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I've know this, but ive never thought the prices were so low. i went into GW as in america and the prices are like 50% off. I want to know why people make our prices so high. i almost feel like buying them from america. but i also have thoughts for the guy who owns the local store.

if you look at the prices (I think GW is in UK) but the prices in the UK are basically the same as the $US why do we have to pay an extra $20. god why do i get myself p!zzed over these things.

It's like the opposite of the weekly "OMG! The prices have jumped 100%" threads we get.

Our prices are double that of the US and the UK because GW is using an outdated method of currency exchange. They still believe that £1 = AUD$3 and that the US dollar is worth roughly double the Aussie dollar, despite the fact that it has been many years since that was last true. And no, it's not quite as simplistic or one-sided as that, but it's part of it (our prices have never been 'normalised' despite the dramatic shifts in world currency over the past... decade, so it's less GW believing it and more likely them simply choosing to ignore it).

And now I await this thread's inevitable locking.

i would like to know where that money goes


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am i able to buy something as an american but get it shipped to me?


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oh yea battle forces are like an extra $50. fk

 Hillbilly wrote:
i would like to know where that money goes

Dividends to the shareholders. GW management believes they don't have anything else worth investing the money in inside the company, so they give it to the owners.

am i able to buy something as an american but get it shipped to me?

GW changed their trade terms to forbid European stores selling outside of the EU, but I couldn't say whether the embargo applies to US stores or not.

[
Our prices are double that of the US and the UK because GW is using an outdated method of currency exchange. They still believe that £1 = AUD$3 and that the US dollar is worth roughly double the Aussie dollar, despite the fact that it has been many years since that was last true. And no, it's not quite as simplistic or one-sided as that, but it's part of it (our prices have never been 'normalised' despite the dramatic shifts in world currency over the past... decade, so it's less GW believing it and more likely them simply choosing to ignore it).

. . . it's the fantastic gaming stores (rent/wages etc) and THE EXCELLENT painting and modeling advice you receive from them ... OMG ... NOT!
And of course the shipping cost across the world.... well this is what I was told by the Black shirt, IE the manager... AND I believe NOT A SINGLE WORD OF IT>>>

Paid $70 NZ for my chaos codex from USA including postage or I could of got it from my local GW for $98NZ .... HMMMMM???

Maybe your prices are 50% higher in Australia because housing prices are 50% higher and wages are 50% higher and food is higher as are many common expenses? This is an issue I have never really "got".

 ph34r wrote:
Maybe your prices are 50% higher in Australia because housing prices are 50% higher and wages are 50% higher and food is higher as are many common expenses? This is an issue I have never really "got".

(Mostly) Irrelevant. Currency has value. A $50 item in one country is not suddenly worth more of that currency in another country (once exchanged). A Tactical Squad from the US is not worth twice its price somewhere else. It's still whatever a Tac Squad is in the US is because money itself has a specific value.

I am admittedly explaining this badly, but given I've seen this explained to you, ph34r, specifically, in the past I take it you really haven't "got" it yet.


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 Hillbilly wrote:
am i able to buy something as an american but get it shipped to me?

You can buy stuff from any American seller. Dicebucket is a good one. Battlefront games is another. Minature Market. There are a bunch. Ask around in the Discussion forum. You'll get a bunch'a answers real quick.

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
(Mostly) Irrelevant. Currency has value. A $50 item in one country is not suddenly worth more of that currency in another country (once exchanged). A Tactical Squad from the US is not worth twice its price somewhere else. It's still whatever a Tac Squad is in the US is because money itself has a specific value.

I am admittedly explaining this badly, but given I've seen this explained to you, ph34r, specifically, in the past I take it you really haven't "got" it yet.

Perhaps I should rephrase. I've heard people give a rundown of how they see it before, and everything I've been told fits how I see the situation. I believe that I "get" this issue, and don't "get" how other people don't "get" what's going on. It seems (unfortunately) like absolutely standard economics.

How about you can have cheap 40k and I'll take cheap prescription medicine

If i was an Aussie flgs I would just look to get all my GW stock through a US or UK distributor rather than GW direct and undercut the crap out of the local GW stores. Whether that's possible who knows?

