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I've been informed that i will recieve zero of the Thanquol HC next week for my stores. If you want it, you have to get it from GW direct.

Pure money grab. They were happy as hell to my money for the first 3. Now I and all other stores get the softcover edition.

Truly the end times are here. Mostly what was left of my relationship with GW

Out of curiosity, how many copies of Khaine did you get?

Well that's poopy....Not that stores were getting enough to begin with here locally anyway so I was probably going to be pre-ordering from direct anyway but that's pretty poopy.

So now GW is making buying their products a scavanger hunt too?

Sigh...

Doesn't change much for me, since the closest FLGS is over an hour away. Had some closer, but they didn't last long. I pretty much have to order from GW for things like these books. Used to get models from Miniature Market, but I think they stopped carrying GW stuff entirely.

Sucks for local stores though. Aren't the hard back books limited edition? Maybe they're trying to make sure their limited edition stuff doesn't sit in a store somewhere? I dunno.

The only reason GW don't sell everything exclusively is because they just haven't got the coverage of their stores. Their relationship with independent traders has long been antagonistic. They don't put a high priority on developing relations with almost anyone it seems.

I've already warned my friend who is an independent. He's gonna be pissed. Keep us updated, Mik.

 streamdragon wrote:
Doesn't change much for me, since the closest FLGS is over an hour away. Had some closer, but they didn't last long. I pretty much have to order from GW for things like these books. Used to get models from Miniature Market, but I think they stopped carrying GW stuff entirely.

Sucks for local stores though. Aren't the hard back books limited edition? Maybe they're trying to make sure their limited edition stuff doesn't sit in a store somewhere? I dunno.

They're not limited editions, but they seem to be really low print runs. There WAS a limited edition as well. The reason I asked Mikhaila about Khaine is because that book's web allocation sold out within three to four minutes of going up. The limited edition stayed up for three hours afterwards in the US store.

I can't speak for anyone else, but my local GW got allocated only two "standard" copies of the Khaine Hardcover. He had none to put out on the shelf because he held them for myself and one other person who had come in to preorder the book. One of the local independents though had six to seven copies; of which the last I saw(three weeks ago) they had four or five still on the shelf.

I'm thinking that they might be trying to avoid a similar situation again.

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
So now GW is making buying their products a scavanger hunt too?

Sometimes those jokes about them being allergic to money seem to resemble reality.

 Kanluwen wrote:
They're not limited editions...

A rose by any other name, Kan.

Yeah, a limited print run that isn't restocked is a limited edition whether you call it that or not.

Based on allocations I would have been pre-ordering anyway. So while it sucks for store owners non of my locals could guarantee me a copy anyway. So there is that....

US only, or worldwide?

It really is a typical GW reaction:

"They're selling so well that we need to make soft-backs."
"We should also decrease their distribution! That way everyone can get one, and be 'get one' I of course mean 'only order them from us'!"

Only in the world of GW does decreasing the distribution of a sell-out high demand product make sense.

Even though this kind of thing is nothing new (GW has been following policies which are unhelpful to independents for 20 years), it seems to have increased of late and is the one thing that upsets me most about them.

The reason why? I can choose not to buy GW and play other games, and can ignore it each time they do something which makes their fans wince. But what I can't ignore is that despite declining sales, like it or not, their products still constitute a big seller for a lot of independent stores. A lot of those stores are struggling to survive in tough economic conditions, and for every direct-only release, late or incomplete delivery on launch items, they make life for those independents that much harder.

I know of at least two local FLGS that have closed in the past 2-3 years, and while you can't blame GW exclusively for this, you have to think that these kinds of policies aren't helping.

I think the whole thing is just ugly, it shouldn't happen in such a small industry, especially when one considers the creative, thought-provoking and social origins of wargaming. Let's hope other games continue to grow so that enough smaller shops can tell GW where to go, and hopefully bring them back onside and working with the community and rest of the industry, rather than against it all the time.

Thanks for the info. I know a few friends who may be upset. Fortunately, I no longer buy GW stuff.

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
It really is a typical GW reaction:

"They're selling so well that we need to make soft-backs."
"We should also decrease their distribution! That way everyone can get one, and be 'get one' I of course mean 'only order them from us'!"

Only in the world of GW does decreasing the distribution of a sell-out high demand product make sense.

When I'm having a tinfoil hat evening in the Azreal household, I often wonder whether this isn't a choice, but as their turnover is (was) hovering perilously close to their break even point, and their printing is still done out of house, if perhaps they only have the cash on hand to purchase a certain number of books at a time.

This is sad, I pre-ordered all of the Shield of Baal hardback stuff through my FLGS, and was planning on doing the same with Thanquol...'Thanquol Goodness' I saw this, now I just have to click faster than everyone else on Friday to get one :(

Wonder if this is in response to HBMC and others getting the windfall from them overselling the other hardbacks. By keeping them only throught the online they can ensure they won't be giving away $340 for $60 or whatever it turned out being when he ordered the hardback and they lost it and gave him crazy amounts of credit and the softcover version.

Just more "Great News" for FLGS from GW.

