"Latest AOS releases today...woah...$$$" Topic

Was visiting GW's site just earlier.

Bunch of new mini sets and terrain sets are available. Link here:

link

As much as I love the design of the AOS miniatures and new terrain – this is really tough to defend. I don't know how the prices are being set at GW, but I'm not going to do a fanboy defense on this one.

These prices are out of control, somebody at GW is thinking that their new business model is to cater to the wealthiest Warhammer gamers only apparently. I mean I realize that the quality of GW's plastics are getting better and better and are of a very high quality of detail, among the best.

But who the he** is going to pay this much?

I'm genuinely shocked. This makes GW's pricing for their 8th edition stuff looks like discount bargains.

$345 USD for 31 miniatures. $170 USD for 15 miniatures. And they pushed their price of the latest 5-mini sets of Retributors and Protectors to $58 USD per box. Jeezus.

$250 USD for a 5-piece set of terrain. I mean my god the old plastic Warhammer fortress from 8th edition was only $99 USD retail, and you actually got an entire castle.

This degree of pricing could take AOS down. And it seems rather dubious at this point to suggest as so many have that GW's target group for sales is a 40k-esque mentality in 10-12 year olds. No way! Not at these prices. What parents would justify dropping $500 USD-$600 in one stop at the store on a few boxes of plastic soldiers, to take the risk of their kids losing interest in it quickly, as kids often do with new things. Hobbies for 10-12 year olds cost parents untold amounts of wasted money. The clarinet or violin that gathers dust in the corner. The wasted lessons. The unfinished and unpainted minis in a box under the bed.

If a kid begs for $500 USD of AOS stuff and also begs for an Xbox One, the parents are going to get the Xbox One, period. It just feels to them like a more substantial investment, you're getting something that will have more longevity, and if a game gets boring you can swap it out for new games, plus the adults in the house can play games as well.

I don't see that same kind of risk being taken on a miniature wargame of this price scale.

This pricing is targeted at adult gamers who they hope will love AOS so much that they'll impulsively click their way to a $500 USD spending spree on their website.

I can't see that happening. This is sticker shock beyond comprehension.

I think this game will stall out once starter boxed set sales fizzle out, which is selling very well right now and is pretty much the only new thing that is a good value in terms of price per mini.

As I said I like the design and aesthetics of AOS, but today's releases are a huge red flag. People aren't going to pay these prices, I don't know what they are thinking.

I'm priced out of this completely. The ONLY conceivable thing I can see is to buy one or two of the starter sets and just call it a day, field two basic armies and then use 8th edition miniatures along with it. You'll end up with nearly 100 miniatures total for both armies for the price of two starter sets, $250 USD, or a good deal less if you get the starter sets on Ebay. That's at least somewhat feasible.

This is frustrating because I would love to pick up the newest terrain set, it's really cool and I would love to paint it up and use it, but $250 USD? Dang. Just dang.

Gotta improve that anemic profitability somehow, and this seems to be their standard business model, so……

And the best thing for GW is the new style of miniatures are just about impossible to proxy. While their old stuff could be proxied quite easily (Empire? nah I'll just buy some historical Landsknechts) They're isn't anything out their like the Sigmarites. Happy days for GW.

PS. that terrain set takes the absolute 5 ruins (not even whole buildings) for that amount of money LOL.

Everything I have read on the net suggests AoS sales have been tepid--not awful, but nowhere near as well as various equivalent 40k releases.

What is interesting is that to improve upon the supposed weak ROI for Warhammer fantasy, AoS needed to do MUCH better than it appears to be doing--it did not need to sell close to 40k, but it did need to close the gap between WFB sales and 40k sales. I have heard little if anything to suggest that AoS is doing well enough in this regard.

The other thing you wonder about is that for several years now, GW has kept up profits by cutting costs and raising prices, all while losing customers and revenue due to falling sales. Pricing AoS this aggressively suggests they are not internally optimistic that AoS will sell great so are cranking up prices to compensate.

