45 minutes ago, Stasy said:

God damnit Scranton/Wilkes Barre metro.

Get Dwight to start playing.

Hi, MM had a snafu with Destiny release. I ordered Legion stuff and an Ultimate Guard SuperHive (hard to get online). They told me that they didn't get their full allotment. It kinda sucks but this order had a $10 off coupon for me so I think we have to wait for the next reprinting.

Perhaps, MM is just overselling some they can reduce inventory storage costs or whatever, but I'm pretty sure they want to sell as much as they can.

For Legion, I'm just a "one of" player... I'm not trying to optimize/spam for tourneys so I'm grudigngly accepting of a longer wait time.

3 hours ago, ScottieATF said:

They always say FFG shorted them. But other retailers don't consistently have the same issue that MM does with fulfilling FFG pre-orders. So are they the only ones getting shorted? Or are they just taking pre-orders they have no business taking because of expected stock?

I have heard on other threads that some of the larger online stores have similar issues. CoolStuffInc comes to mind. I think FFG recognizes the value of FLGSs and prioritizes online stores a little lower than brick and mortar. I could entirely be wrong.

10 hours ago, arnoldrew said:

They have to earn my business. They don't get it just by existing. For instance, I play Legion all the time at a local store (with store-provided mats and some terrain), and the owner has a painted Legion Core set that he lends out to anyone who wants to use it. That is earning my business, and I preorder everything from them pretty much as soon as it's announced. However, if it was a dim, dirty place with a grouchy owner who never lets you play so the tables are always available for Magic players, then you owe that store nothing just for existing.

Yep, agreed completely.

50 minutes ago, player2801864 said:

I have heard on other threads that some of the larger online stores have similar issues. CoolStuffInc comes to mind. I think FFG recognizes the value of FLGSs and prioritizes online stores a little lower than brick and mortar. I could entirely be wrong.

My FLGSs also had some hiccups with priority supplies, so I think FFG is just having logistics issues.

I’ve been ordering from Miniature Market for years now and have always received excellent service. No complaints from me! I also almost never pre-order anything, for whatever that’s worth.

I've used them for years and for the most part haven't had any issues. Their "In Stock to Preorder" situation is very misleading though and generally speaking never worth risking an order on.

On 8/7/2018 at 5:22 PM, devin.pike.1989 said:

Have had nothing but good interactions with them for many years.

same here. Even when I messed up they always fixed my orders.

If I had not enough product to meet demand I would make sure stores that did not do everything possible to devalue my wears got it first, deep discounters can wait.

i think FFG was gun shy on selling folks a package of moisture vaporators. And underestimated demand.

20 hours ago, player2801864 said:

I have heard on other threads that some of the larger online stores have similar issues. CoolStuffInc comes to mind. I think FFG recognizes the value of FLGSs and prioritizes online stores a little lower than brick and mortar. I could entirely be wrong.

Again MM is the retailer with these same consistent issues regarding their representation of their pre-order availability. That it happens occasionally to others doesn't absolve it happening consistently with MM. Even posters that utilize their services are mentioning they don't have faith in their pre-orders.

They over extend themselves on pre-orders and then don't communicate the issue until the purchaser starts poking around asking. That the former occurs is understandable except when its reoccurring. That the later occurs at all is inexcusable.

There are also issues for brick and mortar stores. I have a new FLGS in my area that I would love to patronize, but they are basically unable to work with Alliance, which is the only distributor for FFG products in the USA. If I tried to purchase my Legion products from them, I'd have no guarantee of getting them anywhere near release date, and from what they've told me, no guarantee they would be correctly included in received orders.

On 8/8/2018 at 6:56 PM, TylerTT said:

And underestimated demand.

Nobody around here can get anything but core sets and the comparatively overpriced "extra stuff from core box" expansions. Some places can't even keep that stuff stocked. Snowtroopers and everything are sold out. FFG underestimated demand for the entire game it seems.

22 minutes ago, TauntaunScout said:

FFG underestimated demand for the entire game it seems.

Not that this makes it better, but FFG almost always has supply issues with their games. The initial run of Destiny ran out really fast and took months to be replaced, leading to lots of price gouging on eBay and Amazon. I also think X-wing and Armada have similar store supply issues to Legion.

1 hour ago, Caimheul1313 said:

Not that this makes it better, but FFG almost always has supply issues with their games. The initial run of Destiny ran out really fast and took months to be replaced, leading to lots of price gouging on eBay and Amazon. I also think X-wing and Armada have similar store supply issues to Legion.

