We’ve paid for all the remaining printing of Total War and all the supplies needed to shrink-wrap and box the game. We are still working on the money needed to ship the preordered games. Shipment of the first complete game triggers a clock for repayment of our investors. We need to be able to ship the preorder in its entirety in a window as small as possible and then quickly ship to stores.
The fire sale continues to move us closer to the money needed to ship the games. We mailed another 2500 flyers out to a new ‘gamer’ mailing list over the last week and that has already shown good results. We have managed to ship out all Fire Sale orders quickly (within 1-2 days of order receipt) and have received a number of repeat orders that were welcome.
We worked with the printer and reduced the final bill for the printing by about 15% . We’ve also mailed out a number of items that were originally ordered for shipment with Total War, but shipping them early actually saves money overall as it means Total War (now by itself) can go in a much lower cost flat-rate box. We also managed to recycle about 300 cardboard boxes to be used as shippers for the game that shaved some more off the shipping bill.
The Fire Sale remains the primary means to raise the money needed to ship the game. The sale will remain open until the first game of Total War ships, or through July 31, 2013, whichever comes first. Prices will never be this low again. The fire sale has been a lifesaver after the fire completely burned through our budget.
We’ve verified the majority of the Total War preorder addresses after a number of problems with an email merge program and some problems with our ISP that were not finally resolved until a few days ago. If you have a pre-pub for Total War and I have not received a confirmation email response, I ‘ll presume you didn’t get the original email and will be resending it. If you still haven’t heard anything from me by middle of week, drop me an email.
The updated Fire Sale list can be seen at the HMSFireSale8 link below. Changes to the list are highlighted. The price for War of Resistance, for TEM photocopies, and the TEM Bundle Pack have gone down (our photocopy place now gives us a better deal). You can now bundle the various Counter Storage Box Deals with single games (not just with Game Bundles) and save some on the shipping. The Accessory Counter Sheet-1 (the one with odds and DRM markers), the blank 1/2” hexsheets, and the East Front Mapsets are close to selling out. People have asked about availability of the old ETO and Europa Nuts & Bolts newsletters and we now list those.
For the current and final version of the Fire Sale see the HMSFireSaleFinal link under the HMS News – July 18, 2013 entry.
Thanks for the good news. What does it cost to ship the game to pre-orders within the continental USA? I’ll send you a check to cover your cost of shipping my game. Some of my fellow gamers may (or may not) feel the same way. For those who do feel the same way I do, I encourage you to send a check to them to cover your shipping and help Arthur and Gar in making the final push, just for your game’s shipping cost. Let’s get HMS/GRD past this and into a string of good luck, for a change.
I am in agreement with Clint on this. I would also be willing to pay for shipping even though it means an overall increase in the price of the game. Hopefully this would not trigger the clock for your investors.
BTW, I have not received the Address Confirmation email.
I remember now that HMS/GRD already posted shipping costs for Total War in the FireSale PDF document (p. 3 of PDF, at bottom). I know sending a check for this will not accelerate shipping to me personally. However, it will in a small way accelerate shipping to everyone. Check for $16 is on the way. We’re that/close. (No one from HMS/GRD or anyone else, for that matter, had any role in influencing my suggestion to do this. I just want to get past this and into a mode of thinking about the future.)
Hi,
I’m happy about the news.
So, I’ve not received your mail
Best regards
I had offered to pay for my shipping costs sometime after the fire and money became a much bigger issue. I received an email reply from Arthur indicating that the obligation was for HMS/GRD to pay. Despite my offer to let them off the hook and include a ‘donation’, they politely declined to accept any additional payment.
I dont suspect that HMS/GRD is willing to change their minds on this but I also offer to help differ expenses once again – and hope they are willing to accept such a gift from their loyal fan base.
Please guys …
Hi Arthur,
I have not received an address confirmation email as of 30-June-2013.
same comment as Rob Stultz–Good to hear that progress is being made
Hi Arthur,
I haven’t received an address confirmation email as of this date 1st July 2013
For those of you hoping for a confirmation email, my advice is to repeatedly email HMS until they respond. Eventually they will, but you must make it clear to them that you are persistant.
I didn’t received a confirmation neither !
Having to persistantly email to receive a confirmation! Further evidence of a quality organisation? This is basic stuff guys. You’ve lost most people’s good will so don’t upset the few remaining.
Have been waiting patiently and quietly for some time. Have not yet rec’d any email. It is my birthday in 5 days and would love a confirmation email as a present. (Would love the game more, but am realistic).
Happy birthday to Terry !
As of this date I have yet to receive an address verification.
Thanks
Chet
Question: Did I miss it in any of the earlier downloads … looked but cant find one. Was there a Russian Order of Battle ever posted? I have the German OB … but was just wondered if the Russian one was anywhere up here.
As of this date i have not receivean address verification
I didn’t received a confirmation neither !
Guys- not enough information. How long does it take to post an update on line? A week and a half after the April update, I became very ill. I had open heart surgery in May, commmenced rehab and returned to work prior to the next update being placed online. We all want this game and we have all been patient. We all appreciate the hard work and the difficulties in this thing being released. All I want is a little more information.
It appears to be your least favourite task but, come on guys, give us an update. Are all of the messages on this and other sites just unfortunate omissions from your emailling exercise? Or haven’t you sent out any emails yet? Are you on target for end of July or are you going to announce another delay? I find it incredible that you don’t communicate more!