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.

"Wholesale"="Independent Retailers Discount", for all intents and purposes.

Read Mikhaila's post before commenting again.

fire4effekt wrote:There is no independent retailers discount on direct only items.


Its a ploy, a not so secret one.

There isn't?

Wow, maybe I'm getting a "SuperSecret" discount of some type. They must love me more than I thought.)

Seriously, I can get anything that's on the GW website for my store, and at a discount. It's slightly less than my standard discount. I can special order the items. I can choose to stock them on my shelves. In some ways it lets me carry more than a GW store, as they can only special order it, while I can choose to have Vulkan and other special characters on my rack all the time.

For example: Now that IA books are on the GW website, I keep them in stock all the time, and when they sell, I make a profit.

mikhaila wrote:Italics added by me to highlight a couple of wrong assumptions. Stores with GW accounts can put in an order for Direct Only items, and buy them at wholesale. GW ships them to us free of charge, in separate orders, even if it's only one blister. I think it's linked to the partnership/stockist program, but frankly, I've been doing it for so many years that I don't remember the details at this point.

Customer says "Mike, can you get me Specialmodel XXX", and I just email my rep and say "Hey, Mark, I need SpecialorderXXX". Couple of days later it shows up. So very little hassle to give me access to a lot of models.

Then why are both Wayland and Maelstrom (the latter who have a large B&M store and aren't just a shopping basket (not implying that Wayland is, before anyone jumps on me)) unable to do exactly what you've said above? Why are they charging above retail for Direct Only if they're buying them wholesale?

H.B.M.C. wrote:

mikhaila wrote:Italics added by me to highlight a couple of wrong assumptions. Stores with GW accounts can put in an order for Direct Only items, and buy them at wholesale. GW ships them to us free of charge, in separate orders, even if it's only one blister. I think it's linked to the partnership/stockist program, but frankly, I've been doing it for so many years that I don't remember the details at this point.

Customer says "Mike, can you get me Specialmodel XXX", and I just email my rep and say "Hey, Mark, I need SpecialorderXXX". Couple of days later it shows up. So very little hassle to give me access to a lot of models.

Then why are both Wayland and Maelstrom (the latter who have a large B&M store and aren't just a shopping basket (not implying that Wayland is, before anyone jumps on me)) unable to do exactly what you've said above? Why are they charging above retail for Direct Only if they're buying them wholesale?

Maybe UK shops that have a web presence can't?

That's the only feasible explanation I can come up with.

Or they're jerks, and like charging you more money.

H.B.M.C. wrote:

mikhaila wrote:Italics added by me to highlight a couple of wrong assumptions. Stores with GW accounts can put in an order for Direct Only items, and buy them at wholesale. GW ships them to us free of charge, in separate orders, even if it's only one blister. I think it's linked to the partnership/stockist program, but frankly, I've been doing it for so many years that I don't remember the details at this point.

Customer says "Mike, can you get me Specialmodel XXX", and I just email my rep and say "Hey, Mark, I need SpecialorderXXX". Couple of days later it shows up. So very little hassle to give me access to a lot of models.

Then why are both Wayland and Maelstrom (the latter who have a large B&M store and aren't just a shopping basket (not implying that Wayland is, before anyone jumps on me)) unable to do exactly what you've said above? Why are they charging above retail for Direct Only if they're buying them wholesale?

No clue at all. I don't know the business arrangements GW UK has with UK retailers, only how I deal with GW in the US.

Speaking as someone who has direct contact with an independant retailer:

Buying direct only items does not get the discount that a retailer would get.

As I said, some places will buy them in as part of a larger order because theres nothing in it for them. If there are some stores that are getting a discount on direct only items, i'd love to know who so I can tell my friend whos running a store that he seems to be getting a bad deal out of it.

Lomar, you're talking about a retailer in the UK, right?

Because Mikhaila's a retailer in the US, and the situations seem to be different.

What would happen to GW if they made Space Marines Direct Only?

My store (Peterborough) has a little show box with two Space Wolves models - labelled "Direct Only."

I never really paid it much thought as it was only two models.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
My store (Peterborough) has a little show box with two Space Wolves models - labelled "Direct Only."

I never really paid it much thought as it was only two models.

Mannahnin wrote:Lomar, you're talking about a retailer in the UK, right?

Because Mikhaila's a retailer in the US, and the situations seem to be different.

Yeah thats a retailer in the UK.

I'm kinda wondering why the US gets a slightly better deal since GW originates from the UK - though no doubt these days they dont cast in the UK anymore, they probably ship it all over the world from china.

From my years here watching US dakkites speaking about American GW operations.

I think its more of a case they tried to do what they did here over there, and failed miserably.

Over here GW stores have basically replaced so many good idependants, that they rule the roost, most places have a GW store, or not much else.

In the US there are too many dedicated stores (like mikhaila's) which have resisted GW attempts to force them out. (Not suggesting they've tried to do this to mikhaila btw, just he has a damn fine store from what I've seen.)

In fact from what I've seen posted, the US customer reaction has been highly negative to these tactics, where in the UK we sadly let them get away with it.

Lomar4976 wrote:Direct only orders can be made through local gaming stores, but they dont get discount for them, so most dont bother, though some will order them as long as its part of a larger order.

My previous FLGS ordered these special items once a week. Everyone placed their items, orders went in on Monday at noon, pick up your stuff on Wednesday. That way they did not pay shipping on a small item every day.

