Woot! just got my Shipping in the Next week or so message!Could someone explain to me how this works? I just became a subscriber for the benefit of the free PDF and somewaht earlier shipping and I'm wondering how this all happens...
First I get an email that tells me it will be shipping in the next week or so (the email I got last week after order doesn't count I guess since it said exactly that : ).
After I get that I wait for the physical book to ship and get another email and THEN I can download the PDF?
How long it usually between getting the ships soon email and the actual shipping?
Do I have that all right?
Sounds about right, yes.
The one that came right after signing up for the subscription doesn't count because it could be a month or two before the actual product ships (depending on which subscription you sign up for). So sometime next week they should start shipping them out and people will get their PDFs.
Do note that due to the large volume of subscribers, it will take a few days for them to ship all the orders. So if the first people get their PDFs on Monday, some people will still have to wait until Thursday (or later if there are problems). So be patient! It will come!
Also note that the simpler your order is, on average, the earlier in the ship process you will be. It's not deterministic, but I have large orders (and often an extra item or two) so I'm usually later in the cycle. If you are just getting the rulebooks, you'll probably be out the door pretty early in the cycle.
Chief Technical Officer
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Also note that the simpler your order is, on average, the earlier in the ship process you will be. It's not deterministic, but I have large orders (and often an extra item or two) so I'm usually later in the cycle. If you are just getting the rulebooks, you'll probably be out the door pretty early in the cycle.
Generally, it's not the "larger" that makes you later, it's the "extra item or two." The more your order is similar to other people's orders (in terms of contents, shipping method, and destination area), the faster it generally goes out.
Also note that the simpler your order is, on average, the earlier in the ship process you will be. It's not deterministic, but I have large orders (and often an extra item or two) so I'm usually later in the cycle. If you are just getting the rulebooks, you'll probably be out the door pretty early in the cycle.Generally, it's not the "larger" that makes you later, it's the "extra item or two." The more your order is similar to other people's orders (in terms of contents, shipping method, and destination area), the faster it generally goes out.
Yep.
I've just gotten resigned to it, since, by definition, there's no way to handle the orders that will please everyone. These days I've got so much Pathfinder reading material that an extra day or two doesn't matter anyways.
That's it.I just subscribed.Amazon is $10 cheaper,but no pdf,and 1 extra month of wait.Plus,i guess,my money now goes directly to Paizo,which is also a nice bonus.
That's it.I just subscribed.Amazon is $10 cheaper,but no pdf,and 1 extra month of wait.Plus,i guess,my money now goes directly to Paizo,which is also a nice bonus.
I ended up with a similar rationale, only instead of passing up Amazon, I pass up my employee discount at Barnes & Noble. :-P
I ended up with a similar rationale, only instead of passing up Amazon, I pass up my employee discount at Barnes & Noble. :-PThat's it.I just subscribed.Amazon is $10 cheaper,but no pdf,and 1 extra month of wait.Plus,i guess,my money now goes directly to Paizo,which is also a nice bonus.
There is no Barnes&Noble in my area(actually,there is only two gaming stores at all,and they do not stock Paizo),so it's a choice between cheaper Amazon and more costly Paizo...with a free PDF!
My GM have a veeeery strange idea to make my alchemist the Witcher,so it's either Ultimate Magic or homebrew.
Interested to see what the witch archetypes are going to be like - are they just new hexes, or different class features too?
Definitely interested in the sea witch - I like the prestige class from Stormwrack of the same name, but that one seemed too limited for anything but a NPC.
The inquisitor exorcist sounds cool as well >:)
Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?
They usually start shipping after lunch so I would guess we have 6 and a half hours before they start shipping.
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Damn, i'm in the wrong time zone again!Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?They usually start shipping after lunch so I would guess we have 6 and a half hours before they start shipping.
5 more hours how will I make it through the workday?
God Forbid I might actually have to work:(
Damn, i'm in the wrong time zone again!Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?They usually start shipping after lunch so I would guess we have 6 and a half hours before they start shipping.
I know your pain. They really ought to start operating the warehouse according to European time, don't they?
