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I'll start with a disclaimer. I love minis, but I've kind of tuned out GW since they went all embargo on Australia a couple of years ago. My facts might be a bit askew, but I think you'll get the gist of what I'm saying.
Didn't GW claim (was it in the Chapterhouse lawsuit?) that they aren't a gaming company, they are a collectibles company? What could be more collectible than a Limited Edition? What could be better to prove that in future court cases than a number of sold out LE releases?
They just risk creating a greater market for people supplying models they have made it very clear they will not beyond a short limited run. The Chapterhouse case also showed how weak their IP protection is to things imitating their 'aesthetic', something so nebulous that it cannot be protected but which we know when we see it. Further, companies can be fairly safe stating that their products are 'compatible with warhammer product X', as long as it doesn't look like they are passing themselves off as making officially endorsed GW products. Something which no third party company does anyway.
Aspiring Champion wrote: Didn't GW claim (was it in the Chapterhouse lawsuit?) that they aren't a gaming company, they are a collectibles company? What could be more collectible than a Limited Edition? What could be better to prove that in future court cases than a number of sold out LE releases?
They did. There's more protections for sculptures than toys.
I think the LE thing is going to keep going because it's low effort/cost for them (cheaper moulds, single print runs) and they usually sell out pretty quickly (seemingly mostly to resellers).
They've been on quite a drive to reduce the number of different product codes in stores too, presumably because they are trying to downsize and are running out of shelf space.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
mechanicalhorizon wrote: The limited edition releases that always bothered me were the ones from Kingdom Death.
By the time I got the e-mail for the new models they would already be sold out.
I think maybe now that;s been corrected, but since I missed so many models I stopped trying.
At least in the Kingdom Death case I can understand why - it's a one man operation making incredibly detailed hand cast resin mini's with incredible quality control. He's genuinely limited in how many mini's he can cast without affecting quality, since it's probably 10+ minutes per mini plus curing time (1+ hour).
GW's LE mini's are injection moulded PVC, and is only limited by the mould strength and the number entered into the 'print' command, and can be banged out about 1 per second.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2015/04/13 10:11:36
I'm still curious as to whether or not this might mean a repackaged Aquila Strongpoint. It wouldn't be unprecedented for them to do something like repackaging a plastic boxed set, as they did it before with the Baneblade variants.
Email them / write to them / ring them, and tell them what you think of their policy.
Go direct, as I doubt GW store staff can feed back into the system.
I don't buy stuff when it first comes out, so I often miss out. But, they seem to be coming around, as the codex-specific tactics cards are being re-released, along with some other stuff.
I have gotten to the point of ignoring them. They are banking on their IP and the loyalty of the gaming community.
As cool as they are, they are not worth the hassle and ridiculous prices. There's always the budding third party companies, kickstarters, or making your own.
At least in my opinion, GW is shooting themselves in the foot with the level of exclusivity they seem to try to squeeze out of certain products.
Not to the point of ruining GW, but I think in the next couple of years, some companies are definitely gonna start swooping in, offering and cashing in on GW's silliness.
aw_man wrote: Not to the point of ruining GW, but I think in the next couple of years, some companies are definitely gonna start swooping in, offering and cashing in on GW's silliness.
I'd say that we are already seeing this happen and that is is slowly killing GW.
Mantic have had MASSIVE success with their not-BloodBowl, not-Necromunda and the like, taking swaths of market share that GW could easily have maintained if it simply invested a little in it's specialist games rather than let them wither and die for drawing attention away from 40k. GW's bleeding market share left right and center and eventually their (admittedly impressive) accounting skills won't be able to make up the losses. Practically every other major company on the market however seems to be seeing significant growth, almost certainly by taking it from GW.
Believe it or not selling to only 10 people when 20 are trying to give you money is not a viable business strategy
Fafnir wrote: Oh, I certainly vote with my dollar, but the problem is that that is not enough. The problem with the 'vote with your dollar' response is that it doesn't take into account why we're not buying the product. I want to enjoy 40k enough to buy back in. It was my introduction to traditional games, and there was a time when I enjoyed it very much. I want to buy 40k, but Gamesworkshop is doing their very best to push me away, and simply not buying their product won't tell them that.
WayneTheGame wrote: Also unless I'm mistaken usually preorders don't tend to count for actual stock. They're additional. So preorders will never reduce stock to zero before the release date. Yet all these things have been totally sold out on preorder alone.
