Where’s the product?

[tmod]

21 minutes ago, Hot4Perdita said:

So you’re saying there is no longer any plastic injection molding manufacturing technology left in the USA, period? 

I also build scale model aircraft, and yes, the majority of the molds are made overseas. But with the high price (relative to scale model aircraft, tanks, etc) of gaming models, it would think the margin would exist to manufacture them here. For example, a Tamiya 1/48 F-14 (arguably one the most superb kits in the world from arguably the best model manufacturer) has hundreds of parts, massive detail, and expensive R&D, and that kit retails for around $100 US. A lot of gaming model kits go for well more than that with less R&D, less parts, and way less plastic. 

But I will acknowledge and agree with you, sending manufacturing overseas is a unfortunate and grim dilemma we have in this global economy. I don’t see it stopping even with tariffs. Companies will find a way around it. I find it so hard to believe that we can’t manufacture goods in this country anymore for a competitive price. 

My understanding is that pretty much nobody does injection moulding HIPS in the West at all. In fact, GW has caught some criticism because some people consider it extravagant and driving up costs excessively. GW invested into going all plastic during a period when they enjoyed a virtual monopoly in a booming market (largely due to the LotR hype), and when prices of metals had skyrocketed. If the hobby was going to keep growing indefinitely and with no competition it made sense to make that kind of investment. 

The Tamiya kit is a pretty big kit, and if the leaked prices from GW is any sort of indication it should cost several tens of thousands of dollars to make the steel molds. That is, just the operating costs of manufacturing moulds for one kit. The router that carves the mould from steel blocks has some pretty steep up front costs as well. Then you'd need injection machines to fill the mould, and they don't come cheap either.

There is a reason the kits are expensive, and Tamiya kits are produced in Asia. You'd need to sell a substantial amount just to break even at those costs, and if you double or triple the cost I'm pretty sure the market for those kits would drop to next to nothing...

14 minutes ago, Hot4Perdita said:

Was not intended as a complaint, was intended as a quest for information. I do not frequent forums much, I did not know of the announcement section. I posed the questions about the lack of product because my local store said they have no clue as to why the haven’t received product, and that Wyrd will not inform them of why. So I turned to here. I will look into the announcement section next time when and if there are more delays. 

That's entirely fair, kinda hard to keep track of what's been posted over the last several months if you don't follow the forum.

Just another note, your local wouldn't and shouldn't get any note from Wyrd; they don't order anything from Wyrd. They buy from a distributor who buys things from Wyrd. Wyrd still may not have been good enough with info to the distributors, but given the information we've been getting on the forum another explanation seems at least as likely: the distributors have large portfolios with many different products from different companies. They just handles orders and buy stuff to sell to stores, so they're not directly involved with the communities in the stores. Hence they struggle to stay on top with all information from all companies, and it's cheaper for them to just say "we've got no info" then try to explain that they've screwed up an order to a store. Nevermind that if they screw up enough they might loose the trust of their customers, the stores, who might seek out other options. Because they have no contact with the consumers themselves, it's much easier for them to not give a damn about any given delivery, as long as the stores don't think it's their fault. And since the stores and consumers generally have very little contact with the companies producing the stuff they have very little opportunity to check the distributors' stories. Hence the risks associated with lying are ery much bigger than the risks that comes with telling the truth whenever they screw up (and we make mistakes sometimes, stores, consumers, distributors and Wyrd)...

[explorator]

I think it is amazing that Wyrd's lawyer is online answering our concerns on a case-by-case basis.

[tmod]

1 hour ago, explorator said:

I think it is amazing that Wyrd's lawyer is online answering our concerns on a case-by-case basis.

Sarcasm not called for, methinks... 

Wyrd tend to be pretty good at actually answer questions and worries. During GenCon, which is the most important event in their calendar year, we should expect them to be occupied elsewhere. The answers to your questions are in the forum should want to look for them.

Also noteworthy that you don't offer any other commentary, apart from the sarcasm...

[explorator]

2 hours ago, tmod said:

Also noteworthy that you don't offer any other commentary, apart from the sarcasm...

