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So I've stuck myself in a bit of a pickle, an unnamed online retailer has been giving me the go around all week and I'm wondering if the slight discount is worth the extra hassle. Warning, this may get ranty...

So GW charges an arm and a leg but have you seen Ebay recently? My god it's like GW runs the place! You can get a box of Nobz on the GW site for $30 CDN, go online and that exact same box is only $2.00 cheaper in the best cases. Most times however you will be paying retail or more for your toys and it's kind of crazy. I was giving Lombardo gak the other day because he wanted cheap minis, and well now I guess we're in the same boat hey buddy? Except I'm paying like new prices for NOS! I thought there was supposed to be a discount!

I mean hell, I've been waiting since Monday for a bloody tracking number, I've had to pay NSF charges because said unnamed retailer couldn't be bothered to check their email during regular business hours. Now I'm fighting with Paypal, the bank, and some shmuck who doesn't think he has a responsibility to respond to emails in a timely fashion. So here I am with a Stormtalon which I have no idea if it`s even shipped yet because retailer won`t be answering his emails until 10pm, that cost me as much as a fething Stormraven, and it's probably going to arrive damaged, just like the last two orders!! The thing of it is, this retailer had plenty of warning that I would be emailing him, we conversed, statements were made and understood by both parties. Come Monday I send my email off bright and early, thinking we can sort our issue out by that afternoon, but oh no!

I hope no one minds that I proxy my Stormtalon (if it ever gets here in one piece!) as a Stormraven. I mean, after all I ended up paying for one!

ps: If you want to avoid the hassle too PM me and I'll tell you which retailer you should be avoiding.

Mind you, 10pm could roll around tonight and retailer could decide to not be a total jerk and give me a discount on my order, but I doubt it.

Anyways, what are your guys experience with online shopping and where do you do it? I'm in Canada so a lot of the good places like GiftsforGeeks is not able to ship to me. Should I bite the bullet and go through GW? Expensive as hell, but you're guaranteed to get your stuff on time, sort of, at least GW ships with more regularity than most ebay users, barring things like secular holidays. Or should I simply wait until I can go to an actual FLGS? Where I'm moving there is like 20, but can the shops get you good deals or are they bound by the GW policy of barrel bending?

For me it works like this: if the store is in my community I will always support it (even at a slightly higher cost) OR if the store has gaming tables (which means it supports the community) I will support them.

But when all else fails I reach for the internet retailers like TheWarStore for example.

GW has good customer service and from my experience once and from my pals who have had similar experience, if there are defects, they will usually send you a new one. But my problem kit was finecast. You may not have much problems with the plastic kits.

Still, I've also had this experience with one other miniature company. There were bubbles which destroyed the details so I was sent a new one as well. But that was through their site. So GW are not the only ones with good customer service.

If you're moving to an FLGS soon, you should probably get it from the shops. Anything through the mail may be more hassle than its worth. If the hassle is worth the saving, I'd say get it. If it $2, I might just pay the difference for one less potential headache.

if you ordered from totalwargamer, you wont be seeing your stuff for the next 3 months.

...if youre lucky

I haven't bought a GW model in a retail store, it's all been online. You should be getting 20% discount or more from a decent online seller. Discount Games Store in the US is a great place for Canadians and Aussies to get around the ridiculous regional pricing GW charge. They were discussed in this thread, my post from there:

 Yonan wrote:
Discount Games Store is great, especially for Aussies and I hear for Canadians too since we both get screwed by regional pricing. I've never heard of a problem with them that wasn't resolved. Their prices are half Aussie RRP, they have good shipping rates and fast turn around of orders. Check their facebook page for army deals that have an additional ~6% off their usual ~25% off US RRP. Works out to less than half Aussie RRP, so I've bought from them a number of times, all transactions have been great.

Due to dodgy GW sale terms, you have to email them for their price lists rather than use an online store. You can buy off them through ebay, but it costs more due to ebay fees.

Edit: Adding info
DGS Ebay Store - costs more from here due to ebay fees.
DGS Web Store - Haven't used this, but seems to be their cheaper prices from email.
DGS facebook page - They're pretty active here, this post shows their currently active "army deals".
DGS Twitter - They don't use this as much as facebook.
Email: docdiscountgames . A.Y.T. gmail com

Email them asking for their price list, they send it to you, you reply with what you want, they send you a paypal invoice, you pay and receive your loot (2-3 weeks later for Aussies).