I will rarely defend GW, let alone their pricing, but those prices are quite similar to some other manufacturers. Micro Art Studios and Freebooter – for just two examples – have most of their standard miniatures in the ten euro price band (or so).

That's effectively ten dollars US*, give or take which would be 150 euros (or dollars, I guess) if you bought 15 of them**.

So fairly close to $170 USD.

Having said that, the figures from both manufacturers (Micro Art and Freebooter) are stunning. I dunno what the new GW ones look like…

Of course, the flip side of that is that I've just reviewed some superb Eureka Miniatures Chaos figures based on the works of Hieronymus Bosch and they're about three dollars Australian so maybe $2 USD US or so and they're great so…

Who knows what these things should cost? Buy 'em if you like 'em, don't if you don't, I suppose.

John T

* last time I checked the exchange ate was similar enough to the pound sterling

**you might get a discount for boxed sets, mind you

It's interesting to read all your reactions and feelings about this.

The thing that I'm most frustrated about is that even up until a few days ago I was defending AOS's pricing because at least the starter sets were available and could reasonably get you into the game and new factions.

The starter sets are still there, but I can see what GW is doing, which is really transparent. They set the starter boxed price low and then jacked up 500% the smaller boxed sets because they know you'll want various troop types.

My favorite minis in the whole range are the Eternal Stormcast Jucicators, the archers. I just think they are really cool and I would love to collect and field a few units of those. But $50 USD for 5 feels like GW is **g with me. And today's prices feel like truly without shame **g with me.

Ebay is the only outlet, I'm getting a sense that Ebay dealers know how insane GW's pricing is, and so they are buying up new sets wholesale and then offering big discounts while still making some money off it. I mean I'm seeing the same 5-piece set of Judicators on Ebay for as little as $14.99 USD!! That's $35 USD off the sticker price. That says something.

I was really excited and ready to really get into the new terrain and other AOS stuff. But GW basically said to me that I'm not rich enough to be a Warhammer player, so go away.

In 8th edition you could still get battalions for each faction at about $110 USD, which got you a really decent starter force for that faction, with some infantry, cavalry, and individual characters. Beyond that the smaller regiment boxed sets are $35 USD typically, although their special and rare regiments were significantly higher.

But even so, building an 8th edition Warhammer force wasn't nearly as bad as THIS is.

That is what I'm shocked at. GW prices were always high, but not that much higher than other high-end miniatures companies of comparable value. Even into 8th edition I could tolerate the prices for the things I wanted to accomplish with my armies.

But AOS is new territory. I feel like GW didn't just push the envelope but actually burst through it and put a big tear in it.

Can't see many people committing that much disposable income to minis of this price.

But GW basically said to me that I'm not rich enough to be a Warhammer player, so go away.

Baranovich@ if your only just feeling that now you're lucky I think I got that feeling about 15 years ago :)

Those are eye-watering prices to be sure but I thought their 8th edition stuff was absurdly priced as well.

The bigger issue from my point of view is that the new background and designs are so bland. The Old World was derivative but it had real character especially when filtered through Mordheim and WHFRP.

Will people be willing to buy into the new universe? God only knows, but there are interesting times ahead at GW.

GW better hope the economy doesn't regress.

I may not be priced out, but I sure won't be buying into this. $10 USD-$15 per mini for troops is simply more than I'm willing to pay. They are painted gold not MADE of gold! I suppose GW is fine with me sitting this out since I am over 16.

It's true that there may be other companies asking similar prices and I don't purchase those either. I don't accept that argument to defend GW's prices as you can easily find many companies who also charge less as well.

Sorry Baranovich but there are, unfortunately, plenty of consumers out there with way to much disposable income who have forgotten what it's like to stretch a dollar. As long as those with the extra cash will throw it around the companies will charge it.

And no, I don't fault a company for charging what they can get. That's exactly what they are in business to do after all.

