And they're still intending to deliver the product, nor can they record the money as revenue until they release the book. Is there a reason they shouldn't continue to offer a product they apparently have every intention of delivering?
They may not be allowed to record it as revenue, but that doesn't mean it's sitting in escrow and it is unavailable for use by them.
It not being recorded as revenue is a distinction without a difference when it comes to using that money.
Yes and no. At the moment, they recorded the cash, but also a liability account for unearned revenue. Now, technically this is unsecured so if this was some indie startup deal the fact that we're at the back of the line if they go under is relevant. However, since this is D&D and WotC that's not really a concern, ergo the point is relevant because at present they are carrying additional debt on their books from the preorders. Not a crushing amount, but they do want to get it cleared off their books in a timely manner.
As I recall, the last time there was a delay due to printing quality was with Deck of Many Things in 2023. That time, WotC went ahead with releasing the digital version at the original launch date, ahead of the delayed print release. And as I recall, WotC faced criticism for not pushing back the digital release to match the delayed physical release. Looks like another case of "damned if you do, damned if you don't" for WotC.
Yes they did do that, and there was more than a little grumbling about Digital favoritism and it being a grand conspiracy to drive people to digital ETC, which is what i think they are trying to avoid.
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He/Him. Loooooooooong time Player. The Dark days of the THAC0 system are behind us.
"Hope is a fire that burns in us all If only an ember, awaiting your call To rise up in triumph should we all unite The spark for change is yours to ignite." Kalandra - The State of the World
As I recall, the last time there was a delay due to printing quality was with Deck of Many Things in 2023. That time, WotC went ahead with releasing the digital version at the original launch date, ahead of the delayed print release. And as I recall, WotC faced criticism for not pushing back the digital release to match the delayed physical release. Looks like another case of "damned if you do, damned if you don't" for WotC.
Lately, there is a very vocal faction (especially on YouTube, where they can monetize their rants) slagging on WotC essentially because it is popular lately to slag on people or things.
Wow, it really just sounds like people who prefer physical copies want everyone to suffer as much as they do. I don't prefer physical copies, and there shouldn't be a problem letting people like me experience the content. It doesn't take anything away from you- you can enjoy your physical copy when it arrives.
Will it affect physical sales? Maybe. I don't think Wizards has done an actual experiment to see what the effect will be. Maybe the pie will increase as more people enjoy the digital content and buy more in general.
At the end of the day we know one thing:
Wizards is delaying the release of the digital product because of printing issues in the physical product. For the CUSTOMER, this is the WRONG choice and they should re-evaluate.
It is extremely disingenuous that you assume anyone who disagrees with you must be some physical copy lover who selfishly wants to deprive you of content. As the first person on this thread to try and explain why Wizards - I think correctly - made this decision to delay both, I can fully say prefer digital copies to physical. The unlocks on D&D Beyond are more useful to me than physical books, due to my playing with a group online that cannot use physical and my in-person group having players who simply do not enjoy the old method of book-based character building. So, please, do not assume everyone who disagrees with you must have some kind of antagonism toward you - that is an unfair assumption that has no basis in reality.
Now, here is the other thing - you also are just factually wrong in your assumptions. Wizards does know what will happen to the markets I’d they release the digital earlier than the physical because this has already happened. The Book of Many Things also suffered issues due to the third-party printer and Wizards released the digital several months before digital. Wizards already did the very experiment you doubt they performed, and clearly determined it was a worse method for all involved. Considering Eberron is almost certainly going to be more popular than Deck of Many Things (necessity to play a new class; Eberron is extremely popular as a setting), it stands to reason the problems from their Deck of Many Things experiment would only be exacerbated.
I get why you are upset - I am sad also, particularly considering I am in the middle of an Eberron campaign right now. But I also recognize that the picture is larger than just my interests, and am not the kind of person who would demand Wizards repeat the mistakes of the past and hurt the livelihoods of folks in a very difficult industry just because I want content a few months earlier. Maybe you disagree on that, but I hope, now that your incorrect assumptions about Wizards’ past trials of early digital release are proven factually wrong, you will reevaluate your position.
And they're still intending to deliver the product, nor can they record the money as revenue until they release the book. Is there a reason they shouldn't continue to offer a product they apparently have every intention of delivering?
They may not be allowed to record it as revenue, but that doesn't mean it's sitting in escrow and it is unavailable for use by them.
It not being recorded as revenue is a distinction without a difference when it comes to using that money.
