Ongoing Problems With Games Workshop Wholesale Deliveries - Alchemist Workshop Statement

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**Overread**

Toofast wrote:
My FLGS hasn't gotten a GW shipment since October. I stop by once a week trying to spend my $100 store credit and they have nothing. Supposedly last week they found a new distributor and will start receiving shipments soon. I figured it was GW holding all the stock for their direct sales because of the higher margin

Distributor firms can be their own nightmare. I know many smaller game firms have had huge issues with them because many of the distributors only want to buy and distribute the latest of releases. That's fine for something like Magic the Gathering that cycles its product very quickly; but for something like wargames where a 10 year old sculpt is still current, still valid and still wanted by the market, its a nightmare.

**OrlandotheTechnicoloured**

Some problems this week, Firestorm games just posted on facebook

Firestorm Games
1 h
·
Sigh. Here we go again.
We're sorry to report that our stock delivery from Games Workshop today did NOT include last Saturday's pre-order items as expected, presumably due to ongoing issues as they move into their new warehouse. We believe other independent retailers are similarly affected.
This means that customers who've pre-ordered Kill Team: Soulshackle, Warcry: Bloodhunt and last week's other pre-order items won't receive them as quickly as usual. Normally these would have been dispatched tomorrow, the official day of release. This is especially frustrating because we pride ourselves on dispatching items to you as quickly and efficiently as possible, but we hope you'll appreciate that this is entirely out of our hands. Your items will be dispatched the moment we receive them from Games Workshop.
We wish we could give you more concrete information, but unfortunately nothing has been communicated to us by Games Workshop. What we CAN say is that when this same issue occurred with the World Eaters pre-orders, we recieved the items the following Wednesday. That may give you some idea of the wait time, but if and when we receive any info from Games Workshop you'll be the first to know.
Thanks for your patience.

**endlesswaltz123**

My FLGS was affected. So waiting on Soulshackle and a box of Kasrkin now.

Would be interested to know people who preordered with Third parties in the UK of that weeks pre-orders and actually managed to get their hands on them? The lack of soulshackle unboxing etc on socials also points that it may have hit influencers also... Or they are holding fire to not cause anger - a few on insta have indicated they have the box but aren't posting if it will annoy people etc.

**ProfSrlojohn**

Mine has been as well, and they've been having issues since last year with things not being delivered. Which for the number-2 seller of GW products in the US that's concerning.

**Patriarch**

endlesswaltz123 wrote:
My FLGS was affected. So waiting on Soulshackle and a box of Kasrkin now.

Would be interested to know people who preordered with Third parties in the UK of that weeks pre-orders and actually managed to get their hands on them? The lack of soulshackle unboxing etc on socials also points that it may have hit influencers also... Or they are holding fire to not cause anger - a few on insta have indicated they have the box but aren't posting if it will annoy people etc.

Picked up the Soulshackle box for my SIL on Saturday from a small FLGS in Northern England, so some are starting to move.

**ListenToMeWarriors**

It is not only 3rd party stores, it is impacting some official Warhammer/Games Workshop shops as well. My local stores Saturday 11th February (World Eaters et al)new releases were not in store until Thursday 16th and as of writing they have still not had any of this past Saturdays releases delivered either.

**endlesswaltz123**

For me personally it is not a huge deal by any means as I am working my way through a Cadia stands box. However I am on half term (a slight perk of being an educator) so I potentially will get that finished in the next few days and wanted to do the Kasrkin straight after, as well as ship on the dark Eldar from soul shackle.

Oh well.

**kodos**

Video from a German retailer about the problem and his information so far:

TL;DW: according to the information he got, GW has a problem with the new central warehouse IT system hence the worldwide distribution is affected to some point

**Dr. Mills**

I know for a fact the Royal Mail strike has hit them (and essentially all UK based companies hard.)

While you can hire other delivery service providers, none of them have the logistical and equipment Royal Mail have. It's even affecting non business mail. An important document I required was delivered eight days late due to the actions. Add in covid retrictions/catch up, and the ongoing conflict, I'm not suprised even more is late./missing.

**The_Real_Chris**

ListenToMeWarriors wrote:
It is not only 3rd party stores, it is impacting some official Warhammer/Games Workshop shops as well. My local stores Saturday 11th February (World Eaters et al)new releases were not in store until Thursday 16th and as of writing they have still not had any of this past Saturdays releases delivered either.

I was told by GW Tottenham Court road, their flagship store (so no games can be played..?) to call on Friday to see if the pre-orders had arrived for Saturday.

