ctsteel Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 It was the confusion between original message about availability (at least how I'd read it) and the situation when they went up for sale that caught me out - with the time zone differences I would have had to be on the webstore at 4am or so just to have had a shot at the first batch. I had expressed confusion and a desire for clarity on the handling in the thread before the extra posts were culled but I was rather shocked when the reference to nasty messages was made - up until that point there'd been some expressions of disappointment or whatnot but all still polite and appropriate seeming to my reading. I make a point of being polite and respectful in all my forum travels, so I hope that none of my posts over that period contributed to the feeling of being harassed. Having said that, I understand and totally respect the position Bryan's put forth as to "attendees first, bag/contents limited" etc. I do hope some form of swag bag will be offered in the future because short of dropping a couple of thousand dollars to fly from Australia over to Texas (and I actually floated this wild notion with my wife the other night for next year's Con ), I don't really have any chance of taking part in the Con or the related exclusive items. And (as in this case) I wanted to feel somewhat connected to the excitement of it all and the exclusive limited items are always a draw, so I'm hopeful that this can be an option for me in the future. If there are fixed limited quantity of the full version bag, and we know about it up front and we know the time that they will be up, that's fine with me - I'll either decide to get one and arrange my online time accordingly, or I'll decide not to and let it go. But at least I'll have the information to decide for myself, rather than miss out because it's not known until it's too late. For my personal view the extra third party supplier stuff would be nice to still have as it will expose me to other vendors and products, and things like the gaming mags and sample models/bases etc can be like fun little surprises. But I'd equally be appreciative of the Reaper-only option being what we get (short of the remainder of the full bags being available at a set time after the con or such). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiniCannuck Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 I think that Reaper had the best intentions in both offering the swag bags to non attendees and how they tried to distribute them. Unfortunately, Reaper is just becoming more popular than they realize - such a humble group Since is appears that the number of swag bags wanted is unrealistic to produce/distribute, perhaps they should just be a treat for the actual convention goers. Reaper just doesn't have all the stuff that goes inside the bag in unlimited quantities - I'm sure even the swag bag itself has to be order in minimum allotments. Perhaps what they could do is adopt something similar to what Wyrd miniatures does with their convention exclusive miniatures. For those who want the miniatures but can't attend the show, these minis are offered in their store for the duration of the actual event. After the convention is done, so is the window of opportunity to buy these minis. For the metal minis that are produced at Reaper, this should be an easy solution. For the resin models that are produced outside HQ, this may or may not work. Either way, I hope that people realize Reaper has always tried to do their best for their customers. I deal with a lot of miniature companies and go to a lot of conventions - not to mention that I own my own business and deal with a lot of other company's customer service departments. The reason I am so loyal to Reaper is that they do their best to treat us like family while offering us great products. Reaper isn't perfect, none of us are. However, when they do make mistakes, they do their best to correct the situation and are not often prone to repeating the same mistake in the future. I just wish that people would remember this before posting messages that may be offensive and/or the tone may be inferred as offensive. All the best to everyone and I hope that things have resolved in a positive manner for everyone. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heisler Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 ... Perhaps what they could do is adopt something similar to what Wyrd miniatures does with their convention exclusive miniatures. For those who want the miniatures but can't attend the show, these minis are offered in their store for the duration of the actual event. After the convention is done, so is the window of opportunity to buy these minis. For the metal minis that are produced at Reaper, this should be an easy solution. For the resin models that are produced outside HQ, this may or may not work. ... Reaper already does this with the convention Sophie and has since about 2005 or 2006. The "convention" miniature is a different story. When there has been a convention only miniature, which have mostly been mouslings but there is one Sophie that I can think of, it has only been made available to those that attend a convention that Reaper attends. So the convention miniature is usually available at any show that Reaper is at that year. Now I don't know if that will be the case for this year's mousling or not. At some point though a company (any company) says I just want to reward the people that attend the show and I don't see anything wrong with that. There are a number of convention miniatures that have appeared at Salute (game convention in the UK) that I would love to have but I can't get there so no mini for me, I'm okay with that. A company should be able to offer a reward to the people in attendance that no one else can get without having the world explode because of it. