DONE. License expired.
Won't happen again unless the license is renewed.

Announced today Stern bumped up TMNT Pro and Premiums from December to being built next month in September.
Also was informed this is the final run of this title.

If this game is on your radar for new.......pre-order now or never. All dealers like myself have a limited
allocation for this LAST CALL build.

We currently have in stock:
Rush Premium (3 on hand)

If anyone is looking for this title right now, drop me a line.

I don’t think so.
Hang tight. Should be coming soon.

Tentatively,
Star Wars later this month.
Led Zep still on course for next month.

My shipment/allotment of SW Premiums shipped out yesterday. All of which have been presold for sometime now. Estimating them to arrive on our dock on Tuesday since Monday is a holiday. All customers have been notified to schedule delivery, pick up or getting freight quotes for final invoice for those buyers out of state.

Several other titles were anxiously awaiting for customers this month SW Pro, LZ Pro & Premium & GOTG Pro….lots of games arriving in this month and making customers happy

Iron Maiden Pro and Premium confirmed to be re-ran in 2023. Tentatively scheduled for May 2023.

I’m glad…IM is such a fun game, either model. I’m happy to confirm it’s going back into production one time next year. Dealers now have their allocations so if it’s on your radar…do not delay to preorder as limited quantities available.

….let the pre-orders begin.

Godzilla Premium on the line now.
Followed by Bond 60th
Followed by Elvira near the end of the month

ELVIRA IS BEING BUILT…coming up on deck.

Take this from a dealer.

Ok I’m a dealer …
And I find it odd that only your dealer has some intel about a mysterious run of Munsters that none of the rest of us have been privy too. Stern typically sends all of us the same mass emails in regards to production schedules and changes so we’re all on the same page.

Our preorder business model is simple and it works for us.
If the game is not in stock and we are taking a pre-order we collect a $500 "non refundable deposit"

Why non-refundable? Simple because I'm guaranteeing you, you will get your game and with a deposit of an amount such as this ...they will not likely be placing deposits all over town ....planning to cancel with every other distributor they may have pre-ordered with for same title once the first one says their game is ready. I want to work with you....I want you to work with me. This is also in an effort for us to not over extend ourselves by collecting extremely low deposits and waiting lists for games that are going to keep people waiting 1-1/2+ years from getting their game. All dealers are still given a certain number of games no matter how many we order. These allocations we receive are based off our companies sales volume. It would make no sense to me to take $1 deposits and collect 200+ orders knowing I'm only going to receive less than 50 of any certain game built per year. It would take upwards of over a year and a half to fill all of those orders. It sounds to me like the $1 deposit thing while it may have seemed like a great idea at first is now working to a disadvantage to the customer.

Now there are two instances where we will refund a deposit, and this is clearly explained to the customer at the time the order is placed.
A. If the game is announced that they have pre-ordered has been cut or temporarily suspended from production. This could be said for any Rush Pro or Premium orders we had. Tentatively Rush is not on the production schedule at this time for 2023, but I had a few preorders for the game. We contacted those customers once the 2023 build schedule was announced and gave those customers the option to take the refund on their deposit or move it to a different title.
B. Price is subject to change. If an order is placed and the manufacturer has a price increase that effects the cost and price before their game is scheduled to be delivered, we will inform the customer of the new pricing. They have the option to stay the course at new pricing or take a refund on their deposit.

Now...here is clearly an example of what I will not refund a deposit for. We just received in our shipment of February Godzilla Premiums. We are reaching out to the customers and informing them that their games are here and it is now time to collect final payment and make shipping/delivery arrangements. One customer we called to inform him of his Godzilla Premium was available told us, he already purchased a Godzilla Premium elsewhere and wants his deposit back. Never once did he call us, but he has left himself on our order list all the while. I've informed him he can move that deposit to another game in stock, or place it to pre-order another game or forfeit the deposit. The deposit as collected when the order was stated as non-refundable.

I inform my customers with the information that is provided to me by the manufacturers when I believe their game will be available based off of where their place is in line with me with the allocations I've been given by the manufacturers. We fill our orders in the order they were received. Any customer of mine that orders a Stern game persay...can call me anytime and I'll tell them what # position they are in and when I believe they will be receiving their game. I'm happy to do this. I don't seem to understand why other dealers I'm reading about on here can't seem to do this. They know exactly how many they will be receiving of each make and model and the estimated month from Stern it is said to be built. If they can't give you a reasonable answer on lead time and are collecting payment up front for a game you are pre-ordering ....find a new dealer. There is no reason for them to collect payment in full, like Troy said..... however unless it's an LE as that's a whole different story.

