Store Reports

After stepping back and watching the fallout over the pre-order pack, collector's edition, and basic edition, I simply ordered the pre-order pack from Amazon, and the CE from gamestop.com. I didn't even waste my time with checking out the local stores this week. Last week, none of them had anything on the shelf.

Personal opinion: Anet needs to go back to the drawing board in regards to merchant knowledge and cooperation.

Well i live in New Zealand and none of the big online NZ game retailer sites were able to get pre-order packs much less any stores.Had to get my pre-order pack from a US site and got charged USD11.95 for the privilage.This is on top of the NZD130 I`m paying for the collectors GW:F pack.ouch
EDITh and the USD11.95 was just for them emailing me the CD key and not shipping anything to me.

Rockford, IL

When I asked the guy about Factions pre-order at gamestop he replied: "What is Factions?" Poor kid. He must have been new, but when the boss came out he pointed me right to a stack of them

I always buy these things online, so I don't know if this is particularly relevant or helpful. However, I bought it through EBGames.com, and it all went perfectly. Got the preorder package days before I expected to get it even.

I would have preferred to preorder it through plaync.com (just log in and purchase a code, like you can do with Prophecies) and still be able to play a day early and have the preorder items, since I don't really care about a box or anything. Maybe you could do that with future campaigns, but either way it's an almost-trivial preference, especially after reading all these other posts. :/

I did manage to preorder two copies, kits are scarce and EB Games employees aren't exactly helpful.

One thing I'd like to know is why Factions has a 50% price increase? $50 CDN for Prophecies and $75 CDN for Factions.

I couldn't vote in good conceince. I was using EB, and I finally got it yesterday. A full week and a half AFTER every other store had it. So i can't say they don't have it, but it took them way to friggin' long for my taste.

P.S. love the box too

I live in Queensland Australia and had rung around a few stores here (EB included) and they said they were not getting in the preorder package so I ordered my copies from a store in USA. I wrote into this forum saying that we here in Australia and NZ will not be getting the preorder in and someone from NCsoft replied to that also saying that Australia and NZ won't be getting the preorder in.
Last week I got my daughter to put a deposit on the CE of Factions ( she lives closer to the store than me) and she asked them again if they were getting in the preorder packages and again they replied saying that they were not getting them in. Wednesday this week I went and paid the remainder of money I owed for the CE I ordered and low and behold he comes out with the preorder packages for me lol. I asked him why they kept telling me that they weren't getting them and then suddenly they had them, he just replied that they are the sole distributers here in Australia to get them in. And then I got an email from the store in USA giving me the numbers for the preorder packs I had ordered and said he was sending them out today. So now I have 1 extra preorder package lol.
So I will be ticking the top question of the poll I suppose as they did get it in for me.

California - Bay Area: Search results during the period of March 7-10.

1st Gamestop: Nope.
2nd Gamestop: Got a flat-out "No."
3rd Gamestop: Didn't received them yet.
1st Bestbuy: Couldn't find them on shelves.
2nd Bestbuy: Had two copies left.

End search.

UK here; I've ordered from gameplay.co.uk preorder of the collector's edition.

They sent me the pre-order key in email, but upon phoning them they didn't have the actual box in stock and my order page shows close to official release date.

I can't find it either (in Sydney). I asked the clerk's at an EB Games and they had no idea that an actual Pre-order package existed. I don't want to order online from overseas or interstate.

Best Buy, Frisco TX (north Dallas)

I work there.

The last I checked, they have a good amount on the shelves.

The pre-order does NOT guarantee you the product the day it comes in. The pre-order guarantees you get $10 off the product if you buy it from Best Buy. Save the receipt! It makes life easier.

What I can do for you...

My name is Matt Funk. I work in the Geek Squad (though I'm in the black AV tech shirts). Been there 3 years so I know the system fairly well.

If we're out of pre-orders, come find me and say the code word -> Guild Wars Guru Roxorz My Whammo <- and I will see what I can do about ordering you one (might even be able to ship it to your home address).

