My approach to early returning of magazines is not changing because Network Services is closing down. I am not engaging in a mass cull of Network titles prior to the end of the month. I am not acting out of ear or malice. No, it is business as usual.
The approach being taken by Network to handling returns as the business winds down is as it has said from then outset. The people running this side of the business have long term newsagent relationships at heart. I am sure of that.
If you really return magazines you could authorised have sold based on your historic sales data then you are only hurting yourself.
I urge all newsagents to serve their businesses well as to serve the magazine publishers they hope to represent into the future.
Gee Mark! No one would disagree with the gist of your advice: that newsagents who early return magazines that they have a realistic prospect of selling are harming themselves; but to endorse Networks claim that, ”The people running this side of the business have long term newsagent relationships at heart.”, seems incredible.
Network has been oversupplying Newsagents for decades with very damaging results newsagents cash flow and magazine margin.
There is nothing unethical about this: a company is obliged to maximize its profit in any lawful way it can. The problem is that its practice is lawful even though it is clearly unconscionable. But to imagine that any of the publishers is distracted from its self-interest by their concern for newsagents just isn’t the case. Nor should it be
henry, I chose my words carefully. Sometimes, people in businesses do things they do not personally agree with in order to keep their jobs.
Very few of the tiles would be cash-flow positive run through any of your models.
And Gotch has gotten off to a bad start !
The NRL planners that everyone was invited to order if we wanted them (and I didn’t !) look like they are coming in tomorrows delivery whether we wanted them or not.
Network looks like it is simply trying to clear its shelves as I have got some titles that look like they have suddenly had a supply spike for absolutely no good reason.
Just goes to prove they deserve no respect and no chance to show they have changed their spots at all and the boot needs to be put in to put this dog down once and for all. I hope the people out of work who are responsible for the constant oversupply have a long and very unhappy life in the dole queues !
Same here Paul, did not order planners and they all turned up today.
We also had titles supplied by Gotch today that we have been receiving 3,4 copies returning 1. Today we get 7 copies. Another we get 5 copies and return 1.Today we get 11 copies.
Hope this is not a taste of what is to come!!
did you opt out of the order ?
There was an email that came out asking us to set quantities we wanted Shaun. I didn’t order any at all and at the time there were none showing as pending orders so some wanker has added these in as they musn’t have had enough people wanting them. Returning the lot and making sure they are unsaleable in one form or another
I have been in contact with Universal about the planners today, as we didn’t get any of the team local to our shop. Mark Darton is going to arrange to send me the required stock. Thanks to him for his help.
I’m also under the impression of Network clearing the shelves. Got a re-issue of a Bike Guide from 2015.
My customers are interested in the 2016 models, not the 1 year old ones
subaru
Thanks for the info about the bike guide being old. I hadn’t picked that up. What happened to redistributions being designated at such on the invoice? Network did the same thing with “Worlds Fastest Motorbikes” recently, redistributed 4 or 5 months after the same mag was first issued and nothing to say it was a redistribution.
no, they have always been sneaky about it. Just change the title, the newsagent will never know.
Of course, it also stuffs with the data on the computer system as well….
Other things I won’t miss about NDC:
Blatant oversupply – although could apply to others as well
Broken SBR system – you sell 1 out of 4, so they send you 4 more
Needing to print labels in alphabetical order – cause they can’t provide stock in multiple invoices like GG
Checking the statement to make sure it’s correct
Having to wait for an email after submitting returns, requiring you to log in to their website to click “ship now”- submitted = ready (like GG)
Playing Cut and Paste to put labels on bundles of returns – i left kindergarten 35 years ago
Omg Subaru, I totally forgot about the benefits of not having to go through their stupid returns process… Because the data in my returns form wasnt good enough i had to print theirs off their own site which was based on what i sent them in the first place…. I will be honest, they wont be missed in my store.
wait and see , we all will probably get more unwanted supply from IPS. If they can’t stop supplying their rubbish mags, i will close my account, even though i will lose sales on sat paper and best bets.
Eric IPS are about to get and ear full from me I have had enough of the over supply from them here is just a small example of this week
Scottish banner
1-1
1-1
3-3
3-3
1-1
1-1
2-2
2-2
4wd touring
4-4
4-4
4-4
4-3
4-3
5-5
6-5
Australian performance horse
4-4
4-4
2-2
5-4
5-5
5-5
now with 4wd touring I have sold 3 in aprox 8 months but yet as of 5 minutes ago I still could not cut back my supply on their website .