 H.B.M.C. wrote:

 ph34r wrote:
Maybe your prices are 50% higher in Australia because housing prices are 50% higher and wages are 50% higher and food is higher as are many common expenses? This is an issue I have never really "got".

(Mostly) Irrelevant. Currency has value. A $50 item in one country is not suddenly worth more of that currency in another country (once exchanged). A Tactical Squad from the US is not worth twice its price somewhere else. It's still whatever a Tac Squad is in the US is because money itself has a specific value.

I am admittedly explaining this badly, but given I've seen this explained to you, ph34r, specifically, in the past I take it you really haven't "got" it yet.

I understand your point, but, the theory falls down when you consider "what is anything worth?", surely, from a business perspective, the answer is, whatever the market can "bear". If I sell a Tactical Unit in America, and the market will bear it at $40, then that's what it's worth, now, IF Australia, through economic reasons, etc, can bear it to be $80, then it's worth is automatically $80 in that specific region.

I know this seems "unjust" in a global economy setting, but, until we have a truely global economy (not regional based as is currently the case) maximising your product ROI means taking advantage of these region peculiarities. Just because media and information has become "intercontinental", economic prosperity hasn't.

Might I suggest Discount Games Store on ebay?

http://stores.ebay.com.au/Discount-Warhammer-Fantasy-and-40K?_trksid=p4340.l2563

After shipping, a Trygon, for example, is $53.23. Compared to $96 from GW Australia.

But i feel bad if i was to buy it off ebay and that. i dont know what you guys pay to 'play' in the stores but its like $2 for use of the tables and scenery. and some times he lets us play for free for some occasions. (eg. me and two other people were waiting to play dark heresy but no one else came. the owner let us play Space hulk for free. and its the stores Space hulk too)

plus the store is a small business and been going along for some time now. because rent the other store closed and people who played stuff like war machine were P!zzed. funny thing they don't even come up to the store.

If you live near Bundaberg here is the website for you to look at.

http://www.bundyminiaturesgames.webs.com/

 Hillbilly wrote:
But i feel bad if i was to buy it off ebay and that. i dont know what you guys pay to 'play' in the stores but its like $2 for use of the tables and scenery. and some times he lets us play for free for some occasions. (eg. me and two other people were waiting to play dark heresy but no one else came. the owner let us play Space hulk for free. and its the stores Space hulk too)

Why would you feel bad buying stuff off of eBay?

If you're store is charging for use of the tables, then that's fine. You're paying for the tables, and you get to use the tables. If he was doing it for free all the time, then there'd be some loyalty aspect. But most LGS offer a discount over GW direct anyway.

UNCLEBADTOUCH wrote:
If i was an Aussie flgs I would just look to get all my GW stock through a US or UK distributor rather than GW direct and undercut the crap out of the local GW stores. Whether that's possible who knows?

it would be possible. but then all the smart people are already buying it from the same US distributors that you would be.

massive undercut on GW stores has already happening. This is why all their stores are going under or being downsized.

It's not just AU that GW is trying to bone. Their canadian prices are almost as bad. But, too bad for them, it's easy enough to get 45-50% off their canadian price by buying from the right US discounters.

Im guessing GW hates it and would gladly shut down all the people that ship their product internationally. They probably have no idea who is selling what exactly, there isnt much they can do.

its just he hates it. hes trying to make money too. plus its not like every day someone buys something or plays a game. he also lets us use the paints for free. on Friday night


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lol who changed the name of the thread


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My parents say (I KNOW i am 17 still at school) got a job)

They say that i should pay more at the store because its helping him keep the shop open.

(they care about my money) but i don't think mum would like to see packages come through her mail box (the ones at the post office (u know the ones you hire))

plus she thinks i should but i don't know, maybe someone should talk to GW and tell them or something.

 Hillbilly wrote:
its just he hates it. hes trying to make money too. plus its not like every day someone buys something or plays a game. he also lets us use the paints for free. on Friday night


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lol who changed the name of the thread

Probably a mod because the rules frown on short-handing profanity. I buy small stuff, codexes, paints,blisters, etc at my local store to support them but in all honesty I use their space to play infrequently in recent days. I place large orders online because I'm not made of money. If you like your local store and want them to stay in business I recommend buying as much stuff in store rather than from oversees as you feel makes sense with your budget. In the end your local store can't buy its rent from oversees, and to make up the Australian cost of running a business it can't possibly undercut the internet.

 ph34r wrote:



possibly undercut the internet.

lol they say the internet is better to buy stuff but now people come to there senses and and buy from the store.


