Here's the story... #127 was supposed to hit the streets just before Labor Day, September 2nd to be exact. It's now September 10th and the mag has yet to arrive in ATLANTA. In other words, in one of the largest cities in the USA, the magazine has missed it's street date by over a week.
No, I'm not talking about subscriptions, which are subject to many things, including, apparently, rifts in the space-time continuiumn. I'm talking about when the magazine hits the store shelves.
I'm not ticked, just worried. My parties are about to hit EaBK and if they blow through it, I'm in trouble. So, ladies, gents, and others, is this a problem with the distributor, the publisher, or something else?
Squid
I still am waiting for #126 to hit the shelves here in Sydney, Australia :0(>
Andrew
Here's the story... #127 was supposed to hit the streets just before Labor Day, September 2nd to be exact. It's now September 10th and the mag has yet to arrive in ATLANTA. In other words, in one of the largest cities in the USA, the magazine has missed it's street date by over a week.
No, I'm not talking about subscriptions, which are subject to many things, including, apparently, rifts in the space-time continuiumn. I'm talking about when the magazine hits the store shelves.
I'm not ticked, just worried. My parties are about to hit EaBK and if they blow through it, I'm in trouble. So, ladies, gents, and others, is this a problem with the distributor, the publisher, or something else?
Squid
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thats interesting... I myself am still waiting for #127 to arrive from subscription.
My 12 issue substription was Fulfilled on 20 July, #127 stated as shipped 23 August and I have 11 issues remaining.
Whats more I ordered #124 to #126 on back order on 31 August for the Age of Worms adventure path and i have already recieved these :/
I'll give it one more week then I'll start enquiring i think.
Not here in my FLGS. (San Fran area).
At least next month I won't have to call everyone all over looking for a copy, for my subscription to Dungeon will be in effect. Mwahahah!
WaterdhavianFlapjack
Not here in my FLGS. (San Fran area).
At least next month I won't have to call everyone all over looking for a copy, for my subscription to Dungeon will be in effect. Mwahahah!WaterdhavianFlapjack
well.. I did buy it yesterday here in the center of Ohio.. at a Borders. They said they had it for a few days.
The AoW adventure looks interesting.. a bit hard to implement with the group I am planning on running thru this.. but definitely fun...
-Porkuslime
I purchased my copy last weekend (Sept. 3), but still have not recieved my subscription copy - which is becoming more and more common for me. We played last night, so I needed the issue as the party really blew through issue #126. Oh, I'm in Vancouver, Canada by the way.
*does a little dance* Oh yeah! Borders has got it, Borders has got it. Wooooo!
WaterdhavianFlapjack
It was in stores here last weekend (NJ). It seems to come to Borders far more consistently than your local gaming store (which makes me kind of sad). If you are depending on the local gaming store I've learned to get used to waiting for inconsistent dates.
Of course, that will all end for me next month. Hello, subscription. Whoooohoooo!
: )WaterdhavianFlapjack
Arrived here (london UK) week and half ago and recieved subscription 3 days ago, so all in all quite happy for a Brit.
still no luck with the FLGS in new york city of all places!
I have yet to receive mine here in San Diego either. In fact the last three issues I had problems receiving... I smell something screwy.
You guys complain too much. Not only do I get Dungeon and Dragon late, but I typicall get my copy of White Dwarf a month late. How's that?! HA!
Why am I proud of this?
You know what my favorite part about my late White Dwarf subscription is? Actually, I like multiple things about it. One, they usually show up trashed. Two, the magazine is incredibly expensive. Three, it ships from Wisconsin, I'm in California. Four, I've been subscribing for years.
Yeah, I feel like a valued customer.
So far as I can tell, my issues of Dungeon and Dragon are never more than one and a half weeks late. So far...
Maybe I've angered the US postal system. Or maybe gaming magazines are subject to inspection by the Department of Homeland Security because of their war-mongering content. Yeah, terrorists learn everything they need to know from D&D and tabletop war games.