I'm very transparent with our customers and very fair. If all that I've said above about our non-refundable deposits are relayed to the customer up front upon placing their order there shouldn't be any issues and we should both be on the same page and no misunderstandings.

Exactly! Thank you.

Here is another way to look at the deposit.
Don’t look at it as a deposit, look at it as a DOWN PAYMENT. You obviously connected with us because you WANT the game. I will get you the game. To show your good will that you are serious about making the purchase and claiming ownership to a position in my allocation. I’m collected a down payment from you the buyer for said game you are purchasing.

If the deposit or down payment is completely refundable, then what is the point of taking it in the first place???

Here is another way to look at it from the other side of the coin from me the dealer/distributor’s perspective.

Let’s say manufacture introduces a game (and there have been some like this in the past 10-15 years). Pictures drop on product launch and I receive 10 orders for the game out of the gate. These customers liked what they saw and committed to making the purchase by putting down a $500 REFUNDABLE DEPOSIT. Me the dealer is going to order from the manufacturer at least 10 games to cover the deposits collected and maybe a few more for stock. Did I originally intend to order 10+ games, no. I ordered enough to fulfill the orders placed by customers and a few for stock. Less demand = less ordered.

Games ship and let’s say I receive 13 total. Well I know 10 are already presold based off of preorders. Now I circle back around to the customers to let them know their game is here. After calling all 10 customers, 5 of them, now have cold feet, they don’t like the reviews they’re seeing on the game, they found it somewhere else sooner, pick whatever excuse you want. I refund these people their deposits and now I’m stuck with 5 additional games, I HAVE TO PAY FOR THEM. That is cash flow now tied up in product I never intended to order in the first place.

Come on. This is a two way street and there has got to be some accountability on the buyer to make a good and well thought out decision on their end to make the purchase and follow through.

Having a refundable deposit/down payment leaves no accountability to the buyer. It’s just not a good idea in my opinion.

Let me finalize by saying no one yet has ever called in to place a preorder, found out the deposit was non-refundable and then decided not to place an order. It has literally been a non-issue. VERY RARELY has someone forfeit their deposit. Most everyone has followed through with their purchase and not every game is on a long backorder like GZ. Yes obviously someone passing on a GZ I have someone behind them that wants it…..but that’s not always the case with every title.

To say that I’m willing trying to do something shady by keeping someone’s deposit if they don’t want to follow through with the purchase is unjust. Both parties knew the terms upon making the preorder. Buyers just need some responsibility on their part, and honestly most everyone one of them do…so the non-refundable issue rarely even becomes an issue.

Why would I post this if it wasn't true? Ahhh, I think I would be getting a call from Stern if we were to post something that wasn't true. We received the e-mail this morning that it is last call for Pro and Premium models of Avengers and Iron Maiden. Not every game can stay on the production line for ever. Get one while you still can. Out with the old ...in with the new!

If anyone is still looking for a Stranger Things premium from the December run we have 2 left. Pm if interested or best to email me at:
[email protected]
Or call our store when we reopen tomorrow 972-488-9622

We DO NOT require full payment up front for Pro’s & Premiums, just a $500 deposit/down payment and balance due when your game is ready to ship.

In other production news.
We have in route our Gotg pro’s and they will be arriving Tuesday on our dock. 2 remaining from this final build if anyone wants one, contact us.

Received info from Stern on Friday that the following titles have been pushed out even further for their next builds, no longer on the schedule for 2024 but 2025.
Mando Pro & Premium
Star Wars Pro

As far as we know …yes.
In all honesty, besides Stranger Things Premium this is the last game that was to be built and shipped by years end that we haven’t received yet and there are still several a few weeks left in this year. We have not heard otherwise about it being delayed until 2024.

Kudos to Stern for cranking out several makes and models throughout the year and giving us a TIMELINE of what and when we will receive said titles. Yes it may change a few weeks here or there but it’s pretty accurate.

I wish I could say the same for the other manufacturers that are slow as molasses and give us little to any real true timeframe as to when we will actually get games that have been preordered for months and in some cases years.

Unfortunately all Stranger Things accessories got bumped to January 2024 for production, so you’ll most likely have your games before your mods. This is a bit of a bummer for us as many preorder customers were hoping to have us install their UV Kit prior to delivery and that looks to not be the case now.