In an unfortunate turn of events, the 2023 Christmas Battleforces will be allocated to local game stores, but not evenly.
The Christmas Battleforces are some of the biggest sellers during the holidays, and we really hoped they wouldn’t be allocated, as stores are already in a tough time right now.
Oddly, these game stores all seem to be getting different numbers of box sets based on the recent changes to ordering new-release from GW.
2023 Christmas Battleforces Allocated To Stores
GW informed stores late Wednesday night in the States that Battleforce orders had been allocated. From the stores we spoke with, the numbers vary based on the want numbers submitted. This is why we were against this new less than transparent system in the first place.
Here’s a quick breakdown if you haven’t heard about the new system:
- Sunday: The want sheet is sent to Local Game Stores.
- Tuesday: Just two days later, the want sheet is due by the Close of Business.
- Phone Call Day (Varies for stores): GW rep confirms numbers and if stores will get their want number or not.
- Saturday: Product goes live for pre-order on GW site; street date two weeks later…
- Following week’s Call Day: Stores may be able to get extra pre-orders, but it can not decrease from an initial number (which seemingly prevents stores from submitting fictitious “want” numbers.)
So, depending on who you ask, Games Workshop is rationing out products to their corporate stores, their website, and FLGS… OR they are doing this to keep the lion’s share of products to sell at higher margins directly to consumers.
Either way, this is a massive change from previous allocations, as all stores would get to pick from the same number of products. So, in a way, at least bigger stores can get more products, but it just feels bad for stores to pick a number they may or may not actually get.
Stores are basically flying blind now as they don’t know how many other stores are getting, how much is even being made, or what to say on their sheets to get the numbers they actually want.
Either way, if you value having a place to play, you may want to order from your local store, as it will only get harder and harder to operate as more and more companies attempt to go direct to consumers for sales.
What are your thoughts on the newest Battleforce allocations from GW?
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