You will get my notes during discovery. I have spoken with the owners of lgs's (local game stores), and one party at Alliance. 

For each complaint voiced publically, 26 other customers just walk away without a word. Do you want to silence all critics?  Malifaux is a complex, sophisticated game, with beautiful, inticrate models; Wyrd made this game for advanced gamers and modelers, and you expect their customer base to accept second-rate performance without speaking their minds? 

I am actually waiting to hear from people who made it to GenCon about how the Malifaux stock at the booth held up before making a final call, but it is looking more and more like Wyrd fumbled the rollout of M3e.

On a side note, how does one get deeply into the world of Malifaux WITHOUT sarcasm? 

[tmod]

10 minutes ago, explorator said:

You will get my notes during discovery. I have spoken with the owners of lgs's (local game stores), and one party at Alliance. 

For each complaint voiced publically, 26 other customers just walk away without a word. Do you want to silence all critics?  Malifaux is a complex, sophisticated game, with beautiful, inticrate models; Wyrd made this game for advanced gamers and modelers, and you expect their customer base to accept second-rate performance without speaking their minds? 

I am actually waiting to hear from people who made it to GenCon about how the Malifaux stock at the booth held up before making a final call, but it is looking more and more like Wyrd fumbled the rollout of M3e.

On a side note, how does one get deeply into the world of Malifaux WITHOUT sarcasm? 

Fair point in the sarcasm... 😉

Wyrd has apologised for not having the new stuff available at GenCon in a thread called taking the good with the bad or something similar. To me you sound increasingly like you're peddling a conspiracy theory about Wyrd trying to screw us all over, evidence and logic be damned.

That said I'm not trying to silence anyone: everyone screws up from time to time, and calling them out allows Wyrd to improve.

Case in point, I've criticised Wyrd's decision to change the design of their 30mm bases. I think the new ones look crap, and though I get that a deeper dish will allow Wyrd to sell more base inserts, they are different enough to be starkly noticeable next to the old style. This screws over those of us who own a lot of Wyrd minis, and I don't think that is OK. They also doesn't really work with magnets for storage/transportation. When I brought this to Wyrd's attention they basically said "tough luck" and proposed a potential work-around (good customer service imho), but I'm not convinced. Unfortunately for me, it seems like I'm the only customer having issue with this, so I understand if Wyrd will keep the new style... But at least I tried. This is an example of me not liking the dish, telling them I didn't, and basically be left with "well, everyone else seems to like it".

Finally I'm eagerly awaiting what answers you get from the lgs and Alliance. If nothing else it will be interesting to see how they respond. Without being too conspiratorial, remember that IF they have screwed up they have all incentives to lie about it as long as they believe they can get away with it...

[explorator]

Talking to people familiar with the events and parties in question is in no way a conspiracy theory. Conspiracy theories are based on the ABSENCE of fact. All Conspiracy Theories are made up, and I am neither making up the product shortages at lgs's in my area, nor stating a narrative of fantasy about Wyrd's culpability. 

I talk to lgs owners because I am a customer and they know me; one of whom I have knoen for 35 years, the other for 15 years. Someone on these forums asked why I had not called Alliance, so I CALLED Aliiance and spoke with a person there. When I first complained about delays related to the M3e launch on these forums, I was called "angry", a "hater", and was told "find another game to play".  I have to laugh in order to keep from crying; my favorite skirmish game is suffering in my area.

The bar to entry is higher for Malifaux than any other skirmish game. The world and ruleset are amazing, Wyrd has taken the card mechanic from an interesting twist on random number generation and added a depth of sophistication in M3e I neve even imagined, and the tactical choices made in the game have dramitic, and cinematic drama.

Learning the basics of Malifaux is not for novice gamers. The models Wyrd created are distinct and characterful, but again, they are not designed for novice modelers. 

Malifaux is a niche product inside a niche marketplace. A marketplace, btw that is far more dynamic now than it was 15 years ago. New skirmish games are popping up like crazy, and some of them are in the same lane as Wyrd, who cannot afford too many mistakes if they want to maintain market presence. 

