Games Workshop = Bah Humbug

[Aliengod3]

Ya I remember when I first started playing GW games a box of 20 orks cost only $20. Now it is like $22 for 10. Makes one feel violated. Although there are obviously people who are happy to pay the increase as they keep on increasing the price and people keep buying GW minis.

I have reached a point were I receive so much cognitive dissonance from GW purchases that I do not buy anything from them unless I fill completely euphoric about it, and that is very rare. Also with their magazine costing $9 I only purchase it when I feel it has an actual $9 value to me, which is pretty much never.

I do like the new ork nobs but for the most part nothing they offer is really worth the price.

 

[Gilvan Blight]

I remember when

I remember when the closest GW store was in Toronto about 4 hours away and you could get a box of 40 miniatures for under $20 (The original Warhammer Regiments box for fantasy). Of course back then your units consisted of 17 identical guys and 3 command unit guys, but it was much cheaper.

As many have already said, if you think the price is too high don\'t buy it. If enough people do that they will do something to get their profits back. I personally haven\'t bought anything from a GW store in something like 5 years. The only thing I bought that was a GW product was Black Reach and I bought that on sale at an independent, before that it was Mordhiem stuff from when the game was still supported.

 

[slah]

I was down my local minishop the other day. It only sells GW because it´s a fairly small town, and GW is the only brand that has enough recognition to pull in costumers and sell minis.

The funny thing is that I noticed he had a 20% discount on all GW-products. I figured it would be a good time to stock up a bit, and I asked the owner how long the discount would be running, and he said: \"indefinitely\". He recently had a 20% discount on all GW-items when the store turned 5 years old, and after crunching numbers he could see that it would be more profitable to sell with a 20% discount because of the increased sales.

That really makes me think that GW has got the serious wrong idea of how to price their goods. You don´t climb out of the financial hole by raising prices and alianating your customers - you lower prices and thereby encourage people to buy more stuff.

 

[freakinacage]

Originally posted by Torn blue sky

As for GW stores I just can\'t stand the places anymore. As it\'s been pointed out; The concept of personal space is so lost on them i find myself reverting to primary school and swinging my arms about yelling \"this is my space\"... I have also bore witness , firsthand, some pretty bad leching too lol I was so embarrassed for the individuals concerned I had to leave the place myself!

actually cardiff ain\'t too bad. most of the guys are open and friendly and not too weird. in fact my g/f\'s housemate has just started dating one of them!

having said that, i try not to bring my missus in. it\'s hard trying to talk to all of the staff as they rush over...

 

[frenchkid]

Juste looked a their number out of curiosity and it seems that they only have an operating profit of about 6%. Which seems really low to me. So I guess they have to keep the prices up unless they find a way to decrease operating costs.

 

[Commisar Monkey]

I have no idea what you guys are talking about my local Games Workshop is a fun and relaxing place as long as you try to avoid the hobby introduction days, there are lots of great regulars that are fun to play games with and talk about some painting techniques.

And about the price increases sure it sucks but i really like doing the hobby so it doesn\'t really matter to me

 

[Master of fact]

@ commissar: Welcome to the madness that is CMON.

Are you an employee............. lol

Im glad you enjoy your experience at GW. But in the current recession companies should be encourging customers to buy! not leave them. I dont see a price hike wanting me to spend more money.

 

[BPI]

I\'ll chime in...

On the pricing, I think that £15 for 10 Empire Archers plus a dead Orc & a pheasant is reasonable, £25 for 10 Empire Greatswords is not. I know there are many issues beyond manufacturing cost to take into account when setting pricing but in the end I\'m buying a weight of plastic, manufactured & distributed throught the same system, why such a gross difference? (I did notice that the Greatsword box is fatter than the archer one & asked staff what the bonus goodies were. Answer, lots of arms & heads!?! Like I don\'t already have a couple of spares!)

I\'d not like to see GW vanish from the high street though. I think they provide a fantastic service for the children of parents of a certain income. I don\'t know where else da yoof would encounter tabletop wargaming/modeling? There are a couple of indy stores I pop into locally who do railway/dollshouse/airfix kit but there\'s no onsite club to settle down with your goodies & paint/play.

