Weekly Store Update: 27 December

Christmas lingers here, at least in the decorations (and leftovers!). Regardless of the winter holiday you enjoy, we wish you and yours the very best! On the gaming front, when there are gaps in preorder weeks we try to secure some great games we hadn't been carrying yet. As Fossilis and DIE in the Dungeon are the only ones that released, this was one of those weeks and we've added some great ones. We also had numerous restocks, and the preorders are starting to pick up again as publishers switch focus. 

For those new to the weekly store update, it's Eric authoring this week. I'll offer up some things that happened around here, but if you're not interested in shop gossip just jump to the very bottom to see what Restocks, New Products and Preorders we added last week. For the rest of you, let's get to it, shall we? I can't let that eggnog spoil!

First off, I'd like to talk just for a second about the post office. Package timeliness has been rocky since about February, and this holiday season has been the worse yet. It was like a switch was thrown early in the year, one minute things were running smoothly and the next...not so much. We all know it was mostly due to COVID and reduced workforce, but other things had an impact - from mail-in ballots in an election year to severe weather to a holiday package rush that reached 8 million packages a day. That's incredible by the way. In any case, the post office is a vital part of our operation, and when they suffer we suffer too. For those who had to wait an exceptionally long time to get their item (especially the ones who didn't get it in time for Christmas) I wanted to express my frustration for your situation, and my gratitude too. Thank you for your patience and understanding during these unprecedented times! You could have shot the messenger, but you've taken it in stride, and that means a lot to us. Funny thing, even though there was a lot of slow mail, the post office did not lose a single package we sent this year. I find that kind of miraculous. Then, as this was that kind of year, some mail moved as quickly as it always had. In these cases customers kept thanking us for getting them their game so quickly. Funny thing...we processed everyone's order with the same pep in our step, and then it was luck of the draw if the package matched our promptness. To mirror my earlier sentence, when the post office is running right, we look like superheroes. I'm looking forward to more of that!

In the category of 'probably bad timing' we finally set up our gift card system. Just in time for Christmas...2021! Well, better late than never, and we have to thank a few folks for asking about it. I personally appreciate the nudge. I had been meaning to get it done, but time just kept slipping away.

Continuing the Customers Ask the Darndest Questions department, one improvement we are going to explore next year is in developing a mail-order operation. We've had some calls (and even a letter!) asking if we could take the shopping experience off the web, so we'll look into it. Not too many shops offer it, but the demand isn't that high either. It's funky enough for me to at least give it some attention.  

Talking about next year...what?! Are we already there?! In next weeks update I'll share our Year in Review stats, some of our other goals for '21, and how well we did on our '20 goals. That'll be a fun one to write!

In any case, below are the Restocks, New Items, and Preorders added to the shop last week. You can click on the item to learn more, many of the products have review and gameplay videos so you can see the game in action. If you're visiting and you'd like to keep up with our giveaways, sales, new products, and articles like this one just create an account here. Once created you will be subscribed to our newsletter and become enrolled in our loyalty system, instantly earning 50 Stones that you can use on your very first order. A Stone? One Stone is equivalent to One Cent. That doesn't sound like much, but you earn 2 Stones for every dollar spent and 5 for each product review, so though it may seem small, those savings add up fast! Redeem your Stones upon checkout, and they can save you up to 10% off your cart total. Loyalty Matters!