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Supply Side Economics of Injection Molding: The "Why" For So Much of What GW Does That Confuses You  [RSS] Share on facebook Share on Twitter Submit to Reddit
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Made in us
Shadowy Grot Kommittee Memba






Please note, before we begin: This is not a Games Workshop apologism thread. This is not me defending the gakky, gakky practices GW engages in, this is just intended to help you, the hapless consumer, understand a few of the things that this sometimes very baffling-seeming company gets up to.

Bundle box sets instead of sales. Limited edition FOMO everything. No discounts from Games Workshop directly, but discounts from 3rd party retailers. A one-faction-at-a-time codex release structure for both flagship games that often seems purposefully imbalanced.

Generally, the explanation for most of these practices ranges from a general "I dunno, money" to the more emotional accusations of malicious/evil intent. But let's talk about some supply-side economics for a minute.

Injection molding machines, the large industrial machines that games workshop uses to create the lion's share of their products, are very very good at making the same exact sprue, very fast. So fast, that you can probably measure every second of downtime of one of those machines in in dollars of revenue lost - because as many astute people have pointed out over the years, they are capable of transforming a couple of cents MAYBE of liquified plastic into 60$ of sweet, sweet space marines in just a couple of seconds.

Because strangely the free market seems uninterested in investing in its own infrastructure, for years now Games Workshop has actually maxed out the power grid in Nottingham UK. They cannot add more production lines and more machines without the factory causing brownouts (not to be confused with the kind of brownouts you get when you explode the sewer system).

I would estimate based on my own industrial injection molding experience, theyve got enough machines to run roughly twenty kits at any given time. I have to say Roughly, because obviously the number of sprues that go into a kit vary - you may need to have two machines running in parallel to run an imperial knight, while you may have a small character tied in to the production of an elite unit sprue because you've got extra space on one machine, more on that later. The finished sprue is then cut into multiple pieces (You can see when you look at a kit where the sprues were originally joined together) and then packaged and shrinkwrapped.

Even if you have a highly skilled workforce, which I don't doubt they do, changing over a machine from producing one sprue to producing another gives up a ton of revenue. Therefore, the number one way for games workshop to increase their revenue is to, as perfectly as they can, EXACTLY predict what sprues people will be buying, when. If a xenos mind-control ray went out to gw's whole consumer base all at once and forced them to buy exactly the same amounts of every kit GW has on offer every month, GW's revenue would absolutely plummet.

So, with that in mind, here are the answers to a lot of GW's strange business practices (or rather, the one answer, reworded)

1) Why does GW release only one faction at a time? And why are the games so imbalanced?

-Because GW's actual preferred level of balance is 'just imbalanced enough to make people always want to buy the kits from a faction when that faction receives a new book, but not quite imbalanced enough that we receive bad PR.' Right now, you can bet your ass that most of GW's production lines that are still producing stock for the current release cycle are producing Custodes, Genestealer Cultists, and whatever Age of Sigmar book's units are coming out next.

2) What's with the FOMO releases? Especially those boxed games that are limited, WTF, why can't they just go back and make more Cursed City?

-Because a box set probably requires a significant fraction of their assembly line to produce. GW probably has a few machines that are dedicated to producing new stock for whatever is currently out of stock, but the rest are going to be dedicated to whatever is next in the release schedule. They could go back and try to better hit the remaining demand for products from, for example, Cursed City, but it's most likely a surer bet to just continue to let the release train roll and have those machines pumping out whatever the next big launch is going to be.

3) GW doesnt do discounts or sales direct - but I can buy stuff from third party retailers for a discount? What gives? Why would gw do this?

-A third party retailer is a captive audience. Fun fact: Third party retailers dont actually choose what they get to stock from Games Workshop. They have a set list of kits that they get as part of their package, which corresponds to the amount of space in their shop they set aside for Games Workshop products. They can request to replace a kit if they sell one, but in order to get something from the catalog, they get a much, much lower seller's discount on that item. It's actually way more profitable for Games Workshop to be able to sell 10000x of one kit for 40% less than MSRP than it is to sell 10,000 random kits for full MSRP, because of the machine downtime.

