MOB Posted February 15, 2019 Share Posted February 15, 2019 Here's news about the ships bringing the new RuneQuest to our shores! Australia: XIN CHI WAN - arrival date at Botany Bay (Sydney) is February 25th. United States: XIN LOS ANGELES - arrival date at Longbeach CA is March 6th. (btw, the RuneQuest shipment to the United States takes up TWO 40' containers). United Kingdom: MOL TRIBUTE - arrival date at Southhampton is March 7th. We'll be following the progress of these #ShipsofRQ on Twitter via Marinetraffic.com. More details at the link: https://www.chaosium.com/blogshipsofrq-are-on-their-way 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
styopa Posted February 15, 2019 Share Posted February 15, 2019 Fantastic news, thank you. I'll just warn everyone in the US to please be patient. EVERY US port is suffering severe landward congestion for a number of reasons. Customs clearance takes typically a few hours (unless there's an exam) but dispatch of the container inward is taking much longer than it should. I don't know how these are further routed and where they're broken down for distribution, but for example if it was a warehouse in Los Angeles, normally customs release & delivery should take 2-3 working days....right now it's commonly taking 8-10. I deal with this issue with customers multiple times a day: ETA Longbeach 3/6 means only the vessel comes to a stop alongside the pier on 3/6....everything else then takes time, and lately, unfortunately, more time than it usually should. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilHibbs Posted February 15, 2019 Share Posted February 15, 2019 ...and I think they usually wait to put the books on sale in all markets simultaneously, so we might all have to wait. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metcalph Posted February 15, 2019 Share Posted February 15, 2019 The Xin Chi Wan is just outside Sydney according to the map and the page predicts its arrival on the 16th. Likewise the Xin Los Angeles is due the 25th and the Mol Tribute is due the 24th. I think the dates giving by Chaosium include generous allowances made by the Shipping Co. for Things Going Wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oracle Posted February 15, 2019 Share Posted February 15, 2019 (edited) 3 hours ago, metcalph said: The Xin Chi Wan is just outside Sydney according to the map and the page predicts its arrival on the 16th. Likewise the Xin Los Angeles is due the 25th and the Mol Tribute is due the 24th. I think the dates giving by Chaosium include generous allowances made by the Shipping Co. for Things Going Wrong. I think, this is not quite correct at least for the Mol Tribute, which is due the 24th in EG SCN. This seems to be a port in Egypt, so it is far from reaching Southhampton at this day. I'm not so sure regarding the Xin Los Angeles. It's due the 25th in Prince Rupert, Canada. If Longbeach, CA above does not mean Longbeach, Canada, but Long Beach, California, then this is not yet the end of the voyage too. For the Xin Chi Wan the due date of 16th is for Sydney, not Botany Bay, but I'm not sure, if that makes a big difference ... Edited February 15, 2019 by Oracle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOB Posted February 16, 2019 Author Share Posted February 16, 2019 35 minutes ago, Oracle said: I think, this is not quite correct at least for the Mol Tribute, which is due the 24th in EG SCN. This seems to be a port in Egypt, so it is far from reaching Southhampton at this day. I'm not so sure regarding the Xin Los Angeles. It's due the 25th in Prince Rupert, Canada. If Longbeach, CA above does not mean Longbeach, Canada, but Long Beach, California, then this is not yet the end of the voyage too. For the Xin Chi Wan the due date of 16th is for Sydney, not Botany Bay, but I'm not sure, if that makes a big difference ... According to our shipping agent: Mol Tribute due in Southampton UK on March 7th. Xin Los Angeles is due in Longbeach California on March 6th XIN CHI WAN is due at Botany Bay on February 25th. Port Botany is Sydney Australia's container port. (BTW, this is the site where Lieut. Cook landed in 1770, and where the First Fleet initially attempted to set up the prison colony in 1788, before quickly moving to the more suitable Port Jackson to the north). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Z Posted February 16, 2019 Share Posted February 16, 2019 14 hours ago, MOB said: According to our shipping agent: Mol Tribute due in Southampton UK on March 7th. Xin Los Angeles is due in Longbeach California on March 6th XIN CHI WAN is due at Botany Bay on February 25th. Port Botany is Sydney Australia's container port. (BTW, this is the site where Lieut. Cook landed in 1770, and where the First Fleet initially attempted to set up the prison colony in 1788, before quickly moving to the more suitable Port Jackson to the north). I love the history as an aside! Any idea why the MarineTraffic site has ~10 day differences from your shipping agent? I noticed that previously as well. I'm just curious more than anything else. I know ships coming in to the