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.

I'm quite happy to pay GW prices they are much better than the prices I need to pay for my other toy

thats a nice toy...that probably counts as fast, low AV though im guessing

dajobe wrote:

Crom wrote:

Kilkrazy wrote:Hand loading is a hobby in itself.

For that matter, some people build their own boats, or bows and arrows, or sculpt and cast their own wargame figures.

So, if we get back on the main topic, we see that GW models are 25% to 300% more expensive than equivalent models from other wargame companies. The rules also are Not Cheap™.

That is what leads people to complain about the cost of GW as a hobby.

The main topic was over priced hobbies, not just GW. Though I will say the overall cost of war gaming is pretty cheap compared to other hobbies. You are a console gamer, you gotta buy a new console every so often, and games and controllers and such, and pay for some online services, etc. With war gaming the best part is that your minis from the 80s still work, albeit they aren't as cool as some of the modern models, but they still work.

NOT AS COOL!!! i always like it when i see really old minis

back in my day the minis were metal, and came in blister packs. I probably got 15 to 20 wolf guard termies from the early 90s. All metal. I got the original land speeder, land raider, Predator, lots of 2nd edition boxed set marines and orks, 2nd edition Nids and 2nd edition guard.

Then I have an Ork army from: 2x sets of 2nd edition boxed set plastics and a bunch of gorka morka stuff. I never actually built an Ork army on purpose I just built one from buying boxed sets...

thats freakin awesome

I think both are really expensive, but alot of younger kids play gw then put bikes together, what im getting at is that older men who ride motorcycles have jobs with annual salary, and younger people like me who play warhammer don't. There are alot even crazier hobbies and sports like polo where shoes cost $4000

King Crow wrote:I think both are really expensive, but alot of younger kids play gw then put bikes together, what im getting at is that older men who ride motorcycles have jobs with annual salary, and younger people like me who play warhammer don't. There are alot even crazier hobbies and sports like polo where shoes cost $4000

shoes cost 4000...plus the horse, are the mallets...OVER 9000!!!

King Crow wrote:I think both are really expensive, but alot of younger kids play gw then put bikes together, what im getting at is that older men who ride motorcycles have jobs with annual salary, and younger people like me who play warhammer don't. There are alot even crazier hobbies and sports like polo where shoes cost $4000

well compare it other hobbies youth have...

paintball - expensive, and always has constant over head of maintenance and of course paint ammo
skateboarding - not as expensive, but i guess you go through a lot of shoes when you skate (ex skater myself)
sports - between equipment, league costs, etc, it can be pricey.
video games - consoles and computers easily cost as much if not more than war gaming


I think the life lesson we all need to just accept here is that anything that is cool and/or really fun to do is going to cost money. I want a motorcycle but have been putting it off for years because I know once I commit to buying one, I will spend double or more than I originally intend to do. It just always works out that way.

I am a deep sea fisherman.....

Infinite expenses, depending where I want to fish / how long I want to stay on a boat.

Kilkrazy wrote:Hand loading is a hobby in itself.

For that matter, some people build their own boats, or bows and arrows, or sculpt and cast their own wargame figures.

So, if we get back on the main topic, we see that GW models are 25% to 300% more expensive than equivalent models from other wargame companies. The rules also are Not Cheap™.

That is what leads people to complain about the cost of GW as a hobby.

I think this is the most important point..

All my hobbies cost more then wargaming.

A new skateboard deck cost bout 120 AUS and you will kill a deck every couple of months (mates who are better then me kill one every 2 weeks)

Anything for my motorbike is going to cost more then anything to do with wargaming (well any go fast parts)

A new video card for my PC is like 250-300 a year plus a whole new rig every 2-3 years.

suddenly 300-400 bucks for a new army dont seem so bad.

Jubear wrote:All my hobbies cost more then wargaming.

A new skateboard deck cost bout 120 AUS and you will kill a deck every couple of months (mates who are better then me kill one every 2 weeks)

Anything for my motorbike is going to cost more then anything to do with wargaming (well any go fast parts)

A new video card for my PC is like 250-300 a year plus a whole new rig every 2-3 years.

suddenly 300-400 bucks for a new army dont seem so bad.