At the end of the day when the price tag of an army starts creeping up on the price it would cost me to have custom figures sculpted then I need to look elsewhere.

So I did. EBAY. I picked up an entire Wood Elf army for $550.00 USD (free ship) the other day. Over 300 mini's. Full retail would have been over $1,500 USD easily.

I guess GW doesn't lose sleep over $500.00 USD+ sales going elsewhere. ;-)

yours truly,
discounted (HAHA) demographic

But who the he** is going to pay this much?

GW Fanboyz that is who

Everything I have read on the net suggests AoS sales have been tepid

Yup, stopped by the FLGS last night and they told me that they have sold…

Two of the starter boxes in total.

Yup they are just flying off of the shelf.

My Dragon Ogre Shaggoth laughs hysterically as he waits for the Dragon Rampart rules come out in December.

This is SOP for GW for years. I stopped buying direct many,many moons ago.

Christopher

The phrase I once heard was prestige marketing. A deliberate attempt to price lesser people out of owning something by charging an absurd price.

When people with enough wealth to buy said prestige item are seen in possession of this item it creates envy among the rabble. Wealthy person has their status elevated.

It works for a while and more or less depending on the crowd. At some point though you run the risk of being looked upon as some sort of loser by a different crowd.

Many young people are not as much in to showing off their possessions. A lot of them are more concerned with living modest lifestyles, saving the environment, and various causes.

I have been incorrect in predicting the demise of GW for decades. But I have to say if Age of Sigmar and these prices actually work I will admit publicly to being a man of very low intelligence. I simply cannot begin to grasp paying those prices for a game where I pretend to ride a horse.

But Firefly lasted on season and the Kardashians seem to be going on for years. So I am out of touch with popular sentiment. I think I simply do not matter to the world at large.

I will say that IF prices were reasonable I would most likely be dropping $100 USD per month like clockwork. As I did for the first 15 years of my interest in the hobby. During the start of 6th edition when a regiment was about $24 USD I picked one up every week.

AaaaAh……uuuuuuummm…….whaaaah……. Shem.. Wow :( about as close to speechless as I can get…… :(

As John Treadaway has said, $10 USD-$12 per mini from the "prestige" sculptors is not unheard of, and becoming increasingly common. But $10 USD-$12 per mini for soldiers adds up on a hurry. Especially for plastic, where the new benchmark is Wargames Factory at about $1 USD per infantry miniature. Are the new GW plastics 1000% better than WF plastics?

Yikes, glad I don't do any GW!

I'm glad that I'm not interested…

One of the AoS single characters is priced at $40. USD

Individual Battletech mechs cost between $10 USD-$15, and they are of comparable size to the new Warhammer miniatures. Compare the cost of a mech lance (plus one more mech to make 5) to a box of 5 Stormcast Eternals, and I think you'll find that the only difference between the two is one consists of laughably awkward miniatures and the other contains Stormcast Eternals.

Another example: the Stormcast are the same size as Warhammer 40K Terminators, and have the same price point. Why is anyone surprised at the price?

Also, who pays retail anyhow? A 5-second search on eBay shows plenty of new in box AoS minis for at least 20% off with free shipping. Although I have not seen these fire sale prices Baranovich has described for the Judicators. If I had I would have bought all that were available, as cost for retail stores is $27.50 USD per unit.

I think all this hullabaloo is perpetuated by folks who haven't worked with the new AoS models. They are the best engineered and most highly detailed plastic miniatures I've ever built. They are such great minis that my brother, who cannot stand the AoS rules, bought 2 boxed sets to use the minis with Kings of War. This was after he built a couple minis at my store's make-and-take event.

Baranovich, those regiments for 8th edition and earlier were full of low-detail sculpts. If course one would expect to pay $35 USD for 20 short lumps of plastic labelled Dwarfs. Those days are gone. This is the era of highly detailed, multipart miniatures designed with CAD software that are not easily replicated with 3-D printing technology.