**ListenToMeWarriors**

The_Real_Chris wrote:
ListenToMeWarriors wrote:
It is not only 3rd party stores, it is impacting some official Warhammer/Games Workshop shops as well. My local stores Saturday 11th February (World Eaters et al)new releases were not in store until Thursday 16th and as of writing they have still not had any of this past Saturdays releases delivered either.

I was told by GW Tottenham Court road, their flagship store (so no games can be played..?) to call on Friday to see if the pre-orders had arrived for Saturday.

Which is mad when you think of it. My local missed out on selling 3 Angron's on the initial Saturdayalone, no doubt those potential buyers just went home and ordered from elsewhere. In a time when every penny of potential profit counts one wonders how much GW have been losing as a result of the issues. However much it is I am sure they will cope.

**endlesswaltz123**

Yeah, they'll recoup at some point, it's not as if they have to keep making Angron models etc, they can stop production of them until stock is low.

The FLGS's however it is a different matter. They may end up with that stock on their shelves/in the backroom for a while.

It's okay with soulshackle as no one is going to cancel that order you'd presume, and Kasrkin etc are such a hot ticket meta item again, people aren't cancelling that order. A little extra time to think about that Warcry box that was a bit of an on a whim purchase though, that is different and could lead to cancellations, especially when they are not sold out anywhere else.

**McDougall Designs**

Overread wrote:
Toofast wrote:
My FLGS hasn't gotten a GW shipment since October. I stop by once a week trying to spend my $100 store credit and they have nothing. Supposedly last week they found a new distributor and will start receiving shipments soon. I figured it was GW holding all the stock for their direct sales because of the higher margin

Distributor firms can be their own nightmare. I know many smaller game firms have had huge issues with them because many of the distributors only want to buy and distribute the latest of releases. *Snip*

More to the problem: Not ordering new releases when your initial stock purchase did not sell well. I assume this would affect GW's stuff too in some way, although my situation below is based upon another manufacturer.

Bridge dist. just did this with fireforge after 1-2 months, and I have lost customers that would have otherwise kept buying FF's new releases from me because I "had" access to them. This happened right before/right after the release of the new plastic arabs. :/

**drbored**

The larger issue is that GW aren't making it clear where the issues are themselves. We get this news through the independent retailers, which sucks because a lot of those friendly local game stores are just trying to survive and get people the product they paid for.

I'd really love more transparency from GW, else more retailers will have to do it for them, with statements like "GW didn't fulfill our order" or "GW only provided us with half our order" etc.

**Kanluwen**

drbored wrote:
The larger issue is that GW aren't making it clear where the issues are themselves. We get this news through the independent retailers, which sucks because a lot of those friendly local game stores are just trying to survive and get people the product they paid for.

Probably because there isn't one singular thing to point at. Between the general fethery of post-Brexit shipping, container shortages (still a thing!), customs hold-ups, and probably dozens if not hundreds of other potential issues? I don't envy anyone doing logistics for any company, let alone something considered as low priority as toy soldiers.

I'd really love more transparency from GW, else more retailers will have to do it for them, with statements like "GW didn't fulfill our order" or "GW only provided us with half our order" etc.

What's GW supposed to do?
There isn't really a whole heck of a lot to do outside of something like FFG used to have where they vaguely gave you "on the boat" or whatever.

**Overread**

Also as this issue is intermittent it might be that some stores (3rd party and own brand) are getting stock and others are not. So it might not just be that there's a huge pile of models sitting there unshipped, but that bits have got out and bits haven't and some bits aren't where they should be and others are missing etc...

So GW giving a blanket statement could lead to more confusion. Honestly your store to you the customer is a very valid and sensible distribution of information.

In the end no one wins in this kind of situation - GW want their product out of their warehouse and selling; stores want stock to sell; customers want stock to buy

**McDougall Designs**

Kanluwen wrote:
drbored wrote:
The larger issue is that GW aren't making it clear where the issues are themselves. We get this news through the independent retailers, which sucks because a lot of those friendly local game stores are just trying to survive and get people the product they paid for.

Probably because there isn't one singular thing to point at. Between the general fethery of post-Brexit shipping, container shortages (still a thing!), customs hold-ups, and probably dozens if not hundreds of other potential issues? I don't envy anyone doing logistics for any company, let alone something considered as low priority as toy soldiers.

I'd really love more transparency from GW, else more retailers will have to do it for them, with statements like "GW didn't fulfill our order" or "GW only provided us with half our order" etc.

