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GW has started taking advanced orders for their new 2010 catalogue:
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?catId=cat1491880&prodId=prod770030a

Whilst the inclusinon of a 'fuller' range (e.g more bitz and LOTR vingettes) is promising, I will just say this: £12? Gee-dub, do you honestly believe I am going to spend £12 buying a book that I can read anytime in a shop for free, or just use the internet for the same effect? I am usually supportive of the companies descicion's, but this is taking it a little too far. This is the first year since I started playing that I will not be buying the catalogue, which is a shame. Anyway, I thought it would be appropriate to bring you the news.

Back in I think 2004 I bought their hard cover catalog for something like $50. This was a phone book of bits though. Still have it, despite its uselessness.

Errr.....Last I remember, those things were £4 4 years ago. A triple price increase? That just beggars belief.

It sounds like it would be cool for collector's or archival purposes a few years down the road. My FLGS had a catalogue from 1992, and that was a lot of fun to read through! Then again, it didn't cost like 20 bucks.

Last one of those I remember seeing was the size of a phonebook, and cost $50.

But the FLGS never really stocked them, and if I need bits, we just hit up the catalog GW gives 'em.

Resounding "Meh".

$12 for the catalog is cheaper than a White Dwarf Subscription.

I'd like to thumb through it and look at the bits, but I cant see spending 12 bucks on it.

They said 12 pound. not dollars. translates to about $18 dollars.

I'm not sure what's funnier (or is that sadder), that GW charges for their catalogue or that people will pay for it.

They have increased the cost of White Dwarf to TWELVE QUIDS!!!1!!! [faints]

frozenwastes wrote:I'm not sure what's funnier (or is that sadder), that GW charges for their catalogue or that people will pay for it.

The latter.

Charging for catalogs seems to be a common practice in certain niche hobbies. I've seen it for some model train and other small modeling stuff.

I won't pay... That's what the internet is for.

To be fair Privateer Press used to release a catalog for sale. It was pretty nice and featured large colorful photos of the studio models. I bought catalogs for collecting purposes and I am sure more than a few people will do the same with these 2010 GW catalogs.

I guess determining the worth of high priced catalogs just depends how badly you have the collecting sickness.

Hmm... I seem to recall getting GW catalogs for free back in the day (somewhere I have the catalogs from 1996-1999). But that was (A) Free and (B) Before the age of online catalogs. Why on earth would they possibly sell a catalog, when it is all there on their website? And why in gods name would anyone buy a freaking catalog. I mean hell, white dwarf has practically become a giant catalog already.

I remember they charged for it.

Then they put a coupon in the catalog that was the value of it. $10 if I remember right.

I thought that was a great way to do it.

Balance wrote:Charging for catalogs seems to be a common practice in certain niche hobbies. I've seen it for some model train and other small modeling stuff.

I won't pay... That's what the internet is for.

Andrea Miniatures does it as far as I know.

The supposed reason for them being made as put up for sale, rather than available for free is the quality of the catalog versus it just being a simple mail-order catalog.

Kolath wrote:Why on earth would they possibly sell a catalog, when it is all there on their website? And why in gods name would anyone buy a freaking catalog. I mean hell, white dwarf has practically become a giant catalog already.

If people desire catalogs for collecting purposes (or any other reason) then there is a market for said catalogs.

If there is a market for something then GW will try to turn a buck.

Ergo GW sells catalogs.

Why is that so difficult to understand?

Online sites (especially GW's site) gets updated rather frequently. A printed catalog is a snapshot in time of the models available for that era. That sort of record is desirable for collectors or avid fans of the game.

White Dwarf does feature products but it is a flimsy magazine that would require many issues in order to provide the sort of archival resource that a full range catalog provides.

I understand you not having interest in the 2010 catalog, Kolath, however I do not understand the emotion behind your post. Each hobbyist's involvement in the hobby differs. Some just play the game and leave it at that. Others want to snatch up every piece of minutia that has a GW logo on it. If you don't fall into the later group then who cares? Let the collectors part with their money and buy their catalog.

Little lord Fauntleroy wrote:Whilst the inclusinon of a 'fuller' range (e.g more bitz and LOTR vingettes) is promising, I will just say this: £12? Gee-dub, do you honestly believe I am going to spend £12 buying a book that I can read anytime in a shop for free, or just use the internet for the same effect?

