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I'm not sure the idea here is that people will build even close to an army out of these guys anyway (although I am sure they won't mind in the slightest when a handful do).. All of these made to order thingies just seem like nostalgic showpieces that you might buy a few of for me.

That said I'd love if they re-released all the old guard regiments in plastic, that'd be amazing.

So, Karol, about this narrative of you being the oppressed Grey Knights player of 13/14 years of age...

If you previously quit playing during 4th edition, that would mean you quit between 2004 & 2008, or 10-14 years ago - potentially before you've been claiming you were born.

Care to explain?

I have noticed some discrepancies in this characters persona over the months too! The best was when his "dad" was looking over his sons shoulder at the forum and just HAD to correct some people as he played back in the day.

 godardc wrote:
Another proof that Australia does not exist. Noone could live in such a country: this is just a fairytale, a bogeyman ("if you aren't kind, GW will rise its price to 50$ a single guardsman !) !

Just to point it out - New Zealand and Australia are not the same place...

Zillian wrote:
Right-wing? Racist? Really? Where do you get your information? CNN?

No, that was the one thing he was actually correct about - our current federal government is largely controlled by right-wing elements within the party.

The rest of that post was largely fantasy. Median income (even if you have accurate figures) is meaningless - it's disposable income that is the important factor, as others have pointed out.


And the absurdity of someone from Poland complaining about some Australians using recasters is just too funny for words... Before China discovered Games Workshop, Polish sellers on eBay were pretty much the default go-to for dodgy models.

I would point out, though, that patronage of recasters isn't as common as you might expect, from my experience.

 First Among Gators wrote:
This is a documented phenomenon , I don't get why it is so difficult to believe that companies do this.

Yes, because all corporations everywhere are ALL in on a massive conspiracy to charge more money for Australians for no reason, even though realistically it would price many customers out of buying their product and ultimately lose them money. They don't care, they still do it anyway to be evil, and sit cackling in their board rooms wearing their top hats and tweaking their monocles.

I think it is far more likely that the companies charge more to get stuff shipped all of the way out there, and deal with Australian import laws.

BTW, there are massive taxes on most imports into Australia https://tendaily.com.au/news/a180613nwx/everything-australians-pay-more-for-and-why-20180630. These laws are meant to be protectionist tariffs to help Australian industry.

And your hyperbolic example of it being cheaper to fly to another country and buy something and fly back is incorrect, as even cheap plane tickets cost hundreds of dollars. So unless whatever you are purchasing is like 2,000-5,000$ more expensive in Australia (accounting for plane ticket cost, time wasted for flying all that way, and any cost to ship it back to AUS) you are just wrong.

w1zard wrote:


And your hyperbolic example of it being cheaper to fly to another country and buy something and fly back is incorrect, as even cheap plane tickets cost hundreds of dollars. So unless whatever you are purchasing is like 2,000-5,000$ more expensive in Australia (accounting for plane ticket cost, time wasted for flying all that way, and any cost to ship it back to AUS) you are just wrong.

Haha, with the price of those metal Guardsmen... It may actually be cheaper to fly to another country and buy a 3-4k point army all at once!

w1zard wrote:

Yes, because all corporations everywhere are ALL in on a massive conspiracy to charge more money for Australians for no reason, even though realistically it would price many customers out of buying their product and ultimately lose them money. They don't care, they still do it anyway to be evil, and sit cackling in their board rooms wearing their top hats and tweaking their monocles.

Simmer down there, chuckles. It's not a conspiracy, and not every company does it. But it IS a thing, whether you want to believe it or not. And it's not just due to import taxes. A 10‰ GST doesn't justify a doubled price tag.

Before internet shopping was a thing, Australian consumers mostly just didn't know any better, so companies could charge what they wanted. When they had to start justifying it, they just blamed exchange rates, and relied on the fact that online shopping has been slow to take off here, and the fact that many Australians are still reluctant to buy from overseas... Or they took the GW approach and region - blocked their retail partners.

And your hyperbolic example of it being cheaper to fly to another country and buy something and fly back is incorrect, as even cheap plane tickets cost hundreds of dollars. So unless whatever you are purchasing is like 2,000-5,000$ more expensive in Australia (accounting for plane ticket cost, time wasted for flying all that way, and any cost to ship it back to AUS) you are just wrong.

