this would make me a sad panda.
signed up for the subscription to get them as early as possible, confirmed by anyone else?
Amazon has had this for a couple of days now. I too am subscribing but I guess a little wait isn't going to kill me.
But the Amazon site says that it ships on Feb 26th.... so if they are sending it they are doing it before they say they will.
I imagine Amazon has had them in stock for a while now so they can be prepared for the release date. It is possible Amazon accidentally released them early and then the error was caught, so they changed it back to a pre-order.
Its not really Paizo's fault if the distributor or retailers mess up and release them early. With Hook Mountain Massacre I recall a retailer posting that their distributor hadn't informed them that there was a specified release date.
I'm not a subscriber right now, but I will be starting to do so with Skull & Shackles. Here is why:
- I do want those promo cards.
- When I have problems with orders at Amazon (and I buy lots of stuff from them, so I've had lots of problem, including them losing in their own warehouse a $1,000 order of equipment for me to install for a job), when I contact them, I speak to a customer service rep who doesn't understand my problem. In the case of that $1,000 order, the rep gave me 4 different explanations of what happened ranging from the supplier didn't deliver it to Amazon's shipping department lost it to I had actually received it (despite UPS tracking confirming the only scan on it was an origin scan). It took 4 escalations before I finally talked to someone who understood it was Amazon's fault. With Paizo, when you complain on this forum, the Chief Technical Officer for the company will usually post in response. I wouldn't be surprised if we hear from Vic shortly. Try getting that with Amazon.
- Amazon has announced they are looking at increase the cost of Prime Membership by $10 to $20 per year.
Don't get me wrong, I love Amazon and despite their mistakes I continue to buy from them. But any company can make some mistakes. When Amazon messes up your order, its unlikely anyone with any real power to fix systemic problems will hear about it for quite a while. With Paizo, the top level employees in the company not only hear about it quickly, they often personally respond.
I'm finishing out RotR as a non-subscriber, because I couldn't bear the idea of having some promo cards and not others. But come Skull & Shackles I'm in for the subscription.
And I say all that having received my order from Amazon today and also having received my December order before subscribers did. Despite that rate of delivery, I'm switching to Paizo. You are certainly entitled to be disappointed with what happened. But sitting on the other side of it, I can tell you that I'm moving in the opposite direction.
I am a prime subscriber so it would be cheaper for me to get the cards from Amazon, and evidently earlier considering they have screwed up twice?
Don't get me wrong I definitely enjoy getting the promo cards, but to me that is a bonus. I really just want to get my hands on them as early as possible. I plan on being through Deck 3 before my next deck gets here, but that's not really the point.
It's definitely not Paizo's fault that Amazon is shipping early, but it is very disappointing when I subscribed because they advertised it would probably be the quickest way of getting the cards.
Chief Technical Officer
|
Our book trade distributor mistakenly shipped early copies to Amazon and another sub-distributor. Both have now been notified that the onsale date is February 26, and it should have returned to being listed as a preorder at all outlets.
The distributor says that they have a new system in place to insure that this doesn't happen again.
Our book trade distributor mistakenly shipped early copies to Amazon and another sub-distributor. Both have now been notified that the onsale date is February 26.
The distributor says that they have a new system in place to insure that this doesn't happen again.
See, that's what I'm talking about.
I wouldn't be opposed to getting it early but Paizo's people have always been good to me with shipping errors, both theirs and others. Sometimes things happen and they are out of control of those in power. I myself found a promo copy of a Stephen King book for sale at a discount store 3 weeks before it was to be released. I appreciate Vic's response to this and I will wait patiently for my to come in. Though if my wife hears that some people have it, she's going to want us to get it as soon as possible. Luckily she's working a lot right now (more time for me to play).
... it is very disappointing when I subscribed because they advertised it would probably be the quickest way of getting the cards.
I'm surprised they said that - they're usually explicit that "getting it early" is not one of the promised benefits of subscribing.
Their undertaking is to try and have subscribers in the US receive their shipments on or around street date. I certainly wouldn't expect you'll always get it early though. Some months you'll be first in the queue, sometimes last and given the fortnight shipping runs we've been seeing lately, that could be quite significant.
