GW to order retailers to stop shipping to southern hemisphere...

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**Alphacerberus**

I dunno if this has alreayd been posted so don't be read to jump on me but i have already heard of why they are cutting their development to The US in perticular as it was let slip by a recent chat i had with a GW employee (not the local) who was at a meeting they are opening a new factory in the US and trying to market more stores and build a sturdier base of collectors over there so i don't think its all doom and gloom.

and if im wrong ill have to pop up to have another chat

**AvatarForm**

Placed my order with maelstrom today.

Looks like I will be rescuing crippled 2nd hand minis from eBay in future...

**severedblue**

AvatarForm wrote:Placed my order with maelstrom today.

Looks like I will be rescuing crippled 2nd hand minis from eBay in future...

Seconded.

Shadowsword8 wrote:Everything was easily 50, 60% more than their equivalents in US or european GW sites. Like that land raider at 106 AUD -> 111 USD.

Everyone does the rip off to us here in Oz; all the big clothing labels, electronic labels, books... check out the price difference of a Ralph Lauren polo between the US and Australia. That's why they restrict sales to the US from Ralph Lauren's webstore to US only , and you need to use a mail forwarder which costs extra.

Getting ripped off by the retailers is a very fashionable thing to do to the Australians. GW just wants in.

**Deepeyes**

severedblue wrote:

Getting ripped off by the retailers is a very fashionable thing to do to the Australians. GW just wants in.

And in NZ. It is criminal. Just ordered a bunch of goodies off ebay. Got some sweet bargains. Eh I'm still angry but I've made my last order from wayland and I have like 50+ marines and ~10 Vehicles to paint. I'm going to busy for a while and hopefully something will happen about this whole fiasco.

**H.B.M.C.**

From Maelstrom's latest newsletter:

Maelstrom - a co-called 'Internet Freeloader', if GW is to believed, wrote:Rest of the World Customers
The new Games Workshop terms and conditions take effect on the 30th of May, but as Monday is a bank holiday they take effect - in reality - on the 31st of May. Thus, Rest of the World customers still have from now until midnight (GMT) on the 30th of May to order your Games Workshop product from ourselves. Don't miss out!

Remember, too, that all Rest of the World customers need to do to take advantage of our service, prices and range is to a) make payment from within the EU and b) have their product delivered to anywhere in the EU.

As well as that, Rest of the World customers can still buy all the other products from our store!

They've also mentioned that Finecost will be up for pre-order soon.

**AvatarForm**

H.B.M.C. wrote:From Maelstrom's latest newsletter:

Maelstrom - a co-called 'Internet Freeloader', if GW is to believed, wrote:Rest of the World Customers
The new Games Workshop terms and conditions take effect on the 30th of May, but as Monday is a bank holiday they take effect - in reality - on the 31st of May. Thus, Rest of the World customers still have from now until midnight (GMT) on the 30th of May to order your Games Workshop product from ourselves. Don't miss out!

Remember, too, that all Rest of the World customers need to do to take advantage of our service, prices and range is to a) make payment from within the EU and b) have their product delivered to anywhere in the EU.

As well as that, Rest of the World customers can still buy all the other products from our store!

They've also mentioned that Finecost will be up for pre-order soon.

Exactly why I have 2 guys in my DnD (Skype) group working out the best way of handling this. They both live within driving distance of Wayland and Dark Sphere.

We figure, we need to organise a AUS distribution so that we can have at least fortnightly shipments to cut back on shipping from the UK.

Once this is sorted, the only additional cost will be the shipping, and this can be mitigated by spreading the load.

Roughly, one tactical squad ($55AUD) will only cost $38AUD with this system.

I know it is not the present Maelstrom/Wayland price, but it is the best option I can find at present.

Perhaps we can begin a thread to organise this.