Well, yes, it's quite obviously only going to apply to products that cost more than a plane ticket. Photoshop was the one that was the most talked about. Before they moved to the current monthly subscription model, it was literally cheaper to fly to the US, buy PS and fly home again than it was to buy it locally. That's absolutely nothing to do with import taxes, and everything to do with Adobe charging what they thought they could get away with.

Import taxes also have nothing to do with the Black Library charging us twice as much for ebooks downloaded from a UK website. They can't even blame local warehousing and wage costs for that one.

w1zard wrote:

 First Among Gators wrote:
This is a documented phenomenon , I don't get why it is so difficult to believe that companies do this.

Yes, because all corporations everywhere are ALL in on a massive conspiracy to charge more money for Australians for no reason, even though realistically it would price many customers out of buying their product and ultimately lose them money. They don't care, they still do it anyway to be evil, and sit cackling in their board rooms wearing their top hats and tweaking their monocles.

Imagine reading what I wrote and getting this from it. The fact is this does happen - that doesn't mean IT HAPPENS EVERYTIME AND THE MOON LANDING was FAKED. However it probably does mean there is a good chance that when something is outlandishly priced to the rest of the world, that there is a good chance this is going on. The ridiculous conspiracy here is trying to make all these reaches for why this couldn't possibly be the case.

w1zard wrote:
I think it is far more likely that the companies charge more to get stuff shipped all of the way out there, and deal with Australian import laws.

BTW, there are massive taxes on most imports into Australia https://tendaily.com.au/news/a180613nwx/everything-australians-pay-more-for-and-why-20180630. These laws are meant to be protectionist tariffs to help Australian industry.

Mate those import taxes are new, implemented a matter of months ago. They do not explain the last decade of ridiculous prices. Actually read the article beyond the headline.

w1zard wrote:
And your hyperbolic example of it being cheaper to fly to another country and buy something and fly back is incorrect, as even cheap plane tickets cost hundreds of dollars. So unless whatever you are purchasing is like 2,000-5,000$ more expensive in Australia (accounting for plane ticket cost, time wasted for flying all that way, and any cost to ship it back to AUS) you are just wrong.

Ah, so again you didn't even bother reading the article that shows this to be the case, you just decided it wasn't.

Why are you accounting for a cost to ship it back to Australia? The entire point is that you are not paying for shipping to Australia. Putting a monetary number on time wasted is absurd, that's not how this works. I can think of other examples too that I've seen first hand where this is the case that its literally cheaper to fly across, pick it up, and fly back. That tells you at the very least the cost isn't shipping or imports.

Hey if anyone feels that cut up about it PM me and I will send you my address and you can rectify the situation.

I'd like to point out that NZ doesn't have the same import tariffs Australia does. But our prices are higher anyway. GST is just our sales tax like the UK VAT. GW products bought in NZ from GW stores or FLGS do not pay any VAT only GST. Because suppliers do not pay a sales tax (though they do collect it for indirect taxation purposes) only end consumers.

Our prices are high because of basic supply and demand. We are a small nation of ~4 million, so our ability to demand lower prices is limited. Bulk buying power. It is one of the reasons that some NZ products, like mainland cheese and kumara (food products for the uninformed), are actually cheaper in Australia than in NZ.

Distances are usually just an excuse. Products made in china are usually a lot cheaper in the US than in NZ, even though we are actually closer. Distance has some impact of the cost; though the main driver is the market size.

Irbis wrote:When I hear people making ~1800$ per week (actual median wage in Australia, last year) whining about prices being 'too high' I just roll my eyes.

Your whole rant comes across as a poorly informed attack on a whole country and a well documented phenomenon that country experiences, but this line just deep sixes any chance you had at credibility. I’m an engineer at a major company and hence am paid more than the common man(/woman) will ever be in their lifetime, and I don’t make quite that much. Hell, $1800/wk is about 10% more than the median household income 2015-16.

You’re welcome to keep calling an entire people entitled. But you’re just a racist, and I’ll respect your views as much as I do any other racist. Which is to say, not at all.

Dysartes wrote:So, Karol, about this narrative of you being the oppressed Grey Knights player of 13/14 years of age...

If you previously quit playing during 4th edition, that would mean you quit between 2004 & 2008, or 10-14 years ago - potentially before you've been claiming you were born.

Care to explain?

Oh that’s just tragic...

