Time for you all to take out a mungus bank loan. Greed Workshops price hike.

[daemion]

U a gonna need to after Greed Workshop bumps prices up on June 1st. New plastic boxes rate in lotr goes from 35 oz to 55 oz!!!! The empire goldswords are what? 69bux oz? hahaha. i cant friggin wait to see what price rises are in store for 40k. Add your snippets, rumours and moans here...

[Vaul]

Last night I did a lot of research around the net, and confirmed that there are enough models from enough non-gw ranges for me to put together a vampire counts army that doesn't feature any models purchased from gw at all.  Even the bases I could get from iron halo.  List would look like;

-vamp lord on zombie dragon
-vamp
-vamp

-10x skeletons
-10x skeletons
-5 dire wolves
-3x bat swarm bases
-20 grave guard
-5x wraiths, +1 banshee
-6x blood knights

It would still cost quite a lot, but at least I wouldn't be giving the money to games workshop.  They sell overpriced magazines with very little content, market their games to 12 year old kids with rich parents, hike their retail prices so they can pimp themselves out in big shopping malls, train their front line stuff to bombard you with inane comments about which models are 'the best', and above all - seem very lazy when it comes to implementing good balance into their games and army books!  Love warhammer, can't stand gw.

[Lezle]

It would still cost quite a lot, but at least I wouldn't be giving the money to games workshop.  They sell overpriced magazines with very little content, market their games to 12 year old kids with rich parents, hike their retail prices so they can pimp themselves out in big shopping malls, train their front line stuff to bombard you with inane comments about which models are 'the best', and above all - seem very lazy when it comes to implementing good balance into their games and army books!  Love warhammer, can't stand gw.

Here, here!

That is exactly how I feel. I was saying to Andy Pandy (Andrew Mosen) on the Sunday past that I for one won't be buying anything else GW related for a long, long time. I have enough models to go on with and, quite frankly, don't feel like washing dough down the old gurgler. The new Guardsman box really just took the cake for me: $55=20 men; $40=10 men... Ummmmm... yeah sure. Bugger off.

LP

[daemion]

Yeh. //////////thank god i have enuff guardsman to whip up 2k+ pts now. And i will now be buying figs from pig iron productions 2 flesh out my army. Not like Greed Workshop run tourneys now anyway so i figure i can use what the hell i like. Economic recession=less spending worldwide=sales= GREED WORKSHOP PRICE HIKE. wAT THE HELL???

Love 40k. Hate GW.(quite like the St Lukes boys though...They leave me alone!)

[Lazarus]

I never shop at GW anyways every time you walk in its like birds circling a dead body, i much prefer to go to Vaga and get what i want and walk out with out going though the 20 questions like i have just started play the f-ing game, most of us have been playing 10 years + and i just want to get what i want and get out.

I don't mind to much about the prices as i only build like one army a year and the prices compared to my trains is peanuts, i think since i stopped playing 40k full time and moved to trains i have spent like 15k in a year and only about 800 on 40k, i wish i did not start it hits the pocket hard.

And i know some of you have a good few army's around what are very nice quality, why do you need more??. i tend to have to build new once as my painting keeps improving and the old ones look craps. My scout army will be my last for a long time until there is a very large change in how the models look. I will have 2 army's to mix up the game so i will be happy.

at the end of the day i will pay as much as they like as long as the models are good. If this is the only hobby you have in your life money wont matter its the doing that makes you happy. So you have to pay an extra 5-10 bucks for a box of guys, come on guys we are not 10 y/o any more we have jobs and familys and kids well i do its just a matter of not buying that pie or pack of smokes extra that week and you get the cash back. Dont drive to the shop walk and save the gas. its so easy not to spend 5-10bucks.

My 20c as it was a bit long of a rant for 2c

[Derick]

I never shop at GW anyways every time you walk in its like birds circling a dead body,
<snip>
 its just a matter of not buying that pie or pack of smokes extra that week and you get the cash back. Dont drive to the shop walk and save the gas. its so easy not to spend 5-10bucks.

I gave up on GW about 10 years ago, after my first purchase.

I know what you mean about saving money.
Once I bought a non-moccona brand coffee - tasted like macdonald's dishwater.
 

[Lezle]

Yes, good points Matt.

However! For example: according to the blokes at GW St Lukes the reason for the change from 20 Guardsmen to 10 was that, and I quote, "$55 is a lot for kids; it's nothing for you and I because we go to work etc... GW bosses felt that $40 doesn't seem like such a big amount of money for a kid where as $55 is heaps. So they have re-boxed them for the kids."

What a load of waffle. All I can see is shameless profiteering and if the price goes up on that box next month... you see what I'm playing at. This is also coming from the company that stated in W.D. recently that they hope to have about 90 percent of the range in plastic to make things cheaper for the hobbiest. Why don't model aeroplanes jump in price?! A Revell Fokker DVII 1/72 scale has been about $10 for years for example.

