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I used to love getting those catalogs in the mail, and they're quite a hoot to look at now - they pushed all the usual crap as being the "HOT BOOK TO GET!" and you would get discounts for like 10 copies. They even had exclusive incentives versions.
But, I did love getting them in the mail, like a Previews before I knew what that was. What happened to them? I've googled and googled and NOTHING.

They later were bought out by another company and was renamed AnotherUniverse.com. I don't know if they are still around or not. They kept all that stuff about new issues, trades, figures, and statues & such, but lost the great deals on back-issues that American Entertainment had.

-Nate-

I looked them up on google, seems they went under completely a few years back. Now that I think about it though, doesn't that make Diamond Distributors a monopoly? Somebody should challenge that and make an alternate distributing company.

-Nate-

I think it had been challenged already and a monopoly on comic book distribution is not a significant monopoly in the grand scheme of things.

Books and magazines are much more significant than comic books.

However, in these trying times and DCD deciding to raise the lower limits for comic book distribution I'm sure a competitor can enter the business and take market share from DCD if they are lucky to have exclusive distibution deals with some very hot titles that DCD chooses not to pick up.

That was attempted in the 90's with disastrous affects. Stores had to split their buying between two different distributors which adversely affected their discounts and ultimately contributed to a number of shop failures at that time.

However, with the current policies in place at Diamond for minimum independent sales levels, it would not surprise me to see someone else step into some form of distribution role.

Someone did challenge the Diamond monopoly, and instead of fighting for everyman, settled for a personal payday. Another reason to spit at the name Chuck Rozanski as the unethical "friend to no man" he is.

Strike #1 - The "Mile High" collection he lied to get pennies on the dollar (search for what he did to the Church family over Edgar Church's collection).

Strike #2 - while suing for monopolistic practices, he settles so that he has the monopoly of TPB distribution on Amazon (and this is after he wrote a negative column about how Amazon and eBay are ruining comic sales.)

Scum sucker. That man is evil to our industry, and it seems that finally truth and karma are catching up to him.

I don't see why anyone buys from him. When I first started getting back into comics I purchased from them. Then I realised I was being charged way too much and went else where. Every time they have a "sale" big books magically sell out and then when the sale is over the comics show up again. and if they don't disapear their price is raised so the sale really does nothing.

Good evening.

I have had the pleasure to spend a little bit of time with Mr. Rozanski. I do truly mean a little bit of time, but EVERY interaction I have had with the man has been professional, courteous, on the level, and best of all...his checks clear.

He was nice enough to give me a 30 minute ride back to my hotel from a restaurant in Pittsburgh last year, and he reminded me of one thing...he struggled for YEARS before finding the Mile High Collection. Was he fortunate...YES...could his fortune be bestowed unto ANYONE else? As a matter of fact...YES.

I was one of less than a dozen people who were in the first session of his "Mile High and Edgar Church" discussion at the most recent Megacon.

It turns out that he was NOT the first person contacted for the "Mile High Collection". He wasn't even the SECOND person...he was the third person, and ONLY because the shop owner for the second call referred the Church Family to him.

Additionally, remember, there were a LOT of books in the Church collection. They were stored chronologically. When Mr. Rozanski made the offer on the collection, it was only on the more recent stuff...items exposed to more elements, and of less nature (remember, in the 70's, Western and other stuff from the early to mid-50's were about as much interest as Early Copper age stuff is today...only cool if you hit on a REAL Gem.

Also, keep in mind most stuff, even in MINT only fetched a few dollars at most in the Overstreet.

The real thing is that Mr. Rozanski ONLY bid the later less desirable, and when the deal was made with the Churches, at THEIR price, he was told that he HAD to take the stuff in the historic "closet" at the same price.

He had no room in his car, and had to come back for the rest of it, and only THEN did he discover what it truly was.

Now, was he lucky? Yes!

Did he have any idea how lucky he was when the deal was made? Probably not.

If I went to a collection, offered a price, and then before collecting the stuff, was told that I had to buy EVERYTHING in a closet I never looked at for the same price, I would have been furious.

Lucky for Mr. Rozanski, it turned out to be what it was.

I don't want to put words in his mouth, but I hope I have paraphrazed what happened to the best of my ability. The family really tried to screw HIM, not the other way around.

Is Diamond a monopoly? Yes! Who suffers the MOST from monopolies? The LARGEST stores that have to deal with them.

Who is one of these "customers" of Diamond? Mile High Comics.

And let's face it...ebay HAS ruined comic sales. As an exclusive seller of back issues, and certainly one who has profited from ebay, THEY are the reason that EVERYONE is selling collections on ebay, and NOT to comic dealers. By cutting out the middleman, ebay has DECIMATED my ability to make a competitive margin. It has also driven the wholesale longbox of comics price to pennies on the retail dollar, something unimaginable 10 years ago.

Chuck was lucky...and he thanks Mr. Church everyday (he has a picture of the man in his office). Would it have worked had he not worked his tail off for YEARS to grow with the market...a marginal, competitive market? Absolutely not.

Just my 2 cents, but I assure you, he has done a LOT more FOR the comic industry than he could EVERY do against it. Guaranteed.

Best wishes,

Brett

How the hell did you guys go from talking about Another Universe to Diamond and mobster Stephen Geppi to slandering and bad mouthing Chuck? Seems some people have a chip on their shoulder.

How in the hell did you dredge up some 12 year old thread in which 5 out of the 6 people who posted in it aren't even on the site anymore?

Seems like some people need to get a life.

Howie, I'm glad to see action in the forums.....even if its raising the dead threads!

I too like more action in the Forums. Just less of the Troll Job type.

Plus, the guy casts a blanket accusation on all of us for "bad mouthing and slandering" Chuck. Did he not read the post directly before where Brett went to great lengths to defend the scumbag, er I mean, legitimate businessman?

Plus, why's he gotta drag mobster Stephen Geppi into it? I didn't see anyone reference him until MajorDeep him or herself did.

I actually enjoyed this thread being brought up. It's a good read. Brett made some good points.

3/5 stars.

Ditto and I may have accidently learned something reading all that.

To a kid growing up in the country in the 70's into the early 80's, there was no Overstreet, internet or anything really close unless you mailed off a quarter to a buck with a self adddressed stamped envelope to some company advertising in a tiny box inside the comics for a price guide. (Usually refundable with the first order)

I don't know a thing about the history of Mile High other than they must have spent a fortune on all those one and two page ads with price guides that we used to spend hours dream shopping in. I probably even spent a few bucks of grass cutting money ordering a few bags and a few low grade keys back then. I never did get that Uncanny 137 I always dreamed about from them. I finally got my copy 30 years later and shortly after saw only the second copy I'd ever seen laying on the floor of Bretts warehouse like it was trash just because it wasn't perfect. Apparently Brett had so many nice copies the lower grade one's were not worth the trouble to pick up according to his assistant at the time.

However he accomplished it, I'm glad he did even if I find his weekly e-mail with the sale of the week discount codeword entertaining to look at and read now. I can't imagine ever being desperate enough to place another order with them but it's nice to know the option is still there if something comes up I can't live without and don't mind overpaying for.

Oh man, you're bringing back some painful memories for me. I saw so many perfectly good comics literally go in the dumpster when I was working there because of incompetence and/or indifference. It pains me to think about it.

I could tell some stories... Mostly sad ones...