Trouble gettin' stuff?

Is anyone having trouble getting things from Ground Zero Games in the US? I'm
having a bugger of a time trying to get my light APC and riflemen in at the
hobby store. They have been on back order for about 2 mos. now.

Is this common or maybe just a prob with a distributer?

In a message dated 9/15/99 8:33:43 PM Central Daylight Time,
> jcnewman@acsu.buffalo.edu writes:

> Is anyone having trouble getting things from Ground Zero Games in the
now.
> Is this common or maybe just a prob with a distributer?

I don't know, but I ordered the SGII rules and a light APC last month and when
I asked if the APC was 'in stock' the guy laughed and said if it wasn't it
would be by Monday (I called on Friday). He said they would 'pour' one if
needed. It seems the make them right there 'on sight'.

I would just direct order it through GeoHex if I you are having that much
trouble.

SC

> On Wed, 15 Sep 1999, John Newman wrote:

> Is anyone having trouble getting things from Ground Zero Games in the
now.
> Is this common or maybe just a prob with a distributer?

The distributers seem to not want to carry the stuff. I've gone through two
diff stores. The Distributers will hem and haw about not being able to get
this or that. The store goes direct to GZG and its out in a flash.

> Ryan M Gill wrote:

> The distributers seem to not want to carry the stuff. I've gone

Do these distributors have spys everywhere? If not, how would they know?

Just curious. (I had this problem too, when I was trying to order
FT2/MT.)

Or is it that the US distributors don't get enough orders for GZG stuff, and
don't bother to order?

> On Wed, 15 Sep 1999, John Newman wrote:
now.
> Is this common or maybe just a prob with a distributer?

KR at GeoHex can give you much more info on this than I can, but from what I
can see (and the rumours I've been hearing through the industry links) the US
distributor system is currently very shaky and unstable, with takeovers and
closures happening all over the place. I know KR does his level best to ensure
that stores in the US get the stuff that you all want to buy, but they may
have to go direct to him if their distributors won't play ball.

Just to clarify things for US list members (especially some new members who
may be a bit confused by all this), there is really no such thing as "GZG US".
GZG is entirely UK based, and we supply from here to all UK and European
customers. US production, distribution and sales of GZG ranges are handled by
GeoHex as a licensee for the American market; similarly, our licensee for
Australasia is Eureka Miniatures. Thus when Ryan says above that "The store
goes direct to GZG...", what he actually means is that they go direct to
GEOHEX, and not to us in the UK.

What happens is that the stores order only a few items at a time from their
regular distributors, but because GZG stuff isn't a huge seller, the
distributors wait for orders to build up to the point where they have enough
stuff on order to get a good discount from the supplier. So your order sits in
limbo for months. This happens a lot with smaller suppliers'
products - and is annoying as heck...

OR it could be the store doing the same thing and not telling you the truth
about it - ie waiting until they have enough orders so THEY can get
their discount from the distributor. I've had that happen a couple of times.

If you are having trouble, order direct from GeoHex (www.geohex.com) OR from
GZG themselves in England. If you're ordering vehicle kits, order from GeoHex
'cause the shipping costs from England will be huge. My friends and I have
ordered from KR (at GeoHex) several times, and have been quite satisfied with
the service. Because I'm in Canada, we play the value of our dollar against
that of the US, the Brit Pound, and the Australian Dollar. Sometimes it's
cheaper for us to order from Australia even with the extra shipping, and Nick
at Eureka miniatures there is excellent. But if you're in the US, go direct to
GeoHex and they'll set you right.

> Ryan M Gill wrote:

Just a quick question...

Who should I order from if I am in the US air force stationed in Okinawa
Japan, but with an American APO address? Being over seas has helped my
financial situation dramaticly and would like to find an outlet for my gaming
needs.

                                    Thanks
That Chuk Guy

I am now ordering all my stuff from www.brsnasis.com, the shipping has always
been very reliable and he orders stuff directly from GeoHex,
I've never had to wait more than a week (although to an APO/FPO that
is different of course) for anything he could get easily. He has, in the past,
steered me directly to the manufacturers site. Even for things like "so and so
is having a sale and I can't compete with it, I'll get it if you want me to
but you are better of ordering directly."

