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I think Runewars was the point where FFG became a “clearance only” company for me. Now the most exciting game I play with FFG products is Clearance Chicken, hoping the items I want hit a low enough price before they go out of stock forever.

John from BGG:

Read the policy carefully. Asmodee will send a new copy to your FLGS for you even if that store's return policy is not in effect (e.g., if the store's return policy is to refuse returns of opened games, or if the return period has elapsed), so long as the return was due to missing or damaged components, *and* you still have the receipt. ... But Asmodee *will not* do this for online game stores, nor for "big box stores." If you have purchased anything through these channels, your only recourse is to that store's return policy. And, as of now, most online game stores will not accept returns of opened products, and most impose penalties even then.

My feeling is, FFG is going to gak.

Might just peep from the sidelines, in the vague hope of picking up X-Wing models on the cheap.

Game isn’t my bag, but cannot deny the sculpts are pretty ace. Especially for pre-paints.

It’s starting to feel like Asmodee/FFG have lost the plot at this point.

This whole thing is completely mystifying and alien to me as a Brit. Do you Americans not have statutory consumer rights at all? Here, it's simply the law that a retailer must replace or refund a product with missing or broken parts. A policy of refusing to do so just because you've opened the box would be illegal. How else would you know if there was a part missing, other than by opening the box? And online retailers here are actually held to even higher standards than bricks-and-mortar stores.

 Duskweaver wrote:
This whole thing is completely mystifying and alien to me as a Brit. Do you Americans not have statutory consumer rights at all? Here, it's simply the law that a retailer must replace or refund a product with missing or broken parts. A policy of refusing to do so just because you've opened the box would be illegal. How else would you know if there was a part missing, other than by opening the box? And online retailers here are actually held to even higher standards than bricks-and-mortar stores.

It really does feel like that's a great divide between here and the US.

Some places have good return policy but only if you do so in a certain window of buying it. As well the refunding thing is more complicated in that for small stores that can often lead to business lost as people want instant gratification. If they have to wait they'll go to say amazon who can handle eating any cost related to returns as they are so massive.

So its less of a having no recourse and more it being a pain, leading to loss of sales in general as I've seen it happen and as has been said, the FFG replacement thing doesn't work with online sellers at all. It's mostly a matter of case by case for returns especially dealing with online sellers.

If they have a good return policy its more of a consumer confidence thing than a they have to do it thing.

 Duskweaver wrote:
This whole thing is completely mystifying and alien to me as a Brit. Do you Americans not have statutory consumer rights at all? Here, it's simply the law that a retailer must replace or refund a product with missing or broken parts. A policy of refusing to do so just because you've opened the box would be illegal. How else would you know if there was a part missing, other than by opening the box? And online retailers here are actually held to even higher standards than bricks-and-mortar stores.

Don't worry chum, we'll understand their woes soon enough, given how much of our present consumer rights law was written to be compliant with EU regs and likely wouldn't have happened otherwise.

If I’m right in thinking, were those not formally adopted, at least in the meantime?

AngryAngel80 wrote:
Some places have good return policy but only if you do so in a certain window of buying it. As well the refunding thing is more complicated in that for small stores that can often lead to business lost as people want instant gratification. If they have to wait they'll go to say amazon who can handle eating any cost related to returns as they are so massive.

So its less of a having no recourse and more it being a pain, leading to loss of sales in general as I've seen it happen and as has been said, the FFG replacement thing doesn't work with online sellers at all. It's mostly a matter of case by case for returns especially dealing with online sellers.

If they have a good return policy its more of a consumer confidence thing than a they have to do it thing.

Downside is a huge proportion of board games on Amazon are knock-offs. Buying at a gaming store gives a much better chance of getting a legit version.

This really sucks as I bought two copies of the GCW Legion Core set last year and BOTH were missing the unheld handle bar for the AT-RT. It’s been nearly a year since I bought the first one and probably 9~10 months for the second one. Was never in a rush and kept forgetting to request this missing parts so now I imagine I am SOL. Sent a message to customer service on the off chance they can do something for me but I’m not expecting much. I’ve been slow to start but have been planning on buying in heavily in the near future, like at least one or two of every release. Now? I’ll probably just cut my losses and be done. Sucks, cause I was really pumped for the droids, but having two of the models incomplete unless I buy a-whole-nother two core sets kinda sours the whole thing for me.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
If I’m right in thinking, were those not formally adopted, at least in the meantime?

If you're referring to my comment; they're the law of the land, but any new act of parliament can override any previous act with impunity, so when the "bonfire of red tape" begins I expect consumer rights will be right there for the chop along with food standards and health & safety.

This is problematic for their boardgames as well, looking at some issues with the last two years of Plaid Hat and Asmodee subsidiary studios products too.

There seems to be packing issues with a few recent games, even Gencon pick ups (where there is no seller but actually Asmodee themselves);

I'd advise looking at boardgamegeek pages for issues for each game.

 Asmodai wrote:

AngryAngel80 wrote:
Some places have good return policy but only if you do so in a certain window of buying it. As well the refunding thing is more complicated in that for small stores that can often lead to business lost as people want instant gratification. If they have to wait they'll go to say amazon who can handle eating any cost related to returns as they are so massive.