Mithmee, if your local retailer has sold only 2 boxes, it's because they haven't pushed the game. Customers need to be told what to buy, otherwise they wander around aimlessly. My store has sold a stack six feet high of the game, because we SELL it. Our minis are painted up, we've hosted make-and-takes, demos, and events.

Previously I was ambivalent about AoS, but at this point I'm hoping it cracks the Top 5 Tabletop Games bestseller list for ICv2 just to shut up the whiners.

I find it interesting the people are aghast at paying $10 USD for an ogre-sized miniature when ogre-sized miniatures from other companies are also $10 USD

because most people seem ignorant of the size of these models and assume they are 25 or 28mm…
left to right: $10 USD Battletech Hellhound, $10 USD Sigmarite, $6.50 USD Algoryn (Gates of Antares), $2 USD Easterling

another lesson in scale

Actually I just noticed that GW actually lowered prices

Warhammer Wood Elf Dryads were 12 in a box for $35 USD ($2.92 each)
Now they are 16 in a box for $41 USD ($2.52 each)
That's gotta be a first

Just to play devil's advocate, not attacking you, Baranovich :)

>>>As much as I love the design of the AOS miniatures and new terrain

The new terrain _is_ very nice, it has to be said.

>>>$345 USD for 31 miniatures. $170 USD USD for 15 miniatures. And they pushed their price of the latest 5-mini sets of Retributors and Protectors to $58 USD USD per box. Jeezus.

As people have noted, these are very large models. What may set the tone is the Bloodreavers box set, which I presume will appear in 2-3 weeks, as they are more 'normal' sized miniatures.

>>>$250 USD for a 5-piece set of terrain. I mean my god the old plastic Warhammer fortress from 8th edition was only $99 USD USD retail, and you actually got an entire castle.

Well, in this case at least, you get what you pay for. The new terrain is better looking than the old castle (which still gets a lot of use on my table!). However, I have a suspicion that, looking at the last scenario in the hardback rulebook, we'll be seeing a new castle or, at least, modular terrain that can be combined into one (and a Chaos castle at that).

>>>What parents would justify dropping $500 USD USD-$600 in one stop at the store on a few boxes of plastic soldiers,

All at once, probably not. Over 6 months… does not seem unlikely…

>>>If a kid begs for $500 USD USD of AOS stuff and also begs for an Xbox One, the parents are going to get the Xbox One, period.

Here is a counterview – the parents face a choice between video games and something that gets their kid painting and reading.

May not be a no-brainer :)

>>>This is frustrating because I would love to pick up the newest terrain set, it's really cool and I would love to paint it up and use it, but $250 USD USD? Dang. Just dang.

Here's the problem you have (and it is one I am _very_ familiar with :)).

You don't want to drop $250 USD on a terrain set, but you really like it regardless. So you just buy one piece. You paint it up, and it looks really good – so you buy another.

Then you say, stuff it, I'll get that set.

You end up spending more on something you were leery about in the first place :)

>>>Yup, stopped by the FLGS last night and they told me that they have sold… Two of the starter boxes in total. Yup they are just flying off of the shelf.

Ah, Mithmee, I could not have faced going through this thread without your insight.

With regards to starter sets though, we cannot keep them on the shelf for more than 24 hours. So my anecdote cancels yours.

>>>Warhammer Wood Elf Dryads were 12 in a box for $35 USD USD ($2.92 each) Now they are 16 in a box for $41 USD USD ($2.52 each) That's gotta be a first

I saw this but I really cannot help wondering… When the last Dryad is sold from their current stock, are they going to make any more?

I have no info there, it really is just a thought. However, I would be willing to bet a miniature of Judge Dredd that, come a month, you will have great difficulty picking up that Sylvaneth Warhost box set…

>>>I mean I'm seeing the same 5-piece set of Judicators on Ebay for as little as $14.99 USD USD!! That's $35 USD USD off the sticker price.

