Postal Strikes imminent, Game delivery affected?

 So in the UK the selfish people at the Royal Mail have decided that they don't want to be replaced by machines and they want more pay, I won't go into my opinion on this too much because damn! okay... so with plenty of games coming out these next few weeks many websites have started to realise they may not be able to get the games to customers...
 
Are you guys willing to pay for postage when you may not get your game on time for release?
 
(Kudos to GAME for keeping their "1st to play" service open for free)

Im wondering i like they claim games will still be delivered on release at GAME

I just order from Shopto. £1.99 for UKMail next day delivery and so far my games have come on a Wednesday (like today, I got Borderlands and Forza 3).

" @Pie: In the way that you usually get them a day early or because of the Royal Mail thing? "

As much as it sucks to lose your job, there's no reason to employ a person if you can save money by using a machine. Business isn't a charity.
 
I'm not sure what your courier services are like in the UK, but I avoid the US Postal Service at all costs. Nothing against them necessarily, but they are less reliable and only deliver to your mailbox (which in my case is across the entire apartment complex and has a very small box for deliveries). I prefer FedEX and UPS which deliver right to my door and can be tracked online and is almost never delayed. Thankfully, Amazon uses UPS for everything.
 
In the UK, are you allowed to use couriers, or do you have some sort of law that obligates you to use the public service? In the states, there are almost always two or three options (US Postal Service, UPS, and sometimes FedEX) and it seems like UPS is offered more often than the post office service, even.

" As much as it sucks to lose your job, there's no reason to employ a person if you can save money by using a machine. Business isn't a charity.  I'm not sure what your courier services are like in the UK, but I avoid the US Postal Service at all costs. Nothing against them necessarily, but they are less reliable and only deliver to your mailbox (which in my case is across the entire apartment complex and has a very small box for deliveries). I prefer FedEX and UPS which deliver right to my door and can be tracked online and is almost never delayed. Thankfully, Amazon uses UPS for everything.  In the UK, are you allowed to use couriers, or do you have some sort of law that obligates you to use the public service? In the states, there are almost always two or three options (US Postal Service, UPS, and sometimes FedEX) and it seems like UPS is offered more often than the post office service, even. "

im outside the UK, pre ordered borderlands from amazon.co.uk and its being shipped today, but im afraid i wont get it friday (its always 2 days from amazon for me) because of the strike... and that will BLOW, no weekend borderlands for me :(

" @Pie: Elaborate.... "

well hmv posting is bad enough anyway, paid 15 quid delivery for my new xbox 360 super elite, preordered it like a month ago and today they ring me up to tell me that it wont be here til the 30th, a whole week after release so i told him where he can shove my order,ill go get it myself from game at midnight launch

" @RiotBananas said:

" @Pie: Elaborate.... "

The actual shop......GAME! Ill give you a clue as to where. A major shopping centre in the north "

" @Pie said:

" @RiotBananas said:

" @Pie: Elaborate.... "

The actual shop......GAME! Ill give you a clue as to where. A major shopping centre in the north "

I'm a midlander, never ventured any "norther" than Kidderminster so I wouldn't know where!  I find the online GAME about £5-£10 cheaper than the stores, which is fair enough considering you're cutting out the middle man. Who's usually abit fat and extra grumpy at you walking in at 5:25pm when they're about to close ¬_¬ "

" @RiotBananas said:

" @Pie said:

" @RiotBananas said:

" @Pie: Elaborate.... "

The actual shop......GAME! Ill give you a clue as to where. A major shopping centre in the north "

I'm a midlander, never ventured any "norther" than Kidderminster so I wouldn't know where!  I find the online GAME about £5-£10 cheaper than the stores, which is fair enough considering you're cutting out the middle man. Who's usually abit fat and extra grumpy at you walking in at 5:25pm when they're about to close ¬_¬ "

Your game closes early! Oh yeah, probably because my GAME is in a major shopping centre in the north *smug* "

" @Pie said:

" @RiotBananas said:

" @Pie said:

" @RiotBananas said:

" @Pie: Elaborate.... "

The actual shop......GAME! Ill give you a clue as to where. A major shopping centre in the north "

