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.

@ Chimera_Calvin: I knew that quote would become relevant sooner or later. It applies to so many situations. And indeed, just after that speech, Mario Savio and his fellow protesters retired to the university building they were occupying at the time, and partook of lessons, carrying on their education even when the institute they were part of would not. Thus it doubly applies here. Forget Games Workshop, there is a light and happy future beyond the evil empire, and it can still be grimdark if people want it to be.

redeyed wrote:"sighs" :(

I feel really sorry for you guys in Auz/elsewhere in the world

Give Warmachine/Hordes a go if you havent already. It's quite alot of fun (I recently got into it myself)

This. A million times this.

There are other companies. When you're unhappy with the one you go to most often, you defer to the one(s) next in line. I've picked up Hordes myself, and so far the rule system and prices have failed to disappoint me.

Only way people will be able to protest this move and the coming price rises in a way GW will listen is to not buy GW stuff even from independant retailers.
To those people in the southern hemisphere I really do see that the prices are stupidly high and see why so many have already said they won't be buying GW stuff any more. Stick to your guns and hopefuly the US and UK customers will follow suit and stop GW making money enough to notice that they've lost cutom with these price rises.
I doubt many gamers actually will stop buying though esp in the UK/US :(

It is happening, slowly, but people are moving away. GW picked a bad time to start raising the cost to ridiculous levels. People have little money already and many new wargaming companies have started to become real competition. GW's monopoly on the market is at its weakest.

Put it this way, I just went to Wayland games....with a virtual £20 in my "pocket".....I could have spent that money on increasing my DE army (which I'm now considering selling).....instead I bought the rules for Warmachine.....

I'm not affected by all this crap, cause I live in the U.K, but I can't support this direction....I can't.

I'm not bothered if GW does well, or collapses. I'm not going to send letters, or emails. I'm simply finished with them....full stop. I certainly won't be encouraging anyone else to use their products either, but I doubt that will harm them too much.

My only advice to people directly (or indirectly) affected, don't bulk buy, don't make hay while the sun shines, just stop and walk away....leave their fine cast crap on the shelf to rot, where it belongs. Instead, talk about Warmachine, Hordes, MERCS, Infinity.....promote other games and companies, organise clubs where there are none! ACT, take back YOUR hobby, take back your self respect as paying consumers...don't be dictated to by dicks that wouldn't driss on you if you were on fire.

In your own small way, each person can contribute to the downfall of the Evil Empire that is GW. They've turned your hobby into nothing more than a dagger in your wallet, that goes beyond business and into the realms of greed.

Or, ya'know, sell everything cheap and just find something else to do. Heck collecting Lego kits would work out cheaper in the long run... somehow.

Maelstrom franchises itself to the Southern Hemisphere

I'd be in on that!

Delephont wrote:My only advice to people directly (or indirectly) affected, don't bulk buy, don't make hay while the sun shines, just stop and walk away....leave their fine cast crap on the shelf to rot, where it belongs. Instead, talk about Warmachine, Hordes, MERCS, Infinity.....promote other games and companies, organise clubs where there are none! ACT, take back YOUR hobby, take back your self respect as paying consumers...don't be dictated to by dicks that wouldn't driss on you if you were on fire.

Meh, I'm too in love with the lore of 40k. So I'll instead just support FFG because they actually care about the lore.

Well this decision has finally given me the reason I need to start up flames of war. Or maybe look into Warmachine. And that makes me quite sad, as I've been playing 40k for 17+ yrs and Fantasy for around 10ish. I love the background, the stories and armies of both systems.

I already pretty much bought everything from Maelstrom because of NZ's ridiculous prices, now I won't even buy paint off them instore.

I just don't get why they don't want to hold onto customers and nurture the hobby, it seems very shortsighted to me.

From what I have read from other peoples post GW has always been losing customers and they are trying over the years to off set this by raising prices. I have no idea if this is true but if it is; it is a bubble that is going to burst.

Funnily enough I was reading a paper describing how management types score highly on the psychopath check list.

Well GW have officially announced that,

1, an international embargo.
2, announcements on new products a week before availability
3, confirmation of resin replacing metal
4, a massive price rise in June.

