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I have nothing against them being expensive, heck, i play them! I just want to know why GW and other mini fig producers makes their products so expensive!

To satisfy shareholders.

To generate profits.

So Jervis can pay the rent on his Black Spiky Tower of Doom (tm).

Because they think they're good enough to compete with console or PC gaming.

They really aren't. Miniature gaming is nowhere near socially acceptable enough, at least when you sink hundreds or thousands into those hobbies people don't immediately lose respect for you and/or think you're fething weird. Personally I think they should be way cheaper just because of the stigma attached to it.

Surely pleasing shareholders only applies to a handful, smaller manufacturers won't be on the exchange.

It is an expensive business especially for the smaller trader. Considerable start up costs aside you have to pay for the time and materials invested in sculpting and casting. Also, the cost per unit goes up the smaller your operation. GW has the advantage of true mass production. Then there's advertising your product in magazines or through a website. Attending Wargames shows isn't always cheap, it's very easy to make a loss, or to take so little money as to not be worth going.

I think GWs prices encourage others though, there seems to be a trend that what GW can charge, others can too, but they don't have the highstreet shops to maintain and other costs that GW run up. It seems the what GW can charge, others can too. But this certainly doesn't apply to all companies, many miniatures are significantly cheaper than GW, although quality can vary. But then again, GW produce some poor stuff as well.

All in all, GW's prices are steep for what you get, they could be cheaper. Other companies may follow suit, but their's operates under different overheads so the costs are different. But given the small scale nature of some manufacturers and the niche products they produce, I won't begrudge them expensive figures if it stops them packing in their company and getting a normal full time job.

Because we pay them.

malfred wrote:Because we pay them.

Pretty much.

Hobbies are expensive. The end.

There have been many analyses done on costs of "stuff". The simple fact of the matter is these things are a niche market and so have a low volume of sales; which means you need higher individual profit margins.

This was what drove many companies to the wall - how many copies of the "Gnome Fighter-Ranger Multiclass Ravenloft Handbook" are you going to sell? People produce stuff which is great, and cool, but simply never sells enough.

This is why GW doesn't do as many models as we might like - because they know only CERTAIN ones will sell well enough to recover the cash.

Speaking personally, I don't think gaming is that expensive. Sure, it is a premium hobby - but there are many other things to compare it to. I worked a pretty basic job when I was buying my GW stuff (I was either employed as young teen by my parents, working pushing papers or as a guy at a mom&pop IT shop) - I managed to afford what I wanted.

I did a stint as a GW Redshirt too; which means I got a fair bit of stuff supercheap. But, even so, the hobby is not grotesquely expensive. It is a hobby which requires an investment of time and energy and money - but that time and energy and money has a large return.

As an example; spend $200 on the opening "stuff" (rules, paints, glues). Then, spend $50 on a unit of models. You have hours of fun putting them together and painting them, and then you can play games with them. And every game is different (it's not like console gaming where you play it once and "beat it" and the repeat play is a limited experience usually).

What I am saying is that I think this hobby has a high price tag, but it is not expensive when you compare what you get out of it. Spending $1000 on a lump of carbon which weighs less than a mouse is a heck of a lot of cash; but when it is the wedding ring . . . .

You get my drift? Expensive and costing a lot are not the same thing in my book.

dracomere wrote:I have nothing against them being expensive, heck, i play them! I just want to know why GW and other mini fig producers makes their products so expensive!

Go look at what you pay for pizza on a monthly basis, and it won't seem so bad.

mikhaila wrote:

dracomere wrote:I have nothing against them being expensive, heck, i play them! I just want to know why GW and other mini fig producers makes their products so expensive!

Go look at what you pay for pizza on a monthly basis, and it won't seem so bad.

I'd say fast food in general and eating/drinking out. Since I don't drink, I have that much
more money to devote...

I remember a friend of mine once complained about how he never had any money, and I pointed out he'd sunk more than $100 at the bar last night, and he usually did that two or three times a week.

As long as we're willing to pay a premium, things aren't going to change.

I read somewhere that Prices and Wages are downward inflexible.

English: Once prices go up they stay there for a while, miniatures games didn't start out being this expensive, but then models in general are similarly priced.

All hobbies are expensive, because it is a hobby, not a necessity. While we might buy a lot of models, we do so only when we feel like it. I imagine GW has their prices set so that the month that they dont break, they still have a little money from the profitable month to keep them afloat......

I know I have hobbies that are way more expensive.
Everytime I go to a large Paintball game I spend close to $200 for the weekend.....for paint, air and entry, none of which I keep in the long run.
Every time I buy parts for my RX-7, I spend $200-300......gas, tires,sparkplugs, and oil all run out at some point
AND I have a 1 year old son......so that is almost $200 a week in food and diapers........also something that runs out.

suddenly a box of models at $50 looks more like an investment as I get to keep the models when I am done playing with them.