Houston, Texas port via the shipping channel sometimes have to wait days for a berth and for a pilot to come aboard to navigate in to the port so it's possible that is part (or all) of the difference. If anyone is ever in Galveston, TX you can always see ships queued up all the way to the horizon. Quote -- Doorkeeper to cats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Meints Posted February 16, 2019 Share Posted February 16, 2019 5 hours ago, Septimus Kendaro said: I love the history as an aside! Any idea why the MarineTraffic site has ~10 day differences from your shipping agent? I noticed that previously as well. I'm just curious more than anything else. I know ships coming in to the Houston, Texas port via the shipping channel sometimes have to wait days for a berth and for a pilot to come aboard to navigate in to the port so it's possible that is part (or all) of the difference. If anyone is ever in Galveston, TX you can always see ships queued up all the way to the horizon. MarineTraffic only covers a ship from Port to Port, so once it is in port the journey is over. Our shipper includes the time it will then take to get unloaded, clear customs, do any paperwork, get on a truck, and then get driven to the final warehouse destination. In the UK the warehouse is very close to the port. In the US, the truck journey is from Los Angeles to Brainerd Minnesota. That's not a day trip, since it is about 1900 miles. Quote Hope that Helps,Rick Meints - Chaosium, Inc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Z Posted February 16, 2019 Share Posted February 16, 2019 1 minute ago, Rick Meints said: MarineTraffic only covers a ship from Port to Port, so once it is in port the journey is over. Our shipper includes the time it will then take to get unloaded, clear customs, do any paperwork, get on a truck, and then get driven to the final warehouse destination. In the UK the warehouse is very close to the port. In the US, the truck journey is from Los Angeles to Brainerd Minnesota. That's kind of what I figured. It's like watching air traffic. It only takes into account flight time, not time to taxi, park, disembark, get though customs, etc. And even then there can be delays. 2 minutes ago, Rick Meints said: That's not a day trip, since it is about 1900 miles. It is for me. 😉 Well, not so much any more and I'd rather they're careful getting there so everyone can get their RQ and Gloranthan goodness. Thanks for the details! Quote -- Doorkeeper to cats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pentallion Posted February 16, 2019 Share Posted February 16, 2019 21 hours ago, MOB said: According to our shipping agent: Mol Tribute due in Southampton UK on March 7th. Xin Los Angeles is due in Longbeach California on March 6th XIN CHI WAN is due at Botany Bay on February 25th. Port Botany is Sydney Australia's container port. (BTW, this is the site where Lieut. Cook landed in 1770, and where the First Fleet initially attempted to set up the prison colony in 1788, before quickly moving to the more suitable Port Jackson to the north). Assuming that Cthulhu doesn't get in the way, or some Deep Ones, or a ghost ship doesn't appear or they find some strange idol, or the ship simply disappears in a fog..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humakt Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 Hope those ships got Magasta blessings!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seneschal Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 Not intending any snark here, but is there no one within Western civilization who can print and bind books at an affordable rate? I mean, we already depend on the Chinese for essential military parts, Christmas toys and decorations, and national flags. Now we depend on them for reading material, too? They can shut down our military and cancel Christmas at a whim — and they control our gaming! How many Chinese Runequest, Pendragon and Cthulhu fanatics have we created? 😱 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soltakss Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 12 hours ago, Rick Meints said: MarineTraffic only covers a ship from Port to Port, so once it is in port the journey is over. Our shipper includes the time it will then take to get unloaded, clear customs, do any paperwork, get on a truck, and then get driven to the final warehouse destination. In the UK the warehouse is very close to the port. In the US, the truck journey is from Los Angeles to Brainerd Minnesota. That's not a day trip, since it is about 1900 miles. So, get everyone to the port with a set of crowbars and they'll unpack it and extract their games in no time. Saves on shipping costs as well ... Quote Simon Phipp - Caldmore Chameleon - Wallowing in my elitism since 1982. Many Systems, One Family. Just a fanboy. www.soltakss.com/index.html Jonstown Compendium author. Find my contributions here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jps Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 4 hours ago, seneschal said: Not intending any snark here, but is there no one within Western civilization who can print and bind books at an affordable rate? I mean, we already depend on the Chinese for essential military parts, Christmas toys and decorations, and national flags. Now we depend on them for reading material, too? They can shut down our military and cancel Christmas at a whim — and they control our gaming! How many Chinese Runequest, Pendragon and Cthulhu fanatics have we created? 