Maelstrom Games taking the biscuit?

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**Henners91**

Hey guys,

I'm having a pretty poor experience with Maelstrom Games.

I placed an order for a Warhammer Fantasy rulebook on the 2nd of July and the order was still listed as processing by the Friday, so I called them up and asked what gives. I was told that orders for stock from GW are placed weekly (on a Monday) and that the item should be added to their next order... I thought this seemed fair enough as it's an example of GW messing around with their third-party stockists and I was being treated decently enough (though, you'd have thought that a rulebook might be a rudimentary-enough item to keep in constant stock; though when I brought this up I was told it would be a waste of money), indeed, my postage was upgraded to first class free of charge.

But here I am on the 23rd of July and guess what... still processing! A good 21 days after the order was placed; three weeks! I don't really see how I can cut them any slack over this. The price was good and I'm going to sit out and wait for the book, but it's a right pain; I use my workplace as my mail address and I'm moving to an office on a separate campus.

It seems to me like I was effectively misled regarding the stock being ordered in as they're presumably still out... or do they just have a massive backlog to workthrough? I'm grateful for the upgrade to First Class but this is not good service. The last I heard from them (the 18th) they were still awaiting their order from GW; arriving 'by courier'. Were they grabbing at excuses?

My individual story aside, has anyone else been messed about to the same degree?

**Firebuck**

All of my experiences with them have been good. One time my order was still marked as processing on their web site after I had received it. Perhaps it is poor updating of your order status and it has already been shipped?

**rodgers37**

Have you called them again?
Probably best way to get a response.
And when I used to work for a indie Store, we got our GW stuff two days after ordering from them. So they should definitely have it by now, and it's not Christmas so they can't exactly have too much going on, been a few weeks since 6th ed release as well now.

**marielle**

Aren't they moving to a new warehouse at the moment?

**TheSecretSquig**

All my experience's with Maelstrom have been good, even the bad ones. Their Customer Service normally sorts things out good. My understanding though with GW's new trading is that external shops can only order once a week with GW, and then they are not guaranteed the stock they order.

With new release stuff, third party sellers are limited to x6 copies only a week until it becomes general release (can't 100% confirm this one). It's all to do with making the GW mail order a more attractive option.

It is common knowledge that they are in the middel of a warehouse move, and this may have something to do with the delay?

**Compel**

To be honest, I've been finding all the online stores, I regularly use (Maelstrom, Wayland and Total Wargamer) have been extremely slow when they've been doing one of their sales.

On the other hand, I'm quite happy maelstrom are being really slow this time. - I ordered a storm talon on the 7th, it's still processing and hopefully it will be for a another few days. - I'm away on holiday for a week!

**daedalus**

I came for the biscuits. :(

**Brother SRM**

daedalus wrote:I came for the biscuits. :(

Good luck with that, since apparently Maelstrom took them all!

I've heard that Maelstrom has always been slow with some folks. It's a recurring complaint.

**Bloodhorror**

In all fairness, i go into maelstrom twice a week, and they have hardly any GW stock due to GW Fething them around...

Don't blame Maelstrom.

Blame GW!

And if its THAT Much of an issue, cancel the order and buy it from GW Direct

**Slinky**

Does seem a bit overly slow, best to contact them again in case your order has somehow been forgotten about, I guess.

**Henners91**

As per the advice on this thread I gave them another call and was told rather honestly that they have only just gotten over their backlog from their sale and that's what accounts for their inability to restock. I presume that GW's restrictions didn't help ease anything... sounds like quite a backlog.

Didn't push for anything else, I'm fairly satisfied with my postage upgrade... just nice to actually be told what the problem was. Guess it was their summer sale eh?

**notprop**

Bloodhorror wrote:In all fairness, i go into maelstrom twice a week, and they have hardly any GW stock due to GW Fething them around...

Don't blame Maelstrom.

Blame GW!

And if its THAT Much of an issue, cancel the order and buy it from GW Direct

Yes indeed, bloody GW forcing maelstrom not to carry much stock.