I'm a midlander, never ventured any "norther" than Kidderminster so I wouldn't know where!  I find the online GAME about £5-£10 cheaper than the stores, which is fair enough considering you're cutting out the middle man. Who's usually abit fat and extra grumpy at you walking in at 5:25pm when they're about to close ¬_¬ "

Your game closes early! Oh yeah, probably because my GAME is in a major shopping centre in the north *smug* "

My GAME is in a small shopping area and it's not very big either. :( "

" @Pie said:

" @RiotBananas said:

" @Pie said:

" @RiotBananas said:

" @Pie: Elaborate.... "

The actual shop......GAME! Ill give you a clue as to where. A major shopping centre in the north "

I'm a midlander, never ventured any "norther" than Kidderminster so I wouldn't know where!  I find the online GAME about £5-£10 cheaper than the stores, which is fair enough considering you're cutting out the middle man. Who's usually abit fat and extra grumpy at you walking in at 5:25pm when they're about to close ¬_¬ "

Your game closes early! Oh yeah, probably because my GAME is in a major shopping centre in the north *smug* "

My GAME is in a small shopping area and it's not very big either. :( "

Hell no. To hell with it all, I'm sparing myself this bullshit and getting all my games on launch day in store. My only concern is how long this crap will last, as I normally buy a load of stuff on Amazon UK in November. While this shit persists I've go no choice but to put that idea on the back-burner, because even when things are normal, Royal Mail still annoy me.

" @RiotBananas said:

" @Pie said:

" @RiotBananas said:

" @Pie said:

" @RiotBananas said:

" @Pie: Elaborate.... "

The actual shop......GAME! Ill give you a clue as to where. A major shopping centre in the north "

I'm a midlander, never ventured any "norther" than Kidderminster so I wouldn't know where!  I find the online GAME about £5-£10 cheaper than the stores, which is fair enough considering you're cutting out the middle man. Who's usually abit fat and extra grumpy at you walking in at 5:25pm when they're about to close ¬_¬ "

Your game closes early! Oh yeah, probably because my GAME is in a major shopping centre in the north *smug* "

My GAME is in a small shopping area and it's not very big either. :( "

Well my LARGE shopping centre has TWO MEDIUM sized GAMES *Smugness of the next level* "

I hope my Borderlands and Forza 3 orders manage to find their way out of the UK before the strike. Shipped Friday and Monday I think. Strike starts tomorrow right?

" @leviticus128: Super Elite? "

" @Pie said:

" @RiotBananas said:

" @Pie said:

" @RiotBananas said:

" @Pie said:

" @RiotBananas said:

" @Pie: Elaborate.... "

The actual shop......GAME! Ill give you a clue as to where. A major shopping centre in the north "

I'm a midlander, never ventured any "norther" than Kidderminster so I wouldn't know where!  I find the online GAME about £5-£10 cheaper than the stores, which is fair enough considering you're cutting out the middle man. Who's usually abit fat and extra grumpy at you walking in at 5:25pm when they're about to close ¬_¬ "

Your game closes early! Oh yeah, probably because my GAME is in a major shopping centre in the north *smug* "

My GAME is in a small shopping area and it's not very big either. :( "

Well my LARGE shopping centre has TWO MEDIUM sized GAMES *Smugness of the next level* "

My city has it's own fucking Sauce.  Your move. "

Well my LARGE shopping centre has TWO MEDIUM sized GAMES *Smugness of the next level* "

" @Pie said:

Well my LARGE shopping centre has TWO MEDIUM sized GAMES *Smugness of the next level* "

So does mine *smug* "

I buy mine in store anyway.

" @Pie said:

Well my LARGE shopping centre has TWO MEDIUM sized GAMES *Smugness of the next level* "

So does mine *smug* "

i had to join this site as I was so annoyed at some of your selfish comments about the Postal Workers here in the UK. 
 
Yes, it annoys me as much as anyone here in the UK, but to say that the workers are (to quote RiotBananas) "selfish" for going on strike because they don't want to be replaced by machines, or the comment by  Branthog that "business isn't a charity"  just because you can't get your bloody game on time to play is a comment I would expect a dumb ass like Prince Phillip or one of the other Royals to come out with who don't know what it means to be without a job or money to feed their families. 
 