What i have been told the level of price rise in Australia could be massive up to 25% to 30% this is was told to me in confidence so i won't name my source.

But GW are to squeeze as much money out of Aussie consumers as they can, this is due to the strong Aussie dollar.

So what does that mean well in September 2008 i could pick up an Assault on Black Reach starter kit at GW for $95Au.

Now in May 2011 it is $150Au that is an overall price rise of 58% in three years.

Now add what i have been told of a worse case scenario of a 30% rise that makes Assault on Black Reach $195Au, a massive 105% price rise within 3 years.

That is why they brought in the embargo, not to protect GW Australia, it was brought in so that they can rip off Australians as hard as they can.

GW is morally bankrupt

NeoMaul wrote:A few posts in this thread have questioned whether it is legal for GW to do this. I am not an expert on this, but I have found some interesting information suggesting that it might not be legal.

GW and Maelstrom are in the UK and hence operate under the trade laws of the European Union. The general attitude of the European Union from what I can gather is that nothing should be allowed that will harm a members ability to trade freely within the EU and around the world.

http://ec.europa.eu/trade/tackling-unfair-trade/trade-barriers/

This website here says:

"Businesses can use the TBR to ask the European Commission to investigate restrictions on their sales abroad, discriminatory treatment in foreign markets, difficulty obtaining patents or licenses or any other form of unfair barrier to their export of goods or services."

Article 34 seems possibly related.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_movement_of_goods#Quantitative_restrictions_and_measures_having_equivalent_effect

Also it is interesting to me that wayland games hasn't made the announcement yet. Maybe they are investigating how legal it is.

Hopefully someone who has detailed understanding of these laws will come along and enlighten us.

Is there something we can do on the Australian end as well, Maybe the ACCC can investigate GW Aus for non-competitive selling practices (Just like the big 4 banks and coles/woolies)?

Achaylus72 wrote:Well GW have officially announced that,

1, an international embargo.
2, announcements on new products a week before availability
3, confirmation of resin replacing metal
4, a massive price rise in June.

What i have been told the level of price rise in Australia could be massive up to 25% to 30% this is was told to me in confidence so i won't name my source.

But GW are to squeeze as much money out of Aussie consumers as they can, this is due to the strong Aussie dollar.

So what does that mean well in September 2008 i could pick up an Assault on Black Reach starter kit at GW for $95Au.

Now in May 2011 it is $150Au that is an overall price rise of 58% in three years.

Now add what i have been told of a worse case scenario of a 30% rise that makes Assault on Black Reach $195Au, a massive 105% price rise within 3 years.

That is why they brought in the embargo, not to protect GW Australia, it was brought in so that they can rip off Australians as hard as they can.

GW is morally bankrupt

Great post. You've hit the nail on the head. At the end of the day, the embargo is not about protecting bricks and mortar stores and local clubs, it’s about maximising their profitability. Restricting cheaper online sales allows them to greater increase their revenue from regional markups.

I really dont see why everyone is surprised at this. Its unfortunate, but hardly shocking. Its also more common than you think.

Australians will remember the recent 'anti-online shopping' marketing by local australian retailers (like Harvey Norman), who were complaining that they could not compete with internet sales (due to strong aussie dollars, and rip off Aussie prices - thats right, GW is not the only company to screw the Australian market). Basically these companies were pleading for Government intervention to ensure Australians pay more.

Well, whilst Harvey Norman failed, GW is in a much stronger position to actually influence what happens, as they have the ability to restrict who they sell to.

And this isnt the only time this stuff happens. E-books are a classic example. In many instances e-books are not available through Australian i-tunes or amazon due to very similar 'territorial based' sales restrictions. These are often completely bizzare - My mother-in-law found she could buy the second and third e-books in a series, but the first book was blocked in OZ.

Ultimately, I can see this resulting in a secondary e-bay market, where clever Northern Hemisphere individuals buy stuff new from stores, and then sell to their ripped off Aussie friends. Indeed, clever individuals may be able to 'pre-sell' items - sell an item on ebay, get paid for it, then go and buy it and post it down.

It may be an option for clever dakkites looking to supplement their incomes...

