Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

So currently I have a small dilemma.
I've recently returned to the hobby and was able to find a local GW store nearby with great staff and nice atmosphere.

In the same building one floor up there is a hobby store focused mainly on TCG like MTG but also have the GW products except at a cheaper price (10%).

Now I haven't actually been to the other hobby store but I've heard that it doesn't support the tabletop hobby that much(meaning no paint tables etc.).

IF I was to buy products from upstairs and take them downstairs to paint and assemble etc etc, would this be considered 'wrong'?

I mean 10% on small stuff ain't a lot but with the bigger boxed products 10% discount seems too good to not consider.

What do you guys think?
Any opinions?

I think there's a strong argument to be made for 'pay where you play.' If you don't support the store you actually play in, it's not going to stay open.

Wrong! Plus an extra flight of stairs, screw exercise!

I'd mix and match. Get your 10% off big boxes, but if you're going upstairs for a $1 saving and then coming back down to paint, that's not supporting the place who's facilities you're taking up.

Doing that would make me very uncomfortable, i know that much

Free market, buy where you get the best deal. GW'll have to compete like any other company would.

This entire scenario is neither 'wrong' or 'right', it's entirely based around your own set of experiences and morals.

If you look at this objectively, the store with the discount offers no way for you to enjoy those discounted mini's onsite, therefor, you will want to go to a place where you CAN enjoy them - i.e. downstairs.

Right and wrong doesn't factor into this.

You can always mention it to the place with the gaming space

"I'd like to support you, but Joe upstairs is doing this stuff for 10% less, can you do anything here?" and maybe he'll match it or throw in some paints or something.

Herzlos wrote:
You can always mention it to the place with the gaming space

"I'd like to support you, but Joe upstairs is doing this stuff for 10% less, can you do anything here?" and maybe he'll match it or throw in some paints or something.

He says it's a GW store in the OP.

So, yeah...

Ruin wrote:

Herzlos wrote:
You can always mention it to the place with the gaming space

"I'd like to support you, but Joe upstairs is doing this stuff for 10% less, can you do anything here?" and maybe he'll match it or throw in some paints or something.

He says it's a GW store in the OP.

So, yeah...

That's GWs choice.

Inherently it is wrong yes. You'd be buying from another shop and then taking up space another paying customer could be using in the GW. It's essentially if you bought a take away from somewhere and then went into another restaurant to use their cutlery and tables because the original place didn't have any.

At the end of the day it's up to the discretion of the management of the GW, but you are taking up a paying customers space there if you were to do it.

Ruin wrote:

Herzlos wrote:
You can always mention it to the place with the gaming space

"I'd like to support you, but Joe upstairs is doing this stuff for 10% less, can you do anything here?" and maybe he'll match it or throw in some paints or something.

He says it's a GW store in the OP.

So, yeah...

Good spot, however it's still fair to ask. As I understand it they have a little leeway to give out freebies rather than reduce prices.

Keep a careful eye out for the other store having stock problems in the future though.

Wrong? No.
A bit amoral? Yes.

I have a FLGS which offers 8% discount via a 5€ voucher you get every 60€ of purchases.
Not big and not significant, especially compared to the online discounts you can get... BUT I almost exclusively play there so I get all my supplies and models from them that they stock (with the exception of brushes. I aint buying GW brushes).
It's just... fair. I use their services for free, so I "pay" with buying from them.

 Thairne wrote:
Wrong? No.
A bit amoral? Yes.

I have a FLGS which offers 8% discount via a 5€ voucher you get every 60€ of purchases.
Not big and not significant, especially compared to the online discounts you can get... BUT I almost exclusively play there so I get all my supplies and models from them that they stock (with the exception of brushes. I aint buying GW brushes).
It's just... fair. I use their services for free, so I "pay" with buying from them.

That's not what the guy was asking. He was saying about buying the stuff from the hobby store and then going down stairs to use the GW's facilities to build, paint etc as the hobby shop doesn't support that. That's trying to take advantage of free facilities without supporting the actual GW.

And this is why the whole bring your own glue, clippers etc happened at GW because people were buying their models elsewhere and then taking them into GW and using the stuff there to put their models together.

I wouldn't do it but you have every right to go in and use the painting tables on offer. I mean don't literally pitch up in store with another shops bag and start building models, that would make it just too obvious!

Of course GW have every right to ask you to leave and never come back.

You pays your money, you takes your chance.

Just ask the GW manager if it is okay with him if you buy the models upstairs for a discount and then bring them downstairs to paint in his store.
If he is okay with this it is all good and if he is not then don't it.

If however you feel bad making that request then I think you already know the answer to your question.

Is it wrong? Depends. Is it right? No. Is it low thing to do? YES.

"Low thing to do" - horse manure.

If GW choose to offer access to their painting or gaming tables without restriction, that's their choice, nobody is obligated to give them money if they also choose not to compete on price. If they want people to pay/buy something to use them, make that the policy and enforce it, otherwise both they and the rest of us should have nothing to say on the matter.

And to be fair, GW are still making about 60% of the retail price on the stuff you bought upstairs, so it's not as if they lose out.

The guy running the GW won't see any of it though, or whoever decides to close the stores.

 Yodhrin wrote:
"Low thing to do" - horse manure.