I got mine today too. Too bad I'm still working through Skinsaw Murders. I had to redo that one adventure three times now, time keeps running out.
|
Chief Technical Officer
|
... it is very disappointing when I subscribed because they advertised it would probably be the quickest way of getting the cards.I'm surprised they said that - they're usually explicit that "getting it early" is not one of the promised benefits of subscribing.
Their undertaking is to try and have subscribers in the US receive their shipments on or around street date. I certainly wouldn't expect you'll always get it early though. Some months you'll be first in the queue, sometimes last and given the fortnight shipping runs we've been seeing lately, that could be quite significant.
Steve is correct—we don't say that subscribers will necessarily get stuff early.
Not necessarily, but more likely is what I read, and wrote.
Not necessarily, but more likely is what I read, and wrote.
Yeah, I certainly find subscribing to usually be the quickest (even in Australia). I've just seen people misunderstand the subscriber benefits and then get disappointed. Sorry for misunderstanding. :)
Customer Service Dire Care Bear Manager
|
I just have a problem with paying extra for a subscription and getting it later. And the fact that I didn't even get my promo cards last time, i have two things stuck in the sidecart.
We had some initial issues with the promo cards and it looks like your order shipped without them and so the single cards were placed in your sidecart to go with the next (February subscription). Since the actual shipping of that deck is still a week or more away, I'll go ahead and drop those in the snail mail. You'll see a shipping email for it, but the auto generated tracking number won't be valid as they'll be in a letter sized envelope instead of a package.
I apologize for the confusion and delay and in general, if you see something that seems wrong with a subscription or your account, please let us know directly via email, phone or up in the customer service messageboards.
thanks
sara marie
Yay for Paizo customer service!
|
I was originally planning on buying the card game locally to support my FLGS. But I switched to subscription because, as Paizo said, that is the only way to guarantee getting all the promo cards.
That, however, is the only incentive I remember Paizo mentioning. I don't believe they have ever suggested that subscribing gets you product early, although it does have other benefits (free PDFs for some products, and discounted prices).
Gotta defend Paizo on this one. I worked for a long time at a bookstore where we had strict on sale dates for new releases. Nobody was supposed to sell them before that certain date - but you can't control what every distributor or retailer does with your product. Quite often the local Walmart or grocery store or somewhere would "screw up" and sell some copies early. It creates problems, you do the best you can to control it, but you can't watch everyone all of the time.
I just don't understand how amazon has shipped orders that they got from you and we are still waiting on our order. Now you say that we are still a week or more from shipping.
Did you see Vic's post above? It wasnt Paizo sending early copies to Amazon, it was a third party - hopefully due to a systemic error that has now been rectified.
."Our book trade distributor mistakenly shipped early copies to Amazon and another sub-distributor. Both have now been notified that the onsale date is February 26, and it should have returned to being listed as a preorder at all outlets.
The distributor says that they have a new system in place to insure that this doesn't happen again."
I must admit, I'm surprised Amazon are so lightning quick with the card game. The feedback from people who buy Paizo books through Amazon is usually skewed much more towards complaints about their unfailing lateness. I would have expected it to be identical regardless of whether it's books or cards.
It is the number 1 selling card game on Amazon.
It is the number 1 selling card game on Amazon.
Don't get too caught up in things like that, as Amazon categorizes things in fascinating and mysterious ways. But though our game is quite popular, it would shock me if we were selling more copies on Amazon than my friends at Cards Against Humanity.
Woowhoo Got my subscription today from Paizo, nice surprise :D 13 days before street date makes me smile :D
I got mine February 7th in Spain from Amazon due to their screw up. This is the only way to get it in a reasonable time as Paizo shipping cost for subscription outside US is too high, 26$ per pack opposed to 7$ at Amazon. Local game stores do not carry this, they are waiting for a spanish translation of the APs and the ACG that may not happen in years.
In conclusion, if you make the shipping cost for international orders lower you would recieve a lot more subscription orders from overseas.
