Well I tried AGoT LCG with a friend that had some decks. I was immediately hooked and thougt that this game I must have! But I can´t get hold of it anywere and now I know that the Core set is soon here and all is fine. But I was thinking that I should be a head som what and buy some of the expansion before the core set just to be ready when the core set comes. But all the expansions are also sold out or out of stock!

What is this I want to start with a new game but I can´t get my hands on it! Irritated to say the least!

Sorry for my rantings but I think that FFG should have there products out there so people can buy them and not like this, that I am forced to hunt like a mainiac for it only to find out that there is nowere to be found!

I am a game addict and when I want a game I want it NOW!

/Oathman

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite_sec.asp?eidm=10&esem=2

If you're in the USA, just order from FFG. There's actually quite some stuff available.

But you're right, something is just wrong in the distribution department (e.g. AGoT Core Set/ LotR Core Set). Also, in Europe, it's quite an art by itself to find specific chapter packs/ expansions.

I get the feeling FFG really dropped the ball and failed to properly prepare for the increased demand post HBO Game of Thrones and ADWD. Apparently they also had some problem with the printer early in the year, but I don't know if that can account for logistical problems FFG has been having all year. I can imagine how it would be frustrating for new players.

Yeah I recently encountered the same issue, thankfully found a website that still had the Core Set in stock and I'm happily awaiting its arrival.

I did contact FFG about the Core Sets unavailability though, apparently because the HBO series massively boosted popularity they're receiving orders from every which way, and they prioritize the redistributors rather than their own online store. Hopefully that means that though the FFG store is Out of Stock, maybe some local stores/websites will actually have some in stock.

Best of luck getting your expansions

How is the core set out of stock at FFG? Wasn't there a huge stack of them at GenCon? Have those not been put back into inventory yet?

CoolStuffInc seems to have a good selections still.

Ebay!

Lots of stuff on there.

Thx all for youre support

I just had to write some of the frustration from my mind... I spoke with a store today that thought they would get the core set in about two weeks so it is just a matter of time. Since I live in Sweden I don´t want to order from USA since it cost so much in shipping. But thx all for youre kind words it warms a gaming addicts heart!

/Oathman

I'm from England and I've just had to buy LOW expansion from USA, My pal wants KOTS expansion and found out tonight its not available over here due to stock running out.

Miniature Market.com, tons of stuff. Good prices, free shipping in US.

Aside from the core set and KotS and QoD that I bought at Gen Con, I've gotten still more packs and expansions from Amazon. For those of you in Europe, you can check Amazon.co.uk, maybe cheaper shipping.

I'm going to be honest I don't really see how FFG could have guessed at how the series would really effect the game. I mean sure there is going to be an increase but how much? 2% as much as 5%? Saying they should have known there was an increase is not really taking anything into account at all. When my company had a partnership with a publishing company we new it was going to increase our business but we guessed that it would get us about a 3% increase in business, and that was a pretty generous estimate based on how things worked with other companies in the past we ended up with a 9.5% increase. No one was able to forecast that. I know a company that went the other way though, hired on new staff and bought extra product expecting a surge because of a movie deal... they over estimated it by 5% and lost money.

I don't know what business you are in but figuring these things out is more art than science at times.

Penfold said:

It is. At least there was a decent chances that the series could have flopped and it wouldn´t have an effect at all on the game and the numbers of players.

...and it is MUCH better to end up with too much work than with too little.

Even if you "overprint" copies of the game, it won't rot. The overstocked copies will sell all in due time. Unless there are bad erratum on several cards where they will be corrected in reprints, I'm thinking that it would be harmless to overstock. It just appears to be a bad judgment call the number of reprints.

I have to admit though that Penfold is making a very fair point. FFG does have to manage their resources between all the different products, and "it will sell eventually" probably does not really allow for effective business calculations, and money spent on stuff sitting on shelves may have been better spent on a producing or marketing a different product.. To be honest, I have no idea about how to run a business. I just feel that their service for the Game of Thrones LCG (and LOTR LCG) have not been as good as they could have been, but I have to realize that we're only one small part of their business.

So I thank Penfold for giving me some perspective, and Old Ben for reminding me of the real possibility that HBO's Game of Thrones could have flopped, which is something I didn't account for, but FFG probably did.

Bomb said:

All of this is affected by the fact that, as far as I can tell, the gaming industry has extremely narrow profit margins. So as annoying as it is for gamers who want their product *right now*, it's just not a very sound business strategy to run huge print runs and then have the product sitting around for months.

And let's be *very* clear here. Nobody is saying someone can't get ahold of any of the cards. The question is, can that person get ahold of the product for equal or less money than the listed price. If you don't mind paying a bunch for shipping or a premium on ebay, there are plenty of people willing to sell these. We're just spoiled because we're used to AGOT being such a niche game that although product is hard to find at stores, it's always available online at a discount price.

At the same time if you don't risk you can't win big.

How many of people who would have bought it after watching series resigned from playing Agot lcg due to lack of core sets?

Whoo easy now all! I am not angry at anyone and was not writing this post becaus I thought that FFG was mean to me. I understand how economi works pefectly well and I am prepared to buy my games like anyone else. But I don´t want to buy this game on ebay for overprice when I know that FFG has a reprint on the go and I like to buy my games new. I am just a bit frustrated that I can´t get hold of this game thats all. And that is bit of a compliment to FFG since I want there games so bad ... I am also waiting to get my hands on Gears of War for example .

So easy now all!

/Oathman

Bomb said:

This is not necessarily true. Tying large amounts of cash up in stock that sits in a warehouse for _years_ waiting to sell is a poor way to do business. It hurts cash flow and can affect a companies credit when it comes to producing ahead for the next "rush." I think we have to remember that the people who participate in tournies FFG sponsors are a small fraction of those who visit thses boards are a small fraction of the people who play the game casually in their living rooms w/o buying a single expansion or Chapter pack.

Maester_LUke said:

I understand and agree with that. It's clear that what I was saying has been misconceived as it being harmless in having that additional stock on shelves for years. I did not mean to imply that they should have printed as much as humanly possible.

I also think I used an incorrect term when I spoke of overstocking. I do not know how much of a percent in increased copies they created just for anticipation of increased interest in the card game due to the show. Certainly the interest wasn't going to decrease, so they likely made some small effort to increase production of the game to be sold.

I am clearly not a business educated person, but I do know you should strike when the iron is hot. If you're going to start a fire, you better have enough wood to keep it going.

I have my doubts how much interest the show increased at all. Would be interesting to see any data one way or the other but I suspect anyone that would want to play would be people who read the books and not just show watchers. All of course my not so humble opinion.