How the hell does a skate deck cost $120 AU they are like $50 here in the US? Now with trucks and wheels it can add up, but you don't need new ones of those so often. This entire thread is crazy, you know what GW is cheaper than flying to the moon, that doesn't mean that it's cheap. They charge way too much for their products, for more than is needed to cover expenses, the problem is that they are also paying for their stores, which don't make enough money to pay the rent! Great idea guys.

I remembered when a good computer cost $8000, but a new army was $200. Now a new (much better) computer is $400 and a new army costs you $1000. It's stupid. I play lacrosse a new stick is $100, that will last 1-2 years, new helmet $100, that will last forever, new gloves $60 those will last 4-5 years. Hell I rebuilt a 68 Vespa from the ground up for $500. I'm not sure how you guys are spending money, but it seams very very flippantly. I'd rather put that money in my retirement fund, or kids college fund.

BuFFo wrote:Are we really doing this again?

Justifying GW's absurd prices to, well, anything in life, instead of just OTHER war gaming companies?

Well, if we are doing this, toothpicks are like, 500 for a dollar. GW is for rich people in comparison!

I agree. Things are different prices, because they have different values. Some things cost a lot of money but they are bargains, other things cost very little but they are still a rip-off.

I think what bugs me about GW's prices is that I can go onto ebay now and buy a big bag off 100 plastic army men for £2.50. If I go into GW that is how much they charge for 1 plastic army man. Admittedly there is some difference in quality, but not so much that it justifies GW being 10,000% more expensive. This sets alarm bells ringing in my head that I am not getting value for my money.

I know some people will say that it really isn't that much to pay when you consider how many weeks or months a single purchase can keep you busy. I will agree that the hobby can certainly be rewarding. But it is your time and patience and creativity that makes it that way; Games Workshop charging more doesn't make it any more rewarding, all it does is makes them richer and you poorer.

To be honest there has been very little in this tread that I would consider to be a bigger rip than GW. $90 for a Harley badge is a bigger rip than GW... That' about it.

In my own life: I have plenty of hobbies which are much more expensive than miniatures, but none of them make me feel like I'm being ripped off anything like GW does. I think the only other thing in my life that makes me feel that way, is having to pay things like Rent and tax, which are also a colossal rip-off in the city, but what can you do?

Andrew1975 wrote:

Jubear wrote:All my hobbies cost more then wargaming.

A new skateboard deck cost bout 120 AUS and you will kill a deck every couple of months (mates who are better then me kill one every 2 weeks)

Anything for my motorbike is going to cost more then anything to do with wargaming (well any go fast parts)

A new video card for my PC is like 250-300 a year plus a whole new rig every 2-3 years.

suddenly 300-400 bucks for a new army dont seem so bad.

How the hell does a skate deck cost $120 AU they are like $50 here in the US? Now with trucks and wheels it can add up, but you don't need new ones of those so often. This entire thread is crazy, you know what GW is cheaper than flying to the moon, that doesn't mean that it's cheap. They charge way too much for their products, for more than is needed to cover expenses, the problem is that they are also paying for their stores, which don't make enough money to pay the rent! Great idea guys.

I remembered when a good computer cost $8000, but a new army was $200. Now a new (much better) computer is $400 and a new army costs you $1000. It's stupid. I play lacrosse a new stick is $100, that will last 1-2 years, new helmet $100, that will last forever, new gloves $60 those will last 4-5 years. Hell I rebuilt a 68 Vespa from the ground up for $500. I'm not sure how you guys are spending money, but it seams very very flippantly. I'd rather put that money in my retirement fund, or kids college fund.

Dunno mate but I assure you thats we pay in a store maybe 60-80 bucks for a blank but yeah well over a hundred if you want a graphic. And thats not including the 120 bucks plus for a new pair of skate shoes every 2 months =(

Andrew1975 wrote:

Jubear wrote:All my hobbies cost more then wargaming.

A new skateboard deck cost bout 120 AUS and you will kill a deck every couple of months (mates who are better then me kill one every 2 weeks)

Anything for my motorbike is going to cost more then anything to do with wargaming (well any go fast parts)

A new video card for my PC is like 250-300 a year plus a whole new rig every 2-3 years.

suddenly 300-400 bucks for a new army dont seem so bad.

How the hell does a skate deck cost $120 AU they are like $50 here in the US? Now with trucks and wheels it can add up, but you don't need new ones of those so often. This entire thread is crazy, you know what GW is cheaper than flying to the moon, that doesn't mean that it's cheap. They charge way too much for their products, for more than is needed to cover expenses, the problem is that they are also paying for their stores, which don't make enough money to pay the rent! Great idea guys.

