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This is only going into effect in UK/EU, it will not affect accounts in the US.

Most FLGS actually do buy direct from GW. Better discount by 5% to 10%, free shipping, prize support, free racks, etc etc. Smaller stores go with Alliance/ACD/Efigs so they can tack on smaller quantities. A few larger sellers of GW prefer not to deal with GW, but it means they make a lot less on the product they sell.

GW, in the US, requires accounts to have a brick and mortar location to have a wholesale account. So does Alliance and Efigs(warstore).

Does it matter who is doing what as long as product is being sold? The World economy is hurting and GW feels need to police secondary market for selling of models.

Obviously, it does matter to them who resells their models. Most manufacturers feel the same way. They want Brick and Mortar stores around to feature their products. Those stores are hurting in this economy, and giving them some extra protection from high discounts online may keep a few more of them around. There are many products that B and M stores don't go into anymore, because of the huge discounts online. GW sales would drop by quite a bit in the long run if they saw a decrease in the number of stores.

My opinions are of course pretty well skewed towards anything that helps Brick and Mortar locations.

This won't really affect me, as I sort of doubt many people in my area order from the UK/EU. This change only affects accounts in those areas of the world, not in the US.

Looking at some of the OZ posters in this thread, it makes me wonder if an Indie retailer in OZ might not be able to get stuff cheaper via an Alliance hookup than they do from GW itself. Or WHY is it so much more expensive in OZ. I mean, if WG can get his crack 30% off from the UK, might a B&M retailer not be able to work somthing out with Alliance or some such ilk?

mikhaila wrote:Those stores are hurting in this economy, and giving them some extra protection from high discounts online may keep a few more of them around. There are many products that B and M stores don't go into anymore, because of the huge discounts online.

But would it? This is the bit I'm not so sure about and don't see the logic for.

Now, I have the utmost sympathy for small businesses and believe they deserve help, but I don't understand how closing off the avenue for discounts will help B&M stores overall.

I would expect that really it will harm them, and GW and the gaming community at large.

Yes there are people that buy at discount and play at a store. Boo to them!

But many more (I believe, and looking at the anecdotal comments in other threads I am not alone) buy at a discount online, or not at all. Closing the discounters isn't going to make us pay full retail at a B&M. We'll just not buy GW any more. High prices reduce participation. That's a simple fact of life. A law of economics. And because participation is reduced we don't persuade our friends to participate and they might just have been prepared to buy from a B&M store.

Overall stifling Internet sales doesn't do anything other than kill the buzz for the game and make it obsolete.

The internet won't go away. Just as the Luddites couldn't stifle the industrial revolution in the 18th century, neither can "Traditional Retail" stifle internet sales in the 21st.

In any case, its pretty futile. All that is required is for one internet store to remain in operation and they can serve the entire world.

Sure GW could say "Everything is Direct Only", but how many B&M stores is that going to help? None at all!

Ultimately I see it as effective as King Canute trying to hold back the tide. But in the meantime, those that suffer are the ordinary hobbyists (and retailers) who see the general increase in antipathy towards GW and their products and the dying of their hobby.

I got a newsletter yesterday from the only Dutch online discounter "Wargame-Specialist", who did a good job at selling stuff at a nice discount. Anyway, the two chaps have decided to throw in the towel, stating that the upcoming price changes and revised regulations will net them very little gain of their own, even when they sell products at full price.

But would it? This is the bit I'm not so sure about and don't see the logic for.

Answering this one question, and not really trying to argue the other points in the thread.

From experience, I find that it's not the 10% to 20% discounters that hurt BandM retailers, but more the 30% to 40%. Sales tax in those states that have it, can add in another factor. Someone that can save 10% on his purchases probably just buys local. At 20%, it's a decision, but it's heavily influenced by how good the local store is, and how much they want to support them. At 40%, just about every loyal customer can now rationalize buying his stuff on line.