4) GW's prices seem insane - and not just insanely HIGH either. Why are 5 howling banshees on 1.5 sprues with no options almost the same price as, say, 5 Blood Knights released right at the same time, with options on the sprues, and 3 sprues in the kit?

-GW's full MSRP is just another way to control demand. In the case of Howling Banshees in particular, if you had me guess, I'd say that for every howling banshee kit that games workshop produces, they must ALSO produce 1x Jain Zar kit. In order to keep jain zar's from piling up in stock, Howling Banshees are priced artificially high (and included in as many bundles together as they can get away with) so that people dont buy Howling Banshees and Jain at like a 4:1 purchase ratio.

Anyway, just thought that would be an interesting bit of conversation, since even most people who rightfully call out GW's nasty business practices so often do not understand the underlying "WHY' and just chalk it all up to sheer meaningless greed. However, if GW could produce unlimited numbers of any warhammer kits they wanted, theyd probably just operate like every other normal business does that's also motivated by sheer meaningless greed.




"Got you, Yugi! Your Rubric Marines can't fall back because I have declared the tertiary kaptaris ka'tah stance two, after the secondary dacatarai ka'tah last turn!"

"So you think, Kaiba! I declared my Thousand Sons the cult of Duplicity, which means all my psykers have access to the Sorcerous Facade power! Furthermore I will spend 8 Cabal Points to invoke Cabbalistic Focus, causing the rubrics to appear behind your custodes! The Vengeance for the Wronged and Sorcerous Fullisade stratagems along with the Malefic Maelstrom infernal pact evoked earlier in the command phase allows me to double their firepower, letting me wound on 2s and 3s!"

"you think it is you who has gotten me, yugi, but it is I who have gotten you! I declare the ever-vigilant stratagem to attack your rubrics with my custodes' ranged weapons, which with the new codex are now DAMAGE 2!!"

"...which leads you straight into my trap, Kaiba, you see I now declare the stratagem Implacable Automata, reducing all damage from your attacks by 1 and triggering my All is Dust special rule!"  
   
Made in gb
Longtime Dakkanaut




Exalted. Shame I can only do that once.

Thank you for your insight.

I wouldn't have known the specifics but what you say is not surprising in the least.

greatest band in the universe: machine supremacy

"Punch your fist in the air and hold your Gameboy aloft like the warrior you are" 
   
Made in us
Focused Fire Warrior




Les Etats Unis

Exalted as well. Who says there aren't quality threads on Dakka?

Without going into political territory, the obvious fix for GW here does seem to be present in the snide comment you made in your elaboration: Invest money into improving the UK electrical system. It would probably both help the consumer and increase profits in the long run, and I assume half the reason it hasn't been tried is that frankly no one important at GW has probably thought of it.

Dudeface wrote:
 Eldarain wrote:
Is there another game where players consistently blame each other for the failings of the creator?

If you want to get existential, life for some.
 
   
Made in gb
Leader of the Sept







GW on its own may also not have enough grunt to get the local electrical provider to do any meaningful upgrade works, especially if it requires a string of upgrades all the way back up a chain of substations and underground cables.

Please excuse any spelling errors. I use a tablet frequently and software keyboards are a pain!

Terranwing - w3;d1;l1
51st Dunedinw2;d0;l0
Cadre Coronal Afterglow w1;d0;l0 
   
Made in us
Fixture of Dakka





Excellent post, well thought through. The Banshees thing is very interesting. I'd considered the production ties before, but not seen such a great example where it affects cost of a related unit. Very nice explanation!
   
Made in us
Shadowy Grot Kommittee Memba






 Flipsiders wrote:
Exalted as well. Who says there aren't quality threads on Dakka?

