So I e-mailed CD Universe to see where everything stood - got the standard form letter response
[quote name='CD Universe']> > I am truly sorry for this delay, the items were slated to arrive to
> > us as expected but have not arrived as the high demand on the item
> > has slowed the filling or the stock. We are awaiting the arrival at
> > this time and will contact you via email with any updates.
> >
> > Please feel free to email me if you need further assistance.[/quote]
I followed up since that seemed a little vague as far as what the situation was;
[quote name='Me']> Does this mean that the manufacturer will be filling/has agreed to
> fill said orders and the question now is just a delay? (I ask, because
> from what I know, the "Signature Edition" was a one-time run that the
> manufacturer had said they would not be re-printing or re-releasing.)
> - While I don't mind waiting if the below explanation is actually the
> case, if it isn't, I'd prefer not to have to wait a month or more
> before being told that nothing can be done.[/quote]
and this was the answer I got in return...
[quote name='CD Universe']
I am truly sorry, our suppliers have temporarily removed the item as they cannot provide a guarantee.I have issued a full refund to your paypal account as requested,this will be reflected within 24 hours to your paypal account.
You will receive email confirmation as soon as any new updates are released.
Please feel free to email me if you need further assistance.[/quote]
Immediately following that e-mail, they cancelled my order and processed my refund. So, since my order is cancelled, I somehow doubt I would hear from them again if they did somehow get their hands on a bunch of Signature Editions.
Picked up the standard edition on my way home from work, but here's what I learned from this experience...
1.) CD Universe has no clue about games. It basically appears like they had no idea the Signature Edition had a deadline of 1/11/11 for being ordered. I'd be willing to bet even people who did put in for it before that date got skunked, as I'd guess that they didn't actually order the games until well after that. The bit about still taking orders on it after they knew there was a problem rubbed me the wrong way too. Bottom line? It was my first experience shopping with them, and it will be my last.
2.) Bioware/EA dropped the ball on this one and left a lot of people with a bad taste in their mouth. Yeah, I pre-ordered the pc version of the game before the cutoff with Amazon, but it would have been nice if I could have made my decision with something to go on - this way I could have actually chosen the version I wanted to play. In short, the demo should have been released before the cutoff date.
The whole "free upgrade to Signature Edition" was a nice touch, but it was just badly handled. Next time just make the same version available for a little more post-launch - there's no reason a new release title should be selling for almost twice it's retail value online.
3.) What am I going to do in the future? Simple - if the choice comes up again between systems and I'm not sure which to go with, I'm just going to preorder all the versions, and then cancel all but the ones I want at the last minute.
Does it suck for the retailer? Yeah, I'm sure it does, but unfortunately, if that's what it's going to take to not get shafted on something, that's what's gonna happen.
Anyway, that's my DA2 story - live and learn.