He also discounts everything.

Just a satisfied customer.

Yeah, that is where they are ordering from, i believe (ar at least I'm picking
what I want from the geohex catalog). I'll look into it.

In a message dated 9/16/99 1:35:13 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
> ajohnson@idirect.com writes:

<<
What happens is that the stores order only a few items at a time from their
regular distributors, but because GZG stuff isn't a huge seller, the
distributors wait for orders to build up to the point where they have enough
stuff on order to get a good discount from the supplier. So your order sits in
limbo for months. This happens a lot with smaller suppliers'
 products - and is annoying as heck...>>

There has been a bad track record among distributors over the past few years
of them deciding what was selling (not customers or retailers). There are many
places in the U.S. who haven't even heard of Full Thurst yet because of this
attitude. In many cases the distributors never order restocks. The whole point
of a distributor is to have a central ordering point for retailers. They often
drop whole lines with no notice. Unfortunarley Geohex/GZG is A major
distributor has recentl taken to cutting preorders (read as guaranteed sale).

<<OR it could be the store doing the same thing and not telling you the truth
 about it - ie waiting until they have enough orders so THEY can get
their discount from the distributor. I've had that happen a couple of
times.>>

This is also far too true. Lazy retailers are far too common. If they really
have a problem ordering minimum quantities from manufactures, they should let
you know. Most of my customers are willing to add to an order to help or at
least suggest items their likel to pick up in the future.

<< If you are having trouble, order direct from GeoHex (www.geohex.com) OR
from GZG themselves in England. If you're ordering vehicle kits, order from
GeoHex 'cause the shipping costs from England will be huge. My friends and I
have ordered from KR (at GeoHex) several times, and have been quite satisfied
with the service. Because I'm in Canada, we play the value of our dollar
against that of the US, the Brit Pound, and the Australian Dollar. Sometimes
it's cheaper for us to order from Australia even with the extra shipping, and
Nick at Eureka miniatures there is excellent. But if you're in the US, go
direct to GeoHex and they'll set you right. >>

Or browbeat your retailer. If the're not going directly to Geohex now, tell
them you will.

I'd like to add a mea culpa; I've actually spent more time posting here than
I've spent playing. Without word of mouth, or impromtu
demoes, small game/companies just can't get the exposure.

Even with folks like KR putting out con prizes/giveaways. Evil
Empire (tm) has folks that are practically paid out there floggin' the stuff.

To a small extent, I can claim a little redemption with having played FT in a
small con first part of the month, and about to attempt a campaign down at the
local store. Finally going to trot out that Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
map. Hobie and Bill have no idea how complex this is gonna be.

To the the truth, I'm still writing, so neither do I. ;->=

Bottom line, the game we're all enjoying enough to play AND play with has to
main things going for it: simplicity and dedicated following. These work well
together; it's a quick game to teach, and it can keep 'em coming back.

Just offer to teach when a opportunity arrises, and play nice. As for models,
the idea is you can play with what's available.

The_Beast

Order from nic@eureka  http://www.eurekamin.com.au  however keep in mind
that Nc's online ordering form does not have everything on it even through he
stocks or casts everything. SO your best bet is to check out the GZG online
catalogue so you can get all the part numbers you need then email Nic. He's
very quick and reliable.

Los

> The Sutherlands wrote:

> Just a quick question...

> On 16 Sep 99, at 22:57, The Sutherlands wrote:

We ship all APO's and FPO's by Priority Mail.

KR, Geo-Hex

> Just a quick question...

> On Thu, 16 Sep 1999, Donald Hosford wrote:

> Do these distributors have spys everywhere? If not, how would they

The pattern I had was I ordered some items from one of my local stores. (Sword
of the Pheonix) They have always been good about getting things
in. (I once ordered 14 Von Lukners, 14 Screcks and 14, Patton/Rommel
tanks, so I'm a nice kind of customer for them...)