Without going into political territory, the obvious fix for GW here does seem to be present in the snide comment you made in your elaboration: Invest money into improving the UK electrical system. It would probably both help the consumer and increase profits in the long run, and I assume half the reason it hasn't been tried is that frankly no one important at GW has probably thought of it.


The real reason is the "in the long run" bit there.

GW has absolutely zero reason to change any of these business practices. Business is booming. And theyve got the public sector's nuts in exactly the same vice every private business does: they can just lobby nottingham to build more power infrastructure if they want GW to "Create More Jobs" and it will be infinitely less expensive than GW getting into the power grid improvement business.

Have you seen their share price? Theyre doing fantastic. And if it turns out, a decade down the line or so, that this business model of theirs was more Blockbuster Video than Netflix, so to speak, not one single person who made any of these business decisions that shoved GW into this short-term mindset will not have enough of a parachute to live fat and happy the rest of their days.

Understand when someone makes the argument "X decision will kill Y company/Property/whatever" that none of that, ever, will apply to the higher ups at those companies that actually made the decisions in the first place. If some movie studio or TV studio meddles with the release of a show you care about and ruins the story, the only people that can ever be materially harmed by that are the actors, writers, staff, whoever - you know, the people who make the thing you like who had no power over the decision making that destroyed it.


"Got you, Yugi! Your Rubric Marines can't fall back because I have declared the tertiary kaptaris ka'tah stance two, after the secondary dacatarai ka'tah last turn!"

"So you think, Kaiba! I declared my Thousand Sons the cult of Duplicity, which means all my psykers have access to the Sorcerous Facade power! Furthermore I will spend 8 Cabal Points to invoke Cabbalistic Focus, causing the rubrics to appear behind your custodes! The Vengeance for the Wronged and Sorcerous Fullisade stratagems along with the Malefic Maelstrom infernal pact evoked earlier in the command phase allows me to double their firepower, letting me wound on 2s and 3s!"

"you think it is you who has gotten me, yugi, but it is I who have gotten you! I declare the ever-vigilant stratagem to attack your rubrics with my custodes' ranged weapons, which with the new codex are now DAMAGE 2!!"

"...which leads you straight into my trap, Kaiba, you see I now declare the stratagem Implacable Automata, reducing all damage from your attacks by 1 and triggering my All is Dust special rule!"  
   
Made in us
Ollanius Pius - Savior of the Emperor






Gathering the Informations.

The only thing that I would make a note of is that while yeah, retailers are basically a "captive audience"...there are third-party distributors here in the US.

And stores actually use them, usually citing the desire to not have to stock all the stuff that GW makes them stock.



Automatically Appended Next Post:
 Flinty wrote:
GW on its own may also not have enough grunt to get the local electrical provider to do any meaningful upgrade works, especially if it requires a string of upgrades all the way back up a chain of substations and underground cables.

IIRC, there was an upgrade done to the Nottingham power structure. There was scuttlebutt about it being diverted at the eleventh hour towards a local council's pet project so that GW's new factory would not be able to utilize it though?

I don't remember specifics. I want to say it was mid to early 2020. The logistical side of things makes my head hurt though so I didn't pay an extreme amount of attention.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/11/29 19:14:44


 
   
Made in us
Decrepit Dakkanaut





I would suggest that #1 is due to the fact that supporting the game is a cost-generating activity, rather than a revenue-generating activity like sculpting great display pieces. I'd guess that the number of people who actually play Warhammer, as opposed to collecting and painting, is a minority, and something of an afterthought.
   
Made in us
Shadowy Grot Kommittee Memba






 Nurglitch wrote:
I would suggest that #1 is due to the fact that supporting the game is a cost-generating activity, rather than a revenue-generating activity like sculpting great display pieces. I'd guess that the number of people who actually play Warhammer, as opposed to collecting and painting, is a minority, and something of an afterthought.


