1753131:

The fact the UDE says nothing about the rumors of SotB being sold out less then 2 weeks after its release really bothers me because that implies the rumors are true.

In the past they've come out and said when they have no more in their warehouse to ship they are sold out. Since they haven't done so means they are probably not just yet.

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No quote for you!

Look how long it took for FOO to really begin to become more limited in supply (hence the price raise) and those boxes were and still are being bought in far greater numbers than SotB most likely is.

I wouldn't worry about a supply problem yet, maybe 2-3 months down the road, but its a bit early to be getting so concerned.

Even still, I've gone and ordered another box on eBay - usually I only get one, but most of the retailers have had problems with getting more stock.

If anything I'd say that this isn't an issue of limited quantity, rather distribution has been a bit poor.

Just so everyone knows, UDE Direct and Alliance are out of SotB, but ACD still has it. Those are the main three distributors for brick-and-mortar hobby shops. If your shop says they can't get SotB, suggest they call ACD.

Mass Market shops like EBgames, Wal-Mart, Target, etc should still have plenty of SotB.

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Not sure if there is a shortage up here in Canada, we haven't had any problems getting it, but Grosnor, Prince, and Universal (3 main distributors in Canada) all seem to still have stock. :)

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Jennifer

Tournament Organizer Lv1
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Well looks like SotB is sold out although my distributor here in Canada is still showing that it is in stock there.

‘Servants of the Betrayer™’ Expansion Becomes Third World of Warcraft TCG Set to Sell-Out

Tuesday April 22, 2008

Continuing to remain one of the top trading card games (TCG) in the industry, Upper Deck Entertainment (UDE) is pleased to announce today that the U.S. version of the World of Warcraft® TCG’s expansion set, Servants of the Betrayer™, is sold-out!

Servants of the Betrayer is the third English-language set in the TCG series to be sold out since the game’s debut in 2006, joining Fires of Outland™ and Feast of Winter Veil™ in a line of sold-out sets.

Featuring brand-new, highly sought-after Loot™ card items (which provides unique cosmetic upgrades to online characters), it’s no wonder Servants of the Betrayer has sold out quantities in the U.S. The set’s Loot card items include: an epic X-51 Nether-Rocket flying mount, which allows players to fly through the skies of Outland; a Personalized Weather Maker, which gives players their very own weather system ranging from sunshine and rain, to snow; and the first-ever Super Common Loot card, Papa Hummel’s Old Fashion Biscuits, which allows lucky players to double the size of their cosmetic pet!

In addition to the uniquely coded Loot cards, Servants of the Betrayer also features Traitor Heroes, Aldor and Scryer quests, and unreleased abilities for players’ decks. Each pack includes 19 game play cards and 1 UDE Point card. The set becomes the fifth booster set in the World of Warcraft TCG series.

Players can look forward to the next expansion set in the TCG series, The Hunt of Illidan™ (July 2008) and the new Black Temple™ Raid Decks (September 2008),which will feature a new 12-card new Treasure Pack, and for the first time ever, expanded tournament-legal content in the Raid Deck.

For more information on Servants of the Betrayer, the World of Warcraft TCG and its Organized Play Programs, please log onto www.wowtcg.com

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Jennifer

Tournament Organizer Lv1
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Sold out less then a month after the release...

That is so bad for players...

Guess all the rumors that it was sold out 2 days after the release were true.

In all my years of working in the industry and all the crap I saw (trust me I have seen allot) that is about the worst thing I have ever seen.

This is like the Pokemon horror days but worse because atleast Pokemon came out with more product in 3-4 weeks after it was sold out upon release.

I could rant for hours about how bad this is...

Come on Gamertothebone let it out.  You don't have to rant for hours or attack/bash the companies involved with any game system, but drop some wisdom on us.  You sound like someone with some longtime experience.

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Nothing is foolproof

1840824:

Upper Deck Entertainment (UDE) is pleased to announce today that the U.S. version of the World of Warcraft® TCG’s expansion set, Servants of the Betrayer™, is sold-out!

Something about this statement just seems off to me.  I mean, I can understand from a business perspective why this could be good for them, and it could represent that they're product was just THAT good that everyone quickly bought it up.  But I say "could" because my initial reaction was the same as Gamertothebone, that this is terrible for the players, especially the casual crowd who make up the vast majority of who actually buys product.  I remember when Heroes of Azeroth first sold out, and all the brick-and-mortar places I was finding packs had them for upwards of $7-8 per pack.  That's really not a good thing, and can be highly discouraging to someone who is trying to get into the game at this point.  While Servants packs are still available, and for reasonable prices, there's no guarantee of how long that will last.