[solkan]

3 hours ago, explorator said:

Malifaux is a niche product inside a niche marketplace. A marketplace, btw that is far more dynamic now than it was 15 years ago. New skirmish games are popping up like crazy, and some of them are in the same lane as Wyrd, who cannot afford too many mistakes if they want to maintain market presence. 

How many competing skirmish games do you think have been published over the past 15 years?  Hell, for that matter how many games has Games Workshop published and discontinued (and then revived) over that time period?  🤔  

If you're providing unsolicited business advice, you're skipping over all sorts of other interesting risk factors:

• The effect of global warming on global manufacturing.
• The impending 3D printing apocalypse.
• The impending death of the local game store model in the US.
• The impending Second American Civil War.

and all sorts of other reasons why being the owner/operator of a small game company was in the past, is now, and will in the future continue to be a terrible idea.

 

[tmod]

6 hours ago, explorator said:

Talking to people familiar with the events and parties in question is in no way a conspiracy theory. Conspiracy theories are based on the ABSENCE of fact. All Conspiracy Theories are made up, and I am neither making up the product shortages at lgs's in my area, nor stating a narrative of fantasy about Wyrd's culpability. 

I talk to lgs owners because I am a customer and they know me; one of whom I have knoen for 35 years, the other for 15 years. Someone on these forums asked why I had not called Alliance, so I CALLED Aliiance and spoke with a person there. When I first complained about delays related to the M3e launch on these forums, I was called "angry", a "hater", and was told "find another game to play".  I have to laugh in order to keep from crying; my favorite skirmish game is suffering in my area.

I'm sorry the game is suffering in your area. That is real, and a pain, and not good for anyone here. I'm also sorry you got told to look for another game. I think we all want to keep every player. If not, then at least we ALL should want to keep every player. Even though I'm not affected by this Alliance debacle I'm sorry it happened, let me make that clear. I also agree that Wyrd makes what is probably the best skirmish game around. They are a small (but apparently growing fast) player in a small niche, so they can not afford to screw up like the bigger companies can. On all this we can agree (I think). 🙂

I do think the criticism you and a few others have been very vocal about is very conspiratorial however for a few reasons:

1. Wyrd has been communicating very clearly and openly for a long time. Most, if not all, hiccups on their end have been announced in advance, and before people have raised complaints. This make them pretty reliable.

2. Most of the world got their product in time (with exceptions for late July releases, books and Euripides and Rasputina for GenCon. These delays where all announced in advance), but most got less than what the demand turned out to be.

3. Given how this industry works (as attested by several figures, including the owner of Wyrd, but also others like the podcast somebody linked to) it is a pretty common occurrence for very popular releases that distributors order to little, and a shortage is the result. This has also happened with Malifaux earlier, as many old-timers can attest. This is not something Wyrd can control. Note that as late as in June GW got screwed on a similar situation with the launch of Contrast paints, where demand vastly outstripped supply.

4. Wyrd has been checking up and reported back about situations arising from this release, including reporting about a warehouse rebuild that Alliance did (and did seemingly not seem relevant to inform their customers). Wyrd, like the game stores, deal directly with fans/customers, and thus have every incentive to shoot straight, and not lie.

5. Distributors have every incentive to lie about delays caused by them, as long as they believe they can get away with it. 

6. I don't doubt that you trust you game store, but what they tell you is only as good as their source. I have no doubt they've received no communication from Wyrd, but neither would they. They are not Wyrd customers, they are Alliance customers, and would get their updates from their distributors. IE, if Alliance lied to your store, they can be perfectly honest and what they tell you could still be a lie. Not saying anyone lied mind, I don't know what you've been told. We've already had at least one report that a game store called Alliance, and Alliance claimed they didn't get anything from Wyrd, and Wyrd stating the had evidence that Alliance had already signed for the shipment they claimed they didn't have. Then again, I assume most distributors handle quite a large volume of shipments every week, so it's understandable if something gets lost for a few days once in a while. Just a shame when Wyrd gets the short end of the stick for someone else's mistake.