My flgs gives me 10% off retail and 15% off preorders, which as I understand is a pretty normal discount...other shops might give you even more than that I suppose, especially if they have local competitors.

I have kind of a ~$10 rule...if I can get the stuff for about $10 cheaper after shipping online, I'll call the flgs and ask if he's willing to match that price, and if not, I'll do the deal online...which has only happened 2 or 3 times so far, IIRC, because the particular deals I'd found must've been blowouts or something.

 Yonan wrote:
I haven't bought a GW model in a retail store, it's all been online. You should be getting 20% discount or more from a decent online seller. Discount Games Store in the US is a great place for Canadians and Aussies to get around the ridiculous regional pricing GW charge. They were discussed in this thread, my post from there:

 Yonan wrote:
Discount Games Store is great, especially for Aussies and I hear for Canadians too since we both get screwed by regional pricing. I've never heard of a problem with them that wasn't resolved. Their prices are half Aussie RRP, they have good shipping rates and fast turn around of orders. Check their facebook page for army deals that have an additional ~6% off their usual ~25% off US RRP. Works out to less than half Aussie RRP, so I've bought from them a number of times, all transactions have been great.

Due to dodgy GW sale terms, you have to email them for their price lists rather than use an online store. You can buy off them through ebay, but it costs more due to ebay fees.

Edit: Adding info
DGS Ebay Store - costs more from here due to ebay fees.
DGS Web Store - Haven't used this, but seems to be their cheaper prices from email.
DGS facebook page - They're pretty active here, this post shows their currently active "army deals".
DGS Twitter - They don't use this as much as facebook.
Email: docdiscountgames . A.Y.T. gmail com

Email them asking for their price list, they send it to you, you reply with what you want, they send you a paypal invoice, you pay and receive your loot (2-3 weeks later for Aussies).

Yeah... hmmm what to say that is not completely not nice. Not to you poster, but about the situation!

Quick update!

There are no updates. I had a brief email conversation with the retailer and got a small measure of satisfaction from them. So yeah they did try.

But now we're back to the same old song and dance. I asked them about the status of my order and also placed a new order. That was what? Tuesday? Still nothing but crickets.

No invoice on paypal, no emails, no contact of any sort.

Makes me wonder if I should cancel the Stormtalon, forget about the new order and save my money for whatever lucky FLGS happens to fall under the pall of my shadow...

What part of Canada are you from? If in Ontario, there is great stores to go to and order from if you can't get there.

.

So, remember that Stormtalon? The one that cost as much as a Stormraven? Yeah well it only cost me $45, except now I don't get the model.

Apparently when something goes out of stock the thing to do is not tell anyone!

So screw online retailers, and heaven help whomever has to sell me these things in person...

If I can find the models I want for 50% or less of retail, I will buy online. Anymore than that, and I would rather pay the extra to support my local store. Of course, if the models in question are out of print, that guideline goes up in smoke, since my local store couldn't get them for me anyway.

eBay is quite expensive for some countries.
Those Nobz are around 34 CAD in my country, which means that 28 is quite a discount.

I don't have a local store in which I play, all matches are played at someones house.
And online stores give me a 20% discount so I always order my products from them.
Additional benefits are that they usually have everything I want, opposed to the stores.

Special Characters, especially for my BA, are my only reason to go to a store. They never have those online.

If the base cost and shipping add up to almost the retail cost (Which is VERY common on ebay) then I'll just buy local.

 TheCustomLime wrote:
If the base cost and shipping add up to almost the retail cost (Which is VERY common on ebay) then I'll just buy local.

That is why I don't bother with Ebay. Most times shipping is like $10+ so the savings is not there.

darkcloak wrote:

and also placed a new order.

Really..? This makes it really hard for me to feel sorry for you. I am honestly astounded.

If you have a really poor experience, the last thing you should be doing is giving them more money.

Vrashnar wrote:

darkcloak wrote:

and also placed a new order.

Really..? This makes it really hard for me to feel sorry for you. I am honestly astounded.

If you have a really poor experience, the last thing you should be doing is giving them more money.

Well based on reviews of the retailer from other sites and dakka, I felt like maybe it was worth another shot. People get frazzled at work and sometimes things get mixed up so I was willing to forgive. Especially since a discount was offered. As I stated earlier though, I think my dealing with online retailers in done.

Now bitz, that's another matter. There are a few good ebay stores out there for that!