Yes and no. At the moment, they recorded the cash, but also a liability account for unearned revenue. Now, technically this is unsecured so if this was some indie startup deal the fact that we're at the back of the line if they go under is relevant. However, since this is D&D and WotC that's not really a concern, ergo the point is relevant because at present they are carrying additional debt on their books from the preorders. Not a crushing amount, but they do want to get it cleared off their books in a timely manner.
The point is, as stated up thread, finalizing payments the day before announcing a significant delay does make cancellation of orders significantly more difficult, the accounting involved doesn't restrict the access to the money collected, and the accounting practices involved are standard. There is nothing altruistic going on, actually the opposite is an easier argument to make. Actually the accounting is little more than a strawman as it pertains to the discussion and timing of the actions at hand.
And they're still intending to deliver the product, nor can they record the money as revenue until they release the book. Is there a reason they shouldn't continue to offer a product they apparently have every intention of delivering?
They may not be allowed to record it as revenue, but that doesn't mean it's sitting in escrow and it is unavailable for use by them.
It not being recorded as revenue is a distinction without a difference when it comes to using that money.
Yes and no. At the moment, they recorded the cash, but also a liability account for unearned revenue. Now, technically this is unsecured so if this was some indie startup deal the fact that we're at the back of the line if they go under is relevant. However, since this is D&D and WotC that's not really a concern, ergo the point is relevant because at present they are carrying additional debt on their books from the preorders. Not a crushing amount, but they do want to get it cleared off their books in a timely manner.
The point is, as stated up thread, finalizing payments the day before does make cancellation of orders significantly more difficult, and the accounting involved doesn't restrict the access to the money collected, and the accounting practices involved are standard. There is nothing altruistic going on, actually the opposite is an easier argument to make. Actually the accounting is little more than a strawman as it pertains to the discussion and timing of the actions at hand.
I never said they were altruistic, just that this is not some grand conspiracy to steal the monies and even with the money they're not actually showing a profit from the books yet, which is a rather significant piece of reporting.
I never said they were altruistic, just that this is not some grand conspiracy to steal the monies and even with the money they're not actually showing a profit from the books yet, which is a rather significant piece of reporting.
The posts you quoted specifically said they didn't believe it was a conspiracy, but did point out the very real timing between collecting the money and announcing the delay. How it is record at the moment isn't related to the timing of the actions that significantly increased the difficulty of cancelling an order if the delayed release would cause people to do so. This is not a the theory it is a fact, and the accounting strawman is, in this framework, as I stated a distinction without a difference with the only real value being to down play the fact that the announcement came after the money was collected and that decision makes cancelation more difficult.
I never said they were altruistic, just that this is not some grand conspiracy to steal the monies and even with the money they're not actually showing a profit from the books yet, which is a rather significant piece of reporting.
The posts you quoted specifically said they didn't believe it was a conspiracy, but did point out the very real timing between collecting the money and announcing the delay. How it is record at the moment isn't related to the timing of the actions that significantly increased the difficulty of cancelling an order if the delayed release would cause people to do so. This is not a the theory it is a fact, and the accounting strawman is, in this framework, as I stated a distinction without a difference with the only real value being to down play the fact that the announcement came after the money was collected and that decision makes cancelation more difficult.
And? I've had plenty of orders I placed well ahead of delivery that took the money at the time I placed the order. This not some new, insidious, and duplicitous double dealing, it's a pretty standard transaction for preorders. And is cancellation "more difficult" in that it's actually hard to get the money back, or just in the "I need to spend half an hour on it instead of five minutes" sense? This is a molehill, and all the handwringing in the world isn't going to make me believe it's a mountain.
I never said they were altruistic, just that this is not some grand conspiracy to steal the monies and even with the money they're not actually showing a profit from the books yet, which is a rather significant piece of reporting.
The posts you quoted specifically said they didn't believe it was a conspiracy, but did point out the very real timing between collecting the money and announcing the delay. How it is record at the moment isn't related to the timing of the actions that significantly increased the difficulty of cancelling an order if the delayed release would cause people to do so. This is not a the theory it is a fact, and the accounting strawman is, in this framework, as I stated a distinction without a difference with the only real value being to down play the fact that the announcement came after the money was collected and that decision makes cancelation more difficult.
And? I've had plenty of orders I placed well ahead of delivery that took the money at the time I placed the order. This not some new, insidious, and duplicitous double dealing, it's a pretty standard transaction for preorders. And is cancellation "more difficult" in that it's actually hard to get the money back, or just in the "I need to spend half an hour on it instead of five minutes" sense? This is a molehill, and all the handwringing in the world isn't going to make me believe it's a mountain.
