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 carldooley wrote:

AllSeeingSkink wrote:
I don't think you can use store bought vouchers online.

why not? Heck, the only reason for doing so is to give the manager credit for the sale.

Well the typical purpose of those vouchers is for gifts for people that you don't know what to get for them I have known someone to buy a voucher from one store when the store doesn't have something in stock but another store does, so they can go pick it up from the other store but the first store gets the gain.

But yeah I don't know how they work, I've never bought one. I notice that FW have their own "virtual vouchers" separate from the GW ones which explicitly state you can only use them on the FW site and not the GW or BL sites.

 Talys wrote:
So, I went to my FLGS today (picked up the Tau WD, posted lots of cool pics into N&R if anyone's interested), and asked them if it would be cool to play 30k with FW models there, just out of curiosity. Obviously, they don't sell FW there.

Answer was interesting

Essentially, if at least one of the players in a 2 player game is a regular customer, they're good with whatever you want to play there. He said that essentially, if you're a regular, feel free to pop a laptop and play video games -- they'll supply the wifi -- or set up and show off a train set if you want. If you're not a customer, it doesn't matter what game you bring... go and play where you want to spend money at.

They view their gaming space as a service for their patrons, independent of the games. Not that this directly relates to GW stores or is reflective of other stores. Just thought it was interesting enough to share

That is not an atypical sentiment - having a game space means that people come in, and often, once they are there, they spend money.

Locally we have had a long run of game stores over the last thirty years - some good, some bad, and one shut down by the feds. (The big poster in their window advertising that they had bootleg videos and music might have had a connection with that.)

Three of the stores closed because of divorces (including two of the good ones as well as one of the bad ones).

One closed when the owner went back to college.

But the ones that held on the longest all had gaming spaces - and, good store or bad store, it was the gaming space that kept them afloat.

One store lost all of that business when they decided to charge forty dollars for the table - not a per capita fee, but a lump sum*. The GM could choose to charge his players, or swallow the cost. Or, as it turned out, they could go and play someplace else.

Folks stopped coming in to game, which also meant that they didn't come in to buy.

Most of the sales were driven by just having people in the store buying stuff on impulse, because they were there.

Impulse buys are a good thing - but I don't think that GW stores get much by way of impulse buys these days - paints, brushes, and glues, maybe. Impulse buys are dominated by things under $20.

As a result, they are probably a bit grudging about the space.

The most successful local store is out in the boonies a bit (Standish) - but has lots of gaming space as well as a lot of events. Being out in the sticks means that they have low rent. (They are good folks, and have been in business longer than any of the others. The downside is that they are outside of the city, and not on a bus route. My good lady and I hit them only once a month or so. She drives, but I am a life long pedestrian.)

The Auld Grump

* The store also had tournaments, and then entered their own tournaments so they wouldn't have to pay out the prize. There is a reason that Kidz Hobbies isn't around any more.

Always the same. ONE store manager rules something, a crapton of people who will never even set foot in the store lose their gak. It's ONE manager in ONE store who some day makes some decision. This has no impact on more than 1% of people who even consider playing 40k warhams at the GW stores. And most likely this will be changed within the week anyway. I really fail to see the significance of this on any level.

 H.B.M.C. wrote:

 Lord Corellia wrote:
You just seem very much pro-GW in a lot of your posts. Maybe you just have some more disposable income than many, but even in the face of price rises and the like you seem happy and chipper, willing to pay whatever they charge.

That's what makes him so endlessly frustrating. He seems incapable of even acknowledging that something might be rotten in the state of Nottingham, and his "Don't care, got mine" attitude towards prices, what people can buy, and his "If it's good enough for me then it's good enough for everyone" point of view can be rather insulting.

It's also insulting to see people who don't acknowledge that there are hobbyists and gamers who are happy with the current state of Games Workshop products -- in fact, happier about the current generation of GW stuff than any previous generation. That's not to say that GW is a perfect company; I think many things could be improved, but there ARE people who, overall, like the company and products. It may infuriate you that this is the case, but it is the truth.

At the end of the day, preference doesn't have to be a black and white of "I hate everything about GW" and "I mindlessly love everything GW does". You must be aware of this already, because you've spent quite a bit of money on GW stuff (recently). You must not utterly despise them, because otherwise, you wouldn't. But on the subject of FW in GW stores, it's exactly this: it's not a black and white thing. Under the current rules and circumstances, I totally understand the store manager's perspective, and at the same time, I wish GW would allow special orders FW product to its stores... that's all. I'm not sure how that can be construed as mindless support for GW HQ.

As I said, I'd rather not hijack this discussion and turn it into GW pricing. If you feel strongly about it, pop another thread about GW prices, and I'll be happy to chat with you there about it, and we can go right back to comparing prices of GW models with PP, Infinity, Dreamforge, historical, and Gundam models and all that fun stuff. Or just link an old thread on the subject, because it's not like we'll say anything new.

have a generally favorable view of Games Workshop; I realize that not everyone else shares my opinion, and I respect theirs (yours too, when you state it), even if I disagree.

