UPDATE: I was wrong, the Tian Zong is being used for McCarrons Armoured Cavalry...and not the Cappelans. As usual McCarrons causing problems for us honest and Godly FedRats 🤣
When it comes to getting stuff in Europe besides Germany, I've found Archonia from Belgium usually has a pretty good stock for mech boxes, even though anime and pop culture is their bread and butter. For Germany and anyone visiting Berlin specifically, Battlefield Berlin's physical store is worth a detour for just about anything Tabletop Gaming.
I purchased the Star League pack direct from CGL. I live in the states and it took them over a week just to ship out. It's terrible how much you all get ganked on shipping.
To be fair to them, it looks like we are getting the Star League Packs quite quickly in our local friendly gaming stores. However, the point still stands...I'll not be purchasing from CGL, which directly takes money out of their pocket, as the further the purchase is away from the owner of the IP the less the host company make. Annoying, as I’d happily purchase from them directly with a little extra cost, as it’s inherently better for the IP, and shows support for the artists, writers and staff at CGL…but I ain’t paying stupid shipping costs in the process.
The Tian-Zong is for the McCarron's Armored Cavalry Assault Lance, alongside a jumping Starslayer, Awesome (9Q), and a re-posed Black Knight. Would still love to see a Liao and Marik pack, but unfortunately the Zong isn't a harbinger of their coming. YET. It is unfortunate that it is a Barnes and Noble exclusive as well, Q3 2024 was the predicted launch.
@@duskhaunters3025 No problem, thanks for the video insights. Oh and you can see some of these minis on Sarna's March 2024 news page I believe. They're down in the Meanwhile at Kerensky Con section. Also agreed they are the baddies to me and my own mercs, but why must they make some nice machines for me to salvage 😀
Really? You are far more in the know than I, so I'll acquiesce to your knowledge. Would be bizarre not to do them, though, especialy when they have weird eclectic things like a Wars of Reaving pack planned!
@@duskhaunters3025 I expect Marik and Liao in the future, just not anywhere near now. But I'd not expect them to get force packs. The Tian Zong looks really cool, but is likely related to another release, and one that is not strictly Liao centric. Not sure where that is, but I don't expect it to be a CCAF forcepack.
@@BigRed40TECH Yes it is indeed from the previous news release from Catalyst it is with the McCarron's Armored Cavalry Lance...They even had some physical previews of that lance pack at one of their conventions.
@@BigRed40TECH That seems to be the way the Tian Zong is going in particular, though I do hope we see a CCAF and a Marik pack in the relatively near future.
Shipping from Catalyst is bananas. I lined up one (1!) Premium miniature and the shipping the Australia was .... 223 aud. My eyeballs popped out of their sockets on springs. Saying that I also play a card game called Vampire: the eternal struggle and it has a print on demand component through drivethru in the US. The shipping through them was 300 dollars for 60 cards. Luckily they had a lower option that took a month for much cheaper like about 40 dollars. But still I think American postal services have been very expensive since you know what.
@@duskhaunters3025 I spoke to Randall briefly during setup - apparently the ks stuff is at the UK hub and there's a possibility UK distribution will finish before the US (smaller country, less distance to worry about etc).
I certainly get the frustration with the shipping from the CGL store, especially for international customers. I have to remind myself that they are still a small player, working their way up. I do see the Kickstarter shipping and the CGL Storefront shipping as two separate issues, but I live in the states, so I'm a bit biased. I've never ordered a physical product from CGL. I'm also looking forward to the Kickstarter releases, I expect shipping to start in June, delivery by July. I'm also planning on a bunch of unboxing videos as well as reviews, but I won't have nearly as much to go over as the DFA Blokes. Glad your remodel/renovation is going well. Cheers mate.
CGL will also accept an order and payment for physical items not in stock, and you'll have to dispute it with them to get it sorted. They are way understaffed for how big they've become.
It is separate for sure, but related as far as the customer experience goes. I'm jaded on it now though, as it's been jam tomorrow for a long time with CGL and shipping. I'll make sure to bookmark your unboxing vids, bro. Good job.
🤣 Seriously though, that shipping rate is exorbitant! Is it possible that it's just a generic figure, and actual shipping would be calculated at/after checkout to be much less? I notice this seems to be the practice with some shippers, such as on eBay. Admittedly not something worth testing I suppose, but may be worth an inquiry. Alternatively, you could maybe reach out to a friend "across the pond" and have them ship the item to you? DFA? Love the content, keep it up!
I love my Davion mug, I love ranting...perfect combo 🤣 I have a few people in the US who I can call upon to send me stuff, but I feel bad doing that as it's a pain in the arse for them. Granted they'll do it, but it's a sorry state of affairs really when the IP holder can't have a sensible shipping policy outside of the kindness of community members to do their job for them...
