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.

JBrehaut wrote:As most of the guys have said, nothing wrong with buying models on eBay.
However, maybe hold off on the loudly telling other customer's about it. When you start convincing them that eBay is the way to go, and nobody starts buying from the FLGS.. that's where the problem begins.

This.

Being a smart consumer is one thing, going into a place of business and advertising to all the other gamers how an online dealer (e.g., The Warstore) or Ebay is far cheaper/better than your FLGS is quite another. I politely mentioned this to a player in my FLGS who was proclaiming how everything was much cheaper online and that people would be stupid to buy their stuff here. The owner actually came over and thanked me personally for saying something about it since he obviously couldn't say anything without seeming like a jerk. Apparently online sales hurt his local business far more than the economy has, yet those who don't spend a dime in his store still come in and spend all weekend on the tables.

I'm lucky enough to not be in your position monetarily, but I understand where you're coming from. There's absolutely no reason you should HAVE to buy all your stuff from your local store —let's be fair, you will almost always find better deals online— but using their tables, meeting other players, and participating in tournaments etc. is worth quite a bit to me and I hate seeing local stores go under when it's clear they have a very healthy community of players.

All in all, you didn't do anything wrong. I think you're doing much better than most folks by actually supporting the store as much as you already do.

DoW

I ended up buying a large portion of my army online because I found a great deal on Ebay, but the closest FLGS to where I live is an hour drive from where I live so I don't get to go often and the store wasn't even open when I started collecting my army. I am glad that there is actually a store in South Dakota now, and I hope I can get down their more to play and get my models and terrain there.

Though every time I stop into the store or know that I will be soon I make sure to get things I need there. I bought a few pieces of terrain there the other day when I was their for a tournament(lots of fun had 3 legitimately fun game out of the 3 rounds of the tournament).

Another thing about ebay though. I did get shafted on a purchase by a seller. Even with a good rating. I paid through the google check out thing and they never shipped the modles I had purchased. And I had to go through my bank to finally get my money back.

I have no LFGS just a GW. So a % of everything is going to them hence no guild from wayland, darksphere, fleabay etc.

@OP : it's called capitalism, your FLGS needs to realise that.

Tiger9gamer wrote:
Did I do something wrong with this?

No.

You are free to do with your money as you wish.

Just keep the basic rules in mind.

3 paint colors on your models if you play with them in-store, origional GW models, etc.

I really don't think it matters where you bought them.

First of All i agree with others, you did in no Way dó anything wrong buying from eBay. It is a costly hobby and money for hobby stuff is limited atm for most people i know in the hobby.
Thus people are more willing to buy second hand to save money. I am sure other people in your area would dó and actually dó buy stuff other places than the lgs.
Personally Itry to support my lgs with my smaller purchases but if i am to buy a new order i look at the price.
If my lgs Can compete, sometimes it actually can, i buy there.

I pay where I play. The shop I buy from doesn't really need my support, but I have enough disposable income to do it this way. I save on the shipping and I can buy something spontaneous without waiting.

I have no problems with guys who buy used models. It's just not for me, because I'm very much into modelling/kitbashing/converting. It's just to much of a hassle to cut already built models apart and rearrange them.

tl,dr: Don't worry. What you have done is alright.

I buy online quite a bit - but only get to my F"L"GS (L is in quotes because it's an hour away) once a month for the local tournaments... and I buy something every time I'm there.

If you are buying the majority of your stuff there, personally, I'd point that out and tell them to STFU. If getting most of your business isn't good enough for them to leave you in peace, find another place to play (being that it's a GW shop, I wouldn't play there to begin with, but that's just me).

No you did nothing wrong, the price hikes are far above inflation and a sign of GW being greedy, i dont pay full price for stuff if i can get it cheaper somewhere else.

Tiger9gamer wrote: the person who talked down about it usually complains about everything, including that I made my own character and I am using vulkan's rules for my iron knights captain, saying that I am playing salamanders.:/ some people have no imagination i guess.

Which is kind of a stupid thing for him to complain about when it specifically says that you can do exactly that in the actual SM codex in the first place....hahahahahahaha...what a douche...

Don't sweat your ebay purchases either. You have to do what you need to do to enjoy *your* hobby. I make it a point to consistently buy stuff from my FLGS, because I play there regularly and because a friend owns the shop, but I don't buy everything there. Sometimes I want instant gratification and will buy at another store that carries what I want in stock regularly so I don't have to order it from my FLGS and wait and other times I just want to buy more with my dollars. I get most of my GW minis from an out of state seller I order from on the phone who I have been doing business with for a lot more years than my FLGS has even been in business. So I am supporting two independent sellers pretty regularly.

Skriker

Tiger9gamer wrote:So a couple of days ago I accidentally mentioned I was getting two vindicators from ebay, and tfg started to complain that I should "support the local store" and I started to get worried that they might not let me play there anymore.