If maelstrom actually carried enough stock in the first place rather than making customers wait for even basic items (WHFB Rulebook in the Op) I would be inclined to jump on that band wagon, but since the don't and have been operating their webstore out of a small store room I'll not be so forgiving as you. They also stall massively on non gw items too.

The move to bigger premises Is a long over due move in my book.

Sorry er Yah boo sucks GW and all that.

**Bloodhorror**

you do realise they HAVE moved right?

**notprop**

Then they have no excuses then.

**Azreal13**

I haven't used either Maelstrom or Wayland for some time, precisely for the reason that they both take so long to process orders so frequently.

I was a convert to Dark Sphere until they stopped shipping mail order but have used Rocket Hobbies a couple of times now and they have been very good.

Because of the stupid way GW force indys to order stock there will always be times when you have to wait but not had to wait more than a week for anything yet.

**ArbeitsSchu**

Sometimes I find I have to nudge' them, but sometimes I get virtually next day service..though I was rather narked when my pre-order from before Christmas came a week AFTER my mate who ordered the same damn thing on the release date. Would it have been so painful to prioritize a little? Noe of this is for GW stuff though, so I'll brook no excuse about crappy store support plans.

**BrookM**

They are usually slow to ship, regardless of stock levels. It usually takes them a month to ship things to me. I switched to US based Miniature Market, which might not have free shipping, but does feature fast shipping and great prices.

**vossyvo**

I had an order sitting in processing for a couple of months once without a word. I just asked for a refund when it was getting close to the 3 month mark and it was given without question.

I used them quite a bit when 40k could be shipped to Australia and they were very good. The product I order now isn't as popular as 40k so it's probably understandable that there is a bit of wait for them to get it in.

**Ronin**

Up until the embargo I used Maelstrom almost exclusively for my W40k needs. And in that whole time my experience with them has been pretty great. Longest wait ever had been about a month, and sometimes the order status is not updated to reflect it had shipped. Once it had been 'pending' for 2-3 weeks, then the status changed to 'shipped', and it literally arrived the next morning. Getting something/anything shipped from the UK to Australia would definitely take more than a day.

Since the embargo, Ive only made the occasional non-GW purchase, and they do seem a little slower than usual now. But I've still not had problems, and they always replied to my emails/queries within 48 hours.

**Schmapdi**

BrookM wrote:They are usually slow to ship, regardless of stock levels. It usually takes them a month to ship things to me. I switched to US based Miniature Market, which might not have free shipping, but does feature fast shipping and great prices.

This has been my experience too. I order from Maelstrom still (just placed one today in fact), but I do so in the expectation that it's going to take a month for me to get what I ordered. Sometimes I am pleasantly surprised and it takes only a little over a week (which is pretty good from the UK imo). But then I'm generally not in a hurry for anything anyway.

If Miniature Market carried some of the lines Maelstrom does - I'd probably switch to them exclusively as well.

**OrlandotheTechnicoloured**

Bloodhorror wrote:you do realise they HAVE moved right?

Well it looks like they are moving again, the email I got from them on the 20/7/12 said

"THE WAREHOUSE IS MOVING!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That's right, you read it correctly: the Maelstrom Games warehouse, which has been crammed to the rafters for a good long while now, is moving from the Eye of the Storm to a new location a couple of miles away in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. This means we can work more effectively, expand our operation to bring in lots of the superb ranges out there that we don't already stock and, of course, future-proof existing ranges, which seem to grow exponentially every week. The Eye of the Storm, of course, will still retain our amazing shop, gaming hall and bar/restaurant, and you'll still be able to collect in store (either the venue or the new warehouse) should you wish!"

of cource that shouldn't mean poor service in the mean time, but worth bearing in mind

**Skinnereal**

Ordered on the 9th, still listed as "Processing".
I rang them last Wednesday, and got told their GW order was due in either the end of the week, or the start of this week.
My stuff must be in the bottom of that delivery :(
It's not as though SM drop pods should be that unusual an order...

**Ciaphas**

They always take orders even if out of stock. Then they order from the supplier. Lots of smaller companies do this. Times are hard and they can't carry much stock but its frustrating. I order direct its just easier and the saving if there is one is not worth the hassle.