I would disagree, and wonder whether you have any evidence at all to support that idea - particularly given how much Games Workshop puts in to promoting that first word in their name, compared to how much effort they put in to promoting it as a model collection/miniature painting/building hobby.

People who don't play but who do build and paint are obviously an important market segment for GW - one only needs to look at the huge proliferation of giant centerpiece models they produce to indicate that - but they definitely are not the majority, or else bundling miniatures into same-faction boxed sets and releasing codexes wouldnt be such an effective way for them to control demand.

"Got you, Yugi! Your Rubric Marines can't fall back because I have declared the tertiary kaptaris ka'tah stance two, after the secondary dacatarai ka'tah last turn!"

"So you think, Kaiba! I declared my Thousand Sons the cult of Duplicity, which means all my psykers have access to the Sorcerous Facade power! Furthermore I will spend 8 Cabal Points to invoke Cabbalistic Focus, causing the rubrics to appear behind your custodes! The Vengeance for the Wronged and Sorcerous Fullisade stratagems along with the Malefic Maelstrom infernal pact evoked earlier in the command phase allows me to double their firepower, letting me wound on 2s and 3s!"

"you think it is you who has gotten me, yugi, but it is I who have gotten you! I declare the ever-vigilant stratagem to attack your rubrics with my custodes' ranged weapons, which with the new codex are now DAMAGE 2!!"

"...which leads you straight into my trap, Kaiba, you see I now declare the stratagem Implacable Automata, reducing all damage from your attacks by 1 and triggering my All is Dust special rule!"  
   
Made in us
Buttons Should Be Brass, Not Gold!






 the_scotsman wrote:
 Nurglitch wrote:
I would suggest that #1 is due to the fact that supporting the game is a cost-generating activity, rather than a revenue-generating activity like sculpting great display pieces. I'd guess that the number of people who actually play Warhammer, as opposed to collecting and painting, is a minority, and something of an afterthought.


I would disagree, and wonder whether you have any evidence at all to support that idea - particularly given how much Games Workshop puts in to promoting that first word in their name, compared to how much effort they put in to promoting it as a model collection/miniature painting/building hobby.

People who don't play but who do build and paint are obviously an important market segment for GW - one only needs to look at the huge proliferation of giant centerpiece models they produce to indicate that - but they definitely are not the majority, or else bundling miniatures into same-faction boxed sets and releasing codexes wouldnt be such an effective way for them to control demand.


I think your assesment is pretty much on point. People who only collect & paint minis can also buy their paints and minis from other manufacturers, whereas playing GW games requires sticking to their models more.
   
Made in gb
Regular Dakkanaut




This is an excellent post. I’d like to make another point with the cost of model, especially as people do compare the cost of WH Minis with scale models, as much as people like to complain GW does replace kits at a much higher frequency than other companies, and have to update kits with the rules and the cost of the new tooling has to be justified and offset. If something won’t sell well (like elites and HQ’s) they have to price it higher. That being said the cost is still (nearly) extortionately high in a lot of cases.
   
Made in au
Regular Dakkanaut



Tallarook, Victoria, Australia

Sounds a lot like unloading excuses onto a topical subject of the day.

As if GW can't hire or even purchase its own aux generators.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/11/29 22:37:54


 
   
Made in us
Ferocious Blood Claw



Michigan

 GoldenHorde wrote:
Sounds a lot like unloading excuses onto a topical subject of the day.

As if GW can't hire or even purchase its own aux generators.

Pure bs. Aux generators costs way way more per kwh than regular electricity, and are not made to be run non stop
Do you know ANY large company (appart from medical and maybe some electronic) that use aux generators.

Of course not.
If you're not willing to listen to explanation from people that knows the injection molding business (I'm in it and can confirm everything he said, can add stuff about the molds, thats where I work), shut up and stop spewing bs

Bits box, I ain't got no bits box...I have a bits room...
 
