While things have been quiet here on the update blog, the same can certainly not be said for the store itself. We have been working like crazy to update many features (and fix a few bugs), as well as getting our first major sale together. Top this off with last month being our busiest yet and it’s no wonder we barely have time to sit down and write this stuff! But we’re here and figured it would be a good idea to take a moment and go over some of the things you might not have otherwise seen around the store.

To begin with, we’ve launched our first major sale ever. While we’ve put items on special in the past, this is the first real sale we’ve pushed with marketing through email and on a few sites as well as banners on our own site. The sale (which you can probably see at the top) is on all DC back issues. This means EVERYTHING that is published through DC, whether it be DC, Wildstorm, Vertigo, Johnny DC, or whatever else. The only fine print is that it must be a back issue, meaning older than two months and not a graphic novel or trade. The sale runs through next Wednesday and we expect to see a lot of people use this as a nice way to picking up runs that might not be out in trades yet or fill in gaps that they might have missed along the way.

Along with the sale we have officially rolled out an easier way to get around our specials page. At the top of every specials page you will find a drop down menu containing every title or category that we have on sale currently. Selecting a new title will jump between runs quickly. Searches on the site will also now return items that are on sale correctly. All of these take into account in stock items, so if an item isn’t showing up in the sale it simply means we do not have it in stock.

If you are a subscriber all of these items qualify for free shipping with your next subscription order. And as a new feature on the subscription side, if you are unsure if you previously ordered that DC issue that is now on sale, we’ve added the ability to search through your previous subscription orders for items. You can search by either name or Diamond code (JUL081234). If the search finds any matches, the results will come back that link to the order/month you pre-ordered the item. And of course if the item already shipped from that page there will be a link to the order it shipped in.

If you’re not a subscriber, now is the perfect time to get near sale pricing on every title every week right to your door. All Marvel, DC, Image, and Dark Horse titles as well as many larger independent publishers are routinely 40% off cover price, with most smaller press independents ranging from 25-40% off. Shipping is a flat $5.95 with discounts on orders over $40, your store orders can ship for free with your subscription orders, and on most normal orders we rarely require a deposit and never ask for a commitment beyond picking up the books you order. You can even choose how often you want your books (Weekly, Twice a month, or Monthly) and have the flexibility of paying either through credit card or paypal. It’s no exaggeration to say there has never been a better time to subscribe! Start by looking at what’s available this month and once you are done adding items to your pre-order confirm your order (and create an account if you haven’t already) and wait for your items to start coming in. After you’ve placed your first order, you can even create future orders with the click of a button. Use our easy filter to find only the first issues and one shots available this month and your future subscriptions can be created in just a couple minutes. Of course if you are the kind of comic fan who likes to take their time and peruse through each issue of Previews, we have you covered there as well. We offer every item available each month in Previews and offer description text and images straight from the catalog. The listings are completely customizable and searchable allowing you to quickly jump between publishers and categories.

There are a few more feature updates that we’re looking at rolling out in the next week or so as well as putting together our next sale. Keep your eye on this page for information on these and anything else going on around the store.

Normally something like this wouldn’t merit posting on Updates here, but given the recent backlog we’ve run into we felt it was important to let you know we recognize this and are taking steps to improve things. We have recently hired on some additional help, and have moved existing people into more roles and to better manage our day to day operations. We have unfortunately been falling a couple days behind on shipments which long time customers can tell you is very unusual for us. Starting this week this now seems to be behind us as we have caught up on all orders and are looking to get all subscriptions out the door and on the trucks by this afternoon.

As a reminder though, please make sure to check item availability on the product page to have an idea when an item will ship. New items coming in this week or items coming back into stock this week will delay an entire order until those items make it in.

We now have the ability to filter on items that are typically highlighted in the Previews print catalog. You can single out items categorized as Featured Item, Spotlight items, and Gems of the Month. For those customers (and future customers) who receive the Previews print catalog, this is another way to easily find those designated items in our listings.

We are pleased to announce that you can now pay for your subscription orders and pre-orders with PayPal. You will find it under your subscription options. You will still need a credit card on file to place orders, but it will not be charged so long as you have paid your balance before orders are generated for the week (usually the day the books come in).

Around the same time that your pull list email goes out, subscribers who have chosen PayPal as a payment option will receive another email with a link in it that will take them to their PayPal invoice on the site. This will list all items both currently in stock and pulled along with items set to arrive this week, as well as your charges for shipping and bags and boards (if selected). The checkout button on this page will then take you to PayPal. For those who have paid for store orders with PayPal this works the exact same way. For those who haven’t placed such orders yet, you will be taken to PayPal where you will enter your username and login and select your PayPal payment info. Once you are finished you will be taken to a completion screen which will then automatically redirect you back to our site. Once this is all finished your invoice is paid and your credit card will not be charged.

There are a few minor notes with this payment method. First, your invoice total is based partially on books that have not arrived yet. In the event that books are missing or damaged from our shipment and unable to fill your order, once your order is generated your store credit balance will have the remaining amount for those books deposited into it and be available towards either your next store order or your next subscription shipment. If you leave everything alone, when the replacement books arrive and go out in your next shipment that store credit balance will come off of your next PayPal invoice thus evening everything out. If you instead decide to use the credit towards a store purchase, note you will be “charged again” for the books when they arrive and are actually sent out in your shipment. In other words, if you spend your store credit between the time you pay your invoice and the time the replacement books arrive, you will see the book(s) in question on two PayPal invoices.

Second, your shipping for the invoice is also based on what is currently in-stock as well as your current store orders. If you place additional orders between the time your PayPal invoice is generated and when your order is generated and as a result lower your shipping costs, that difference will also be added to your store credit account.

Last but not least (whew), if for some reason your generated order is actually more than your PayPal invoice (for instance you would have just barely been over $40 shipped but because of damages/shorts you are now just under $40 shipped) your order will have a remainder on your order which will be automatically charged to your credit card. However these instances should be extremely rare and will typically be a difference of a few dollars at most.

So to sum up, PayPal is now available for subscription payments, and while there are some things to understand before using it, for the majority of orders it will be just as seamless and convenient as using your credit card to pay for your subscriptions. If you have any further questions on this feature please feel free to contact us directly.

Recently we’ve been kicking around the idea of setting up a site within the store where we can convey ideas, provide information on site and product updates, and potentially even provide editorial content such as reviews, interviews, and early sneak peaks. We worked with a newsletter, what seems like forever ago, but due to time constraints as well as just a need to grow the store interface the newsletter fell by the wayside. We still do intend to bring it back in a new format in the near future, but even the newsletter provided problems getting information to you, our customer. Some of you decided not to receive one of our various newsletters, but then at the same time wished you could have known about information the was given out on it. Others loved getting those updates in their inbox every week, but asked if there was a place that those newsletters were archived or available without having to use their email application to search for information in previous installments.

Well, I am very happy to say that this site will solve both of those dilemmas, as well as provide a host of eventual features, not to mention allow us to update on a more frequent schedule without cuttering your inbox with multiple emails in a single week.

So welcome to the new Badger Updates site and look forward to information relating to the store and a number of outstanding and convenient changes we’ve made in recent weeks to your account and the store interface.