LP

[Sectiplave]

Well of course, who is going to be happy about price hikes

I'm going to be making an order from Maelstrom before June, looking at this I might get as much as I can from them now

I'd have to agree with Lezle, Vaul and Lazarus on this one. It is pretty obvious they are trying really hard to pump out some big profits at the moment, and like Vaul said, this is the cost of spamming your shops into all the major shopping centers world wide. This must cost them something inordinant, of course for us this has zero benefit, but I'm sure this is what helps them keep the income constant and the company growing.

As far as their staff go, I've only been to the St. Lukes store and they were exactly what I expect from a front line sales person, no different from dick smith, harvey norman or any other retail store (be this good or bad of course is personal opinion) it helps to have been in their shoes I suppose.

Also like Laz says, in general this isn't an expensive hobby for your working Joe Blogs, spread building an army over 3-6 months and it's not exactly going to drain the bank. I haven't had a real good look into other ranges, but from what I have seen, GW models are of a good standard and for the most part I'm happy to buy their models, I just disagree with the packaging methods which are blatantly geared to profit. this sucks, but I'm sure up the corporate chain there is pressure to increase sales by X% by X date by whatever means, it's just how they run. I used to work for BNZ and currently work for the 3rd largest australian ISP, investors and boards of trustee's are not people who want to hear about you not trying to maximize profit.

After all this I guess I'm just tired of the 'lets hate the man' bandwagon, probably because it applies to so many things we just don't have the power to change.

[juiced]

as someone who has loved this hobby for nearly 20 years (and again just getting back into it) to keep it all in perspective.it s not the biggest hobby in the world.well in our eyes it is,but the move to shopping mall's, the focus on younger kids its obvious they are trying to expand there fan base. face it to pull new players away from the playstation or x-box and show them that the effort of modelling and building armies over time is worth it.its a hard thing to do in this age of instant saticfaction. it is about supply and demand,the cost of supply is high because demand is not that high(sorry but it is true) and they are doing an exspensive bussiness model to try and increase the number of players who like us are hooked and love this game.
i myself aren't a high earner (contract gardener/lawnmower dude )but i have a weekly budget of $20  thats $80 a month (well done! i figured that out all by me-self ) and i don't just use GW products as there paints/bruches ARE!! overpriced.but i will except the price rise as long as the qauilty of the mini's is still high.
and thats my 2 cents   

[daemion]

And my extra 2cents is this. I aint on the 'lets hate the man bandwagon'. I just hate the bullshit price rises with no real explanation as to why. I am still waiting for an answer to my email i sent them 4? years? ago? as to what the reasoning was when they raised their old box prices from 45 nz to 55 nz. C'mon, it doesnt take a genius to figure out that a price hike on something from 35 bux oz to 55 bux oz is friggin ridiculous... I cant wait to see the new price structures cum june.... Shit, im a grumpy old bastard aint i? and i have only been playing 40k since 1990...

[Lezle]

Although I know what you mean, I too ride no bandwagon.

I asked very much similar questions, Daemion, of GW's paint. Tamiya and Humbrol's paint pot prices rose a whole $1.00 over roughly FIFTEEN YEARS! I used to buy Tamiya acrylic FIFTEEN YEARS ago for $4.00: I bought a pot this afternoon for $4.99! GW on the other hand: $3.50 per pot when I started GW-ing in the late '90's... $7.00 now! No answer was given. I asked the head honcho of Jacobson's Paints (House paint made in Henderson) about it and he said those sorts of prices are highway robbery! I tend very much to agree. He did some sums and worked out that if they charged what GW charge for the little pots in 10L size it would be about $3000 for a 10L.

I just can't be bothered any more really. Andrew Mosen also told me that GW shops are closing all over the world too. Funny that.

LP

[Sectiplave]

Although I know what you mean, I too ride no bandwagon.

I asked very much similar questions, Daemion, of GW's paint. Tamiya and Humbrol's paint pot prices rose a whole $1.00 over roughly FIFTEEN YEARS! I used to buy Tamiya acrylic FIFTEEN YEARS ago for $4.00: I bought a pot this afternoon for $4.99! GW on the other hand: $3.50 per pot when I started GW-ing in the late '90's... $7.00 now! No answer was given. I asked the head honcho of Jacobson's Paints (House paint made in Henderson) about it and he said those sorts of prices are highway robbery! I tend very much to agree. He did some sums and worked out that if they charged what GW charge for the little pots in 10L size it would be about $3000 for a 10L.

I just can't be bothered any more really. Andrew Mosen also told me that GW shops are closing all over the world too. Funny that.