If you follow that up with -> Rangers For The Win! <- I'll take it one step further and get your contact information and do what I can to 'put aside' the game when it gets in.

.

For everyone else.

A good way to determine if your local Best Buy(s) has the pre-order or not, is to call them up and ask someone (anyone) in a department (any department, even customer service) to check the inventory level of SKU # 7689174 in a system called RSS (anyone who sells product knows this system). That SKU is for the pre-order package.

This does NOT guarantee the store has it though. There can be any number of reasons it's not where it should be. The best thing to do would be to call them up and if they say "I show X in the system", give it a shot. If X is 0, that store does not have any so don't try. There's none hidden anywhere.

The clerk in our local store doesn't know a thing about GW...

I asked him if he can get a few pre-orders, telling him how it profit from a lot of gamers out there, but no avail

This is coming from a person in China, pay no attention ^^

When Guild Wars first came out, Best Buy sold the CE. Since then, Guild Wars has crushed the competition (IMHO). I can say with 95% confidence that Best Buy will have the CE of Factions.

Factions > Prophecies.

Tomorrow at work, I'll see if I can pull up some info about the CE.

Thanks for this input. Keep it coming! And to address several thoughts and comments:

We cannot tell them how to process their orders, but what you suggest makes a lot of sense. I don't like that feeling of not knowing for sure. I remember one store had just half a dozen CEs and I was, literally, at their door before the opened. But yes, if the store will not start a CE list, and you cannot get them to do so before the end of next month, you will probably have to cross fingers. And, frankly, the CE is limited, so I would be at their door when they opened.

That's nice! You got the advance keys and you get the boxed product, too? I thought the online was just the keys and you didn't end up with the boxed product later. Interesting!The pre-order, whether online or packaged, should not cost you. Whatever you pay should be applied to the game.I am told the boxed product will be out March 31st, yes. The game itself will be on shelves on the same date worldwide, to the best of our ability. That date is April 28th.

Good point: Players everywhere are mentioning that they have to ask to get the pre-order. I don't know why it's not being shelved -- maybe because they're afraid it'll sell out? Anyway, please do ask and you might find the store has stock after all!

Or, we're making more, and sending them out promptly. I bet they will have more soon.

We're the developers. We make the art that you see in the magazine. The production of those screenshots would not impact or delay our Publisher's marketing efforts.

As, but they can. *sigh* Guys, if a store says "We can't get more," why don't you gently say something like "According to NCsoft and ArenaNet, you can reorder and they will send more packages." Let's see if we can get the word out to the store to at least try to get more!

*whimper*

See? Why is it in the bloomin' back of the shop?

We have an excellent Sales and Marketing Team in our publisher, NCsoft. They have a lot of experience with such matters, and while I'm as concerned as you are that there seems to be so many "holes" in the distribution, I have learned that more copies are being made to be available, and that NCsoft will fulfill reorders and even re-reorders very promptly. I will pass along your thoughts, though.

I will certainly make the suggestion!

The expected retail price isn't higher. Are you perhaps comparing Standard and Collector's Editions or something? Or misremembering the prices from last time?

Me three!

The Game Stop in my mall Pearl Ridge Hawai'i had a very limited supply but I did manage to get two.

Honest answer: I don't know.

Theoretical answer: We just gave them $10 for something that costs them nothing to buy

I STRONGLY recommend you be @ Best Buy the moment it opens on the day Factions releases, to get the CE. I'll post more information in this thread to keep it updated with regards to Best Buy status.

guess I'm not voteing. here's the simple version.

1) Eb by house has no clue.

2) a-net says sorry about 28th meant later (I'm all good with that)

3) Eb by house has no clue

4) I read a forum post where a guy complains to EB (in general, not by my house) and posts their response saying sorry and it's fixed.

5) are we seeing a pattern? still clueless by my house. (just as a side note. In the world of retail haveing info about your products is a sign of good service. But wait before you say "But lovely Maina, not everyone can keep track of all products!" remember these people sell video games, how many of them are into games compaired to clerks at target that are into vacume cleaners.)