Just as all of the misdirection in the world won't change the obvious and significant timing of the events. 30 minutes to resolve a CS issue on this site is a pipe dream, try weeks or more if there is an issue that affects very many users.
I suspect you're making unfounded assumptions about that "obvious and significant timing of the events." I'd advise against attributing malicious intent to situations that are much more easily explained as being unfortunate circumstances.
Modiphius and Free League are major publisher's of TTRPGs. Free League does The One Ring, Lord of the Rings Role-playing 5e, and a bunch of others. I'm aware of three games on DDB (as opposed to alternative settings - D&D, plus two by FL. Modiphius does Star Trek, Walking Dead, Fallout, Elder Scrolls and a whole bunch of others.
Regardless, the claim was that "every company in the tabletop industry to do this". The claim was nothing to do with it being weird, or limited to companies you're aware of, but a specific claim that every company did this. They don't. I named two that, the instant you pre-order, your digital copy is available to you. Delaying the digital release for pre-orders on account of problems with the physical is a nonsensical concept for them.
Both have, in my experience, had one similarish incident. STA's 2e CRB had an issue where there was something wrong with the port and so the shipment got stuck on the boat (I can't remember the details), so the Americans had their books delayed for a few weeks. FL's Moria was during a problem of shortages of supplies and so Oceania didn't get their copies for a month or so. In both incidents, yes, it was disappointing and possibly anxiety inducing for those who were hit by delays, but at least it didn't interfere with their games because at least they had their digital copies they could use in the mean time.
What is the status of Blade Runner: Replicant Rebellion? Free League has an entirely different business model that, especially recently, puts all development and production on crowdfunding. By the time you can pre-order from their website, everyone else has already waited for a year with countless apologies from FL.
I don't really remember the Book of Many things delay- I remember now that I shrugged it off. Didn't affect me. It sounds like that delay caused an outcry from the physical version users. They don't want anyone else to receive the content before them. I think that's insulting to digital players.
MORE IMPORTANTLY, I will reiterate- this may be better for them as a Company (for now) but it's worse for their customers. I'm letting them know my displeasure, so maybe they will listen in the future.
As the game evolves, they'll see that more and more players use the digital side more than physical books. (If that's not the case already.) Don't piss off that base.
Edit: And if they needed more time to code for dndbeyond and the physical books came out first, I'd be HAPPY. Good get your books before us.
There's a reason I tune out conspiracy talkers more & more with the tools I'm given.
Unless someone has ironclad proof about this being a rugpull w/pre-order money due to some grand muck-up(3, 2, 1...it's projected to be related to the Kalashtar ragebait, calling it now), it's safe to ignore it.
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DM, player & homebrewer(Current homebrew project is an unofficial conversion of SBURB/SGRUB from Homestuck into DND 5e)
Once made Maxwell's Silver Hammer come down upon Strahd's head to make sure he was dead.
Always study & sharpen philosophical razors. They save a lot of trouble.
There's a reason I tune out conspiracy talkers more & more with the tools I'm given.
Unless someone has ironclad proof about this being a rugpull w/pre-order money due to some grand muck-up(3, 2, 1...it's projected to be related to the Kalashtar ragebait, calling it now), it's safe to ignore it.
There's no need to have a "conspiracy". They literally pulled the rug out, within 18 hours of taking our money. Are you seriously believing that they make hard u-turns that quickly between "Yep, we're ready to go" and "Wait, stop everything and delay it!". They knew at least a week before the announcement and could easily have changed the release date before we hit the 1 month mark and they took real money.
There's a reason I tune out conspiracy talkers more & more with the tools I'm given.
Unless someone has ironclad proof about this being a rugpull w/pre-order money due to some grand muck-up(3, 2, 1...it's projected to be related to the Kalashtar ragebait, calling it now), it's safe to ignore it.
There's no need to have a "conspiracy". They literally pulled the rug out, within 18 hours of taking our money. Are you seriously believing that they make hard u-turns that quickly between "Yep, we're ready to go" and "Wait, stop everything and delay it!". They knew at least a week before the announcement and could easily have changed the release date before we hit the 1 month mark and they took real money.
I actually expect this decision was much quicker than you expect. Let’s look at the facts - they received and inspected product from a third party and it seemed good to go. Later, when they went to ship it, they found out the product had defects that manifested after inspection (not uncommon when dealing with glues, such as in book binding). The decision not to ship defective product is also very quick - you just don’t do it.