My biggest frustration with GW is how few games they sell. Casual traffic should be able to stop in & buy a boardgame. Talisman, Block Mania, Chainsaw Warrior, Space Hulk, Hero-Quest, Citadel Top Trumps, something new perhaps? Why don\'t they stock WHFR stuff, the novels based on the Warhammer world & other licensed material? There\'s a thread on the 40K section of this board with a poster asking the rough set up cost of an army & the replies are suggesting £250 as a figure to budget for. A huge amount of money for anybody wanting to dabble in the world of games that aren\'t bleedin\' electronic or Parker Bros. pablum.

My return to visiting GW frequently (after a decade of stopping in once every couple of years for a pot of paint) was based on discovering the LotR skirmish game, I think the Mines Of Moria set is a great value introduction to wargaming (could do with some more scenarios though). Which brings me full circle, why does a teensy Moria Goblin King cost about the same as a blister with 3 Warhammer troops in it?

I accept that I\'ll always have a love/hate relationship with GW though. Too many good emotional connections with my past to just be able to cast them aside & I want them to survive & grow, not vanish into the ether of the web.

B.

 

[StarFyre]

That\'s actually annoyed me too recently.

I wanted a couple of the new kroxigors...they aren\'t carried in the store.

I wanted some of the new terradons; they also aren\'t carried in the store.

Wait...didn\'t the lizardmen just get the new armybook in feb? You\'d think NEW army models for a recently released book WOULD be in the store.

retarded....

Sanjay

 

[Kester]

Yes they are expensive, but they are one the whole a damn fine product. GW are the first step into the hobby for most of us. Yes many people move onto different games, different manufacturers at some point, but without GW\'s high st presence the vast majority of current gamers/hobbyist/painters wouldn\'t even know the hobby existed. The stores are very useful when you are first starting out, they offer good advice on how to take your first painting steps and let\'s be honest, it can seem a bit daunting when you first start out. No, they don\'t always carry the stock that we want - that is what the web store is for. The high st GW is a hobby centre and is important in its own right as such. I am happy to pay the prices, if it means that these hobby centers can stay, bringing fresh people into the hobby and keeping the whole thing alive. I go to both the Bolton store and the Manchester store, the staff are great, friendly and helpful without being overbearing. If GW was to go under, it would kill the hobby stone dead. Maybe not straight away, but soon and if you think otherwise, you are fooling yourself.

 

[Ritual]

Originally posted by Kester
If GW was to go under, it would kill the hobby stone dead. Maybe not straight away, but soon and if you think otherwise, you are fooling yourself.

That depends on what you mean with \"the hobby\". I know lots of miniature painters and modellers who hardly know GW exists. They wouldn\'t notice if GW went away and would continue as if nothing had happened. So would I. But, of course, the sci-fi and fantasy wargaming would be affected. Would it disappear? Don\'t know, but I have my doubts. Miniature wargaming has been around longer than GW has.

 

[darklord]

tell the staff you dont play only paint - soon leave you alone then!!

 

[Ritual]

Originally posted by darklord
tell the staff you dont play only paint - soon leave you alone then!!

Yeah, because that\'s almost like saying you only speak swahili or something. They look at you in a funny way and walk off... lol

 

[Amazon warrior]

Originally posted by darklord
tell the staff you dont play only paint - soon leave you alone then!!

I shall try that next time, see if it works. It\'s practically true for me anyway! lol Three games does not make me a regular player. :]

I didn\'t get into the hobby thru GW, but thru Reaper and Rackham via RPGs and a very interesting stand in Travelling Man Bristol when I was 24, so I\'m hardly what you\'d call a typical modeller!

I don\'t think it\'s unreasonable to expect stores to, y\'know, carry stock other than big unit boxes. They\'re nice and all, but not the only thing you need to play the game and damn\' dull if you\'re looking for a special painting project.