Automatically Appended Next Post:
We are rpesently working on a solution for the current situation. Please direct your input here:
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/0/371626.page

**Aspiring Champion**

http://www.choice.com.au/media-and-news/consumer-news/news/retail-inquiry-submission.aspx

CHOICE weighs in on retail inquiry

By now the fact that Australians pay a lot more for a wide range of products than shoppers in the US, UK or Asia is not news to most consumers. But when this continues to be the case despite the Aussie dollar reaching parity with the US greenback last October and hitting $1.10 earlier this month, it’s time to take a closer look.

The Productivity Commission (PC) is doing just that with its inquiry into the retail sector and will report its findings in November. In our Submission to the Productivity Commission, lodged today, CHOICE calls on importers, distributors and retailers to pass some of the savings they are enjoying thanks to the strong Aussie dollar on to Australian consumers. We are already seeing the results of their failing to do so – a massive uptick in Australian consumers shopping on overseas websites.

Who can blame them when Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 games, for instance, cost 91% more from a major Australian online retailer than from an overseas online website based in Asia? Or when a pair of Nike running shoes cost $240 at a major Australian sports retailer while the same product can be bought online for $134 from a US sports store?

Digital disparity

The disparity when it comes to digital goods is even more jarring. For example, the top 12 music albums recently cost, on average, 73% more on the Australian iTunes store than the US iTunes store. What’s worse, some companies use technologies that block international IP addresses and push consumers to ‘local’ websites, even though parallel importing is legal in many cases.

CHOICE director of campaigns and communications, Christopher Zinn, says the explosion in overseas online shopping is an overdue comeuppance for Australian retail as a whole.

“The pressure from overseas online competition is a much needed wake up for Australian retailers to be more competitive. We need to move beyond a complacent culture of high prices, high margins and poor service,” says Mr Zinn.

He adds that the price differential runs from white goods to motorcycles to TVs and many points in between. “It’s up to those in the supply chain here in Australia to justify why this is the case. Importers and retailers should not cry foul if consumers chase better prices, wherever they may be.”

Red herring

The retail industry’s argument that the overseas online boom is the result of the GST-free threshold for products under a $1000 does not hold up to the facts. Simply put, adding 10% to the cost of a product that is 91% cheaper is not an effective deterrent. CHOICE argues that this is a distraction from the real issue of excessive mark-ups and challenges the industry to offer realistic explanations on why prices are so high or – better yet – begin offering better deals for Australian consumers. The imposition of a GST on overseas purchases will not make the threat of far better deals overseas go away.

Stayed tuned for a full investigation in the July issue of CHOICE magazine.

It's probably too late to bring up the issue of mini pricing to Choice now that they've already made their submission, but it's good there's someone looking into this.

**H.B.M.C.**

Any mention of higher wages being a factor in their submission/article/report?

**CadianCommander**

Nope, nothing. At least not when I ran my eyes over the article late last night after someone posted it on GW's FB.

I'd be curious to see what would happen (if anything) if someone alerted a finance journalist to the GW situation... Actual bad press might make GW stop thinking this is just nerd-rage that'll go away and everything will go back to normal in a month or two.

**Aspiring Champion**

This looks to be the enquiry referenced.

http://www.pc.gov.au/projects/inquiry/retail-industry

I always seem to find out about these things after the fact - submissions closed on 20th May.

**AvatarForm**

CHOICE, alike the ACCC is as effective as a toothless chihuahua in most cases.

**xxvaderxx**

People please, DO NOT work a solution for this, make a bulk purchase this week and make it last 2 years, the only way GW will get the message across is delivering it with a SHARP drop in sales. They have lost nearly 20% of their customer base since 2005, no matter what they say, they cant keep this up for long.

**HoverBoy**

This change may have no effect here in Bulgaria but i stongly disagree with GW's (not so) recent behaviour pattern, in fact i changed my sig to match.

**Lord Castellan Mik**

I'm lucky to be able to ride out the price rises and general GW stupidity, however, I think it's criminal that we cannot buy from where we wish.