I remembered when a good computer cost $8000, but a new army was $200. Now a new (much better) computer is $400 and a new army costs you $1000. It's stupid. I play lacrosse a new stick is $100, that will last 1-2 years, new helmet $100, that will last forever, new gloves $60 those will last 4-5 years. Hell I rebuilt a 68 Vespa from the ground up for $500. I'm not sure how you guys are spending money, but it seams very very flippantly. I'd rather put that money in my retirement fund, or kids college fund.

AU gets boned on prices for pretty much everything. I wouldn't doubt them having to pay 100+ AUDfor a deck. heck in the US last deck i bought was $70 for the deck alone, how long has it been since you bought a board? i remember it was around 40-50 for a non blank around 2000 but now it ccosts abotu that for a blank here in FL

I'd also argue a "good" computer costing $400, maybe a cheapo low end computer which will work for watching youtube and playing facebook games, but if you want to play any measure of games the onyl way to hit under $500 is if you don't include any of the software, monitor, keyboard, mouse etc. possibly even need to be using a case. I should know, I use the same username over at tomshardware.com advising people on building pc's themselves that fit thier needs

kudos on the classic vespa though, I'm more a motorcycle guy, but yea when i see a classic moped or old biek in good shape it is awsome to see somebody either taking care of them or putting in the time to restore em

Daston wrote:I'm quite happy to pay GW prices they are much better than the prices I need to pay for my other toy

Talking of expensive bits of plastic

Compare GW's stuff to virtual products like World of Warcraft. Even though they are ever increasing in price, at the end of the day, you'll still have the models you paid for. If GW closes shop, kills your favorite army, or whatever, you can still enjoy the hobby and even get some games in with friends. Once an online game shuts down, you've pretty much got nothing to show for it.

Isn't the minimum wage in Australia though like $15 an hour? While prices may be higher you guys make more on an average as a country compared to the USA.

$15 an HOUR!!! i am very well paid for an intern and get $13.75! WTF, if this is true, no wonder GW stuff costs more, it costs twice as much because minimum wage is twice as much...

dajobe wrote:$15 an HOUR!!! i am very well paid for an intern and get $13.75! WTF, if this is true, no wonder GW stuff costs more, it costs twice as much because minimum wage is twice as much...

It actually went up to $15.51 an hour. Australia as a nation makes more on average than Americans. They also have both public and private health care, and pretty good educational systems. However, their government censors video games and the Internet. I would love to go to Australia. If any of you are from Australia and need a Systems Administrator and want to hire a yank, PM me, hahahaha.

http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/156798/20110603/cpi-unemployment-rate-wage-increase.htm

Now that the AUS dollar is equal value of the American dollar it would be a nice time to live in Australia. Plus they got kangaroos!

I thought that Airfix was cheap, at approximately £10 for a infantry box.
Then I realised that the whole kit had about as much plastic in it as 1 GW model,
they were gakky for painting, came with no bits and were useless

Try justifying to yourself a new LEGO set sometime. Pick up that $11-$15 box, and read the piece count, and feel the lack of weight.

I have not actually done a weight comparison, but I have a feeling going by sheer weight of ABS plastic, LEGO costs about the same of a little more than GW.

Crom wrote:

dajobe wrote:$15 an HOUR!!! i am very well paid for an intern and get $13.75! WTF, if this is true, no wonder GW stuff costs more, it costs twice as much because minimum wage is twice as much...

It actually went up to $15.51 an hour. Australia as a nation makes more on average than Americans. They also have both public and private health care, and pretty good educational systems. However, their government censors video games and the Internet. I would love to go to Australia. If any of you are from Australia and need a Systems Administrator and want to hire a yank, PM me, hahahaha.

http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/156798/20110603/cpi-unemployment-rate-wage-increase.htm

Now that the AUS dollar is equal value of the American dollar it would be a nice time to live in Australia. Plus they got kangaroos!

make sure to keep contacts in US, GW prices in AUD are sickening

Crom wrote:

dajobe wrote:$15 an HOUR!!! i am very well paid for an intern and get $13.75! WTF, if this is true, no wonder GW stuff costs more, it costs twice as much because minimum wage is twice as much...

