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Okay, so most of us (aussies/new zealanders/oceania/southern hemisphere) are vexated by the latest vomit spewed forth from the 'Eye of Terror' that is currently GW.

So how about we begin focusing on a solution? (because I for one and not about to give up on something i enjoy doing - and consciously CHOOSE to stick with it)

How can we down south maintain our hobby whilst not paying twice the amount the rest of the world does?

Is there anyone in US/UK/not here who could oblige us, in some way?

Is there a way for us to put the pressure on FLGS or GW aus itself? (probably not, but it gives us something to do!)

I'm off to begin creating a milennium falcon with hidden cargo compartments...

Whilst I can understand and appreciate this is worthy of discussion, this isn't news or rumour so I'm going to move this..


.

Ah, was wondering where it went to... cheers

I am more than willing, if you guys get me the moeny to ship you the stuff from here in the UK.

It's an interim measure, seeing as i can't service the whole of oceania or the southern hemisphere.

But i'm willing to do my bit.

Lol, yeah why not?

Can we take a small cut? If so, I'll be HBMC's supplier

Only problem with it is the money is still going to GW.

But i'm willing to do my bit.

If there was ever a more apt video response to what you just said... may you all do you part!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMTz9nIUkGc

Perhaps to help out it could be something like "sponsor an aussie" or something? 1 UK/US gamer supports 1 (maybe 2-3) aussies?

Then it's just a communication/trust issue.

Also happy to give a small cut for services rendered as it'll probably still be cheaper than aus prices...

n0t_u wrote:Only problem with it is the money is still going to GW.

If you're wanting to buy GW stuff, I don't see a massive way around this. Unless you want us to break in and steal it?

If you and some friends want it drop me a PM and we'll figure something out.

I've been giving some thought to helping people out as well. I used Wayland as a template as they are supplier a lot of people trust and swear by.

The basic premise was that I would place an order(s) for people at Wayland, and get it delivered to my home address. Upon receiving the delivery from Wayland I could then contact the *true* recipient in Aus/NZ/wherever, obtain their delivery address and then ship it out to them. I used a SM Battleforce as an example:

GW Aus = $150
GW UK = £51.25

Wayland AUD = $62.62
Wayland GBP = £41.00

I don't think asking for 10% for the handling of the item would be too extreme, so in the above example I'd be charging $6.62 for my own time and effort of receiving the package and re-sending it to the recipient. Charge to the customer (excl. P&P) to Australia therefore would be:

AUD = $69.76
GBP = £45.10

The only caveat I have found is shipping, both to my address AND to the customer. I have no idea who Wayland use to ship their packages (although their website states airmail) and I don't know whether their shipping price is dependant upon the size/weight of the package in question. As it stands for the Battleforce, Wayland charge $6.87 or £4.50. So, when all is totalled up, the final charge (incl. P&P) would come to:

AUD = $76.63
GBP = £49.60

Which is, to all extents and purposes, 50% off of the GW retail price should you be living in Australia. Does this seem reasonable? There are a few things to iron out; who covers the shipping cost from Wayland to myself for example? Would the customer cover this or should I? It's not a huge expense but it IS still and expense and thus needs to be considered. Also who do Wayland use to ship products internationally? Would the couriers charge more for personal rather than commercial use? There are obviously going to be a few more that I have overlooked but hopefully you guys can identify those.

Your thoughts?

L. Wrex

If you're going to help people that way, just use Maelstrom's free shipping and the shipping from them to you is solved I guess.

Flashman wrote:

n0t_u wrote:Only problem with it is the money is still going to GW.

If you're wanting to buy GW stuff, I don't see a massive way around this. Unless you want us to break in and steal it?

I meant voting with your cash, I'm done with GW until this is fixed myself.

