"More GW price rises, what a surprise!" Topic

In the new UK WD. As of October 2nd all blisters between 3 and 7 GBP are going up 1 GBP.

Let the GW bashing commence! :D (And yes WD 320 is the worst ever by quite a margin, than got my sub has now run out.)

"than got"?! That should read "Thank God" Doh!

I will probably buy GW even with extreme price increases, though not as many. I like the GW minis a lot.
The high prices of their miniatures has caused me to look around and buy other stuff such as Alternative Armies, Warmachine etc.. This can't be good for GW.

Ok,I tell you the real reason behind it all.
Its a longtime bet between the Waldorf and Statler of GW.
They're running an experiment to prove the theory of price elasticity and especially that the price elasticity of GW products and the intelligence of its customers is near zero.
Simple,isn't it?
:-)

Having just started to get back into playing Epic I nearly had a heartattack yesterday when looking at the prices of Epic figures.
Strange thing is, Forgeworld (whilst still expensive) seems cheaper for the tanks and such, and with greater variety.
I just wish GW would realise that the way to increase business and fix their problems isn't continual price rises.
They need to do something new and fresh to reinvigorate their lines.

Oh, and my GW stock will still be at 15% off the current price, even after the price rise (for the stuff I currently hold). I'll take a view after the rise as to whether I have to raise my prices.
Thanks,
Iain
thehobbybox.biz

WD 320 is not the worst ever issue. It was 316, the first of the 'new style' mags that no longer pretend to be a magazibe and merely a catalogue with no useable content.

The quality of WD bothers me; the price of the minis do not. I am willing to pay the GW prices as I want the quality of their minis.

Do GW care what people say on these boards? No. Why not? Because GW will continue to be the dominant miniature wargaming company on the world by a long way. Why? Because the package they offer is what people want to buy.

They raised prices in Germany 3rd of July, which was great to find out when you buy a can of primer on the 4th, because you forgot to do so 3 days earlier when you passed the store!

They told me prices for the 7 lowest price ranges (A-G if I am not mistaken) did go up, with the higher ones staying the same.

The biggest smack in the face was that the sales clerk (do not want to use the "T" word) told me that in return prices would stay the same when sales tax goes up in Germany in Jan 1st by 3%. Which still means they cash in for 6 month!

Just glad that they only thing I will buy from them will be be some Easterlings to complete my LotR collection!

Cheers,

Burkhard
dhc-wargames.de

@Hordes – BUY THE GIANT!! It's big and stompy and is teh r0x0rs!!11!!1!!

Btw, remember BUY THE GIANT! ;)

From the GW forum homepage:

"Discussion of White Dwarf as a whole is off-topic and will be locked"

touchy are'nt they?

They've (GW) been mighty touchy about any criticism. Probably cause the amount of favorable opines is running near the bottom of the bucket. Most people are mustering a grumbling acceptance and that it's the 'price you pay for the GW hobbby' which isn't really a compliment.
I say they infalte prices by 400% tomorrow so I can actually get people to look into alternative games. Of course if GW raised its price 400% every other manufacturer would raise price 390%.

I just made a big GW purchase, for my Beastman army. 14 blisters. They were the late 90's beastmen, my favorites, and I got the entire lot for $21 USD USD including shipping. That's how I shop GW. Acutally, I've been working on this army for 2 years (I'm a slow painter), and every single model was purchased for 50% off retail or less. Yes, I am am one frugal yankee. The models may not be hot off the presses, but they're still great. I even managed to snag a giant (the last version, not the most recent plastic) at a local convention last year for $22 USD USD.

Anways, regarding price-elasticity: There was an article on the BusinessWeek website yesterday about US gas prices. many economists had expected demand to shrink dramatically as prices rose, but they have found that despite prices increasing over 60% in the last year, demand has actually gone up 3%… Not that I am comparing gas to GW miniatures, just that there are sometimes exceptions to general economic principles. (a more accurate comarison may be of GW miniatures to crack cocaine…)

I just wish GW would realise that the way to increase business and fix their problems isn't continual price rises.

Can you blame them? If they keep raising prices and people keep buying, why not keep raising prices? As a business you'd be stupid not to milk 'em for all you can.

Of course if GW raised its price 400% every other manufacturer would raise price 390%.

Actually, for most people this is a bigger problem than a GW price increase. GW sets the bar and then everyone else prices accordingly so a GW price increase is a price increase on everyone else's lines too.