 First Among Gators wrote:
Why are you accounting for a cost to ship it back to Australia? The entire point is that you are not paying for shipping to Australia. Putting a monetary number on time wasted is absurd, that's not how this works. I can think of other examples too that I've seen first hand where this is the case that its literally cheaper to fly across, pick it up, and fly back. That tells you at the very least the cost isn't shipping or imports.

No, I did read the article. The whole photoshop comparison didn't take into account time wasted by actually having to go to another country and buy something... a round trip like that could take a few days. Which means you aren't working in those few days and you lose income, which costs you money. There is also the cost of travel papers/passports, import/export fees and all sorts of things that I'm probably not even thinking of. I included the price to "ship it back" to AUS in case you decided to bring up the example of a car or something, which I could very well see having a larger price gap than a plane ticket cost between the US and AUS. My overall point was that just adding the cost of a round trip plane ticket to the price of something is not an accurate comparison at all.

Yes, things are more expensive in AUS. But it isn't arbitrary, and it isn't random. It is what the market will bear and therefore the correct price. If it is not, the price will be adjusted downward due to market pressures, that is how capitalism works. Photoshop did go down in price didn't it?

I feel like I'm channeling my philosophy professor here (who is a staunch anarcho-capitalist), which is funny because I usually disagree with him. He makes me look like karl marx in comparison.

Tygre wrote:
I'd like to point out that NZ doesn't have the same import tariffs Australia does. But our prices are higher anyway. GST is just our sales tax like the UK VAT. GW products bought in NZ from GW stores or FLGS do not pay any VAT only GST. Because suppliers do not pay a sales tax (though they do collect it for indirect taxation purposes) only end consumers.

Our prices are high because of basic supply and demand. We are a small nation of ~4 million, so our ability to demand lower prices is limited. Bulk buying power. It is one of the reasons that some NZ products, like mainland cheese and kumara (food products for the uninformed), are actually cheaper in Australia than in NZ.

Distances are usually just an excuse. Products made in china are usually a lot cheaper in the US than in NZ, even though we are actually closer. Distance has some impact of the cost; though the main driver is the market size.

This is also true, and a good point.

 First Among Gators wrote:


Also the cost of living is higher in different countries. If you get paid 30% more than someone in a different country, but pay 60% more on everything you buy, you're poorer than them at the end of the day even if your paycheck looks larger. This is economics.

Interesting.

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_countries_result.jsp?country1=United+States&country2=Australia

NYC vs Sydney - you would need to make 42% more in AUS for comparable living.

Current NYC median *household* is $50711.
AUS median *household* is $80704. (https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2015/sep/10/australias-rich-are-getting-richer-everyone-else-is-stagnating)

That's 59%, which is an advantage.

The biggest city near me - Portland, ME will likely have an advantage, but it isn't going to be massive as the median household is lower, too.

Now, that isn't to say that standard hobbyists are benefiting from the median wage - clearly not as the article suggests. The rich are getting richer, but that's the same problem in the US as well.

On the bright side, Sisters of Battle seem cheaper now.

w1zard wrote:
Which means you aren't working in those few days and you lose income, which costs you money.

Uh... unless you're employed as a casual, taking time off work doesn't lose you income... Also, weekends exist.

It is what the market will bear and therefore the correct price. If it is not, the price will be adjusted downward due to market pressures,

Sometimes. GW chose to take a different route, and changed their retailer contracts to block retailers from selling outside their own geographic regions, so that we theoretically can't buy from stores in the UK or US any more.

 insaniak wrote:

Sometimes. GW chose to take a different route, and changed their retailer contracts to block retailers from selling outside their own geographic regions, so that we theoretically can't buy from stores in the UK or US any more.

Which prevents abuse of exchange rates. Steam does the same thing. Also, ever hear of region locked DVD players and gaming consoles?

 Daedalus81 wrote:

 insaniak wrote:

Sometimes. GW chose to take a different route, and changed their retailer contracts to block retailers from selling outside their own geographic regions, so that we theoretically can't buy from stores in the UK or US any more.

Which prevents abuse of exchange rates. Steam does the same thing. Also, ever hear of region locked DVD players and gaming consoles?

Interesting definition of "abuse", Daedalus - in fact, I'd go so far as to say that pricing in the way GW does, which does not noticeably shift when the exchange rates do, is what is abusive.

If the consumer is able to take advantage of an exchange rate shift to get your product cheaper from another country - including shipping and import duties - then your pricing model is the problem.