Might be the difference in the business models. You know, Feudalism vs. Capitalism.

UK has some huge number of GW stores, hundreds? in a much smaller area than the US. Much lighter on FLGS that carry GW products. The independent stores have much less of an inpact on the UK sales of GW products.

US has 50-100 GW stores scattered over a huge geographic area with small concentrations and large areas with no GW stores. I think over a 1000 independent game stores have direct GW accounts, and many more stores go through distributors. By giving retailers a discount, we push the Direct Only models, and they sell a lot more of them. Like any business, GW is motivated by profit. More sales = more profit for GW. More sales = more profit for FLGS. Stronger FLGS = a better customer for GW.

GW in the US does a lot of different things to support independent retailers. I've been accused a few hundred times of being a GW sympathizer or fanboy.

It's actually much simpler than that. GW makes my store a lot of money. I like money. It keeps me in business and keeps my family fed. )

Sounds reasonable when you put it that way... dunno im just used to having a GW in every city centre (I mean theres 3 within 10 miles from where I live in different directions) so I can kinda see the point about making more of the catalogue available to independants when you might need to travel hundreds of miles to get to the nearest GW.

1.) Items with supposedly low turnover are usually sold in all stores on release (e.g. special characters of a new army), then after a while moved to "direct only". Some other stuff is "direct only" from the start (e.g. rerelease of old models, specialist games etc).

2.) All GW stores and some FLGS can order "direct only" stuff but at a lower discount than normal. Non-GW stores must fulfill certain conditions to be able to do that, e.g. in Germany they have to be "Premium Stores" with annual participation in GW training workshops.

3.) Most releases have tempting "direct only" stuff, as featured on the news poster and all over WD. So every FLGS is forced to make advertisments for the GW online store, harming local sales. This is not nice of course.

BTW this is not a new ploy, but an old one, intensified by the new online store and free shipping.

Lomar4976 wrote:

Mannahnin wrote:Lomar, you're talking about a retailer in the UK, right?

Because Mikhaila's a retailer in the US, and the situations seem to be different.

Yeah thats a retailer in the UK.

I'm kinda wondering why the US gets a slightly better deal since GW originates from the UK - though no doubt these days they dont cast in the UK anymore, they probably ship it all over the world from china.

The exotic eastern locales of Memphis and Nottingham, actually.

Given my recent criticism of GW, it may be shocking to hear that I don't really mind Direct Only models, as long as they're nothing essential to an army and are really only cool extras. Things like the Eldar Bonesinger are exactly the sort of thing that I wish GW would do more of in exactly the capacity they're doing it. They're cool, they give their army personality, but they don't waste shelf space in stores---

Wait, the bonesinger is no longer on the website?

Dammit GW, I'm trying to find something I like about you!

@Mikhaila - Ah, that could be more of the truth of it, I 've seen the odd rant and assumed it was a backlash kinda thing. Probably is more of a case of overall scale and GW unable to carpet bomb the States as it has the UK. I'm sure if I do ever manage to visit your great nation, the size of it* will blow my mind.

@Kroothawk - Yeah I do get it, it's just annoying that in some armies some key units are GW only. I was looking at Guard before I decided to pick up (well order from Maelstrom/GW) Eldar yesterday, and Kaskrin, Ratlings, pretty much all the officer blisters, a few of the special Characters and the Psykers are direct only. To me that just seems a lot of the army.

I'm also sure the lesser discount means its not viable for places like Maelstrom to sell it with their discount, hence why they don't stock them, and Wayland bizarrely sells them for more than GW.

As to it being an old ploy, I don't doubt that, but its seems to be gathering momentum, if you know what I mean. I'm sure there wasn't this many things Direct Only in the past.




*The UK feels large enough to me, then you realise how many copies of the UK you could fit into the US land mass.

Kanluwen wrote:

fire4effekt wrote:Its a ploy to drive non GW stores under while supporting themsleves whole hog and denying you all a place to play.

Except for the fact that non-GW stores can order Direct Only items.

I work at an independant GW stockist, a Toymaster to be precise, and we can't order them. It's disgusting seeing how less and less items are available on the shelves... but when you make an order, you see how much some items actually cost, like we pay £1.75 for the £5 box of three Space Marines...

sphynx wrote:

Kanluwen wrote:

fire4effekt wrote:Its a ploy to drive non GW stores under while supporting themsleves whole hog and denying you all a place to play.

Except for the fact that non-GW stores can order Direct Only items.

I work at an independant GW stockist, a Toymaster to be precise, and we can't order them. It's disgusting seeing how less and less items are available on the shelves... but when you make an order, you see how much some items actually cost, like we pay £1.75 for the £5 box of three Space Marines...

We've already established that it seems to be a difference between the US/UK in the direct only models.

Johira wrote:Given my recent criticism of GW, it may be shocking to hear that I don't really mind Direct Only models, as long as they're nothing essential to an army and are really only cool extras. Things like the Eldar Bonesinger are exactly the sort of thing that I wish GW would do more of in exactly the capacity they're doing it. They're cool, they give their army personality, but they don't waste shelf space in stores---

Wait, the bonesinger is no longer on the website?

The Bonesinger was intended to be a limited run thing, originally as a White Dwarf subscription bonus. I guess it didn't do well in that regards, and the excess were put in Direct Only.

All I know is that I would like to see more things like Prince Althran done