But I also say "could" because I know that the product didn't sell out because all the players bought it up.  It sold out because of all the people looking for Nether Rockets, just like Fires of Outland.  Naecabon posted a while back that this was going to be a bad thing, and he was 100% correct.  While I think the idea of loot cards is a good one, I personally think it's getting a little out of hand, and the evidence comes from the people who have created posts complaining about how they bought all these packs of cards that they're not even going to use, just to get loot cards...and then they don't get the loot cards that they were seeking.  It's just wasted product at that point. 

And again, Gamertothebone speaks the truth about Pokemon.  While I wasn't a store owner or Pokemon player, I had the pleasure of working in a local toy store that sold Pokemon cards because it was the flavor of the month.  The amount of Pokemon cards we sold, and the amount of money parents spent, made my head spin.  And it was all wasted because none of the kids even played the damn game...all they did was collect the cards to show to each other and hope and pray that they'd crack the Pokemon equivalent of the Spectral Tiger...the elusive Charizard.

Personally, I'd love to hear some more ranting on this.

 

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In the long-run, this might be good.  The rocket loot will not be anywhere near as lucrative as the tiger was (although initial speculation was that it would be worth more)  based simply on an increased supply of the cards.  Given that, speculators that bought up all the inventory to try and catch lightning in a bottle twice will make less, and possibly lose money as a result and may not buy as much in future sets, making it easier for players to get cards.

1473012:

In the long-run, this might be good.  The rocket loot will not be anywhere near as lucrative as the tiger was (although initial speculation was that it would be worth more)  based simply on an increased supply of the cards.  Given that, speculators that bought up all the inventory to try and catch lightning in a bottle twice will make less, and possibly lose money as a result and may not buy as much in future sets, making it easier for players to get cards.

Yeah, the only ray of sunshine, at least for me, in knowing that SotB sold out is knowing that somewhere out there, someone spent $2000+ on speculation, hoping to net a few rockets and they have had to take a loss since rockets sell at 60-70% the value of Tigers.

Hopefully at least a few of those speculators used money they needed for rent, food, etc.. and have lost everything in the process.

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1784708:

1473012:

In the long-run, this might be good.  The rocket loot will not be anywhere near as lucrative as the tiger was (although initial speculation was that it would be worth more)  based simply on an increased supply of the cards.  Given that, speculators that bought up all the inventory to try and catch lightning in a bottle twice will make less, and possibly lose money as a result and may not buy as much in future sets, making it easier for players to get cards.

Yeah, the only ray of sunshine, at least for me, in knowing that SotB sold out is knowing that somewhere out there, someone spent $2000+ on speculation, hoping to net a few rockets and they have had to take a loss since rockets sell at 60-70% the value of Tigers.

Hopefully at least a few of those speculators used money they needed for rent, food, etc.. and have lost everything in the process.

Actually the best thing that could have happened to drive this point home was to keep the product flowing.

The loot cards will increase in value as the supply decreases.

So much for being able to draft both SotB and MotL or in a few months actually have three different sets to draft with.

Why would they do this? Well it is simple. Profit. When Pokemon was pulling the same games back in the late 90s some people were paying crazy amounts of cash for cards and allot of money was there to be made. Stores were upping their markup. Distributors were upping their markup. WotC opened a retail chain of stores....any of this look familiar to anyone else?

There is a difference here though. The pokemon players were kids following a hugely popular movement from Japan. I do not think the average WoW TCG player will keep playing if they have to pay allot more then they are right now to get cards in their collection. I am even more confident we will not be able to get new players into the game if their only options for new product is MotL, Dark Portal and HoA because two of the last three sets are sold out. That does not look to good for a new consumer deciding which game to buy into. It does not look good on any UDE products for that matter.

All this is assuming allot but we been asking about this in three different forums sections since it first became a rumor 3-4 weeks ago and no one from UDE has said anything so all we has is rumors and the impression that UDE really does not care how this effects thier playerbase.

The really sad thing is the game was picking up in the local area. This could not have happened at a worse time for people trying to help the game grow.

