Okay people! I'll be putting the order in on late Friday my time or early Friday morning for most of you. Make sure you put your order in before then as I'm not getting that many excess. If you are after an order not available in the store EMAIL ME now so we can correspond. Still not sure if we are going to hit the price break area for the Dice Bags so I have requested the price break at a lower quantity and we will see what happens. If not, I will contact those individuals who ordered dice bags and we can work out what we want to do from there.
A facebook group has been created in protest of the embargo on shipping overseas from UK independents and I am currently working on a general letter format everyone can send to Games Workshop. Any assistance or ideas here would be greatly appreciated and should be sent to me e-mail again.
This letter and movement needs to be polite and forceful as possible. My open letter was a bit more aggressive hence why we are not using it as a template for the overall letter. We want each letter to be personal as well some Games Workshop might actually feel what they've done and move towards a more sustainable business model. As it stands I highly recommend not buying anything from Games Workshop as it stands, particularly the new Dark Eldar and Tomb King ranges. Not getting good sales from those new releases might also make them wake up.
I have a large back log of e-mails currently as I am obviously quite busy and haven't put together any tactics based posts lately so sorry for that guys. Still painting madly though life seems determined to not let me finish in time. *eyeroll*
Logging you in...
MarshalLaeroth 52p · 724 weeks ago
While the shipping embargo problems in NZ and AUS is a serious problem, the price increases period are serious issues that need to be addressed for everyone in the world. They are quickly pricing themselves out of many player's affordability.
Marshal_Wilhelm 71p · 724 weeks ago
"Let's jack the prices up in the smallest market. Are those suckers still buying at twice UK prices? Lololol, the fools. Hmm, if it works there, we can do it to the others too. Slowly. Slowly, like a frog in a pot. Muahahahaha"
If Aussies and Kiwis are silly enough to keep buying GW from GW stores, despite the bellyaching, then that means Europeans and North Americans will probably also be silly enough to keep buying GW stuff too, despite it being "out of your affordability"
You say it costs too much, they look at us Southern Hemispherers and say "Nah, we'll get a bit more outta ya yet"
+++
"Look, discount online stores. Discount online stores! Our enemies buy online for their plastic bawkses, the cowards, the fools!
We.... we should take away their discount online stores.... SINDRIIII!
Bishop · 724 weeks ago
If it works here, why not over there?
Also, if sales here plummet, who do you think will pick up the bill?
Bishop · 724 weeks ago
I was actually going to email you concerning this, as I started a thread on BoLS, and as you would imagine, just got shouted down.
All the Southern Hemispherians (that will do as a word, right?) were behind it, but most of the overseas people don't care.
I will post a link to your Facebook group and blog, as coordination is key.
(p.s. First time poster, long time reader)
Sethis · 724 weeks ago
Marshal_Wilhelm 71p · 724 weeks ago
Hellgore · 724 weeks ago
The only thing I can imagine buying (but with low probability) is the 6th rd BRB. But maybe we in our club just throw money together, buy one and copy it for the members. Just like we did with D&D in the good ol' days when we were 13 years old.
My FLGS is contemlating if it should still sell GW as the sales decline for years and after GW withdrew blisters to Direct Only and demands inacceptable conditions in order to get black boxes. While FoW just exploded in our area about two years ago and keeps rising. The shopowner thinks about switching to warmachine.
If this is just an indication for how independent traders think in Germany, GW is going to be in for a big, nasty FU. Luckily, we in our club can continue playing even if they finally go the way of the dodo.
You don't need new editions constantly that are messily written and only unwillingly faqed whilst the elements of it - the codices - are not updated in time whilst everything you are required to buy getting more and more expensive.
Time to get the last missing batch of GK Marines and Termies...
Icareane · 724 weeks ago
This is probably more acute in Australia because of the RRP there, IMO what you want to ask for is RRP on par with UK prices, not access to UK internet retailers.
Kirby 118p · 724 weeks ago
I am happy to spend that extra bit of money at a local store for the support the store gives me (place to paint, game and chill) and not having to wait. Most stores as well offer decent discounts if you buy a whole army at once, never hurts to ask.