That is an auction, right, not Buy It Now? If so, it ain't going to stay at $14.99 USD. If not, then something hooky is going on here (Judicators never seen action and only dropped once, if you get my meaning) as $14.99 USD is less than a retailer pays for these sets at trade. In the UK the Judicators are (off the top of my head, but will only vary by a few quid) £16.16 GBP to trade.

Which is incidentally the same price as, say, five Wraithguard and I don't know anyone has ever complained about the price of that unit :)

These prices would really annoy me if I had the slightest inclination of playing with those god awful ugly miniatures. But I don't.

^^^ we're back to talking about Battletech?

I understand that the models are larger, but they're being sold, ostensibly to play a game that expects you to have 50 or so for an army. While the quality of the figures is such that they can satisfy the desires of the collector's market, selling them in groups of ten makes the comparison to Freebooter or Microart not quite apt. $10 USD-$15 per figure for a character is one thing, for rank and file infantry another. And note that character models are now in the $50 USD-70 range. As a gamer, I think this is over the top. I do like many of the models, I bought the starter set, and will likely buy and paint individual figures bought on the secondary market in the future. But I think this trend in pricing is crazy.

Its perhaps telling that only retailers are defending GW's super priced Age of Silly miniatures. (The 10 buck ones are rank and file – characters etc are 30-40 for ONE plastic miniature).

As to quality give me the old Perry Brother's "lumps of plastic" anytime. I've got several sets of their old Bretonians and new historicals (less than 2 bucks a fig) and they, in any artitic comparison, blow away the garish cartoonish 10 buck stuff GW is peddling.

I agree completely that, as a parent, I promote miniature gaming over video gaming (its more social, has an artistic side, can teach a bit of history – even warhammer before Age of Silly). But many games provide this experience for my three kids with out ripping them off.

I also support and buy from my local store owners as they give me space to run my DBA/HOTT games. I don't buy from the internet or ebay if they can supply my needs. But I won't pay these ridiculus prices.

TomT

Mgdavey is right. When you compare the prices of AoS rank & file to another "boutique" miniature company's characters, or even battlemechs (which are technically "characters") what do you then compare GW's characters to?

And if you can blame the tooling and "setup" costs of plastic miniatures for the costs, just how DOES Wargames Factory make any money? Counting only the cost of production and packaging, how much does it cost to turn out an individual box of plastic GW minis?

It's all subjective – I own several copies of AoS and just bought the normal dude expansion box to make alternate armed Sigmarite guys. I'm fine with the pricing because they look amazing and the models are super sweet.

But I also own 400 WSS figs from WGF (pennies per figure) and started my LotR minis armies from secondhand sales (again pennies per figure), over 50 Mechwarrior Online 3D printed mechs at roughly $20 USD apiece plus several thousand dollars worth of Mierce miniatures so I don't mind spending money for quality. (Mierce's comparably sized models, the Fomoraic Gabrax unit, is 5 models for £39.99 GBP – but again, no one else makes models of that quality, so I pay for it)

AoS models look awesome so I'll keep buying them. This is despite not liking the rules.

At my FLGS all the AoS players (as well the 40k players) are in their 20's and 30's and a few 40's, so I've never quite understood the "GW is for kids" when it's pretty apparent that in store, on various forums like Dakka and Warseer, GW figs are bought by older people with the income to do so.

Are the new GW plastics 1000% better than WF plastics?

No

With regards to starter sets though, we cannot keep them on the shelf for more than 24 hours. So my anecdote cancels yours.

Really, well good for you but the thing is GW killed off their business in my area 15 years ago.

Sure things do sell, I did end up buying three of the last Space Hulk Edition games.

I have two and one went to the youngest daughter last Christmas.

I saw this but I really cannot help wondering… When the last Dryad is sold from their current stock, are they going to make any more?

I really doubt it.

@Judge Doug,

I appreciate that you took the time to show the Stormcast Eternals' size in relation to comparable miniatures.

