Marvel Subscriptions.

[ragingdemon155]

It's gotten to the point where traveling to the comic shop is becoming a hindrance. I've always been on the fence about subscribing with Marvel. Some people have said the service is fine, while others have complained about it. I just have a couple of questions directed at anyone who uses the subscription service.

Is it reliable? How often if ever are the issues shipped late? Do you at times get the issue earlier then Wednesday?

Thanks in Advance for any advice.

 

[Sentry2k2]

I've been subscribing to Marvel comics for many years. Yes, sometimes the books do come late, but sometimes they do come early. Its basically an economical thing. Let me put it like this. As a current subscriber, Marvel offers special deals to renew or pick up new subscriptions. Currently, they are running a special promotion for $17.97 for a 12 issue subscription. Lets do some math shall we? these are the books i currently have subscriptions and their price for one year (12 issues) if bought at the shop

New Avengers: $3.99 * 12 = $47.88
Amazing Spider-Man: $2.99 * 36 = $107.64
X-Men Forever: $3.99 * 12 = $47.88
Wolverine 1st Class: $2.99 * 12 = $35.88
Astonishing x-Men: $2.99 * 12 = $35.88
Wolverine Weaponx: $3.99 * 12 = $47.88
Ultimate Avengers: $3.99 * 12 = $47.88
Total: 7 books via comic shop Total Cost: $370.92

Now, in terms of subscriptions, every subscription cost me $17.97 with the exception of Amazing Spider-Man which cost $49.97 because it releases 36 issues a year

TOTAL COST VIA SUBSCRIPTION: $157.79

TOTAL SAVINGS: $213.13

So, if you're someone who doesnt mind possibly waiting a few days longer to get your books, subscriptions are totally worth it. I plan to subscribe to more. the only reason I still go to the comic shop is because I cant subscribe to mini-series and the comic shop owner is the father of my sisters best friend and knows my family. Subscriptions are also a great way to financially try different series that you may not have tried otherwise because your regular books added up to too much.

 

[squeekness]

The thing is, you can't get minis or one shots direct from Marvel. You may want to consider getting a subscription mail service from someone like www.milehighcomics.com. You'd at least get the full range of titles, minis and one shots, plus other companies as well like DC and Image. I haven't used the service myself but I have ordered back issues from them and they were high quailty and well packaged. Just a thought......

 

[Max J Power]

I use Marvel's subscription service for three of the eight ongoings I buy. On average, I get the issues a few days to a week after they come out.

And after you're already a subscriber, it's only $20 to add another subscription instead of $24 or whatever the starting price is. So you save money buy starting with one subscription and then adding more after you get your first issue.

 

[Spider-Jay420]

Can you pay in installments? Assuming I want to subscribe to everything you listed, and it costs me $157.00, I can't just plunk down $160 for comics. It's easier for me just to pay 10 -15 bucks a week.

Short term convenience>Long term savings. FOR ME, at least.

Although, the smart thing is just to subscribe to one or 2 at a time I guess?

 

[Spider-Jay420]

I just checked it out. No installments. But, you can't argue the savings. A full year of Amazing Spider-Man (36 issues) and New Avengers (12 issues) would run $75.00

Piggybacking on what iloveclones was saying in the Marvel Price Hikes thread, through the subscriptions, you pay about 2 bucks per issue. I guess we can't really ***** about pricing, when with a couple clicks of your mouse you can get a title for sometimes half off.

 

[squeekness]

Keep in mind too, it may matter if you have a mailbox or a PO box. I used to subscribe ages ago and even though Marvel sent my books with backing boards, they still used to get bent at times. If you start getting a few books and your mail recepticle is small, they may come to you damaged. I'm pretty sure Mile High sends the books in a box and you pay as you go along.

 

[CantThinkOfAName]

I used to subscribe to a few comics but stopped, I think mainly because I would have to wait for the comics. Only once can I remember a comic coming early, usually they came way later. But now, I realize that this probably wasnt too big of a deal. I rarely go to the comic shop every Wednesday anyway, I usually wait until I get two weeks worth, sometimes three. And given the prices these days, I think its a pretty good deal.

The other problem I had, though, was that for some reason Marvel would skip an issue of my subscription, kind of annoying, because then you just wait because you think its late and then fall behind on reading.

 

[CantThinkOfAName]

Keep in mind too, it may matter if you have a mailbox or a PO box. I used to subscribe ages ago and even though Marvel sent my books with backing boards, they still used to get bent at times. If you start getting a few books and your mail recepticle is small, they may come to you damaged. I'm pretty sure Mile High sends the books in a box and you pay as you go along.

Does Mile High offer a discount or anything on their comics? That would really be the only reason I would consider it, if it saves me money. After all, I would still be going to the comic shop, only subscribing to the comics that I definitely know I would buy (like Amazing Spider-Man or Daredevil).

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I'm curious about what happens with late comics. Is a yearly subscription actually 12 issues or 12 months? 'Cause if you subscribe to, say, Thor and you only get 6 or maybe 8 issues a year, it doesn't seem like it's worth it--the cost may be about the same as if you'd bought those issues at a shop, but the risk of getting bent comics or having to wait even longer for them would be a dealbreaker for me, since I do still go to the shop every Wednesday.

 

[squeekness]

Does Mile High offer a discount or anything on their comics? That would really be the only reason I would consider it, if it saves me money. After all, I would still be going to the comic shop, only subscribing to the comics that I definitely know I would buy (like Amazing Spider-Man or Daredevil).