Unless IPS significantly changes their processes and provides newsagents more control, I expect more newsagents to close their accounts. The supply creep is one thing but the rule re early returns makes the creep more expensive, unacceptable in my view. Gotch is able to serve the vast majority of my needs and they are an easier company to deal with.
I never check my bill with ips before, they said they never received my returns and they charged me full for Sat papers and 4wd mags and costing me $2000 loss due to this. But I will not pay them.
For us, doing business with IPS is at best marginal. We have low sales with their specialist magazines. With no early return facility, very limited control on supply, the postage cost on returns and a “don’t argue” attitude to audit and debit of returns that they lose or can’t find, is it worth it?
In my view, IPS should provide a “Reply Paid” facility for returns and considerably soften their attitude toward the people who try to sell their magazines, or they will lose a lot of their accounts.
There should be a “no pyhysical returns required” for all magazine suppliers.
They know what they sent us, they have our sales via Xchangeit, therefore they know how many we didn’t sell (our returns)
Supermarkets don’t have to physically return stock, and we shouldn’t either
If I take International Express out of IPS supply, i have a sell through rate of their titles of 21%.
79% sent back as returns – and they have the audacity to say there is no need for early returns. I say I have no need for IPS.
I have not paid my IPS account for months. I requested someone call me to discuss why I cannot adjust my supplies for titles online that I am supposedly allowed to. Apparently their system has a few glitches in it, hello, not my problem, fix it. I can ring them and ask them to adjust for me, for real, it’s 2016. Anyway, no return phone call = no payment of account. Really only want the racing papers and best bets anyway.
I can understand why newsagents are treated differently to supermarkets when it comes to physical returns. A supermarket manager has nothing to gain and everything to loss if they try and scam the distributors. The owners of newsagencies on the other hand could profit quite nicely by not scanning some magazines and then claiming a return for them. We’d like to think we’re all as honest as the day is long but there alway’s someone dodgy in any industry. As retailer’s we try and make it hard for thieves to get away with it and the distributors are just doing the same.
There is a way G&G could get rid of physical returns and still protect there interests. What they would have to do (and anyone from G&G reading this pay close attention) is stop oversupplying and match supply to sales. If your selling 40 TV weeks,scanning 30 and scamming 10 your not going to get very far if next week 30 turn up and you really need 40. If however 50 turn up (the current system) then no problem.
Steve, it is this perception of dishonesty and being in a system designed to make it hard for the minority that will do the wrong thing rather than easy for the majority that don’t that is at the core of the collapse of retailer/distributor relationships. All this does is frustrate the honest majority to the point where they don’t care about whether or not they are being honest anymore because they are sick and tired of being screwed over.
I think this delivery/allocation system creates more dishonest acts than it stops. At the end of the day the system cannot check every return, and if someone was so inclined to cheat the system then they can do it now with very little chance of being caught, and the system as we have it encourages this.
If, however, we worked in a system where we acknowledge that there will always be someone trying to rort the process, but we cater to the honest majority that just want to be able to run an efficient business and suppliers and retailers worked in harmony and respected each other, then this has to be a far better system. Everything we need to do this is already in place, other than the will to make it happen.
The system should simply be to electronically reconcile delivery data with sales and returns data and generate an account from this. This should only be available to those who have a compliant POS system and use it in the manner the industry requires. Those without such systems have to do it the old way, thereby incentivising outlets to install compliant systems.
The costs this would save in terms of warehousing, warehouse staff and transport should be far more than what may be “siphoned” off the top by those cheating, but sadly we cannot seem to get past these trust issues.
I anticipate we will see significant changes flow from the closure of Network.
Update on 4wd magazine that I complained about in post #13 today they sent me 7
Mark,
I agree we can expect changes from Network.
Where a company manoeuvres itself into a monopoly situation, you can expect changes financial margins as the company levers their market dominance.
Somebody is going to cop it. Hopefully it is the publishers, not the retailers.
Colin,
If the retailers cop it, it will be great to wake up every morning and not have to deal with magazines!