7. Claiming that Wyrd has planned for a June release, then failed to deliver what they promised due to holding back for GenCon is logically absurd. M3e is their flagship product, and they could have set the release date anytime they wanted. If they wanted to release the game September they could've sold whatever they wanted as pre-release during GenCon without holding back anything, and then released whatever was left during September. Or October for that matter.

8. It's not like Wyrd is unprepared for what the GenCon sale is like. Malifaux has been around for a decade, Wyrd itself a few years longer, and GenCon has been their most important sales venue for a very long time. It seems absurd that Wyrd forgot to order extra stuff for GenCon, and then chose to sabotage the launch of their main product line in order to cover it up.

9. This all assumes that Wyrd want to screw over their fans, which is itself is more than a little conspiratorial.

10. The far more simple (Occam's Razor anyone) and logical explanation is that Wyrd did in fact NOT lie, but has suffered some setbacks out of their hands that they have been upfront about. In addition at least one distributor worldwide (maybe more, I don't know) has had further issues after the goods left Wyrd's warehouse. Maybe a shipment got lost or delayed in shipping, misplaced at the distributor, sold to the wrong store/individual by mistake (like the guy who found the Yuoko box he preordered opened for a paint night). Maybe no one even willingly lied, maybe a distributor didn't get what they thought they ordered when they thought they'd get it, and just assumed Wyrd had screwed up. Heck, maybe Wyrd did in fact send some goods to the wrong distributor due to a mix up and haven't discovered; bad stuff happens after all.

All in all I think conspiracy theory is well founded. Conspiracy theories tend to put the blame for specific problems on perceived powerful people, who secretly and maliciously make life hard for regular joes. I think at least some of the statements here qualify as that...

All that said and done I hope nobody tries to chase you away (and I hope you won't let anyone tell you what to play or not to play!), and I hope you get your stuff and get your community going. You all deserve to play M3e, and the game deserves to to be played! 🙂

 

[theamazingmrg]

I got a message form my LGS last night saying that the pre-orders for July had come in.  That's 5 days into August (3 working days) for July's releases (Wyrd release at the end of the month), which really isn't bad for the UK where things can regularly take a couple of weeks after the US release date to arrive.

 

So, as with June's releases, I don't see there being any major issues other than those that have already been communicated by Wyrd (like the Faction books not being available).  Once again it seem like Wyrd is able to ship stock out worldwide in a timely fashion but the same North American distributor is having problems.  This indicates one of two things:

• Wyrd is intentionally screwing over the North American customer base
• The distributor is not telling the whole truth to save face.

 

One of those things makes sense.  I'll leave it for you to decide which one.

[explorator]

16 hours ago, tmod said:

I'm sorry the game is suffering in your area. That is real, and a pain, and not good for anyone here. I'm also sorry you got told to look for another game. I think we all want to keep every player. If not, then at least we ALL should want to keep every player. Even though I'm not affected by this Alliance debacle I'm sorry it happened, let me make that clear. I also agree that Wyrd makes what is probably the best skirmish game around. They are a small (but apparently growing fast) player in a small niche, so they can not afford to screw up like the bigger companies can. On all this we can agree (I think). 🙂

 

 

All that said and done I hope nobody tries to chase you away (and I hope you won't let anyone tell you what to play or not to play!), and I hope you get your stuff and get your community going. You all deserve to play M3e, and the game deserves to to be played! 🙂

 

Guess who told me to find a game I could be happy with? Nathan.

I was told on these boards that the store owners in my area were lying about their orders, so I spoke with two that I know. I was told on these boards that the fault was 100% on Alliance and I should tell Alliance my problems, so I called and spoke with a representative from Alliance and told them my problems. I was told on these boards that my concerns are nothing more than some conspiracy theory.

I love Wyrd, so of course Occum's Razor would suggest I make up some wild conspriracy to hurt them. Lmao.

[Yew Arcane]

35 minutes ago, explorator said:

Guess who told me to find a game I could be happy with? Nathan.

