Boots of Ass-kicking...

I had no idea the text used in any of the AD&D books sold in the United Kingdon was any different than those sold in the United States.

Did this happen?  Sounds unlikely.  

FormCritic wrote:I had no idea the text used in any of the AD&D books sold in the United Kingdon was any different than those sold in the United States.

Did this happen?  Sounds unlikely.  

I really doubt they bothered to go through and "correct" the AD&D books when producing the UK softcovers, but I don't own them so can't say for sure.

All this is moot of course, since the language used in the PHB, DMG, and MM isn't English, it's Old High Gygaxian.

mbassoc2003 wrote:So is the general consensus that WotC are making the reprints US citisens only, because people elsewhere in the world can't afford it to be posted to them and won't understand American English when they get it?

Any other hypotheses?

Not my take at all. My guess is that the 1st impression (and quite possibly only print) of these is going to be extremely small. They're throwing a bone to us. Or, put differently, they're chumming the waters not knowing if there are even any sharks around. I'm guessing 2,000 - 3,000 tops. Printing this few, and being unsure if they'll even sell, they are not risking taking orders from their big retail outlets (B&N, Amazon, etc.) where regular shoppers would likely be mystified, but are instead making it a boutique affair and offering it only through FLGSs where this many copies are almost sure to sell out eventually. It has the added advantage of seeming like a grand gesture of reconciliation with so-called "old school" gamers.

I don't know the specifics concerning the differences in the distribution chain in a case like I'm hypothesizing, but my assumption is that it would preclude any overseas wholesale push. There's no point in the added expense.

They're acting like a small press on this one. When Subterranean Press, for instance, issues a limited run book, they fulfill direct customer orders first, small bookshop orders second, and only then do they begin sending to major outlets. Sometimes there aren't any left for that, sometimes there are. It's smart. The individual customers and small shops never send stuff back, so once the books are sold, they're sold. And if the title is unexpectedly popular, another print run can always be ordered.

WotC isn't at all sure this is a good idea, so they're playing it safe. And that means keeping it small and close to home.

Remember how long those TSR Silver Anniversary box sets sat on FLGS shelves getting dusty? Why didn't I and all of my friends each grab one immediately? Answer: we already owned the contents (yeah, except L3), and they were asking too much money for them. Sound familiar?

mbassoc2003 wrote:If that's the case, why refuse direct orders from buyers without US Citizenship?

I wasn't aware they took direct orders from customers at all. Or do you mean from businesses? I not familiar with how WotC handles it's relationships with US FLGSs vs. overseas. Do UK game stores get the special promo stuff for M:tG and D&D like over here?

I dunno, just spinning theories.

mbassoc2003 wrote:So, in the US, FLGS's can order directly from WotC and WotC will post to them directly? Or are they told to contact their local distributor?

I'm not really sure how it works; I always assumed they worked through a distributor, but there must be some mechanism for WotC to know where to send promo Magic cards, D&D "Game Day" crapola, DM Rewards stuff, etc., which I would think is done directly between FLGS and WotC. I'm sure someone else here runs a FLGS or is otherwise more intimately familiar with how it works.

My only real point was that I think this is going to be a tiny, tiny release, and if that's so it kind of makes sense to me to keep in within North America. I mean, how many FLGSs could possibly be left in the US and Canada? 500?

The DMs Reward stuff wasn't available here in the UK as far as I know, but the Games Day stuff usually is in small quantities. Malc will be able to comment on the MtG suff, I'd imagine.

Versimilitude wrote:I have asked at the main UK distributor, and, as far as they are currently aware, they will be getting them in stock. No more info than that tho.

Cheers,
KAL

I hope they're right. It would only be fair to get these out to everyone who wants them.

EDIT: Well, I just inadvertently placed a preorder for these . I asked John at DoK for some clarification on how these are going to be released, and he assumed I wanted a set, LOL. Oh well, what the heck? I'm guess I'm in, now.

mbassoc2003 wrote:We seem to get a lot of the WotC promo stuff, but not much of the promo stuff that comes from other publishers. It's supplied through the designated UK Distributor for WotC. So in the UK FLGS's order from the distributor who is supplied from WotC publishing/distribution chain.

So, in the US, FLGS's can order directly from WotC and WotC will post to them directly? Or are they told to contact their local distributor?

My best friend owned a FLGS for a few years in the States here. You can order WoTC stuff straight from them OR from a distributor. He used to buy Magic cards from distributors, cause they ordered you know, 1000 cases and could offer him a better deal on 1 case than WoTC could. However, all the promo stuff come from WoTC directly. WoTC also had stock when the distributor was out, etc. I guess I just wanted to say you can order it from both in the US.

Zen