D&D (2024) Hobby Store Exclusive (Special Cover) PHB Pre-Orders Cancelled

[Chaosmancer]

I completely disagree with that assessment.

Do you disagree that this is a good policy? Or do you disagree that anything they say will initially be weaponized against them?

Because if it is the latter, we have reams and reams and reams of examples to show you. Like... a lot of them.

 

[Chaosmancer]

That doesn't mean WotC gets a pass for doing a bad job. I agree that they are not to blame for the printer screwing up*.

*Well, probably. If they've had problems with this printer before, or if they switched to an unknown new printer right before the big 2024 release, then they are to blame. I wouldn't think either of those would be the case, but who knows.

See, and this is the kind of thing that I'm talking about. Not that you are being completely unreasonable witht he rest of your post, but what is WoTC supposed to do here? Let us say this is the printer they just used for their most recent print run (the Book of Many thing) and had issues with. Well, if they changed printers from that one to a new one because of those problems.... then it is their fault for going to a new printer right before a major order. And if they didn't change, then this is their fault for not changing when they should have changed.

Of course, hindsight is 20/20, we know something went wrong, so clearly we can say that whatever decision they made was the wrong decision, but neither of these scenarios would actually make the printing errors their fault. They paid the printer a huge sum of money to make a product, they are getting hurt by this too.

 

[mamba]

See, and this is the kind of thing that I'm talking about. Not that you are being completely unreasonable witht he rest of your post, but what is WoTC supposed to do here?

nothing? the post already said they are not responsible for this… they are responsible for deciding to not have a reprint however and therefore not honoring the preorders

 

[Hussar]

nothing? the post already said they are not responsible for this… they are responsible for deciding to not have a reprint however and therefore not honoring the preorders

Again though, it is completely speculative. We don’t know why. Presumably they will refund pre orders. There are many reasons why they can’t fill those orders though.

Deciding that this is 100% WotC’s fault is rather premature at this point.

But the fandom has proven completely able to leap to rock tight opinions without any actual facts over and over again. Why should this be different?

 

[Oofta]

Again though, it is completely speculative. We don’t know why. Presumably they will refund pre orders. There are many reasons why they can’t fill those orders though.

Deciding that this is 100% WotC’s fault is rather premature at this point.

But the fandom has proven completely able to leap to rock tight opinions without any actual facts over and over again. Why should this be different?

Just like when there were issues with early delivery of the PHBs for some people, they're likely just taking time to figure out how to resolve the issues.

They were never going to keep people's money without delivering books. Hopefully the issues will be resolved soon, just like I'm getting my book tomorrow.

 

[mamba]

Again though, it is completely speculative. We don’t know why. Presumably they will refund pre orders. There are many reasons why they can’t fill those orders though.

what is speculative, that they are not reprinting or why they are not reprinting? I do not really care about the why, I care about whether they reprint. That they refund the preorders is the obvious bare minimum, anything less would be fraud, they are not getting brownie points for that.

Deciding that this is 100% WotC’s fault is rather premature at this point.

I don't think anyone said 100%, I certainly did not, but I do not consider them completely innocent here either. If they were they could / should give an explanation and not just brush complaints aside.

 

[Argyle King]

Do you disagree that this is a good policy? Or do you disagree that anything they say will initially be weaponized against them?

Because if it is the latter, we have reams and reams and reams of examples to show you. Like... a lot of them.

I'm inclined to believe that part of the current state of WoTC's relationship with the community is of their own making.

Does that mean that a portion of the community will now have confirmation bias against the company? Yes, probably.

Do I believe that means their policy going forward should be less communication? No, and I think that's a poor way to handle it.

A lack of communication won't change the confirmation bias. Instead, the silence will be filled with negative assumptions and harsher voices.

Textbook example of why having a good dedicated PR person is worth the investment for a company. A lot of companies make the mistake of skimping on PR to save money. It costs more in the long run.

As for communicating, I would rather be pro-active and have a voice than be reactive in silence.

 

[DinoInDisguise]

what is speculative, that they are not reprinting or why they are not reprinting? I do not really care about the why, I care about whether they reprint. That they refund the preorders is the obvious bare minimum, anything less would be fraud, they are not getting brownie points for that.

A bit of speculation for a moment. Some of the emails we've seen on social media related to some of the cancellations, see below, make me wonder.

If this is a manufacturing issue, it is foreseeable that the declining to reprint is a matter of timelines. These large print orders are scheduled months ahead of time. If it was a issue at printing, let's say, that means WotC has two choices, realistically. They can do as they did. Or they can inform customers that their orders will be delayed into 2025. I don't know that the latter is better received.

But, someone might say, why not give the players or stores the choice. That runs into issues where you either hold the order, as is, for months. Or you trust that you can sell the product after the reprint. And that is assuming that the number desired is enough to be worth a reprint. There is some economy of scale here, and many publishers in this hobby can speak to how high printing costs are.

So I don't know that it's so simple. Could Hasbro foot the bill for the publicity? Absolutely. But there are more factors going into it than may be readily apparent. And Hasbro might be in a bind of it's own, due to a third party.

Note: This is not me supporting a decision either way, just pointing out additional possible complications based on the emails I've seen.

 

[John Lloyd1]

Again though, it is completely speculative. We don’t know why. Presumably they will refund pre orders. There are many reasons why they can’t fill those orders though.

Deciding that this is 100% WotC’s fault is rather premature at this point.

But the fandom has proven completely able to leap to rock tight opinions without any actual facts over and over again. Why should this be different?

I'm pretty sure that that all the pre-orders we are talking about are with retailers. Not WoTC direct.

 

[mamba]

If it was a issue at printing, let's say, that means WotC has two choices, realistically. They can do as they did. Or they can inform customers that their orders will be delayed into 2025. I don't know that the latter is better received.

I do not know either whether that is better received, but I can tell you that if I were in that position and WotC gave me a choice between a refund and waiting, I’d appreciate that much more than them deciding for me on either of the two options.

My main complaint is that they do not show the slightest interest in making this right, or in explaining why their hands are tied. That is the part I do not consider acceptable