6) Eb clerk and his manager let me know I must be misinformed because the almighty computer doesn't have a SKU number, hence no listing. Why do I look like a rabid fan in front of these clerks? yeah don't answer that but still...(note this takes place between the 28th and the 10th)

7) Girlfriend needs ink for her printer. We go to Micro center. Not even thinking about it I see the pre-order! (que all effects). Clerk tells me that they don't do pre-orders but this is 99 cents. I get 5.

8) 3-15-06. EB calls! they have my pre-order!

9) 3-16-06 I am told I am the 3rd person whose pre-order was given anyway, but it's on reorder and they'll call me.

Do keep in mind that some stores -- hopefully only a few! -- have been reported as not applying the deposit for the pre-order onto the purchase price of the retail game. Instead, they are apparently selling the preorder. This could be simply ignorance on the part of the person handling the sale, but do be sure that you ask questions and make sure you save your receipt!

So, they are selling our preorder, not taking the preorder, and keeping the income? *grumble*

Gaile yes they did here in CA. Except at this point it made me happier than the stores that where supposed to have my pre-order. I still haven't decided if I'm going to eat my $5 dollars from EB and not do any more business there. The way EB (by my house) did business is wrong. At least the other store made me happy for 99 cents. Don't judge them to hard. The retailers listed on the official site let me down. Love the Game by the way!!

Really? I remember Alex Weekes saying something about being no pre-order bonus in Australia. I pre-ordered the Collectors Edition from EB's in Brisbane, but I didn't ask about about a pre-order package because I thought there was none. Maybe I should ring up or something to check =/

Oh - and happy birthday by the way ^^

I wanted to make another post, vaguely on this issue. Retailer problems aside, ArenaNet and NCSoft have done a marvelous job on the game itself, and I'm very pleased to have such an enjoyable game to play. I'm also quite pleased with the availability of the CE on the gamestop.com site.

(just so Gaile doesn't think I'm a hater. lmao)

The current price of Prophecies is $50 as it sits on the shelf. I paid $75 for the preorder of Factions, there is no indication on the package if it's a CE or not.

Townsville, Queensland, Australia here.

We have 2 EBGames stores here. The store I went to had run out of pre-order boxes but had more in-comming. The other store had 2 pre-order boxes left and had more incomming as well. I went and picked my pre-order box up from the other store..

I had no problems at all. The person I dealt with brought up the pre-order box before I could ask, said they didn't have any in sytock but expected to get new boxes within the next few days. She also phoned the other store to see if they had any in-stock.

I also had no problems in pre-ordering the Collector's Edition. Have the receipt stating that it's for the CE edition of GW:F ... Will have to see if they manage to get it. I've never had any problems with the EB stores here for any purchases I've made.. or any inquiries into games, DVD's, etc.

Edit - I should also mention that both EB stores have a fair section of their display for soon-to-be-released games, with GW:F being displayed in in a eye-catching place/position, but no pre-order's on display. You did have to ask.. although in my case it was offered to me without me needing to ask *shrugs*.

Yeah i thought the same, I had steeled myself for waiting for the collectors edition to come and no preorder but they rang all the same.

And thaks for the happy birthday.

I live in the Netherlands and my shop didn't know anything about the pre order version. I preordered Factions there, the version that lies in stores april the 28th I assume.

well I posted something on this just a while ago with my experience Herebut I cant answer this poll and convey what I want.

Here is my list of problems:

Availability in a good quantity of stores. The original store I got my last pre-order from did not have the pre-order this time around so I had to resort to EB where I would have preferred to go back to the original store. Doesn't mean it wasn't available to me locally but out of 5 places I could have picked up the package from only one had it (and they didnt have it even on the shelves).

Retailer doesn't seem to be putting these things on the shelves like they were the first time around in last pre-order situation. Its like they are waiting for a customer to ask about it before they hand it to you.

Product knowledge regarding Collectors and Standard. They simply dont know well enough about dates and availability of each and when they will be available or the differences. At pre-order time I think they should. (see also my suggestion of placing that info right on the package).