Excuse me, but I have to go blow up a government building and then cackle maniacally.
I have yet to get it on the East Coast, Oh well. I just scored back issue 112 for my B-Day, hope that keeps me busy...
I live in Edmonton, Canada, and if I get my issues seven days after the newstand date I consider myself lucky. That said, I hope to get #127 on Tuesday, but it won't likely arrive before Friday. I've also got some back issues on order, which the good folks here at Paizo bundled up on the 2nd. I hope to have them tomorrow.
On a related note, I also subscribe to TIME Canada, which ships out of Toronto. For those that don't know, it's a weekly. The latest issue used to arrive like clock-work on Tuesday, every Tuesday, of the week it was published. Lately, it's been arriving as late as Friday. Sometimes it doesn't show up until the following week. I'm still waiting for my September 5th issue. In fact it seems all my mail is arriving later and I'm formulating a theory about the cause: the pesky price of all that gasoline.
Can't say that I've heard anything definitive one way or another, but I know the local courier companies are complaining, and it wouldn't surprise me if the postal services (US and Canada) are trying to reduce the number of mail shipments, maybe waiting for trucks to fill full to avoid the expense of running half empty trucks back and forth. Just my two bits.
Oh, and yeah, for those paying attention: Edmonton is in Alberta, where supposedly our oil runneth over, blah, blah, blah...
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Arrived here (london UK) week and half ago and recieved subscription 3 days ago, so all in all quite happy for a Brit.
I from the UK too but this is my first subscription with Paizo so Im willing to give it a little more time. Odd that i havent recieved yet though as I imagine they sent out all international orders in one shipment. looks like i may be waiting for the next big shipment for #127.
You know what my favorite part about my late White Dwarf subscription is? Actually, I like multiple things about it. One, they usually show up trashed. Two, the magazine is incredibly expensive. Three, it ships from Wisconsin, I'm in California. Four, I've been subscribing for years.
Yeah, I feel like a valued customer.
Wow! Sorry man, that's a tough break; especially that "trashed" part. It relieves me to no end that Dragon and Dungeon come in those nice protective baggies.
Wow! Sorry man, that's a tough break; especially that "trashed" part. It relieves me to no end that Dragon and Dungeon come in those nice protective baggies.You know what my favorite part about my late White Dwarf subscription is? Actually, I like multiple things about it. One, they usually show up trashed. Two, the magazine is incredibly expensive. Three, it ships from Wisconsin, I'm in California. Four, I've been subscribing for years.
Yeah, I feel like a valued customer.
So does White Dwarf. But, somehow, the spine is usually pretty ripped and the whole thing has been bent or folded a few times. Maybe my mail slot is too small.
As of the 10th, Dungeon #127 hadn't hit the shelves here in North Carolina. It was very odd since I usually buy at Books-A-Million and they've always been very prompt. Wasted a bunch of gas driving all the way to the store only to be ... pole-axed!
I came back and checked at BAM online to see if the specific store had a particular problem, but the entire franchise is still only offering #126.
127 came out in PA 5 days late. I assumed it was due to the holiday.
I am in Raleigh, NC and got it at Barnes & Noble on the 9th.
I have yet to get it on the East Coast, Oh well. I just scored back issue 112 for my B-Day, hope that keeps me busy...
That's awesome. I'm looking for issue 112 (print only please) and have yet to find one I am willing to pay for. $15? HA! Too expensive for me.
: )
P.S. If you don't subscribe, you should check Borders. As I said, I got mine yesterday there (127).
WaterdhavianFlapjack
I'll check around my area today. I was worried because Dungeon hits here in the Atlanta area on it's ship date, pretty much without exception. (I think this was the first time it's missed it's street date.) It's not that big of a deal, but it is very unusual for this area... that's why I was wondering.
Squid
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Ok. It's now time to express annoyance.