1753131:

1784708:

1473012:

In the long-run, this might be good.  The rocket loot will not be anywhere near as lucrative as the tiger was (although initial speculation was that it would be worth more)  based simply on an increased supply of the cards.  Given that, speculators that bought up all the inventory to try and catch lightning in a bottle twice will make less, and possibly lose money as a result and may not buy as much in future sets, making it easier for players to get cards.

Yeah, the only ray of sunshine, at least for me, in knowing that SotB sold out is knowing that somewhere out there, someone spent $2000+ on speculation, hoping to net a few rockets and they have had to take a loss since rockets sell at 60-70% the value of Tigers.

Hopefully at least a few of those speculators used money they needed for rent, food, etc.. and have lost everything in the process.

Actually the best thing that could have happened to drive this point home was to keep the product flowing.

The loot cards will increase in value as the supply decreases.

So much for being able to draft both SotB and MotL or in a few months actually have three different sets to draft with.

Why would they do this? Well it is simple. Profit. When Pokemon was pulling the same games back in the late 90s some people were paying crazy amounts of cash for cards and allot of money was there to be made. Stores were upping their markup. Distributors were upping their markup. WotC opened a retail chain of stores....any of this look familiar to anyone else?

There is a difference here though. The pokemon players were kids following a hugely popular movement from Japan. I do not think the average WoW TCG player will keep playing if they have to pay allot more then they are right now to get cards in their collection. I am even more confident we will not be able to get new players into the game if their only options for new product is MotL, Dark Portal and HoA because two of the last three sets are sold out. That does not look to good for a new consumer deciding which game to buy into. It does not look good on any UDE products for that matter.

All this is assuming allot but we been asking about this in three different forums sections since it first became a rumor 3-4 weeks ago and no one from UDE has said anything so all we has is rumors and the impression that UDE really does not care how this effects thier playerbase.

The really sad thing is the game was picking up in the local area. This could not have happened at a worse time for people trying to help the game grow.

Actually, keeping the product flowing at a slow and steady pace would help to keep the price higher.  Flooding the market initially when everyone wants one and is willing to pay crazy cash for it reduces the price considerably initially.  Once the initial buzz and flurry of purchase is over, the supply will diminish, but so too will the demand.  If everyone who wants a rocket has a rocket, the few that are left aren't going to sell for that much, no matter how rare they may be.

Also, why would you expect UDE to comment on the inventory levels of other companies?  It's not likely that their distributors report back how much inventory they still have available, so they may not even know.

As far as paying a lot more, last time I checked the rediculous amount of cards the speculators bought for Fires of Outland served to keep the cost of singles down - I imagine the same will be happening for SotB.  Funny how MotL didn't have a mount loot that made people buy a ton of product fishing for it and that's the set that didn't sell out.  I've heard a lot more people complain about the high cost of cards like Ishanah and Bringer from MotL than from either Fires or Servants...

    If the market will bear the load then expect to see more of this sort of thing.   I'm just glad the methods of making such a great game are even in existence. 

    Maybe game company A. developed a balanced game but drops the ball on the marketing end.  Well then in threeyearswe will all be playing the same kind of game just with a different name from game company B.

   If irrational market forces (e-bay+Loot=madness) can drive prices sky high for MMO players then who is to say that the same irrationality can't do the same thing  for cardfloppers.

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Nothing is foolproof

1473012:

Also, why would you expect UDE to comment on the inventory levels of other companies?  It's not likely that their distributors report back how much inventory they still have available, so they may not even know.

As far as paying a lot more, last time I checked the rediculous amount of cards the speculators bought for Fires of Outland served to keep the cost of singles down - I imagine the same will be happening for SotB.  Funny how MotL didn't have a mount loot that made people buy a ton of product fishing for it and that's the set that didn't sell out.  I've heard a lot more people complain about the high cost of cards like Ishanah and Bringer from MotL than from either Fires or Servants...

I do not want them to comment on other companies product levels, just their own. There are people saying in these forums they can not get product direct anymore. That is rediculous if it is true.

Also FoO card prices were low because the set was available at normal prices until December. Shoot even in Jan I could buy FoO cheaper then I can get SotB now less then a month after its release.

The only ebayer I have seen selling SotB that low is the guy who ripped me off when FoO was new.

If MotL would have taken the same path as SotB then Ishanah would have jumped to $40-60.