What's GW supposed to do?
There isn't really a whole heck of a lot to do outside of something like FFG used to have where they vaguely gave you "on the boat" or whatever.

GW could make like Wargames Atlantic in this update:

https://wargamesatlantic.com/blogs/news/updates-on-shipping-and-production

There is no reason why they could not be just as transparent.

**TwilightSparkles**

GW could be very clear about the problem. They’ve changed warehouse locations and IT systems and they tried to do too much in one go without pausing distribution schedules.

As a customer I’m fed up, I’ve got two weeks of preorders paid for , and no idea when my store will get them. There’s no point in Arks of Omen anymore because the ray of my group didn’t get Abaddon and still can’t even if they wanted it, and Angron is stuck somewhere.

For the first time in a lifetime of buying I’m starting to wonder if I really need to be buying so much when it comes out because I’ve done without these so, short of limited editions I want, why not wait ? That’s potentially going to be a problem for GW because if that feeling is even semi widespread then that’s a lot of lost sales - I probably spend about £300-£400 on their product , more some months.

**bobthe4th**

TwilightSparkles wrote:
GW could be very clear about the problem. They’ve changed warehouse locations and IT systems and they tried to do too much in one go without pausing distribution schedules.

As a customer I’m fed up, I’ve got two weeks of preorders paid for , and no idea when my store will get them. There’s no point in Arks of Omen anymore because the ray of my group didn’t get Abaddon and still can’t even if they wanted it, and Angron is stuck somewhere.

For the first time in a lifetime of buying I’m starting to wonder if I really need to be buying so much when it comes out because I’ve done without these so, short of limited editions I want, why not wait ? That’s potentially going to be a problem for GW because if that feeling is even semi widespread then that’s a lot of lost sales - I probably spend about £300-£400 on their product , more some months.

How much of that £300-£400 stays in its box for months? That seems an insane amount to be spending unless you are rich or you sell commissions / have an online painting channel.

**kodos**

as the retailer says in the video I posted, in the past GW was clear in the past regarding issues or in general had the best communication with retailers compared to other companies (Asmodee or Hasbro) but it is different this time has he just received 50% of his general orders and only by talking to other retailers found out that there is a general problem while GW said nothing about it

by the different kind of problems that are around it could very well be that GW internal does not know and the people who communicate with retailers don't know about the problems in the warehouse until the retailers complain

**endlesswaltz123**

bobthe4th wrote:
TwilightSparkles wrote:
GW could be very clear about the problem. They’ve changed warehouse locations and IT systems and they tried to do too much in one go without pausing distribution schedules.

As a customer I’m fed up, I’ve got two weeks of preorders paid for , and no idea when my store will get them. There’s no point in Arks of Omen anymore because the ray of my group didn’t get Abaddon and still can’t even if they wanted it, and Angron is stuck somewhere.

For the first time in a lifetime of buying I’m starting to wonder if I really need to be buying so much when it comes out because I’ve done without these so, short of limited editions I want, why not wait ? That’s potentially going to be a problem for GW because if that feeling is even semi widespread then that’s a lot of lost sales - I probably spend about £300-£400 on their product , more some months.

How much of that £300-£400 stays in its box for months? That seems an insane amount to be spending unless you are rich or you sell commissions / have an online painting channel.

Context is everything. I spend roughly £2-300ish on the hobby each month (including paints, materials etc) and I spend some of that because I am making a saving by spending that money there and then. Soulshackle is a cheaper product than the sum of it's individual parts when they are sold separately, so it is cost effective to do so, get the things I want even though I won't be painting it immediately.

**ccs**

endlesswaltz123 wrote:
bobthe4th wrote:
TwilightSparkles wrote:
GW could be very clear about the problem. They’ve changed warehouse locations and IT systems and they tried to do too much in one go without pausing distribution schedules.

As a customer I’m fed up, I’ve got two weeks of preorders paid for , and no idea when my store will get them. There’s no point in Arks of Omen anymore because the ray of my group didn’t get Abaddon and still can’t even if they wanted it, and Angron is stuck somewhere.

For the first time in a lifetime of buying I’m starting to wonder if I really need to be buying so much when it comes out because I’ve done without these so, short of limited editions I want, why not wait ? That’s potentially going to be a problem for GW because if that feeling is even semi widespread then that’s a lot of lost sales - I probably spend about £300-£400 on their product , more some months.

How much of that £300-£400 stays in its box for months? That seems an insane amount to be spending unless you are rich or you sell commissions / have an online painting channel.