I've got my order in with Alhemist Workshop in the UK, but looks like the delivery is running late. Glad they got the SL boxs out quickly though; that makes a big difference.
I've had issues ordering print-on-demand books from them. Personally, I'd much rather have physical copy instead of digital, and the only books available as physical copy (one of them I wanted was the 25 Years of Art and Fiction book - which I don't think is currently available, now that BT Universe is upon us - giving up when I found that it was .pdf only), and so had to end up waiting longer than I should have for the books to be printed and bound, then shipped. The standard post here usually takes longer on shipping, but they're cheaper than UPS or FedEX or DHL. Catalyst has done an overall great job with bringing Battletech back in such a big way, but being a small company, this thing they've got with rushing new stuff out so quickly while developing other games simultaneously could be the metaphorical shark that swims up to bite them on the ass if they overwhelm themselves.
I really do try to give them the benefit of the doubt for the reasons you discuss there, small company etc, but I'm really at the end of my patience with them. It's been an ongoing issue for years now, and I'm just seeing lip service as opposed to any customer orientated initiatives. This needed working out years ago, yet we are still paying $100 delivery for a small box. I can only conclude they don't care, which will result me not buying from them directly.
True. I think that they may need to scale back the kickstarters (both in size and taking logistics in mind) before doing them in quick succession in the future. This will allow them to get international shipping straightened out (not to mention finding new manufacturing options for his sets that don't involve China), as well as taking pressure off of backers and their own staff.
Wait. What? You're saying ALL the product is in the US, where it will be sorted and THEN sent to backers around the globe? Is that true? This is the first I've heard of that, and it's going to add weeks and weeks to all international backers.
I've heard conflicting reports, so I'm not 100% sure. I did hear somebody say yesterday that products were now arriving at the hubs across the globe. Thinking logically about this we heard that the shipping had arrived months ago, so this would tally up with it went to the US first, and then to the global hubs...
@@duskhaunters3025 Yeah. We all assume the US is first. But that's very different than saying all the product goes to the US first where it is picked and then sent around the globe. I got very nervous when you said that.
@@andrewwiesner6747 honestly think that's kind of how they've done it, but via the hub system. So not as traumatic as it might seem. Saying all this, I just recently saw it confirmed that the vast majority of the product is now at the international hubs, with missing items being air lifted in. They expect orders to start going out in 10 days... Depending on where you are depends on how quickly you'd get it, but all being well we'll start seeing deliveries over the next 3/4 weeks.
Has been mentioned stuff left China separately to different hubs. Also last week when they mentioned waiting for a few more items that they were using Air Freight to the HUBS.
Something, something, terrible 3rd party warehouse contract that allows the webstore's warehouse to charge express shipping then send with cheaper shipping per rumor and some inference from things said on various live streams. I don't know who is negotiating CGL logistic contracts, but they don't seem to have a handle on the minutiae of that business and what is required in order to not pass excessive costs onto the customer. Not being able to select your shipping option on a retail site in 2024 is insane.
It's crazy to me that the shipping cost from US- Canada is as expensive as US - Europe...can somebody get the calculator out and figure this one for me???
@duskhaunters3025 Ya, it doesn't really make a lot of sense. It's not like the stuff we order is coming over on its own. Its in a plane or truck with hundreds of other packages.
catalyst game labs can not ship anything to save there life. I place an order directly from them last year, took three months and they got the order wrong twice. Customer service stuck as well.
UPDATE: I was wrong, the Tian Zong is being used for McCarrons Armoured Cavalry...and not the Cappelans.
As usual McCarrons causing problems for us honest and Godly FedRats 🤣
As an American, i wish they would throw international audiences a bone. That shipping rates are ridiculous.
Thanks; yeah, it can be demoralising. Having to call in favours with friends to send me stuff is brutal and a bit embarrassing for all concerned.
I wanted to get the urbanmech lam pack, $29,99, $115 shipping to Germany.
If it were me, I'd charge people $500 as a penalty tax for buying that monstrosity 🤣
@@duskhaunters3025 Don't lie, you'll get one.
I went to buy one of the other lance packs, at also $30us. Shipping took the price to $260us, and i am in Australia.
A good listen while I was modelling👍 Thanks for the update.
I can overlook a lot of things, but paying upwards of 500% of the cost of the individual items purchased is WAY beyond the pale.
When it comes to getting stuff in Europe besides Germany, I've found Archonia from Belgium usually has a pretty good stock for mech boxes, even though anime and pop culture is their bread and butter. For Germany and anyone visiting Berlin specifically, Battlefield Berlin's physical store is worth a detour for just about anything Tabletop Gaming.
Nice! That's ill look into them.
