MK1 MANAGE COMICS Hints & Tips

MK1's weekly newsletter contains a regular section where we post about the Manage Comics System.  Here's a record of our past posts.

RAW LISTINGS!

With February's new listings added to the MK1 preorder site, I'm updating this explainer.

When the new announcements are added to the MK1 preorder site the listings are in their "raw" state - data dumped direct from the publishers - and full of publisher errors. Manage Comics and MK1 are combing through them and correcting errors as fast as we can.  As usual I recommend holding off till you see us publish the blog post of highlights. We will send a newsletter / subscriber email blast out when the listings are stable.

If you are wondering why the listings are viewable before all the errors are fixed it is because many of the USA based Manage Comic shops want those listings up ASAP for cut throat competition reasons!  

If you have observed an increase in bad listings you are not wrong.  Diamond Comics Distributors used to do a heap of data fixing for the industry. Unfortunately they were made bankrupt earlier in 2025 and the new owners have not taken on that role.  Many comic publisher's have found homes at new or traditional book distributors who believe it is very much the publisher's job to get things like metadata and barcode management right.   A lot of comic publishers are having to upskill.  

TREASURY EDITION COMICS 

A quick heads-up about Treasury Edition comics: they’re a gorgeous oversized format (about 400mm x 280mm) printed on delicate newsprint-style paper. Because of their size and the way they’re produced, they almost always arrive with a few natural creases or minor marks - even before they make the long journey to NZ. They’re famously tricky to ship, and while we take a lot of care packing them, they’re still one of the most challenging items for us to send safely.

Often customers are unaware that the comic they have preordered is a treasury format (although the price is a rather obvious indication). We automatically cancel all Treasury Edition preorders by default and send an explaining email inviting customers to reply back to re-confirm interest knowing the quirks of this format. If we get a reply we will reinstate the order. 

NEW CUSTOMERS

All new Manage Comics customers are required to pay for preorders within 7 days of their arrival. This helps us confirm that communications are working correctly and that orders are being completed in a timely manner. Early on, a lot can go wrong with new preorder setups, so this policy allows us to spot and resolve any issues quickly. Unfortunately, we still see a number of ghost orders and uncompleted purchases, even though preorder accounts are only activated once contact has been confirmed.  Once everything is running smoothly, customers are welcome to request end-of-month billing or scheduled payment days each month.  Please reach out if this is of interest.

SHIPPING NOTES

MK1 keeps the STATUS OF THIS WEEK'S COMIC SHIPMENTS auto-update running in the CHAT WITH US window on our website - that’s the best place to check how the week’s shipments are progressing or to see if there are any major delays.  Sometimes, however, smaller gremlins strike specific titles or processes. To keep you fully informed, we’ve added a new SHIPPING NOTES  page. This is where we’ll post updates on partial shipment issues, fixes for delayed titles, data errors, printing mix-ups, stock shortages, or any hiccups affecting MK1’s website or communications.

You can find the SHIPPING NOTES page under the Preorder menu.

GHOST LISTINGS

Every now and then our preorder catalogue gets haunted by a few ghost listings - out-of-date or cancelled items originally added by the now-defunct Diamond Comics Distributors. Since Diamond’s bankruptcy and subsequent sale (looking like more of a parts salvage than a revival), no one’s been maintaining or clearing out their old data. Once the publishers of these titles partner with new distributors, the listings will be corrected. In the meantime, a few ghosts may linger - and if you happen to preorder one, we’ll be in touch to let you know. 

INVENTORY MANAGE COMICS MANAGEMENT 
Here’s a quick look at how our website juggles comic inventory. When stock arrives—say 50 copies of Absolute Batman #13—the system automatically holds back the 45 preordered copies in a PULLED pile and lists the remaining 5 as AVAILABLE for sale.

When it’s time for BRUCE WAYNE to pay for his preorder, the system briefly moves one copy from PULLED to AVAILABLE, links it to his payment page, and reserves it again. Smart, right?

That’s the Manage Comics system doing its thing—tracking preorders, splitting stock, and handling payments in the right order. It works best when customers preorder before the deadline. Trying to reserve an item after release (moving AVAILABLE to PULLED) doesn’t work as smoothly. Equally placing preorders after Preorder deadline is also tricky. The best way to secure that copy is simply to buy it directly from the MK1 site if available.  Tip:  Choose the “HOLD – DON’T SHIP YET” option at checkout to avoid paying multiple shipping fees.

This is an abbreviated version of an explainer I added to the HELP GUIDE - here is the full post. 

PUBLISHER PREORDER DATA

In the Preorder section of the newsletter we often mention our Hot Tip - “wait until Sunday to take a look, since publishers love dropping new announcements and variant covers right at the last minute.”

That’s because the MK1 Preorder section pulls its info straight from the Manage Comics / Geek Fetch data feed. Publishers can jump in and add items whenever they like, which is why the listings sometimes look a bit weird or have the odd mistake. We’ve got filters in place to show NZ prices and hide non-MK1 items, but it’s not a perfect system — every now and then something slips through.