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i didnt know about the rule thing soz

This thread was a surprise as I expected it to be another person from the US that landed at the AU website and freaked out about the pricing....was nice to see the flip side of the coin

Out of interest how do the prices of other products compare between Oz and the UK?

How much is an Xbox or a console game? Loaf of bread? House? Car? Fishing rod? Watch?

Are other products higher in Australia than they are elsewhere or is it a purely GW thing?

well how much do you pay for a loaf of bread

I was pretty sure they charged Australia so much more because everything had to be printed and manufactured upside down in order to be read correctly down there...

The various cost of living issues do need to come into play for local stores - but not like GW calculates it. Those might account for 15% or so of an items retail price (at most 40% or the full retail markup over wholesale pricing). So - something which costs $50 in the US might be justifiably marked up to $60 for the Australian market.

Also, if you are taking the time to get annoyed with GW pricing policies...don't forget that the UK and EU prices include a 20% VAT as well. So that £50 kit actually is only £40 with £10 of tax. When they go through and do their dorked up normalization, they include the £10 as opposed to using the actual retail price less taxes. In the end, this means that you are paying even more for items than you thought you were relative the the UK market.

 ironicsilence wrote:
This thread was a surprise as I expected it to be another person from the US that landed at the AU website and freaked out about the pricing....was nice to see the flip side of the coin

Ha! you'll like (nooo, love) the prices, and how does an american miss hit the AUS website comeon you have 54(<is that right ) stars on your flag>

 Hillbilly wrote:

 ironicsilence wrote:
This thread was a surprise as I expected it to be another person from the US that landed at the AU website and freaked out about the pricing....was nice to see the flip side of the coin

Ha! you'll like (nooo, love) the prices, and how does an american miss hit the AUS website comeon you have 54(<is that right ) stars on your flag>

the only thing that shocks me more then how often people from the US land on the AU website and dont notice is how often they post on dakka about it

 Lorizael wrote:
Out of interest how do the prices of other products compare between Oz and the UK?

About 30% higher the last time I was there - though the dollar hadn't fully tanked yet at that time...so I would guess that a lot of imported goods are actually closer to the same price points now.

What I don't understand, and maybe there's a reason for it, is why some enterprising Aussie flgs doesn't come over to the uk or us (whichever is cheapest) and fill a shipping container with stuff. If shipping doesn't cost anywhere near the oz price hike, they'd surely make a killing?

 Eggs wrote:
What I don't understand, and maybe there's a reason for it, is why some enterprising Aussie flgs doesn't come over to the uk or us (whichever is cheapest) and fill a shipping container with stuff. If shipping doesn't cost anywhere near the oz price hike, they'd surely make a killing?

Where would they find the time for that? They're too busy throwing twigs and leaves at snakes.

 Eggs wrote:
What I don't understand, and maybe there's a reason for it, is why some enterprising Aussie flgs doesn't come over to the uk or us (whichever is cheapest) and fill a shipping container with stuff. If shipping doesn't cost anywhere near the oz price hike, they'd surely make a killing?

Because the owner of the store doesn't have the money (or maybe time) to do that.

The store still has a whole heap of WF sitting on the shelf. and, still at the prices when he bought them.

So to any aussy who wants cheep WF and having a holiday at Bundy come to BMG and buy the s!%#@ so he can buy more stuff to sell.


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 angel of ecstasy wrote:

Where would they find the time for that? They're too busy throwing twigs and leaves at snakes.

You got to be kidding me....

- Edited by insaniak. Please do not circumvent the language filter. -

Hillbilly you really need to stop with the profanity, short handing it gets it past the filter, doesn't make it ok.

 Lorizael wrote:
Out of interest how do the prices of other products compare between Oz and the UK?

How much is an Xbox or a console game? Loaf of bread? House? Car? Fishing rod? Watch?

Are other products higher in Australia than they are elsewhere or is it a purely GW thing?

