I don't understand why this seems so odd for people. If you have a business that features two types of customers. (1) Subscribers or (2) retail and other internet stores, the retail outlet is going to get priority (if their is a supply issue).
A subscriber is a customer that is going to be long term. Someone who wants the product being made. Those type of customer are those that are more willing to put up with a hiccup every now and then. They are also generally going to order one ship of each model.
Then you have the physical stores and Internet shops. Each retailer is a business that makes multiple orders of each models (could be a few could be dozens). Retail stores need stock on hand, in fact they need more stock on hand then what they have regular customers for, because they have random people that come in and window shop.
For retailers that can be a huge factor. You can get someone who might never have heard of a product see something that they like who turns into a long time customer (either through that specific store or who becomes a subscriber directly). Both are huge wins for Eaglemoss.
Random and casual buyers are the customers who are most likely to discontinue purchasing a product all together.
With subscribers you get people who will put up with delays, and when they finally decide enough is enough, often their first choice is trying to switch from subscription to stores or online purchases, and that it is still a win for Eaglemoss. Heck even going From being a subscriber to just an occasional buyer isn't a complete loss for Eaglemoss.
And as for supply, since Eaglemoss is a relatively small company, I am sure they try and keep their production line relatively tight. Enough to cover subs, shops, and a certain level of stock for them to sell through their online store.
And if you do then you are going to run into 2 issues that will sometimes cut seriously into supply. As a production run for a model is started much earlier then stores pre purchase, and the subscribers numbers can change (both + and -) each month if a production run has a higher rate of failure that is going to cut into what can go out. And if orders for specific models is dramatically higher then anticipated, that its also going to cut into can go out.
I am actually surprised how few issues I have had with getting ships, though admittedly my final subscription that started like 2 full year after the collection started is the one that has featured the most delays, but they have eventually got every ship that I ordered.
The one thing that they are still behind for me is binders, and they are way behind here. I ordered them with my first and 3rd subscription , and they just recently got them caught up with my 1st (it was almost 2 years behind schedule), my 3rd I finally cancelled, and just switched to their premium ones, which I actually like, but hate paying more for.