I'm NOT a postal worker but my friend is, (here in the UK) who has worked for them for over 10 years. HE & his other fellow workers DON'T want to strike & have said that they & a HUGE majority of them were OPPOSED to the action because its unfair on the public & they just want to get on & do their jobs. 
 
Its NOT about been replaced by machines, that's not the point they are making here; its about Royal Mail demanding they take redundancy (which is a VERY small amount been offered) & leave, OR be forced to work part time for a paupers wage.  
 
You have the right to your opinion guys, freedom of speech & all that, but please get the FACTS RIGHT before you mouth off about what you THINK you know, because you know shit.
 
 RiotBananas/ Branthog, how would YOU feel if you had worked your ass off in a job for YEARS & was loyal & was then told "hey, you can piss off now because were getting a machine to do your job" & so you were forced out & so you weren't able to feed your family because you were now unemployed, you then would lose your house, your car, probably your family too etc & adding insult to injury, you would, initially, be more or less left homeless? I bet YOU two wouldn't say "hey, its business & its not a charity"  would you? 
 
...NO YOU WOULDN"T because you'd FIGHT to keep your job to be able to support your family & way of life.................,  shit, life is hard enough without arseholes like you two mouthing off with your "adapt or die" attitude.
 
But then again, some of us live in the REAL world & NOT a bloody computer generated one.

"i had to join this site as I was so annoyed at some of your selfish comments about the Postal Workers here in the UK. 
 
Yes, it annoys me as much as anyone here in the UK, but to say that the workers are (to quote RiotBananas) "selfish" for going on strike because they don't want to be replaced by machines, or the comment by  Branthog that "business isn't a charity"  just because you can't get your bloody game to play is a comment I would expect a dumb ass like Prince Phillip or one of the other Royals to come out with who don't know what it means to be without a job or money to feed their families. 
 
I'm NOT a postal worker but my friend is, (here in the UK) who has worked for them for over 10 years. HE & his other fellow workers DON'T want to strike & have said that they a HUGE majority of them were OPPOSED the action because its unfair on the public & they just want to get on & do their jobs. 
 
Its NOT about been replaced by machines, its about Royal Mail demanding they take redundancy (which is a VERY small amount) & leave, OR be forced to work part time.  
 
You have the right to your opinion's guys, but get the FACTS RIGHT before you mouth off about what you THINK you know, because you know sh*t.
 
 RiotBananas/ Branthog, how would YOU feel if you had worked your ass off in a job for YEARS & was loyal & was then told "hey, you can piss off now because were getting a machine to do your job" & so you were forced out & now you weren't even able to feed your family because you were now unemployed, you then would lose your house, your car, probably your family too etc & adding insult to injury now be more or less left homeless? I bet YOU wouldn't say "hey, its business & its not a charity"...NO YOU WOULDN"T because you'd FIGHT to keep your job for your family.................,  
 
But then again, some of us live in the REAL world & NOT a bloody computer generated one. "

Being a UK resident, and having pre-ordered all of my video game purchases online in the last 3 months, I was concerned to hear about the postal strike and the impact it may have upon the arrival of things such as MW2 and other purchases I have made for christmas! Thankfully though, I received an email from HMV last week to inform me that my order of MW2 had been moved over from the Royal Mail to ParcelForce, in order to ensure I get the game at launch, at no extra cost! Obviously I'm pretty pleased with the move!
 
As far as postal services go, in the past few months I've ordered Halo : ODST, Forza 3 and Operation Flashpoint : Dragon Rising, all from Play.com. I received ODST on launch day, Forza 3 a day early, and Dragon Rising 5 days after launch. I have no idea whether it was due to the post, or Play.com dispatching my items or what, but it seems I've had a very mixed bag when it comes to getting games in the post!

The postal strikes are so hilariously self-defeating. The Royal Mail are losing custom, which in turn is going to mean they downsize, which means posties are going to lose their jobs, which means the unions are going to have nothing to do... Which means -- they're digging their own grave. Worried about Modern Warfare 2 though I must admit. Amazon are promising delivery during strikes. Posties strike on Monday.
 