The support that does GW the most good comes when an independent retailer does more than just throw the stuff on the wall. Gaming tables, events, painting and modeling classes, leagues, high quality scenery, and support for beginners. This is what takes effort, time, and floor space. Everytime you put an hour into teaching someone how to play the game, or run them through the painting class and hear "Thanks so much for your time, we'll be buying the stuff online to save money, but don't worry, we'll be back to take up more of your time!" , it burns out a bit more of your soul. The natural inclination is "screw the work, burn the tables, and just discount".

A retailer can compete with the internet and discounting two ways: Effort or discount. If I were to change my business plan and move to discounting, I'd dump the gaming tables and any support, and just sell at 20% off all the time. There's no way in hell I'd do the work that I do now and then cut my profit margin by half. I can only support the local community because I'm charging full price, and they are supporting me.

The economy is sucking hard at BandM stores right now. A chunk of our customers have quit buying because they have no jobs. Others have decided they need to quit supporting their local store, and take advantage of deep online discounters. Their are already stores dropping off the map at an accelerated pace, and many more are in financial trouble and not replenising their inventories, leading to worse financial health in the next cycle. Not a good time for game stores. If the situation is the same in the UK,

And I certainly won't argue at all about how a price increase right now from GW doesn't help the situation in any way.

@Mik: Exactly so. If I were still gaming in-store, I'd be buying from my store.

@Osbad: The thing is local stores are what create most of the new business. Current customers may gravitate towards the online discounters but the new guys are likely gonna get their feet wet at a local store. I am sure there are rare exceptions of guys who stayed 100% in the garage and online but most folks have had atleast some influence from an LGS (this is at least in my experience).

Not saying this program is gonna work though. From the sounds of it is as much a stealth price increase as an incentive program and likely the wrong thing to do in hard economic times. Assuming your goal is to help B&M stores and not force folks to buy direct from GW...

mikhaila wrote:

From experience, I find that it's not the 10% to 20% discounters that hurt BandM retailers, but more the 30% to 40%. Sales tax in those states that have it, can add in another factor. Someone that can save 10% on his purchases probably just buys local. At 20%, it's a decision, but it's heavily influenced by how good the local store is, and how much they want to support them. At 40%, just about every loyal customer can now rationalize buying his stuff on line.

Your experience leaves off a bit there. Its not JUST about the discount, or how much. Its also about convience.

Do I spend the 45 minutes each way to drag myself out to the FLGS to look for something, to only find out they sold out, dont have it, or out to lunch? Or do I sit in my comfy slipeprs and scroll through a site and have it delivered? ANd if shipping is just about the same or less then sales tax.....its only added incentive.

Miniature Market has a really good setup. They have a nice Brick and Mortar store and have a separate staff that handles all the web stuff, so they aren't double dipping.

On the other hand, one of the things that we the consumer look for is "value". As carmachu put it, what is our incentive to buy from the store at full price when we can buy it online at a discount? Why should I pay more money for the same thing? Maybe the convenience of buying it right then and there (I'm a big impulse buyer.) is more than saving 20%, but then on the other hand, if I can save a few bucks, shouldn't I?

Why must the buyer always be evil for wanting to save a few bucks? Now that being said, I would gladly pay a membership fee at a store to play regularly, or pay for a "discount" card or something, but otherwise, all things being equal, I'm going to buy where it's cheaper.

whitedragon wrote:

On the other hand, one of the things that we the consumer look for is "value". As carmachu put it, what is our incentive to buy from the store at full price when we can buy it online at a discount? Why should I pay more money for the same thing? Maybe the convenience of buying it right then and there (I'm a big impulse buyer.) is more than saving 20%, but then on the other hand, if I can save a few bucks, shouldn't I?

Why must the buyer always be evil for wanting to save a few bucks? Now that being said, I would gladly pay a membership fee at a store to play regularly, or pay for a "discount" card or something, but otherwise, all things being equal, I'm going to buy where it's cheaper.

