I'll throw my experience into the mix in the interests of shared knowledge.
I pre-ordered two copies of the book from two different sites (Gameslore and Element games), both listed at about £21. I've dealt with Gameslore before.
This was at the start of December.
I ordered two because I expected this book to be in high demand and didn’t want to miss out as some did with Special Modifications. (Which, incidentally, I had a few minor issues getting, but got lucky).
I will say at this point, the only other book I had issues with was Nexus of Power, which I didn’t get until well after release. Every other book I have had no issues getting.
With all the delays, and the potential of the book never reaching the UK, I had a look about and got some advice from an Australian friend, who suggested I order direct from the US, and suggested both Cool Stuff Inc and Miniatures Market.
Miniatures Market didn’t have it in stock, while Cool Stuff Inc did, at a reasonable price; $25 for the book, and $25 for shipping via USPS. Total $50, or £40. Which seems steep, but the only alternative was a US Ebay seller asking £60 (Adjusted).
So I ordered one, and crossed my fingers.
Then customs got involved, and I received a card saying I owed £15 in customs taxes and handling fees (Royal Mail wanted £8 for not delivering the package, as I opted to collect it). Leaving about £7 in customs taxes.
I got hit with this customs tax because the total value of the package exceeded £15. If it had been listed as a GIFT (from one individual to another), that value goes up to £39. Now I don’t know if CoolStuff Inc would have listed it as a Gift, I didn’t ask. If they Could have done that, I would still have had to pay as I had to pay tax on the SHIPPING as well.
I don’t know if anyone else had issues with customs or not, I would be interested in hearing if you did or not.
Essentially, be careful. And be prepared. While £40 for a single book seems steep, I can afford to pay that, and was prepared to pay that. But ultimately, a book that SHOULD have cost me less than £25, has actually cost me £55.
So I am a little peeved, but happy I have the book. However, if this continues, it might cause more issues.
As it turns out, Esdevium, are apparently expecting stock at the end of March (As another poster has said). So I am not cancelling my pre-orders (as an experiment to see if this was a one off issue, an ongoing issue, or simply a delay). If they arrive, I will have 2 spare copies I am prepared to sell on for a reasonably price to cover my costs, or at the very least, recoup the cost I paid for the books in the UK.
My suggestion based on this, is if you want to get one from America, find a trustworthy friend who resides in the States, ask them to order it, and then ship it to you and list the cost such that you avoid customs tax, and then paypal/transfer them the money. While this is significantly less secure, it could make the books affordable.
Blah!!
At least now I can look at turning the ships in ND into cards, complete my Gear Lists, and maintain my collection.
I will be reserving judgement on FFG and Asmodee until this issue has been proven as a single issue, or an ongoing one.
RD.
