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.

Well that's pretty terrible,

I'd hope the church leader who persuaded Neil to hire them stand up to help him too

I wonder what happened to all the money 'earned' from the stolen merchandise. Given everything in the story it sounds like it went to bad ends.

Meh, 8 years ago they were still barely valid. I don't think I've ordered from them since. Everytime I looked I found it somewhere else cheaper once shipping was involved.

Sorry to see them go. Would have preferred they stay in the game and just adjust to modern times.

that's an awful story. I've been dealing with Neal since I was in law school...a long time ago. Neal was a great guy.

It's very likely the guys stealing from him were falsifying inventory so the "shrinkage " wouldn't get noticed. Sucks big time b/c Neal paid for the inventory, misses out on the profit AND has to deal with the taxes on inventory that doesn't exist.

God speed to Neal. I wish him nothing but success in his future endeavors.

ender502

Jesus, that escalated quickly.

Poor man. You try to trust and give someone a chance to get back on their feet; something rare enough for paedophiles. To get it thrown back in your face like that must be utterly galling, even aside from the financial loss.

If that's an accurate story that sucks ass.

It has been I think a couple of years since I last used the The Warstore. Given how similar that sounds to others who haven’t used The Warstore in a while, it seems anecdotal that their business has been declining for some time. Though is it perfectly reasonable to surmise that Neal and co. might have started to experience significant cash flow issues that were likely impacting service as the scale and scope of the theft detailed in the article came to light, but I am sure there were other factors.

With GW lifting the shopping cart embargo, it became a lot easier to setup legitimate Amazon stores thus increasing the number of competitors on a very visible platform where you got free two day shipping and not just discounted shipping with a minimum purchase. Also it seems many accounts of declining performance align with the rise of more visible and diversified competitors like Frontline Gaming.

As many mentioned, during GW’s shopping cart embargo, which I think was partly brought on by the success The Warstore had earlier this century, The Warstore was for me the go to place for online shopping especially during the period where GW was seemingly doing everything it could to push me away with their lousy retail practices and engagement with the community.

I think I only had one “off” experience with The Warstore where items shipped later than expected which was blamed at the time on GW delivering product late. I took this at face value as I have run into the same issue with both FLGS and other online retailers blaming GW for shorting or delivering their order late.
Whatever your opinion of The Warstore, they were a noteworthy retail outlet in a very niche industry which I think makes their closing noteworthy.

I wish Neal and his team all the best in their future endeavors.

I don't think their business was declining so much as they had a particular capacity of business they could handle and either couldn't or didn't want to grow to keep up with it.

I ordered from them since their early days... and I typically ordered from them at least once or twice a year. I never had a problem. When I emailed or phoned with questions they were helpful and prompt. For me ordering online from Neal felt like I was ordering from someone as vested in my gaming needs as my FLGS.

That's a really sad story.

Even if the money wasn't a big issue, the betrayal might have sapped enthusiasm.

Just wanted to echo the sentiment that the Warstore was an important part of my history in the hobby, and I'm sad to see it go, even though I haven't dealt with them in maybe a decade.

There was a time when they were -- without a doubt -- the best place for Canadians to order GW products. I think most of my last remaining 40K army ('nids) came from them.

After the shopping card controversy, then an increase in shipping costs from both USPS and Canada Post, the savings from buying cross-border disappeared and I did my shopping elsewhere, but the Warstore was great for a few years in the 2000s. RIP.

I have probably purchased hundreds of dollars worth of minis from Neal & the Warstore. Having been ripped off badly by Newwave (now CMON, and a much better company), I was very hesitant to use online retailers. But Neal was always a great guy, and an amazing person to deal with. Very sad to see them close up shop, but even more sad that he was betrayed so horribly by those men whom he went out of his way to help. I'm glad they were caught, at least there's some Justice in that.

I'm sad to hear the news.

It's been a while since I placed an order through The War Store, but I never had a problem with the service. I'll always remember them as the place I went to get Reaper and Vallejo in the same spot, they had all the alternatives ready to go.

kenofyork wrote:
Found this link on another site- https://suffolktimes.timesreview.com/2017/12/sex-offenders-hired-through-church-program-allegedly-stole-from-southold-employer/

Seems he was betrayed by someone he tried to help. Not a good story at all.

Oh man, I'm so sorry to hear that . A loss and experience like that very likely contributed to the demise of the business...

Very sad to see this grand ol company close and sadder still to learn he was betrayed like this. I've ordered from them without incident since moving to the States 9 years ago.

.

Bah, sorry to see him close up shop. Somewhere in the past few years Miniature Market became my main shop, but I always found something at Neal's to buy, just the same.