Now I will buy things there in the future, but only when I have money for it. I am looking to get the stormtalon and another speeder, but I dont have enough money

Did I do something wrong with this?

Wow, the guy's a douche. When you've finished repainting your super-affordable ebay models and he challenges you to a game, tell him to shove it.

You did nothing apart from finding a great deal on ebay (which is. i'm fairly certain, what it's there for).

I shoudl point out that i normally try an buy new kits from the local GW when i can, butt here are some things that you cant get there (scarab bases on their own spring to mind), in thsi and many other cases - ebay beckons.

I had a discussion with the owner of my FLGS, and this came up a few times. I've told him that unless I have no other option, I wont buy new GW kits. They've just done too many things to agitate me to get my continued cash in new kits. But that doesn't stop me from buying at my store. I buy paints and supplies constantly, and have told him that when I start other games up, I'll try and order from him wherever possible.

Now, bear in mind I've spent over 300 bucks buying used IG stuff from other players, netting me almost 150 guardsmen, 3 tanks, and 2 chimeras. When you buy that much used, it's hard to hide Luckily the owner encouraged me and said basically "this is an expensive hobby, if you're wanting to play games soon, I'll talk to our regulars and see what they might be willing to sell." Since we have an understanding and I don't act all hush hush like it's a big sin, it's not a problem. However, I do know that it hurts his store, so lately I've been trying to buy more stuff. Recently I discovered an entire wall of old 3rd and 4th edition metal blisters, and I've been buying 1 or 2 of those every week. He's kept them the same price from when they came out and they're just too cool to pass up. That way, I get cool models, a good deal, and I help my store. Although I'd imagine that a GW store will probably not have them.

TL;DR: Nothing wrong with searching for a deal, but paying where you play is important. Also, anyone who bashes on you for buying used is probably a hipocrite. Almost everyone has bought something used, online, or any other place besides the store, whether they'll admit it or not. Just don't let them get to you and if they keep it up find a new store

I have run into this issue a bit, but usually just comment that when I was starting my army there were no stores to buy from so I had to buy online.

To the OP :

You did NOT do anything wrong.

If the owner of your LGS has a problem with anyone, it should be with GW. More than likely, his contract with them requires him to sell GW models at or near the MSRP. GW tells these store owners that the GW online store doesn't compete with local retailers because the prices at the GW website are always at MSRP + shipping. But that is a giant lie. GW is notorious for selling their models to distributors at cost without a similar contract that the local stores have. That means that those distributors can re-sell GW mini's online for a massive discount. On ebay for example, there are several companies - "hoard-o-bits", "spikeybits" and "discount_games_store" to name a few. There are others.

The problem is that those companies DO compete with your local retailer. Or actually, there's no way that your LGS can compete with them. In fact, not even the "Games Workshop" franchise stores can compete with the prices online.

So to summarize, YOU did nothing wrong. You found a good deal. It's GW's shady business practices that make it difficult - have always made it difficult - for independent retail stores to stay open.

As long as you make a point to throw a few bones to your LGS they should have no problem with you and they should be able to keep their doors open. That way you'll have a place to play. For example, I buy 75% of my mini's online because they are so cheap. But I buy all of my codexes, rulebooks, paint, terrain, dice etc at the game store. They've got plenty of my blood.

Alright, thanks for the help guys I feel less of a dirt bag now. I Accidentally mentioned I got it off of ebay, so part of that may have been my fault I wont go bragging about it now, but I relized that lots of people have 2nd hand stuff, but i guess tfg seems to only pick on me

It is worth mentioning though that the GW near my house is the only game store that has 40k, sadly.

alright, thanks again! have a nice day

Supporting the store is good, but you need to live within your budget. If you need to buy used models to take part in the hobby, you should do that.

If the manager is a toolbag about sales, you should go to another store. Even if it's another 20 or 30 miles, it's worth it not to have a toolbag manager who gets on you about sales all the time.

Get cheap stuff off ebay (coz i got 5 termies for about £7 including poastage and i said i went on holiday and got some from a games workshop there.

If the store knows you didn't buy all your models from them, they should work out how to keep your business, not whinge about it.

A FLGS should be able to Most don't hold every model or kit in stock, and ordering takes time. You saw it, and just had to have it. It happens.

If it gets too bad there, find another venue, or start a club or play at home. When sales drop, they'll relent a bit more.

Nothing wrong, you did.

I get most of my stuff off of ebay miniature wise, but I do support my store by buying all of my painting supplies and books through them. So I don't feel too bad about using their stuff

Tiger9gamer wrote:Alright, thanks for the help guys I feel less of a dirt bag now. I Accidentally mentioned I got it off of ebay, so part of that may have been my fault I wont go bragging about it now, but I relized that lots of people have 2nd hand stuff, but i guess tfg seems to only pick on me

It's not your 'fault', as you did nothing wrong. You're free to buy your stuff from wherever you want.

