"Has inflation hit the wargaming market?" Topic

I just checked out a major wargaming supply company and was surprised to see the prices. Over $4 USD per figure for 28mm metal figures. Is this an industry trend others have noticed?

Absolutely, why, my last purchase of 28mm figures were only 20mm when I got them! No, seriously, yes prices are up.

Metal prices have risen. That's why many companies are switching to resin and 3D printing.

Unfortunately the price of metal has risen but I for one prefer metal figures as opposed to resin or 3D printed ones.

Me too, Disco. In some cases I'm having to cave.

---BAD NEWS ---Metal prices did indeed rise dramatically the last 16 months.
---GOOD NEWS --Metal prices have been plummeting the last 4 months.
----BAD NEWS --almost everything else is sky high

Russ Dunaway

Warlord's price jumps definitely kept me from expanding my boot action forces. Thankfully 20mm plastics aren't bad

I don't see the resin/plastic 3d printing stuff looking overly cheap either. I was looking for some scenery the other day and Etsy was full of pre printed 3D stuff, in resin and plastic, and the prices were certainly an eye opener. 20GBP for one tree yeah I think not. It might be different if I owned a 3D printer, I guess, but that doesn't interest me that's not how I want to spend my limited hobby time.

Anyway the cost of hobby toys is only half the story becuase my living expenses are going up the money I have to spend on fun is going down. good thing I have several large boxes full of unpainted stuff to keep me going.

Metal prices from my supplier were doubled a month ago.
It is good to heard that somewhere prices already fall..

Yes, prices began to increase at the start of the pandemic and have not abated. Some of it is natural inflation however, I suspect that most is the ripple affects of corporate price gouging flowing through the supply chain.

While some games, supplies, etc., have gone up here and there, the main issue is that inflation and supply chain issues are affecting a gamer's financial resources. The rise in grocery prices, fuel, car repairs (a brake job I had done two years ago for $135 USD was $500 USD recently!), car insurance, and now utilities are starting to rise as well. Games and miniatures are usually purchased with discretionary income, but if there is no discretionary funds left at the end of the month, I'm wondering how that will affect the hobby?

Also, I'm seeing a lot more gaming stuff hitting Ebay and Facebook Marketplaces, so if you do have extra cash available, you'll probably be able to get some good deals in the coming months.

I work in logistics for a chemical company. There are raw material shortages as suppliers are short on staff, not enough truck drivers and trailer shortages. This is going to go on for a while.

Yeah, this feels like the late Nixon/Ford/Carter era again. Prices will stabilize eventually, but don't expect much of a drop. (Some in food and energy, maybe.)

That said, I may very well own more unpainted lead than I will live to paint, and I am not far off the wargaming norm. And the cost of playing a game with troops, terrain and rules you already own has remained remarkably stable. Same with the cost of home brew rules and scratch-built terrain.

Plan what you need. Buy in big batches to minimize postage & handling and avoid spot shortages--or failed manufacturers. Look at small scales and 3D printing, and try not to overbuild armies. This is a hobby you can spend a lot of money on if you wish to, but it is not an inherently expensive one.

Once again, tin prices have dropped substantially in the last 4 months.
Not so everything else.
Once again, once again ????

Russ Dunaway

Yeah, I should have noted the dreaded "commodities." But for the consumer, if the price of lunch at your favorite restaurant--or the price of a bag of castings from your favorite manufacturer--once goes up, it's not going back down.

Once again, once again ????

Russ, I agree. Metal this month cost me far less than it did 14 months ago, and I managed to avoid buying when it was twice the price as that time ago. Pewter was once up near £55.00 GBP per kg; it's now around £26.00 GBP per kg.

Mould blanks from one supplier today rose by about 50%, to about £40.00 GBP a pair for low temperature silicone including delivery. That may affect how often I remake moulds.

Electricity rises are so far having a negligible effect, about an extra 0.33p per pack to cast 15mm infantry. Yes, that's actually up 50%, but that makes 1p per pack instead of 0.67p. :-) But that's because it's hot and the building does not therefore need heating. The effect in winter after another price rise is yet to be determined.

Ian

Lucky you. Price for my metal rose only little on last year, but suddenly up to 73 eur per kg on last month.

Fighting 15s,
Some people have it in their heads that metal prices are the sole consideration.
Our mold prices have ski rocketed also along with locator nubs, scalpel blades -- as well as fuel oil to heat the factory, propane to burn our 4 smelting pots, electricity, property tax increases, etc, etc.

Russ Dunaway

Lucky you. Price for my metal rose only little on last year, but suddenly up to 73 eur per kg on last month.

Unlucky you! I guess it will depend on your supplier and the quantities bought.

I use AIM Solder in the UK, which for you has a base in nearby Poland, and order 100kg or more at a time. Even then, shipping costs can't be great. I get free shipping on 100kg or more.

As Russ says, it's not the cost of metal alone that affects figure prices, but paying for 100kg at a time may create a cash flow crisis.

Ian

Yes, mouldmaking costs doubled last year and prices for electricity already are 3-4 times more costly and continue to grow.

But 100 kg metal is too much for me. In 10 years, I used only 90 kg of metal. So I buy by 10 kg max (one year supply).

Sounds like Russ will have to eat less steak! 😄

WooHoo! My unpainted lead pile has has tripled in value! My unpainted stuff is now worth more than some of my painted!!!

I know that when I paint some stuff I devalue it.

Firstly by opening a 40 year old GW or Ral Partha Blister Pack and taking the figures out.

20thmaine, on the bright side 40 year old blisters tend to open themselves so not much of a loss there. :D