JULY4TH Codeword Sale Begins! Howdy! I'm up really early again this morning, as I need to be working on about six tasks at the same time today. For starters, the truck filled with the 30,000+ comics that I purchased in Charlotte should be arriving at our main warehouse today. We would normally greet the arrival of such a treasure-trove of great back issue comics with glee, but our huge 22,000 square foot main building is already so buried in pallets (each containing 12,000 - 15,000 comics) filled with fantastic back issues, that we can barely move carts through our warehouse aisles. I did work methodically all of last week (including Saturday...) to sort and process some of our existing inventory backlog (such as the 100,000+ comics that I sent back from New York in early June), and consequently did manage to create enough empty spaces in one corner of the floor for the Charlotte pallets. Suffice it to say, however, that our overall inventory of back issues is now the largest, and best, that it has ever been! Pam Brandle with just a few of the 75,000+ comics that she purchased during June! (click on image for larger view) Another factor that has been contributing to our inventory backlog has been the astounding success of our new online buying program. Our head buyer, Pam Brandle, has been getting inundated over the past few weeks with phone calls and e-mails about collections for sale. I don't have an exact count, as she has been receiving large shipments almost every single day, but I estimate that Pam purchased well over 75,000 back issues from private individuals during June! That's an amazing response to a brand new program, especially considering that I've only been able to compile our actual online buying list through Marvel "A"-"T". Not yet having a complete online buying list hasn't slowed down Pam's buying one bit, however, as she has been cutting numerous cash deals over the phone for large collections. Pam's estimates of value of collections reflect her 15 years of experience in the comics world, and must be pretty darn good, as she has been receiving an amazingly positive response. If you would like to enter into a dialog with Pam about selling some, or all, of your comics, you can call her at 1-800-676-6423, or e-mail her at pam@milehighcomics.com. Before I leave the subject of all the comics that we have been buying, I would like to stress that Pam, Will Moulton, and I work as a team. Pam purchases collections from private individuals, Will specializes in bulk deals from other comics dealers and new comics publishers, and I seek out great back issue comics at conventions. That having been said, I am often asked why I, as the chief executive of the largest back issue comics company in America, am still out picking back issue comics from dealer's convention displays. The answer is really simple: I love it! Aside from scoring some wonderful back issue comics deals at each show, I also get a chance to renew my friendships with some of the nicest comics dealers in the entire world. I am also typically blessed to be able to meet dozens of members of this newsletter mailing list at every major show that I attend. In addition to the pure joy that I experience at being able to meet in person those of you who read this newsletter, I also avidly seek (as many of you whom I've met at conventions can well attest...) advice and feedback about how we could be doing a better job for you. A great many of our recent innovations, including our slashing of all of prices, were greatly helped along by the suggestions that I heard at conventions. While initially painful to accept, those massive price decreases led directly to this June ending up as our very best month in over a year! I genuinely thank all of you who encouraged us in this very positive decision. Moving on, I awoke somewhat in a quandary this morning. For each of the past dozen years, we have held a JULY4TH codeword sale. This year, however, we have already slashed our back issue prices to such an astounding degree that our margins are now razor-thin. In addition, our lower prices have already produced a flood of new orders, which has created an unprecedented 5-day shipping backlog. With so many orders already in house, it really makes no sense for me to initiate a JULY4TH codeword sale this year. Upon reflection, I say to heck with logic! I've thought about this long and hard, and I've decided that I'm unilaterally going to offer everyone who reads this newsletter an astounding, ridiculously great, deal. Effective for the next seven days ONLY, I am going to layer a 20% off JULY4TH codeword sale ON TOP of our existing slashed prices! As I'm certain that my trusted assistant and confidant, Will Moulton, will express to me quite vociferously when I reach the office this morning, this decision of mine is completely insane! With all of our prices already pushing rock bottom, and vast numbers of orders already orders flooding in, why blow out even more of our very best comics at such low prices? Well, because I think that maintaining our traditional July 4th sale is the right thing to do. As long as you don't mind waiting a bit longer for your order to ship, you can now utilize the JULY4TH codeword to slash an additional 20% off the sale prices already listed on our website for all of our back issue comics and magazines. As per usual, only new issues and the Dallas Stephens consignment comics are excluded from this sale (please keep in mind the codeword does not apply to trade paperbacks, hard covers, graphic novels, statues, or supplies). Other than those two small exclusions, all eight million of our back issues are now immediately available to you at an additional 20% off! Simply insert the codeword JULY4TH in the "Discount Code" line on our online order form, and our computer will then automatically deduct your additional 20% from all the qualifying items in your order. Before I go, I need to stress a few quick final points. First, the JULY4TH codeword sale will end promptly next Wednesday (July 8th) at noon Colorado time. It will not be extended. Second, if you want free shipping, please be sure that your order remains above our free shipping minimums ($50 USA - $125 International, no express carriers) even after the JULY4TH codeword discount has been applied. Third, the extra 20% off JULY4TH codeword applies not only to the comics that we already have in stock, but also to all of the thousands of fantastic comics that we will be adding to our New-In-Stock and $50+ New-In-Stock listings over the next week. You really should check our New-In-Stock listings every day! Finally, I want to take this opportunity to genuinely thank all of you who placed orders with us in June. Thanks to your kind support, our new program of greatly reduced prices has been an amazing success! Happy Collecting! Chuck Rozanski, President - Mile High Comics, Inc. Advance Previews of next weeks comics from Archie Comics Current Newsletter