Hrathen said:

Except this time even that rule was too optimistic ;-)

Forensicus said:

As requested.

http://www.waylandgames.co.uk/fantasy-flight-games/x-wing/cat_1255.html?utm_source=onsite&utm_medium=rhs_banner&utm_campaign=XWING

The Wayland games date is pure speculation and they probably put March 29th to avoid any complaints from customers who preorder for them in the meantime.  Considering I buy X-Wing models from Gameslore who originally expected to have them around mid Feb.  Wargame Store told me late feb and prior to the date change at wayland, they expected an early feb release, I wouldn't take it too seriously.

The stock has been "on the boat" for what 3 and bit weeks now?  And that is if the second they updated the upcoming page was when the boat left dock (which is probably more like a day later) then North America will see these in store at the latest the week beginning March 11th.  That is 8 weeks after the status change on Janurary 21st.  It's more likely to be between the 26th of Feb and 5th of March for NA customers.

UK gamers will probably get that stock a week or so later, judging by how quickly Gamelore get new items from the states when they release new boardgames/CCG/roleplaying/miniatures and the like.  It's frustrating I agree but going off on one and bitching at FFG won't really change much.  And if the models do arrive around March 29th in the UK, then please feel free to quote me and tell me how much of a noob I am :)

ThadiusCole said:

I expect you are quite correct on the March 29^th thing. I was stating that was what alerted me to the further delays.

The idea of having to wait 6 months for a pre ordered product to arrive sucks hugely. Pre order available from Oct 2012 (as stated by another forum user) and not delivered until March 2013. Really? I know it’s a PRE order, but come on folks.

If I consider the frustration to be justified, who should I address my concerns to if not FFG?

I can’t blame Games Lore (Delivered my order in less than 24 hours of online purchase) or Wayland Games (ordered another X-Wing on Monday night [Games Lore were o.o.s.], awaiting delivery). The retailers are not responsible for the distributers/manufacturers delays.

Final Fantasy XIV for the Playstation 3 has been available for Preorder for just about 3 years now.

The reason I wouldn't bother complaining to FFG is because they don't see it.  They have no moderators or admins to see player feedback and e-mailing the company directly will just get a flat response with no actual attention paid to your concern.

That doesn't mean I agree with such a large delay in the first place, it would be nice to see the models arriving next week instead of next month.  The original blame should be placed with the Chinese manufacturer since problems over there resulted in the delay to begin with.  Shipping is shipping and as others have said the customs process can cause some issues.

FFG should keep new product announcements quiet until they have a more solid schedule for release.  Announcing a product several months prior is great initially because of the buzz it creates with fans, but when they have little else to say for 6 months it kind of kills the expectation.  The only way you can show your disapproval is to not buy them, but then you lose out and bad sales suggest no one cares so they stop making X-Wing.  It sucks really, but at least they are "on the boat" at last :)  In a week or two we will all be complaining about "shipping now" lol.

I doubt this kind of delay will happen again when they announce wave 3 as they have probably worked out a better schedule and timeframe for new models since the wave 2 debacle (I hope).

Keep in mind that with 6 months of "pre-orders", retailers like Miniature Market have literally thousands of orders to fill and ship in a day or 2, so even though we all will be chomping at the bits to get our ships that we've waited so long for, we may have to wait a few more days once they do arrive at the retailers in order to get them to our houses.

While I'm saddened about the projected delay as much as the next guy (yes I have about $120 in pre-orders from last Nov. as well).  I'm finding some of the comments and complaints about FFG communicating with their customer base a little interesting.

For comparison purposes, I also play 6mm Blitzkrieg Commander as well as GW Warhammer 40K.  The situation with 40K has evolved into a polar opposite of what FFG is doing.  Games Workshop have clamped down so hard on rumors, release data, or anything of usable value so you really don't hardly know whats coming out the next week, or what to save $ for, or even get excited about.  For me it really sucks the fun out of looking forward to anything, and I really dislike the new ultra repressive information blackout they have created.  I will take the FFG comunication every day of the week, even if it may change due to unforseen circumstances.