   
Made in au
Regular Dakkanaut



Tallarook, Victoria, Australia

Doctor-boom wrote:
 GoldenHorde wrote:
Sounds a lot like unloading excuses onto a topical subject of the day.

As if GW can't hire or even purchase its own aux generators.

Pure bs. Aux generators costs way way more per kwh than regular electricity, and are not made to be run non stop
Do you know ANY large company (appart from medical and maybe some electronic) that use aux generators.

Of course not.
If you're not willing to listen to explanation from people that knows the injection molding business (I'm in it and can confirm everything he said, can add stuff about the molds, thats where I work), shut up and stop spewing bs


Industry uses aux generators to boost production all the time. It's not BS to suggest that they be employed to protect production runs.

I'm sorry if using aux generators to hedge from brownouts is too edgy for this forum..

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/11/29 22:55:09


 
   
Made in gb
Regular Dakkanaut




 GoldenHorde wrote:
Doctor-boom wrote:
 GoldenHorde wrote:
Sounds a lot like unloading excuses onto a topical subject of the day.

As if GW can't hire or even purchase its own aux generators.

Pure bs. Aux generators costs way way more per kwh than regular electricity, and are not made to be run non stop
Do you know ANY large company (appart from medical and maybe some electronic) that use aux generators.

Of course not.
If you're not willing to listen to explanation from people that knows the injection molding business (I'm in it and can confirm everything he said, can add stuff about the molds, thats where I work), shut up and stop spewing bs


Industry uses aux generators to boost production all the time. It's not BS to suggest that they be employed to protect production runs.

I'm sorry if using aux generators to hedge from brownouts is too edgy for this forum..


Industries that have time critical contracts to fulfil use aux generators all the time as the cost of failing to fulfil the contract is more important than the cost of auxiliary generators. A toy company that’s its own sole supplier is not, it’s not cost efficient at all.
   
Made in au
[MOD]
Making Stuff






Under the couch

A good analysis overall, although I would disagree with this bit:
 the_scotsman wrote:

-GW's full MSRP is just another way to control demand. In the case of Howling Banshees in particular, if you had me guess, I'd say that for every howling banshee kit that games workshop produces, they must ALSO produce 1x Jain Zar kit. In order to keep jain zar's from piling up in stock, Howling Banshees are priced artificially high (and included in as many bundles together as they can get away with) so that people dont buy Howling Banshees and Jain at like a 4:1 purchase ratio.


If the problem with selling Howling Banshees is that they wind up with a backlog of Jain Zars, the best solution for the bottom line would likely be to keep producing as many as they can sell and bin the excess Jain Zar sprues (or throw them in the grinder for the plastic to be re-used, if they're doing that yet). So long as the other half of the tool is selling, the cost of those 'wasted' frames is negligible.

Traditionally, GW's prices have tended to be based more on how many of a given kit they are likely to sell within that army. So character models and elite units that people don't need as many of tend to be more expensive to counteract the fact that people won't buy as many of them.




Automatically Appended Next Post:
 GoldenHorde wrote:

As if GW can't hire or even purchase its own aux generators.

It's not just generators that they would need though. They would need more machines for those generators to run, and then more space in the factory for those machines and generators to sit in.


Where boxed sets and terrain are concerned, a lot of this product is also produced externally, so they're going to be somewhat at the mercy of the production queue of whatever third party they are using. It's not always as simple as throwing more money at the problem.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/11/29 23:30:35


 
   
Made in au
Regular Dakkanaut



Tallarook, Victoria, Australia

 insaniak wrote:
A good analysis overall, although I would disagree with this bit:
 the_scotsman wrote:

-GW's full MSRP is just another way to control demand. In the case of Howling Banshees in particular, if you had me guess, I'd say that for every howling banshee kit that games workshop produces, they must ALSO produce 1x Jain Zar kit. In order to keep jain zar's from piling up in stock, Howling Banshees are priced artificially high (and included in as many bundles together as they can get away with) so that people dont buy Howling Banshees and Jain at like a 4:1 purchase ratio.