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I know your pain. They really ought to start operating the warehouse according to European time, don't they?Damn, i'm in the wrong time zone again!Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?They usually start shipping after lunch so I would guess we have 6 and a half hours before they start shipping.
Of course! :) Actually, Paizo should have an European warehouse - that would solve oh so many issues.
It's so much better an investment than sponsoring any GenCons! ;)
Remember to do this properly: send by alphabet and continent first. So process all packages destined for Africa today please :D
I am in Washington like Paizo is, they should do reverse alphabetically on states :)
@gbonehead:
No! You must let them know your burning passion! Springtime of youth! Your feelings will reach them and quicken their hands!
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Vic, I have a question, one you've probably answered 7,830 times already, but, well, here it is.
Is there any particular reason you guys don't make the .pdf available to all subscribers at the time that you ship the first book to the first person? I mean, sure, there might be a delay of a few days between the .pdf fulfillment and the ship date for the hardcover, but it would ensure that all subscribers get access to the .pdf at the same time. Is it just a technical issue that prevents this, or is it a business reason?
I'm not dissatisfied or anything, just curious - of course, you're under no obligation to talk to lil' ol' me about your business strategies. :-)
I wish I could just subscribe to just the PDFs. I don't do printed anything anymore if I can avoid it.
Still, I'll wait the 9 days. My next game isn't for 13 more.
@Dark_Mistress: you know we all like the way you torture us
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Vic, I have a question, one you've probably answered 7,830 times already, but, well, here it is.
Is there any particular reason you guys don't make the .pdf available to all subscribers at the time that you ship the first book to the first person? I mean, sure, there might be a delay of a few days between the .pdf fulfillment and the ship date for the hardcover, but it would ensure that all subscribers get access to the .pdf at the same time. Is it just a technical issue that prevents this, or is it a business reason?
I'm not dissatisfied or anything, just curious - of course, you're under no obligation to talk to lil' ol' me about your business strategies. :-)
They give you access to the PDF's when they officially charge your account for the money. Since they charge your account only when the order is boxed and shipped, thats why people get access in staggered days as they do them. They could wait until they have processed all the orders to give access. But that might make some people unhappy to be charged a few days in advance of getting access to the PDF's. Plus it could cause problems of making sure everyone that was charged 2 or 3 days ago then get their access correctly. I imagine it would be a lot more work for Paizo to do that and they would still have some people unhappy. *shrug*
I am just teasing of course, i have been at the tail end of the shipping before when I order extra stuff and it drove me nuts waiting those couple of extra days when others already had the PDF. :)
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Vic, I have a question, one you've probably answered 7,830 times already, but, well, here it is.
Is there any particular reason you guys don't make the .pdf available to all subscribers at the time that you ship the first book to the first person? I mean, sure, there might be a delay of a few days between the .pdf fulfillment and the ship date for the hardcover, but it would ensure that all subscribers get access to the .pdf at the same time. Is it just a technical issue that prevents this, or is it a business reason?
I'm not dissatisfied or anything, just curious - of course, you're under no obligation to talk to lil' ol' me about your business strategies. :-)
They give you access to the PDF's when they officially charge your account for the money. Since they charge your account only when the order is boxed and shipped, thats why people get access in staggered days as they do them. They could wait until they have processed all the orders to give access. But that might make some people unhappy to be charged a few days in advance of getting access to the PDF's. Plus it could cause problems of making sure everyone that was charged 2 or 3 days ago then get their access correctly. I imagine it would be a lot more work for Paizo to do that and they would still have some people unhappy. *shrug*
I am just teasing of course, i have been at the tail end of the shipping before when I order extra stuff and it drove me nuts waiting those couple of extra days when others already had the PDF. :)
My account has already been charged I don't get pdf access until it ships which I'm hoping will be today and not Friday....
What about adding the option: "Charge me as soon as possible and give me access to the PDF" ?
I wouldn't mind waiting the few extra days for the stuff to actually ship. Heck, my one order from January only arrived recently now, in May. (Yay Africa... - I was actually already giving up on that order. Halleluja!)
