Rich Biedrzycki of Dreamland in Schaumburg, Illinois has seen our coverage of WizKids' convention sales of products not yet released to retailers (see 'Jim and Crystal Brown of Midwest Comics on Con Sales by Manufacturer' and 'WizKids EVP Martin Stever on Con Sales') and doesn't like the fact that he's allocated on products that WizKids is selling at conventions.
Now that Wizkids has sold DC HeroClix at San Diego as well as MechWarrior, DC HeroClix and Marvel HeroClix Adventure Kits at Gen Con two weeks ago I want to let Mr. Stever know of my 'Mathematics of Buzz': You selling products at cons weeks before sending them to stores + (plus) you then ALLOCATING the products = (equals) My not carrying your products anymore. Pretty simple mathematics.
I have been heavily promoting WizKids products since the day they arrived. We were one of the first retailers in the area to do demos for Mage Knight and we have supported all of their products. We have sold a huge ammount of Marvel HeroClix and run HeroClix and Mage Knight tournaments in our store every Saturday. Now I find out today that my distributors are allocating MechWarrior and say they are also going to allocate the DC HeroClix. But WizKids had enough product to sell these direct to consumners weeks before shipping them to me? I think that 1 to 1-1/2 skids worth of product would have been better off going to retailers who support WizKids.
Most people who pre-ordered the Marvel HeroClix Adventure Kits came back from Gen Con and canceled their orders because they got the product there a week before it was shipped to me. How is this kind of 'buzz' helping retailers? I am now sitting on a lot of unsold product. That kind of 'buzz' I don't need. If this practice of WizKids selling product direct to consumers at shows weeks before sending it to stores (and then allocating the product) does not stop I will not be buying any more WizKids products soon.