 Dysartes wrote:

 Daedalus81 wrote:

 insaniak wrote:

Sometimes. GW chose to take a different route, and changed their retailer contracts to block retailers from selling outside their own geographic regions, so that we theoretically can't buy from stores in the UK or US any more.

Which prevents abuse of exchange rates. Steam does the same thing. Also, ever hear of region locked DVD players and gaming consoles?

Interesting definition of "abuse", Daedalus - in fact, I'd go so far as to say that pricing in the way GW does, which does not noticeably shift when the exchange rates do, is what is abusive.

If the consumer is able to take advantage of an exchange rate shift to get your product cheaper from another country - including shipping and import duties - then your pricing model is the problem.

Not when product is available locally and sudden dips in the exchanges rate can cause businesses (like FLGS) relying on those sales to crash out.

 Daedalus81 wrote:

Which prevents abuse of exchange rates. Steam does the same thing. Also, ever hear of region locked DVD players and gaming consoles?

Yes, I've heard of region locking. I bought an all-region DVD player because of it.

And that's precisely the absurd thing about it - all that you do by region-locking your product is add barriers to purchase. Region-locking DVD players didn't stop people from buying cheaper DVDs from other countries. It just led to DVD player manufacturers making all-region players, and websites publishing lists of unlock codes for other players.

Likewise, GW's region-blocking didn't stop people from buying from overseas, nor did it stop those sellers who want to do so from selling internationally - they just do it anonymously through eBay instead of through their own stores. It quite possibly led to some customers buying locally instead of from overseas... but also saw some customers stop buying new stuff, while others just continued buying from those avenues that were still open.

It's a pointless restriction that ignores the reality of the internet and the modern marketplace.

Would just like to add the New Zealand is currently rank #1 on the Ease of doing business report.
Does not mean squat for Australia's situation but it should show that at least in New Zealand it is not our government or laws that are causing us to have such high prices.

Would post the link to the report but as a first post maker I cant post any URLs.
A quick google of "doing business report 2018" should find you the report.

w1zard wrote:
No, I did read the article. The whole photoshop comparison didn't take into account time wasted by actually having to go to another country and buy something... a round trip like that could take a few days. Which means you aren't working in those few days and you lose income, which costs you money. There is also the cost of travel papers/passports, import/export fees and all sorts of things that I'm probably not even thinking of. I included the price to "ship it back" to AUS in case you decided to bring up the example of a car or something, which I could very well see having a larger price gap than a plane ticket cost between the US and AUS. My overall point was that just adding the cost of a round trip plane ticket to the price of something is not an accurate comparison at all.

For that factor to make any sense in this comparison, you have to also add the wages of the shipping service since they don't pay themselves and are not covered by a single shipping item. The point of this comparison is how much it costs for a company to ship a product. You are comparing the physical cost if you were to perform that duty yourself, you do not have to factor in your own wages for this, that's absurdity and defeats the point of the comparison, which is checking if the costs for the company to ship it is anywhere within the realm of rationality.

But above you your post is just unbelievable nonsense, because (and I gave you all the chances in the world to read the damn article before embarrassing yourself like this) - It was a DIGITAL PRODUCT. There was no shipping involved. If you have to fly overseas, buy a copy there, then fly back home and still save money, the mark up is not a cost associated with shipping that the company is shifting to you, especially when its a digital product. They are simply charging more to an isolated market that is forced to pay more if they want the product at all.

w1zard wrote:
Yes, things are more expensive in AUS. But it isn't arbitrary, and it isn't random. It is what the market will bear and therefore the correct price. If it is not, the price will be adjusted downward due to market pressures, that is how capitalism works. Photoshop did go down in price didn't it?

I feel like I'm channeling my philosophy professor here (who is a staunch anarcho-capitalist), which is funny because I usually disagree with him. He makes me look like karl marx in comparison.

That's exactly what geological price gouging is, and exactly what we said they were doing. Charging more simply because they can. If you feel that is morally sound, thats up to you, but a minute ago you were claiming it doesn't even happen, so you need to straighten out exactly what it is you are arguing, because at the moment it seems like are being very much the contrarian rather than having any solid perspective that you feel needs sharing.

 Dysartes wrote:

 Daedalus81 wrote:

 insaniak wrote:

Sometimes. GW chose to take a different route, and changed their retailer contracts to block retailers from selling outside their own geographic regions, so that we theoretically can't buy from stores in the UK or US any more.