FFG is at least trying to communicate to its customers when they can roughly expect to see their new products.  Not only that, but they actually provided us all opportunites to see and play with some of the new ships at locations around the world to generate interest.  If shops sabotage these efforts by keeping or selling the models, report it to FFG but take it up with those stores as they are ultimately responsible for their actions.  I can only hope that FFG is keeping track of the stores that generate lots of complains and exclude them on the next go around.  As far as delays and problems go, an official announcement from FFG with updates every couple weeks would be nice if it starts looking like there are manufacturing problems.  I like to think I'm a pretty understanding guy, and won't sweat delays too much, just let us know what to expect every once an a while.

For you chaps across the pond, remember we often have to wait for your companies gaming products from time to time as well (it goes both ways)!  Who knows, given time and FFG continuing sucess, maybe they will opt for local stores and warehouses over there too!

Cheers.

I have a response from FFG for those who are interested. 

Outgoing email: 

Hi Tony.
 
The general thrust of my query related to the delayed release of the wave 2 X-Wing expansion minis.
 
If my retailer in the UK had not amended their eta on pre-orders I would not have been aware, as there was no notification via the FFG website (just a footnote on Upcoming Page now showing 'Expected By: March 2013).
 
Although we your customers are still committed to the product many are getting weary and frustrated with the continued delays.
 
May I suggest someone reads through the posts on the forum and responds to your clients concerns (admittedly some more reasoned than others, as is the way with public fora)?

Kindest regards.

Response:

In general, products can be delayed for several different reasons: inclement weather, issues with the factory such as Chinese New Year, waiting for feedback from licensors, etc. It is partially because of these factors that we do not have hard and fast release dates. In this specific case, we wanted to take some extra time to invest in the Wave 2 ships so that they would look and work the way that our customers expect from the X-Wing miniatures and from FFG more broadly. We would rather wait till we have a great product than rush a mediocre product, and we hope that you and our other customers would agree with that perspective. At this point, retail stores are slated to have them for sale near the beginning of March, so they are almost here!

Again, we appreciate your questions, concerns, and continued support of Fantasy Flight Games. We also really hope that you will enjoy the Wave 2 ships! Let me know if you have any other questions.

Tony Mills

So reading between the lines (strictly only my opinion) delays due to national celebrations (I understand China effectively closes down for a week for Chinese New Year).

QC issues (both from the point of view of FFG and the licensors)

I don’t object to delays under these circumstances, but it would have been nice to know without having to ask…

I hope this helps.

Well, They should stop using Chinese Manufacturers. Move the operation to America. I don't think there would be delays then.

odinfellhammer said:

This is true, but then you would see a massive cost increase per model since labour in North America have higher pay rates than China and the manufacturing cost would be higher as well.  China is used now because it's dirt cheap compared to other countries to get virtually anything made there. 

[QUOTE efidm=785831]

So reading between the lines (strictly only my opinion) delays due to national celebrations (I understand China effectively closes down for a week for Chinese New Year).

QC issues (both from the point of view of FFG and the licensors)

I don’t object to delays under these circumstances, but it would have been nice to know without having to ask…

I hope this helps.

[/QUOTE]

I'd have thought the occurance of Chinese New Year was probably pretty predictable though.

That said, I don't think anyone has the right to be too cross with FFG.  As I understand it they've done no more than share their estimated shipping times with people.  They haven't made any promises and they haven't taken anyone's money under false pretenses.

[QUOTE efidm=785936]

odinfellhammer said:

This is true, but then you would see a massive cost increase per model since labour in North America have higher pay rates than China and the manufacturing cost would be higher as well.  China is used now because it's dirt cheap compared to other countries to get virtually anything made there. 

[/QUOTE]

I'm sure that is indeed the reason for manufacturing in China, but I don't really understand it.  Isn't most of it done with machines?  I figure the bit done by hand is probably just gluing together the two or three peices, hence the odd angles they sometimes come out at, while the paintjobs are always identical and are therefor likely to be done by machine.  If that's the case then one person could probably do a hundred ships an hour, so at minimum wage in the UK that'd add, what, 6p to the price of the unit, assuming chinese workers work for free.  Even if several other people are involved, say five per ship, that's still less than 50p per ship.  I'm guessing minimum wage is lower in America, so it'd be even cheaper there (correct me if I'm wrong).

I'm sure there's more to it than this or companies wouldn't do it, what with the cost and time involved with shipping, but what exactly is it?

I just noticed the ship icon and the explenation on the right side of the "Upcoming" page. Seems like Wave 2 is on the cargo ships heding out for distribution soon!!