If the problem with selling Howling Banshees is that they wind up with a backlog of Jain Zars, the best solution for the bottom line would likely be to keep producing as many as they can sell and bin the excess Jain Zar sprues (or throw them in the grinder for the plastic to be re-used, if they're doing that yet). So long as the other half of the tool is selling, the cost of those 'wasted' frames is negligible.

Traditionally, GW's prices have tended to be based more on how many of a given kit they are likely to sell within that army. So character models and elite units that people don't need as many of tend to be more expensive to counteract the fact that people won't buy as many of them.




Automatically Appended Next Post:
 GoldenHorde wrote:

As if GW can't hire or even purchase its own aux generators.

It's not just generators that they would need though. They would need more machines for those generators to run, and then more space in the factory for those machines and generators to sit in.


Where boxed sets and terrain are concerned, a lot of this product is also produced externally, so they're going to be somewhat at the mercy of the production queue of whatever third party they are using. It's not always as simple as throwing more money at the problem.


It's upto GW to sort out their production.
If they are too lazy to figure what to do to solve the production impasse, well then thats on them.

To say oh well ,they do FOMO because of a power grid is just ridiculous and pathetic.
   
Made in gb
Preparing the Invasion of Terra






Just a side note on Cursed City btw, it didn't sell, that's why there wasn't a second run or any other content produced.
Allow me a little anecdote:
My local GW was allocated 27 copies of CC and 3 months after it was released they still had 18 in stock. The biggest thing to happen was some troll coming in and complaining about not getting CC, being told they could not only get one copy but three, making up an excuse about not having the money and coming back a month later when the stock was gone just to complain again.
Compared to BSF or Indomitus, CC just didn't have the selling power to justify any more effort being put into the project. If there was mass demand and the boxes were flying off the shelves then sure it would have gotten a second run and possible even expansions like BSF but it just didn't and while that sucks, it's also just not good business sense to invest in a product that isn't selling.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/11/30 00:00:33


 
   
Made in au
[MOD]
Making Stuff






Under the couch

It's up to GW to sort out their production if they feel it's actually an issue. If their sales are meeting or exceeding projections, there's (from their point of view) no problem to fix.

To clarify - as was stated in the original post, this isn't about excusing the FOMO business model, just explaining why it's a thing.


Another point to add to the production side of things there is that storage is a factor. There's a fuzzy area of profitability where it's potentially better to under-produce and leave people wanting the thing than to over-produce to ensure you can meet demand and wind up having to store that extra stock.

Although that can become a bit of a dangerous path if enough people are being consistently disappointed and turn off your product as a result.

 
   
Made in ca
Regular Dakkanaut





Very interesting thread and a great read!

I myself have wondered in perusing GW financial statements about the rationale in investing so much capital in their Nottingham production facilities. It’s clear the C-suite and board can run a highly profitable business.

But I cannot help but wonder if some of the 3D printing resin techniques have caught them a bit flat footed.

Their production methods are consistent with their desire to tightly and centrally control all aspects of GW. But when I look at the costs they sunk into retooling their production facilities…in my mind it doesn’t take that much of a shift in the winds of fortune to extend the runway of the ROI to such a point that it becomes somewhat of a disaster.

You raise some interesting points regarding production bottlenecks that I think would also be of huge concern. It’s one more reason for the consumer to look at etsy for 3D prints.

I wonder how long GW plans to keep tabletop running. In the world of digital media, licensing and royalties is flat out an easier buck to make.
   
Made in au
[MOD]
Making Stuff






Under the couch

3D printing is certainly improving quickly, but plastic injection moulding isn't going away anytime soon. Before home printing can take over from manufacturers in the main stream, 3D printers need to be considerably more fool-proof, more user-friendly, and less smelly.

