Matrix Games Forums

Attn. Erik and Matrix,

I was going to be a day one preorder customer for the physical plus manual edition of War in the East 2, but I thought the shipping price was exorbitant and the order page unclear, in addition to the earlier confusion today about the launch. This has given me pause and I would appreciate a response on why this works this way. I've attempted to attach a screen shot to show what I'm looking at.

My concerns:

Price - I thought an additional twenty dollars was fine to upgrade to a physical edition plus manual, but I got a shock when the shipping menu popped up. All said and done the cheapest option to go from digital to physical raises the overall price by more than 60% to up over 130 US dollars, and that is for what is an already expensive (although I think worthwhile) game. Does this seem reasonable to you? Is this steep price because I live in the United States and you're shipping from the UK? I just went back in my email receipts and in 2015 the shipping for my physical copy of Decisive Campaigns: Barbarossa with the beautiful manual came to a meager $6.95 - what is going on here?

Clarity - After getting hit with the price, it also didn't sit well that it isn't very clear what I'm getting with these two expensive options - why the choice? I don't know anything about DBD, but why would I pick the much more expensive Royal Mail? Is this an inside the UK versus international shipping thing?


At minimum to satisfy my concerns,

Can you provide some details about whether manuals will be available for individual order later, and how long they likely may remain in stock/be available for purchase later this year?

Can you explain a little bit about the shipping options? Is there a reason Royal Mail is over 50% more expensive than DPD? Is it 50% better, or can we expect significant differences in packaging care or speed between the two? Again, is the shocking price based on customer location?


This is overall very frustrating, having a commemorative physical manual would be nice, but on the other hand it doesn't make a ton of sense given how radically documentation should change with updates in a modern game. I am questioning it being worth $50 all told, really the price of a second game. I am a fan and regular customer of Matrix, I own WitE 1 and both expansions and am no stranger to premium wargame prices but I thought this was a bit much to ask of the customer.

Thank You for your attention, and I hope to see an explanation!

Hi Genosse,

Thank you for your questions.

ORIGINAL: Genosse
My concerns:

Price - I thought an additional twenty dollars was fine to upgrade to a physical edition plus manual, but I got a shock when the shipping menu popped up. All said and done the cheapest option to go from digital to physical raises the overall price by more than 60% to up over 130 US dollars, and that is for what is an already expensive (although I think worthwhile) game. Does this seem reasonable to you? Is this steep price because I live in the United States and you're shipping from the UK? I just went back in my email receipts and in 2015 the shipping for my physical copy of Decisive Campaigns: Barbarossa with the beautiful manual came to a meager $6.95 - what is going on here?

I understand. There are two key things that have changed since your order of DC: Barbarossa. First, we did move all shipping to a UK warehouse and as a result shipping to the US is more expensive. However, it's not that much more expensive for normal physical copies. What makes it much more expensive here is that shipping rates for heavier items (like the 520 page full color hardbound WITE2 manual) have been going up, especially over the last year. We decided to print the largest and most comprehensive manual we've ever made, but the additional shipping costs go along with that because of the sheer weight of it. These are pass-through costs for us, we are not making a profit on the physical copies and their shipping.

Clarity - After getting hit with the price, it also didn't sit well that it isn't very clear what I'm getting with these two expensive options - why the choice? I don't know anything about DBD, but why would I pick the much more expensive Royal Mail? Is this an inside the UK versus international shipping thing?

I agree this is unclear from a US perspective. I'm seeking more information on this right now to better advise on the differences between Royal Mail and DPD.

Can you provide some details about whether manuals will be available for individual order later, and how long they likely may remain in stock/be available for purchase later this year?

We have an initial print run which is coming by both air and sea. We do plan to re-order when that initial print run is sold out, but there may be a gap while physical copies are unavailable. We do eventually plan to offer physical upgrades. However, in all these cases, the weight of the manual and shipping costs are very likely to be exactly the same.

Regards,

- Erik

Hello, just to follow up on this, I spoke with our UK staff and they highly recommend the "DPD - Air Classic" option. It is the least expensive and most reliable for shipping outside the UK.

Regards,

- Erik

That would’ve been nice to know this morning.

ORIGINAL: jacktimes2
That would’ve been nice to know this morning.

Agreed, unfortunately I didn't know until now.

If you placed a pre-order with a different shipping option, we may be able to change it for you. Please contact support@matrixgames.com.

Was the DPD-Air Classic not the default shipping option when you placed an order?

Understandable. I believe it was the default. I changed it thinking it would get here faster, ha. I will send an email. Thanks!

