Availability at launch

By JadedReality, in Star Wars: Destiny

I was wondering on the overall availability of boosters when the game officially releases in a few weeks. With the overall demand that has already been generated I've seen that a lot of retailers are already sold out of the their advance orders and are no longer able to take pre-orders on either the starter sets or booster boxes. With that being said the holiday season is only a month or so away and I forsee the demand becoming even more of an issue. I would imagine and hope that FFG has already considered all of this and took steps to avoid a complete shortage but at the same time I know a lot of the stores that requested Launch event kits were unable to get them because of a lack of availability. A follow-on question to this would be that in the event that there is a dramatic shortage what is the turn around time for a "reprint" or second run from the manufacturer?

Talking with the owner at my FLGS, they've been allocated on Destiny orders (and they get it straight from FFG). It sounded like it would be harder to get starters than boosters. It would not surprise me to see that other stores have the same issues, especially if they go through a distributor.

I was right on the cusp as to whether I would get my preorder box or not. But I was also told it would probably only be about 2 weeks later when they get more, so I don't think that it will be a huge wait to get more even if the stores are all shorted some.

Lastly, I was told that they would have at least one box of boosters (and probably some starters, but I already have those) to have open in the store to sell off the shelf as FFG wants walk in customers to be able to get stuff on launch day.

Edited by agentc13

I'm still under the believe that as mentioned previously here that this game will also be available in some retail stores, like Target and Walmart. It's FFG big push to get into that collectible game space, like Magic, Pokémon, etc. With the holidays and it being Star Wars, I assume FFG has produced this in great numbers to satisfy all demand. Collectors and people buying this as gifts will be in on this.

Every indication is that there is going to be a product scarcity issue at release. Stores are expecting to not get as much product as they'd have wanted with the initial release.

The unknown about this is big box stores and whether they will be involved in this game and to what degree.

No one can answer what the turn around will be on a second wave because we don't know where the second wave is presently as far as the supply chain, nor how long that chain takes to get to stores.

I'd expect a month of not being able to find much on store shelves. Get what you can when you can.

I'm still under the believe that as mentioned previously here that this game will also be available in some retail stores, like Target and Walmart. It's FFG big push to get into that collectible game space, like Magic, Pokémon, etc. With the holidays and it being Star Wars, I assume FFG has produced this in great numbers to satisfy all demand. Collectors and people buying this as gifts will be in on this.

With what we just saw with pre-release events I don't feel there should he any doubt that demand will out pace initial production from FFG. Honestly that is likely expected on their part. As a business you'd rather run out for a little bit, then make too much and sit on product. You just don't want to under shoot your demand too heavily.

I'm still under the believe that as mentioned previously here that this game will also be available in some retail stores, like Target and Walmart. It's FFG big push to get into that collectible game space, like Magic, Pokémon, etc. With the holidays and it being Star Wars, I assume FFG has produced this in great numbers to satisfy all demand. Collectors and people buying this as gifts will be in on this.

With what we just saw with pre-release events I don't feel there should he any doubt that demand will out pace initial production from FFG. Honestly that is likely expected on their part. As a business you'd rather run out for a little bit, then make too much and sit on product. You just don't want to under shoot your demand too heavily.

The pre-release shouldn't be used to compare to the actual mass product release. The pre-release built some excitement, but to think a Star Wars product will be under-produced is not as accurate these days. I'm sure the game will see some sell out, but action figures, collectibles, etc demonstrate that Star Wars is nothing if not massive in all markets.

I would assume as a business, you'd want to load up heavy for Christmas than sell out early.

I'm still under the believe that as mentioned previously here that this game will also be available in some retail stores, like Target and Walmart. It's FFG big push to get into that collectible game space, like Magic, Pokémon, etc. With the holidays and it being Star Wars, I assume FFG has produced this in great numbers to satisfy all demand. Collectors and people buying this as gifts will be in on this.

With what we just saw with pre-release events I don't feel there should he any doubt that demand will out pace initial production from FFG. Honestly that is likely expected on their part. As a business you'd rather run out for a little bit, then make too much and sit on product. You just don't want to under shoot your demand too heavily.

The pre-release shouldn't be used to compare to the actual mass product release. The pre-release built some excitement, but to think a Star Wars product will be under-produced is not as accurate these days. I'm sure the game will see some sell out, but action figures, collectibles, etc demonstrate that Star Wars is nothing if not massive in all markets.

I would assume as a business, you'd want to load up heavy for Christmas than sell out early.

I agree in that I don't think the pre-release should be indicative of the availability. From my understanding there were certain stores that misunderstood what would be supplied to them as it was not normal inventory levels that could be requested. I know this was the case with at least one store in my area and they were a bit upset by it.

It would be interesting to see some of the big box stores carry the game as a back up to my FLGS just in case demand exceeds supply. From just the initial reactions I've seen on the internet and at the launch event I attended I suspect there may be an issue at the very beginning but again I would imagine that FFG has already accounted for both it and the holidays and have already been working with the manufacturer to start additional runs. I'm not really sure if Disney has any say in the matter (although I bet they do) but with a new movie coming out and the holidays I'm hoping there isn't anything to worry about.