Long term, I don't think resin printers will be what kills plastic injection moulding because resin is, at the end of the day, an awful material for toys. When printers can produce HIPS or ABS models in production-level quality in less than a day, on a platform that self-levels, -troubleshoots and -cleans, then we might be able to realistically look at the end of injection moulding. Until then, 3D printing will remain a novelty for 3D printing enthusists, rather than mainstream for wargaming.

I think the only real issue with GW running injection moulding in-house is the fact that it limits the overall volume of product they can produce to the capacity of their own facility. I would expect the facility to pay for itself fairly quickly, certainly before it becomes obsolete.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/11/30 02:23:29


 
   
Made in us
Shadowy Grot Kommittee Memba




The Great State of New Jersey

What you described with regards to Jain Zar isn't automatically true. That is common to "lower end" injection molding operations that are operating with barebones capability and trying to keep their upfront costs as low as possible. More sophisticated operations with deeper pockets can utilize a variety of methods (example - runner shut-off/turn-off inserts) to close off sections of a multi cavity/family mold in order to limit production to only certain select sections of the mold in order to prevent the exact issue you describe. I would honestly be shocked if GW doesn't have access to these capabilities, especially considering they have invested millions into leaning out their manufacturing operations over the past decade. I'm sure in the past GW didn't have the capability, but I think its more or less a given that they can do so today.

Templarted wrote:
 GoldenHorde wrote:
Doctor-boom wrote:
 GoldenHorde wrote:
Sounds a lot like unloading excuses onto a topical subject of the day.

As if GW can't hire or even purchase its own aux generators.

Pure bs. Aux generators costs way way more per kwh than regular electricity, and are not made to be run non stop
Do you know ANY large company (appart from medical and maybe some electronic) that use aux generators.

Of course not.
If you're not willing to listen to explanation from people that knows the injection molding business (I'm in it and can confirm everything he said, can add stuff about the molds, thats where I work), shut up and stop spewing bs


Industry uses aux generators to boost production all the time. It's not BS to suggest that they be employed to protect production runs.

I'm sorry if using aux generators to hedge from brownouts is too edgy for this forum..


Industries that have time critical contracts to fulfil use aux generators all the time as the cost of failing to fulfil the contract is more important than the cost of auxiliary generators. A toy company that’s its own sole supplier is not, it’s not cost efficient at all.


I work facilities management and manufacturing support in an industry with those types of contracts (to the extent that I carry enhanced ID and documentation signed by senior gov't officials which supercedes any other local or state level curfews, lockdown orders, states of emergency, road closures, etc. which would prevent me from getting into the office). We have an on-site electrical substation with redundant electrical feeds coming in off multiple grids (the local utility can and has cross-fed other grids through our facility during power outages), we do not have aux generators and despite the importance of the facility and our product aux generators are considered a complete non-starter due to a variety of cost, liability, health & safety concerns, etc. If a facility like mine (which is what some people would call "critical" in the truest sense of the term) doesn't run aux power generation capability, then sure as gak no toy company will do the same.

 Gert wrote:
Just a side note on Cursed City btw, it didn't sell, that's why there wasn't a second run or any other content produced.
Allow me a little anecdote:
My local GW was allocated 27 copies of CC and 3 months after it was released they still had 18 in stock. The biggest thing to happen was some troll coming in and complaining about not getting CC, being told they could not only get one copy but three, making up an excuse about not having the money and coming back a month later when the stock was gone just to complain again.
Compared to BSF or Indomitus, CC just didn't have the selling power to justify any more effort being put into the project. If there was mass demand and the boxes were flying off the shelves then sure it would have gotten a second run and possible even expansions like BSF but it just didn't and while that sucks, it's also just not good business sense to invest in a product that isn't selling.


HOT TAKES, GET YOUR ANECDOTAL HOT TAKES HERE.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/11/30 02:31:23


CoALabaer wrote:
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Isn't part of this entire thesis predicated on the notion that GW can't print lots of Banshees because they'll end up with a surplus of Jain Zarr minis?