They checked through several distributers and each was slow about filling the
order. The noise they made was about not being able to get
the stuff in. So, I sent an e-mail to the folks at GZG and got a reply
from the owner, KR. I checked with SotP and they were taking the same route.
The stuff was in later that week after going direct to GZG.

The War Room has been having similar issues.

Either, GZG is trying to do an end run around the distributors (which I don't
mind) or the distributors are being pricks (I've heard of chessix doing things
like this...).

> Or is it that the US distributors don't get enough orders for GZG

I suspect the latter considering the service that GZG has seemed to show. The
aforementioned "we'll pour a pack for you this week" story is great.

I'd not expect GW to do anything close to this...

> On Thu, 16 Sep 1999, Ground Zero Games wrote:

> KR at GeoHex can give you much more info on this than I can, but from

So far, it has seemed that Both of my preferred shops have to get stuff from
them direct.

> Just to clarify things for US list members (especially some new

Ahha. I stand corrected.

Thanks for the help. Now my wife knows where to shop for Xmas:)

> On 16 Sep 99, at 17:35, Ryan M Gill wrote:

> On Thu, 16 Sep 1999, Donald Hosford wrote:

> the stuff in. So, I sent an e-mail to the folks at GZG and got a reply

> from the owner, KR. I checked with SotP and they were taking the same

We have always sold at each tier (retail, wholesale, distributor) and have a
first in, first out priority on orders. We try to treat each customer the
same, regardless of the size of the order. If we get behind or make mistakes,
we try to remedy the situation to the best of our ability.

It has become a vast and complicated market, even more so for the
distributors who are often short-handed, especially on the supply
side. I don't see a deliberate pattern or neglect, I think that they are
overwhelmed. There is an increasing focus on what is termed
"front loaded" inventory - hot new games like Pokemon and new
releases to hot sellers, and this tends to eat up the money available or
budgeted for purchases. I find that I tend to get orders
during a lull in new releases by the big boys - c'est la vie!  Add to
that the fact that product lines like the one I sell are considered "back
list" (already in release) and slow to turn over (you have to keep some of
everything because you never know when you will have a store order it). Then
of course you get the store that wants fourteen of a single item and your
stock is ten!

I guess what I'm trying to say is that instead of assessing blame, I need to
work on strategies to increase my marketshare IN SPITE of the limitations of
the current supply system. Any ideas??

KR, Geo-Hex

> > Or is it that the US distributors don't get enough orders for GZG

> Who should I order from if I am in the US air force stationed in

Go with GeoHex. They will USMail them to that APO address slick as you please.

Magic

> On Fri, 17 Sep 1999 krs@geohex.com wrote:

> We have always sold at each tier (retail, wholesale, distributor) and

Please don't see what I've said as an accusation against Geo-Hex or GZG.

I've been quite, quite happy with what I've seen and bought. I like the
games and the service. You even responded to me via e-mail personally a
few months back. I like that kind of service.

Well, I've been promoting Dirtside and Fullthrust in my local circles. I've
done 4 demo games for a group of people at various times. I have to

have someone to play with in my games. The more people I hook on the more
realistic system, the more game options I have. I guess I've interested
something like 6-8 people so far. 4 have bought the books and started
purchasing miniatures.

> I guess what I'm trying to say is that instead of assessing blame, I

Come to NATO and tout your wares...Call Kirk and find out if it'd be
permissable.

And a side question, any chance some resin vehicles will come out that
match the 1/300 scale future wars figures? I'd love to have some of the
Triton serise of vehicles for Stargrunt when I start a full
Fullthrust/Dirtside/Stargrunt campaign.

> On 17 Sep 99, at 15:24, Ryan M Gill wrote:

> And a side question, any chance some resin vehicles will come out that

> match the 1/300 scale future wars figures? I'd love to have some of

Well I did have the Deimos done!

KR
> ------------------------------------------------------------------

> On Sat, 18 Sep 1999 krs@geohex.com wrote:

> Well I did have the Deimos done!

Yes, I know, however, I don't have the Deimos in any of my Orders of Battle. I
do have the Triton serise out the wazoo. I'd buy a few at least, pretty
please...?