I've been told the opposite by my FLGS (which is Cool Stuff Games, so I realize that is effecting this). They told everyone over the weekend that they would have PLENTY of stock on Dec. 1st.

Based on the fact that FFG underestimated the demand of prerelease event kits (not meaning that shops wanted multiple but only recieved one, but that a lot of stores who wanted to participate in pre-release events didn´t get any) I expect that FFG underestimated the demand for the game. I asked my shop at the prerelease event if they expect to have enough stock at launch and they said that they ordered a huge amount, but aren´t sure if they will get the ordered amount... But I´m pretty sure that FFG is already producing a reprint... Probably a small initial reprint.

FFG understand their Star Wars games are huge and this is the game they want to get into the big box marts. If I were a betting man, I'd put money down on plenty of stock availability between now and through the Holiday shopping season. Not having enough stock at launch is a disaster. Just ask the Sega Saturn...

Edited by Stone37

FFG understand their Star Wars games are huge and this is the game they want to get into the big box marts. If I were a betting man, I'd put money down on plenty of stock availability between now and through the Holiday shopping season. Not having enough stock at launch is a disaster. Just ask the Sega Saturn...

Not sure how true this is but this was posted about an hour ago on the FB SW Destiny page:

"Hello,

This message is coming from a Retailer in regards to the release. I hope many players understand what is about to happen across the U.S.

We were informed this morning that Destiny is getting allocated extremely next week. Our store for example that ordered many starters and boxes was told we would get 1 each.

With no restock expected until January at the earliest. Many other stores in the area and US are finding out about this.

Understand as the owners some of us like myself spent hundreds on advertising and promoting to then be told we will get nothing.

Many of you will blame your LGS and not understand that FFG is creating artificial demand.

They have stripped the power of the game to get out to as many folks as possible and have rewarded only the few big stores to have access.

So before you slam your local game stores this month. Understand we had 0 control over the matter and are just as broken hearted as anyone. Its so frustrating to see a game with this Loved IP get turned into a train wreck."

That was posted again on the SW Destiny Shapers group a little while ago so because it's on FB we all have to take it with a grain of salt. The owner is in the Washington, Illinois area but I'm not sure the store name. I've heard that with the disaster some stores felt about the short supply for pre-release they are lashing out at FFG for what they feel is purposely done. I hope that posting was just that and not the actual truth. I know I just got off the phone with my LGS and they said as of today all of there pre-order stock is claimed but they are talking to the distributer tomorrow to see about getting more so I'm keeping up some hope.

Allocation could be more heavy on the big box stores. I've seen this with action figures where retail stores get less cases than online stores and vice versa because of how cases and whatnot are distributed given specific objectives from the company.

FFG understand their Star Wars games are huge and this is the game they want to get into the big box marts. If I were a betting man, I'd put money down on plenty of stock availability between now and through the Holiday shopping season. Not having enough stock at launch is a disaster. Just ask the Sega Saturn...

Not sure how true this is but this was posted about an hour ago on the FB SW Destiny page:

"Hello,

This message is coming from a Retailer in regards to the release. I hope many players understand what is about to happen across the U.S.

We were informed this morning that Destiny is getting allocated extremely next week. Our store for example that ordered many starters and boxes was told we would get 1 each.

With no restock expected until January at the earliest. Many other stores in the area and US are finding out about this.

I give this zero credibility. I've worked with FFG (and Asmodee) to help launch and teach games. "Creating artificial demand" does NOTHING for a product. If anything, if consumers can't get what they want, they move on. Some LGS might have put their orders in too late. That would be something I'd believe. FFG always includes an "order by date" to retailers.

FFG understand their Star Wars games are huge and this is the game they want to get into the big box marts. If I were a betting man, I'd put money down on plenty of stock availability between now and through the Holiday shopping season. Not having enough stock at launch is a disaster. Just ask the Sega Saturn...

Not sure how true this is but this was posted about an hour ago on the FB SW Destiny page:

"Hello,

This message is coming from a Retailer in regards to the release. I hope many players understand what is about to happen across the U.S.

We were informed this morning that Destiny is getting allocated extremely next week. Our store for example that ordered many starters and boxes was told we would get 1 each.

With no restock expected until January at the earliest. Many other stores in the area and US are finding out about this.

I give this zero credibility. I've worked with FFG (and Asmodee) to help launch and teach games. "Creating artificial demand" does NOTHING for a product. If anything, if consumers can't get what they want, they move on. Some LGS might have put their orders in too late. That would be something I'd believe. FFG always includes an "order by date" to retailers.

I was thinking the same thing because creating an artificial demand seems counter-productive from a business standpoint especially when FFG is trying to break back into an extremely competitive CCG market. Plus, like I said before, I'm sure Disney has a say in the matter and they want the supply to meet the demand just as much as FFG does.