Keep in mind, I usually find 35-35% off. I dont know where I could get 40% off. But even 20% off is fine with me, for the convience of shopping while the kids are running around the house while I'm home. shipping is going to be the same as sales tax so, there's no downside there.

So ultimately I disagree slightly with mikhaila that price alone, discount alone is whether folks will shop B&M or online.

And for the record, I dont play in any game store anymore, havent for years.

Bear in mind that this is initially a UK/EU policy rather than a US one and the UK setup is quite different. I've never been in a FLGS/non-GW store that had a gaming table or paint station. The number of such places is tiny and GW would not mourn their passing, after all there is a GW store within easy reach of the vast majority of the population

Have no doubt, this policy (as applied to the UK) has no rational in protecting B&M FLGSs - only GWs own stores and web sales.

The rest of the EU might be a little different, not so sure about the GW/FLGS setup on the other side of the river

winterman wrote:@Osbad: The thing is local stores are what create most of the new business. Current customers may gravitate towards the online discounters but the new guys are likely gonna get their feet wet at a local store. I am sure there are rare exceptions of guys who stayed 100% in the garage and online but most folks have had atleast some influence from an LGS (this is at least in my experience).

Well, given the lack of evidence other than anecdotal, I'd call shenanigans on this one.

What is the evidence for the supposed "majority" of gamers who just happened to walk past a store and cot sucked into the hobby by the excellent recruitment skills of the store staff.

Where is the evidence that this outweighs the numbers that were recruited into the hobby by their mates who they saw plpaying at their school club, or at home, or just chatting in the playground at school?

I don't deny that good B&M stores do act as a positive force for the hobby, and that there is a moral imperative to "pay where you play". But I am still unconvinced that their influence is so persuasive and important for "the hobby" that those of us who have no need, nor desire to go near one (because all our gaming needs are met by a combination of the internet and local club or basement group) should be penalised.

I'm sure I saw a poll on either here or Warseer asking where people primarily played, and I am pretty certain "at home" far outweighed "at the game store". If that is the case, then that is at least some evidence that posters on Dakka or Warseer (or maybe my imagination!) would find that the majority were subsidising the minority, and that the hobby wouldn't collapse fopr lack of B&M game stores. If anyone with better google-fu than I can find that poll and point me in its direction, I'd be grateful!

@mikhaila, on a personal level I totally sympathise with the plight of the "small retailer" and things are as bad if not worse in the UK. I also don't sympathise with those that would take advantage of the goodwill of a local good store, but then not be prepared to pay for what they are using.

Dispassionately though, my worry is that the whole "pay GW full retail, or don't play" argument is a big problem for the hobby. How many who made their major purchases at 40% off online, would still somehow support the local store by at least buying small stuff in store - like a new codex or paint or something? With the closure of online discounters, those customers (I would posit) will quite possibly just quit buying GW altogether, not go back to buying at full retail.

If GW manage to convince enough people to buy their stuff at full retail, and produce stuff that is "cool enough" to justify that price tag in the eyes of sufficient numbers of customers, then good luck to them. My worry is that in chasing that dream, GW will p*ss off so many customers, and cease attracting new ones to such an extent that the GW hobby will die anyhow.

I appreciate the latest price hike and the attack on European online discounters are seperate issues, but in the eyes of the consumer they are linked (and not just by coincidence of time) as being continued evidence of GW's huge and continuing "F*** You" to the gaming community. When those consumers give a huge "F*** You" back to GW, then everyone is screwed.

Seriously, at June's full retail prices, is it really feasible for any but the very relative-value-impaired to invest in a whole new 1850 point army any more? Seriously? And if the "new army" buyers get priced out the market place, that only leaves those buying the "odd unit to top up an existing army". And that ain't gonna support a global business.