The problem atm is the disparity between the UK prices and everywhere else where that extra percentage becomes 50-60% and this is what needs to be addressed. The price rise I really don't have issue with; the hobby is expensive and it's silly for them to raise every single year above inflation rates and regardless of market pressure but it's a drop in the ocean in comparison. The kicker though is we are now getting resin minis and they are more expensive than the old metal minis, using the same model and a cheaper material.
MarshalLaeroth 52p · 724 weeks ago
By cutting out the internet retailer's ability to sell to a wider array of consumers, they are cutting into the distributor's customer base and profitability. Perhaps eventually getting to the point where the distributors have to do their own markup to cover lost profits, or pull the line. Neither of which is good for the LGS, who usually have only small consumer bases to begin with.
Bad business begets bad business. It may cause a dramatic snowball effect, or it may not. Its too early to say for sure...but change is most certainly coming.
Antebellum · 724 weeks ago
Roland Durendal · 724 weeks ago
Which is fine as I like my local Hobbytown. Good group of guys, if not a wide variety in models. Upside is their slowly getting a decent 40K stock on the shelves.
With that said I am no totally in love with The War Store. Those dudes are AWESOME. It's just too bad that due to GW policy they can't show you what GW products they have or show GW products in a "shopping cart", so you have to call/email them for a product range listing.
Kirby 118p · 724 weeks ago
Roland Durendal · 724 weeks ago
Marshal_Wilhelm 71p · 724 weeks ago
So, yeah.
@bryce963 · 724 weeks ago
They have almost comparable pricing, my co-blogger over at dissentingdice.blogspot.com, just ordered 4 chimeras and a manticore, for only slightly more than wayland. Less than $10 more, and shipping was about 5 or 6 bucks.
Also, he got his order in just over a week. That was always the problem with wayland had to go through customs, but I always ordered a huge amount so waiting wasn't that bad.
Jack · 724 weeks ago
So we aren't using that one anymore? I thought it was very well worded, strong but you have to be in situations like this. I don't see why anyone has to be overly polite or mince their words, what GW is already doing with the 100% price gap is unethical in the modern global economy, to then restrict sales from UK e-stores (who must make a good chunk of their sales from the AU/NZ region) is just downright rude!
Scott · 724 weeks ago
Marshal_Wilhelm 71p · 724 weeks ago
It is 3 times in many similarly sized US cities.
British people coming over to Australia, love the exchange rate, and the lifestyle here, yet they all say how expensive it is here, and they come from Europe. Says something, eh?
Back in the day, we had a rubbish rate of exchange with the pound. So they jacked the prices up. Cool. I understand that if they are paying through the nose to get it into the country, they need to pass that cost onto the customer. No worries. After that season ended, do you think they wound the prices back, or held off on annual increases until the gap got back onto even footing? No way, and they kept jacking the prices up so that it now costs 200% of what I can get something from the UK for. Including postage!
+++
I have heard, though don't know if it is true, that GW Aus is actually a franchise and he [the guy he bought it] can charge whatever price he likes. I think the guy was a high-up in GW before it became a franchise. In that case, it is even more maddening. He spent years as a hobbyist and knows the joy the game brings, yet he is acting like some slick fatcat who has no idea about the hobby or that students play the game, etc.
How many people played D&D during High School and Uni, for instance? These times are when people are skint as you like.
Anyway, I don't know this last part as fact.
Meatpuppet · 724 weeks ago
I tool a 34% pay cut between my Aus job and my UK job (from over £50,000 equivalent to less than £35,000) and I have a significantly higher amount of savings/disposable income in the UK than I had in Australia.
I don't mind the fact that GW is trying (apparently) to protect its bricks and mortar investment in Oz, or even the FLGS scene, but it's going about it the wrong way. I don't doubt that wage costs, some taxes and shipping make GW product more expensive once it gets to Australia, but the difference is nowhere near what is being charged. If I can ship a small amount of product (even via the US postal service) and still come out easily on top while paying full retail, there's no justification for GW not being able to make similar cost comparisons. The best way to save the bricks and mortar sales in Aus is for them to finally provide a RRP that reflects UK RRP with a slight increase for the cost of doing business down under.