Yup. Check it out here:

http://www.milehighcomics.com/nice/nice.html

They also normally offer free shipping on orders of $50 or more.

I'm curious about what happens with late comics. Is a yearly subscription actually 12 issues or 12 months? 'Cause if you subscribe to, say, Thor and you only get 6 or maybe 8 issues a year, it doesn't seem like it's worth it--the cost may be about the same as if you'd bought those issues at a shop, but the risk of getting bent comics or having to wait even longer for them would be a dealbreaker for me, since I do still go to the shop every Wednesday.

I am blessed to have two shops about ten minutes from my house so Igo every week too. If they were to close, I probably would consider going to an online subscription like Mile High more seriously. I know they are not the only place that does it, it's just that I have ordered from them in the past and was very happy with the service.

 

[Phaedrus45]

There was a place on the web I almost went with last year, and they had an advertisement in the comics; but, for the life of me, I can't remember the name. It was the best deal I've found online anywhere. Each book was a different discount; because they would receive special incentives from the companies. I think every book was at least a 35% discount, and they had quite a few each month that was somewhere around 75%. (Those books were usually first issues, trying to get you to hopefully by more in the future.) Trades were nicely reduced, too.

 

[Texas]

I tried Marvel subs but the issues starting arriving later and later so I canceled

 

[Phaedrus45]

BTW, I didn't go with that site for two reasons: My LCS supplies me with many variant issues without charging me more than the cover price (plus, my normal 20% discount), and I think if we're able, we should support our LCS's. I know my comic shop is the only one within 40 miles...and, when I recently went on a comic expedition from Seattle to Tacoma, many of those shops had closed up. (And, I heard another one just went out of business.)

 

[squeekness]

Most shops can't survive on comics alone, they have to branch out. I am amazed that my closest one is even still open. The service there isn't that great, but it's close. I do wonder if digital comics will really hurt the shops, The casual reader would probably rather just read them on the computer than go out and pay full price for a hard copy.

 

[Spider-Jay420]

I'm curious about what happens with late comics. Is a yearly subscription actually 12 issues or 12 months? 'Cause if you subscribe to, say, Thor and you only get 6 or maybe 8 issues a year, it doesn't seem like it's worth it--the cost may be about the same as if you'd bought those issues at a shop, but the risk of getting bent comics or having to wait even longer for them would be a dealbreaker for me, since I do still go to the shop every Wednesday.

I think they count a year as 12 issues. Whenever you put a title in your shopping cart it'll say "(12 issues)" or "(36 issues)" in the case of ASM.

Bent comics would piss me off. The wait doesn't bother me because I get my comics shipped to me every 3 weeks anyway from my "no longer" local shop. My mail box in my condo complex is tiny, so as of right now, that's my deal breaker. I like that Mile High ships them in a box, so does my guy, but I doubt Mile High sells them at 50% off cover price.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, my mailbox is fairly small. They could probably fit a few comics in okay if they're careful, but what postal worker is actually careful with other people's mail?

 

[Spider-Jay420]

My box is tall and thin. So mine would come rolled up with a rubber band around it.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Mine is tall and thin too, but it's not so thin that they'd have to actually roll the comic up. It would be a little curved, but I don't mind that. Again, though, how likely is it that a postal worker is gonna be careful to not bend a comic to stuff it into the box every time? I'm sure I'd end up with some mauled comics, and if I'm only subscribing to the stuff I know I'm always going to buy, odds are it'll be mauled issues of some of my favorite comics.

The savings would be nice, but I'd prefer to just pick everything up at my shop. Plus I talk to my shop owner and some other regulars about comics now and then, and you can't get that from a mailbox. Unless your mailbox is far more awesome than mine, anyway.

 

[squeekness]

I think they count a year as 12 issues. Whenever you put a title in your shopping cart it'll say "(12 issues)" or "(36 issues)" in the case of ASM.

Bent comics would piss me off. The wait doesn't bother me because I get my comics shipped to me every 3 weeks anyway from my "no longer" local shop. My mail box in my condo complex is tiny, so as of right now, that's my deal breaker. I like that Mile High ships them in a box, so does my guy, but I doubt Mile High sells them at 50% off cover price.

I don't know anyone who sells new books for less than 20% off the cover price and that would only be for someone who orders 30 titles or more a month. I get 10% myself, and I get about 20 titles a month. I go local because I want my books NOW, the day they come out. I don't like to wait. When I was a Marvel subsciber I used to get so mad that the books hit the shelves quite a bit earlier than I got them in the mail. Mile High said you can get UP TO 40% off the cover with their subscription service but dayum, how many titles would you have to buy to get that price? I bet it would be a lot.....

 

[iloveclones]

A few years ago, I would have raved about Marvel's sub service. Not only did I get the majority of my titles on time, but I got a fair number of them a few days early. That is no longer the case, and it seems like all my comics are a few days to a week late.


BUT, if you don't mind the wait, the cost savings are great (almost 50%). And you're not taxed (if that's an issue for you.\

And Corpy, the subs are for 12 issues, not 1 year.

 

[iloveclones]

Oh, and by the way, Donald Thomas told me that you can return any torn/bent comics.

 

[iloveclones]

One other thing, Postal delivery guys/gals can be pretty reasonable folk. If you tell them you're expecting comics that you don't want bent, I've never run across one that won't honor your request for you.....

 

[Max J Power]

The boards say "Please do not bend" in pretty big writing, and I've never had one get bent.

 

[squeekness]

Mine got bent all the time, in spite of the writing. It wasn't always damaging, but they were not handled that gently all the same. I am not convinced the postal guys give a damn.