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Today I placed my second pre-order for a GWS product. The first one I placed for the Ironclad Dreadnought last year. It shipped a few days after release, and GWS sent it by slow boat. I got it about 2 weeks after it release.

So I called a certain third party store today about getting a pre-order in for the new Deff Dread & Killa Kans, which release March 6th. The gentleman took my order and told me I'd be charged when they shipped. About 3 hours later, I got a UPS tracking number with indicating they'd be delivered on March 4th (2 days before actual release, and 20% off).

I don't usually get GWS stuff anymore anyway, so it's not all that important - but if you get things via third parties, are they usually sent early?

There is no definite answer for this one - it depends mostly on how much in advance the retailers receive the products. For example, Maelstrom didn't receive Beastmen from GW until day after the official release date. Most people got their Beastmen pre-orders from Maelstrom about two weeks after the release date. I believe something similar happened with Tyranids earlier this year.

We tend to do the following

Order Monday, Delivery arrives Thursday or Friday (by Freight carrier) Official release Saturday.

I ordered some Kans and got my shipment notice yesterday, so they probably ship as soon as they receive inventory.

I got Tyranid preorders a couple days early and *faster* than Tyranid preorders from GW, if that helps.

Thanks to a friend at GW I know of an instance within the past 2 years where The War Store sent a customer something a little early and the item had a missing part. The idiot that received the defective item called GW Customer Service for a replacement part before the release date rather than waiting till just after the release date, raising an alarm at GW HQ and causing them to complain about The War Store shipping early. Since then, I've noticed that most of my Advance Orders from The War Store have arrived on the Monday after the release Saturday rather than a little before the release date, though occasionally they arrive right on the day or the day before. Of course, UPS Ground doesn't deliver on weekends, so if The War Store ships on Friday you aren't going to get it till Monday unless the USPS is used and only if they move it with alacrity.

GW punishes independent sellers if they ship early, so if somone does you a favor don't blab about it.

BrassScorpion wrote:GW punishes independent sellers if they ship early, so if somone does you a favor don't blab about it.

I assumed that would be true, which is why my post (note it has not been edited) does not include the name of the store from which I pre-ordered.

Well soon it might be different as the USPS is considering dropping Saturday mail to cut costs. So you would get it Monday after the Saturday Release.

I don't think there's a standard answer. There may be situtations where you order from a 3rd party, and it arrive early. I've also had situations where I ordered from GW and it arrived super early also.

I had a white dwarf subscription for around 4 years that was always ordered straight from GW. I always had my White Dwarf WAY early, we are talking typically 2 weeks before they hit stores, and it usually arrived the day they would start advertising the next one to be out. I was clueless for a while.

On a fluck I won at Gamesday a year of white dwarf. Spoke to the GW guys, who looked into how to do it, and they cancelled my old subscription opening a new one. Ironically from that point on it was coming 2 weeks after GW's hit their stores.

Its hit of miss. I think some of it comes down to what is set to ship when, and when the GW guys move merchandise around.

BrassScorpion wrote:GW punishes independent sellers if they ship early, so if somone does you a favor don't blab about it.

Don't know if that's the case regarding shipping, but I can tell you that GW doesn't mind if retailers put stuff on the shelves when it arrives, even if that's before the release date. I don't think this is the big deal that it used to be.

Nope, not at all.

GW trade sales has been quite clear on their policy. I can start ordering on Monday. I should arrive sometime by Friday. I can put the items out for sale as soon as they arrive. GW has made the choice that their stores have a release date, but it is not something that affects independent retailers.

BrassScorpion wrote:Thanks to a friend at GW I know of an instance within the past 2 years where The War Store sent a customer something a little early and the item had a missing part. The idiot that received the defective item called GW Customer Service for a replacement part before the release date rather than waiting till just after the release date, raising an alarm at GW HQ and causing them to complain about The War Store shipping early. Since then, I've noticed that most of my Advance Orders from The War Store have arrived on the Monday after the release Saturday rather than a little before the release date, though occasionally they arrive right on the day or the day before. Of course, UPS Ground doesn't deliver on weekends, so if The War Store ships on Friday you aren't going to get it till Monday unless the USPS is used and only if they move it with alacrity.

GW punishes independent sellers if they ship early, so if somone does you a favor don't blab about it.

You're probably right. I ordered from The Warstore and my stuff, according to UPS, is set to arrive... Monday.

BrassScorpion wrote:Thanks to a friend at GW I know of an instance within the past 2 years where The War Store sent a customer something a little early and the item had a missing part. The idiot that received the defective item called GW Customer Service for a replacement part before the release date rather than waiting till just after the release date, raising an alarm at GW HQ and causing them to complain about The War Store shipping early. Since then, I've noticed that most of my Advance Orders from The War Store have arrived on the Monday after the release Saturday rather than a little before the release date, though occasionally they arrive right on the day or the day before. Of course, UPS Ground doesn't deliver on weekends, so if The War Store ships on Friday you aren't going to get it till Monday unless the USPS is used and only if they move it with alacrity.

GW punishes independent sellers if they ship early, so if somone does you a favor don't blab about it.

Then in that case I dont have mine already...LOL.

I think the operative phrase here is "Snitches get stitches"

Yes.

Usually 5-10 days earlier.
Or at least my partner's LGS does.

We got the Nid stuff really early. We don't even order from GW Direct. We go through a middleman.

I think you should make a clear distinction between Europe and North America.

In the UK and most of Europe, all product comes from GW direct in the UK. Non UK shipments leave a day or 2 before UK stores get theirs as GW ideally want product in stores everywhere roughly at the same time.
However they often ship to their own retail stores in advance, which is a tad naughty.

In the US GW sell direct and through distributors, the Warstore is not only a retailer but also a distributor so is likely to have product before other retailers in North America.

I get my WD subscription usually a week or ten days early and my nids came 5 days before release day

I am in the Uk which makes some difference I suppose

AFAIK WD subs in UK are not fulfilled by GW themselves so are relaint on a third party printing and shipping them out.