So its less of a having no recourse and more it being a pain, leading to loss of sales in general as I've seen it happen and as has been said, the FFG replacement thing doesn't work with online sellers at all. It's mostly a matter of case by case for returns especially dealing with online sellers.

If they have a good return policy its more of a consumer confidence thing than a they have to do it thing.

Downside is a huge proportion of board games on Amazon are knock-offs. Buying at a gaming store gives a much better chance of getting a legit version.

Hey as much as I can I support my FLGS but for every me out there we have 10 people who don't give a crap and would buy crap from online just to save 5 bucks even running the risk of knock offs.

another bit of rationalisation from Asmodee

https://www.plaidhatgames.com/news/1047?fbclid=IwAR3hKlGk6O1wJj_na2UalvzjGA6W48ylDd43y0ve6HZBGFDAZwCKY9P5UYs

Plaid Hat Games becomes independent again, leaving behind it's most profitable titles

fewer staff to pay for, fewer senior folk in the sub companies to make a fuss about how the venture capitalists are handling things

 Duskweaver wrote:
This whole thing is completely mystifying and alien to me as a Brit. Do you Americans not have statutory consumer rights at all? Here, it's simply the law that a retailer must replace or refund a product with missing or broken parts. A policy of refusing to do so just because you've opened the box would be illegal. How else would you know if there was a part missing, other than by opening the box? And online retailers here are actually held to even higher standards than bricks-and-mortar stores.

Yes. In the states, it is a matter of course that if you have something defective, that you have some sort of recourse. THIS policy, though, you can see how it could be abused, but also you can see that these companies probably have a real hard time fulfilling the policy, especially when our game/ hobby stores get their product from "their" Distribution companies. which is a polite way to say- game stores get a larger amount of product from 3d party distribution, and are at their mercy. If you wanted to get down to brass tacks, the distribution company is the one who that policy would be fore, leaving the game store to hold that bag looking incompetent.

The model over in the states for both comic and game stores is that they have to order from Alliance, or that other company that's name escapes me at the moment, and You get what you get. The shop sells you a box of FFG stuff, say "Legion", you open the box, something is missing, and the store owner looks like a jerk, because he can't contact FFG directly, and get you a part back.

(BTW- LEGION. The parts that are missing are those little parts of the backs of the heads for the droid army that attach the 2 part heads together.

I still haven't committed, but in watching these models, I have to be the one to say it- The sprue looks like crap. The parts are ridiculous, the models have too many for such small models, and instead of giving you a army that can be put together, and put to board quickly, you are left to cobble together models with crappy instructions, and parts that are not numbered realistically enough to be helpful.

Droids in the droid army, the walker, the stormtroopers.... These models have a great chance of having parts missing. when you open the box, inspect the sprue right away, and as you take the parts off the sprue, have yourself a pieces of tape handy, and put in IN the box, and attach the part to the tape after you take them of the sprue.

If you lose 1 part, that guy is screwed, and you are left with out a part until you come across more in the additional packs. And NO- Your FLGS can't help you.

 OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote:
another bit of rationalisation from Asmodee

https://www.plaidhatgames.com/news/1047?fbclid=IwAR3hKlGk6O1wJj_na2UalvzjGA6W48ylDd43y0ve6HZBGFDAZwCKY9P5UYs

Plaid Hat Games becomes independent again, leaving behind it's most profitable titles

fewer staff to pay for, fewer senior folk in the sub companies to make a fuss about how the venture capitalists are handling things

Good for PHG, I guess, but yeah, it's going to be tough road ahead without Dead of Winter, etc.

Is there anyone left out there who is a fan of Asmodee?

> Plaid Hat Games becomes independent again, leaving behind it's most profitable titles

That's not necessarily a bad thing. When WotC was acquired by Hasbro, Hasbro gave them a big wad of money. Employees received part of the money, and some left to form their own small hobby companies, such as Green Ronin, well-known at the time among RPG players. When Hasbro bought the publishing rights to Apples to Apples, Out of the Box Games received funds to publish more games they wanted to make. PHG may be more in the latter case, so they can release even more games. The press release says, "We’ll remain at their side as a strong long-term partner for distribution.”

Not all game companies want to handle or risk all aspects of game publishing. James Wallis, publisher of the former Hogshead Gaming, ended the company because he spent his time on the business, not designing the games he wanted to design. Thankfully, one of my favorite storytelling games, Baron Munchausen is available again, published by FFG.

OTOH, Out of the Box Games is now out of business. PHG, or rather, their founders, will find out if their business decisions were the right ones.

and in further making use look good before selling the whole group to something else prices go up on all exclusive titles in the USA

Asmodee announced dozens of MSRP increases, most ranging from 10-20%, on key game lines at GAMA Expo today. The changes affect evergreen lines including Catan, Pandemic, Ticket to Ride, and others. Retailers will be able to order the affected titles at the current prices through April 30; the new prices will take effect on May 1. The price increases are related to underlying cost inflation over the past several years, a period during which Asmodee has kept pricing flat.

https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/45389/asmodee-announces-pricing-changes-exclusive-lines?fbclid=IwAR0v32gakq9xPjOKC9GRs1wWfJBR1uaKMr0bSQpIEBQxSM4yMAiXWnEZsLc

(oh and they've picked up mantic's hellboy & expansions as an exclusive title too so I expect price rises there too, but not 100% from the article if its only on stuff the own or not)