If I were a B&M games retailer, (and I'm ever so glad I am not!), I'd be looking to diversify strongly away from GW, and be moving to incorporate as many alternatives as I feasibly could - the new wave of plastic historicals are for instance are looking increasingly good value, and would be a good way of recapturing the interest of those priced out of GW. (And Wargames Illustrated is looking like a great alternative to WD for those who like actual articals in their gaming press, as opposed to just adverts!)

Have prices gone down for (B&M) stores that don't offer demo games or painting tutorials as a result of this change? They are the majority of B&M stores in the UK.

If one internet store can supply the world then GW's favorite candidate would be their own webstore right?

Well, given the lack of evidence other than anecdotal, I'd call shenanigans on this one.

What is the evidence for the supposed "majority" of gamers who just happened to walk past a store and cot sucked into the hobby by the excellent recruitment skills of the store staff.

Then you should be 'calling shenanigans on the whole thread,and 99.9999% of Dakka. No 'evidence' for anyone's posts. In this case, GW actually has done a lot of research on their own games and markets. (Most larger businesses do.)



Automatically Appended Next Post:

carmachu wrote:

mikhaila wrote:

From experience, I find that it's not the 10% to 20% discounters that hurt BandM retailers, but more the 30% to 40%. Sales tax in those states that have it, can add in another factor. Someone that can save 10% on his purchases probably just buys local. At 20%, it's a decision, but it's heavily influenced by how good the local store is, and how much they want to support them. At 40%, just about every loyal customer can now rationalize buying his stuff on line.

Your experience leaves off a bit there. Its not JUST about the discount, or how much. Its also about convience.

Do I spend the 45 minutes each way to drag myself out to the FLGS to look for something, to only find out they sold out, dont have it, or out to lunch? Or do I sit in my comfy slipeprs and scroll through a site and have it delivered? ANd if shipping is just about the same or less then sales tax.....its only added incentive.

When I say "from experience" I'm obviously talking about my personal experience, running game shops for 21 years in Philadelphis. As opposed to "my experience selling to to Carmachu 3000 miles away." It's not always about you.

The statement was not in reference to people without a gamestore, people that don't go to a gamestore, or people that have a crappy game store that doesn't stock enough product. Those people are not customers of stores, it doesn't hurt the LGS when they go shop elsewhere.

mikhaila wrote:

When I say "from experience" I'm obviously talking about my personal experience, running game shops for 21 years in Philadelphis. As opposed to "my experience selling to to Carmachu 3000 miles away." It's not always about you.

The statement was not in reference to people without a gamestore, people that don't go to a gamestore, or people that have a crappy game store that doesn't stock enough product. Those people are not customers of stores, it doesn't hurt the LGS when they go shop elsewhere.

It does when those customers were once shoppers of FLGS. Which I know of more than a few were before various things happened. Now most of the club, who used shop FLGS, no longer do. Could you afford to lose 10, 15, 20 folks who use to play and shop, but due to circumstances beyond "hey I can get 20% more off"?

Its not always about you either. Its not just about the discount either.

Even with the price hike, I'd rather pay full price at a good store than save 20% online. Part of the fun of buying models for me is the impulse factor and going there and seeing the box on the wall and telling myself I need it. And even if I rarely play in store it's fun going in and seeing what's on display, watching folks play, looking at the painted army men in the cabinets, etc. 20% is a decent savings and I can certainly see why a lot of people like it, and maybe if I was gonna place a huge $500 order I'd consider it, if my girlfriend wouldn't shoot me for spending that much all at once. Any discount more than that though and I just wouldn't want to order out of fear or the place just sucking. Like gorilla tactics or whatever that last one was called.

Anyway I'd rather just get my stuff from a good place I know. I'll save the online ordering for dvds and stuff like that

Necros wrote:Even with the price hike, I'd rather pay full price at a good store than save 20% online. Part of the fun of buying models for me is the impulse factor and going there and seeing the box on the wall and telling myself I need it. And even if I rarely play in store it's fun going in and seeing what's on display, watching folks play, looking at the painted army men in the cabinets, etc. 20% is a decent savings and I can certainly see why a lot of people like it, and maybe if I was gonna place a huge $500 order I'd consider it, if my girlfriend wouldn't shoot me for spending that much all at once. Any discount more than that though and I just wouldn't want to order out of fear or the place just sucking. Like gorilla tactics or whatever that last one was called.