Sorry mate, I'm going to have to see this, as this sounds unlikely. I tried looking at Nathan's posts and didn't see anything to reflect such a position.

[tmod]

35 minutes ago, explorator said:

Guess who told me to find a game I could be happy with? Nathan.

I was told on these boards that the store owners in my area were lying about their orders, so I spoke with two that I know. I was told on these boards that the fault was 100% on Alliance and I should tell Alliance my problems, so I called and spoke with a representative from Alliance and told them my problems. I was told on these boards that my concerns are nothing more than some conspiracy theory.

I love Wyrd, so of course Occum's Razor would suggest I make up some wild conspriracy to hurt them. Lmao.

I get your frustrations, but why do you think so many get annoyed by your statements? See it from the other side:

Most, if not all distributors in the world except Alliance (and possibly one or two others) get their stuff on time, except the stuff Wyrd has announced will be delayed. A lot of disappointed (rightly so!) customers who share that one distributor starts posting accusations that Wyrd is somehow screwing everyone over, and that Wyrd hasn't shipped any product. That's a pretty strong statement, and it's easily falsifieable: if other stores using other distributors is getting stock it is simply not true. Maybe the stores lied. Maybe the distributors lied. Maybe nobody lied, but somebody misunderstood something. The statement is in any case unequivocally NOT TRUE. When Wyrd checks their records and finds that the distributor who has claimed nothing's been sent to them had in fact signed for the shipment, I think it's understandable people get frustrated. When you push a narrative that this is somehow a sinister plot by Wyrd I think it's fair to call it a conspiracy theory.

But I get your disappointment, and I get that the reason you're angry is that you're disappointed and let down because you wanted to buy the product. I also understand if you're still angry (when you still haven't got your stuff), but I think you should also understand that you get resistance from others, who cannot see evidence of this sinister plot. Some of us, in fact, have seen hard evidence of the opposite: a company that has gone out of it's way to get a proper launch, despite some bad luck (Alliance restructuring their warehouse the same week M3e launched is nothing short of bad luck. For both parties, but it hurts Wyrd more most likely), and a lot of distributors getting their orders wrong due to the game being more successful than anyone anticipated. I have July releases in my hands as we speak, and they are hard proof Wyrd actually got this right. I understand that doesn't help you, but being less antagonistic may at least get you more sympathy and less criticism. 

I sincerely hope you get your stuff ASAP! 🙂

 

[Vangerdahast]

 

13 hours ago, theamazingmrg said:

I got a message form my LGS last night saying that the pre-orders for July had come in.  That's 5 days into August (3 working days) for July's releases (Wyrd release at the end of the month), which really isn't bad for the UK where things can regularly take a couple of weeks after the US release date to arrive.

I can confirm the same for France where Malifaux has always been hard to find. The June releases were available in the first days of July and the July releases are avalaible today (except the faction books). Almost a week late is something we are not familiar with here. They also received a restock of faction packs. The quantities for each item are not huge but can't complain.

 

Don't know what the problem is in the US but from a french (and I think english) point of view, M3E release is in a good spot.

 

[Occultist]

5 hours ago, Yew Arcane said:

Sorry mate, I'm going to have to see this, as this sounds unlikely. I tried looking at Nathan's posts and didn't see anything to reflect such a position.

He's referring to this thread: 

Basically he got called out in the nicest way possible for referring to Wyrd as a D-List company for issues that were not their fault and out of their control, and then proceeded to demand Wyrd find another distributor, despite not knowing how distribution of games works, or how much the field is a monopoly of companies who aren't liable for their own mistakes.

OT: The delays are obnoxious, and waiting for releases and updates can get old fast. That said, the majority of the issues are outside of Wyrd's control, and I'm not about to bust their chops for doing their best to be as forthright and communicative as possible about them.

 

[Yew Arcane]

32 minutes ago, Occultist said:

He's referring to this thread: 

Basically he got called out in the nicest way possible for referring to Wyrd as a D-List company for issues that were not their fault and out of their control, and then proceeded to demand Wyrd find another distributor, despite not knowing how distribution of games works, or how much the field is a monopoly of companies who aren't liable for their own mistakes.
 

