Early returning of magazines is the returning to the distributor of titles prior to their recall date. While you can use your newsagency software to suggest early return numbers the day of receipt of the stock, my advice if space permits is you undertake this activity from the shop floor – giving all stock and opportunity to perform.
Here are my tips for early returns:
- Treat selecting stock for early return as a senior management activity.
- Undertake the process of selecting titles weekly, not as part of the process of putting new stock onto the shelves. In my own business I do it on Saturdays.
- Consider the date the title arrives, sales to that point and the prospect of sales through the remainder of the on-sale.
- Consider whether to return all stock or some of the stock on hand.
- At all times be aware of we weekly magazine pocket cost for your business as the ability for the title to pay for the space it occupies is essential to your business.
- Do not early return out of spite or based on emotion.
- Early return based on the facts otherwise you will drive down sales of magazines in your business and hurt yourself as much as the publishers.
Those who say newsagents should not early return are ignorant of the costs of magazine space and the factors in today’s newsagents which make early returning an essential tool of professional newsagency management.
The criteria we use is if we can sell it, we keep it.
In the first quarter this year we early returned 3,859 magazines. That is nearly 43 per day in a 7 day week that are sent that would not sell.
Early return on the day of arrival is the most cost effective way, straight into a box and forgotten about.
We allow for some to be left at the end of the on sale period to try and sell extra.
We normally sell 2 – 3 copies of Deals on Wheels. Today we received 16.
No wonder they are trying to get rid of early returns! This is just a single example. The hit on our cashflow if we couldnt early return would be fatal.
Early returns for Bauer this year averaging $1000 per week. Appalling waste
I thought I had IPS supply under control, until today.
Apparently even though I have been emailing my standing order changes base on my net sales ,I was told today by customer services that Melbourne office can and do override my alterations.
What hope have you got if they don’t respect newsagents alterations , they even provide me with a email confirming the changes were made, that is until someone in Melbourne decides to up my supply again.
Maybe its time to look at closing my account