Anyway I'd rather just get my stuff from a good place I know. I'll save the online ordering for dvds and stuff like that

And seriously, if you did decide you wanted to pick up 500.00 worth of stuff at once, I'd hook you up. Same on the ROB if you decide you want one. Go take a look at the new preorders on the GW site. The Planetstrike scenery is going to get you in trouble with the girlfriend. The quad autocannon emplacement = hydra, in my mind.

Mikhaila: I think that your while your viewpoint is certainly true for your situation - in my experience, the situation changes VASTLY depending on the population density - as a result, I feel that your view may be coloured by your location in the 6th most populous US city. (1.4m)

I have lived, and gamed in the following Canadian cities and have the following comments about the gaming scene in each of them:

Toronto, Ontario - (GTA, population 5.6m metro -8th largest metropolitan area in North America)
Wargaming support (i.e. with tables): Lots! FLGS numbers fluctuate, but at least 5 that I know of, not counting many non-gaming focused stores carrying small amounts of gaming materials. GW outlets: 5(+?)

London, Ontario - 10th largest Candian city - pop. 458k
Wargaming support: 1.5 FLGS (the 0.5 being a comic store which stocks a small amount of wargaming material), 1 GW outlet. At one point there were 4 game stores, but the town could not support that many. I have not visited GW London recently, but it was consistently EMPTY every time I was there.

Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario - 450k
Wargaming support: 1.75 (the 0.75 being a card store which also stocks a small amount of wargaming material , but has tables), 0 GW outlets

Sault Ste Marie, Ontario - pop 75k
Wargaming support: Local club with around 20 members. Local all-in-one comic store carries very little product. Players cross over from Michigan, as there is nothing closer for them! I am reduced to buying from mail-order places, as the local support is not there.

I have not gamed in Sudbury, but apparently they have a good all-in-one type store. Sudbury has 158k population.

At any rate, from this experience, while a store might be able to squeak by on a 150k+ city population - I think that 200k to 250k is really needed to maintain a -comfortable- customer base. While 250k population includes most of the major US cities, those living in more sparsely populated areas unable to support a FLGS, or those needing inter-city drives to get to one of a major city with a FLGS might find mail-order a much more convenient (and cheaper) alternative.

-edited to fix grammar- I HAS THE DUMB TODAY.

I agree with keezus and Osbad, I and everyone I have ever played with plays at home. Admittedly I don't play with too many people (maybe 6-10 in our group at any one time) but I can hardly think ours is a unique situation.

At home has never been feasible for me as I move a lot due to work. When I lived in the city, I lived in the the dense core residential areas which do not have the space to support a gaming area.

keezus wrote:Mikhaila: I think that your while your viewpoint is certainly true for your situation - in my experience, the situation changes VASTLY depending on the population density - as a result, I feel that your view may be coloured by your location in the 6th most populous US city. (1.4m)

.

Always going to be my opinion, obviously, and colored by my experiences.

I do get to add 21 years of data on the gaming industry though, data from GW and other companies, and contact with several hundred other retailers on forums that are only open to retailers and manufacturers.)

Store viability, and business patterns are discussed in depth taking many things into account, location and population being two major ones.

I highly think this is is a good idea the amount of junk that comes up when you type cheap warhammer 40k stores is insane. I always go to my FLGS (High Way Hobbies) I can buy A codex there for $19.50 with only about $2.50 tax & a $35 squad is only $27.99 with out any sale or discount I don't know how they make any money but it is always crowded & the only hobby store that the line ever exceeds over 10 minutes & they have two cash registers with 2 employees that run them at all times. Though you can always get a good game there they have 6 gaming table with all warhammer terrain ranging from forge world to normal plastic terrain. It's actually better then my local GW & in a nicer building too.