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissMelons Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 I was about to go all "Yeah! Speak it Heisler!" Then I remembered my Numenera Gencon Exclusive rant. >_< You're still right though. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argentee Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 I would agree, Heisler, except that the convention exclusive miniature is a mousling. MOUSLING. M O U S L I N G!!!!!!!!! Thankfully mine is in the mail so I won't be cursing my husband for saying that a thousand bucks for the two of us to attend a con just to get a mini isn't reasonable. Mousling. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergeant_Crunch Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 To be honest, I'm amazed (though not really surprised) by the attitude that those not attending feel that Reaper MUST offer the bag. That is entirely up to Reaper and they have been kind enough to do so over the years, but they are not obligated to do so or continue to do so. That may not be completely fair. Their issue wasn't that Reaper must offer the bags. It was put forward by Reaper that the bags would be available for online order during the convention weekend. When they sold out in an hour people felt misled. The problem was mostly due to poor communication and simply underestimating the demand. The people who went off on the MODs were definitely out of line but they may have felt justified based on what they were told by Reaper. We all need to remember that whenever anything goes wrong it's important to give them a chance to make things right. In the end, as always, Reaper made it right. I hope the forum members who were out of line try to make amends, too. That is the attitude that was displayed, not by everyone, but it was. I'm not a very sympathetic person when it comes to things like this. Sure they misjudged demand, and aren't the first company to ever do that. They did do what they said they would do, make the bags available during the con. Did anyone honestly think they had an infinite number of swag bags? If so, they need to reevaluate how the world really works. It isn't fair and never will be. I'm going to stop at that before this ends up being a Beekeepers thread. The fact that Reaper went back and stuffed more bags and made them available shows what I've known for a long time, that they want happy customers and work very hard to keep us that way. Also that they aren't blind to profit opportunities. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heisler Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 And that last batch of bags was done by the available slave labor pool of painters and sculptors, well and me since I don't really fall into either group. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiniCannuck Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 The point it that Reaper tries their best to keep people satisfied. Sometimes, it is beyond their control and can't please everyone. At least they make the effort. For that, we should all be thankful. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorallineAlgae Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 The point it that Reaper tries their best to keep people satisfied. Sometimes, it is beyond their control and can't please everyone. At least they make the effort. For that, we should all be thankful. Definitely. As someone who can't drive, ride in a car for long distances, or stand and walk for hours, I feel extremely grateful that Reaper lets people like me get a taste of ReaperCon swag. I like this years mouseling at least as much as the Laura Craft one and the paints are my favorite things in the bag. If Reaper is trying to make their customers happy it's working. ^_~ 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malynor Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 I eventually decided to grab one.. I was trying to hold out, and was (kind of, not really) hoping they'd sell out before I finally caved. The special paint, the mousling, and the early Casketworks were the clinchers for me. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorallineAlgae Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 I eventually decided to grab one.. I was trying to hold out, and was (kind of, not really) hoping they'd sell out before I finally caved. The special paint, the mousling, and the early Casketworks were the clinchers for me. Your resistance was futile. Mouahahaha! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffStray Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 I got my bag! It's pretty much just awesome in a tote. I was almost tempted to be bummed that I got duplicates of Rattlesnake Leather paints, but then I took another look at them and realized that they're pretty much perfect for almost every orcgoblintrollgiant monster ever, and I may find myself wishing that all three had been that at a later date. I have no idea what the Team Frog mini is, but it's somewhere between adorable and kinda creepy. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Melons Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 It's supposed to be a sock puppet. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergeant_Crunch Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 No, the figures are supposed to be socks with buttons for eyes. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artists Wren Posted May 3, 2014 Artists Share Posted May 3, 2014 Not all the Team Frog minis were sock puppets. I also saw infantry ducks and a Christmas figure. Though if you can't tell what your figure is, it's probably a sock puppet if you look closer. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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