You know, some people said the very same thing about the 1000-page 2004 catalog, that they could get all the bitz info and pics on the internet. 5 years later, is that still true?

And going to the shop to be pestered by redshirts? No thanks.

I've got a pretty, full-color hardbound phone book on my shelf with all of the classic metal stuff, so I'm all set without having to hunt or get in the car.

Don't they sell a monthy catalog for $9? [/sarcasm]

JohnHwangDD wrote:

You know, some people said the very same thing about the 1000-page 2004 catalog, that they could get all the bitz info and pics on the internet. 5 years later, is that still true?

And going to the shop to be pestered by redshirts? No thanks.

I've got a pretty, full-color hardbound phone book on my shelf with all of the classic metal stuff, so I'm all set without having to hunt or get in the car.

Not that it really matters anymore

Ah c'mon Power Cosmic. Don't you want to pay to see all the Bitz Packages you can see right now for free online?

No? Why not?

I'll be buying it, only because I buy it every year.

The 2007 US one is my favorite. I bought it on sale at a GW in NYC in September 2007 and I still look through it as it had a heap of conversions and models done by gamers rather than just the normal GW models. It also had the entire specialist games catalogue.




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And I'll buy it from Maelstrom if they are getting it, becasue it is too expensive retail.

There are only 3 situations in which I will pay for a catalog:

1.) The price is zero.

2.) The price is less then $5

3.) The price is x, and if you pay for one, you get 100% of x in store credit, good for a purchase.

Sadly, this is zero of those criteria. I'd be a fool to pay $19.25USD for a catalog of things which is 100% available on their website for free.

I've always rather liked their catalogues, I've got a number of them from the late 90's and early 00's and they were great, massive tomes the size of phonebooks, always fun to flick through and spot things you hadn't seen before.

Then after the scrapping of the bitz service the catalogues visibily shrank, they weren't much thicker then white dwarf and offered pretty much the same content. The 09 one however seemed more enjoyable. This one looks good from what I've seen if it but £12 is ging to be hard to stomache even though I've bought most of them before now.

You say you an get this for free on the internet and yes technically you can but I'm a bit old fashioned and I just like catalogues, you can't browse an internet site with the same ease as which you can flick through a book.

It helps that they're quite high quality publications and I think that by calling it a catalogue they really do it a disservice, it's far too nice to be called a catalogue.

If they want catalogues they should talk to Argos!

The 2004 catalogue was pretty small thing, about £4 I think, I picked it up cheap. The last catalogue I bought full price was the 1996 one with the Gorkamorka cover, that was like a phone directory and was £6. Furthermore there was a £6 token in the back for Gamesday so if you attended that you effectively had the catalogue for free. GD was about £10 back then too so it was a decent offer.

The older catalogues were better because they photographed the metal miniatures in their seperate components, you knew exactly what you were getting. Now it's just the studio shots of completed models, and that's just what you see on their main website. Good for selling stuff but no use to a collector. If the catalogue was like the ones of old then £12 would be a good price, but a collection of the same photos used in White Dwarf and on their website? No thanks.

One other point worth mentioning is that you used to be able to get the catalogues free with white dwarf subscriptions. I belive I got the 96 and 97 ones that way, perhaps they could look at doing that again.

yeah,
The catalogue was only usefull when they had a bits service...

Panic...

Gargskull wrote:You say you an get this for free on the internet and yes technically you can but I'm a bit old fashioned and I just like catalogues, you can't browse an internet site with the same ease as which you can flick through a book.

You just want something to hang onto in the loo while composing a letter to the PM! (replace loo with toilet and PM with President if you are in the U.S.)

I miss the good old days when the catalogs from almost all game companies were free for consumers because you know, the catalogs are advertisements, for the stuff they are really trying to sell.

I anina gonna biy wan boi....

Panic wrote:The catalogue was only usefull when they had a bits service...

QFT

It makes good butt wiping paper in the toilet...? or maybe when you are reading on the gold throne and would like to look through the catalog cuz you can't get enough gw?

haha idk..

i wont be buying this - some people will, and GW will be happy.