Is there anything I should know before placing my first preorder with DCBS?
Absolutely. On the surface everything looks great, and it can be. However, there are some nuances that come along with preordering from DCBS. First and foremost, unless you plan on placing preorders regularly with them, they won’t be the best source for your books. If you skip a month of ordering, they’ll skip a month of sending your books. If you only place one or two orders with them, they reserve the right to hold onto all your books until the book with the latest release date comes out. Additionally, as a first-time customer to them, they may hold back your first months shipment. There really is no rhyme or reason to this but it’s something you should be aware of and not alarmed if it happens.

What is FOC and what does it mean to me?
FOC stands for Final Order Cut Off. When you place an order at DCBS and navigate to your Order History page, it will tell you a date at the top generally somewhere around the 3rd week of the month. Prior to this date you can add and remove books at your leisure, nothing is set in stone. After that date passes anything on your list is locked in and you cannot remove it. You can however continue making additions until the next months go up for preorder.

So if I order prior to FOC am I guaranteed my book?
You should be, however there has been a little more instability since COVID. DCBS has a somewhat complex process where prior to ever receiving the books in their hands they process them into everyone’s shipments that ordered it. However, once they actually receive the books in hands they manually process the books by counting them, accounting for damages, and as such they have advised the last orders received have the books removed from their shipments if they don’t have enough. This is either because they didn’t receive enough because the distributor shorted them or there were so many damages, they do not have enough to cover every order just yet. This can lead to a lot of frustration, DCBS will get you your book, but you could be waiting an additional month. They’ve been getting a lot of shortages lately from Dark Horse lately so keep that in mind when ordering.

When will I get charged for my books?
You are charged around the 14-16th of the following month. For example, if you placed your order in April, around May 14-16th is when you will be charged. If this doesn’t suit you, you can place your order, navigate to the Order History page, select your order and hit “Pay Order” and process it immediately. I would however wait to do this until you are sure this is everything you want in your order. You can always make additions and pay for those separately but anything you remove most likely will be returned as a credit and not an actual refund to your original form of payment.

When will I get the books I preordered?
That is going to vary based on publisher and a few other factors (delays at the printer, shipping, etc.). Pay attention to release dates of the books you order and as the release date nears you can check several sources like PreviewsWorld.com or ComicReleases.com to see if anything has changed.

How does shipping work with them?
Your shipment will be built over the course of the month. It will close and be sent out after the 4th Wednesday of the month. You can change the week your order is sent (first week, second week, etc.) by making the request via email; however, you are only allowed to request this once so choose wisely. If your order contains all collected editions there is a chance it may be sent via Media Mail, however in some of our community members experience they have been receiving them via FedEx. You can choose to have your shipments sent once a week or every two weeks, you will incur additional shipping charges for this option. If you’re not in a rush, once a month shipment should suit your needs just fine.

What should I do if I receive a damaged item?
Take pictures and contact DCBS via email immediately, they will send you a prepaid label to send the book back and will send you a new copy with your next shipment.

I emailed DCBS, and it’s been 2+ days and I haven’t received a response, what should I do?
They do not currently appear to have a ticket system so sometimes the response times can vary. If after a week you have not received a response, it is most likely safe to email them again.

They have an already released book on their website, can I buy it?
Yes, occasionally DCBS has overages that they relist to be purchased. You have the option of having them ship it immediately for an additional shipping charge or at time of checkout you can choose to ship it for free with your next shipment.

Read their FAQ here: https://www.dcbservice.com/content/faq

When do new books release?
Books will release every Tuesday at 3PM EST

What is the extra 2% discount and how do I earn it?
Once you place an order, you will receive a 2% promotional discount for any order placed after the initial order. It will be valid within 8 days of the previous order.

What shipping options does IST have?
You have the option USPS Media Mail, UPS Mail Innovations, UPS Ground. They also offer free shipping after $50

Does IST accept cancellations or returns?
IST generally does not accept returns or cancellations. If it is approved they will charge a 25% cancellation fee

What if my item is damaged?
Damaged books need to be reported within 48 hours of receipt of shipment

When do they charge you for your order?
They’ll charge you at checkout

I received an email saying “Your book is temporarily out of stock and is on backorder with our distributor. Is there anything you’d like to substitute?”
Keep in mind that this email is not a cancellation email, they’re just letting you know that a book on your order is backordered. It’s still possible to keep the book on your order so that they can ship it as soon as it comes in. It isn’t known how long this will take so be aware that it could take awhile. If you decide that you don’t want to wait then you can substitute the book.

IST and ToW share stock so it is possible that you may not receive a popular recently released book

I emailed IST, and it’s been 2+ days and I haven’t received a response, what should I do?
They do not currently appear to have a ticket system so sometimes the response times can vary. If after a week you have not received a response, it is most likely safe to email them again.

Read their FAQ here: https://www.instocktrades.com/home/help

How do pre-orders work?
Pre-orders work the same as any other retailer where there is a final order cut-off date for retailers to get their numbers in. ToW does not always update the date so please make sure to check http://previewsworld.com/catalog to check when orders are due to guarantee your book. ToW will allow you to order past order cutoff but be aware that your book will not be guaranteed.

When does ToW charge you for your order?
ToW will charge you when they are ready to process your order. This typically happens 1-3 days before the book releases.