AlexHolker wrote:

Ouze wrote:...don't organize boycotts... Vote with your dollars, and stop buying their stuff.

Make up your mind.

The important thing is that you and anyone else you can convince to boycott GW doesn't front-load their purchases, they stop, immediately, and they don't start again unless GW backs down.

Which part of that was unclear to you? Lets pretend you didn't intentionally cut out a small section of a much larger sentence ("Guys, don't write letters, don't organize boycotts, and don't send angry emails. Vote with your dollars, and stop buying their stuff.") and take it as you quoted it. Even presently as dishonestly as it was, there is no disconnect between those two thoughts.

Don't organize boycotts, vote with your dollars and stop buying their stuff. Emphasis was on the organizing. My point was all the nerdraging, internet petitions, angry posts, and such are irrelevant. They have shown before they they are immune to public sentiment, so simply stop buying their stuff. No need to even tell anyone.

I'm kind of lucky that I never ordered online. My friends and I have only ever bought locally, so we aren't getting this 100% price increase that some people feel like they're getting.

-Loki- wrote:I'm kind of lucky that I never ordered online. My friends and I have only ever bought locally, so we aren't getting this 100% price increase that some people feel like they're getting.

Or, conversly you never saw how much of a massive saving Maelstrom could give you....

I've been mulling this news for a few days. I've been tempted to do a big final buy using Maelstrom's generous sale, but I had a change of heart. Today I went to my local GW and ordered what will likely be my final GW purchase for a very long time - Hack Enslash, the BB star player, and the SM multagun pack for a squad of Chosen I have underway. I'll always have a soft spot for CSM and Daemons, but I'm not going to be treated like a lamb at the slaughterhouse, either.

I've been looking for a reason to buy minis from other companies without feeling guilty about not using the money to fill out my CSM army. This move to cut us off from Maelstrom and Wayland stinks, but it's also liberating. I think I might get some Dr Who minis, some zombie pirates, some westerns, and a bunch of 2000AD characters. The mini world is my oyster!

Aspiring Champion wrote:I've been mulling this news for a few days. I've been tempted to do a big final buy using Maelstrom's generous sale, but I had a change of heart. Today I went to my local GW and ordered what will likely be my final GW purchase for a very long time - Hack Enslash, the BB star player, and the SM multagun pack for a squad of Chosen I have underway. I'll always have a soft spot for CSM and Daemons, but I'm not going to be treated like a lamb at the slaughterhouse, either.

I've been looking for a reason to buy minis from other companies without feeling guilty about not using the money to fill out my CSM army. This move to cut us off from Maelstrom and Wayland stinks, but it's also liberating. I think I might get some Dr Who minis, some zombie pirates, some westerns, and a bunch of 2000AD characters. The mini world is my oyster!

I also was going to do a big buy. But then i thought, F*#K that. Instead ill put the money into starting up kings of war and/or battlefront and/or 40k roleplay.

-Loki- wrote:I'm kind of lucky that I never ordered online. My friends and I have only ever bought locally, so we aren't getting this 100% price increase that some people feel like they're getting.

Then you have never enjoyed the experience of buying 5 boxes of Chaos Space Marine 10 man Tactical Squads (including postage) online for $129.65Aus, where as you prefer to pay $310Aus for the same product, so you see i'd like to save $180.35 for the same product..

These were bought from EBay.

You've yet to say where...

Alastair78 wrote:

NeoMaul wrote:A few posts in this thread have questioned whether it is legal for GW to do this. I am not an expert on this, but I have found some interesting information suggesting that it might not be legal.

GW and Maelstrom are in the UK and hence operate under the trade laws of the European Union. The general attitude of the European Union from what I can gather is that nothing should be allowed that will harm a members ability to trade freely within the EU and around the world.

http://ec.europa.eu/trade/tackling-unfair-trade/trade-barriers/

This website here says:

"Businesses can use the TBR to ask the European Commission to investigate restrictions on their sales abroad, discriminatory treatment in foreign markets, difficulty obtaining patents or licenses or any other form of unfair barrier to their export of goods or services."