However, you said that people make the mistake of assuming that the AOS minis are 28mm.

Um- they ARE 28mm. The fact that they tower over other man-sized figures, that does NOT make them 40mm. These are 28mm spiritual characters who are super-sized men.

But as far as scale they are in-scaled with every other Warhammer mini, 28mm.

As far as them being ogre-sized as you say, which justifies the price in your opinion – I disagree.

They are big, but they are also GW's AOS INFANTRY RANK AND FILE. These are NOT special characters, and they are NOT "individual" character models!

These are their latest foot troops for their latest game. They are generic foot troops, not unique figures. They are core troops.

As such, they are way overpriced. 8th edition miniatures aren't nearly as expensive. As a matter of fact, the boxed set of Ogre Bulls, their rank and file infantry, is $40 USD for a unit of SIX figures. Eight ogre-sized huge infantry for $40. USD

The Stormcast Eternals are of comparable size and comparable value.

The fact of the matter is that the only thing that is a good value in the new AOS range is the starter set. Everything else is priced in the realm of insanity.

These are not worth $10 USD per miniature. The special characters like the Lord Celestant or the large chaos monster/leader that comes in the starter set are certainly worth more if sold individually.

But as I said, the Liberators are nothing but ordinary foot infantry. How does a boxed set of 6 ogres cost $40 USD, yet only 5 Liberators cost $50 USD? And worse, their latest 5-piece boxed sets, which are just variants of the same infantry, are $58 USD for five minis, which is $11.60 USD per mini.

I will tell you why. Because GW made a game that requires a lower model count, and so they jacked up the prices of the lowest foot soldiers to make up for the lower model count. Pure and simple. It's gouging.

By the way, the average price per mini in their latest boxed sets are not $10 USD per mini. It's higher.

That is why I cannot defend their latest releases, $345 USD for 31 miniatures works out to about $11.12 USD per miniature! Their other newest set of 18 miniatures is $230 USD, which works out to over $12.50 USD per miniature!

The whole counter argument of boutique pricing does not hold water. These are not hand sculpted and cast limited run collectors pieces. These are CAD assisted mass produced, unassembled, unpainted kits. If folks want to pay 10 to 40 bucks a piece for them, well okay then..

I personally would not pay 2 bucks apiece for them….. Plastic is the cheapest material on the planet.

These discussions could go on ad nausium infinitem and have no point. I you want them and are willing to pay for them, good on you, if you want them and are unwilling to pay for them, you are . If you don't want them then there are no issues.

However, arguing about wether or not they exceed their intrinsic value using the ever escalating pricing scheme GW/Foundry basically created and many others have emulated, as a basis for logic and justification is faulty to a point worthy of ridicule.
More people should be outraged at the devaluation of currency and how poorly pay has kept up costs then to try to figure out the intrinsic value of a 1 1/2 inch tall plastic game piece.

Claiming one can afford them so there is no problem with their cost Ina's little to do with their worth.

Any way, carry on, nothing to see here :)

@Der Krieg Geist,

Really great post.

You are right, all this talk of GW pricing takes a back seat to what is happening around the world our currencies and economies. You nailed it when you said that just because someone can afford doesn't mean that they are fairly priced or worth what they cost.

I really appreciate when someone on the message boards mentions fiat currency and how our purchasing power has been so horrifically eroded. It's really scary, and it's not getting better.

Because GW made a game that requires a lower model count, and so they jacked up the prices of the lowest foot soldiers to make up for the lower model count. Pure and simple. It's gouging

OOOhh! That's a bingo!

All kidding aside, you nailed it right there. It's in keeping with GW's previous sales practices. For example look back at how they've been pricing based upon tabletop performance for some time now. It's not uncommon for "elite" units to be priced considerably more than "rank and file" models of similar size.