😱 I remember in the late 90s a lot of RPG books were printed in Canada and in the early 90s, Vampire the Masquerade first edition was printed in the USA. Now they are printed in China, obviously because it's cheaper and you are right, this is raising some issues, from dependency to cutting jobs to pollution. But we don't choose the world we live in, it's a matter of international economic policy (if there is such a thing ^^) way beyond our grasp and the grasp of Chaosium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
styopa Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 Two points: 1) if the containers have to go to Brainerd to distribute, that's just over 2 weeks from LA port. Truck (technically, "drayage") from the pier to the railhead in Los Angeles. Then depending on routing, 10-12 days intermodal to the rail terminal in St Paul, then perhaps 3-4 days to deliver to Brainerd. Assuming no untoward delays at various rail changeovers and if we can avoid Chicago (hard, from the SW) which is a congestion disaster. 2) the firm I work for produces high speed uncoated inkjet paper - that is the tech that makes it possible to get such beautifully colored books in small runs as well as the whole print-on-demand industry. This industry in the US anyway is growing at 7-12% per year depending on metrics, there's more business than the printers can keep up with. So I'd guess domestic costs are rather high because they can pick and choose the business they want to serve. I suspect that part of the issue is hardcovers - they're pricey. With perfect-bound softcovers on the new machines, you can essentially just print an entire book from a single pdf file. It's amazing. But I expect the hardcovers pose a particular challenge that sort of requires more old-fashioned printing approach? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seneschal Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 (edited) U.S. printers can’t handle hardbacks for a reasonable price? At least now I understand why the Australians are getting their games first. They’re physically a lot a closer to the printers. Nothing against Aussies, especially the cutie who was explaining how to play Call of Cthulhu. How long will it take for her to arrive in the States? Edited February 17, 2019 by seneschal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Meints Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 Because we sell through distribution (Alliance, ACD, etc) we only make 40% of the cover price on most of our books. Actually a little less than that considering we have to pay for the shipping on distributor orders. There are lots of book formats out there, yet the bulk of the RPG books sold (as in over 80%) are Hardcover books with full color interiors. We are competing for shelf space with D&D, Pathfinder, etc. A $50 MSRP book sells to distribution for $20. We have to pay the writers, editors, artists, and layout people. Every dollar spent on printing is 5% of that gross revenue. Most full color hardcover books cost a few extra dollars to print in the US. Every now and then I get a competitive quote or two from US printers, but the difference is still too big to offset the costs savings of printing in China. 1 2 Quote Hope that Helps,Rick Meints - Chaosium, Inc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOB Posted February 19, 2019 Author Share Posted February 19, 2019 So, where are the #ShipsofRQ right now? —the XIN CHI WAN (final destination Botany Bay) is cruising along the so-called Shipwreck Coast in the treacherous straits between mainland Australia and Van Dieman's Land. —the XIN LOS ANGELES (final destination Longbeach, CA) has just crossed the "Blakiston Line" separating the Japanese Islands of Honshu and Hokkaido: certain animals only live north of that line; others only south. —the MOL TRIBUTE (final destination Southampton, UK) is passing around Dondra Head, the extreme southernmost tip of Ceylon; here is an ancient temple to the god Upulvan, guardian deity of Sri Lanka. Follow them at the link: https://www.chaosium.com/blogshipsofrq-are-on-their-way 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ultor Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 On 2/17/2019 at 4:20 AM, seneschal said: Not intending any snark here, but is there no one within Western civilization who can print and bind books at an affordable rate? I mean, we already depend on the Chinese for essential military parts, Christmas toys and decorations, and national flags. Now we depend on them for reading material, too? They can shut down our military and cancel Christmas at a whim — and they control our gaming! How many Chinese Runequest, Pendragon and Cthulhu fanatics have we created? 