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Basically they need to lower the number of points asked for in the standard game. Make the standard game 500 points or better yet make the stranded game a battleforce game where each player just brings the battle force. Still over $100, but not as bad.

One troop at a time give you time to paint and prep the army.

That beign said, if GW is too much there are other, less expensive companies and games out there. Heck some of them may even be more fun!

Easy E wrote:One troop at a time give you time to paint and prep the army.

That beign said, if GW is too much there are other, less expensive companies and games out there. Heck some of them may even be more fun!

That is what I did/do.

Complaining about list prices as it were....

Purchasing a game console, an extra controller, and 2 new games can cost in excess of 400$ (CAD) (I do not care about buying used etc, because the discussion at hand is about the issue of GW list prices being high, as such an equitable comparison)

I easily get more use out of my 400 dollars worth of GW stuff than I ever will out of my Xbox360. (which i pretty much use to play Space Marine while I wait for Skyrim to come out) As it were, when you put these costs in line with other luxury/hobby items, they are not as bad as people often make them out to be.
Dont get me wrong, I agree they are prohibitively high for young people/students to get into...but then again so is buying yourself a PS3.

In my country few can afford 40k....

FuryTheBerserker wrote:In my country few can afford 40k....

At least on Balkan we always have some war going

I'm surprised no one brought this up...You're buying Eldar. Of all the races out right now, excepting sisters, Eldar are the most expensive to buy. Almost all of their elites are in metal, and many need to be bought one at a time (wraithguard I'm looking at you). So of all the races to pick, you have listed the second most expensive. If you were buying a comparable marine force, you would probably save at least 50 lbs. Not saying you should jump ship, just giving some perspective.

Think of it more as a subscription, no one buys a full army at the same time unless they are loaded.

Buy maybe 2 squads per week. That means you get to paint at a nice steady pace and by the time you get your last squad everything else will be painted. A 1000 point army would only take about a month to fully complete.

Blood_Raven wrote:Think of it more as a subscription, no one buys a full army at the same time unless they are loaded.

Buy maybe 2 squads per week. That means you get to paint at a nice steady pace and by the time you get your last squad everything else will be painted. A 1000 point army would only take about a month to fully complete.

2 squads a week? I want your income and outgoings level

I get paid monthly, so I normally get maybe 2-3 boxes a month. Means I have a full army fairly quickly.

Best way how to get in hobby, is to start visiting gaming clubs, and get peeps to know you. You might get much better deals.

For example, i started 40k with AoBR as gift. Than i gt all hyped and invested 700+ € ( ) on my BA army from GW store, which was a big mistake. Now since i get to know peeps better i am getting far better deals such as 180€ for a WH Titan 230€ for Thunderhawk etc.

So my advice is, try to get stuff second hand.

i do think the priceing is high and it does seem that alot of pople who would like to start playing are put off by the sheer cost of starting.

I agree with JamesMclaren123 they should do introductary deals to get more people interested

I definatly think that price is a factor in not getting people to start 40k, I play in a store in a mall, great spot right across from the food court so tons of traffic around. people come up all the time asking abotu 40k, teens interested in the minatures and how the game works... but then when they go over and see the price of the models they say its cool but they can't afford it.

for sure cost is stoppign alot of people from joining and tkaing part in the hobby, but GW is a buisness, they probably figure that there is demand at this price point and will eventually decide even more demand at a higher price point as long as they can keep sellign minis.

zionarbadon wrote:

Dashofpepper wrote:

Ahx wrote:I've actually been having a bit of trouble myself getting started. I have a thread over here in regards to starting a Blood Angels army (The community has been SO helpful, I've been able to save a fair bit of money) but just trying to keep myself at a budget.

The thing that's killing me though is the price of bits, $17AU for 5 Meltaguns...

And the price of a molding kit from Amazon is $30, which will let you make your own meltaguns. And before I get flamed....I don't give a ****.

When a codex entry has 4 special weapons for five guys, and a box of those guys only has one of the special weapons, there's a limit to how much trading, searching through bitz websites, begging and borrowing you will do. Now I'm going to learn how to make my own since I can't find enough of the real thing.

Or you can buy a pack of 5 meltas for 8 bucks. thats what i did.

Point me out to the pack of five blasters. Who needs melta guns?

Thunder555 wrote:Hey guys.

