Problems with the deestributor

[Catseye]

Hey Darren,

My local FLGS tells me that Alliance is still telling them that they are back ordered. I told them that I *knew* the publisher had copies left and to get on Alliance's arse.

You might want to have someone give them a "spontaneous" sales call from your side though.

Catseye

[Balok]

Judging by what a local shop tells me, Alliance has a terrible computer system. They can't seem to keep track of what they have and don't have. I don't know whether that's something this guy heard from someone at Alliance, or just his perception based on his contacts with them.

[Catseye]

Makes you wonder if the recent comments on incompetence on the retail level in this industry doesn't also apply to the wholesale level.

I mean, tracking and moving inventory is a distributors whole business. If they can't do that well...

[Blue]

My retail-sense is tingling; They are failing to place the order and just passing the buck.

[Polaris]

My FLGS, which is extremely good at getting Hero products in, has had some difficulty getting a shipment of FH for the past week. They have been told that they can get it in at the first half of this next week.

I do not know if it is all these FLGS that are all suddenly slacking off. It could be a computer problem at Alliance (I don't actually know what distributor Bridgetown, my FLGS, uses). They have told me that they will be getting them in early this week.

Polaris

[tgaptte]

Hey Catseye...I know we live in the same neck o' the woods, so we probably have experience with the same FLGS. I don't want to bash any FLGS, but I haven't had good luck with any in the area...Here's my secret: I don' t use ANY of them! :D I order books from a used book store about 6 miles from my house...they are very aware of HERO stuff (mostly due to me, I think) and are willing to order stuff for you (they may not have it in stock). The bonus? All new items are 20% off! Here's the information:

Handee Books
(408) 873-8620
5277 Prospect Rd
San Jose, CA

They are located in Westgate West, at the intersection of Lawrence, Prospect and Saratoga avenues.
Ask for David. Tell him Tim sent ya. ;D

Hope that helps!

Tim

[tomd1969]

Heck, Inventory control is my job--it's what I do.

Perhaps I should send Alliance my resume. ;)

[Catseye]

Originally posted by tgaptte
Hey Catseye...I know we live in the same neck o' the woods, so we probably

Nope I moved out to the Santa Cruz area. This is a little local store and I DO believe he's trying. He can use the sales, the problem really seems to be at the distributor level.

If you want a good San Jose area game store by the way I highly recommend Heroes of Gaming in the Valco mall in Cupertino.

K

[JohnOSpencer]

Originally posted by Balok
Judging by what a local shop tells me, Alliance has a terrible computer system. They can't seem to keep track of what they have and don't have. I don't know whether that's something this guy heard from someone at Alliance, or just his perception based on his contacts with them.

Yup, that's true. Also, if your store isn't one of their "big sellers" then they get the leftovers for new items.

John Spencer

[Spence]

Actually, I think it is Alliance. My FLGS orders through them and I always have to special order. I had talked to him about why they were having such a problem and his basic answer based on his talking to the distributer placed the blame on the "game company". ie not notifying anyone of production schedules, being late, not having product and so on. When I pointed out Hero's (IMO) impeccable delivery on their promises and the fact that everytime Alliance says a product doesn't exist or isn't available I just go to my FLBS, and they seem to be able to get me a copy within the week, he gave me the fish-eye look of disbelief. Because Alliance is the "ONLY" major distributer left and they "couldn't" be wrong.

I don't know, but from what I can tell, Alliance is doing more damage to the industry than good. Of course that is based on the narrow view of a very distant outsider.

[Doug Limmer]

I've rarely had any problems getting Hero Games stuff from my local store, and I'm pretty sure I'm the only one getting it. And, as far as I know, they order through Alliance.

Maybe it depends where you are/which of Alliance's offices you are in contact with?

[Spence]

Could very well be. I new to this area, about 4 months, and so really can't judge. But the guys at the FLGS don't strike me as the type that would blow off orders and such.

[Lord Mhoram]

Originally posted by Doug Limmer
I've rarely had any problems getting Hero Games stuff from my local store, and I'm pretty sure I'm the only one getting it. And, as far as I know, they order through Alliance.

Maybe it depends where you are/which of Alliance's offices you are in contact with?

We use Alliance West (and Diamond shudder) and don't really have problems with them; occasional out of stocks, filled within a week.

[Ghost Archer]

I have no idea who my FLGS distributor is and for some reason they prefer to keep it a secret but the FLGS told me my copy of FH was delayed a week because the distributor shipped them to Colorado. I've been doing business with this same FLGS since it opened over 20 years ago so they must have some sort of history with that distributor but I'd consider finding a new one if they hadn't figured out after so many years that the shop is in Virginia.

[Dynamo]

My experience with Alliance has been that a few of their customer service reps take the time to become and remain familiar with new releases and what's in/out of print or in/out of stock. Unfortunately, most of the rest are not gamers, and have no interest in actually knowing anything about what they're stocking and shipping. Not that this is all that unusual. I've observed the tendency toward mediocrity in nearly every human endeavor.

Alliance seems to employ some particularly bad apples though. I used to order for a FLGS in California, and more recently volunteered at a FLGS in Washington. In both situations, years apart, I ran into customer reps at Alliance who would cover their ignorance with blatant lies. Catching them at it did no good, as they would become surly and either attack the credibility of my sources or accuse me of lying. The one time I clawed my way up the hierarchy to try to get something resembling customer service from a manager, my entire order ended up "lost in transit" and I still received a bill for goods never received, with a late fee no less. :rolleyes:

[JohnOSpencer]

Yep about half the Alliance games reps that i've met have little or no knowledge of games. Heck, one of their better salesmen doesn't know a damn thing about games. On the other hand, the other half of the Alliance games reps are very knowledgable. Some might call them "game-goobers". It just seems to be a crap shoot wether or not your FLGS has a good or bad rep. Mine, luckily, is run by an Ex-Alliance salesman, so we have little to no problems.

John Spencer