As I was saying in the above link, put as MUCH information on the pre-order box about both CE and standard and time while you can. Don't rely on these stores to broadcast that information or market the product when you can! That would be my tip.

Has anyone in the UK/Europe actually got hold of any kind of physical pre-order box?

(^quoted for truth)

I think the responses you are getting in this thread is more typical then not. It also doesn't appear to matter if it is a major market area or not. It is completely random and may be the result of the buyers/manager of the stores themselves being fans of the game.

Perhaps this is an issue between retailers and a NCSoft sending out constant preorder packages for games that have become vapor ware. In those cases the retailer may unfairly get the grief for the developer? I don't know, but it is like they just don't want to deal with these preorder packages.

I'm beginning to think you should all tie experience points instead of an in game item with the preorder disk as its becoming a major quest just to find one. >.<

Gaile, Do you know if "Hastings Books and Toys" is recieving the preorder?

I know they have the full version Enroute. They already tole me that.

I think easiest way to get it is online by amazon or something but Best Buy has it too

I preordered my Guild Wars: Factions copy from Game Stop here in St. Louis, Missouri (South County Center store to be more specific) and they had multiple sales and a few copies left. I preordered before the dvd case had come out and when it did they called me to let me know that was in and i could come pick it up at any time.

Have also seen it in a few stores like Best Buy on shelves here

Retribution X: our local store is a Hastings. They didn't know anything about Factions until we walked in and started asking about it (as in had never heard of it!). We started bugging them and finally they received word through their distributor that the game would be available at some point (i.e. "we don't know when, but it'll be here") and they have absolutely no idea if they will get the Pre Order or not.

I think a huge problem is just the retailers attitudes now. If it isnt a "can't" get more copies in problem (as you say they can can reorder them), it is a "won't even try to get more in so go somewhere else and don't bother us" attitude. Bad customer service but that is the retailer's fault. I do have to agree it would be nicer if we could have ordered it online from plaync or something that guarenteed the pre-order key at least would come to you, no ifs ands or buts, and not have to bother with this running around after peon stores. All we wanted was our bonus ingame items. :-)

Hi Gaile,

UK. I usually shop at Amazon but it doesn't seem they're stocking the pre-order. I ordered mine from Game. I recieved a confirmation within minutes along with an invoice for the game to be applied on release. I recieved my pre-order key the next working day. Can't fault that

Corwin

Anyone ordering online @ Best Buy...

I don't think you're going to get the pre-order package AND I think you're ordering the non-CE version. The SKU # for the online item is the same SKU as the non-CE version in store (which we don't have yet, but we have in the system).

I don't see any information on the CE version, but that's not unexpected given the release date is a month away. I will keep looking into this.

I will also see what I can do about getting in contact with some higher ups to confirm (and even possibly order MORE) the CE version.

.

INVENTORY of PRE-ORDER:

Frisco - 9 (physically counted 9)
Mesquite - 8
Walnut Hill - 13
McKinney - 13
Plano - 0
Midway - 4
SHerman - 5
Oak Cliff - 8

.

If anyone wants to know for another area, find a local Best Buy in that area and give me the store number (you can get this from bestbuy.com).

Comp USA in Goleta California... Has 30 or 40 copies of WoW, one copy of Prophecies, never heard of Factions and don't carry the pre-order.

Very sad.

I ordered from the Best Buy pre-order link (it said pre-order)...just checked the status of my order, it says regular Factions release date 4/25/06. I specifically ordered from BB because the link included the pre-order package info in the description - am I not getting the pre-order now? (In other words, do I need to cancel my order?)

OH, and before ordering online on Monday (3/13) I'd checked 4 local stores and none of them had pre-order boxes in stock. Richmond, VA area.

I don't know 'exactly'. If I were in your situation, I would cancel the order and buy from the store.

If anyone wants the pre-order package and/or the CE, I don't recommend pre-ordering online from Best Buy.

This is why I always order online. Gauranteed to get it.

Ordered the pre-order from EBgames.com, got the preorder CD a couple days later. I ordered the CE from there yesterday for my other account and it has shipped out and I'm just waiting for it to come now.