A sale is a sale for GW

If they want to protect their own GW retail sales figures... sorry, insert Hobby Centre interested newbie numbers, coz they don't give a stuff about Indies (anywhere in the world)... WE in the land of OZ downunder, wish to still play the game, so we all buy from the frozen north via UK friends or the 'plastic underground' to cripple Australian GW shop sales

The Indies get more sales from newbies, we get what we want, GW get an overall sale... they can pull out of OZ if they can't take it locally

win / win... for us

Mik

**Pacific**

I'm not sure if anyone else has posted this here, but a very interesting post on the forum 'The 5th Column'

Don't read if you already have high blood pressure..

http://wolftemplars.blogspot.com/2011/05/update-on-gw-price-and-embargo.html

I look at it and (if it's real) wonder what the hell is going on! :(

**CadianCommander**

That response was almost identical to the open letter my friend send which I posted here:

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/210/370382.page#2844750

**Vimes**

xxvaderxx wrote:People please, DO NOT work a solution for this, make a bulk purchase this week and make it last 2 years, the only way GW will get the message across is delivering it with a SHARP drop in sales. They have lost nearly 20% of their customer base since 2005, no matter what they say, they cant keep this up for long.

Making a bulk panic-purchase is about as bad as using a work around. Better use the work around to show them that the embargo did not work.
The only real way to show SOMETHING is actually stopping buying GW stuff. Now. Cold Turkey.

While you are correct that only a sharp drop in sales will show them that somethings wrong, a sudden surge of purchses just beforehand will show them that bad news may result in a huge spike in panic induced purchases.
As you have said, GW is losing customers for some while now. That won´t change anytime soon either (especially not since the "next big thing" with those models of "never seen before detail level" turned out to have a sizeable number of bad miscasts and airbubbles). And increase in the speed they´re loosing customers might show them something. A sudden surge just beforehand will only show them "Hey, sales increased just beforehand. Later they began to fall again, but we know that allready. Let´s do something like this again."

**Asuron**

severedblue wrote:First I acknowledge that this is 4th hand information.

Maybe Australian law cannot change a trade embargo in Europe, but if there is an attack on independents of this kind and it can be proven, "price fixing" is a serious crime in Australia and the authorities will investigate. GW cannot dictate what price the independent retailers sell at especially since they are also in the retail space. My FLGS sells his stock at 10% flat below GW retail prices, that's one reason I support him.

Speaking to a GW manager yesterday
- according to him they were told that 'southern hemisphere embargo' is just the start of a concerted attack on independents. Next they will be trying to enforce independents selling GW at full rrp
- independents undercutting them means this store will have to close

If they do try this, I am almost certain the ACCC can take action and even if they didn't one lawsuit would quickly put an end to it
Every retailer, quite literally, would have to do absolutely nothing for this to be enforced

I normally wouldn't lend credence to this type of stuff, but after the embargo i think they may just be stupid enough to do this

**Temujin**

Vimes wrote:Making a bulk panic-purchase is about as bad as using a work around. Better use the work around to show them that the embargo did not work.
The only real way to show SOMETHING is actually stopping buying GW stuff. Now. Cold Turkey.

I agree. I almost did a final splurge before I was cut off from Maelstrom, but I managed to hold back. GW will not see one more penny (or yen for that matter) from until they are broken of this demented anti-customer attitude. I love the IP too much to support its horrible mismanagement under the current owners. I can only hope that enough people take a similar approach to bring down GW and free the IP up for someone sane to buy it. I am however resigned to the fact that I may simply have to abandon a hobby that I just recently got back into.

**LunaHound**

Bulk panic purchase evens out the ones none buying protests.
Thats why GW wont feel the pinch of dissatisfied customers.

:'< i is guilty

**black-rabbit**

severedblue wrote:First I acknowledge that this is 4th hand information.

Maybe Australian law cannot change a trade embargo in Europe, but if there is an attack on independents of this kind and it can be proven, "price fixing" is a serious crime in Australia and the authorities will investigate. GW cannot dictate what price the independent retailers sell at especially since they are also in the retail space. My FLGS sells his stock at 10% flat below GW retail prices, that's one reason I support him.

