At the end of summer, early fall, best buy switched to giving their totaltech subscription members first pick. But before that, it was "normal". And that subscription service is not cheap =(

I put in an order for a Rush Premium on March 1. Could I realistically see it being built and shipped in the April batch?

That's what I've been waiting to hear!

If I put in a pre-order for GZ premium last week, is it realistic to hope to be included in a run this year? Is there a chance I won’t get one at all before Stern archives the title?

There's absolutely no chance if you pre-ordered that you would miss out before they archive Godzilla. Idk what your chances are for a run this year, but definitely at some point you'd get your NIB.

Already built or anticipated April run?

Best Buy most certainly does this. They have routinely been selling gaming graphics cards for well over MSRP. Hundreds more. And so have just about all other retailers selling them.

And then they will just call it a vault edition when they rerun it.

Dunno. Was told I'd be invoiced when it was ready to ship, so I can't tell if it's coming now or part of an anticipated run.

I’ve not played it yet, how is this pin?

I’ve got DP and Elvira on order not sure if Elvira will be allocated enough for me.

Ya, I'm REALLY kicking myself for not getting an Elvira during the initial launch. I was pretty strained financially at the time, but considered an Elvira LE. In hindsight it would have been a good move, but who could have known. Now Elvira HoH Premiums are going for way more than the LE did at retail MSRP. I really want to get one eventually, but I think a good chance its too late to get on that next and likely final batch, and if I want one i'd have to pay through the nose on the secondary market.

I'm also on the list for Elvira. It sucks not even knowing if it's going to happen or not. I figured I'd have plenty of time to get one, but they definitely under produced this game. I've also heard it's bit more difficult to build and support, which may explain part of it.

Stern doesn't allocate that many to One distributor.

They could have ordered 100, but that probably won't happen

Any solid info on of AIQ is actually on the line this week?

Anyone on the west coast get their Godzilla Premiums yet?

Paid for mine (Pro) on Thursday not even a tracking number yet. Distributor said it would go out today but no idea how Stern ships. Fedex, UPS, Freight I see alot of different info.

I think the freight company used is up to the distributor. Aside from the IC sales, I don't think Stern drop ships anymore.

For reference, my Pro cost me around $300 to get shipped from my distributor in Milwaukee to me in MPLS.

It’s gotten to the point where a distributor is packaging a mando Pro with a GZ just to move it. Stern would be doing a disservice if any additional runs of Mandalorian happen before clearing the entire GZ/DP/JP etc backlog

I have a deposit for a Mando Pro with Cointaker that was supposed to be for the current run, but it seems like I'm not going to be getting one unless Stern is making more. I was told they're still making them... is that not accurate?

They're making more, but that's the problem. Many distributors have Mando in stock right now from prior runs with no takers. So Stern making more Mando just makes that problem for the other distributors with stock already worse because judging by sales it's not that popular. If Stern concentrated on the popular pins that are massively backlogged, you could go to another dist that has Mando right now and get that and Stern could work on reducing the backlog of Godzilla, Deadpool, Elvira, JP, etc that are in heavy demand.

Anyone on list with Cointaker for GZ premium get told they are getting one from recent March build?

The problem with that is then you're not necessarily buying from a distributor you know, trust, are trying to build a relationship with, etc. You could end up paying more too (or less maybe).

If you're taking Mando off the hands of a distributor with stock of them that isn't moving, you're making a friend, and probably getting a deal ("deal" being a relative term in these inflated days).

I hope I get my premium in the next couple of weeks. My distributor only got 9 premiums from this recent run of GZ. He says he thinks he’s getting more. That doesn’t sound hopeful though.

For a first time buyer waiting on a NIB what is the process. You get the email from the distributor, that your game is on the way? Maybe a tracking number? How long is it (typically) from the email of hey your game is coming to the game being in your home ?

It really varies by distributor, but generally speaking, once you have a tracking number, it's 5-10 days before it's in your home (or much less if you're very close to the dist).

I was told this year… that’s all

100% no.

Moreso depends on who the distributor is. Some out there will only sell what they know is coming in their allotment for a given timeframe

I received my Mando pro last week and it shipped directly from Stern, So I’m not sure why other distributors couldn’t do the same. The distributor I used didn’t charge shipping when other companies wanted $250-$560 depending on if I wanted to pick it up(at the nearest shipping yard)or have it delivered to my front door. I think some distributors are making a few extra bucks on shipping and blaming it on rising gas prices.

Yeah..Free shipping is definitely still out there, so is dropshipping. I don’t think it’s as much about pocketing extra as it is about not needing to offer free shipping to get a sale. Demand is crazy so no need to cut into margins

Possible a distributor nickel and diming disinformation operation. I've just heard from a lot of places for a while now that Stern stopped drop shipping for distributors (which doesn't make a lot of sense to double the shipping by not doing it) and that's why shipping fees are a thing now.

I think the free shipping should always be an option coming straight from stern. I’m paying $350 for shipping coming from my distributor that is local which is wild to me BUT to his credit He has his own moving crew of professionals that take it up stairs for me and unbox it and assist in setting up/installing accessories. Some of you may hate that but as a first time buyer it gives me some peace of mind I won’t do anything stupid on my first game like drop the back box LOL

White glove is a totally different animal and what you’re describing is worth the cost. Paying 300-400 to have it dropped at your curb…eh

Oh yea no way I’d pay that money to have it dropped at the front door. That’s insane when free shipping options are out there.

There were no Mando’s in stock anywhere till late January…it’s not like they have been sitting around since the title was released. I was on the wait list for a Mando premium for six months and never could get one and I was a day one order (finally moved my money to a Godzilla Premium).

Mando has sold well, it just happens to be Stern pumped out a good number of Mando’s in Q1…similar to what they did with Stranger Things in November and December, now try and find one of those, Stranger Things went from being in stock everywhere in January of this year to being 100% gone everywhere in just three months of no new ones being made, Mando will be the same way come June.

I was sent my final invoice today on my 9/21/21 Godzilla premium, if that helps anyone.

I ordered on 9/22/21 and I’ve been told I won’t get mine until the fall/winter run. So congratulations to you.

I Preorder a premium from them on 9-19-21. I've heard nothing.

Sometimes I’m not sure if this thread helps or just gives me even more anxiety.

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I had almost given up hope on getting my Godzilla Premium for the March run, but finally got the call this morning that it should be shipping soon!

I was starting to get really ancy about it. Had ordered on 9-14. This thread was a good outlet for venting in the meantime. Good luck to everyone waiting on games.

Wow that’s really eye opening….I ordered my GZ premium 12/1 with my dist. And was told probably may run/ poss. July. So I’ll count myself very lucky. I get the different distributor thing but it still seems wrong for me to order 3 months after you and possibly receive our order in the same run. Especially considering the huge amount of orders for GZ premium

It really does depend on your area demand and your distributor. Distribution and demand are not even and certainly not balanced. I know people that have walked into their distributor and just bought a high demand Stern at MSRP.

Care to share who did you went through?

I see a lot of Mando is done comments.

Just my speculation - if past is prologue, there will be more runs next year, the year after that and the year after that. Just like Star Wars.

Good thing, too. I still want one but my wallet can only handle so much abuse in a 12 month period. Recovery time needed. I hope I have zero interest in whatever stern drops next.

Yeah no way Mando is done, hasn’t been out long enough. They will make more

Has anyone heard about their AIQ being on the line?

My distributor said they were told by stern that it was on the line last week of march and should be shipping first week or so of April.
Haven’t herd anything since. That message was from 3/24/22