 

[BPI]

Kester: \"No, they don\'t always carry the stock that we want - that is what the web store is for.\"

I know & I\'m sure for many (the majority?) this is a great option. I hate it though. Lots of emotional reaction going on though so I don\'t know if this will come across rationally

I want GW to bother to stock the product they manufacture. I don\'t want to remote shop. I don\'t have an internet connection at home, a credit card, a particularly safe postal address, or the same desire to purchase looking at jaggy photos on a shop website, instead I want to browse physical product, get a good look at it and get the purchase-pleasure sensation (I\'ve found magazine subscriptions disappointing compared to the thrill of spotting a new issue in the newsagent

I think it\'s just that GW has changed, in my memory it\'ll always be the store in Manchester 20 odd years ago with a plethora of fascinating product unavailable in any other high street store (viewed with child\'s eyes).

In a more general sense I fear the effect that internet shopping will have/is having on our high streets. Yes I could save 5-20% mail-ordering but as local indy stores & small specialist chains vanish we lose the variety & browsability from our city centres. There\'s already little enough unless you want to buy coffee, clothes or a mobile phone. Perhaps we all need to buy less crap though, bit too materialistic currently (I say with a new box of Empire Archers sat along with the unpainted figures & unread books!).

I have found a couple of friends who are unable to comprehend my preference to travel to a bricks & mortar location & then pay more for the goods when I could have sat on my bum at home & waited for the stuff to arrive by express courier though. I suspect I\'m in the minority?

Last thought, I\'ve always lived in cities, I guess those in more rural/remote locations appreciate the joys of mail-order rather more.

Cheers, have a nice weekend, B.

 

[Amazon warrior]

Originally posted by BPI
I have found a couple of friends who are unable to comprehend my preference to travel to a bricks & mortar location & then pay more for the goods when I could have sat on my bum at home & waited for the stuff to arrive by express courier though. I suspect I\'m in the minority?

Last thought, I\'ve always lived in cities, I guess those in more rural/remote locations appreciate the joys of mail-order rather more.

Cheers, have a nice weekend, B.

Mmmm! I do like a nice bit of impulse purchasing! Which is what often happens when I go into a bricks-n-mortar store (actually, I\'m terrible for it. Female, you know! lol). While I was back in the UK, I went into Waterstones and bought four new books. Could I have got them cheaper from Amazon? Almost certainly, but it wouldn\'t have been as much fun.

Rural vs. city - yeah. Having lived in both situations, I\'d say you\'ve got about right. Even after I got my driving licence, it was still a good 20 min drive into the small town with not much available. Then, I did a lot of mail order!

 

[Aliengod3]

I hate going into GW stores. The two that I go to most frequently changed their managers, whom I was good friends with, and now it is a bunch of new salespeople none of whom know who I am. So when I go into the store they ask the same dumb questions every time, \"Have you been here before?\" \"What armies do you play?\" \"Would you like a free paint lesson?\" \"Golden demon competitions are very difficult. Have you ever entered before?\"

Although I love the stupid look that comes across their face when I tell them that I have several golden demon trophies. They shut up real quick... even though it does not stop them from trying to sell products I have no desire to buy. So damn irritating.

 

[Master of fact]

Aliengod i nearly fell off my chair imagining their face when you told them about your demons, i want one JUST to see their face! Congrats all the same though

(can i borrow one ...cough...:drunk

 

[Amazon warrior]

Originally posted by Master of fact
Aliengod i nearly fell off my chair imagining their face when you told them about your demons, i want one JUST to see their face! Congrats all the same though

(can i borrow one ...cough...:drunk

Heh, me too! Is that a bad reason for wanting to win GD? :innocent:

I don\'t think it counts if it\'s not yours though!

 

[hakoMike]

Space Marine Predator Tank: $41.25
Tamiya 1/35 M26 Pershing Tank: $53

We\'re a niche. Niche\'s are expensive. Thankfully we\'re not \"WWII modeler\" niche yet.

My local GW store\'s mood changes with the management.... one year it\'s wonderful, the next it\'s horrid. Like the weather, if I don\'t like it I just wait for it to change now.

Originally posted by darklord
tell the staff you dont play only paint - soon leave you alone then!!

In my experience they are just as like to try any sell you everything because you aren\'t limited to one army.