Article 34 seems possibly related.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_movement_of_goods#Quantitative_restrictions_and_measures_having_equivalent_effect

Also it is interesting to me that wayland games hasn't made the announcement yet. Maybe they are investigating how legal it is.

Hopefully someone who has detailed understanding of these laws will come along and enlighten us.

Is there something we can do on the Australian end as well, Maybe the ACCC can investigate GW Aus for non-competitive selling practices (Just like the big 4 banks and coles/woolies)?

And do what, what can the ACCC do, honestly, i know for a fact they can do diddly squat, SFA. How can they order a British Based business to begin to supplying British Indies and have them undercut GW Australia with cheap imports.

GW Australia is not guilty of non-competetitive selling practices, it would be guilty if they forced local indies to sell at one price and undercut them with cheaper local prices at GW Australian stores or their GW Australian online services, this would certainly gett the attention of the ACCC but they don't do that, this is a foreign matter and the ACCC has no power.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

H.B.M.C. wrote:You've yet to say where...

Go onto EBay and have a look, i can't do all the work.

I was toying with the idea of starting another 40k army'

Have a good CSM one and a great SM one, have a few final bits and pieces I still want for my SM which will pretty much get me to just about any force I want

However now I think it will be stopping with those two armies

Yeah its boring to always turn up to tournaments with the same armies

Get used to it

Achaylus72 wrote:Go onto EBay and have a look, i can't do all the work.

Is it an eBay Store? Was it some random seller? Surely you can look at your confirmation E-mails and find the guy's name...

Not being able to buy from Malestrom hurts... Games Workshop prices are just far too high already and with the price rise coming I fear I'll have to just go back to computer games instead...

I only got into 40k because I found Malestrom/wayland. I have walked into my FLGS (they where also a comic book store) a hundred times and always wanted to pick up and start 40k but I could never justify the expense.

Well, had a great game last night with my friends. 2x1500pts of GK vs 1500pts of daemons and 1500pts of IG. Ended a draw.

But the sad thing is, all of us came to the same conclusion. GW, as a hobby, is pretty time consuming. We invest time in building, painting and playing the models. Of course, they're great models. I think we were all on the brink of saying: "you know what, let's keep our armies as they are and keep playing with that".

Now, with what's coming, they just might have pushed us over. One of us hates working with resin. One's always a bit in-between jobs, so a few hundred dollars is a lot to him. I'm tired of waiting years for codices or FAQs.

Now, I know a lot of people say it's the younger kids that bring in the money to GW. Is there that much 14-24 years old with the means to buy 500-600$ worth of plastic soldiers (plus some paints and stuff. Let's assumed they torrent the rules)? Those same kids who already pay through the nose for the fancy cell phones and PS3 games and what not?

Oh well, maybe GW knows best after 25+ years of experience... As others have said, I've never bought so much from a company I hate so deeply.

Phil

I think prices on ebay will rise, as more people bid for the same bits/kits.
One of the knock on effects of GW polices

Remember:

The ONLY way to get your point across to GW is to NOT buy their stuff. If you want them to pay attention you CANNOT GIVE THEM MONEY.
Things you can't do:
-You can't say, "I'll only buy when I'm in X place."
-You can't 'finish up this army.'
-"Only buy what I really need now.'

Any money given to GW tells them that its okay to do this.

I know it's hard, and I know it sucks. But sadly that's the only way.

They don't care about rants, letters, petitions, the ONLY thing they care about is the monies.

Things you CAN do:
-Stay in the hobby! Don't quit, the Hobby needs you!
-Try new systems! This is a great time to support the 'little guys.'
-Look for alternatives to your minis.
-eBay!

And I'll be honest, I quit GW years ago when they did that whole 'split a command blister and charge the same for both sets' thing they were on to. However, I still bought their paints, some scenery, and a mini or two that I just had to paint.
But we've gotta stop this if we want to show them that this isn't okay.

-Ravyn

Well, if any of you Australians want to purchase a N.I.B Dark Eldar army, let me know....

My gaming group has put a hold (read stop) to all GW interaction. We can see what's on the horizon and we've all decided to get out.....another friend (non Dakkite) will be selling his W.I.P Tau, and yet another is dumping his CSM

To new horizons cheers