@Decorus: make doubly sure, Paizo first clears the money on your account before actually charging when they ship. I usually get a message from my bank as soon as the money is cleared, but it isn't actually charged til a few days later.
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My account has already been charged I don't get pdf access until it ships which I'm hoping will be today and not Friday....
That Charge is to make sure your payment method is Valid, that charge will disappear after a few days if they do no confirm it.
And they do not give you access to the PDFs until they Ship the Books, because of rules with Visa/Mastercard that state they can not charge you until the items have been sent, or something similar to that.
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@Dark_Mistress: you know we all like the way you torture us
Then you must be really happy. :)
@Decorus - Is it a charge or a pending charge? They put a pending charge up a couple of days before they technically charge the account. They check to be sure you have the money to cover it. If not they send you a email to let you know there is a problem so that you can take care of it before the actually charge you. Some banks show pending charges separately, some banks may not. But you should get the books the same day they officially charge you.
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My account has already been charged I don't get pdf access until it ships which I'm hoping will be today and not Friday....
As a quick data point, we have not charged your account yet. What you see if you are checking your balance right now is an authorization. (Paizo FAQ on Authorizations) An authorization is not a charge. It is a non-monetary transaction that checks to make sure the account is valid and has funds. If for some reason we can't ship the order, that authorization disappears.
We being processing subscriptions/preorders a few business days before we begin actaully physically shipping as this helps us make sure that we aren't packing orders that we won't be able to ship due to invalid accounts or payment method declines. It also gives customers who do have issues time to call their bank, add a different card, etc before we begin shipping.thanks
sara marie
edit: ninja'd by Lorekeeper, Dragnmoon and Dark_Mistress.. I hope I'm not losing my touch!
My account has already been charged I don't get pdf access until it ships which I'm hoping will be today and not Friday....
Actually, your account hasn't been charged. They run an authorization at the same time as your 'shipping soon' e-mail. An authorization is a request to the credit card company that asks if they have permission to charge the card. It verifies that they have all the correct info (zip code, expiration date, available funds, etc). Once they actually ship it they turn that authorization into a charge.
Of course, if your credit card is not actually a credit card, and is instead tied to a bank, the banks will usually use the authorization as an excuse to hold that money for 3-7 days (depending on the bank) which means that while the money has not been transfered to Paizo yet, it is effectively gone from the account. If you were to cancel the order, the authorization would go away after a few days, and no money would be transfered.
Which is why I leave my subscription tied to a real credit card, and only switch to a bank card when if I know I will have funds available. The credit card will just deny payment if there is a problem. The bank card will happily overdraw your account and charge you overdraft fees.
Edit: Quadruple ninja'd.
What about adding the option: "Charge me as soon as possible and give me access to the PDF" ?
I wouldn't mind waiting the few extra days for the stuff to actually ship.
Paizo actually follows the regulations set by the credit card industry, which is to not charge your card until products are shipped. I know too many other websites ignore this requirement on pre-orders, but those are the actual rules.
@Sara Marie: not at all - we're just desperately waiting and hoping to see a "PDF in your downloads", so we are paying very close attention to this thread. Against all expectation, whenever I click Refresh I hope again that *this* time shall be different! ;)
Paizo actually follows the regulations set by the credit card industry, which is to not charge your card until products are shipped. I know too many other websites ignore this requirement on pre-orders, but those are the actual rules.What about adding the option: "Charge me as soon as possible and give me access to the PDF" ?
I wouldn't mind waiting the few extra days for the stuff to actually ship.
That's why it would be an option that the client checks (off by default) - thereby we explicitly grant permission and thus the regulations shouldn't have a problem.
Paizo actually follows the regulations set by the credit card industry, which is to not charge your card until products are shipped. I know too many other websites ignore this requirement on pre-orders, but those are the actual rules.What about adding the option: "Charge me as soon as possible and give me access to the PDF" ?
I wouldn't mind waiting the few extra days for the stuff to actually ship.
That's why it would be an option that the client checks (off by default) - thereby we explicitly grant permission and thus the regulations shouldn't have a problem.