Dungeon #127 went on sale on shelves on newstands in the book Trade in Toronto on September 12, 2005.
As of September 14, 2005 - 22 days after ship to subscribers, I don't have my magazine in my mailbox yet.
As a subscriber - it is NOT cool that a product is on store shelves beofre I have received it. It is, in fact, more than mildly annoying.
There is a progressive delay in the time it takes Dungeon to reach me after shipping with every issue of the magazine.
There is a clear and unmistable trend to increased times for delivery with each issue. Every issue - it takes progressivley longer to reach me.
There is no reason for this at all as near as I can tell. I presume there is some inherent defect in the method and manner in which this product is delivered to subscribers.
It is annoying as hell.
I wonder if it's got anything to do with their delivery methods?
Do they send out subscriptions via standard post and the stores via express/courier?
As an overseas non-US subscriber waiting on his first subscription #127, I hope they don't send mine via surface and the stores via air. I'll be disappointed if this is the case.
Having some experience with mailing a whole LOT of stuff each week (several hundred envelopes and packages to be a little more specific), I know a few things about the USPS. One is that there's a variety of means of shipping any given item. Print, typically in a bag or envelope can go First Class (I'm talking domestic, as in the US, mailing here) which is like regular old mail, Media Rate because it's a printed matter, Priority (not worth the money), Express (really not worth the money), or as Registered Mail. The bulk-rate mailing is for flats like post-cards and maybe letters in small envelopes, but definitely not magazines!
Sadly, I've never payed attention to how Dragon, Dungeon and other magazines I've subscribed or currently subscribe to are shipped. My guess though, is that it's the cheapest means possible.
When shipping to retail locations, you're dealing with packages, so you have things like Parcel Post, Priority, Express, or delivery services like UPS, FedEx, DHL, or whatever other ones exist. From my experiences, UPS and its kin tend to be pricey, but often offer various incentives (like different shipping options). Because the magazines are getting shipped to retailers in large quantities, sometimes it actually becomes cheaper to ship things faster! Flat-rate Priority Mail boxes are surprisingly cheap with, according to the USPS's employees, no weight cap (!!!). With as heavy as I'd imagine such boxes to be, that may be a good option.
In the meantime, subscribers getting their one single issue can expect 4-10 days for delivery.
All right... Now to be proven wrong like usual! I love being only partially informed.
Well, I found two copies of #127 at a local Barnes & Nobles. I'd rather get it from my FLGS, but at this point I was ready to get it anywhere I could. I'm thinking about subscribing when I can... which will probably be forever, knowing my luck.
Squid
I have to wait 30+ days after publication to recieve my copy of issue 127. Of course, I get my copy for free, so it sort of makes up for the wait!
Chief Technical Officer
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The listing on our webiste was incorrect - the newsstand release date for 127 was 9/13, not 9/2. We've corrected it now, and apologize for any inconvenience.
We ship out all subscriber copies at the same time (except for Europe—see below), using periodicals-class shipping. Within the US, most subscribers receive their copies within two weeks. Within Canada, three weeks.
Copies are also shipped to hobby distributors and magazine wholesalers. They're supposed to receive them ten days after subscriber copies went out, and then batch them out to retailers and newsstands, who are supposed to place them on the stands three weeks after the subscriber copies went out.
This should mean that US subscribers get copies at least a week before retailers put them out, but unfortunately, there's really no way for us to enforce the release date at the retail level.
Subscriber copies destined for Europe are sent as a batch to our European fulfillment service that then mails out individual issues.
One of the biggest factors in subscription delivery times is at the local level - meaning your local post office, and even your specific mail carrier. So if you have an alternate address that we could ship to - one served by another mail carrier, or better yet, a different post office entirely - it's quite possible that your issues might arrive a few days earlier. (It's also possible that they may arrive a few days later - you'd really have to try it to find out.)
-Vic.
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