I'm actually lucky enough to personally be friends with the owner of a FLGS and I try to go there when I can (even though its a 15 mile drive from me) some of the other places closer to me don't really do a discount for GW stuff which is a little disappointing.
Most of the time though I'll shop around for second hand models either through Ebay or Dakka, strip, repaint and repurpose them, but if I ever need something NIB I'll make the drive to downtown Denver, as much as I loath that area.

I've bought 30 boyz and 10 grots for 30$ + 20$ postage on ebay. And that's postage to Russia that's 4 times more expensive than any other postage except for Australia. It's still 2 times cheaper than from GW site (before delivery cost) + there are problems with delivery to Russia. There are also some chinese online stores where the same stuff is 1.5 times cheaper than GW + delivery allready included in price. Yep, i understand that it's piracy and stuff but...how much do those new big gunz cost? FOR REAL?!

I use REDACTED. It has really cheap models and isn't that hard to do.

DakkaDakka is not the place to advertise illegal recasters. Thanks! ~ the staff

I'm sorry to hear you've had so many issues. Personally, I always try to support my FLGS whenever possible. If they have what I want on the shelf, I'll buy it there even without a discount.

I've been lucky that I've had good luck with Ebay, but I've not tried ordering though a 3rd party website.

I tend to buy everything from my FLGS even though they charge full retail with only a 10% discount over £30.

I could save a heap online but I like the store, like the owners and like putting my cash in their till.

Always make your purchases from a local store, specifically the local store(s) you play at. On-line purchases do not support your local economy, and playing with on-line bought product at your local store is effectively stealing that store's time and space.

Yes, on-line retailers offer great deals on an expensive game, which are hard to pass up ... until your local gaming stores close down due to lack of business, and you are left playing with an ever shrinking gaming group that meets to play irregularly at someone's house.

By playing at local venues, buying from local venues, and ignoring on-line retailers, you build a stronger local gaming community and everyone wins.

On-line retailers should always be your last resort to get items you want that are unavailable in your local area.

SJ

 jeffersonian000 wrote:
you are left playing with an ever shrinking gaming group that meets to play irregularly at someone's house.

With the advent of the internet, stores are not necessary for finding players. I much prefer to play at my or someone elses house or a rented club room, so paying extra in an already expensive hobby to support an inefficient local business is not going to happen. Far from shrinking, thanks to a good online scene and active club presence the local playerbase is growing.

OP is also Canadian, who like Aussies suffer from regional pricing - something highly detrimental to "the local community". That practice should be discouraged wherever possible so if you're going to buy 40k, buy it from the US.

 Yonan wrote:

 jeffersonian000 wrote:
you are left playing with an ever shrinking gaming group that meets to play irregularly at someone's house.

With the advent of the internet, stores are not necessary for finding players. I much prefer to play at my or someone elses house or a rented club room, so paying extra in an already expensive hobby to support an inefficient local business is not going to happen. Far from shrinking, thanks to a good online scene and active club presence the local playerbase is growing.

OP is also Canadian, who like Aussies suffer from regional pricing - something highly detrimental to "the local community". That practice should be discouraged wherever possible so if you're going to buy 40k, buy it from the US.

This in no way refutes the point that sending your money out of your local area is harmful to your local enconomy. When businesses close, and job are gone, all you will have left is on-line purchasing and waiting for your groceries to get mailed to you. Just say'n.

SJ

I look forward to the day where all the inefficiencies are cut from the economy and it adjusts to a post-scarcity model.

Edit - never mind. It's all been said before.

 insaniak wrote:
If the store offers gaming space with no payment or purchase required, the customer is under no obligation to buy from them.

Agreed, I'm more than happy to pay for what I use. Guilting people into spending 30% more on a $1K purchase so you let them use your tables... no thanks. I'll pay by the hour if I want to play there - or as I *actually* do, play at peoples houses and club rooms. No pressure to buy, no annoying people around, no one stealing your stuff (I'm looking at you, magic at a store during high school). Bar fridge close at hand... ; )

Edited by Manchu

DakkaDakka is not the place to advertise illegal recasters. Thanks ~ the Staff

Pretty much always online for me. My only local store closed down last weekend only a week or so after I discovered them, which is a shame as I was looking forward to joining a new gaming group, and having a local supplier that I would have paid the extra to support.

The only time I'll generally buy stuff in store is if it's under £13 or so, at which point the discount online (after shipping) is marginal at best.