Replace FFG with "gaming companies". Maybe it's been better lately but overall I feel like the retail experience of this hobby is defined by scarcity.

1 hour ago, TauntaunScout said:

Replace FFG with "gaming companies". Maybe it's been better lately but overall I feel like the retail experience of this hobby is defined by scarcity.

I wonder if trade relations with China might have an impact on this in the coming months.

8 minutes ago, player2801864 said:

I wonder if trade relations with China might have an impact on this in the coming months.

Specifically to FFG, it could more quickly make a difference than to many other wargame companies.

Other companies can relatively cheaply relocate their business back to the US/UK. It doesn't save you that much to spin molds in China vs here. Labor prices are very different though, so it DOES save a ton of money to have someone clip pieces off sprues and bag them up in China...

I had no problems when I preordered my legion core back in the day.

Hoping my xwing 2.0 Order goes through or else this could be interesting.

I have never had a problem ordering from Mini Market, but I have also never pre ordered something from them.

I used to buy EVERYTHING from MM until my FLGS opened in my home town. (Lehighton PA) now for the sake of supporting a wonderful local business i buy from them. ive never preordered anything from them but for years have had nothing but wonderful interactions with them. I cant recommend them enough

My reply from a similar thread last month.

Based on what I have heard from my local store as well as other with similar stories any preorder issues rest entirely with FFG not the seller. FFG seems to routinely tell stores that they will receive more product than they do (anecdotal evidence from multiple sources so take it for what it is). Both MM and CSI have (as I have heard) great about customer service when these issues arise, it is unfortunate, but all FFG preorders are pretty suspect.

If MM and/or CSI haven't learned not to preorder FFG's products by now, the bad is clearly on them.

On 8/8/2018 at 12:53 PM, Stasy said:

God damnit Scranton/Wilkes Barre metro.

Lol. My wife went to Marywood in Scranton. It’s a strange town...

As far as the topic this doesn’t sound so unusual. I’ve been reasonably happy with Miniature Market including on something I had to return to them because they sent the wrong item.

I also love Amazon. I don’t see why it being a big company is a reason not to shop there.

I do try to support local game stores but it is hard to justify paying high prices over and over and typically I don’t get great service from them. I also have to travel a fair distance so it’s not feasible to do all my hobbying that way.

Miniature Market can have issues with preorders and getting them out. their "In stock" definition for preorders represents what they themselves have ordered from the supplier. So if the supplier can't deliver the stuff in a timely fashion or has to ration it(which is where FFG's notoriously bad supply issues come in) they can get swamped while their customers can find the same stuff sitting on the shelves of local game stores.

If you preorder from MM, just accept it might take a while. Or just order stuff that is already released. They do have very fast shipping and good customer service.

On 8/8/2018 at 5:00 AM, arnoldrew said:

It's a UK thing. I know for boardgames, at least, Amazon prices in the UK and Canada are ludicrous. In the US it's guaranteed to blow your local shop out of the water.

Most of the local game stores I frequent offer 10-20% off MSRP anyway, so I only really shop online for availability, rather than price. Sure, some online stores offer it a little cheaper, but usually not much, and when you factor in either shipping or needing to buy in bulk to get free shipping, I usually end up just going to the game store. Especially since then I can wander around the aisles a bit and possibly see new games or old games that I just never noticed before.

On 8/8/2018 at 5:01 AM, Digimortal said:

**** thats tough for small businesses.

A bit, but most of the successful game stores I've been to offer one huge advantage over online stores: tables. Yes, there are ways to play tabletop games online, but sometimes you just want to move the physical pieces while joking with like-minded folks. The one store I frequent that sells at MSRP still earns my business by offering by far the largest game selection in the area, in addition to having nearly half their floor space devoted to play area.

I have been to some stores that have a very poor selection, and yet still space it out so much that they couldn't even fit a table anywhere in the store. When the do that and charge at or more than MSRP, they're kind of bringing it on themselves if people choose not to go there.

By the way, if anyone's ever in St. Louis, I would recommend stopping by MM's physical location. They have a Damaged Boxes store where they put product that is perfectly good on the inside, but with boxes damaged enough that people would be upset to receive it after having paid full price. They sell these at even more of a discount in the physical store, depending on how extensive the damage is. I managed to get the Armada core set for something like $40 because the box had a large tear, but it didn't affect any of the plastic or cardboard inside.