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Manufacturers start the ball rolling by placing their upcoming release information into the Aegis system directly through a simple web based form. They can upload cover art, and all the vital information that is needed to solicit for pre-orders. They enter in the date they need pre-orders back, which becomes the date that the retailer needs to get their orders in to Centurion in order to get the greater discount. You can still place pre-orders after the deadline, and we will take them as long as we have product to cover that amount. The system will let you place them in a second column (post pre-order deadline). We base Centurions pre-orders with the manufacturer on all the pre-orders made by the deadline, along with what we believe a reasonable overage should be to keep the item in stock for a couple of weeks (minimum) after the release date. Because you're helping us get that number accurate, you earn the better discount.
Although the greater discount is an incentive to pre-order, we realize other issues may prevent you from wanting to commit to items ahead of time. Well, to be honest, as we grow, we are unable to anticipate what to pre-order anymore. Notable recent under-orderings are the Kingdoms of Kalamar book, the Battletech Revised Master Rules, Forgotten Realms hard cover and the ever growing problems with CCG's. This system was designed to help alleviate the problem as much as possible. After all, not having the product means a missed sale by the both of us. It is nice to be able to just assume that we will have every product in stock when it is released, but the days of Centurion being able to do this are ending (the number of lines we carry as well as our ever growing customer base prevents this). Anyone not willing to pre-order risks not getting product, and those stores that won't commit to numbers we need to place our pre-orders, won't be earning an additional discount. We also understand that when you place a pre-order, things may effect the sale of that product which are beyond your/our control. Sometimes delays in product, or changes in price will cause you to want to cancel or change your pre-order. We have also anticipated this and have built some features into our system.
Delays in Shipment
Probably the biggest factor to effect sales, a delayed product can
quickly lose interest in a customer's eyes. When you place a pre-order, and
that product is delayed more than 30 days from the date of solicited
release, the product will REOPEN for pre-order adjustments. You can adjust
your order up or down for FIVE DAYS. At the end of the five days, the system
will automatically lock the item back down. If another 30 days passes, then
it reopens again, and so on, until it is either cancelled or does indeed
ship.
Changes to Critical Information
Every so often a product is solicited at a price or with a certain page
count, author, etc. However, when it comes out, this information may have
changed. Now, when you place a pre-order for the product, you will ALWAYS be
looking at the most up to date information. It will be this way, because the
manufacturer is responsible for upkeeping it. If they don't, then they have
no one to blame but themselves for not changing it, and thus you should not
be responsible for their mistakes. If you place a pre-order for an item, and
the manufacturer changes the information AFTER you place it, then everyone
with a pre-order in the system will AUTOMATICALLY be sent an e-mail that
lets them know of this change. At that point, they will have a five day
window to change their pre-order (up or down), should they wish to. If the
product comes into our warehouse differently than solicited, we will deal
with that by calling stores to confirm their numbers at that point.
Requirements to Use the System
In order to use the Aegis system, you must be a retail account in good
standing with Centurion Hobby Distribution. When you commit to a pre-order,
we will expect you to honor it. This system is a serious attempt to correct
some of the flaws that our industry has, and I want manufacturers relying on
this information to set print runs. Failure to take pre-ordered product
might cause you to be locked out of the system for future pre-orders. The
greater discount is your incentive to take risks and help predict the
future. We have tried to make it provide you with the best information you
need to do the ordering, and allow you to change your mind should the
information change. You are not required to use this system, but it is the
only way to earn a better discount on upcoming product.
Why is this Information Needed?
One of the biggest problems the adventure gaming industry has is that
there is almost no way for manufacturers to set print runs for demand.
Utilizing this system, manufacturers are able to log in and see actual
numbers of pre-orders from our retailers LIVE each time they log in. This
can help them plan. In the short time it has been up, I have already seen
orders for items in quantities that surprised me. I would not have stocked
them deep enough to fill these orders, and this trickles up through the
chain.
How Come We Can't Pre-order X Companies Product?
They may not be listed due to several reasons. The most likely is that we
are not allowed to buy from them. White Wolf is the most notable of the
companies. Other reasons might be that they are not uploading their product
to the system or we may not be aware of demand for a particular product. We
are only able to give the additional discount when everyone uses the Aegis
system. If someone at Centurion has to start keying in the product info, or
gather the pre-orders by hand, then we are not able to pass along the cost
savings. Another reason may be that the product has been net priced, and
therefore will not fit into our pre-order system. We feel that the terms we
offer are reasonable, and that most manufacturers appreciate dealing with
us. If you want to see a company carried that is not listed, ask us. If it
is one that has refused to deal with us, we will be able to give you a point
of contact in that company to voice your concern. If the problem is that
they are not entering pre-order information, then there is nothing like the
idea of lost sales to motivate a manufacturer to start entering the
information. It will probably only take a few notes from retailers to get
them motivated.