Pre-orders won't count against stock shipping out to stores. But for a one-off release, they will account for all of the webstore stock, unless they pull some stock back from stores. And that does seem to happen... we've had a few stories over the last couple of years of stores not receiving their full order, or not receiving anything at all, on popular new releases.
It's worth noting that it is not unheard of for the stock levels allocated to GW stores to get reduced because of lack of preorders, and that stock to get reallocated to stores that did get preorders.
So you mean the people who ordered this product early were able to secure it? Also, the company made sure that people who preordered the product got the product over a store getting something for general release? For shame GW. You should know your customers are procrastinators and should therefore not fulfill someone who has paid for said product and instead make sure it gets to one of your shops so that someone like me can pick it up on a whim.
WayneTheGame wrote: Also unless I'm mistaken usually preorders don't tend to count for actual stock. They're additional. So preorders will never reduce stock to zero before the release date. Yet all these things have been totally sold out on preorder alone.
Pre-orders won't count against stock shipping out to stores. But for a one-off release, they will account for all of the webstore stock, unless they pull some stock back from stores. And that does seem to happen... we've had a few stories over the last couple of years of stores not receiving their full order, or not receiving anything at all, on popular new releases.
It's worth noting that it is not unheard of for the stock levels allocated to GW stores to get reduced because of lack of preorders, and that stock to get reallocated to stores that did get preorders.
So you mean the people who ordered this product early were able to secure it? Also, the company made sure that people who preordered the product got the product over a store getting something for general release? For shame GW. You should know your customers are procrastinators and should therefore not fulfill someone who has paid for said product and instead make sure it gets to one of your shops so that someone like me can pick it up on a whim.
I think he's saying GW changes stock allocation based off pre-orders, so areas that get a large number of pre-orders also get a larger amount of standard stock of those items.
My win rate while having my arms and legs tied behind by back while blindfolded and stuffed in a safe that is submerged underwater:
100%
So you mean the people who ordered this product early were able to secure it? Also, the company made sure that people who preordered the product got the product over a store getting something for general release? For shame GW. You should know your customers are procrastinators and should therefore not fulfill someone who has paid for said product and instead make sure it gets to one of your shops so that someone like me can pick it up on a whim.
I suspect you're reading a negativity into the posts you're responding to that isn't actually there. It was an explanation of the process, not a criticism.
boyd wrote: So you mean the people who ordered this product early were able to secure it? Also, the company made sure that people who preordered the product got the product over a store getting something for general release? For shame GW. You should know your customers are procrastinators and should therefore not fulfill someone who has paid for said product and instead make sure it gets to one of your shops so that someone like me can pick it up on a whim.
You do realize that the whole point of having a retail store and not just selling everything online is so that customers can come in and pick up something on a whim, right? If GW wants to set it up so that customers who shop in their stores have little or no chance of getting new releases then that devalues their own stores and increases the risk of independent stores deciding that if GW wants to take sales out of their store then carrying GW products isn't worth it anymore. If they aren't making enough of a new product to handle both preorders and store inventory then they need to increase the size of their production runs until they're meeting demand.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2015/04/19 22:18:31
There is no such thing as a hobby without politics. "Leave politics at the door" is itself a political statement, an endorsement of the status quo and an attempt to silence dissenting voices.
WayneTheGame wrote: Also unless I'm mistaken usually preorders don't tend to count for actual stock. They're additional. So preorders will never reduce stock to zero before the release date. Yet all these things have been totally sold out on preorder alone.
Pre-orders won't count against stock shipping out to stores. But for a one-off release, they will account for all of the webstore stock, unless they pull some stock back from stores. And that does seem to happen... we've had a few stories over the last couple of years of stores not receiving their full order, or not receiving anything at all, on popular new releases.
It's worth noting that it is not unheard of for the stock levels allocated to GW stores to get reduced because of lack of preorders, and that stock to get reallocated to stores that did get preorders.
So you mean the people who ordered this product early were able to secure it? Also, the company made sure that people who preordered the product got the product over a store getting something for general release? For shame GW. You should know your customers are procrastinators and should therefore not fulfill someone who has paid for said product and instead make sure it gets to one of your shops so that someone like me can pick it up on a whim.
I think he's saying GW changes stock allocation based off pre-orders, so areas that get a large number of pre-orders also get a larger amount of standard stock of those items.