**Schmapdi**

Schmapdi wrote:
BrookM wrote:They are usually slow to ship, regardless of stock levels. It usually takes them a month to ship things to me. I switched to US based Miniature Market, which might not have free shipping, but does feature fast shipping and great prices.

This has been my experience too. I order from Maelstrom still (just placed one today in fact), but I do so in the expectation that it's going to take a month for me to get what I ordered. Sometimes I am pleasantly surprised and it takes only a little over a week (which is pretty good from the UK imo). But then I'm generally not in a hurry for anything anyway.

If Miniature Market carried some of the lines Maelstrom does - I'd probably switch to them exclusively as well.

To my surprise - I got an email that said my order has shipped already! I guess this will be one of the fast ones

**Skinnereal**

It looks as though my order was waiting for a delivery from GW. If they order every week, and get weekly deliveries, my order's stilll a week later than it should have been.

Time to start ignoring the discounts and buy from more local sources.

**Eiríkr**

As a side-note... I went into the store yesterday to waste a little time. To my surprise, much of the GW shelf had gone. I am unsure if they are shuffling stock within the physical store, if they are simply short of GW stock or if they are simply downsizing [from an already small stock] but I can say, there was very little to choose from.

Instead, I spent time looking at other lovely gaming systems! I noted that Maelstrom had pulled out a lot of other kits, manufacturers and products out on display - even SAGA kits!

**Grimtuff**

I curious as to know what supplier they use, as I have had a preorder with them from 2 months ago where I bought the Khador Collosal, which is released today. Now, I expect it with GW stuff to not have it in and I get it after the release date, as that's what GW do, but they appear to not have their stock from PP yet (I was told, either Weds, Thurs or Fri) yet other UK based stores do. I'm not annoyed, just anxious as I wants me Conquest!

**notprop**

PP are notoriously bad at restocking. They seem to have big problems with high demand US holidays and sale times (Thanksgiving/Black Wednesday) and just never seem to catch themselves up.

If they were my supplier I would seriously be worried about PP's cashflow and why they aren't ramping up for busy times as they try to meet every demand but end up meeting none of them. The Administrators aren't usually far behind, not that this is necessarily the case.

**Eiríkr**

This just in:

Hi there,

Here at Maelstrom Games (www.maelstromgames.co.uk) we still continue to enjoy and support Games Workshop's amazing range of miniatures and hobby products, and as sometimes it takes a while to get the product thanks to their trade policies we still want to ensure you guys get a fair deal. So as recompense for the slowness of getting GW orders in, and as a superb summer bonus for the holidays, here's a whopping 20% off UK RRP voucher for all Games Workshop products, from now until the 6th of August!

YOUR GW-SALE VOUCHER
----------------------------------------------------------
Your 20% off UK RRP discount voucher for all Games Workshop products ends on Monday the 6th of August 2012 at midnight (GMT), and you really do have some superb miniatures and hobby products to spend your money on! The voucher ONLY works on the following ranges:

- Black Library
- Citadel Hobby
- Lord of the Rings
- Warhammer Fantasy Battle
- Warhammer 40,000

It's a great chance to grab yourself all those lovely new Games Workshop products, such as the superb new edition of Warhammer 40,000, the awesome new Chaos Daemons next week, the amazing Necrons and Ogre Kingdoms and - well, loads of amazing miniatures!

The voucher will work on pre-orders and, crucially, you'll still earn Moneyback - but tiered discounts are disabled when using a voucher of course.

Your voucher code is: GW-SUMMER

To use this voucher simply register on the webstore, www.maelstromgames.co.uk (if you haven't already), copy and paste the code into the Voucher field in your basket when you have selected the items you want, press 'REDEEM', and the webstore will do the rest. You are not limited to one purchase and, indeed, we would ask you to recommend us to your friends with this voucher!

Remember though that this voucher is intended for the webstore only - it does not apply to any of our auctions or Fixed Price items on eBay.

**Compel**

So now I'm tempted to cancel my order and replace it to take advantage of the greater saving from this new sale....