Can someone answer a few questions for me?

[rerathbun]

 Am I correct in my understanding that what is actually listed on the storefront itself is all that is actually in stock? 

You are correct.  If a game is open for order by the general public (linked from the Avalanche Press website) on the store website, it's in stock, or in the final stages of production (the final week or two -- the counters, box sleeves, maps, rules and play aids are in the warehouse, and the scenario books are either in final proofing or at the printer).  Due to the small staff size and the time it takes to pack and ship all the pre-orders, it may take a week or so to ship an order placed at the moment availability is declared. 

plloyd1010 Wrote: What is on the store front is what is being sold, it includes pre-production orders.

Gold Club members are the only ones who can pre-order games that are not yet in production.  They receive links to the webstore (through the Gold Club Insider emails) that are not available to the public.  There are warnings in the emails that the games are not in stock yet.  The upside is a good discount (30%), the downside is the long wait time for the games to be produced.

Current in-stock orders get a quick turnaround, within two days. By "current in-stock" orders, I mean the order has only games that are available from the webstore (linked from the AvPress website, NOT the Gold Club emails) and were not NEW games declared available within the week or so.

What about the other items that are seemingly not retired, but also not stocked? ie Panzer Lehr, Conquest of Ethiopia, etc., both of which are listed in the "now available" section, but arent now available in the store. Are these things that will someday be available again or are they just dead at this point?

If a game's page on the Avalanche Press website says that it's "Available Now," but the website won't let you purchase it, it's currently out of stock but will return. For example, right now, Panzer Lehr is out of stock; If you click on the "Click here to order this great product!" at the bottom of the page, you get the "Contact us" message instead of the "add to cart" link.  If you sign up for the free News from the Front Newsletter, there is usually an announcement when games come back in stock. When a game comes back in stock, it doesn't have the backlog of preorders, so it ships right away.

Bottom line, if you want your games fast, order only from the webstore, using links from the Avalanche Press website.  If you want your games cheap and don't mind the wait, join the Gold Club and use the links from your Insider emails.