@@duskhaunters3025 And if you stumble through Hamburg, the Atlantis is pretty good stocked.
It was stated before by TPTB in one of the Con livestreams that the faction force packs are being released concurrently with their AS Force Manuals.
Which is the way I'd do it. Linking products is key for a good cross sell opportunity.
I purchased the Star League pack direct from CGL. I live in the states and it took them over a week just to ship out. It's terrible how much you all get ganked on shipping.
To be fair to them, it looks like we are getting the Star League Packs quite quickly in our local friendly gaming stores.
However, the point still stands...I'll not be purchasing from CGL, which directly takes money out of their pocket, as the further the purchase is away from the owner of the IP the less the host company make. Annoying, as I’d happily purchase from them directly with a little extra cost, as it’s inherently better for the IP, and shows support for the artists, writers and staff at CGL…but I ain’t paying stupid shipping costs in the process.
The Tian-Zong is for the McCarron's Armored Cavalry Assault Lance, alongside a jumping Starslayer, Awesome (9Q), and a re-posed Black Knight.
Would still love to see a Liao and Marik pack, but unfortunately the Zong isn't a harbinger of their coming. YET. It is unfortunate that it is a Barnes and Noble exclusive as well, Q3 2024 was the predicted launch.
Ba humbug! McCarron's doing their usual job of being the evil faction and scuppering this Fedrats plans 🤣 thanks for the intel. I'll put a note up.
@@duskhaunters3025 No problem, thanks for the video insights. Oh and you can see some of these minis on Sarna's March 2024 news page I believe. They're down in the Meanwhile at Kerensky Con section. Also agreed they are the baddies to me and my own mercs, but why must they make some nice machines for me to salvage 😀
I'd not expect a Liao or Marik pack.
Really? You are far more in the know than I, so I'll acquiesce to your knowledge.
Would be bizarre not to do them, though, especialy when they have weird eclectic things like a Wars of Reaving pack planned!
@@duskhaunters3025 I expect Marik and Liao in the future, just not anywhere near now. But I'd not expect them to get force packs. The Tian Zong looks really cool, but is likely related to another release, and one that is not strictly Liao centric. Not sure where that is, but I don't expect it to be a CCAF forcepack.
@@BigRed40TECH Yes it is indeed from the previous news release from Catalyst it is with the McCarron's Armored Cavalry Lance...They even had some physical previews of that lance pack at one of their conventions.
@@BigRed40TECH That seems to be the way the Tian Zong is going in particular, though I do hope we see a CCAF and a Marik pack in the relatively near future.
@@LeftMech If by relatively near future you mean after their current roadmap- yes! lol
Shipping from Catalyst is bananas. I lined up one (1!) Premium miniature and the shipping the Australia was .... 223 aud. My eyeballs popped out of their sockets on springs. Saying that I also play a card game called Vampire: the eternal struggle and it has a print on demand component through drivethru in the US. The shipping through them was 300 dollars for 60 cards. Luckily they had a lower option that took a month for much cheaper like about 40 dollars. But still I think American postal services have been very expensive since you know what.
True, shipping is nuts, but CGL do not help themselves. 223 AUD is mad...I could ship you a lawnmower from the UK for that price 🤣
Hmm I do need a new one 🤔
Granted I live in regional Australia on the western side... I really wanted to get one of their mugs... $420 shipping for the single cup!
I got lucky. Ubermex got me it as Adeptacon, along with loads of force packs and sent them over late last year. Was like $60 for comparison.
Catalyst actually have a stand at UK Games Expo this year and a presence at the retail day nefore that as well
Maybe they can bring my order with them then 🤣 because I'm not buying from them directly until they get that shipping issue fixed.
@@duskhaunters3025 I spoke to Randall briefly during setup - apparently the ks stuff is at the UK hub and there's a possibility UK distribution will finish before the US (smaller country, less distance to worry about etc).
I certainly get the frustration with the shipping from the CGL store, especially for international customers. I have to remind myself that they are still a small player, working their way up. I do see the Kickstarter shipping and the CGL Storefront shipping as two separate issues, but I live in the states, so I'm a bit biased. I've never ordered a physical product from CGL.
I'm also looking forward to the Kickstarter releases, I expect shipping to start in June, delivery by July. I'm also planning on a bunch of unboxing videos as well as reviews, but I won't have nearly as much to go over as the DFA Blokes.
Glad your remodel/renovation is going well. Cheers mate.
CGL will also accept an order and payment for physical items not in stock, and you'll have to dispute it with them to get it sorted.
They are way understaffed for how big they've become.
It is separate for sure, but related as far as the customer experience goes.
I'm jaded on it now though, as it's been jam tomorrow for a long time with CGL and shipping.
