"where do you buy your plastic?" Topic

Where do you guys buy your plastic box sets from ? Direct from the Manufacturer, ebay or a third party ?

I've been buying from wayland games because they offer a 20% discount, but they aren't very reliable(fast).

Is there any where else that gives a 20% discount on Perry/Victrix/Warlord sets ?

There can be good deals at shows; have bought on eBay, too.

I have been getting mine from the Warstore. I have been very happy with their prices and excellent service. I have not purchased from anywhere else so I cannot make any comparisons,

Plastic box sets are a bit of a quandary for me. On the one hand, my local B&M store can get them in easily (compared to metal figures) so are an opportunity for me to provide some business to my local shop. On the other hand, I can get them by mail order from the manufacturer for significantly less than the retail price the shopkeeper needs to charge.

So, much as I want to support the nearby shop, I'll order direct from Perry to get a lower price (this is of course self-defeating, as I end up adding loads of extra product to my order that soaks up whatever savings I'd otherwise realise…)

Caliver Books tends to provide small discount (around 10%) compared to manufacturers, but they provide very cheap shipping.

How do you get a discount ordering direct from Perry ? On the web site their boxes are £20.00 GBP, on ebay £18.00 GBP and from Wayland games £16.00 GBP Am I missing a trick?

Mix of mail order and local hobby shop. The shop will order in for me, and not charge me postage, if it's a range they carry, like Perry, Victrix or Warlord.

Sadly, they won't order metals for me.

Ultimately, it depends.

I keep an eye on ebay for cheap sets, but obviously that's not always reliable. Where third party sellers have them cheaply I'll use those, but as people say, Wayland are unreliable so I've basically given up on them for most purposes, and Element have a poor range of historicals now.

I'll order from the manufacturer if they have a sale on or provide some other discount (like the Victrix bulk discount). I also buy at shows where often there's a discount on the day.

It is rare though that I am so desperate to get hold of something I pay full price for it from the manufacturer rather than waiting until I can get it more cheaply somewhere.

Local shop has first refusal on all wargame purchases. Then convention dealers, then manufacturers. Who do you want to stay in business?

I ordered direct form victrix

I am in the US:

Best deal for Perry plastic is to buy from a guy that decided he doesn't want to do plastic anymore. My price point is $25 USD a box to include shipping. These deals can sometimes be found on ebay but you have to snatch them as soon as you see them. I have bought and sold in various flea markets for $20 USD a box.

To buy new, I order direct from Perry (who take out VAT for US purchases) and I order the amount needed to get free shipping (200 Pound Sterling). At 16.67 pounds a box with the current exchange rate, it works out to less than $21 USD a box.

My apologies HappyHiker, I did not realize you were in the UK. Once in a blue moon I find great deals on AmazonUk and got some Warlord Games boxes for $20 USD a piece and free shipping to the US. There are also some ridiculous prices in Amazon so it is definitely hit or miss but mostly miss.

I buy from my local store if I'm not getting Perry metals at the same time as plastics. Then I will often get them direct.

Unfortunately, I don't live where there's a B&M within reasonable driving distance (a four hour round trip to Atlanta is a bit much for a $40 USD box of plastic, a couple bottles of paint, and a new 000 brush) so just about everything is mail order. That being said, almost all of my purchases are from Perry and Warlord.

They are making the lines within the eras in which I have the most interest, e.g. Napoleonics, British Colonial, Sengoku Japan.

When I visit family in San Antonio, TX, I inevitably by stuff at the B&Ms there; I really believe in supporting B&Ms even if I have to pay a little extra.

P.S.

I also really like Warlord's smaller lines and unique offerings like Terminator Genesis, Project Z, Test of Honour, and Konflict '47. Bought into Perry's new transportable game preorder too. So good ranges in periods I like and good niche products keep me mail ordering and going back.

Thanks for the responses. So no real 20% discount alternative then ?
I've not actually asked what my local store can get them for, maybe I should.

I usually from an online retailer that offers a discount. Wayland does tend to give the best discount although sometimes The Outpost also has good deals. Places like Element Games and Firestorm Games tend to be quicker but offer less of a discount and sell less products ranges.

If I'm in a rush I'll order straight from the manufacturer. Otherwise if I want the best discount I'm usually happy to wait a while.

For Perry I have purchased direct but also from Neal at The Warstore. The mails are unpredictable so recently I have given Neal the business and let him deal with the postmen. There is real value in that. One shipment from UK took over 30 days and I wasn't sure that I would get it. As Neal says, he has a "rhythm" with Perry so there is that value. Plus The Warstore is great -- just a customer, no commissions.

Warstore looks good, but all their prices have a funny colonial symbol in front of them, maybe next time I order some cotton or sugar cane I'll give them a go :-)

As a deliberate personal policy plastic purchases are my only figure purchases these days, and have been for a few years, and they're so infrequent I don't mind paying the prices charged by our only B & M supplier. He generally trims ten to twenty percent off the price for regulars, anyway.

I find that limiting my spending in this manner is a good way to keep purchases under control, and not having a natural cyber-affinity the physical experience of visiting a shop better suits my consumer temperament.

Given your location I would suggest shows such as Partizan and Hammerhead at Newark, Derby (Castle Donnington), FIASCO at Leeds and Alimwell nr Wolverhampton. Try people like PE2 Collectables, Calvert or Dave Thomas, they usually have good deals on single or multiple box sets. PE2 also offer a good deal mail order on Warlord and can get what you want if they don't have stock.

How do you get a discount ordering direct from Perry ? On the web site their boxes are £20.00 GBP GBP, on ebay £18.00 GBP GBP and from Wayland games £16.00 GBP GBP Am I missing a trick?

I don't get a discount from Perry as such, it's more that my local B&M costs more. Local shop sells for CAD$50 per box of Perry plastics, but I was able to order one of the Perry army deals that included four boxes of cavalry, one set of metal mounted commanders and two metal artillery packs (plus an extra two artillery packs because I really, really needed/wanted them) and the total came to CAD$180.

Wargamer logic: $50 USD is too expensive, so I'll spend $180 USD instead.

Ebay is my first point for wargame-related purchases. I don't have a B&M nearby anymore. The closest is over an hour's drive away. There is one game store in a nearby mall, but all they stock are Games Workshop products at full retail, so no thank you.

My next look is to internet sources like the Warstore, North Star, etc.

Hobby Bunker

Warstore is good. Think Brookhurst still has a sale on Perry boxs ? $ 24.99 a box.

Another vote for Caliver. Postage is free, and multiple packs usually get some sort of discount on top of the already reduced price.

I am lucky in that as a club member we get 10% discount in a shop. For me to use mail order on a regular basis , I would have to weigh up the postage and packaging costs v discount offered.

Thanks both caliver and pe2 look promising.

Mostly local stores however I got two unpainted armies plus some fillers for other armies on the TMP marketplace.

For face to face you can`t beat the deal Dave T does at many shows around the UK