How do we know that's accurate?

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We don’t. The OP set it out as a guess based on experience of how injection moulds could feasibly be set out.

Please excuse any spelling errors. I use a tablet frequently and software keyboards are a pain!

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I think the idea they don't want to sell more Howling Banshees and make £££ in profit because they might have to chuck a few pennies of plastic in the bin is a bit of stretch. Is there any evidence the triple-half sprues even get made with anything else? Do they have to stick a half sprue character model on for every unit of outriders they want to make?

It's just a standard price for a unit kit that GW thinks you are only gonna buy 1 or 2 of, isn't it?
   
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Italy

 the_scotsman wrote:


3) GW doesnt do discounts or sales direct - but I can buy stuff from third party retailers for a discount? What gives? Why would gw do this?

-A third party retailer is a captive audience. Fun fact: Third party retailers dont actually choose what they get to stock from Games Workshop. They have a set list of kits that they get as part of their package, which corresponds to the amount of space in their shop they set aside for Games Workshop products. They can request to replace a kit if they sell one, but in order to get something from the catalog, they get a much, much lower seller's discount on that item. It's actually way more profitable for Games Workshop to be able to sell 10000x of one kit for 40% less than MSRP than it is to sell 10,000 random kits for full MSRP, because of the machine downtime.



For third party retailers you mean online (or even physical) stores that sell GW stuff with discounts? Because here all of those shops have the entire GW catalogue barring exclusives (aka the items with the white arrow in a red dot) and people can order whatever they want, in the desired quantity. If something is missing the shop would simply order from GW. 25% discount is the standard, some shops even do 30%. The bigger online shops even sell the exclusives, although only at 10% discounts.

I honestly don't get the "Third party retailers dont actually choose what they get to stock from Games Workshop" statement.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/11/30 09:41:31


 
   
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United Kingdom

 Kanluwen wrote:
 Flinty wrote:
GW on its own may also not have enough grunt to get the local electrical provider to do any meaningful upgrade works, especially if it requires a string of upgrades all the way back up a chain of substations and underground cables.

IIRC, there was an upgrade done to the Nottingham power structure. There was scuttlebutt about it being diverted at the eleventh hour towards a local council's pet project so that GW's new factory would not be able to utilize it though?
It went into the tram lines IIRC.

 Blackie wrote:
I honestly don't get the "Third party retailers dont actually choose what they get to stock from Games Workshop" statement.
If you buy direct from GW there are set bundles you need to purchase before you can order other stuff - which include the paints and starter boxes. If you're small or have a rubbish GW account manager you'll also be at the back of the queue for any restocks or new releases.

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This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2021/11/30 10:11:58


 
   
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chaos0xomega wrote:

HOT TAKES, GET YOUR ANECDOTAL HOT TAKES HERE.

I literally said it was an anecdote....
I don't want to delve too much into detail because I'm not really into revealing my location freely. You can believe it or not, I don't particularly mind. Just adding what I know into the discussion.
   
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None of that explains why GW will do a limited run plastic injected sprue of Space Marine liuetenants 1# through to #37465 but cannot design and run a sprue for a needed character for faction x (just like one or two)

Its simply not cost effective to do this.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/11/30 11:58:58


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Eldar- 4436 pts


AngryAngel80 wrote:
I don't know, when I see awesome rules, I'm like " Baby, your rules looking so fine. Maybe I gotta add you to my first strike battalion eh ? "


 Eonfuzz wrote:


I would much rather everyone have a half ass than no ass.


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York, PA USA

It is common for a manufacturer to never discount from MSRP. Doing so undercuts your wholesale customers. You can sell bundles and such, but offering the exact same product is generally not done.

If Chevy offered a direct ordering system at a 20% off, many dealerships would be gone in short order.

   
 
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