I also expect after the disastrous Book of Many Things rollout, they had established policies for this kind of issue. Applying an established policy also is not that hard to do - you already have done all the heavy thinking back before there was an issue, so when there is an issue you can make a rapid decision. That is, after all, literally the point of creating contingency plans.
So, assuming Wizards is acting as any large company is, this decision probably was pretty quick - I wouldn’t be surprised if it took them just a matter of days to go from “we think we are ready,” to “huh, we discovered a defect,” to “okay, we’ve decided to use our defect policy and push back release.”
Here is the other thing - your entire complaint about having ordered just a day ago is also a bit silly. There is never a good time to make this kind of announcement - if they had done it a week ago, maybe you would be spared, but someone who ordered eight days ago would be making the exact same complaint.
Yeah, this sucks. But it is pretty clear to anyone with a basic understanding of business and empathy for the difficulty LGSes face why this decision was made. If you cannot handle the fact that the real world sometimes throws a wrench into works, then maybe you shouldn’t be preordering. You could also try contacting customer service for a refund - they are generally pretty good about things like that if there are legitimate issues and product has not been delivered yet.
But complaining about it and trying to ascribe malice to a sensible decision just because you don’t like it? That’s not going to do anything helpful. It likely will not even change Wizards’ policies moving forward - nor should it. I would much rather see Wizards continue protect the LGSes who contribute something of value to this hobby.
So they learned everything from the Book of many Things fiasco except to put off processing payments until they had verified the product was in fact ready to ship? What a interesting take on the situation.
There's a reason I tune out conspiracy talkers more & more with the tools I'm given.
Unless someone has ironclad proof about this being a rugpull w/pre-order money due to some grand muck-up(3, 2, 1...it's projected to be related to the Kalashtar ragebait, calling it now), it's safe to ignore it.
There's no need to have a "conspiracy". They literally pulled the rug out, within 18 hours of taking our money. Are you seriously believing that they make hard u-turns that quickly between "Yep, we're ready to go" and "Wait, stop everything and delay it!". They knew at least a week before the announcement and could easily have changed the release date before we hit the 1 month mark and they took real money.
Here is the other thing - your entire complaint about having ordered just a day ago is also a bit silly. There is never a good time to make this kind of announcement - if they had done it a week ago, maybe you would be spared, but someone who ordered eight days ago would be making the exact same complaint.
I didn't order "just a day ago". I ordered in May.
The Wizards of the Coast policy is to take the money for a pre-order when the product begins shipping. They took my money yesterday. Then announced today that they aren't shipping. This has nothing to do with my timing and everything to do with theirs.
The damage indicated is not a sudden overnight thing. They had the books weeks ago by their own account and over time, the warping began. It did not suddenly bend itself overnight. They intentionally chose to announce after taking money from preorders.
I understand the delay. But they should not be taking the money until they begin shipping... In November.
The damage indicated is not a sudden overnight thing. They had the books weeks ago by their own account and over time, the warping began. It did not suddenly bend itself overnight. They intentionally chose to announce after taking money from preorders.
While not impossible, it could also be that different branches just aren't communicating very well; large corporations can be surprisingly incompetent and chaotic.
Guarantee they say "Take money when it ships" But in reality it is coded to take the money on a specific day, aka the day it would ship. If the left hand doesn't tell the monies department not to charge, guess what.... you get charged before they can change the information.
None of this is ill intention, but lots of times these are not "phone calls" and instead emails or tickets which certainly at large companies might not get answered in time to correct things already underway.
Also, personally, if I preorder something I'd rather that money already be out of my account. Not 3 months later and I have to be like "wait why is there a charge."
There's a reason I tune out conspiracy talkers more & more with the tools I'm given.
Unless someone has ironclad proof about this being a rugpull w/pre-order money due to some grand muck-up(3, 2, 1...it's projected to be related to the Kalashtar ragebait, calling it now), it's safe to ignore it.
There's no need to have a "conspiracy". They literally pulled the rug out, within 18 hours of taking our money. Are you seriously believing that they make hard u-turns that quickly between "Yep, we're ready to go" and "Wait, stop everything and delay it!". They knew at least a week before the announcement and could easily have changed the release date before we hit the 1 month mark and they took real money.
Presenting speculation as fact, and then drawing conclusions based on that speculation is pretty much the definition of a conspiracy theory.
