HTTV Arrival Update?
and still waiting on mine, been checking every day after work for it :(
I heard the stagecoach broke its axle just west of Battle Creek this morning. Hopefully, it won't be too much longer.
Word is, they had to ford the river. Morale is low.
has died of dysentery.
that you're in Northwest Indiana.
we know that, at the very least, Northwest Indiana is better than northwest Ohio.....
Wondering when I'll receive my copy in Hong Kong
I'm in NY and check my mailbox with the same level of excitement as the kid from "Christmas Story" checked his every day. No HTTV yet for me. I hope I get it for the weekend.
Don't forget to drink your Ovaltine.
The boxes containing the copies were at the release party (at least a good number of them were - Brian was opening them and signing copies), so assuming they shipped shortly thereafter, I would imagine you'll see it in the next few days. Their presence in Ann Arbor as of this past Saturday can be confirmed.
As an FYI for those not in SE Michigan - parts of Ann Arbor took something of a pounding from last night's weather, but I don't know if that would affect the MGoStaff's progress in getting HTTV out the door.
Ok, so that means the earliest they could have been shipped would have been Monday. Assuming they didn't overnight them and taking the holiday into consideration, you can assume that the earliest that they could reasonably get here would be today. That's if they sent them out on Monday. I'd imagine that they have a lot to send out, so it might take them a few days to get that going, especially while they keep up their normal daily writing routines.
Nothing sent yesterday obviously but I've been communicating with UGP and they're sending out copies as fast as they can. A few things that might be slowing your order:
- We were late pulling together the t-shirt list and a lot of folks picked different tees, so if you are getting the Brian photobomb t-shirt or another t-shirt with your Kickstarter support, that might be held up a bit.
- Brian had to sign about 600 copies. He got about 1/6th of them done last Saturday and took home the rest, so many of the signed copies probably haven't gone out yet, unless those were turned around in a couple of days. We proposed Al Borges's copy have a drawing of the bubble screen in it.
- A few pre-orders shipped right away (the larger orders did), which is how my Mom got a finished copy before anybody else. Nice, Mom. However after that we are trying to get the Kickstarter orders out first since they pledged earlier.
Thanks Seth, for the official answer and everybody else too! These two days, in the office, are going to be even more brutal than usual this time of year!
Appreciate the update (and the OP question). Cannot wait for this puppy!!
Signed by Heiko, too, right?
...that there are people who chose the t-shirt package and didn't go with the Brian photobomb option? I don't understand people.
Wait, Al Borges got a copy?
Ooooh... that's particularly painful given that you could just stop by the store and buy a copy.
They don't sell books at stores anymore. Just magazines with sexy guys and girls on the cover.
...or surfing your blog?
HEY-O!
So you admit that you think Denard is dead-sexy?
HEY-O!!
Only if he's standing next to Snooki. Anyone is dead sexy next to her...
As much as I love MGoBlog, I'm not going to trade a week's worth of grocery money for a second copy of HTTV.
Even worse, they were selling them in late June at UGP. I bought one and read it at Bubble Island a couple weeks ago.
I'm going to do a post and tell everyone how I'm getting it, so everyone else can do the opposite and get it faster. When I ordered it through the mail, it was on the shelves before it was delivered. When I then waited for it to be on the shelves, it was delivered by mail faster. This year I went with the HTTV suggestion, figuring the release party would have to have it first, right? No, people were reading it at Bubble Island a couple of weeks ago.
I'm sorry everyone.
Maybe I can make "GET IT FIRST!" a kickstarter level next year. Really we just need to be way more on the ball so that as soon as the copies arrive there's a priority chain for sending them out. Getting the signed copies out with the first mailings is going to be a bitch because that means getting Brian over there to sign copies.
There will again be an option to come by and pick up your copy at the launch party. Since (not including the proof, and like all the pdfs and such) I didn't get my copy until then either, and that's just a week or so after the books arrive, there's not much sooner it can happen.
If the publisher says they arrive the last week of June, tell us it arrives the second week of July and you'll ship ASAP. That way when the publisher is a week late, you still have an entire week to chain Brian in the basement and make him sign things until his hand cramps.
For example I didn't tell my intern not to deploy the servers until next week because I'm lazy. I did it because I'm a genius at managing expectations (and training people last minute requests for an additional server cluster are a bad idea).
If the publisher doesn't screw anything up, everyone is thrilled they're getting a copy a week earlier than they thought they were going to, and think you're amazing for getting it in ahead of schedule.