More people should be outraged at the devaluation of currency

Well at least you're posting this on the Fantasy Boards where it belongs

Because GW made a game that requires a lower model count, and so they jacked up the prices of the lowest foot soldiers to make up for the lower model count.

OOOhh! That's a bingo!

All kidding aside, you nailed it right there.

No, you are both wrong. Sorry.

A Stormcast Eternals army is pretty much an Ogre army or a 40k Terminator army – they are large, elite models and you don't need that many.

Conversely, the Bloodreavers releasing next week are 20 in a box with multiple weapons options for $58. USD Or is <$3 per 35mm model also too costly?
How about, as previously mentioned, the Dryads actually went down in price (from 12 for $35 USD to 16 for $41 USD)?

No, you are both wrong. Sorry.

Not really.

Conversely, the Bloodreavers releasing next week are 20 in a box with multiple weapons options for $58. USD USD Or is <$3 per 35mm model also too costly?
How about, as previously mentioned, the Dryads actually went down in price (from 12 for $35 USD USD to 16 for $41 USD USD)?

Those examples are decidedly in the minority. It's their exceptional nature that makes them remarkable. Others have remarked that the Dryad thing is particularly unusual in that GW almost NEVER drops prices on anything. What is it they say? The rarity of the exception helps to prove the rule? That applies here.

On the other hand, look at WFB Witch Elves. As of right now a box of ten Witch Elves on GW
's online store is 60$US. On the other hand a box of the rank and file Dark Elf troop type Dread Spears are priced at 35$ for ten. In other words the "elite" unit costs just shy of double what the rank and file unit runs. This is far more in keeping with GW's long standing price model.

You have to look at the overall trend in their pricing model rather than the occasional exception.

Judge Doug, you're saying the same thing as the people who you appear to be disagreeing with. GW's marketing philosophy seen in both End Times and AoS, (and I think 40k)

- More frequent releases
- Larger models in smaller deployment
- Higher per-purchase pricing

In other words, they want the customer to keep buying new units, as opposed to building an army and just adding to it once year when new army books come out. So the question becomes, how much will it cost to keep in the game. GW seems to have set this at about $60 USD and up. That seems steep to me. That fact that per pound of plastic or per army (I guess we can't say per point anymore) it works out the same doesn't matter, because nobody calculates game value that way.

It's disingenuous to say it's a 35mm game now. That's essentially the same as saying it's a more expensive game now.

A simple example of real world numbers: year= 1913 item cost = $20 USD USD year 2015 same item would cost=$ 482. 10 USD
That is a cumulative rate of inflation of 2310.5 %
Now compare average pay rates from 1913 to 2015 a calculate wage increase per he rates as compared to inflation.
Don't know why you could not figure any of this out on your own

A simple example of real world numbers: year= 1913 item cost = $20 USD USD year 2015 same item would cost=$ 482. 10 USD
That is a cumulative rate of inflation of 2310.5 %
Now compare average hourly pay rates from 1913 to 2015 calculate wage increase per hour rates as compared to inflation.
Don't know why you could not figure any of this out on your own

First I didn't realize you meant the concern over Warhammer price increases was actually a symptom of a 100 year monetary trend.

Second, I took your advice and did some independent research.
The average yearly income in 1913 was $800 USD, In 2013 it was $26,364. USD That's an increase of almost 3300%.

You seem to be despery trying to will an argument for which you appear to be ill equipped or perhaps we are simply miscommunicating.
The 800 USD in 1913 had vastly more buying power than the 26,364 USD does today.
The point to the GW Segway is to point out how badly removed their pricing is from the intrinsic value of their product….. Not percieved value, which is subject to the whim of the producer and the will or gullibility of the buyers.

More people should be outraged at the devaluation of currency

Der Krieg's red herring fallacy about currency devaluation seems to have adequately derailed the conversation. I'm not sure why anyone would fall for it but here we are.

personally would not pay 2 bucks apiece for them….. Plastic is the cheapest material on the planet.