@Mikeydon said:

"I'm NOT a postal worker but my friend is, (here in the UK) who has worked for them for over 10 years. HE & his other fellow workers DON'T want to strike & have said that they & a HUGE majority of them were OPPOSED to the action because its unfair on the public & they just want to get on & do their jobs. 
 
Its NOT about been replaced by machines, that's not the point they are making here; its about Royal Mail demanding they take redundancy (which is a VERY small amount been offered) & leave, OR be forced to work part time for a paupers wage.  
 
You have the right to your opinion guys, freedom of speech & all that, but please get the FACTS RIGHT before you mouth off about what you THINK you know, because you know shit. "

Well, I got Forza 3 from GAME a whole week before it's actual release, and they sent my copy of Dragon Age today, which isn't due until Friday.
So I'd say there's not much to worry about still, even if I don't get DO tomorrow, which I hopefully will, chances are it'll arrive on Thursday or at the very least Friday.

" i had to join this site as I was so annoyed at some of your selfish comments about the Postal Workers here in the UK. 
 
Yes, it annoys me as much as anyone here in the UK, but to say that the workers are (to quote RiotBananas) "selfish" for going on strike because they don't want to be replaced by machines, or the comment by  Branthog that "business isn't a charity"  just because you can't get your bloody game on time to play is a comment I would expect a dumb ass like Prince Phillip or one of the other Royals to come out with who don't know what it means to be without a job or money to feed their families. 
 
I'm NOT a postal worker but my friend is, (here in the UK) who has worked for them for over 10 years. HE & his other fellow workers DON'T want to strike & have said that they & a HUGE majority of them were OPPOSED to the action because its unfair on the public & they just want to get on & do their jobs. 
 
Its NOT about been replaced by machines, that's not the point they are making here; its about Royal Mail demanding they take redundancy (which is a VERY small amount been offered) & leave, OR be forced to work part time for a paupers wage.  
 
You have the right to your opinion guys, freedom of speech & all that, but please get the FACTS RIGHT before you mouth off about what you THINK you know, because you know shit.
 
 RiotBananas/ Branthog, how would YOU feel if you had worked your ass off in a job for YEARS & was loyal & was then told "hey, you can piss off now because were getting a machine to do your job" & so you were forced out & so you weren't able to feed your family because you were now unemployed, you then would lose your house, your car, probably your family too etc & adding insult to injury, you would, initially, be more or less left homeless? I bet YOU two wouldn't say "hey, its business & its not a charity"  would you? 
 
...NO YOU WOULDN"T because you'd FIGHT to keep your job to be able to support your family & way of life.................,  shit, life is hard enough without arseholes like you two mouthing off with your "adapt or die" attitude.
 
But then again, some of us live in the REAL world & NOT a bloody computer generated one. "

I won't be ordering any games by mail in the near future but the postal strike is a bit of a bummer. In fact some of my mail may have been lost by the Royal Mail which was essential for obtaining my university grants.

Received Forza Motorsport 3 on a Wednesday (Friday official release date) from GAME with the express delivery so it's worth going that way for the time being. Yes it's £2 extra but you get it early guaranteed.  
 
Though I'm going to the store to buy Modern Warfare 2, already overpricing us. 

" @Linkyshinks:  no i mean the 250 gig forza 3 ltd edition "

Royal Mail have lost a hard drive caddy we ordered...

If you don't like it, don't order online.

" @Marzy: My new Longboard is also lost in the post. I paid £100 and I don't know when I'll get it :( "

These postal strikes are really getting me concerned about my Modern Warfare 2 pre-order.

" These postal strikes are really getting me concerned about my Modern Warfare 2 pre-order. "

" @HandsomeDead said:

" These postal strikes are really getting me concerned about my Modern Warfare 2 pre-order. "

Depending on where you ordered it you should be fine, Most large retailers are upgrading to couriers (Many more may follow if the Royal Mail keep this up)  GAME and Amazon are both using Parcel Force I think... "

I live in Sweden and I've got Dragon Age pre-ordered from play.com. Does this mean I won't get my game? Guess I could pay €7 more and get it in Sweden, and without the pre-order bonus...however I would get it faster since it takes a week to ship from the UK.