As a Dist NA, I was thinking the exact same thing Peter B. 🙂 I think there are better things on the horizon.
Bet Cochrane’s are doing more than just looking closely at the situation.
If the existing distribution channels cop it, I don’t know who else would be mug enough to cart magazines around, even at the existing remuneration. Only the desperate I guess. Perhaps fee for service might be on the cards.
I can’t understand why anyone would have an account with IPS. The only reason I have an account with any distributor is to get access to performing magazines and even that is only worthwhile because I use early returns rationally and discriminately. for every 3% of magazines I pay for and then have to return, my real markup drops by 1%.
If I return 33% (49.25 oversupply) of magazines as prescribed in the MPA application, my actual markup would be 22.33% (retail margin 18.25%).
There is no point in blaming suppliers or publishers: any business is going to lever any advantage they have or can contrive. I blame myself most of all for being so blind, so passive, for so long; but next I blame succeeding governments for sending me out in all the world to compete while allowing publishers and suppliers to dump noncompeting magazines on the shirttails of performing items.
However, the day of reckoning is at hand. newsagents more and more are discriminating in favour of the merchandise that will bring them the most profit.
Henry, I agree. The IPS model is not financially viable for newsagents. Either the company changes or it gets out of magazine distribution.
It would be interesting to know how many newsagents still deal with IPS (and how many have closed their accounts). There would be a point where the limited outlets stocking their product’s would impact on publishers that much they’d have to quite IPS as well, setting of a feedback loop in which IPS disappeared up its own ass.
I still do , but only really need a few mags , problem is what do you do when you have good customers that buy other mags and also want that one or 2 that IPS have .
shauns, I went through that a few months ago when I closed my IPS account. Just be honest explain why you don’t stock their magazine and do it early so they have time to source it. Don’t wait till the day they come in to pick up their put away. Customers accepted it a lot better than I’d imagined.
Henry I agree with you ,I to have tolerated IPS for far to long.
Not only are their terms unreasonable but so is their attitude.
I have just compared 6 months of my IPS sales to their 6 months of billing the net result is a loss for my business.
Some Newsagents have suggested well don’t pay the account, but that doesnt remove the debt and the net result is still a loss making situation for my business .
Time stop and close my account
Very happy for the past 3 years with IPS. Three years ago I arranged to only get Best Bets & W/Post and nothing else. Prior to that, ready to close the account. Sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands.
Dennis, how did you manage that? About a year ago IPS said all newsagents on the send no new titles list were getting taken off it as the rules on adjusting supply had changed.
Hi Dennis do you have a distribution round or a Retail shop or both ?
I think Distribution only Newsagents maybe able to negotiate a limited supply arangement with IPS
We have Retail shops and have aproached IPS a couple of times ,just to get supply of Best Bets and Newspapers ect but they refused.
Same here. I only wanted Best Bets and Winning Post however they wouldn’t only supply these so I closed my account a couple of years ago and obtained the two that I wanted by subbing through a distribution newsagent. Would not deal with IPS again for any reason and when customers ask why we don’t keep a certain title and why they are having trouble getting it anywhere I tell them about IPS policies and they agree with me on my decision. Take note publishers with IPS that you may be losing sales because of this as I’m sure it’s not just me doing this.
Out of interest has anyone checked their invoices that became available today ? Just checked mine and between the two distributors I owe them less than $200 which seems a little strange as they are normally about $4000 + . I haven’t reconciled them yet but its just somewhat surprised me.
@ Steve Post 34.
There are posts somewhere on this website going back maybe 18 months/2 years when I gave some info to a couple of interstate Newsagents regarding this topic. If they are still watching this site, they may wish to let people know how they got on. I have not retained that information, but I do know it took me ages to get a fix on this. Eventually someone in CS worked out that if I was somehow recorded as a ‘closed’ Newsagency then I would be able to just get BB & WP. That is true to this day.
Hi Mark @post 35.
Yes, Distribution only. I’m not aware of any deals, but may well be the case.
Even when they email my invoice/statement file, the email is headed up ….
“Dear XYZ NEWSAGENCY – CLOSED”
This is repeated on the actual statement form as well…. I do know that I was very pleased to have this happen because closing the account would have disappointed a lot of Winning Post readers. Prior to this, the frustration levels were unhealthy to say the least.