I got mine February 7th in Spain from Amazon due to their screw up. This is the only way to get it in a reasonable time as Paizo shipping cost for subscription outside US is too high, 26$ per pack opposed to 7$ at Amazon. Local game stores do not carry this, they are waiting for a spanish translation of the APs and the ACG that may not happen in years.
In conclusion, if you make the shipping cost for international orders lower you would recieve a lot more subscription orders from overseas.
Are you choosing the cheapest shipping option? It doesn't cost me anywhere near that to get a pack shipped to Australia (unless I choose priority shipping).
It's $5.80 shipping for me, or $26 if I choose priority mail. The base sets have to go priority mail, but the individual packs don't.
I just looked at it for the base set initially, there was no choice and I assumed that the charge would be the same for the AD.
Comparing the same shipping rates now, for me the $5.80 rate is 20-46 days plus handling. 7$ in Amazon is 14-22 days and it has taken 15 days in average for the previous adventure packs. Even with the discount from Paizo makes Amazon more affordable. The promo cards are sacrificed in the process.
Yeah, it will often be quicker through Amazon. I think the sub is likely to be comparable in price though.
It's a weird thing with the base sets - there isn't a cheap but slow option from paizo (unfortunately) once the package gets large or heavy enough.
On thing to consider with Paizo, you can share shipping costs if you and a friend both order from the same account. That is something I'll be doing starting in Skull and Shackles. My friend has been subscribing and we called and asked about what the shipping would be with two of each item. For the decks (we didn't ask about the base set) the shipping didn't change from 1 item to 2 items. Now, that was all US based shipping so internationally I'm not sure what it would be. But it might be something to consider. You'll have to contact customer service to ask since you can't change the quantity of the subscription to 2 yourself.
It's a similar saving internationally, in my experience, other than for the really big things. (I think you dont gain much with the base sets - the shipping for two is approximately twice the shipping for one).
It should have been tucked inside the pack of cards. If it didn't arrive you should start a thread in the customer service forum, send them an email at customer.service@paizo.com or give them a call on (425) 250-0800.
Do they send you another email when it actually ships?
I got a reminder email 3-4 weeks ago about my subscription and then I got a "it'll ship sometime between now and the 21st" email about a week and a half ago... and since the tracking number on that doesn't seem to be useful I'm wondering if I just wait until it randomly shows up or what?
Seems like a strange way to handle shipping.
Edit - Oh wait, I checked it again and apparently it went out today. I still think it's sort of an odd "we'll send em out over the course of a week" shipping method. Not enough people to handle the shipping? Why not prep them in advance and have them all picked up by the carrier on a certain date?
|
Do they send you another email when it actually ships?
I got a reminder email 3-4 weeks ago about my subscription and then I got a "it'll ship sometime between now and the 21st" email about a week and a half ago... and since the tracking number on that doesn't seem to be useful I'm wondering if I just wait until it randomly shows up or what?
Seems like a strange way to handle shipping.
Edit - Oh wait, I checked it again and apparently it went out today. I still think it's sort of an odd "we'll send em out over the course of a week" shipping method. Not enough people to handle the shipping? Why not prep them in advance and have them all picked up by the carrier on a certain date?
They mass print labels and orders (which triggers your email) and then work through the stack of labels sending orders out. That stack takes them a while to work through, with regular pick ups during the period.
As for prepping them before a specific day and then getting them picked up,
1) That means that there's a pile of boxes sitting in the warehouse ready to go, taking up space, when the courier turns up every day.
2) What if someone changes their order? The Warehouse have to hunt that box down, open it up and then redo everything for it.
Better to have a committed email at the begining, and to ship things as the courier turns up.
1) I've worked in a warehouse before, it's not that unusual to stage boxes for pickup then call in the carrier to take them. What you're describing sounds more like what you'd do if you were shipping stuff from your house.
2) I'd be fine with needing to give them a week's notice on cancelling my order. Heck when I worked for a popular bookstore chain and someone pre-ordered a book/movie/etc we'd charge them for it that day even if the thing wasn't coming out for 6 months. Not every place works that way but it's not like that isn't an acceptable practice. Since paizo is clearly overworked what I describe just seems like it would make their lives easier since they could prep everything ahead of time.
Anyway obviously that's not how they operate, I just find it surprising.