OT: The delays are obnoxious, and waiting for releases and updates can get old fast. That said, the majority of the issues are outside of Wyrd's control, and I'm not about to bust their chops for doing their best to be as forthright and communicative as possible about them.

 

Got it, it was intentionally misinterpreting what it was that Nathan said. No wonder I couldn't find that wording. Thanks.

[Occultist]

Tends to happen when you come in looking for a fight. Noteworthy that the OP was involved as well.
 

[Hot4Perdita]

Can someone enlighten me on something? I have seen numerous posts on here referring to Gencon, mostly about Gencon being an excuse for the delayed product. I have never been to it or anything like it, but I assume it is basically a trade show for the manufacturers to showcase their products? I also understand they run tournaments. How would this event have any correlation or relevance to the manufacturing/ distribution delay?

[Occultist]

46 minutes ago, Hot4Perdita said:

Can someone enlighten me on something? I have seen numerous posts on here referring to Gencon, mostly about Gencon being an excuse for the delayed product. I have never been to it or anything like it, but I assume it is basically a trade show for the manufacturers to showcase their products? I also understand they run tournaments. How would this event have any correlation or relevance to the manufacturing/ distribution delay?

This explanation assumes you are truthful about not knowing what GenCon is:

GenCon is a 50 year old gaming convention that is currently held in Indianapolis. It functions as a trade show, a gaming meetup, a tournament center, and basically anything else related to (mostly) tabletop gaming. its relevance to the game as a whole is that most game companies dedicate a lot of resources to their presence at GenCon, as it acts as a massive PR event and a huge boost to sales for the year, and Wyrd is no exception. Its relevance to distribution delays is that in order to sell at the convention, you need to ship the product there. This can cause a host of logistical issues as well as require normal ordering times to be drastically changed. Coupled with the already noted external shipping issues plaguing the gaming industry at large (thank you trade wars ) and you can start to piece together it's relation.

[Yew Arcane]

20 minutes ago, Occultist said:

This explanation assumes you are truthful about not knowing what GenCon is:

GenCon is a 50 year old gaming convention that is currently held in Indianapolis. It functions as a trade show, a gaming meetup, a tournament center, and basically anything else related to (mostly) tabletop gaming. its relevance to the game as a whole is that most game companies dedicate a lot of resources to their presence at GenCon, as it acts as a massive PR event and a huge boost to sales for the year, and Wyrd is no exception. Its relevance to distribution delays is that in order to sell at the convention, you need to ship the product there. This can cause a host of logistical issues as well as require normal ordering times to be drastically changed. Coupled with the already noted external shipping issues plaguing the gaming industry at large (thank you trade wars ) and you can start to piece together it's relation.

It's also of note that Wyrd is a small company and a majority (if not the entirety) of their staff goes to make sure they are able to properly manage their presence at the convention.

[Hot4Perdita]

14 minutes ago, Occultist said:

This explanation assumes you are truthful about not knowing what GenCon is:

GenCon is a 50 year old gaming convention that is currently held in Indianapolis. It functions as a trade show, a gaming meetup, a tournament center, and basically anything else related to (mostly) tabletop gaming. its relevance to the game as a whole is that most game companies dedicate a lot of resources to their presence at GenCon, as it acts as a massive PR event and a huge boost to sales for the year, and Wyrd is no exception. Its relevance to distribution delays is that in order to sell at the convention, you need to ship the product there. This can cause a host of logistical issues as well as require normal ordering times to be drastically changed. Coupled with the already noted external shipping issues plaguing the gaming industry at large (thank you trade wars ) and you can start to piece together it's relation.

Of course I’ve heard of Gencon, but have never attended, nor researched it much. I have only been a gamer for about 3 years, and I live nowhere near Indianapolis. I knew it was a big gaming show, but other than that, not too educated on it. I know a little bit more about Las Vegas Open, but only cause it’s closer to home and several people I know go there every year for the 40k and Star Wars Legion tournament.