And in effect of doing this, Gw is becoming narrow minded in its business plan. thats never a good thing.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

keezus wrote:Mikhaila: I think that your while your viewpoint is certainly true for your situation - in my experience, the situation changes VASTLY depending on the population density - as a result, I feel that your view may be coloured by your location in the 6th most populous US city. (1.4m)

I have lived, and gamed in the following Canadian cities and have the following comments about the gaming scene in each of them:

Toronto, Ontario - (GTA, population 5.6m metro -8th largest metropolitan area in North America)
Wargaming support (i.e. with tables): Lots! FLGS numbers fluctuate, but at least 5 that I know of, not counting many non-gaming focused stores carrying small amounts of gaming materials. GW outlets: 5(+?)

London, Ontario - 10th largest Candian city - pop. 458k
Wargaming support: 1.5 FLGS (the 0.5 being a comic store which stocks a small amount of wargaming material), 1 GW outlet. At one point there were 4 game stores, but the town could not support that many. I have not visited GW London recently, but it was consistently EMPTY every time I was there.

Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario - 450k
Wargaming support: 1.75 (the 0.75 being a card store which also stocks a small amount of wargaming material , but has tables), 0 GW outlets

Sault Ste Marie, Ontario - pop 75k
Wargaming support: Local club with around 20 members. Local all-in-one comic store carries very little product. Players cross over from Michigan, as there is nothing closer for them! I am reduced to buying from mail-order places, as the local support is not there.

I have not gamed in Sudbury, but apparently they have a good all-in-one type store. Sudbury has 158k population.

At any rate, from this experience, while a store might be able to squeak by on a 150k+ city population - I think that 200k to 250k is really needed to maintain a -comfortable- customer base. While 250k population includes most of the major US cities, those living in more sparsely populated areas unable to support a FLGS, or those needing inter-city drives to get to one of a major city with a FLGS might find mail-order a much more convenient (and cheaper) alternative.

-edited to fix grammar- I HAS THE DUMB TODAY.

adding on to this list.... gorgetown ontario has a small shop (go HOBBYSHARK) in the downtown area. only a few gamers on saturdays but hey

1. its better than nothing
2. they have tables and stock a good amount of stuff.

this comes from about 3-5 years experience going thier every saturday or so.

Throwing my hat into this:

I buy local. Unless I need to order bitz and don't want to buy a whoel squad for one plastic bit, I buy local. End of story.

I support my FLGS. I ran my own for a year and a half, until the core group of guys stopped showing up and spending money. I'm STILL paying off that debt.

I know first-hand how hard it is to run one of those stores. The folks who own them live on the business of their customers. I've personally seen too many good stores close to even WANT to shop online. I'm willing to pay the few extra bucks to help keep my local store open.

To borrow Mannahnin's quote: "I pay where I play."

Now, as far as GW raising prices goes, I have to wonder what they're thinking. I just got an email from the Warstore detailing all the affected models, and I can't help but notice that it's not a universal rate increase. Some $40 boxes went to $41.50, some to $44, some to $45, and I think I saw one go close to $50. GW is picking exactly the wrong time to raise prices.

I'm glad I don't have to worry about this. Since, GW insists on not releasing any new Necron product, I won't be affected.

Well, I tend to support my FLGS (both of them) to a point. I buy my paints and most of my hobby supplies from them as well as the vast majority of my Ork models. What I get online (largely eBay) consists of out of production models and the majority of the models for my Witch Hunters. In the first case, I can't find those models at the local shops (thought I pick them up when I do see them). In the second case, I can't really call it lost business to the local shops. I still pick up blisters from them, but if I were paying $5 per model for my basic troops, I wouldn't be building the army to begin with. It's also the smaller army of the two by a large margin.