LP

Yeah I'm with you on the paint side of things Lezle, I worked a couple of years for Dulux paint which only sells to tradesmen and not the public, even a painter without a regular account with us was able to buy 10L of quality paint for a little under a $100 per ten litres. Even then when I talked to the factory guys in Wellington, I almost dropped dead when I found out how much it actually cost the company per 10L bucket, manufactured packaged and shipped, minus overheads.

As for the e-mails the real reply would be the people at the top want to continue creaming it and they want to continue adding retail stores to assist the marketing strategy which appears to be "get them while they are young" of course they wouldn't admit it though.

It's not cool for us, but maybe looking to the future of keeping their company alive and growing they don't have much choice? Who knows...

You can ignore my bandwagon comment, I'm just a bit jaded in regards to discussion against large corporations. Boring storys for another time

[nitrojuice]

why the price hike when i just got into the hobby?
i hate you GREED WORKSHOP! :'(

[daemion]

And yet they sell enuff gamers crack to keep hooking you(us) time after time...

[Lazarus]

All i can say is thank god i dont pay for rules or codexs what a waste of cash thank god for the internet.

[juiced]

but thats piracy laz !!!! ......would you steal a car  or a hand bag or what you are doing is hurting the new zealand film industry....op p's LOL

[Vaul]

yaRRR maTey... Shiver mE timbers!

[Menolly]

Well, as someone on a limited budget, and not a big collector, or even with a finished army yet I shall still continue to buy GW stuff from their shops, so I can help keep them in an actual store in Auckland. Everyone is feeling the pinch, and GW aren't any different. They are in the hobby business which is counted as a luxury... which loses big time with the economy dips... which it is still doing it at the moment. People have less to spend, so luxuries are last on the list. And to keep the stores/business in business the money has to come from somewhere. The usual response is up the price... you should have expected that. Plus they will have addition shipping costs now since everyone is charging more. A lot of overseas stuff doesn't come by ship (cheaper) anymore, it's airfrieghted.. . which costs quite a bit more, which does add to everything. Plus the whole "metal miniatures manufacturing" is getting more and more expensive due to the resources needed. That's why so many other companies have reduced or stopped making their ranges of miniatures.. (mongoose publishing 1 example)

And I would like to keep our local stores open and supporting the local gaming clubs. If their business goes elsewhere (off-shore and even internet businesses to an extent) then they don't have any evidence to back up that there are gamers in NZ playing their current games... which can often lead to reduced support for local events etc... Often the companies look at how much is selling in a particular area to see how much support they should pump back into the area... so if you are ok with them reducing their support for NZ events, or cutting it completely, then fell free to continue to bitch and moan and buy other stuff elsewhere... but please remember down the track that this is why it's happened.... 

[Lezle]

Yeah, that's all dandy, except GW don't run tourney's anymore. So they have lost a lot of support from a lot of people anyway. Also, and I mean this kindly, when was the last time you saw a store lackey down the club playing a game.

I, for one, am not bitching or moaning, just voicing what is definitely a big opinion with a huge number of hobbyists. I can't find it now (typical) but I was reading on another website a long, long topic on how the new Empire models are a rip-off. So, if anyone thinks this is just crusty-old Daemion and I having a cry :'(, you are wrong.

Lezle

[daemion]

ditto. Go to hell gw. Im sourcing my plastics off shore.

[Vaul]

when was the last time you saw a store lackey down the club playing a game

ooh... snap.  This is true.  Is it because they are too good for us?  Or because the are scared of the reputation they have with experienced gamers?

[NeckFace]

after a full day dealing with kids and playing/painting warhams could be a little over-whelming.

[Simon]

en was the last time you saw a store lackey down the club playing a game

becuase they play/paint/work with little tin soldiers everyday, they probably have a life and have better things to do in the weekend.

[Lezle]

Ah ha!

en was the last time you saw a store lackey down the club playing a game

becuase they play/paint/work with little tin soldiers everyday, they probably have a life and have better things to do in the weekend.

Whilst that is probably the answer, Wayde still manages... somehow.

I would have to say though, Simon, that intro games and 1000 points or less games are hardly what you'd call "playing."

You know what I mean though. They live in the GW shop world - not the GW hobbyist world.

But this is no longer about price rises... so I'll mosey off.

LP

[Simon]

if i have to get pay minimum wage, have to play with little noisy kids, and paint crap load of models everyday which are not mine. I probably don't wanna "play" any more warhammer in the weekend as well.. 

I rather work in Burger king and make burgers.
 

[Lezle]

  You want fries with that?

Yeah, I agree. It'd drive me round the bend being chummy with kiddlies all day.

LP

[Sectiplave]

All in all it's a pretty casual job if they are interested in the hobby, if you think they have it bad, I live with a lady who does early childhood, that would be like Hell in comparison, but it's what they get paid for.

