(Message luke:106)
Date:    Thu, 02 Sep 1999 11:42:52 PDT
To:      <l5rinfo@frpg.com>
cc:      <edwardb@frpg.com>
From:    "Luke Peterschmidt" <Lukeout@frpg.com>
Subject: HB Sold Out!

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From the list,

> Specifically, I was told this week that my local comic/card/etc store will
>not be
>recieving it's shipment of HB due to their distributor being told that WoTC
>has
>slowed/stopped production of the set to increase production on it's other
>games (magic/pokecrap).
>I got this information straight from the horses' mouth, as it were (the
>owner),
>and was wondering if anyone else has heard anything about this.

Totally untrue. 100% false. As I mentioned before, HB was close to selling
out, and as of Tuesday, we had approx 1100 boosters unspoken for (that's
less than 25 displays!). We had about 11,000 boosters in the warehouse, but
almost all of them were "on order" (so some distributors are still going to
get more). I imagine as of today we will have no more available. That
doesn't mean that some distributors don't have it and that some retail
stores don't still have it - it means that we are out. Usually it takes
weeks for product to work through the entire channel, so it should be
available for some time still to the players. We have low levels of stock on
the starters as well, but we should make it through most of the month on
those.

Now, did we print less than normal. Absolutely not. We printed exactly the
same amount for Dark Journey Home (which we still have some of). This is
proof positive that L5R is a growing brand. We are bringing new players in
and demand for product is higher than ever.

The bad news is two-fold. Some players aren't going to get all the HB that
they want. This can't be helped, we are not going to go back on press with
it. Second piece of bad news is that the print run for Ambition's Debt is
exactly the same as Honor Bound, so it will probably sell out even quicker -
especially if we don't have the problems that we had with HB again. I'm
trying to get the print-run raised slightly, but we have to plan out press
time months in advance, so it is unlikely that I will be able to do so.

We don't release print quantities, so don't ask. Normally, I wouldn't even
mention the fact that we're sold out because it has a bad tendency to cause
speculation which I hate. But, I couldn't have these rumors floating around
that we are printing less L5R than we want because of MtG/Pokemon - because
they aren't true. The truth is we're growing and by the set after Ambition's
Debt, we should have the print runs cranked up enough so that all players
have access to the cards (if we guess the growth curve correctly!)

Ray of hope for players - When we print product, we send our "domestic
allocation" to our Dallas Distribution Center, and our "international
allocation" overseas to our other offices. There is a slight chance that I
can get some of the international product shipped back here depending on how
it's selling over there. Nothing I can guarantee, but I'm going to try.

Luke Peterschmidt
Brand Manager



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