I feel like this has been gone over many times on TMP and other online forums. The price of a plastic miniature doesn't pay for the plastic alone, it's paying for the use of the IP, the steel molds, and all the expensive CAD design Der Krieg and I both mentioned above.

Again, AGAIN I will stress that the new Stormcast miniatures are significantly more detailed and technically superior to previous GW miniatures. They cannot be compared to plastic Warhammer Ogre miniatures from 4 years ago other than size-wise. The Stormcast are the same price, same size, and significantly more detailed than Battletech Mechs.

Is the real problem here that the miniatures are plastic? Do folks feel they're not getting their money's worth when a miniature is in plastic vs metal, even though plastic has the capability for much higher detail?

Martin, Judge Doug's point is valid in that Stormcast are elite troops and bigger models. Regardless of pricing trends those are the facts. In my previous post I compared the Stormcast Liberators to Terminators, because they are the same size and the same price. Again I ask, why is anyone surprised?

Does anyone actually bother to read the previous posts in a thread before pounding out a response?

The point to the GW Segway is to point out how badly removed their pricing is from the intrinsic value of their product

Why? Are you now going to start a thread about how cars, houses and people are worth only a few hundred dollars based on their base elements?

What an unenviable position to be in – I'm actually defending some of GW's pricing.

In the "golden years", aka, the early to mid 1990's of GW, I once purchased individual Terminators with one weapon option in metal in blister packs that were $6.50 USD per Terminator. Twenty years later, a box of Terminators that are a) physically larger b) more dynamic c) comes with all weapons options and are d) in plastic – an infinitely easier material to work with than metal are more durable during the inevitable drops, cost $10 USD per model. This is not an unreasonable price increase, especially considering the plethora of benefits the plastic Terminators have over the old metal casts. Similarly, a $50 USD box of Sigmarite dudes has five Terminator sized models with a plethora of options (sword/sword, sword/shield, hammer/hammer, hammer/shield, greatsword, great hammer, character) with more detail than the vast majority of metal models on the market with near-zero chance of miscasts.

And I 100% agree on the Witch Elves pricing being ridiculous – I also agree that many sculpts GW makes are atrocious (the newest Nagash, the recent horrible Skaven action figure rat ogre dudes).

The fact of the matter is that comparing Sigmarite models to a cheap bag of Old Glory "hey steve!" figures is entirely disingenuous.

For me, the Sigmarite model pricing is entirely in-line with their size/detail/aesthetic, which is why I am currently buying them. Meanwhile, I will happily ignore the garbage that GW makes just like I ignore the garbage that other companies manufacture.

they want the customer to keep buying new units, as opposed to building an army and just adding to it once year when new army books come out

Well, yes, just like movie studios continue to release new products for you to spend money on and just like authors keep writing books for you to spend your money on.

Interestingly, AoS as a points-free system, is more in line with historicals in that it encourages scenario play. Once you have your AWI forces, there's little reason to expand on them unless you want a new unit of nicely sculpted Hessians from Fife & Drum. And honestly there's little reason to expand existing armies in AoS if you already have one (with free rules and free army lists, AoS requires zero investment for pre-existing players, just as Mantic's free Kings of War requires little to no investment to play). I personally do not like the AoS rules but I love the Sigmarite models so I'll continue to buy them because they are such cool toy soldiers.

You know what? To much smarmy self righteous BS going on here. Red herring my instead of assuming no one else is as clever as you are and telling others to read the thread…. Try it yourself. This and many posts recently are all in the same thread.
The point was to get folks to look beyond the litte stuff and try and keep it in perspective. Just toys right? Buy them or don't , the choice is up to each individual so why sweat the little stuff…..and really it is all little stuff. So snark away there Johney Come Lately, what ever works for you.

I realize TMP is full of grognards but even so I did not expect to find someone waxing nostalgic about wages in 1913 while criticizing these new-fangled plastic GW miniatures all the Johnny Come Latelys are hopped up on.