Cheers


Edit: if you don't see outrage from me about ANYTHING that has to do with gaming, from any company, it's because I reserve outrage for things like the shooting that just happened in an Oregon college that left 10 dead and 20+ wounded. It's a matter of perspective. My heart goes out to those poor kids and their families :( Insanity!

 Sigur wrote:
Always the same. ONE store manager rules something, a crapton of people who will never even set foot in the store lose their gak. It's ONE manager in ONE store who some day makes some decision. This has no impact on more than 1% of people who even consider playing 40k warhams at the GW stores. And most likely this will be changed within the week anyway. I really fail to see the significance of this on any level.

I fully agree with this - it's a mountain out of a molehill...

GW policies are truly bizarre.

 Sigur wrote:
Always the same. ONE store manager rules something, a crapton of people who will never even set foot in the store lose their gak. It's ONE manager in ONE store who some day makes some decision. This has no impact on more than 1% of people who even consider playing 40k warhams at the GW stores. And most likely this will be changed within the week anyway. I really fail to see the significance of this on any level.

It's important if you play in GW stores in general, not just that one, because it shows GW has no global policy so that "one store" could be your store in a few weeks when there's another manager change over.

It doesn't matter if you don't collect FW and it doesn't matter if you don't play in GW stores. But for those who do it's important. I don't know what % of people that is, but it's certainly not an uncommon phenomenon.

From what I hear it won't be a problem at all in the next couple of months. Seems like the resolution is on the way in the plastic heresy range.

 Sigur wrote:
Always the same. ONE store manager rules something, a crapton of people who will never even set foot in the store lose their gak. It's ONE manager in ONE store who some day makes some decision. This has no impact on more than 1% of people who even consider playing 40k warhams at the GW stores. And most likely this will be changed within the week anyway. I really fail to see the significance of this on any level.

"Always the same. ONE store manager..."

Either it's the same store manager, or it's not always the same and it's several, as this thread, in various incarnations, has popped up several times. Also, IN THIS THREAD, there have been confirmations, both from customers and from current/previous staff, that this is occurring elsewhere...

So c'mon, work it out ffs.

Just gonna say the store manager's policy "worked" haha.

Went in for painting on Friday and 3 of the other regulars were there painting or playing general 40k. Two of them preparing for the new Tau by painting up existing models. Another blowing dust off his Dark Eldar army.

 Bottle wrote:
Just gonna say the store manager's policy "worked" haha.

Went in for painting on Friday and 3 of the other regulars were there painting or playing general 40k. Two of them preparing for the new Tau by painting up existing models. Another blowing dust off his Dark Eldar army.

3 people you say?

This is great news.

It shows that handling the policy in the right way doesn't automatically mean you've lost the customer.

 JamesY wrote:
It shows that handling the policy in the right way doesn't automatically mean you've lost the customer.

Does operating the policy at all offer the risk of losing the customer?

 MeanGreenStompa wrote:

 JamesY wrote:
It shows that handling the policy in the right way doesn't automatically mean you've lost the customer.

Does operating the policy at all offer the risk of losing the customer?

Is someone buying strictly FW and playing at a GW shop actually a customer of that GW shop?

Is it a silly policy that FW stuff isn't sold through GW or that FW won't accept GW gift cards for online orders? Absolutely. Hell at this point, I'd settle for GW letting their managers run group orders for FW!
But it's a real stretch to call someone who is playing 30k a "customer" of that particular shop unless they've bought nothing but stuff off the shelves.

 Kanluwen wrote:

 MeanGreenStompa wrote:

 JamesY wrote:
It shows that handling the policy in the right way doesn't automatically mean you've lost the customer.

Does operating the policy at all offer the risk of losing the customer?

Is someone buying strictly FW and playing at a GW shop actually a customer of that GW shop?

It shouldn't make a difference because they are still customers of GW in general.

AllSeeingSkink wrote:

 Kanluwen wrote:

 MeanGreenStompa wrote:

 JamesY wrote:
It shows that handling the policy in the right way doesn't automatically mean you've lost the customer.

Does operating the policy at all offer the risk of losing the customer?

Is someone buying strictly FW and playing at a GW shop actually a customer of that GW shop?

It shouldn't make a difference because they are still customers of GW in general.

I agree with you that it shouldn't make a difference, but that's the way GW runs their stuff right now. It makes a difference to the manager, and from what has been said GW will let their managers run the shops as they please unless something directly conflicts with a set policy.

True, I guess to be more relevant to the topic at hand I'd suggest there are very few people who *exclusively* buy FW. Even if someone exclusively plays 30k (which I think would be an oddity) they're likely still buying vehicles and stuff from GW.

 Kanluwen wrote:

I agree with you that it shouldn't make a difference, but that's the way GW runs their stuff right now. It makes a difference to the manager, and from what has been said GW will let their managers run the shops as they please unless something directly conflicts with a set policy.