 Theophony wrote:
Wonder if this is in response to HBMC and others getting the windfall from them overselling the other hardbacks. By keeping them only throught the online they can ensure they won't be giving away $340 for $60 or whatever it turned out being when he ordered the hardback and they lost it and gave him crazy amounts of credit and the softcover version.

Just more "Great News" for FLGS from GW.

My book getting lost in the post - which is what happened, not overselling - isn't what caused this.

 Fango wrote:
This is sad, I pre-ordered all of the Shield of Baal hardback stuff through my FLGS, and was planning on doing the same with Thanquol...'Thanquol Goodness' I saw this, now I just have to click faster than everyone else on Friday to get one :(

I'm gonna be spamming F5 harder than when BotCon registration goes up.

 H.B.M.C. wrote:

 Theophony wrote:
Wonder if this is in response to HBMC and others getting the windfall from them overselling the other hardbacks. By keeping them only throught the online they can ensure they won't be giving away $340 for $60 or whatever it turned out being when he ordered the hardback and they lost it and gave him crazy amounts of credit and the softcover version.

Just more "Great News" for FLGS from GW.

My book getting lost in the post - which is what happened, not overselling - isn't what caused this.

Couldn't remember what it was from, but they didn't have any more to replace it with the hardback, so it still kind of stands....maybe

With the Khaine book my local GW was promised 5 for the store to sell and that then plummeted to 1 come release day due to overselling online, which left 4 customers incredibly irritated who had been hoping to crap it instore (and one incredibly smug).

 Theophony wrote:

 H.B.M.C. wrote:

 Theophony wrote:
Wonder if this is in response to HBMC and others getting the windfall from them overselling the other hardbacks. By keeping them only throught the online they can ensure they won't be giving away $340 for $60 or whatever it turned out being when he ordered the hardback and they lost it and gave him crazy amounts of credit and the softcover version.

Just more "Great News" for FLGS from GW.

My book getting lost in the post - which is what happened, not overselling - isn't what caused this.

Couldn't remember what it was from, but they didn't have any more to replace it with the hardback, so it still kind of stands....maybe

But that's not overselling. That's just... selling!

feth. I ordered two from my LGS. 1 as a gift and 1 for me.

EDIT: sigh. Ya know, just when they show signs of sorta, kinda, maybe just applying the first nuances of pressure and torque to remove their heads from their asses, they go and feth it up doing stupid gak like this.

Welp. feth it. I'm not playing the game. Soft cover it is going forward for End Times. I know ultimately it won't mean anything as the hard covers will sell out anyway, but at least it won't be my money wagging the dog.

'Technically, they aren't supposed to take pre-orders until the Saturday before release. I even tried to order Shield of Baal through the Warstore a few hours early and they told me to call back the next day. Not saying your FLGS can't promise to order one for you before that...but this new tomfoolery really chaps my hide...and stinks of corporate money grabbing greed. The GW rep I talked to the week Shield of Baal: Exterminatus released said that they ordered these print runs from China months and months prior to release...so there was no time to order more when they found out demand for them was as high as it was. Thus the Soft Cover editions, which they are having printed locally (in the UK). Still, I can't figure out why they cant place another order for hardback sets for those who still really want a premium version. Maybe they can't order them in a smaller quantity and still save enough on print cost? Who really knows besides GW?

I'd been giving some consideration to starting up WHFB, of which I've been finding a greater level of interest in as I've gotten older and my frustration with the state of 40k increases. I gave up buying anything GW produces that is "Direct-only" a while ago, as the only way I feel comfortable supporting them is through independents.

I was thinking of doing a dwarf army and a mini skaven force to play them against. However, with the inability to pick up the End Times book I'm most interested in via an independent, it seems that my plans may end up going by the wayside.

I don't purchase "limited" stuff from GW (usually) but this really sucks for those that do.

Outside of the End Times I don't purchase "Limited" stuff either. And I didn't know it was going to be "Limited" when I got the Nagash book and then I was sucked in. Which made me sad pants.

Oh well, they've got me on the hook for this at least.

 Melcavuk wrote:
With the Khaine book my local GW was promised 5 for the store to sell and that then plummeted to 1 come release day due to overselling online, which left 4 customers incredibly irritated who had been hoping to crap it instore (and one incredibly smug).

I'm guessing The Four still ended up doing just that then?

 mikhaila wrote:
I've been informed that i will recieve zero of the Thanquol HC next week for my stores. If you want it, you have to get it from GW direct.

Pure money grab. They were happy as hell to my money for the first 3. Now I and all other stores get the softcover edition.

Truly the end times are here. Mostly what was left of my relationship with GW

Didn't you in the long ago, tour the main offices of GW? If that was you, then you are right, it is the end times. All those years ago, they were a civil crew to their fans.

 mikhaila wrote:
I've been informed that i will recieve zero of the Thanquol HC next week for my stores. If you want it, you have to get it from GW direct.

Pure money grab. They were happy as hell to my money for the first 3. Now I and all other stores get the softcover edition.

Truly the end times are here. Mostly what was left of my relationship with GW

Wow, pretty crazy.. Without local stores GW may as well leave the US. I seriously don't understand their business plan.