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Yes and no. At the moment, they recorded the cash, but also a liability account for unearned revenue. Now, technically this is unsecured so if this was some indie startup deal the fact that we're at the back of the line if they go under is relevant. However, since this is D&D and WotC that's not really a concern, ergo the point is relevant because at present they are carrying additional debt on their books from the preorders. Not a crushing amount, but they do want to get it cleared off their books in a timely manner.
Yes they did do that, and there was more than a little grumbling about Digital favoritism and it being a grand conspiracy to drive people to digital ETC, which is what i think they are trying to avoid.
He/Him. Loooooooooong time Player.
The Dark days of the THAC0 system are behind us.
"Hope is a fire that burns in us all If only an ember, awaiting your call
To rise up in triumph should we all unite
The spark for change is yours to ignite."
Kalandra - The State of the World
Lately, there is a very vocal faction (especially on YouTube, where they can monetize their rants) slagging on WotC essentially because it is popular lately to slag on people or things.
It is extremely disingenuous that you assume anyone who disagrees with you must be some physical copy lover who selfishly wants to deprive you of content. As the first person on this thread to try and explain why Wizards - I think correctly - made this decision to delay both, I can fully say prefer digital copies to physical. The unlocks on D&D Beyond are more useful to me than physical books, due to my playing with a group online that cannot use physical and my in-person group having players who simply do not enjoy the old method of book-based character building. So, please, do not assume everyone who disagrees with you must have some kind of antagonism toward you - that is an unfair assumption that has no basis in reality.
Now, here is the other thing - you also are just factually wrong in your assumptions. Wizards does know what will happen to the markets I’d they release the digital earlier than the physical because this has already happened. The Book of Many Things also suffered issues due to the third-party printer and Wizards released the digital several months before digital. Wizards already did the very experiment you doubt they performed, and clearly determined it was a worse method for all involved. Considering Eberron is almost certainly going to be more popular than Deck of Many Things (necessity to play a new class; Eberron is extremely popular as a setting), it stands to reason the problems from their Deck of Many Things experiment would only be exacerbated.
I get why you are upset - I am sad also, particularly considering I am in the middle of an Eberron campaign right now. But I also recognize that the picture is larger than just my interests, and am not the kind of person who would demand Wizards repeat the mistakes of the past and hurt the livelihoods of folks in a very difficult industry just because I want content a few months earlier. Maybe you disagree on that, but I hope, now that your incorrect assumptions about Wizards’ past trials of early digital release are proven factually wrong, you will reevaluate your position.
The point is, as stated up thread, finalizing payments the day before announcing a significant delay does make cancellation of orders significantly more difficult, the accounting involved doesn't restrict the access to the money collected, and the accounting practices involved are standard. There is nothing altruistic going on, actually the opposite is an easier argument to make. Actually the accounting is little more than a strawman as it pertains to the discussion and timing of the actions at hand.
I never said they were altruistic, just that this is not some grand conspiracy to steal the monies and even with the money they're not actually showing a profit from the books yet, which is a rather significant piece of reporting.
The posts you quoted specifically said they didn't believe it was a conspiracy, but did point out the very real timing between collecting the money and announcing the delay. How it is record at the moment isn't related to the timing of the actions that significantly increased the difficulty of cancelling an order if the delayed release would cause people to do so. This is not a the theory it is a fact, and the accounting strawman is, in this framework, as I stated a distinction without a difference with the only real value being to down play the fact that the announcement came after the money was collected and that decision makes cancelation more difficult.
And? I've had plenty of orders I placed well ahead of delivery that took the money at the time I placed the order. This not some new, insidious, and duplicitous double dealing, it's a pretty standard transaction for preorders. And is cancellation "more difficult" in that it's actually hard to get the money back, or just in the "I need to spend half an hour on it instead of five minutes" sense? This is a molehill, and all the handwringing in the world isn't going to make me believe it's a mountain.
Just as all of the misdirection in the world won't change the obvious and significant timing of the events. 30 minutes to resolve a CS issue on this site is a pipe dream, try weeks or more if there is an issue that affects very many users.
I suspect you're making unfounded assumptions about that "obvious and significant timing of the events." I'd advise against attributing malicious intent to situations that are much more easily explained as being unfortunate circumstances.
What is the status of Blade Runner: Replicant Rebellion? Free League has an entirely different business model that, especially recently, puts all development and production on crowdfunding. By the time you can pre-order from their website, everyone else has already waited for a year with countless apologies from FL.