Also FYI I've just posted the first manual preview here:

https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=4972900

ORIGINAL: Erik Rutins

ORIGINAL: jacktimes2
That would’ve been nice to know this morning.

Agreed, unfortunately I didn't know until now.

If you placed a pre-order with a different shipping option, we may be able to change it for you. Please contact support@matrixgames.com.

Was the DPD-Air Classic not the default shipping option when you placed an order?

I have contacted this email because I would like to change from Royal Mail to Dpd too

Erik,

Of course I chose Royal Air before I read your post, I live in the U.S., and I'm concerned that I might have set myself up for some problems with shipping, can I change my shipping option? Thanks.

Just to be clear, you'll still get it just fine with Royal Air, it just may be slower and will be more expensive. As far as switching shipping options, I've asked our support folks to do what they can on this but until tomorrow I'm not sure it's possible without canceling and re-ordering. You can contact them at support@matrixgames.com.

Canceling and re-ordering would bump us to the back of the queue to receive our copy of the physical manual, correct?

That is unfortunately correct, the way the order system works.

I greatly appreciate your transparency. I will hold fast and stick with the Royal Mail.

ORIGINAL: jacktimes2

I greatly appreciate your transparency. I will hold fast and stick with the Royal Mail.

Very good job, Erik!

ORIGINAL: Kursk1943

ORIGINAL: jacktimes2

I greatly appreciate your transparency. I will hold fast and stick with the Royal Mail.

Very good job, Erik!

Out of curiosity, now that BREXIT is a done thing, did it had an impact on shipping prices from the UK? I must admit that I'm clueless about the matter [&:]

For the European Union what will have a impact on the costs is that as of 1 January 2021 the rules for purchasing items online from the UK are the same ones that apply when you order goods from anywhere outside the European Union, such as from the United States or China. This means that:

- you must pay VAT in on products that cost more than €xx (in my country that amount is €22).
- you must also pay import duties if products cost more than €xxx (in my country that amount is €150).

You will be charged these costs by the delivery company.

The delivery company will also need to declare the goods to customs and pay customs clearance costs. These costs will be passed on to you.

Don't be surprised that this will add another €30-€40.

We're having a discussion about this today internally and it comes down to the following:

- Only the customer can really decide what is the best shipping option for them, given the wide variety of possible address types, countries and customs/tax laws.
- We should do our best to inform the customer about each shipping option and where we are shipping from so that they can make the best possible decision
- Customers should know that more expensive shipping is not always equal to best shipping option.

Regards,

- Erik

ORIGINAL: Grouchy

For the European Union what will have a impact on the costs is that as of 1 January 2021 the rules for purchasing items online from the UK are the same ones that apply when you order goods from anywhere outside the European Union, such as from the United States or China. This means that:

- you must pay VAT in on products that cost more than €xx (in my country that amount is €22).
- you must also pay import duties if products cost more than €xxx (in my country that amount is €150).

You will be charged these costs by the delivery company.

The delivery company will also need to declare the goods to customs and pay customs clearance costs. These costs will be passed on to you.

Don't be surprised that this will add another €30-€40.

I thought their warehouse was located in Germany. In that case shouldn't have any impact from Brexit.
Maybe somebody could confirm?

ORIGINAL: Maesphil74

ORIGINAL: Grouchy

For the European Union what will have a impact on the costs is that as of 1 January 2021 the rules for purchasing items online from the UK are the same ones that apply when you order goods from anywhere outside the European Union, such as from the United States or China. This means that:

- you must pay VAT in on products that cost more than €xx (in my country that amount is €22).
- you must also pay import duties if products cost more than €xxx (in my country that amount is €150).

You will be charged these costs by the delivery company.

The delivery company will also need to declare the goods to customs and pay customs clearance costs. These costs will be passed on to you.

Don't be surprised that this will add another €30-€40.

I thought their warehouse was located in Germany. In that case shouldn't have any impact from Brexit.
Maybe somebody could confirm?

This whole thread is about the fact that their warehouse is in UK.....(presumably because of Slitherine)

[Reply to Message] All Forums >> [Coming Soon] >> Gary Grigsby's War in the East 2 >> Misgivings/Questions about shipping for WitE 2 boxed editions - Please Address Page: [1]

I understand that. But it was my impression they shipped all US orders from the UK. And then the other warehouse shipped to the EU.
That's not the case then?

this info:
https://www.matrixgames.com/news/europe ... ng10-05-17
is no longer correct then?