I was just talking with my bro about him starting 40k. He's been interested about eldar and we were looking up a decent starter army that is around 1000-1500pts worth. Packages we chose for that were:
Eldar Codex = 26€
Eldar Battleforce x2 = 160€
Dire Avengers Squad= 30€
Fireprism = 39€
Falcon = 39€
Fire Dragon Squad = 26€
Farseer and Warlocks = 26€

Total price so far = 346€ (not including rulebook, painting supplies or templates)

After seeing that, he's rethinking of entering the hobby. Which made me think that GW has been pricing themselves way too high to attract new players. Anyone else feel this way?

Buy used minis to save money Sotavasara is the best in Finland: http://www.sotavasara.net/keskustelu/viewforum.php?f=42
Or order from the UK to save about 30%: http://www.maelstromgames.co.uk/index.php?act=cat&cre=min-40k-eld&cur=eur

I don't know about Finland, but in the US we have Craigslist, a website were people sell stuff. I got a 2000+ point Space Wolves army plus an insane amount of other great things including a rule book and codex plus some orks and eldar for $200. It is over $600 in savings, Ebay is also a great place to buy used armies.

40k is expensive for new players. Heck, it's expensive for old players too. If your focus is on getting an army together quickly so you can play right now the cost will seem high and will turn away many new prospects.

However, I would also say that 40k isn't too expensive for new hobbyists.

It all depends on your approach. If you are a player and your goal is to put models on the table and throw dice, then the cost of entry is likely too high for what you get. The building and painting are an obstacle to be overcome on your way to getting a game in. Maybe you'll take a longer view and see that you can play essentially free after the initial buy in. Maybe you won't and the sticker shock sends you away.

On the other hand, if you take a hobbyist approach in which building and painting your army is part of the whole hobby in addition to playing the game then the cost will seem much less imposing. You'll consider the hours of hobby time as part of the enjoyment you get from that $50 box of chaos terminators instead of dwelling on the fact that there are only 5 models in that over-priced box. This approach will let you slowly build your army as your resources allow since playing the game isn't the only thing you enjoy doing.

@OP

We have a lot of fun letting new players tag team with veterans. So in a 2k battle, each player runs just 1000 points. Gives the vets a challenge (now you have a newb teammate) and lets the newbs have an experienced player showing them the ropes.

As others have said... 300 USD can get you a 2k army on ebay if you're willing to patiently check on ebay at least everyother day for a month.

Kylis wrote:
Buy used minis to save money Sotavasara is the best in Finland: http://www.sotavasara.net/keskustelu/viewforum.php?f=42
Or order from the UK to save about 30%: http://www.maelstromgames.co.uk/index.php?act=cat&cre=min-40k-eld&cur=eur

Maelstrom looks good. I wish I had known that store sooner.

So as most posts seem to suggest is to play smaller games. Well, that's not really the problem. You guys know what wargamers are like. You like the game, you want your own army ASAP. For now he might end up buying in pieces and continue using my armies until his is finished. But the total price is still high in stores. Maybe a roadtrip to UK would be a good idea

There was a really good thread in Dakka discussion regarding GW’s marketing direction. What’s odd about GW is that their products are at high premium prices yet the releases are marketed towards kids unlikely to afford the products. Given the increasing prices and the declining quality of rules, some else on Dakka said it best with the saying “the best time to start the hobby was yesterday” and I couldn’t agree more.

Anyone starting out collecting GW should be prepared to be punched very hard in the wallet. Yes you can start out small, buy GW products at a discount using ebay, online trading sites and discounted online stores; it’s still very expensive even after doing all this. Also, as Dash has said in his post, you can’t really buy a box of dudes and use them straight away as usually you’ll need to scavenge online bits sites for additional special weapons.

I’m not trying to rain on anyone’s parade here as wargaming is a really great hobby (even if it is GW). It is just that it can be very expensive and it would be unfortunate if the person in the OP made a purchase only to regret it later. Honestly, my advice would be to tell him to hold off on any purchase plans for a while and continue to use one of your back up armies until he’s able to fully make up his mind. If he still decides to go through with his purchases, he’ll probably be more committed to the hobby.

Ebay is gorgeous for this.

I have 750 points of DE and I've spent $115 tops (And I bought 2 raiders AND a Venom!)

Thunder555 wrote:

Kylis wrote:
Buy used minis to save money Sotavasara is the best in Finland: http://www.sotavasara.net/keskustelu/viewforum.php?f=42
Or order from the UK to save about 30%: http://www.maelstromgames.co.uk/index.php?act=cat&cre=min-40k-eld&cur=eur

Maelstrom looks good. I wish I had known that store sooner.

