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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Zogmo" data-source="post: 4277276" data-attributes="member: 17682">WotC announces to retailers the availability of 4e books.Amazon orders X amount of individual books and x amount of gift boxes.  Pre-orders are larger than expected and Amazon has to order more of both the individual books and gift boxes.More pre-orders cause Amazon to order even more gift boxes.  But since they have VERY VERY limited warehouse space mostly full of individual books they stick to their business plan and order the maximum they have space for.  WotC gives Amazon an "ESTIMATE" of when they think their latest order  might be sent. In the meantime WotC tries to see what stock is left in various places that they can shift over to Amazon since it's warehouse is empty.More books don't show up at Amazon's warehouse.WotC announces in a public statement that they are sold out and have to go to a second printing.  Amazon hears about no more books being available for the first time just like everyone else.  WotC tells Amazon that more will be sent ASAP but can't promise exactly when but gives them an "ESTIMATE" of when they will shipped to them. Amazon says thank you and lets the pre-orders continue because if it's not available yet then it's always going to be a pre-order option.Release day comes, Amazon ships everything it was given but is still short for all the orders.  On it's website it changes the books from "Pre-Order" to "Available".Amazon has very small warehouses and depends on a number of things not in their power to happen in order for them to do business.  They cannot keep tons of stock. They have to try to be quick with orders and hope and pray WotC responds in time and then hopes and prays the company shipping them will not have any delays and hopes and prays that when the shipment arrives it's not been damaged during shipping.Having worked on both sides of the supply and demand teeter totter I can tell you that Amazon was most likely MORE frustrated than any of us by this outcome. Amazon only orders these things just like you and it's not a game to them. It's how they keep their jobs and feed their families.WotC is totally responsible.  It's responsible because it's made the game so popular and good that even though it initially preprinted more for this edition than any before it still didn't expect such an amazing turn out.I say perhaps we here (EnWorld collective) are partly responsible.  If WotC listens to its customers at all, and we know for a fact they do, then how much were they listening with all of the pre 4e bashing and critisisms and polls talking about the ruination of the game and how badly it will OBVIOUSLY FAIL?!  They listen and they heard.  What they preprinted was most likely the inventory they expected to sell by the end of the first quarter.  Not before it even went live. It's their fault for making this game so damned desirable.  And anyone who was screaming about what a horrible ad campagin they had...well you can eat your hat now.  Since it sold out so fast the only message they are getting is to ignore the naysayers here and kiss their advertising department on their collective lips.Zogmo out.</blockquote>

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