents should be using their heads (POS software) to guide magazine management decisions (at the very least). AND publishers (who have access to better information nowadays) should be demanding that their distribution contracts ensure that distributors are providing an efficient, reliable service (remove the incentive for them to oversupply). AND distributors should be using the data they are provided through XChangeIT and online by newsagents to ensure supplies and allocations are realistic and sensible, thereby providing an efficient, reliable service. All of these factors would go a long way towards ensuring we all don’t suffer.
Sorry for the long comment.
Further to my post this morning, next weeks supply was automatically set to return to normal quantities, so why the huge decrease just for this issue? No use speaking to the mag companies as the damage has been done today through lost sales and customer disengagement. Customers don’t care that it is not our fault they only see it as bad service and buy mags at supermarkets as they seem to have ample supplies.
Luke the use is that it could unlock why it happened – even though it may be frustrating.
They have no idea why it happened, and why I am going back to normal next week. Yes I spoke to “customer service”.
Thats right luke, the customer dosnt care in excuses and having the stock on friday will not help. they will always say sorry and i tell them Ill tell that to the bankmanager and would they accept that from their shop when they are shopping i dont think so
Over a 12 month period i have been keeping track of one magzine in particular that i have never had a sale for . The Spectator , instead of just canceling the tittle i thought i would just let it keep coming in just to see how long it takes before they stop sending it , well 12 moths later it is still coming in .
what a great system they run……
I’ve had my whinges with ridiculous Mag allocations before and try and accommodate as many titles as I can, however when the genius’ at G&G decide that a small town in rural WA is an appropriate place to send 3 copies of TD (a gridiron mag) at $14.95 a piece on the last delivery of the month they have lost me. Covers off and into the returns pile immediately. What a Joke.