How do the discounts work on ToW?
Books are typically 40-50% off. It is not known why some books have a bigger discount than others

Can you upgrade to UPS Ground?
Unfortunately not, ToW isn’t able to add notes to your order to make this possible

Does ToW offer free shipping?
Yes, free shipping is offered for orders $100 and over. They will hold all your books until the last book in your order is released. Be cautious as it is known that ToW sometimes will not be able to hold your book so you may miss out.

What is speed shipping?
Speed shipping is an option you can choose where books in your order will ship as released. I normally recommend this option as ToW is known to share stock with IST and may short orders due to unavailable stock.

What happens if my card gets declined when ToW processes my order?
You can go back into your order and add a new card. This will make it so that ToW charges the most recently added card

Does ToW do returns or cancellations?
Returns are not accepted. ToW may authorize a cancellation for a 20% restocking fee

What if my item is damaged or if there is an error?
ToW will replace your item subject to availability or offer a full refund. You will need to send the item back via USPS Media Mail and you will be refunded the cost of postage.

Why is my order showing up on instocktrades.com?
If your email address in ToW is the same as IST then your orders will populate in IST. This is a great way to track if your order has been picked, scanned, and shipped. The orders will normally show up 1-3 days before the book releases. The orders are sorted by order date so when you check IST make sure to search for when your ordered instead of when your order is processed

Does ToW charge tax?
Yes, they will charge you the appropriate sales tax of the state you reside in

Recommendations
Make sure to group your orders by release date especially if you are doing the free shipping option. If not then you may miss out on books because ToW may not hold it for you.

Read their FAQs here:
https://www.talesofwonder.com/ordering
https://www.talesofwonder.com/shipping

What does special order mean?
This means that CGN does not have the book in their warehouse so they need to order it from their distributor. The ordering process may take more than a week depending on how long it takes to receive the books.

Why are the discounts inconsistent and some books over cover?
CGN purchases their books from different distributors and the discounts for bulk purchases may not be the same. We’re not entirely sure why books are over cover, but we suspect it might be due to how they source some books.

How much is shipping?
Flat rate of $7.99 via USPS Media Mail. You will need to purchase insurance separately. You can request for priority shipping for a flate rate of $14.99 per box. The shipping cost may change and CGN will contact you to pay the difference or reimburse you.

Can we combine orders?
They do not combine orders but CGN is working on this for the future

Should I email for order questions?
Yes! The owner Max is normally really good about answering as quickly as he can

When does CGN release new books?
Books are normally released on Monday but there is no specific time. The recommendation is to add the book you want to your wishlist and you’ll receive an email when it goes live

Does CGN charge upfront for pre-orders?
Yes, they charge as soon as an order is made. They are working on a new platform for pre-orders but it’s not yet available.

What is the status of my order?
PROCESSED / PENDING: Your payment has come through successfuly and we are working on fulfilling your order.

SHIPPED: Your order has shipped. You should hvae received an automated email notification with tracking number. Please check your Spam/Junk folder if you did not see this notice.

NOT FINISHED / FAILED: There has been an error in processing your payment, please contact us for additional information.

Read their FAQ here: https://www.cheapgraphicnovels.com/first-time-shoppers-faq.html

OPB Coupon Codes

• COMICRELEASES.COM – $2 off
• Omnibuddy – $2 off
• geeklygrind – 5% (one time)
• MARVELGUA – $2 off
• OMNIBUD4LIFE – $2 off
• KSQUAD151 – $5 off
• GEMMINT – $2 off

FAQ/Q&A

• All questions about title updates/delays/restocks please wait until Thursday for updates about delays, shipments etc. I only receive new information from distributors by late evening Wednesday so any questions before that I probably won’t have answers yet.
• Fedex account will be opened this weekend with Fedex options added to the website for international customers.
• USPS shipping: USPS sometimes does not scan my packages until 1 week later, If your item has been marked as shipped, please know it really has been shipped out! Your books are picked up by the truckload DAILY and sent to carrier facilities to be distributed and sent to you! If you live in NY Or NJ, I HIGHLY recommend you to upgrade to UPS shipping. NJ distribution has been taking up to 3 weeks in transit.
• If you’d like shipping insurance added, it is $2.50 per $100 purchase. If the order is over $100, please add enough quantity to match the dollar value spent
• Pre-orders get charged immediately at checkout. JP will ship as the books release as well

Weekly Update 04/30/21

• The first batch of Criminal deluxe has been sold out. All copies have been packed and shipped out. If your order was not shipped/fulfilled, it will be fulfilled when the 2nd batch comes in, most likely by may 10th!
• All-New Wolverine will be received 2 weeks after the release date next week due to it being filled from the restock hub. Same goes for Incredible Hulk By Peter David Vol 3, Aliens Omnibus vol 1, Spider-Gwen DM and Wolverine Omnibus vol 2.
• The reason why some titles are 2 weeks behind is because they are coming from Diamond’s restock hub instead of their main fulfillment hub. These specific titles were ordered after the FOC deadline, which basically means I am getting the extra copies that Marvel printed.
• Please rest assured that you will receive a copy, but it will not be exactly on the release date.
• Absolute Swamp Thing vol 2 is being shipped via freight from Lunar and should be received next week!