As to the new pricing model, sure I'll grumble a bit if I can't find the sweet deals from things like eBay stores I used to, but I also know what kind of support my local shops provide in terms of tourneys, events, painting clinics and the like. I play at both (though one more than the other) and that's really the only reason I buy local. If I couldn't put a face to the owners, I'd probably just buy online. Anyway, getting back on topic, I can't argue with GW recognizing the extra work like tourneys and such that the FLGS' put into the hobby.

NecronLord3 wrote:I'm glad I don't have to worry about this. Since, GW insists on not releasing any new Necron product, I won't be affected.

Won't affect most of the people posting in this thread.)

UK/EU change only. Doesn't affect North America.

Gw have had this sliding scale for at least a few years to my knowledge.Gw offer stock cheaper to people that have bricks and mortar stores or those who make more sales.Basically most independant stockists are playing catchup against those that started selling for Gw earlier on than them.The discount was upto 10% off of the trade price but to get that you had to sell like £500,000 worth of stock and meet a number of other requirements in order to get the %10 off.

I stopped dealing with gw when they stabbed me in the back by trying to force me to sell only boxed sets just when the credit crunch and reccesion started to kick in for everyone.

I think gw will make small profits if any this financial year, not only due to the credit crunch but due to the abusive way in which they up the price according to the £ exchange rate.The way they have tried to bully independant stockists and also the shoddy new website which i find to be the slowest website i have ever encountered.

I think gw would be best if they shut down all of their bricks and mortar stores and solely sold through the internet.

I know they will enforce the anti ebay policy harshly as i got told off by gw for selling items on ebay before.

They told me i was allowed to sell boxed sets but couldnt split them up.I told them it was like selling me an apple but telling me that i couldnt make apple pie with it.Ridiculous.

Mick A wrote:Was speaking to my local retailer earlier and he was telling me how in June GW were starting a sliding scale discount for retailers. How he explained it was depending on a criteria list they will be using which includes things such as 'do you own a shop' they will work out what discount you recieve. He said GW's idea behind it was to cut down on the cheap independant internet sellers as they would get less of a discount if they dont own a shop they would not be able to offer things as cheaply as they do now.
Personally I cant see this working as a lot of the internet traders happen to own shops as well...
Anyone else out there heard anything about this?
Mick

Who cares? Is this "new & rumours?"

krazynadechukr2 wrote:Who cares? Is this "new & rumours?"

erm, everyone who replied so far cares? It is almost the literal definition of news/rumours.

While I can agree with the basic logic behind what GW may be doing with a sliding scale, it wont make a bit of difference. There only needs to be one large online store somewhere on earth that sells at a discount and then everyone will go to them and ignore their local store. It is not like there is any massive loyalty to online stores, just whoever has the best combination of service, products, speed and price at the time.

As for the promotion of B&M stores at the expense of all others, the Internet is a source of massive information exchange and competitive web stores all want to increase their potential sales. Every dead web store is a dead source of growth that is no longer spending its time sponsoring contests, advertising, etc. If there were no more significant web stores then who would be buying advertising on sites like this? GW's competitors who sell alternate games to the same market that's who. I dont think it is a good idea to underestimate the number of people sites like dakka and warseer actually expose to wargaming. Dakka alone is close to a quarter of a million different people each month and serves millions upon millions of adverts each month too. I know loads of people from GW read this site, so put pressure on the rest of the company as to what on earth they are thinking regarding the lack of Internet business growth outside the official website.

Finally while I'm ranting, the price rises are getting more and more dangerous too. 3D printing is now higher quality than plastic injection moulding and many universities have them available for students to use. The technology is increasing at such a pace that there is going to be a sweet spot hit in the next few years where it becomes cheaper for people to scan and print models (mould line free) than to buy the expensive lower quality metal versions and as soon as that happens the black market will explode. A few years after that, home 3d printing will become affordable and I've long believed that will be the point where GW will be forced to change into an IP licensing company or die. I reckon it is about 7 years away now fwiw.