So as most posts seem to suggest is to play smaller games. Well, that's not really the problem. You guys know what wargamers are like. You like the game, you want your own army ASAP. For now he might end up buying in pieces and continue using my armies until his is finished. But the total price is still high in stores. Maybe a roadtrip to UK would be a good idea

I personally recommend it, I've been their customer for 2 and ½ years now. It's a lots of saving and orders over 11€ gets free delivery via airmail to anywhere in the world.

Thunder555 wrote:

Kylis wrote:But the total price is still high in stores. Maybe a roadtrip to UK would be a good idea

Not if you want discount.
UK store proces might be lower than your local can sell at, but the way we get discounts in UK is the same way, go to Wayland and Maelstrom online.

I never really thought 40k was too expensive.

I started this because I have a love of building models, but don't like it when they sit around on a shelf getting dusty. I like how with warhammer you actually USE them for something.

So I started my first army (guard) with a smallish purchase, around $240 worth of stuff, like 4 years ago. I've added a bit more every so often, but never more than like $100 a month, at most, except for rare purchases (like when I bought 3 baneblades at once... good times).

Its provided me with a lot of fun times, and I generally consider it a worthwhile investment.

That said, I almost never buy things at full retail... I use ebay a LOT, or buy from a supplier who gives a 10-20% discount off GW list.

I'm a reasonably new player. Yes it is expensive for new players, but then plenty of hobbies are. If you really want to play straight off then play small skirmishes. When you're a new player those will take long enough. My partner and I play 580 point games (don't ask ) and that takes us all afternoon with a force stop at turn 5 for time issues!

500 points isn't so bad cost-wise. A 500 point army that's heavy on troops and maybe fast attack (not heavies or vehicles) is probably the cheapest you'll get and decently playable at the beginning. It's not awesome, but you can't expect to go from zero to awesome without spending some time and cash.

I know people use this example a lot, but think how much some people spend on a night out at a bar then club. And they do that every week! Much more expensive than Warhammer.

The miniatures are severely overpriced which hurts starters the most. PP, whose miniatures are equaly expensive, is at least smart enough to sell cheap startersets which helps to attract customers.
A reasonably priced starterset ( perhaps 50Euro like the Warmachine ones? ), even if it is initialy sold at a slight loss, might help to introduce more people into the hobby.
Hells even if it is just 2 troopchoices and a HQ, to aim at perhaps 300-400 points?, would be a start.

Skinnereal wrote:

Thunder555 wrote:

Kylis wrote:But the total price is still high in stores. Maybe a roadtrip to UK would be a good idea

Not if you want discount.
UK store proces might be lower than your local can sell at, but the way we get discounts in UK is the same way, go to Wayland and Maelstrom online.

Who hell are you trying to quote?

KingDeath wrote:The miniatures are severely overpriced which hurts starters the most. PP, whose miniatures are equaly expensive, is at least smart enough to sell cheap startersets which helps to attract customers.
A reasonably priced starterset ( perhaps 50Euro like the Warmachine ones? ), even if it is initialy sold at a slight loss, might help to introduce more people into the hobby.
Hells even if it is just 2 troopchoices and a HQ, to aim at perhaps 300-400 points?, would be a start.

GW does offer a cheap starter sets. One is for marines and orks only and actually a good buy, known as AOBR. The others are usually a random assortment of units which don't work well together. Those are called battleforces. While I commonly get stared daggers by the GW shop owners, I actually tell kids who want to start orks to avoid the battleforce and get lotaz/burnaz, kanz or battlewagons instead. In addition to a KFF mek. A (non-GW) local shop offered a starter set for christmas, containing a battleforce, an additional trukk and a KFF mek for a small discount(about 10% cheaper than GW single prices). That way someone buying it can actually start out with a small working KoS army right away. This is something GW fails to provide - useful starters.

40k being way too expensive for anyone and everyone? Yes.

'Nuff said

But people still buy it, with it being the only company in "THE hobby" and all .

I would make an attempt to say something like but they're the finest miniatures in the world yaddayaddayadda, but sarcasm doesn't translate well into the written word. Hell I doubt anyone reading this thread would even think I was being serious anyways...

But when little kids get bored of the plastic toys me and my acetone free nail polish remover are waiting on ebay...