That being said, I didn’t know that Wyrd actually sold product direct there. In most industry trade shows (NAMM, SHOT, etc.) manufacturers are just there to showcase their product and secure orders from distributors and retailers, not to bring stock to sell to the general public. In fact, you have to have credentials in the appropriate industry to gain access to the trade shows (I would love to go to a NAMM, but I don’t have the credentials). After your explanation, I assume that Gencon is public, so that’s a little out of the norm for a trade show.

But thanks for explaining. Maybe I’ll have to try it out one day.

[Occultist]

14 minutes ago, Hot4Perdita said:

Of course I’ve heard of Gencon, but have never attended, nor researched it much. I have only been a gamer for about 3 years, and I live nowhere near Indianapolis. I knew it was a big gaming show, but other than that, not too educated on it. I know a little bit more about Las Vegas Open, but only cause it’s closer to home and several people I know go there every year for the 40k and Star Wars Legion tournament.

That being said, I didn’t know that Wyrd actually sold product direct there. In most industry trade shows (NAMM, SHOT, etc.) manufacturers are just there to showcase their product and secure orders from distributors and retailers, not to bring stock to sell to the general public. In fact, you have to have credentials in the appropriate industry to gain access to the trade shows (I would love to go to a NAMM, but I don’t have the credentials). After your explanation, I assume that Gencon is public, so that’s a little out of the norm for a trade show.

But thanks for explaining. Maybe I’ll have to try it out one day.

Sounds like you're closer to the west coast. I can confirm it's a pain to get hotels and flights to Indi in August.

GenCon is absolutely a public sales and gaming show (granted you definitely need to get tickets in advance, they sell out pretty consistently around May/June). Every booth there is dedicated either to promoting something (usually pre-Kickstarter buzz and "coming soon" reveals for larger companies) or to sales of current/new games. There's a ton of stock that the convention center has to account for in physical sales for every company that shows up. I would agree with Yew Arcane's comment that, as a smaller company, Wyrd tends to bring most of it's employees there to help with the booth/events, and even then always puts out a call for volunteers, and the requirements are pretty lax to get a booth when compared to things like NAMM and E3.

You should definitely check it out! despite it's cost it's a fantastic convention. Hopefully this time next year I'll have a painted up collection to run tournaments with.

[santaclaws01]

28 minutes ago, Hot4Perdita said:

I assume that Gencon is public, so that’s a little out of the norm for a trade show.

Well, it's not a trade show. It's a convention.

[Hot4Perdita]

Cool, thanks for educating me about Gencon. So, with that said, does Wyrd attend LVO? I could easily make it to that one.

[Clement]

11 minutes ago, Hot4Perdita said:

Cool, thanks for educating me about Gencon. So, with that said, does Wyrd attend LVO? I could easily make it to that one.

There's normally a tournament, but Wyrd isn't there in any official capacity.  The local vendor usually has some Malifaux stuff floating around, but nothing on scale with Gencon.  ((If you're from small town west coast like me, the fact that like 3 or 4 local stores all carried Malifaux was kind of mind blowing though))

[tmod]

9 hours ago, Hot4Perdita said:

Cool, thanks for educating me about Gencon. So, with that said, does Wyrd attend LVO? I could easily make it to that one.

A few more things about Wyrd and GenCon that might not be obvious:

Most small companies send their whole staff (more or less) to GenCon, and after packing up everything, travelling to the Con, rigging (many stands tend to be pretty elaborate, and Wyrd's are usually NOT exceptions. Google "Wyrd GenCon" to see their previous stands), working double days for a pretty long weekend, packing everything and travelling back most employees would have put in several weeks worth of overtime, and many companies are prudent and give the hardworking folks a few days off to recover. Wyrd is not unusual here.