Which prevents abuse of exchange rates. Steam does the same thing. Also, ever hear of region locked DVD players and gaming consoles?

Interesting definition of "abuse", Daedalus - in fact, I'd go so far as to say that pricing in the way GW does, which does not noticeably shift when the exchange rates do, is what is abusive.

If the consumer is able to take advantage of an exchange rate shift to get your product cheaper from another country - including shipping and import duties - then your pricing model is the problem.

Nailed it. It's the pricing model, not the customers that is the problem. If you can save a decent chunk of change by crossing the road to another shop to buy the same product, you'd do it. You'd be stupid not to.

If you went into buy something and the person in front of you bought that product for $x, then they wanted to charge you 50% more for the same product, would you pay it?

Abuse of exchange rates in an age of global business? Abuse is hardly the correct word. Thanks to the internet we can order from almost anywhere in the world and get it shipped here. It's a world-wide market now. GW Australia is competing against GW pricing in other countries, even if they don't act like it. The days of being able to charge us whatever they feel like are gone. Not just for GW, but any business that wants to sell to Australians. I've ordered car parts from the US and Germany because it saved me hundreds of dollars, making it nearly half the price I could get locally.

As for region locks, that was just an artificial mechanism to allow discriminatory region based pricing. What happened? People bought DVD players that ignored it so they could watch the cheap DVDs they bought on holidays. Do they still region lock DVDs? I haven't bought one for myself for years, so no idea if that's still a thing.

So, I own a 3D printer, and in the past month I printed a Battlewagon, a Blitzbomma, 10 Grot Tanks, a Boomdakka Snazzwagon, 5 Kannon, a Warboss, a Big Mek on a bike, a handful of Grotz, and 1 Shoota Boy (an a partridge in a pear tree...), all for less than $10 (U.S.) in plastic.

While the print resolution and model availability for infantry models isn't great, it's great for all manner of vehicles and terrain. I hope GW is giving thought to their long-term market strategy with this sort of pricing.

-removed by insaniak-

 First Among Gators wrote:
But above you your post is just unbelievable nonsense, because (and I gave you all the chances in the world to read the damn article before embarrassing yourself like this) - It was a DIGITAL PRODUCT. There was no shipping involved. If you have to fly overseas, buy a copy there, then fly back home and still save money, the mark up is not a cost associated with shipping that the company is shifting to you, especially when its a digital product. They are simply charging more to an isolated market that is forced to pay more if they want the product at all.

You are aware that I have said it just isn't about the cost of shipping stuff to AUS? I can see digital goods being taxed as well for the trouble of having to go through the nightmare that is the Australian Classification Board or other government bureaucracies. I believe Australians have to pay roughly similar prices for digital and physical games correct? Unless they somehow play the exchange rate or "I am from a different region" game.

 First Among Gators wrote:
That's exactly what geological price gouging is, and exactly what we said they were doing. Charging more simply because they can. If you feel that is morally sound, thats up to you, but a minute ago you were claiming it doesn't even happen, so you need to straighten out exactly what it is you are arguing, because at the moment it seems like are being very much the contrarian rather than having any solid perspective that you feel needs sharing.

Depends on what your definition of "price gouging" is. If it is taking advantage of a natural phenomenon (AUS being physically isolated and their lack of market power) to leverage the sell price higher to maximize profit, that isn't price gouging it's good business. IMO price gouging is when you intentionally and artificially create such a scenario for the sole purpose of increasing your profit margin. Basically when you create an outside scenario to intentionally nullify market forces.

Part of the reason Australians pay more for stuff is physical isolation incurs import and transportation fees. Part of the reason Australians pay more for stuff is that their government has a history of enacting protectionist tariffs which further bumps up the price of most goods. Part of the reason Australians pay more is that dealing with their government boards in order to pass digital content classification is a pain so companies charge more for the trouble. Part of the reason Australians pay more is because companies have realized they can charge more and not hurt their bottom line, which is NOT price gouging, it is market forces at work.

