Quote Originally Posted by doolittle View Post
Like SJNeal, I've been ordering from DCBS monthly for a decade. Other than their responsiveness falling apart during COVID, it's been a dream.

You're under no obligation to order every single month. When you order, they're going to ask you to set up a shipping frequency. Weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. When you check out with an order, based on that shipping selection, you'll be charged for one two or three shipments. The way I understand it, you'll receive your shipments at whatever frequency you selected until everything you ordered has been delivered. For example, if you order four omnis with monthly shipping spread across three orders (three shipping charges), and those omnis aren't released in a way that allows them all to go out in three shipments, DCBS is either going to want you to pay an additional shipping charge or they're going to sit on your outstanding items until everything comes in and can go out together.

That might sound complicated, but it's not. If you're making regular IST orders for trades, my recommendation would be to start making one DCBS order a month for everything you want, and going with monthly shipping. Prices on IST will NEVER be lower than the DCBS preorder price, and you get the peace of mind knowing you don't have to fight people for limited stock on release day. It's the "set it and forget it" way to buy your books.
Thanks for articulating what I've been struggling to explain, doolittle! I blame my covid-addled brain .

I think the DCBS model is tougher to wrap your head around if you're strictly using them for omnis/collections. It makes much more sense if you're a floppy buyer with a regular monthly pull list.