If GW choose to offer access to their painting or gaming tables without restriction, that's their choice, nobody is obligated to give them money if they also choose not to compete on price. If they want people to pay/buy something to use them, make that the policy and enforce it, otherwise both they and the rest of us should have nothing to say on the matter.

Of course it's the low thing to do. You don't buy a product from a store and then walk into a competing store and use their facilities to use the product. You should be kicked out for that. And as far as I was aware, it was their policy barring manager discretion. It's because of situations like this we lost the ability to use store supplied paints and materials.

 Inquisitor Gideon wrote:

 Yodhrin wrote:
"Low thing to do" - horse manure.

If GW choose to offer access to their painting or gaming tables without restriction, that's their choice, nobody is obligated to give them money if they also choose not to compete on price. If they want people to pay/buy something to use them, make that the policy and enforce it, otherwise both they and the rest of us should have nothing to say on the matter.

Of course it's the low thing to do. You don't buy a product from a store and then walk into a competing store and use their facilities to use the product. You should be kicked out for that. And as far as I was aware, it was there policy barring manager discretion. It's because of situations like this we lost the ability to use store supplied paints and materials.

Is it allowed? Then it's not a low thing to do, it's allowed. Is it not allowed? The issue is moot since it's not allowed and so won't happen.

There is no rational way to argue the OP's scenario would somehow be immoral because the scenario can only occur if his actions are considered permissable by the "competing store", and if they're fine with it what's it to do with you?

When I played Star Wars CCG, it was nearly 100% at a store. I bought my cards through the store, even though I could get it cheaper online. The store provided a place to play, meet other players, and hosted tournaments. I am a big believer in pay where you play.

Now, I do not play in game stores except on rare occasions. As such, I have no qualms buying online. I do support a local game store with some purchases as it is nice to have one nearby, but I don't "owe them anything", so to speak.

Davor wrote:
Is it wrong? Depends. Is it right? No. Is it low thing to do? YES.

LOL No.

Free market.

GW want people buying and playing in their store? Then compete with the people providing a better offer. Consumer choice.

They don't wanna compete and be an island? Fine, but that is entirely up to them. The should be adapting to the local market environment. They provide 10% off in that shop to equal the price of the competitor and give the bonus of a gaming space..........they'd probably wipe them out. They can afford to, being a corporate entity.

They choose not to, then they can't complain when other shops hoover up sales that GW aren't really fighting for.

I have a local coffee shop and the other week I noticed they have covered up the plug sockets by the tables. The reason they've done it is because people were coming in and setting up their laptops to use the free electricity and wifi. Apparently some of them were refusing to buy anything - just wanting to use the 'free' services. The tables were getting clogged-up with freeloaders forcing out the normal customers. That abuse has forced the cafe to remove a potentially useful service because of the actions of a few.

That's a parallel situation to the OP's case. GW aren't providing the gaming and hobby space out of the goodness of their hearts or as an obligation. They want people to buy things to support the cost of supplying those services.

Can you buy things upstairs and bring them down to use GW's facilities? Yes, although if they catch you they probably won't be pleased.

Should you do it? Depends on whether are happy freeloading. If everyone did it then the services wouldn't be supplied. Do you value the services that they are providing?

I'm pretty shocked by some of the posts here that seem to be unable to identify when something is morally wrong. Just because you can probably get away with something doesn't make it 'right'.

Its a free market. Put a sign up saying NO COFFEE NO FREELOADING CHEAPO SCUM.

GW wana provide a place to play, fine. Then also provide the incentive for people to buy and use in there too, as if they are going elsewhere for 10% off, then that 10% off clearly counts for something. GW get the money at the end of the day anyway.

 Yodhrin wrote:

 Inquisitor Gideon wrote:

 Yodhrin wrote:
"Low thing to do" - horse manure.

If GW choose to offer access to their painting or gaming tables without restriction, that's their choice, nobody is obligated to give them money if they also choose not to compete on price. If they want people to pay/buy something to use them, make that the policy and enforce it, otherwise both they and the rest of us should have nothing to say on the matter.

Of course it's the low thing to do. You don't buy a product from a store and then walk into a competing store and use their facilities to use the product. You should be kicked out for that. And as far as I was aware, it was there policy barring manager discretion. It's because of situations like this we lost the ability to use store supplied paints and materials.

Is it allowed? Then it's not a low thing to do, it's allowed. Is it not allowed? The issue is moot since it's not allowed and so won't happen.

There is no rational way to argue the OP's scenario would somehow be immoral because the scenario can only occur if his actions are considered permissable by the "competing store", and if they're fine with it what's it to do with you?

just because something is allowed, doesn't mean it isn't low

If this is good games sydney they were there before the gw moved into the basement like space under them if I remember right so don't feel bad. That being said I don't play in either, the GW isn't local enough for me to play in thus I haven't really set foot in it, but I have been to that GG to pick up stuff a couple of times like dice or deck boxes.

Pay where you play!

At a minimum I buy all of my paints/brushes/glue from the same FLGS. If I order something online or go somewhere else is if they do not stock/order the product. ex. Reaper Bones, Battlefoam, and so on they do not stock.

Nope, nothing wrong with it. It would be kind of TFG behavior to do it the other way around, taking up space at the independent store and never buying anything, but this is a GW store we're talking about. And GW stores deserve to be driven out of business.