The only caveat I have found is shipping, both to my address AND to the customer. I have no idea who Wayland use to ship their packages (although their website states airmail) and I don't know whether their shipping price is dependant upon the size/weight of the package in question. As it stands for the Battleforce, Wayland charge $6.87 or £4.50. So, when all is totalled up, the final charge (incl. P&P) would come to:

AUD = $76.63
GBP = £49.60

I personally think it fair that the aus/nz guys cover ALL costs as well as the 10% 'middleman' fee. Simply because the US/UK guys are going out of their way (spending their time) to order and post the item to us. If they are able to find a seller that deals in free shipping then postage only really occurs between the middleman and the aussie/nz client?

At the end of the day, it's STILL cheaper than GW (which is disgusting really).

Also who do Wayland use to ship products internationally? Would the couriers charge more for personal rather than commercial use?

Is it possible someone there could find this out?

I've just done some calculations as well and I'm shocked. I knew you paid more in Oz, but I didn't know how much more.

Tactical Squad UK Price = £23
Tactical Squad Aus Price = $62 which works out at £41

I really can't fathom how anyone would go into the game at those prices.

Indeed, it's ridiculous.

Even 3rd party resellers that are 20% cheaper in oz it still works out better to buy overseas.

Welcome to our pain.

But they do even though AoBR is at $150 now.
Kind of a bit more sad for NZ though, looking at the prices:

For them the same box is $72.60 or £34.87, or $53.53 AUD...

Quick fellow Aussies to NZ.
I always thought their prices were at a worse rate than ours, until this thread proved quite the opposite.

1. If you must have it new, then buy from other aussie dealers who give discounts, rather than GW retail. For many years, while the aussie dollar was in the toilet, 20% off was a brilliant deal. In the absence of 50% off, 25% is acceptable (You can still get up to 25% off with some local dealers). I've only been buying from OS for the last 18 months - and have been a gamer for over 25 years.

2. Wait 3-6 months. Get it 2nd hand for less than half price when the new kids switch to the newer shiny.

Surely there must be a company in England that will accept parcels from maelstrom, and redirect them to OZ / NZ addresses?

Someone posted a link to a US service in the same vein, but I can't find it again (d'oh!)

Personally, I'm voting with my wallet - eBay 2nd hand minis it is, and GW will never get my $ again.

Padre^.

Rather than the entire UK/US Dakka community setting up mini businesses, I think some form of adoption scheme would work better for you i.e. a list of Dakkaites willing to partake matched up to a list of Aus/NZ buyers. I haven't the time to send large batches of parcels to Oceania everyday, but I'd happily do the odd order every month or so for one or two people.

Lego did mention some mail forwarding companies back in the thread about it on the news section, maybe just use them and save the hassle or wait for eBay to catch up.

Rather than the entire UK/US Dakka community setting up mini businesses, I think some form of adoption scheme would work better for you i.e. a list of Dakkaites willing to partake matched up to a list of Aus/NZ buyers. I haven't the time to send large batches of parcels to Oceania everyday, but I'd happily do the odd order every month or so for one or two people.

Perhaps to help out it could be something like "sponsor an aussie" or something? 1 UK/US gamer supports 1 (maybe 2-3) aussies?

Agreed. I would say some brightspark will solve all our problems soon enough but until then, some sort of sponsorship between north and south would be a simple workaround.

Personally I order rarely (like once in a couple of months) but would be nice to know can still get the good prices with a 'brother or sister' in UK/US.

It's ture. But some people might be unwilling to use eBay. But if someone wants me to do something like this for them. Then i'm cool with it.

Flashman wrote:Rather than the entire UK/US Dakka community setting up mini businesses, I think some form of adoption scheme would work better for you i.e. a list of Dakkaites willing to partake matched up to a list of Aus/NZ buyers. I haven't the time to send large batches of parcels to Oceania everyday, but I'd happily do the odd order every month or so for one or two people.

I think organisation might be an issue here. We only know each other via our forum handles and signing up to such a scheme would involve sharing details with potentially a lot of people, and working around a plethora of different timetables/shedules. It also comes scarily close to becoming a redistribution business, which we want to avoid at all costs due to legal ramifications etc. As far as I'm concerned, I am just sending parcels out to all my 'friends' who just happen to live in the southern hemisphere.