Each midnight (EST) our online database is automatically updated to reflect the in stock inventory of Centurion that was on hand at the close of business that day. Retailers have full access to this inventory, and are able to see everything by every manufacturer (manufacturers are only allowed to see their own product lines). You can search by product code, title, company or even price. Net priced items have the net price where the retail price should be. Any items on our hold shelf for other customers will still be reflected in these totals for the near future.
Pre-order Area
You will see pre-orders sorted through several methods including Pre-order
Due Date and Company. A further reminder will automatically begin to pop up
in their main menu area once an item is within five days or less of being
closed to pre-orders. You can see all the items you have on pre-order.
Product Information Sheets
You are able to generate a one page sell sheet for any product in our
pre-order database. This page is built from information in our database, and
prints in a simple, easy to read layout, including a picture, if one is
provided.
Swap Section
We now have a section that allows you to place items you want to see go away
online and allow other retailers who can use them to buy them. Name your
price, as only other retailers have access to this section. Use it to clear
out dead inventory, as one mans trash is another mans treasure. When an item
is posted at X price, and another retailer wants it, he hits the buy button.
The original poster is then sent an e-mail with a link that indicates
another retailer will pay his asking price. If the item is still available,
then the retailer will click on the link. The server reads this acceptance
and sends an e-mail with the quoted price to the buyer, and another e-mail
with the quoted price, a Return authorization number, and the address of
Centurion which you can ship it to. Once Centurion receives it, and verifies
the item, it credits the seller's account (credit comes off the next order)
with the money, and then bills the buyer with their next order (which is
also when the product will ship to them).
Centurion will act as the billing agent and crediting agent so you can be sure you are getting what you pay for.
Shopping Cart Coming Soon!
We will be converting our online inventory database to a shopping cart
system. This will allow you to build your restock orders quickly and easily.
E-mail them to us at your leisure and we will fill them as soon as possible.
Though the inventory will not be live, it should be accurate enough that you
will get 98% or better fills (only items on hold will mess up our system).
We hope to have this by the middle of the summer.
The menu items on the left side are as follows:
Inventory Levels
By clicking on this link, you are brought to the online portion of our
database. You are able to select a manufacturer and see EXACTLY what we have
in stock as og midnight EST the night before. This is similar to what has
been posted on our website for some time, but the difference here is that
you can see exact quantities on hand (only our accounts have access to this
information). This is automatically updated from our database at the
warehouse. In the future, we plan on having this information LIVE.
Pre-Order Status
Clicking on this link will bring you to the overview page where you can see
all the pre-orders that you currently have with Centurion through the Aegis
system. You are able to sort these by Manufacturer, Product Code, Product
Name, and Final Pre-Order Date by clicking on any of those titles at the top
of the page. We'll be adding the ability to sort them by ship date as well.
At the bottom of the page, there is a link that will bring you to a
printable version of the page so you can have a hard copy of your
pre-orders.
Place Pre-Order
This link will bring you to the heart of the Aegis system. At the top of the
page are the various search functions. Here is a reprint of the instructions
from that page.
Directions: You may search by one or more manufactuers and/or product codes. To select more than one manufacturer, simply hold down the "SHIFT" key and select a range or hold down the "CTRL" and click on each manufacturer you wish to see. You can also tailor the size of the list to 20, 50, or 100 items per page. Click on the 'SEARCH' button to obtain the results. Click on the 'Previous Page' and 'Next Page' buttons below the items to move through the list. Simply repeat the process to see a different list of items.
You are able to click on any of the product codes to go directly to the product information sheet. Placing an order there or on the main screen will be saved automatically when you go to another page. Even if you enter a number by mistake, you are free to change it at anytime right up until the pre-order deadline.
Logout
Clicking on this link will end your connection to the Aegis system.
The Aegis system is a living system. We can make changes to it as people suggest them. Feel free to let us know any ideas you may have to improve how to use it. If you would like manufacturers to place more information into the system, tell them! After all, it helps them in the long run when you place better orders.