So GW allocates inventory to places it expects to sell products? Not every GW store is equal. I would expect Orlando to get less than Baltimore or Chicago if only because they have more potential gamers.
boyd wrote: So you mean the people who ordered this product early were able to secure it? Also, the company made sure that people who preordered the product got the product over a store getting something for general release? For shame GW. You should know your customers are procrastinators and should therefore not fulfill someone who has paid for said product and instead make sure it gets to one of your shops so that someone like me can pick it up on a whim.
You do realize that the whole point of having a retail store and not just selling everything online is so that customers can come in and pick up something on a whim, right? If GW wants to set it up so that customers who shop in their stores have little or no chance of getting new releases then that devalues their own stores and increases the risk of independent stores deciding that if GW wants to take sales out of their store then carrying GW products isn't worth it anymore. If they aren't making enough of a new product to handle both preorders and store inventory then they need to increase the size of their production runs until they're meeting demand.
But if something was limited, why would you expect to be able to pick one up? If you're referencing a general release, yes it will be in stock at a later point in time. I wouldn't expect any store to always have every new thing in stock all the time. If you want something, order it and guarantee that you get it. Why would an independent shop be affected by GW Retail? They would be a third party - if they buy something, they are technically an end customer in GW's eyes. GW retail would be a related party and shuffling product around between their shops does not constitute a sale. They should be getting their product before/simultaneously if it was ordered timely. A FLGS would be responsible for selling the product - not GW. GW assists with selling the product by making the product desirable but the FLGS is responsible for fostering the gaming atmosphere and keeping you coming back. Their success is not tied to GW - most are actually tied to Magic: The Gathering as that usually is a FLGS's top seller.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2015/04/21 00:49:05
Limited models are a bummer - I likely would have started Malifaux long ago if I could have snagged the nightmare version of the Dreamer!
I can understand somewhat limited metal or resin... but limited injection molded plastic models just boggle my mind. As someone who has just paid for an injection mold (for the ModCube!) I can't imagine just retiring it after that huge upfront expense! I know GW are many orders of magnitude larger, but I feel like they would make all these initial sales anyway without making the model limited, and so are just limiting later sales.
I know they may also need to cut down on how many SKUs they have, but still, making a brand new injection mold for a sweet model and instantly selling out of it just doesn't seem like the way to go! From the consumer's or the business's perspective...
My question is this, though: Would GW have a legal leg to stand on if someone else released a model with a similar footprint, yet a look that was different enough and marketing that clearly identified it as "not a GW product?"
GamesWorkshop wrote: And I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids!
boyd wrote:
So GW allocates inventory to places it expects to sell products? Not every GW store is equal. I would expect Orlando to get less than Baltimore or Chicago if only because they have more potential gamers.
I think this bears repeating.
insaniak wrote:
I suspect you're reading a negativity into the posts you're responding to that isn't actually there. It was an explanation of the process, not a criticism.
My win rate while having my arms and legs tied behind by back while blindfolded and stuffed in a safe that is submerged underwater:
100%
We wrote: So I am seeing a ton of these on eBay, which tells me that people don't care about buying this so much as reselling it for a profit. What a joke.
Yeah, this seems to be the case with these things. If only people wouldn't buy them for their marked-up prices, then we could kill off the scalper market. But I suppose that's not just a problem with tabletop gaming...
We wrote: So I am seeing a ton of these on eBay, which tells me that people don't care about buying this so much as reselling it for a profit. What a joke.
Honestly, I am surprised there is such a low amount. I expected a lot more of them. IE: Sellers with stacks of ten.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2015/05/05 23:30:15
I have never been one to buy in (heh!) to the limited release thing. If I really want it I'll hunt for it when the time is right. That being said there are a few impulse buys I've made due to low stock on hand, but they weren't really limited releases. I love both the Warhammer IPs, but I cannot say I'm missing the GW headache.
"Death is my meat, terror my wine." - Unknown Dark Eldar Archon
Coldhatred wrote: I have never been one to buy in (heh!) to the limited release thing. If I really want it I'll hunt for it when the time is right. That being said there are a few impulse buys I've made due to low stock on hand, but they weren't really limited releases. I love both the Warhammer IPs, but I cannot say I'm missing the GW headache.
I bought two, I was going to make a gate. I like the design of this new tower, for a bastion. I use the guns elsewhere, like on my giant carrier project I have planned. That being said, I can't really justify anything else unless it is a limited book, which there are only two that interest me atm.
I kinda feel bad I'm had to sell my second tower now but, it's not like people can get them anymore. I guess YMMV, because for me I only buy what I like.
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