It actually went up to $15.51 an hour. Australia as a nation makes more on average than Americans. They also have both public and private health care, and pretty good educational systems. However, their government censors video games and the Internet. I would love to go to Australia. If any of you are from Australia and need a Systems Administrator and want to hire a yank, PM me, hahahaha.

http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/156798/20110603/cpi-unemployment-rate-wage-increase.htm

Now that the AUS dollar is equal value of the American dollar it would be a nice time to live in Australia. Plus they got kangaroos!

Equal to your dollar, but we pay two times the amount you'll ever have to for anything and prices are set to go higher on electricity and the likes.
Its actually getting to the point where my family, which is generally well off, has to start tightening its belt a bit to deal with the insane costs.

Snowboarding, that Sh1t is expensive!

Asuron wrote:

Crom wrote:

dajobe wrote:$15 an HOUR!!! i am very well paid for an intern and get $13.75! WTF, if this is true, no wonder GW stuff costs more, it costs twice as much because minimum wage is twice as much...

It actually went up to $15.51 an hour. Australia as a nation makes more on average than Americans. They also have both public and private health care, and pretty good educational systems. However, their government censors video games and the Internet. I would love to go to Australia. If any of you are from Australia and need a Systems Administrator and want to hire a yank, PM me, hahahaha.

http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/156798/20110603/cpi-unemployment-rate-wage-increase.htm

Now that the AUS dollar is equal value of the American dollar it would be a nice time to live in Australia. Plus they got kangaroos!

Equal to your dollar, but we pay two times the amount you'll ever have to for anything and prices are set to go higher on electricity and the likes.
Its actually getting to the point where my family, which is generally well off, has to start tightening its belt a bit to deal with the insane costs.

Most families in the USA are raised with cutting costs and "tightening the budget." I remember lots of times when business was bad for my dad, we didn't spend as much and when money was tight with my mom she cooked us a lot of pasta, mac and cheese, and other really cheap to make dishes.

I buy most of my GW stuff off of ebay these days anyway....but still would love to live in Australia for a few years maybe more.

most american families on a tight budget need to take a lesson from college students, who are usually on a tight budget...you can never have enough ramen. now THAT is a lesson in budget management.

dajobe wrote:most american families on a tight budget need to take a lesson from college students, who are usually on a tight budget...you can never have enough ramen. now THAT is a lesson in budget management.

moved out when I was 18 700 miles from home, went to college, worked 30+ hours a week to pay for my downtown apartment (and it was a piece of crap) and went to school full time. I was one of those students that did not live off of student loans, and I am glad I didn't. They are paid off now. Where as some of my friends used their student loans to pay for school and their living situation so they didn't have to work and could just be a full time student.

Crom wrote:

dajobe wrote:most american families on a tight budget need to take a lesson from college students, who are usually on a tight budget...you can never have enough ramen. now THAT is a lesson in budget management.

moved out when I was 18 700 miles from home, went to college, worked 30+ hours a week to pay for my downtown apartment (and it was a piece of crap) and went to school full time. I was one of those students that did not live off of student loans, and I am glad I didn't. They are paid off now. Where as some of my friends used their student loans to pay for school and their living situation so they didn't have to work and could just be a full time student.

very true, if you do this and eat only ramen, you may have enough money to buy GW products

When I was in college, I didn't have the money to afford GW stuff (and this was in the early nineties, when, apparently, marines grew on trees, and tanks came 3 for $10).

Rather than go online and complain about it, I did my homework and got a job that allows me to afford them now

Redbeard wrote:When I was in college, I didn't have the money to afford GW stuff (and this was in the early nineties, when, apparently, marines grew on trees, and tanks came 3 for $10).

Rather than go online and complain about it, I did my homework and got a job that allows me to afford them now

I didn't start college until the late 90s, but started war gaming in the early 90s. I would spend all summers mowing lawns for $15 to $20 a pop, and save up all my money and then blow it at the gaming store. So I built up the bulk of my armies from 90 to 94 when I lived at home and had no bills, quit war gaming around 95ish and just got back into it last year. My parents never threw out or sold my war minis, and I had complete 40K, Fantasy, Warzone, star wars, and parts of a manowar armies in boxes still.

I remember when a box of plastic marines was $10 and blisters came 2 models for $6. I think tanks were $20.