Sorting out orders on a one-to-one basis makes communication much easier, as it avoids having to share info with people who potentially have nothing to do with your order, and also gives you a defined person to speak to about your order (a la, me). It also makes it a lot easier to accept/deny orders as it is purely down to both parties whether or not they trust each other enough to go through with the transaction.

L. Wrex

Lycaeus Wrex wrote:

Flashman wrote:Rather than the entire UK/US Dakka community setting up mini businesses, I think some form of adoption scheme would work better for you i.e. a list of Dakkaites willing to partake matched up to a list of Aus/NZ buyers. I haven't the time to send large batches of parcels to Oceania everyday, but I'd happily do the odd order every month or so for one or two people.

I think organisation might be an issue here. We only know each other via our forum handles and signing up to such a scheme would involve sharing details with potentially a lot of people, and working around a plethora of different timetables/shedules. It also comes scarily close to becoming a redistribution business, which we want to avoid at all costs due to legal ramifications etc. As far as I'm concerned, I am just sending parcels out to all my 'friends' who just happen to live in the southern hemisphere.

Sorting out orders on a one-to-one basis makes communication much easier, as it avoids having to share info with people who potentially have nothing to do with your order, and also gives you a defined person to speak to about your order (a la, me). It also makes it a lot easier to accept/deny orders as it is purely down to both parties whether or not they trust each other enough to go through with the transaction.

L. Wrex

Agreed, that's basically what I meant. The "Sponsor an Aussie/Kiwi" phrase sums it up quite well I think

Its time to setup a Galaxy Gobbo... in Europe..


But in all seriousness - answer to OP, to make some team work would requiresomeone like Galaxy Gobbo, who is not contractually bounded by GW to make this happen.

Flashman wrote:Agreed, that's basically what I meant. The "Sponsor an Aussie/Kiwi" phrase sums it up quite well I think

Ahhh, I see what you mean now. So, in essence, we start a thread detailing the forum handles of people in the UK/US who are interested in helping out. Then if someone wants to take out an order they send a PM via the forum to one of the listed handles, and then those two parties communicate privately from then on?

This makes a lot of sense and I am totally in favour of this idea!

I am still struggling to find out who Wayland use as their airmail courier though. If this information can be found (as it is proven they are both quick and reliable) then I am 100% behind this endeavour.

L. Wrex

If a retailer is afraid of GW stopping selling them product or whatever, they can pretty easily create a shell company to sell the product through, making it somewhat difficult for GW to find them and cut them off.

Sorting out orders on a one-to-one basis makes communication much easier, as it avoids having to share info with people who potentially have nothing to do with your order, and also gives you a defined person to speak to about your order (a la, me). It also makes it a lot easier to accept/deny orders as it is purely down to both parties whether or not they trust each other enough to go through with the transaction.

Exactly. Also saying "it's for a friend" gets out of any legal ramifications.

Being timely/informative on communication is also another point for those interested in 'sponsoring'. Time to deliver overseas won't be so much of an issue if we can be updated as to what's going on.

Probably only other point is to sort out what happens with misplaced orders/damages. Could perhaps go along the lines of having the sponsor inquire on behalf of the sponsee (if that's the correct term) and sort it out that way. Nothing should really change except the risk of forking out a further shipping fee if needed (which ultimately the company should pay for and the sponsor reimbursed for their re-shipment).

Ultimately, it's STILL cheaper than GW oz.

I live just down the road from Wayland Games, and would be happy to put my name on the list to help send stuff over.

Dragonlover

Well I'm in regardless. Always willing to help criminal compatriats out.

If people are agreeable to signing up to something like "Sponsor an Aussie/Kiwi", then it might be worth getting the Swap Shop Mods to do a Sticky Thread whereby the names of willing and able UK/US Dakkaites are listed and subsequently matched to an Aussie/Kiwi Dakkaite.

The list can then be edited if either party wishes to drop out of the arrangement at some point in the future.

What say you Swap Shop Mods?