Context is everything. I spend roughly £2-300ish on the hobby each month (including paints, materials etc) and I spend some of that because I am making a saving by spending that money there and then. Soulshackle is a cheaper product than the sum of it's individual parts when they are sold separately, so it is cost effective to do so, get the things I want even though I won't be painting it immediately.

Well good news! Since you've already paid for it, you've still saved the $.

**bobthe4th**

endlesswaltz123 wrote:
bobthe4th wrote:
TwilightSparkles wrote:
GW could be very clear about the problem. They’ve changed warehouse locations and IT systems and they tried to do too much in one go without pausing distribution schedules.

As a customer I’m fed up, I’ve got two weeks of preorders paid for , and no idea when my store will get them. There’s no point in Arks of Omen anymore because the ray of my group didn’t get Abaddon and still can’t even if they wanted it, and Angron is stuck somewhere.

For the first time in a lifetime of buying I’m starting to wonder if I really need to be buying so much when it comes out because I’ve done without these so, short of limited editions I want, why not wait ? That’s potentially going to be a problem for GW because if that feeling is even semi widespread then that’s a lot of lost sales - I probably spend about £300-£400 on their product , more some months.

How much of that £300-£400 stays in its box for months? That seems an insane amount to be spending unless you are rich or you sell commissions / have an online painting channel.

Context is everything. I spend roughly £2-300ish on the hobby each month (including paints, materials etc) and I spend some of that because I am making a saving by spending that money there and then. Soulshackle is a cheaper product than the sum of it's individual parts when they are sold separately, so it is cost effective to do so, get the things I want even though I won't be painting it immediately.

OP is saying he is spending the equivalent of 3-4 Soulshackles every single month ("and sometimes more"). You're not saving money if the thing you are buying never gets used.

**AduroT**

Our GW orders have been of questionable reliability for some time. Restock orders take a month+ to come in. Our Rep would lose our new stuff order so we’d miss out on thing. We’ve missed out on limited releases like the Niphilim book and Goff Rocker. We have a new new Rep again, so the last four or so weeks we’ve gotten the new stuff on time, but every new Rep makes things work initially until it gradually slides back to unreliability. It’s super annoying because the same Rep doesn’t do all the stores in the local area, so we’ll be missing new stuff but every other store has it.

**deano2099**

endlesswaltz123 wrote:
My FLGS was affected. So waiting on Soulshackle and a box of Kasrkin now.

Would be interested to know people who preordered with Third parties in the UK of that weeks pre-orders and actually managed to get their hands on them? The lack of soulshackle unboxing etc on socials also points that it may have hit influencers also... Or they are holding fire to not cause anger - a few on insta have indicated they have the box but aren't posting if it will annoy people etc.

My Soulshackle from Element was sent out on the Friday. Didn't arrive until yesterday but that was because of DHL being rubbish. I'd ordered some sprays as well though so it didn't go via Royal Mail which may have actually helped.

**Wayniac**

My FLGS has routinely gotten shafted on any pre-release. He just doesn't get any, or if he does it's like 1. Never got the Arks of Omen GT book, and it's now sold out apparently as well which IMHO is completely ridiculous for a tournament pack that you are "expected" to be using.

**Daedalus81**

Are all the people here complaining about delays in the UK or worldwide? We don't seem to have had them at my FLGS yet.

**AduroT**

Wayniac wrote:
My FLGS has routinely gotten shafted on any pre-release. He just doesn't get any, or if he does it's like 1. Never got the Arks of Omen GT book, and it's now sold out apparently as well which IMHO is completely ridiculous for a tournament pack that you are "expected" to be using.

Happened to us with Niphilim, and if it’s like that one there will be no restock, it was a one time limited release.

**Matrindur**

Daedalus81 wrote:
Are all the people here complaining about delays in the UK or worldwide? We don't seem to have had them at my FLGS yet.

I'm in Europe so atleast not just UK but its really funny here. I have two FLGS near me, one of them has no problems and always gets their preorders for launch day while the other hasn't gotten anything from GW for the last four weeks, neither preorders nor normal orders. The official GW store is getting stuff but not on release day

**Wayniac**

AduroT wrote:
Wayniac wrote:
My FLGS has routinely gotten shafted on any pre-release. He just doesn't get any, or if he does it's like 1. Never got the Arks of Omen GT book, and it's now sold out apparently as well which IMHO is completely ridiculous for a tournament pack that you are "expected" to be using.

Happened to us with Niphilim, and if it’s like that one there will be no restock, it was a one time limited release.

Which is even more ridiculous because it's a GT set of rules that's supposed to be used for 6 months...