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This question was sparked off by the second web exclusive release with a single limited edition miniature coming in at a whopping £18. 6th edition seems to have limited edition releases all over the place.

Lots of the complaints against GW are about their prices. However, is the customer to blame? When Kirby looks at sales analysis, he will see that limited edition items seem to be really popular with customers [I'm making this assumption based on the fact that they are virtually always sold out]. GW is a business, and a business will always seek to charge the maximum they feek they can, based upon what looking at sales tells them. Mass consumption of limited edition products sends to KIrby two messages.

1. It leads to price increases across the board. GW can charge pretty much whatever they want, and we'll swallow it. It now just remains to be seen how far they can push this.

2. GW customers are prepared to pay a premium for very little extra return. Slapping a limited edition label on a product means that, in the case of codexes, they can charge double for an extra dust jacket and a number [also see reboxing of 5 models for large price increases, justified by inclusion of lots of options that you may never use].

So, we can moan about prices all we want, but are we to blame for buying limited edition products?

The prices were getting out of hand long before the glut of LE stuff happened. Go back 4-5 years and you'll see the same complaints on prices.

However, your main point stands: yes, we're to blame because we keep buying stuff at their prices.

Also: I'll be as excited as feth when my LE Forge World HH Book 3 box set arrives at my house! Happy birthday to me!

But see, that's an LE worth the price. A built in bookmark ribbon and a dustjacket is not worth doubling the cost of a codex.

I like my LE Space Marine, Defenders of Terra (SONS OF DORN!!!) and Chaos Daemons books, though.

I got my value for what I paid for those two. I still kick myself for not getting the LE Chaos Space Marines one, though.

And when the ork one comes out LE, you can bet I'll get it (just interested in the ones for my armies).

Price increases have been around for too long to bear any direct correlation to limited edition models or books. To me, these have just been a "free" source of bonus money for GW; that is, there is a relatively small cost for producing them, and they will sell eventually.

No, the price increases aren't the "fault" of any one group of GW consumers. The fact is that any company will sell a product at the highest margin possible for their market. If GW halved their prices tomorrow, would they double sales? Maybe, but then that wouldn't produce the same amount of profit, and would increase logistical overheads. In reality, they'd actually have to sell 3-4 times as much stock to make the same amount of profit.

Instead, GW bumps up prices so that more of our hobby dollars goes directly to their profits. If you spent $100 ten years ago, their margin might have only been $60, whereas it might be $85 now. You might get less for your money, but GW gets to keep more of it.

In the end, the only way for GW to really change its business model is if the margin stops exceeding the profit from a higher volume of sales. It could well happen.

I believe those who buy LE books are to a considerable degree responsible for the price increases.

GW isn't an evil entity or anything; they price their goods correspondingly to what *enough* people will pay. Even slight differences seem to warrant sales- I feel like it's a result of people wanting to have a better 40k than others. Better books, better models. It's a competitive mindset and GW is happy to take advantage of.

However this doesn't keep the other portion of customers from getting upset. Eventually only the most die-hard will buy things, and I suppose at that point GW will adjust prices to increase sales. We've seen this a little in the last few months IMO.

Are Limited Editions causing everything to become more expensive? No, they're causing GW to continue to flog limited edition items.

I personally blame GW's B&M for being the largest driving force on what is causing us to pay to much. The stores don't seem to really be doing much to help GW no matter how many they move or open. I wish they'd just close them and put that failing business model out of it's misery already and let FLGS take over flogging the product instead.

 -Loki- wrote:
But see, that's an LE worth the price. A built in bookmark ribbon and a dustjacket is not worth doubling the cost of a codex.

And yet, many of them sell - so obviously it is worth doubling the price to some people. Probably at a gross margin of 90-95%. Which means they'd only have to sell a relatively small number to break even, and the rest is money in the bank.

More than that, it raises our expectations for the value of GW products. You see a book selling for $160, and suddenly you don't feel so bad for spending $80 for what you see as the same thing.

Yes the fault lies with the customers to an extent.

I have no major objection to premium priced, limited run versions of stuff for those that want them, but while people keep buying them apparently indiscriminately like a nest of hungry baby birds with special needs, I suspect it will continue/get worse.

If people buy things because they're genuinely excited by the product, that's fine, as if enough feel the same way,that sends a message to GW that what they're doing is wanted by the consumer, but i am going to struggle to be nice to the next poster who, having seen the latest release for X army, says something along the lines of "ugh, that's fething awful, I'll probably only get two." Hello! McFly!

I still think the biggest rip off they've done lately is Macragge's Honor. That thing was a ridiculous price.

I dont think blaming 1 group of consumers for everyones pain here is right. To be fair, id lovve the LM CSM book. but i wont pay for that silly box set. and well how many people have been buying the expensive big kits? clearly enough because they keep making them...

 Cheexsta wrote:

 -Loki- wrote:
But see, that's an LE worth the price. A built in bookmark ribbon and a dustjacket is not worth doubling the cost of a codex.

And yet, many of them sell - so obviously it is worth doubling the price to some people. Probably at a gross margin of 90-95%. Which means they'd only have to sell a relatively small number to break even, and the rest is money in the bank.

More than that, it raises our expectations for the value of GW products. You see a book selling for $160, and suddenly you don't feel so bad for spending $80 for what you see as the same thing.

This - what I was getting at is that LE purchases drive the price increases across all GW products, and that GW can charge a lot more for very little extra.

My point is: Steady price increases were already happening and will continue to happen.