The issue of price fixing and GW dictating what price a retailer must sell at are slightly different.

For it to be considered price fixing, there would have to be a unanimous, secret decision between several retailers to sell at a fixed price.

GW is well within their rights to force a retailer to sell their product at a particular price in return for being able to stock said product.

I don't like it, and it's poor form, but sadly there's nothing illegal about doing it. It's the exact same way that apple do business.

**AlexHolker**

black-rabbit wrote:GW is well within their rights to force a retailer to sell their product at a particular price in return for being able to stock said product.

It's called resale price fixing, and it is against the law.

**xxvaderxx**

Lol, i love how a guy sitting in an office in London, is telling a multiple tournament organizer, half way around the world, that he is mistaken and reality is not how he perceives it on the other side of the globe. Kind of an Hydrophobic telling a multiple Olympic swim champion that he is swimming wrong...

**Seriphis**

They've also mentioned that Finecost will be up for pre-order soon.

I probably account for about 1/8th of the finecast allocation to maelstrom in the first round...

almost bought one of everything... n this will be my last purchase of GW for around a year at my estimation

GW is well within their rights to force a retailer to sell their product at a particular price in return for being able to stock said product.

I don't like it, and it's poor form, but sadly there's nothing illegal about doing it. It's the exact same way that apple do business.

As Alex has already said, this is illegal practice in australia, the ACCC would come down on that like a sack of potatoes.

Have a look at their quarterly reports, you'll see the reason why they're doing it... GW australia is currently operating at a loss, compared to 2 years ago where it was operating at a significant profit (at least compared to how much of a loss).

Restrict the sales from alternative means forces you into their stores, means their numbers will increase cause theres no alternative.

**H.B.M.C.**

It’s been a fun ride kids, but GW’s insane embargo kicks in tonight (overnight for us in the Southern Hemisphere).

The real test of just how much bs GW is full of remains to be seen though. Everyone check on Wednesday to see if they can order from GWUK or GWUS still.

**xxvaderxx**

H.B.M.C. wrote:It’s been a fun ride kids, but GW’s insane embargo kicks in tonight (overnight for us in the Southern Hemisphere).

The real test of just how much bs GW is full of remains to be seen though. Everyone check on Wednesday to see if they can order from GWUK or GWUS still.

Even if i could, i would rather pay the same price on Ebay.

**H.B.M.C.**

And some news from Wayland:

28/5/2011

We have closed the store for a couple of days whilst we make some updates.

Lots of new products being added. And the GW price changes being applied.

We should be back open late Sunday the 29th.

So please look out for Scibor, Ex-illis and Finecast on the store plus a new category that may be of particular interest to our customers outside the EU ;o)

*snip links*

If you have a query about an existing order, please contact our helpdesk on the address below. If we could however ask you to refrain where possible from raising tickets chasing orders it would not only be greatly appreciated but it would go a long way towards expediting orders through the backlog which has been created by an unprecedented level of orders as a result of the terms changes and the price rises.

http://support.waylandgames.co.uk

Thank you for your understanding and your loyal custom, we'll be back as soon as we possibly can be!

**insaniak**

It occurs to me that another potential way around the 'embargo' is for online retailers to offer second-hand miniatures.

It should only be the stuff bought directly from GW that is covered by the trade agreements. What happens after the stock is 'sold' and subsequently 're-purchased second hand' or 'written off for store display stock' is none of GW's business...

**H.B.M.C.**

I thought of that - get in new stock. Open all the stock. Now the stock cannot be re-boxed/re-sealed and therefore cannot be sold normally. It is now '2nd hand'.

So sell it anywhere.

Bit sneaky though, and it would be a strange for someone to order 2nd hand models that aren't in stock, then suddenly they are when Maelstrom (or whoever) gets their latest shipment of new stock.

**insaniak**

Yeah, I rather suspect that as fun as it sounds, GW wouldn't allow it... While they can't necessarily dictate terms to stop it, they can just choose to stop supplying.