I'll make sure to bookmark your unboxing vids, bro. Good job.
@@spotH3D I didn't know that - sucks for anyone who has had that happen.
🤣
Seriously though, that shipping rate is exorbitant! Is it possible that it's just a generic figure, and actual shipping would be calculated at/after checkout to be much less? I notice this seems to be the practice with some shippers, such as on eBay. Admittedly not something worth testing I suppose, but may be worth an inquiry.
Alternatively, you could maybe reach out to a friend "across the pond" and have them ship the item to you? DFA?
Love the content, keep it up!
I love my Davion mug, I love ranting...perfect combo 🤣
I have a few people in the US who I can call upon to send me stuff, but I feel bad doing that as it's a pain in the arse for them. Granted they'll do it, but it's a sorry state of affairs really when the IP holder can't have a sensible shipping policy outside of the kindness of community members to do their job for them...
FYI, week of June12 is when the Star League pack should be in stock at stores
Star League pack has shown up at retailers today. LAM box looks to be delayed till end of June
I've got my order in with Alhemist Workshop in the UK, but looks like the delivery is running late.
Glad they got the SL boxs out quickly though; that makes a big difference.
I've had issues ordering print-on-demand books from them. Personally, I'd much rather have physical copy instead of digital, and the only books available as physical copy (one of them I wanted was the 25 Years of Art and Fiction book - which I don't think is currently available, now that BT Universe is upon us - giving up when I found that it was .pdf only), and so had to end up waiting longer than I should have for the books to be printed and bound, then shipped. The standard post here usually takes longer on shipping, but they're cheaper than UPS or FedEX or DHL. Catalyst has done an overall great job with bringing Battletech back in such a big way, but being a small company, this thing they've got with rushing new stuff out so quickly while developing other games simultaneously could be the metaphorical shark that swims up to bite them on the ass if they overwhelm themselves.
I really do try to give them the benefit of the doubt for the reasons you discuss there, small company etc, but I'm really at the end of my patience with them. It's been an ongoing issue for years now, and I'm just seeing lip service as opposed to any customer orientated initiatives. This needed working out years ago, yet we are still paying $100 delivery for a small box. I can only conclude they don't care, which will result me not buying from them directly.
True. I think that they may need to scale back the kickstarters (both in size and taking logistics in mind) before doing them in quick succession in the future.
This will allow them to get international shipping straightened out (not to mention finding new manufacturing options for his sets that don't involve China), as well as taking pressure off of backers and their own staff.
Wait. What? You're saying ALL the product is in the US, where it will be sorted and THEN sent to backers around the globe? Is that true? This is the first I've heard of that, and it's going to add weeks and weeks to all international backers.
I've heard conflicting reports, so I'm not 100% sure.
I did hear somebody say yesterday that products were now arriving at the hubs across the globe. Thinking logically about this we heard that the shipping had arrived months ago, so this would tally up with it went to the US first, and then to the global hubs...
@@duskhaunters3025 Yeah. We all assume the US is first. But that's very different than saying all the product goes to the US first where it is picked and then sent around the globe. I got very nervous when you said that.
@@andrewwiesner6747 honestly think that's kind of how they've done it, but via the hub system. So not as traumatic as it might seem.
Saying all this, I just recently saw it confirmed that the vast majority of the product is now at the international hubs, with missing items being air lifted in. They expect orders to start going out in 10 days...
Depending on where you are depends on how quickly you'd get it, but all being well we'll start seeing deliveries over the next 3/4 weeks.
Has been mentioned stuff left China separately to different hubs. Also last week when they mentioned waiting for a few more items that they were using Air Freight to the HUBS.
Something, something, terrible 3rd party warehouse contract that allows the webstore's warehouse to charge express shipping then send with cheaper shipping per rumor and some inference from things said on various live streams. I don't know who is negotiating CGL logistic contracts, but they don't seem to have a handle on the minutiae of that business and what is required in order to not pass excessive costs onto the customer. Not being able to select your shipping option on a retail site in 2024 is insane.
Hard to defend. The tiny stores in Etsy do a better job...
It's not much better in Canada bud. The shipping from CGL to Canada is outrageous as well. And it takes a while for our retailers to get stuff too.
It's crazy to me that the shipping cost from US- Canada is as expensive as US - Europe...can somebody get the calculator out and figure this one for me???
@duskhaunters3025 Ya, it doesn't really make a lot of sense. It's not like the stuff we order is coming over on its own. Its in a plane or truck with hundreds of other packages.
catalyst game labs can not ship anything to save there life. I place an order directly from them last year, took three months and they got the order wrong twice. Customer service stuck as well.
Improvements are definitely required. I'm salty now at effectively having a $100 tax if I want to get the Star League Pack.