😱 There are plenty of people within Western Civilization who could do this, but as the great LM sage Ricardo pointed out, there is a principle at play called comparative advantage, which stipulates that regions specialize in things where they have the biggest advantage, and for most of the developed world mass printing is not that. Another great sage named Krugman explains that here: http://web.mit.edu/krugman/www/ricardo.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kloster Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 Small question that concerns most European customers on Chaosium website: What will occur with orders passed BEFORE March 29 (Brexit date) but items sent AFTER (which now seems more than possible) said date? Do you know if there will be delays or taxes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seneschal Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 (edited) 4 hours ago, Ultor said: There are plenty of people within Western Civilization who could do this, but as the great LM sage Ricardo pointed out, there is a principle at play called comparative advantage, which stipulates that regions specialize in things where they have the biggest advantage, and for most of the developed world mass printing is not that. Another great sage named Krugman explains that here: http://web.mit.edu/krugman/www/ricardo.htm Hmmm. Great sage is what I put on my poultry dishes, but I’ll check out the link. 😉 Whew! That was a mass of technobabble worthy of Star Trek. In general, I am as skeptical of philophers as Krugman is of creationists. I think they should all spend a minimum of four years flipping burgers at Wendy’s or cashing groceries at Walmart (surviving meanwhile on ramen noodles and mac and cheese) and only then dare to tell me how the world works. Comparative advantage is one of those clever ideas that sounds great but may not pan out in reality. Should nations excel economically in what they do best? Sure, but not to the exclusion of all else. Swiss watches, precision German machinery, fine Italian leather shoes are all great. But creating a world where you can only get time pieces, car parts or footgear from those places would be a mistake, for national security reasons if nothing else. Western businesses are pursuing short term profits while leaving themselves and their countries increasingly vulnerable to capricious and potentially hostile foreign interests. So enjoy your German sports car, but keep your local auto industry alive in the meantime. China is currently the cheap labor powerhouse but its huge population now consists largely of aging single men (because of the one-child policy, all the girls got aborted). Once they get too old to work, there won’t be an equivalent rising generation to replace them. The few young potential mothers remaining won’t be able to pop out babies fast enough. Because human beings are each nation’s real essential product. Yikes! On second thought, Meints, forget the books but make sure everyone on the Chaosium staff has at least 15 kids ... right now! 😳 Edited February 19, 2019 by seneschal 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOB Posted February 22, 2019 Author Share Posted February 22, 2019 (edited) Further update on the #ShipsofRQ:—RQG (and Terror Australis!) has landed in Botany Bay and made its way ashore!—XIN LOS ANGELES, en route to North America, is currently off the Japanese province of Mutsu, founded as a refuge for the samurai defeated in the Boshin War.—MOL TRIBUTE, destined for Southampton (and also carrying Terror Australis), is currently steaming between the Hadhramaut coast of Yemen and the isle of Socotra, home of frankincense and Dragon's Blood Trees.https://www.chaosium.com/blogshipsofrq-are-on-their-way Edited February 22, 2019 by MOB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOB Posted February 26, 2019 Author Share Posted February 26, 2019 #shipsofRQ update: the Australian cargo (and Terror Australis for Call of Cthulhu) are now safely entombed in plastic in Aetherworks' Sydney warehouse. Meanwhile, the MOL TRIBUTE has traversed the Suez Canal and has sailed past the five of the ancient mouths of the Nile (the Pelusiac, Tanitic, Mendesian, Phatnitic and Sebennytic). Bolbitinic, and Canopic mouths to go. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOB Posted March 3, 2019 Author Share Posted March 3, 2019 #ShipsofRQ - the MOL TRIBUTE, en route to Southampton, is now in the Alboran Sea, approaching the famed Pillars of Hercules. In his monumental universal history the 'Bibliotheca historica', Diodorus Siculus claims Hercules created the strait to prevent monsters from the vast and mysterious Atlantic Ocean entering the Mediterranean Sea. The MOL TRIBUTE is bravely pushing forward in the realm of the Unknown... https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-3.5/centery:36.2/zoom:8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Evans Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 Looks like the UK shipment is only an hour away from reaching port. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.