Where did all of Amazon.com’s graphic novels go? It seems last weekend’s pricing error is to blame, and it is a little more widespread than once thought.
In shopping for graphic novels and comic trade paperbacks on the retailer’s site, almost all books from publishers Marvel, IDW, Dark Horse and Dynamite are listed as “Currently Unavailable”. A quick inquiry to customer service resulted in the following response:
Hello,
We’re sorry for any confusion we’ve caused. Due to a pricing error the weekend of March 6, we sold a number of graphic novels much faster than expected.
In fact, we oversold our inventory before we could reconcile our availability information on the site with our actual inventory. As a result, we compounded the problem by indicating we had books in stock when we did not.
For the moment, we don’t have any of the books in stock. We have truly sold out. We are working to get the titles back in stock so you’ll be able to purchase them soon at the regular price.
Our supply of some items is limited, and these products sell out quickly. I’d suggest checking our website from time to time to see if this item is available.
The customer service rep went on to write the recommended method of purchasing books is through their third party marketplace sellers until inventory can be restored, where of course Amazon.com takes a cut from each sale.
For those who hadn’t heard of the weekend’s infamous sale snafu, you missed on of the best deals of the past 10 years. Amazon.com incorrectly priced a slew of Marvel Omnibus hardcovers, regularly $100 each, for $8 to $15. The internet, comprised of geeks who salivate for these fancy versions, pounced on them like starving lions in a butcher shop, and scarfed up quantities by the boxload. Many orders were canceled with a $25 gift card as an apology, but a few lucky folks did get some of their orders fulfilled.
We thought the discounts only pertained to these Omnibus hardcovers, but evidently it affected inventories of graphic novels and comic trades across the board. And for those interested, no – MDIAG! was too slow too honest to take part in the sale.
DC publications seem to be largely unaffected by the pricing error, and most are available today through Amazon.com directly.