That might be possible, but it would then be a pain to code the change into all of Paizo's software to alter the way some orders are handled. Is it really worth hundreds of hours worth of programming time just to give a few customers a PDF a few days earlier?
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by that standard the free pdf might was well be a moot point and the money i spent to get the content earlier could have been money saved if i bought ultimate magic from amazon or some other site that proveds a wholesome discount .
i subscribed because i thought id get the content at a time earlier than release essentially paying 20$ more if im only going to get it 3 days in advance (and thats just the pdf mind you) ill be thoroughly disappointed and cancel my subscription .
im not saying this to cause a stir its just how i see it , i value my hard earned money and i dont like the idea of essentially paying more for the same thing or a slight difference that dosent equal the extra cost that was paid.
The street date is May 18th, so you will (likely) be ahead with the PDF several days before anybody can start selling the book in retail.
Also, Amazon is legendary for their delays when it comes to RPG books, Paizo stuff included.
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by that standard the free pdf might was well be a moot point and the money i spent to get the content earlier could have been money saved if i bought ultimate magic from amazon or some other site that proveds a wholesome discount .
i subscribed because i thought id get the content at a time earlier than release essentially paying 20$ more if im only going to get it 3 days in advance (and thats just the pdf mind you) ill be thoroughly disappointed and cancel my subscription .
im not saying this to cause a stir its just how i see it , i value my hard earned money and i dont like the idea of essentially paying more for the same thing or a slight difference that dosent equal the extra cost that was paid.
You should have your PDF's no later than Friday the 13th. Amazon and other places won't even start filling orders until the 18th. So you are likely looking at having your PDF's 2 weeks before a book ordered from Amazon or something would show up. In fact your book shipped from Paizo should show up first* by a week or more. *(assuming you live in the US, not sure about international)
i subscribed because i thought id get the content at a time earlier than release essentially paying 20$ more if im only going to get it 3 days in advance (and thats just the pdf mind you) ill be thoroughly disappointed and cancel my subscription .
The street date is May 18th, so you will (likely) be ahead with the PDF several days before anybody can start selling the book in retail.
Also, Amazon is legendary for their delays when it comes to RPG books, Paizo stuff included.
Amazon may be fast at shipping things out once they are in an Amazon warehouse, but they save money on the back end by not being in a hurry to get stuff into their own warehouse. They don't even accept deliveries to their warehouses, they send a truck to the distributor's warehouse to pick things up. And they wait until that truck will be absolutely full. So if they sent one to the warehouse today, when there aren't any Ultimate Magic books in stock, it could be 2-6 weeks before they send another one to that distributor.
You'll get the PDF around 7 days before it could possibly be for sale in stores. Depending on your local game stores, it may be much longer. I know I won't expect to see it at my local game store until the 25th.
A subscription isn't always the best option for everyone. If you want to buy the book elsewhere go ahead. It boosts Paizo's sales ratings in other channels which helps give them wider exposure in the long run.
my fears were confirmed i wont get the pdf till they ship the actual book and thats going to be at release date if i used amazon with express shipping i would have saved 16$ and obtained the book in a period of 2 days (dedicated stores get the product a day before release ) in short i would have had the book cheaper and sooner a pdf that i wont use after a day or 2 (afterall why use it if i have the hard copy) isnt worth the extra money.
after the book ships and i get the pdf im canceling my subscription things would have been different if i received the pdf at the time of the order .
Until your order actually gets processed, you can call customer service and cancel your subscription and order from Amazon and save the money still. I would hazard a guess it'd be shipped well after the 18th street date though by going by past posters experiences with Amazon and new releases.
my fears were confirmed i wont get the pdf till they ship the actual book and thats going to be at release date
They should start shipping books today, you will get your PDF sometime this week. Most subscribers inside the US will receive the physical book before the release date. I suspect most Amazon pre-orders won't arrive for at least another 2 weeks, if not longer.
3 to 4 weeks? Hah! 2 months in my case. Worst delays have been 4 months. The PDFs are a godsend.
Also, Crispy3ed has made me reach enviable levels of jealousy.