Software Solutions for Strategy Game Sellers
Strategy and hobby games are often imported, reprinted in small runs and sold with expansions. A store for them has to handle pre-orders, deposits, allocation when stock is short and clear links between a base game and what plays with it.
Take pre-orders, allocate limited copies and keep expansions with their base games.
Hobby games arrive in batches, sell out and return in later printings. The seller is often taking money for stock that has not landed.
Buyers ask which expansions fit which edition, and a wrong guess means a return of an imported box.
Specialist hobby stores
A store imports or distributes strategy titles and sells to a community of repeat buyers.
Importers selling online
An importer takes pre-orders before a container lands and ships once stock is received.
Distributors serving shops
A distributor lists titles for retailers, who order by carton against allocations.
The workflow for strategy games.
- 1
Announce a title and open pre-orders
A game is listed with an expected arrival window and a deposit or full payment, with a cap on copies taken.
- 2
Receive stock and allocate
When a shipment lands, copies are allocated to pre-orders in order, then to shelf stock.
- 3
Link the base game and its expansions
Each expansion lists the base game and edition it works with, and the base game lists what plays with it.
- 4
Ship in the order taken
Pre-orders are packed in the order they came in, with partial shipments where a title arrives in parts.
- 5
Reprints and editions
A new printing becomes a new edition record, so older and newer stock are not mixed on one listing.
The challenges, and what they cost.
What is specific to this trade.
These are requirements we would confirm in discovery. They describe what the solution may need to handle. They are not features that already exist.
- A rule for pre-order deposits, caps and what happens if a date slips
- Edition, language and expansion links held on the listing
- Allocation by order sequence when stock is short
- Import and duty arrangements confirmed per shipment by your adviser
What we would build for strategy games.
Chosen from the commerce capabilities this business needs, not a list of everything.
Who works in the system, and what each can do.
What it would connect to.
An integration is confirmed only after its API, access and scope are checked. A connection that updates on a schedule is described as scheduled, not real-time.
- A gateway account able to take deposits and part payments, which your provider confirms
- Shipment and clearing records from your freight agent, read in after the file format is reviewed
- A courier able to carry heavy boxes, connected after a trial booking
- Your accounting software, fed by a periodic export
How the work runs, and what we need from you.
What you provide
- Your current pre-order list and deposits taken
- Your import schedule and the titles in each shipment
- How you decide who gets scarce copies
Settle the pre-order rules
We write down caps, deposits, sequence and the refund choice before a single listing goes live.
Pilot on one title
A single pre-order is run through arrival and allocation to check the order of fulfilment.
What you receive.
- Pre-order and allocation flow
- Expansion and edition link structure
- Delay and refund tracking list
- A guide and a practice session for the order desk
How progress is judged.
Measures are agreed against your own baseline. We do not promise a result in advance.
- Pre-orders fulfilled out of sequence
- Refund requests with no deposit record
Selling at home and abroad.
Imported games depend on duties, clearance and shipping lead times that vary by market. Your adviser confirms them. The store shows arrival windows, not fixed dates.
The wider requirements for board games & puzzles are on the Board Games & Puzzles page.
Related subcategories.
Strategy Game Pre-order & E-commerce Software
Custom software solution
Nothing in the existing GullySystem range handles pre-orders, allocation and edition links for imported games, so this part is written from scratch for you, and a normal storefront can face customers.
Read about the softwareExisting GullySystem products that apply
Questions about strategy games e-commerce.
Can the store promise an arrival date?
It can show an expected window. Dates depend on the publisher, the shipping and clearance, so the page says expected, and the buyer is told if it moves.
Does it work out which expansion fits which edition?
Only from the links your editor records. It does not read the rules of the game. The links are entered once and then shown to shoppers.
Can pre-order deposits be refunded automatically?
A refund is raised from the order and sent through your gateway, but a person approves it. Automatic refunds on a missed date would be a separate decision.
Talk through your commerce requirement.
Describe what you sell, where you sell it and what is slowing you down. An engineer will reply within one business day.
- No obligation
- A reply within one business day
- Your details stay private