Turning your hobby into your job is a sure fire way to reach the burn out point. I also wouldn't blame them for not being all that involved in the serious hobbyist community, like a builder wanting to work on his own place in the weekends ..... yeah right!

Still it kinda boils down to the fact that, yes we are in a recession, yes these are luxury items/hobby, if people can save 25-35% by ordering it from overseas, business minded people are going to do so.

[juiced]

ok then
if savings can be made over the interweb.....a t overseas sites. Can someone list a few of the better,more trust worthy(no hidden vat/tax )with a good range of models. i get a bit lost on the net (its all the "ahem" sites)what are some of yous fulla's best places to shop,and why?

[Menolly]

Actually not that long ago. The guy (I'm braindead and cant remember his name-Greg? big guy with accent) who works at Sylvia Park came in maybe 2 months ago and brought some friends and they played in the kitchen part of the hall as the rest was full. And another GW part-timer was in not that long ago as they pulled their membership card when I hassled them about money to prove it...

But when you are working all day every day with gaming stuff it is nice to have a Day Off... mmm a Day Off... not that I remember what they are really...

when was the last time you saw a store lackey down the club playing a game.
Lezle

[Philfy]

if i have to get pay minimum wage, have to play with little noisy kids, and paint crap load of models everyday which are not mine. I probably don't wanna "play" any more warhammer in the weekend as well.. 

  Actually you aren't far wrong there - and I'm speaking from my own experience.  Although as far as retail jobs go the wage was pretty good...

I rather work in Burger king and make burgers.
 

Hell no...   

Turning your hobby into your job is a sure fire way to reach the burn out point.

  And this happens not only in Wargaming...

I also wouldn't blame them for not being all that involved in the serious hobbyist community, like a builder wanting to work on his own place in the weekends ..... yeah right!

Actually there have been in the past, and still are overseas at least, many GW employees who are largely involved in the serious hobbyist community.    Whilst I can understand not attending clubs (being that for one they are often working! and many others who play also don't attend, or are members of clubs, and yet are still serious hobbyists - like myself), it would be nice to see some of them come along to tourney style events...  even incognito...  and get to know some of the "veterans" so they don't get so much of a cold shoulder when actually IN a GW shop...  due to trying on "sales tactics" to someone who has been playing for as long as a few of them have been alive... 

I had no less than three staffers at Sylvia Park recently try and sell me a "pack" of washes when I was in buying 4x Gryphonne Sepia washes that I needed urgently...  since apparently it would be "cheaper"   Duhhhh.  I used to appreciate how back in the day Chrusty used to take staffers aside who were making a beeline to try a sales pitch on me (prior to my working for him) and let them know that I was fine on my own...  because he knew me as a tourney player who knew what I was after and couldn't stand the "newbie pitch" - this even though he only actually saw me in the shop once or twice a year.

Back OT...  Whilst I can understand the business perspective of GW, I do think they are going a little OTT, esp when making comparisons to other modelling companies in regards to prices, which can and do continue to make profits, although do have less of an overhead such as GW incurs with their shopfronts.  One thing that I think GW have indirectly created with their rising prices is an opportunity for other model ranges and games to make an entrance into the market, and by stepping away from running tournaments themselves (and hence a "requirement that everyone use GW models only" at said events) they have also opened up the market to a variety of other model making companies.  This is a good thing IMO.

Retail prices here, not just for Toy Soldiers (but also things like books and music), do keep me ordering from overseas, particularly with our still good exchange rate.  And I spent quite a considerable sum on my toy soldiers in the past 18 months.  (Scarily so actually)

As Menolly said though, "local" shops are a good thing particularly into bringing in "new blood".  By the same token...  they ignore me as a "veteran gamer" and concentrate and cater for the newbies...  so why should I visit them with my business in return?  I get better service from the likes of Imperial Games, Maelstrom, and even GW Mail Order than I get from my "corner store", which is only useful to me in regards to things that cannot be shipped (Overpriced Spray cans that I still have a penchant for), or for things that I require urgently and cannot wait 2-3 days for.

Ironically, whilst GW might tout themselves as a "miniatures company" (esp when fielding complaints about FAQ's and rules ambiguity) and hence only producing game rules as a sideline...  without their "games", there would be MUCH fewer people buying any of their models...  and there is no way the company would have been as successful as it is today without WFB and WH40K as a platform to sell said models, which are obviously the more lucrative part of the business.

As a "purist" of sorts I will only use GW models for some of my armies (and preferably metal at that)...  even those I convert extensively, but in the future, given the variety, quality and accessibility - AND lower prices, out there now in regards to 25mm Fantasy models (or historics that could be used as such), I will be looking elsewhere for my models.