Well, the trick would be if we could get every GW player to all agree to just not buy GW product for 3 months. Zero cash flow for that period of time would be enough for GW to actually see a slow-down rather than just the retail outlets and distribs.

And you'd think 3 months of not buying wouldn't be too much to ask of the GW crowd… but of course, you'd be wrong. A junkie never says no, afterall. Whatever "hot new release" came out would just get sucked up.

Too bad.

Not necessarily. Hasslefree Miniatures recently REDUCED the prices of a large proportion of their ranges because 'they had recouped the cost of the molds' so prices were dropped to pass on savings to their customers.

Two local hobby stores quit carrying anything GW saying that the GW lines were whithering on the vine, and the shelves, and they could smell the death of 40K. Could this be an end to an era?

I disagree that GW sets the bar with pricing.
Just go to a convention and compare prices. GW are way and above higher then all others and most manufacturers I know haven't increased prices in a couple of years at least.

I can also tell you GW's biggest problem. They have retail stores and therefore large amounts of overheads. Many of the 'services' they provide are free, e.g. painting clinics and so on. They provide these at a cost to themselves in the hope that people will buy instore. Some will, a lot don't. Consumers are a lot more canny these days when it comes to buying Workshop.

I don't think we'll see the end of GW or 40K or Warhammer (and I hope we don't, because they are a driving force for getting more people into our hobby), but I think we may see a change to GW's retail model, either a reduction in their number of stores, or a change to how they sell to independant retailers, like me, who sacrifice profits by offering a discount because we have less overheads.

Just my 2 pence,
Iain.
thehobbybox

Tabletopwarrior,

I hope so… I do not think that they are actually good for the hobby, not even for getting flesh blood drawn in. I would be glad to see them go and take proper companies that are now standing in their shadow to take their place (I-Kore, Mongoose, Privateer to name just a few). I think they would be a better thing for the wargaming community as a whole!

My two cents,

Burkhard
dhc-wargames.de

Bug Stomper,

not really sure what you mean with the term teh r0x0rs!!11!!1!!

And why would I buy a Giant considering I don't play Warhammer? My username should indicate what fantasy gaming system I play.

I must admit that I did expect some silly responses to my post and you did not let me down Bug Stomper. That sort of childish reply may have been funny twelve years ago, but it is an incredibly tired and cliched response these days.

Iain/Hobbybox. I agree with you that GW are one of the driving forces for getting more people into the hobby. But I disagree with your assessment on GW/price leading.

Privateer Press and Rackham, the main competitors for GW at the moment, price their lines using GW as the price guide. Take a close look at recent/future PP releases and you may reach the same conclusion as me; PP and GW have very similar pricing structures. Also note Rackhams last annual report (it is a publically quoted company like GW). They say that they model their company on GW and use GW prices and policies top set their own.

I agree with you about GW looking at their retail model. Perhaps GW would consider franchising as a way of reducing the burden of a retail chain?

"The quality of WD bothers me; the price of the minis do not. I am willing to pay the GW prices as I want the quality of their minis.
Do GW care what people say on these boards? No. Why not? Because GW will continue to be the dominant miniature wargaming company on the world by a long way. Why? Because the package they offer is what people want to buy."

LOL! I keep seeing "quality" mentioned but if you guys looked around you'd see there's a lot outthere now a days and it's getting better. why do you think that they have to keep raising prices and they have seem to be losing customers at a frantic rate?

Rackham prices are insane. I won't buy one. I think I saw that a single figure released two weeks ago was $14. USD I just can't pay $14 USD for a single figure unless it's sitting on top of a 90mm dragon.

I will probably buy GW even with extreme price increases

And so long as people can say that with any seriousness, the problem will continue. This trend will not abate until customers put their collective foot down and refuse to reward GW for their behavior. I think the 3-month boycott is a grand idea.

"I think the 3-month boycott is a grand idea."

I`m up to about 10 months of the boycott now, without even a pot of GWs expensive 12ml fast drying in the pot paints, and the awfulness of the new Wubbish Dwarf.

Any GW stuff has come from ebay, at way cheaper prices Yay!

However EM4 and others have been getting my money, so there GW (not that they care, I`m old and going grey LOL!).

SW

Whao, you brits get blisters for 3 pounds(about 6 dollars CDN)??? Jeeze, the lowest GW Blister i can rember in hte recent past here ion canada was $13(6.5 pounds)

I haven't bought a GW figure since the last LOTR movie came out. I still buy their Flight bases though.