Ask some other friends what they spend on their hobbies.......green-fees at a golf coarse are pricey, Rods for fishing easly get into the hundreds of dollars, and some people even spend $20+ a month to lift heavy objects at a gym....it all adds up quick.

I think a lot of it has to do with the internet. With the internet retailers offering 30% off, It behooves GW to raise their prices by at least that much over time to make up for the loss of direct sales.

GG

"Because warhammer is both a game and a hobby."

According to GW , thats a valid reason to double charge an expensive price , into an insane price.

With the exception of fast food and the occasional stripper I have no real vices so mini gaming is not that bad. I mean I spend less what people spend on smokes.

Wargames aren't necessarily that expensive. Historical gaming with 1/72 is downright cheap. So is using cardboard chits. GW is expensive. PP is expensive. But they are not the full spectrum of wargaming, or even miniature wargaming, either. Expand your horizons.

It's like complaining that all clothing is expensive and all you buy is Dolce.

And what exactly are cardboard chits miniatures of? Boxes?

generalgrog wrote:I think a lot of it has to do with the internet. With the internet retailers offering 30% off, It behooves GW to raise their prices by at least that much over time to make up for the loss of direct sales.

GG

Except GW make the most money on Trade Sales. After all, at that point the units sold are literally costing GW, erm, cost. Other overheads are minimal compared to flogging them on your own.

GW tinker with Wholesale discounts and basic rates to benefit Bricks and Mortar stores, who benefit the business plan a lot more than Web retailers.

Orkeosaurus wrote:And what exactly are cardboard chits miniatures of? Boxes?

I guess the original poster did say miniature games as opposed to tabletop wargames.

Orkeosaurus wrote:And what exactly are cardboard chits miniatures of? Boxes?

If Rogue Trader/1st Edition 40K is any indication, Marines and Orks.

I am sure I spend less than my wife does on scrapbooking.
(We haven't waved receipts at each other yet)

Like someone said: Hobbies are expensive - so enjoy!


I read this early in the thread:
""They really aren't. Miniature gaming is nowhere near socially acceptable enough, at least when you sink hundreds or thousands into those hobbies people don't immediately lose respect for you and/or think you're fething weird. Personally I think they should be way cheaper just because of the stigma attached to it.""

My son, who's 12, informed me that the biggest 'nerds' are not kids who play wargames or D&D but kids who play 'too much videogames'

Of course, coming from MY son, 'too much video games' would be a LOT of video games indeed!

Breotan wrote:

malfred wrote:Because we pay them.

Pretty much.

Thread was kind of done here.

They're priced so much because GW continuously raises the pricing bar which allows the other companies to follow suit.

However GW more or less has a monopoly on the mini-market - since they've hadn't had proper competition they're able to do what they please...however its worth noting that their overall sales have been decreasing in the past few years.

And then there's Forgewolrd prices which makes GW's look like a relative bargain.

Typeline wrote:

Breotan wrote:

malfred wrote:Because we pay them.

Pretty much.

Thread was kind of done here.

QFT.

If you pay the high price, then whose fault is that?

JohnHwangDD wrote:

Typeline wrote:

Breotan wrote:

malfred wrote:Because we pay them.

Pretty much.

Thread was kind of done here.

QFT.

If you pay the high price, then whose fault is that?

Exactly, I've only bought two plastic kits and one metal kit in the past three months. And I don't think I'll be buying much in the future at the price point they seem to think is valid.

40K isn't really as expensive as a lot of other hobbies that people with disposible income indulge in.

Want to play Halo 3? It'll cost you 400 bucks. I've seen people spend as much (or more) on a new set of magic cards than most do for a 40K army...they just do it 4 dollars at a time so they don't notice it as much.

And GW doesn't even have prices that are as far out of whack as some people seem to think, given what they are. I was pricing out some model kits from various companites to use as IG vehicles but I ended up going back to GW because THEY WERE CHEAPER.

RxGhost wrote:40K isn't really as expensive as a lot of other hobbies that people with disposible income indulge in.

Want to play Halo 3? It'll cost you 400 bucks. I've seen people spend as much (or more) on a new set of magic cards than most do for a 40K army...they just do it 4 dollars at a time so they don't notice it as much.
R.

No they don't. The people who buy sets of magic cards buy boxes online or at their store
for the discount. However, they're still putting down hundreds of dollars.

I still think it's interesting and amusing that models that are fully assembled and alread painted by a robot (sometimes by a Mexican/Asian/Insert-your-own-race-to-avoid-getting-me-in-trouble sweatshopper) are often cheaper. Lower quality? Yes. More labor intensive? Up for debate.