To boil down the reason Australians pay more than other countries for most imported goods (both digital and physical) to merely "companies are evil and charge more for no reason because they want to take advantage of us poor Australians" is a blatant oversimplification to the point of being factually incorrect.

w1zard wrote:

Yes, things are more expensive in AUS. But it isn't arbitrary, and it isn't random. It is what the market will bear and therefore the correct price. If it is not, the price will be adjusted downward due to market pressures, that is how capitalism works

This assumes the market the market is operating under good competitive conditions and that the agency of all sides concerned is roughly equal. When the supply side has some level of restrictive access or monopoly power, and actively works to maintain that market position (such as limiting where distributors or retailers can sell through contracts), the market is distorted and a higher price extracted and less demand served than would otherwise be the case in a free and competitive market.

 grumpusbumpus wrote:
So, I own a 3D printer, and in the past month I printed a Battlewagon, a Blitzbomma, 10 Grot Tanks, a Boomdakka Snazzwagon, 5 Kannon, a Warboss, a Big Mek on a bike, a handful of Grotz, and 1 Shoota Boy (an a partridge in a pear tree...), all for less than $10 (U.S.) in plastic.

While the print resolution and model availability for infantry models isn't great, it's great for all manner of vehicles and terrain. I hope GW is giving thought to their long-term market strategy with this sort of pricing.

Print resolution on most 3D printers is somewhat iffy even for terrain, depending on the terrain. High end industrial printers are there right now for infantry, but you're spending $30 USD for a premium plastic model from HeroForge, which still has some resolution lines.

Once printers can do resin-quality printing, reasonably quickly and affordably, then GW will have to worry. At that point I'd expect them to have printers in their retail stores to bang off a customer's order in under an hour, with all of Forge World and GW's catalog available with weapon options and maybe even some possible re-positioning and weapon swaps, while the majority is still in plastic sprues because that's the cheapest option, even with shipping and warehouse costs. It's hard to beat the price point of injection molding on high volume casting.

Keep in mind most of GW's customer base won't have the savvy or willingness to print off their own, but there will probably be Chinese re-printers that do it for a fraction of the cost and will be indistinguishable from GW output. IOW, not much changes. The only difference is that people with good 3D printers are their own re-caster.

The points about the Australian price being high due to having to go through Australian classification or other government bureaucracies start to fall apart when you look at the New Zealand pricing.

Different country, with different and much more relaxed government (they don't really give a damn so long as you're not trying to import plants, animals, or drugs).
Yet we pay even higher prices than Australia.

Now I understand how GW is trying to balance guardsmen, very innovative!

Arson Fire wrote:
The points about the Australian price being high due to having to go through Australian classification or other government bureaucracies start to fall apart when you look at the New Zealand pricing.

Different country, with different and much more relaxed government (they don't really give a damn so long as you're not trying to import plants, animals, or drugs).
Yet we pay even higher prices than Australia.

New Zealanders have a tiny population and even less market power than Australians though. That probably does more to drive your prices higher than lack of governmental hoops drives your prices lower.

w1zard wrote:

Arson Fire wrote:
The points about the Australian price being high due to having to go through Australian classification or other government bureaucracies start to fall apart when you look at the New Zealand pricing.

Different country, with different and much more relaxed government (they don't really give a damn so long as you're not trying to import plants, animals, or drugs).
Yet we pay even higher prices than Australia.

New Zealanders have a tiny population and even less market power than Australians though. That probably does more to drive your prices higher than lack of governmental hoops drives your prices lower.

NZ distribution is handled through OZ (place an order on GW website and it gets shipped from OZ), which accounts for some of it. But it is still a nonsense.

 insaniak wrote:

 Daedalus81 wrote:

Which prevents abuse of exchange rates. Steam does the same thing. Also, ever hear of region locked DVD players and gaming consoles?

Yes, I've heard of region locking. I bought an all-region DVD player because of it.

And that's precisely the absurd thing about it - all that you do by region-locking your product is add barriers to purchase. Region-locking DVD players didn't stop people from buying cheaper DVDs from other countries. It just led to DVD player manufacturers making all-region players, and websites publishing lists of unlock codes for other players.

Likewise, GW's region-blocking didn't stop people from buying from overseas, nor did it stop those sellers who want to do so from selling internationally - they just do it anonymously through eBay instead of through their own stores. It quite possibly led to some customers buying locally instead of from overseas... but also saw some customers stop buying new stuff, while others just continued buying from those avenues that were still open.

It's a pointless restriction that ignores the reality of the internet and the modern marketplace.

It will be interesting to see what effect, if any, the new geo-blocking EU regs have on GW and its European pricing. Albeit the regs primarily relate to open access to services and goods irrespective of geographical locale and not necessarily pricing discrepancies between member states.