The policy is basically 'go forth and make profit by means you see fit'. It isn't 'ban some things we make that you personally haven't sold'.

Not 'haven't' sold, but 'can't sell'.

 MeanGreenStompa wrote:

 Kanluwen wrote:

I agree with you that it shouldn't make a difference, but that's the way GW runs their stuff right now. It makes a difference to the manager, and from what has been said GW will let their managers run the shops as they please unless something directly conflicts with a set policy.

The policy is basically 'go forth and make profit by means you see fit'. It isn't 'ban some things we make that you personally haven't sold'.

And how do you expect them to make profit from things they can't sell?

Cross selling, it's sales 101

 Azreal13 wrote:
Cross selling, it's sales 101

And if someone isn't interested in anything produced by GW or (as is possibly the case) GW items at GW's prices?

Hey, I know! They could sell table space!
...Oh wait. The few shops which purportedly have required purchases for table time/space purportedly got into trouble with GW Corporate.

Cross-selling only works if there is an interest in a supplementary product. Aside from Drop Pods, I cannot think of anything that 30k players might be interested in that GW would sell in their shop.

The Leman Russ kits and the Baneblade come to mind, along with the vanilla Land Raider and Predator kits.

The Baneblade and some of its variants in particular, which is nowadays a plastic only things.

 BrookM wrote:
The Leman Russ kits and the Baneblade come to mind, along with the vanilla Land Raider and Predator kits.

The Baneblade and some of its variants in particular, which is nowadays a plastic only things.

That's maybe two purchases that won't be repeated. Shops need regular business to continue trading, which for gw stores comes from people buying citadel products. And to everyone who keeps commenting on supplementary sales, consider this, a pot of paint or glue costs about the same as a coffee. How many coffees do cafes have to sell to stay open? Probably about 300 a day minimum. There is no way a gw store would survive a week on that basis. The small handful of pure 30k players who would buy a pot of paint from the store wouldn't spend enough to even be missed.

That said, hh plastics are going to be a citadel range from what my ex colleagues have said, so next month this will be a moot point.

That is ridiculous and I am not even sure i believe you since Games workshop owns forge-world.

Well feth, just when I find an army that clicks for me and doesn't make me loathe myself after fielding it, I'm not allowed to use it...

But feth it, that's part of the reason I don't go to official stores any more and prefer to visit a FLGS instead. At least there I don't get a starter shoved into my gob every time or have to worry when I look away for a moment that the counter isn't suddenly full of "must-have" hobby supplies that have oh-so helpfully been put there.

 Kanluwen wrote:

 Azreal13 wrote:
Cross selling, it's sales 101

And if someone isn't interested in anything produced by GW or (as is possibly the case) GW items at GW's prices?

Hey, I know! They could sell table space!
...Oh wait. The few shops which purportedly have required purchases for table time/space purportedly got into trouble with GW Corporate.

Cross-selling only works if there is an interest in a supplementary product. Aside from Drop Pods, I cannot think of anything that 30k players might be interested in that GW would sell in their shop.

A decent salesman can generate interest. Besides, I refuse to believe someone who is collecting any Warhammer army that needs to be painted and stuck together, cleaned up etc and is likely collecting an army comprising entirely of Space Marines couldn't be inspired to buy a 40K kit for conversion pieces or similar.

That and the whole kit you've given yourself as an example.

 JamesY wrote:

 BrookM wrote:
The Leman Russ kits and the Baneblade come to mind, along with the vanilla Land Raider and Predator kits.

The Baneblade and some of its variants in particular, which is nowadays a plastic only things.

That's maybe two purchases that won't be repeated. Shops need regular business to continue trading, which for gw stores comes from people buying citadel products. And to everyone who keeps commenting on supplementary sales, consider this, a pot of paint or glue costs about the same as a coffee. How many coffees do cafes have to sell to stay open? Probably about 300 a day minimum. There is no way a gw store would survive a week on that basis. The small handful of pure 30k players who would buy a pot of paint from the store wouldn't spend enough to even be missed.

That said, hh plastics are going to be a citadel range from what my ex colleagues have said, so next month this will be a moot point.

By that logic you'd also want to ban all the people with established armies who are no longer purchasing in bulk.

Or alternatively you don't ban people at all from playing any current GW games with GW miniatures.

I am not the one banning people so cool your jets, I'm saying that there is a very clear logic. It's not just about what you have bought, but also about what the guy who's just walked in might buy. If a potential customer comes in, sees a dozen guys having a good laugh whilst playing a game with nice looking armies, then that in itself is a massive selling point, and 99% of the reason stores offer the service. If you then have to pass that business on because you can't sell him anything but the glue and paint for models he hasn't even bought yet, then what was the point?

shops can't stay open on money made yesterday.

Once upon a time, GW used to have a van drive 'round to stores and sell Forgeworld stuff and some of the more popular metal bitz from their main lines.

You know, when GW sold bitz.

And metal.

The Auld Grump