What is specific to Wyrd though, is that GenCon is a large proportion of their annual business (probably goes for others as well), and they have a tradition to have available a pretty large number of prereleases available in somewhat limited numbers. They also have two (or more) special releases available only during GenCon (and some other special sales, more on that later): the Nightmare Edition release and the Miss. The Nightmare edition is a limited edition alternate version of a regular Malifaux crew that will not see retail. They tend to be weird and "break the rules" when it comes to appearance. This year the nightmare edition was an alternate pirate themed Molly crew box, last year was my little pony-themed Ulix alternate, and we've previously seen the Dark Carnival (a freakshow/sideshow themed alternate Colette), a nightmare edition Dreamer and massive Lord Chompy bits, the Hanging trees scenery (including to legal proxies as well), Henry Rollins, the Punk Rock themed alternate McCabe, Crazy Cat Lady Hamelin, etc. The nightmare editions tend to be pretty expensive ($70-90 for a crew box), hard to put together, and absolutely breathtakingly awesome (somewhat subjective of course)... The Miss is also an alternate, but usually a genderswapped regular character, and usually you get one free for every $100 you spend during the GenCon sale. This year the Miss was a female alternate Seamus, last year was a he-come (male Shekome), and we've seen lots of different ones (though a female alt of a male model is much more common, and until last year Wyrd sometimes got a little criticism for this).

Now, this is all good to know, but why does it cause extra work? Because of the online GenCon sale, that's why! Many companies have special releases available during Cons, but where Wyrd shines is that they have everything available at GenCon also available in the online store for the duration of GenCon (sometimes a few days longer). This means that when they DO get back to the office they have a HUUUGE pile of orders awaiting fulfillment, and usually they take a week or more to get it all out of the door. That's the other side of the reason why GenCon is important to Wyrd; they make a huge volume of online sales! Added together, this means that there is usually a four week period or so from late July where everything takes a little more time around here. It's been getting a lot better too over the years, after M2e was released during GenCon 2013 i waited more than two months before my shipment arrived due to the high volume of orders. The last few years it has gotten a lot quicker.

I think one of Wyrd's strong suits is the high level of interaction with the community here on the forums. Almost every year Nathan posts a thread inviting ideas for Nightmare/Miss models, and although the designers at Wyrd tend to have a twisted imagination, I think it's awesome to invite the community to come with ideas that might be realise in hard plastic. They tend to be quick answering questions, they tend to be friendly (though a bit sarcastic at times) and helpful and they tend to be much more up front, open and honest than any other company I've been involved with. The time around GenCon is often an exception to the rules regarding availability, and to be frank though I love high quality customer support, but not a the cost of not shipping out product. They are a business after all, and I love the extra goodies that becomes available during the special sales. The limited editions released during GenCon means that GenCon in Wyrd's case is a global event, where the actual physical Con is only a (relatively) limited part of the whole thing.

I mentioned I'd say more on other special sales, so here goes. GenCon is Wyrd's main special sale, and the only sale where they offer pre-releases (otherwise they have a strick policy of making sure LGS get the first batch of new products so they can build local communities. The online store tend to only have availale new releases about a month after general release. That is also why Wyrd never offer discounts in special sales; they don't want to undercut the LGS). But almost every year Wyrd have other special sales. I think they've had a Black Friday/Wyrd's Birthday sale every year since I got involved in late M1.5. Here they don't offer pre-releases, but sometimes release new alternative miniatures, and usually have almost all previously released limited editions available again. Sometimes the GenCon Nightmare release will get a box of further support (Nightmare Colette got alternate coryphee/coryphee duets, Crazy Cat Lady Hamelin got Cat Princesses (rat kings) and Cat catchers), and it seems like there will be a release supporting Molly as well (search on the forum!). Also, many limited editions will be available in coloured plastic, and sometimes translucent plastic for a slight premium (they legally count as painted, you can achieve some amazing things with translucent plastic, but they are a little harder to wirk with and tend to be more brittle), but this is less predictable. Most years Wyrd also have an Easter Sale, where you get the usual alternates, and sometimes special Easter themed alternates (the War Wabbit alternate War Pig is perhaps the most obvious example, but this year saw the Bob Ross gremlin and the Victorias in bunnysuits releases). The great thing about the special sales is that you can get older special releases that you missed, whithout paying hundreds of dollars on eBay...