If you feel bad about it, support the LGS through other purchases. Buy your hobby supplies from there, like paints, brushes, etc. If you want an individual model like a character, grab it from there. If they're still crabby about that, they don't deserve your business.

i thnk your store manager is a dick for giving you a hard time about buying your stuff elsewhere! unless he was joking ofc.

what if he doesnt have a certain model and you buy it from GW self, will that be a problem? or is that his problem...

if its a local gaming store and not a GW store, he can give a discount on his products.

my LFGS gives 15% discount on GW kits and still manages to make a profit. THAT ensures i will buy from them. unless i could get a good deal on ebay ofc... but they wont give me a hard time for it

Grugknuckle wrote:So to summarize, YOU did nothing wrong. You found a good deal. It's GW's shady business practices that make it difficult - have always made it difficult - for independent retail stores to stay open.

Not sure why GW's business practices make it difficult for independent retail stores to stay open. They only have problems if they try to focus on GW products with little support for other product lines which puts them at the mercy of GW's fickle practices. My FLGS thrives and at this point in time there is not a single GW product on the shelves for sale at all. Main mini games are Flames of War, War Machine and Malifaux. Also there is a thriving board game community in the store. It is also one of the largest L5R domains in the country and has weekly massive Magic events.

There are plenty of ways for independent stores to stay open that don't have anything to do with dealing with GW business practices.

Skriker

Another facet of this situation is that unlike the majority of other hobbies or pastimes you might dredge up this one allows you an avenue to recoup losses later on. Thanks to ebay if there comes a time your gaming career ends you can get some residuals on the back end.

The only way your store owner/manager should be angry is if you come in with an entire army you got off ebay and then you proceed to use his space to build piant and play with them while giving him a couple of paint sales.

captain collius wrote:The only way your store owner/manager should be angry is if you come in with an entire army you got off ebay and then you proceed to use his space to build piant and play with them while giving him a couple of paint sales.

this is probably just me but I wouldn't even mind that. They are paying for what they get. Its upto them where they spend there money. They are paying for the product they are reveicing they are paying for paint and thats what they are getting.

captain collius wrote:The only way your store owner/manager should be angry is if you come in with an entire army you got off ebay and then you proceed to use his space to build piant and play with them while giving him a couple of paint sales.

Even so, as long as you don't blatantly brag you got the army somewhere else, who cares? This thread isn't really bringing up a big issue. You're allowed to buy from multiple locations, just don't be rude and rub it in your store owner's face. That's more of an issue with being a decent, social person than anything else.

DogOfWar wrote:I'm lucky enough to not be in your position monetarily, but I understand where you're coming from. There's absolutely no reason you should HAVE to buy all your stuff from your local store —let's be fair, you will almost always find better deals online— but using their tables, meeting other players, and participating in tournaments etc. is worth quite a bit to me and I hate seeing local stores go under when it's clear they have a very healthy community of players.

This.

If your building your first army and don't have much money, there is nothing wrong with buying an army on ebay.
If your in a spot where you have a solid income and multiple armies, buy from your FLGS to support it. Having one extra LR for your army a month or 2 LRs won't make much of a difference when you have multiple armies. And if your FLGS goes out of business, where will you play?


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Tiger9gamer wrote:So a couple of days ago I accidentally mentioned I was getting two vindicators from ebay, and tfg started to complain that I should "support the local store" and I started to get worried that they might not let me play there anymore.

Don't worry about them banning you. That TFG needs to get a clue and stop discouraging players.
As I said, if its your first army and your trying to get into the game, buying used is a valid thing -- especially if your not stable on $$$ yet.

The thing is, 40k is a long term game. You may very well be playing this game for years to come -- so there will be plenty of time for your LFGS to get some models and such from you.

captain collius wrote:The only way your store owner/manager should be angry is if you come in with an entire army you got off ebay and then you proceed to use his space to build piant and play with them while giving him a couple of paint sales.

So does that mean no one should ever use minis in a store that they didn't buy there? I mean if you want to go to extremes my armies were bought and built before my FLGS opened up. Should I have to buy a whole new army from my FLGS just to be able to play in their store? Of course the answer to that is no. So your example is equally as silly. I am working on an army in the store and buying my paints, brushes and supplies there. It shouldn't matter where or when the minis came into my possession since I am purchasing what I need to work on the army in the store while I work on it in the store. Sounds like fair trade to me. What would be rude is buying an army on ebay, getting all supplies from a competitor, but then monopolizing the tables at the current store to play on without ever spending any money in the store supporting my play time. That is obnoxious...

Skriker

curran12 wrote:While it is always cool to support the local store, nah, you didn't do anything wrong.

This^

And if buying off ebay is wrong, then buying 2nd-hand anywhere would be wrong- which stinks of profiteering. It would only be wrong if they were breaking GW's copyright, and even then you get into grey areas like poorhammer and Vassal40K.