I buy GW plastic bases because they're resonably priced. I buy the paint because I like the containers and I don't have any problems working with them. I have't bought a GW model retail in a couple years and I won't be buying any more. Haven't read a White Dwarf since I had a subscription but only one magazine ever showed up. That was a few years ago too.

Too many other manufacturers out there making figures just as good or better.

There's a large range of 6mm minis available, for reasonable prices.

Start off with GZG, and for a more futuristic look, the Dark Star range of vehicles.

Epic minis are priced like gold.

To be fair, this price increase is for the UK. The one that we were kvetching about two months ago (and which just took effect this month) was for GW US. So it's not like these stack.

The perception caused by staggered adjustments in the various sales regions is something GW should probably think about avoiding in the future…

Three months boy cot, 10 months try a few years and something might happen, if nothing else you will have more money and many high quality miniatures (that will not be GW's) and probably play in a better game system.

@Hordes, I think he commented the way the white dwarf you mentioned was written and not actually suggesting you to buy one.

Hey Psychotic Storm,

We`ve all got to begin somewhere, haven`t we!

What put me off more than the prices, was the loss of talent that GW has suffered (of its own accord) the past five or so years. Eg. same old tired rules systems for the past 15+ years, please write something new, if you can ha-ha!

Bring back space hulk and squats (sorry couldn`t resist).

SW

"I will probably buy GW even with extreme price increases

And so long as people can say that with any seriousness, the problem will continue. This trend will not abate until customers put their collective foot down and refuse to reward GW for their behavior. I think the 3-month boycott is a grand idea."
javelin, I am willing to particiapte in a boycott. ebay will keep me happy if I have a craving.
I kind of started anyway. I just spent a lot of money on Warmachine. I also said "The high prices of their miniatures has caused me to look around and buy other stuff". This is exactly what I meant as I purchased other stuff.

14th Brooklyn: "I would be glad to see them go and take proper companies that are now standing in their shadow to take their place (I-Kore, …"

Now that just takes the biscuit.

"As of October 2nd…"

This price rise is a tad convenient considering the new WFB appears just before it.

I'm mostly ed off about the rise in Epic prices here in the US market. It's as if the marketing strategy is simply to drive players away from the game. Makes no sense at all.

Does GW even have a marketing strategy, or do marketing research? Or did they do a focus group that happened to land a dozen wealthy masochists in the same room?

Well, look at that — GW's new financial updates are being released on my birthday!

investor.games-workshop.com

A nice birthday present would be to see Tom Kirby thrown out on his rear…

I buy GW paints and WD but nothing else. I like some of GW's stuff but it has become a little stale over the last few years.

WD is a bit naff…but what else is there? Harbinger has departed and I can't think of any others (apart from wargaming magazines but they rarely have any SF stuff in them).

The paints are OK, I've never had any problems with them.

Over the years I have spent a mint on GW stuff but I have just beengetting more and more annoyed with not only the price increases but the Codex changes that seem to be aimed to make vast swathes of your current army redundant.

GW are making a rod for their own back…but it is unlikely to change because there will always be people who will pay anything for their products.

I personally prefer Hasslefree Miniatures now. Proper minis from a proper 'grass roots' little company.

"Over the years I have spent a mint on GW stuff but I have just been getting more and more annoyed with not only the price increases but the Codex changes that seem to be aimed to make vast swathes of your current army redundant."

Not a new tactic from them, by any means. I'm expecting the Savage Orc Arrer Boyz I just hunted down at great length to be absent from the new book, but since I prefer the look of that generation of Savage Orc to the current, I'll find a way to field them regardless…

Let's face it, we're all old enough to shave. Some of us don't and some are not inclined to for gender related reasons. GW doesn't give a flying fart for what we think. We're outside their core market. Let's just get over it and buy stuff we want to from people we like.

Sun came up today….

News at 5.

What excactly do you expect?

aureustestes is right: do you/we think GW gives a tuppeny damn what you/we think? No, they are too busy writhing naked with high class hookers in the piles of £50.00 GBP notes which are donated to them by the parents of the teenagers who demand GW products for Christmas.

It's not like there aren't a hundred other fantasy/SF companies looking for your/our money. If GW makes you grind your teeth then go elsewhere. If not then pony up the cash – a 2000pt WFB army would represent a fraction of many TMPers annual hobby spend even at the new prices.