I think a significant issue is their subscription model. Placing an order a week or two away from subscription day has a much more normal turnaround time. I don't know the numbers obviously, but it seems to me that a very large proportion of their sales to the public are via subscription. That means that there is a massive spike in sales on the "release day", compared to most of the month.
There's only half a dozen warehouse staff and my guess would be they process in the order of ten thousand orders during the week a new batch of paizo books is released. I haven't worked in a warehouse, but I'd imagine spawning an order, picking the various components and then packing them would take what, five minutes? Meaning a forty hour a week worker doing nothing else will get through five hundred in a week - so half a dozen staff would take three weeks to get through ten thousand orders...(though we know they work overtime and corral extra staff when things get manic).
Obviously those numbers are all guesses, but the principle is the same. Unless they could find a horde of people willing to take a warehouse job one or two days a month, there'll always be a delay when the subscriptions hit - their business model has lots of advantages, I'm sure, but I think this is one of the weaknesses.
I don't really understand the suggestion to get them all picked up on the same date - i presume ive misunderstood something. To me, that seems like it would only slow things down, if anything. Surely a partial pickup by the courier once or twice every day is better than waiting until all the orders are ready?
My suggestion would actually be to have two release dates. The AP, modules, campaign setting and cards around the 7th (say) and the PACG, maps, player companions and whatever I've forgotten on the 21st. (Chosen however would minimise overlap between the groups). Maybe each subscription run would be much shorter by "smoothing out" the orders - I think those only subscribed to one product would probably be better served in terms of packing efficiency. However, each superscriber is going to now get two orders a month, so the volume of packages is going to increase, perhaps so much so that there'd be no net benefit.
*shrug* Not going to get into an argument about it - but there's plenty of jobs that hire up or adjust scheduling for busy times. But your suggestion to spread out their shipping/release dates is a good idea.
My suggestion was for them to prepack the orders starting a week ahead of time so that they could all be picked up on the release date.
It just highlights to me that there's really no benefit to subscribing beyond promo cards. I'll have to consider moving forward how much I care about those.
I would not like them spreading them out. I bundle all my subscriptions to save on shipping, forcing a separation of dates guarantees that I don't get anything until the last thing is ready to ship.
That's exactly how it is now though, right? Whenever something is ready it waits until the next monthly release date - if there were two of those, we'd still have the option of exactly what we get now, we just could opt for more frequent deliveries.
.(I'm sure there's a reason they cant do this. Nonetheless, those like you and me who wanted to wait for one shipment would be no worse off than we are now - it would just benefit those who only subscribed to one product line. I have a feeling there's quite a lot of PFACG subscribers who dont usually buy from Paizo).
Another suggestion would be to strip out the PFACG subscription and treat it like the comics and miniatures lines - as I understand it, those are treated independently from Paizo published items.
yeah i checked on amazon and got mine before feb 1st..i try to buy on piazo when i can but somtimes funds and the fact that im a prime member just mean i must use amazon..usually amazon gets paizos stuff wayyyyyyy late
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Sajan stands in a corner, shadowboxing. Ezren flips through his dog-eared and well-worn spellbook, muttering the each incantation under his breath for the 1000th time. Kyra sits with eyes closed, in quiet contemplation and prayer, as the Sun slowly rises in the east spreading its warm glow.
Outside, Lini is tending to her animal menagerie, when Lassie comes bounding up to her, barking incessantly.
"What is it, girl? Did Timmy fall into the well, again?" Lassie looks her scornfully in the eyes, not appreciating the joke. She lifts a paw and then brings it down, forcefully. She turns to the north and puts her head low to the ground.
A slight tremor is felt. The vibrations increase and the dinner plates and flatware at the inn rattle. Loud cracks and splintering of wood is heard from the woods to the north. Townsfolk head indoors as the ground shakes more and more erratically.
Kyra finishes one last prayer for the people of Sandpoint. Ezren closes his spellbook and slowly stands, stretching his old bones. Sajan puts his fist in hand as he steps out into the morning sunshine.
"IT'S GO TIME!"
--My Stone Giants arrive tomorrow-- My party is pumped and ready to go!--