Few different posts to address so I can't quote 1 in specific. So my apologies.

1. Demand for the pre-release unequivocally out paced supply. This is not talking about retailers that expected to get a dozen kits and essentially fulfill pre-orders with them, but stores that scheduled actual launch parties and then we're told there weren't enough kits to go around.

2. That FB posy isn't terribly relevant to this topic. To start it was about the pre-release and secondly it was from a retailer that expected to get multiple kits and essentially just fill their orders. One guy expected his stores to get 20 kits, as if he were holding launch parties for 480 people...

3. I went to 3 events this weekend and at each the retailer made it clear that they had been told to not expect their entire orders at release. In 2 of these instances the retailer was literally turning away pre-order sales because they didn't think they could fill them. To me that says a lot about what their distributor have been prepping them for.

4. As I said the big unknown is big box stores. LGS's might not be able to get what they might otherwise order, but if Target and Walmart get a lot of stuff then there won't be a scarcity issue on our, the players end, just the LGS.

FFG has a lot of strange products in their reprints.

Y-Wings for X-Wing and Hey! That's my Fish are two pretty decent examples.

I can see this game being pumped out for a few months if the demand is as high as we expect.

That message sounds like a salty store owner who did not get their ducks in a row. everyone i know in the industry says publishers hate not being able to sell product immediately. out of stock means sales are being lost.

It's possible a huge retailer jumped on and product got allocated to a big box chain. but eh i'm not so sure about that.

But given the store i go to was able to get two launch kits (because they do a whole lot of business with a few distributors and were asking for kits and product before they were announced) I'm thinking availability was there but an opportunity was missed.

My store hasn't ordered it from the distributor yet, I believe it's possible it's not showing up as available for order until early this week but that is just speculation on my part. They ran a successful prelaunch on Saturday and there is a lot buzz locally. When I called today to up my order from 2 booster boxes to 3 he didn't seem to think it would be a problem. He rarely disappoints in these situations so I'm hopeful supply will meet demand come December 1st.

FFG understand their Star Wars games are huge and this is the game they want to get into the big box marts. If I were a betting man, I'd put money down on plenty of stock availability between now and through the Holiday shopping season. Not having enough stock at launch is a disaster. Just ask the Sega Saturn...

Not sure how true this is but this was posted about an hour ago on the FB SW Destiny page:

"Hello,

This message is coming from a Retailer in regards to the release. I hope many players understand what is about to happen across the U.S.

We were informed this morning that Destiny is getting allocated extremely next week. Our store for example that ordered many starters and boxes was told we would get 1 each.

With no restock expected until January at the earliest. Many other stores in the area and US are finding out about this.

Understand as the owners some of us like myself spent hundreds on advertising and promoting to then be told we will get nothing.

Many of you will blame your LGS and not understand that FFG is creating artificial demand.

They have stripped the power of the game to get out to as many folks as possible and have rewarded only the few big stores to have access.

So before you slam your local game stores this month. Understand we had 0 control over the matter and are just as broken hearted as anyone. Its so frustrating to see a game with this Loved IP get turned into a train wreck."

That was posted again on the SW Destiny Shapers group a little while ago so because it's on FB we all have to take it with a grain of salt. The owner is in the Washington, Illinois area but I'm not sure the store name. I've heard that with the disaster some stores felt about the short supply for pre-release they are lashing out at FFG for what they feel is purposely done. I hope that posting was just that and not the actual truth. I know I just got off the phone with my LGS and they said as of today all of there pre-order stock is claimed but they are talking to the distributer tomorrow to see about getting more so I'm keeping up some hope.

I think FFG still has their mind on the US and asmodee has a world vision. Demand of this game is high and Eurasia and Australia want it to. So redistributing across the world and not the US. However I think there is a contingency plan and a second run will start soon or has started already. Remember those dice are printed so just plain blue red yellow and grey dice are easy to produce. it's the print that makes the die. I am not to worried just yet since Europe still gets product 2 weeks after the US release

Taken from Miniaturemarket.com:

Update from Asmodee:
As many of you already know, Star Wars: Destiny is set to release on December 1st. Due to the complexity of manufacturing our premium dice, as well as the size of the print run, we have been forced to break this print run into four shipments. This was necessary in order to get product to your store as fast as possible. The first shipment, as stated previously, is set for December 1st. Additional shipments will arrive on approximately December 15th, December 22nd, and finally, in early January.

The pre-orders on their site now say shipping mid-late December.

Edited by Striker McBain

Taken from Miniaturemarket.com:

Update from Asmodee:

As many of you already know, Star Wars: Destiny is set to release on December 1st. Due to the complexity of manufacturing our premium dice, as well as the size of the print run, we have been forced to break this print run into four shipments. This was necessary in order to get product to your store as fast as possible. The first shipment, as stated previously, is set for December 1st. Additional shipments will arrive on approximately December 15th, December 22nd, and finally, in early January.

The pre-orders on their site now say shipping mid-late December.

Not surprised at all...