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I don't really remember the Book of Many things delay- I remember now that I shrugged it off. Didn't affect me. It sounds like that delay caused an outcry from the physical version users. They don't want anyone else to receive the content before them. I think that's insulting to digital players.
MORE IMPORTANTLY, I will reiterate- this may be better for them as a Company (for now) but it's worse for their customers. I'm letting them know my displeasure, so maybe they will listen in the future.
As the game evolves, they'll see that more and more players use the digital side more than physical books. (If that's not the case already.) Don't piss off that base.
Edit: And if they needed more time to code for dndbeyond and the physical books came out first, I'd be HAPPY. Good get your books before us.
There's a reason I tune out conspiracy talkers more & more with the tools I'm given.
Unless someone has ironclad proof about this being a rugpull w/pre-order money due to some grand muck-up(3, 2, 1...it's projected to be related to the Kalashtar ragebait, calling it now), it's safe to ignore it.
DM, player & homebrewer(Current homebrew project is an unofficial conversion of SBURB/SGRUB from Homestuck into DND 5e)
Once made Maxwell's Silver Hammer come down upon Strahd's head to make sure he was dead.
Always study & sharpen philosophical razors. They save a lot of trouble.
There's no need to have a "conspiracy". They literally pulled the rug out, within 18 hours of taking our money. Are you seriously believing that they make hard u-turns that quickly between "Yep, we're ready to go" and "Wait, stop everything and delay it!". They knew at least a week before the announcement and could easily have changed the release date before we hit the 1 month mark and they took real money.
I actually expect this decision was much quicker than you expect. Let’s look at the facts - they received and inspected product from a third party and it seemed good to go. Later, when they went to ship it, they found out the product had defects that manifested after inspection (not uncommon when dealing with glues, such as in book binding). The decision not to ship defective product is also very quick - you just don’t do it.
I also expect after the disastrous Book of Many Things rollout, they had established policies for this kind of issue. Applying an established policy also is not that hard to do - you already have done all the heavy thinking back before there was an issue, so when there is an issue you can make a rapid decision. That is, after all, literally the point of creating contingency plans.
So, assuming Wizards is acting as any large company is, this decision probably was pretty quick - I wouldn’t be surprised if it took them just a matter of days to go from “we think we are ready,” to “huh, we discovered a defect,” to “okay, we’ve decided to use our defect policy and push back release.”
Here is the other thing - your entire complaint about having ordered just a day ago is also a bit silly. There is never a good time to make this kind of announcement - if they had done it a week ago, maybe you would be spared, but someone who ordered eight days ago would be making the exact same complaint.
Yeah, this sucks. But it is pretty clear to anyone with a basic understanding of business and empathy for the difficulty LGSes face why this decision was made. If you cannot handle the fact that the real world sometimes throws a wrench into works, then maybe you shouldn’t be preordering. You could also try contacting customer service for a refund - they are generally pretty good about things like that if there are legitimate issues and product has not been delivered yet.
But complaining about it and trying to ascribe malice to a sensible decision just because you don’t like it? That’s not going to do anything helpful. It likely will not even change Wizards’ policies moving forward - nor should it. I would much rather see Wizards continue protect the LGSes who contribute something of value to this hobby.
So they learned everything from the Book of many Things fiasco except to put off processing payments until they had verified the product was in fact ready to ship? What a interesting take on the situation.
I didn't order "just a day ago". I ordered in May.
The Wizards of the Coast policy is to take the money for a pre-order when the product begins shipping. They took my money yesterday. Then announced today that they aren't shipping. This has nothing to do with my timing and everything to do with theirs.
The damage indicated is not a sudden overnight thing. They had the books weeks ago by their own account and over time, the warping began. It did not suddenly bend itself overnight. They intentionally chose to announce after taking money from preorders.
I understand the delay. But they should not be taking the money until they begin shipping... In November.
While not impossible, it could also be that different branches just aren't communicating very well; large corporations can be surprisingly incompetent and chaotic.
Guarantee they say "Take money when it ships" But in reality it is coded to take the money on a specific day, aka the day it would ship. If the left hand doesn't tell the monies department not to charge, guess what.... you get charged before they can change the information.
None of this is ill intention, but lots of times these are not "phone calls" and instead emails or tickets which certainly at large companies might not get answered in time to correct things already underway.
Also, personally, if I preorder something I'd rather that money already be out of my account. Not 3 months later and I have to be like "wait why is there a charge."
Presenting speculation as fact, and then drawing conclusions based on that speculation is pretty much the definition of a conspiracy theory.