Don't know how much of a neat freak his wife is, but she'll want all that crap out of there and make him sign them and finish it.
And I don't really care....I just seem to Last Crusade choose poorly for speed. But I like to take my time with it, so I'm in no rush. bow chicka wow wow!
The only thing I didn't get is how it was on the shelves to be bought by people like CRex BEFORE the release party...where you got your first copy. You'd think that the release party date would be the release date...and not a week after. I like CRex, but he shouldn't have a copy before you. Me? Probably. But I guess if they deliver on a Sunday or something it doesn't make much business sense to leave them in boxes till the following Saturday or such. Though it might give Brian some time to sign things....
On books being available before they're shipped to the supporters:
That's unavoidable, sadly. To plan the release party I had to pick a date I KNEW the issues would be there. That takes lead time, which means there's always going to be a small window between when the books arrive at UGP and when we have the release party. I just wish we could mail out more of them sooner. Technically I could ask that the books not go on the shelves until the release party, but then why have books that people want sitting in a warehouse for a week when people want them? It's just one of those things; as much as I'd like to do something for our "key" customers (e.g. the leading points-holder among the readers), identifying you and making sure you're taken care of takes time that is better spent simply trying to get the book in as many peoples' hands as possible as soon as possible.
The big difference for next year is I'll be working less behind....I hope.
On managing expectations:
I know padding release dates could have helped, but our entire business is about being straight honest with our readers. I hate it when a company knows they're going to have something earlier but then try to manage expectations. There's true information and then everything else is not that.
But books and such have release dates, as do video games, movies, comics, etc. They're often shipped to the locations well before the day of release. So it's not an out of the norm practice.
Now I completely get why it doesn't fit your business model. You're not trying to create suspense or excitment but make sales. And I'm seeing why everything Brandon does freaks out people on here...it's truly anti-marketing. (Not so much hostile "I hate marketing", but a sincerity that often goes by the wayside in marketing. Stop fast forwarding your dvr sometime and see the commercials...do you REALLY need that? It's dishonest on it's face). Another think I agree with CRex that's pretty common practice. Even Hoke's doing it a little now saying how tough year 2 can be. Managing expectations is part of dealing with people. But I respect your scruples.
-Not just an MGoBlog reader, but a "key" MGoBlog reader.
...and you didn't come to the HTTV party to pick it up?
/moves DIABEETUS to back o' the line
/if you email me (misopogon at att dot net) I can check on your order and if it's not gone out yet you can go by somewhere and pick it up.
Back o' the line ain't nothin'. Awesome on you for the help, though. Email away!
Brooklyn, NY, and I'm glad you posted it, because I just moved and thought i had the wrong address. Might still be true, but at least there's hope.
So good. I'm loving the story on 1932 with notes on Gerald Ford and Willas Ward.
I was reading this section a little while ago during a lull in storm activity here in the office. I did enjoy the description of Sione Houma as a "fullbackian fullback who fullbacks".
The Enemy, The Enemy, The Enemy!
and still waiting. Just a basic copy through the fund raising effort.
Oh-ho, the Wells Fargo wagon is a-comin' down the street, oh please let it be for me...
No copy for me yet. But mine is taking a long time because I got the special edition one with the Kate Upton signed photo included.
and obviously nothing yet. If you guys in and around AA don't have them yet it will probably be a month for me to get mine!
Still waiting here in NYC, but then again I'm still getting Christmas cards. We have a *unique* USPS here in the Bronx.
Still waiting in CA. But I didn't expect it to be here yet with the holiday and everything.
And it is oh, so good.
Seriously, it can't be said enough to everyone here, great work done by all. Mgoblog is clearly the definitive source for Michigan football news. Nothing else even comes close. Congrats to Brian and the rest of the crew!
I ordered 2 copies for different addresses and a FERGODSAKES shirt. I'm going to be in Ann Arbor tomorrow. Am I able to stop by UGP and pick up my shirt and one copy if it hasn't shipped, or do I just have to wait?
But I scheduled business trips and vacation around being home for my copy to arrive!!! What will I do now??? What will I do???
yes /s puh-lease.
I scheduled my business trip to Arizona in about 1.5 weeks so I know that I'll have an HTTV to read on the plane and in the hotel room.
So its been a week since this topic was made. Has anyone recieved there copy through the mail yet? I am still waiting for mine.