If that happens, don’t worry — we’ll reach out to let you know if something isn’t available or if the price changes. That’s also why we ask for mobile numbers — so we can touch base quickly if we need to double-check an order before the deadline.

THE MY SUBSCRIPTIONS PAGE:

The Manage Comics – My Subscriptions page is a great resource to keep track of your comics.

The first tab lists everything you currently have on order. Once your preorder arrives at MK1, it moves to the Pulled Orders tab.

At your chosen Shipping/Payment time, those items shift from Pulled to Billed Orders.

We will email a payment link but you can also pay from this tab as well.

In practice all new Manage Comics customers are Billed every week that a preorder arrives. Once your ordering is established with us and it looks like notifications are being received and actioned we will start to send payment links out according to your Shipping Preference.

The final tab lets you update your Shipping and Payment preference. Options are Weekly or Monthly or Paying in store.

ADVICE FOR NEW MANAGE COMICS USERS:

New to Manage Comics? One thing that can trip people up is spotting something they’ve preordered on the MK1 website but yet to receive a notification for. That’s because we don’t send out notifications until the final shipment for the week has been unpacked (comics don’t all arrive in one single tidy delivery, unfortunately).

At the end of each week, every subscriber with a preorder arrival will get a “YOUR NEW COMICS AT MK1” email. In the meantime, you can always check what’s set aside for you under the PULLED ORDERS tab on your MY SUBSCRIPTIONS page. And if you don't want to wait for your payment/shipping time - message us and ask for a payment link to be sent early.

COMIC META DATA: THE COMET STANDARD

The preorder listings are built around the industry best practice use of comic meta data and comic barcode information. A few publishers can be guilty of reusing barcodes or issuing them in inventive and non standard ways leading to problems with our listings and the information presented.

We are always on the look out for these and will report any errors to Manage Comics for correction. If you do spot something unusual please let us know.

Improvements are happening. For anybody interested in Comic Meta Data check out the COMET standard project. 

SHIPPING / PAYMENT PREFERENCE

The Shipping Preference setting in your MY SUBSCRIPTIONS page should be treated as a Payment Preference - it is really important to set up correctly. New Manage Comics customers are are billed every week that a preorder arrives. Once your ordering is established with us and it looks like notifications are being received and actioned we will start to send payment links out according to your Shipping Preference.

This preference is how you decide how often MK1 bills you.  Every arrival is notified to you in an automated weekly email but we only send actual payment links according to your chosen preference: Choose between Weekly/Monthly or on set dates. With Local Pick Up payment is made at the shop counter in Hamilton.

It is important to choose a preference that matches when you want to pay as once we generated your payment links the items are only reserved for 7 days. Please reach out if you would like the reserve extended.

Remember items need to be paid within a month of arriving at Mk1 at the latest.   

2ND, 3RD , 4TH PRINTINGS:

A recent trend in comics publishing is the rapid release of 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc printings of popular issues—sometimes continuing well after a collected volume edition has been published. On Manage Comics, these reprints appear at the bottom of each title’s preorder page under the heading Alternate Printings (as shown on the Absolute Batman page).

Any new printing that’s open for preorder will display a PRE ORDER ISSUE button. If an issue has passed its Final Order Due (Last Chance to Order) date, it will be marked No Longer Available to Preorder.

That said, it’s always worth checking with MK1 even if something is listed as unavailable—we may have shelf copies on order, or we might be able to place a reorder for you after release.

PAYMENT

Payment is expected within 7 days of receipt of the emailed invoice. Arrivals are invoiced according to your Shipping Preference. Comic Preorders do need to be paid for at least once a month.

Comic shipments arrive throughout the week from various different comic distributors. Arrival notifications and payment links are updated and sent out weekly or monthly depending on your chosen Shipping Preference (although new Manage Comics users will be billed as preorders arrive). 

Subscribers can view what they have aside for them at the MY SUBSCRIPTIONS PAGE link. You can change your shipping preference at the above link as well.

Customers wanting to have their preorders held aside to be combined with a future delivery should choose the shipping method HOLD ASIDE - DON'T SHIP YET (will automatically ship with the next order you place that includes a shipping fee). This is a good way to save on shipping costs across multiple orders.

 

PRICES

The preorder prices you see are estimates based on the publisher's USD$ pricing, converted to NZD. There are a few exceptions—like books from UK publisher Rebellion (2000AD) or Marvel’s FOIL variant covers—where Manage Comics doesn’t calculate the price correctly. In those cases, we’ll get in touch to confirm if you're still interested at the corrected price.

Sometimes the data files from publishers contain errors. If we spot a mistake—like a wrong price or a cover that isn’t actually available—we’ll update the info and ask you to reconfirm your preorder. MK1 checks all preorders before they're finalized, so be sure your contact details (especially your mobile number) are up to date so we can reach you quickly if needed.

NOT ALL ITEMS ARE AVAILABLE:

Not all Items Listed are Available from MK1. Manage Comics listings are created using a data feed from the GEEKFETCH database. We don't have direct control over every individual listing showing. We do use filters to remove problematic items but occasionally stuff sneaks through or is impossible to filter out (like Territory Restricted Titles ).

Not every item showing can be ordered so we will get in touch if a request is not available through MK1.