The annual price increase. I think we'd have gotten used to these by now. Besides is there any sane person out there that still buys GW trash?

There's Mongoose and GZG. Go play a real game and forget GW ever exsisted. I sleep better at night thinking that way.

I have a problem with their paints – too many of the colours are very watery and have next to no coverage – you need three or more coats sometimes – of course – this does mean you get through some colours more quickly and need to buy more….

We do need a good wargaming magazine with sci-fi coverage. I like Ragnarok, but I would also like a more WD like magazine – lots of articles, photo's, battle reports, scenery ideas, conversions, scratchbuilding. If only I had the money to set one up :-(

"I have a problem with their paints – too many of the colours are very watery and have next to no coverage – you need three or more coats sometimes – of course – this does mean you get through some colours more quickly and need to buy more…"

If you've ever noticed in the WD painting articles, they are constantly harping on applying many thin coats instead of one coat to bring out the best colors in your paintjob. GW is just doing it's part to help those who won't heed their sage painting advice by supplying their paint at the "proper" consistency…. <snicker>

@Hordes – "not really sure what you mean with the term teh r0x0rs!!11!!1!!"

It's excitable l33t speak that most 14 year olds seem to type. It basically means "It rocks!". I was poking fun at GW's rather heavy handed marketing of their giant.

"And why would I buy a Giant considering I don't play Warhammer? My username should indicate what fantasy gaming system I play.""

Again I was poking fun at the backlash against the now legendary "giant" issue 316. :)

I play WHFB myself, just not with GW minis anymore. :)

"I must admit that I did expect some silly responses to my post and you did not let me down Bug Stomper. That sort of childish reply may have been funny twelve years ago, but it is an incredibly tired and cliched response these days."

Well there you go. I have a sense of humour. Yours has obviously died of old age. ;)

these other companies mentioned as alternative (the big ones, not the Hasslefree garage venture type) are oftentimes 90% as expensive, at less than 90% GW's quality.

it is indeed only the wee little companies people should support.
if you wanna boycot GW don't buy the GW-epigones for the same insane prices.

personally, I buy my bases exclusively from GW, because there is no other pain-free way of ordering from other companies for me.

@Trapondur – Have you tried EM4 for bases?

GW reminds me of Stalinist Russia. You cannot bad mouth it or you will be "silenced". I used to love GW then discovered that there were other companies that sold good figures at a fraction of the price. Sigh. Price rises are no big surprise, i was actually joking with a friend that before long GW would be charging £8.00 GBP for 3 infantry. Seems i was right.

And people wonder why I play *historicals*…and still play STARGUARD! after 30+ years…oh..my..GAWD!!! LOL!!!!>;D

Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net

"these other companies mentioned as alternative (the big ones, not the Hasslefree garage venture type) are oftentimes 90% as expensive, at less than 90% GW's quality."

I have to disagree on that, there are many companies out there that are cheaper and have the same quality or even better quality than GW.
GW has just a name and markets it, escaping from the so called "GW hobby" one can find that there is a plethora of other companies that can offer a vast variety of things.

"LOL! I keep seeing "quality" mentioned but if you guys looked around you'd see there's a lot outthere now a days and it's getting better."

I keep thinking the same thing. It's almost as if some people have never noticed the internet full of miniatures companies and miniatures. I buy GW stuff when I can get it at a major mark down, such as Ebay (I paid less than 25 dollars, the price of one IG walker model, for four IG walker models and a ton of bits recently). Pay store prices? Hahahahahaha.

I keep hoping their minis will keep petering off so they might focus on their board games again. I for one am chomping at the bit for them to rerelease the Talisman 3 expansions (they rereleased the main game a few years back). I just can't bring myself to pay $500 USD for them on gaming sites.

GW is no different then any other company. Since I bought my first miniature from GW in 1989 the prices went up and the army list changed so frequently that I couldn't get an army painted before a change came about. So, I stopped doing 40K. However, in defense of GW, price hiking is common when an item is selling hot. True economics is based on the principle of "price and demand". When the demand is up so is the price. When the demand drops…so does the price. Here in Atlanta, gas is over $3.00 USD a gallon. Why ? Because people refuse to carpool and are willing to pay at the pump rather then give up their gas guzzling big V-8 super pick-up trucks and large cars. I know..I own (and drive one). GW, Mongoose and other miniature dealers are no different than Ford or Chevy. Wanna play? Ya gonna pay !! NamDoc