It's not a GW thing, I'm not certain about the rest of that list but a new xbox game will be $100, bigger stuff like Halo games have recently (well.. since like, Reach) begun moving to $110 and that seems to be the direction it's going. Occasionally you will get a game they expect to flop that'll be $90 but don't expect to pay less than that for a new release.

If you are in Asia or Oceania, don't pay retail. OP, buy from the UK or America. Who cares about the insane prices--it's not as if you don't have options. GW costs more in Japan than anywhere else in the world. In any given year, I'll order a couple thousand DOLLARS worth of stuff from GW. Notice I didn't say YEN. You have options. You can either do what's best for you OR you can do what's best for the local shop owner, but not both.

 Hillbilly wrote:

 Sean_OBrien wrote:
I was pretty sure they charged Australia so much more because everything had to be printed and manufactured upside down in order to be read correctly down there...

Sorry...

But can people fk off about those jokes if we are upside down then why does the UK drive like that they are like right over the Atlantic from u. and they are on the northern hemisphere. And remember, cars where made in Europe. it was you guys who changed the sides of the car lanes.

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Sean_OBrien i know ur a smart guy but why. why open with that

I think you miss out on the point...the folly of any argument regarding the excessively high prices makes that about the only excuse which GW could feasibly come up with in regards to why they charge as much as they do for their products there when compared to the RotW.

If you look at the various reasons why things cost more in one market versus another - then compare those reasons to the case at hand...nothing really holds water, so the only excuse would be one which is so absurd as to prevent a reasoned response to it (printing upside down for example).

Shipping Costs: Something which isn't insignificant...though not as bad as one might think. Unless GW is shipping things Air Mail, one box at a time - they will be using slow boats. 2 years ago, a former employee took a job in Australia and he had a 20 foot container of his personal goods picked up from his house...loaded on a boat...shipped from a port in Texas to a port in Australia...loaded on a truck and delivered to his new house in Australia - door to door services with all the various fees and taxes which are related to shipping. The total cost for that was about $3500. If you figure that the largest box which GW sells on a regular basis is about 1/3 a cubic foot and the container could hold over 3500 of those big boxes - so worst case scenario, you would have less than a dollar of added costs to the shipping.

Exchange rates: 20 years ago, when accountants used abacuses and wore funny green visors - exchange rates were calculated manually by looking up numbers in charts from the various treasuries and exchange agencies. It wasn't uncommon to pay a 5% or so fee on the exchange of currency from one form to another. Now - my bank doesn't charge me anything...though I have heard that some banks still do charge a nominal fee on currency exchanges - so lets assume they are still doing things by hand and let them tack on a 5% currency exchange fee.

Local Cost of Living: As I said, most local retail stores which deal in gaming have about a 40% margin to play with. Distributors generally are at about 10%. That leaves 50% to go back to the manufacturer in their home country. Since someone else had used it in support of GWs position, lets assume it is 50% more expensive to live in Australia (my personal experience there has been that it was not that bad - at least not since the markets tanked in the Northern hemisphere).

So - if we go ahead and take a look at something like a Land Raider - it has a retail price of £45.00 in the UK. Subtract the VAT from that and you get £36.00. Convert that price to AUD and you get $55. Add in a dollar for shipping and you get $56. Add in 25% to cover the increased cost of living for the distributor and retailer and you get $70. Now add a 5% currency exchange for when they bring money back from GW Australia to GW UK and you get $73.50. That is what it should cost - given the worst case scenarios in everything.

What does GW charge though? $110 AUD - an extra $36.50 that they pull out of thin air. The only excuse for that extra nearly 50% markup would be something which is completely ridiculous like having to print the boxes upside down - as that would be so dumb as to be impossible for reasonable people to actually argue against it.


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 jonolikespie wrote:
It's not a GW thing, I'm not certain about the rest of that list but a new xbox game will be $100, bigger stuff like Halo games have recently (well.. since like, Reach) begun moving to $110 and that seems to be the direction it's going. Occasionally you will get a game they expect to flop that'll be $90 but don't expect to pay less than that for a new release.

Not sure if it is still in play - but Australia used to levy a parallel import tax on video games. I don't recall the exact scheme that they used - but I seem to recall it being around an extra $20 or so on a retail price of $50 for some software we were in negotiations to sell there several years ago. It wouldn't apply to GW products though because they are the manufacturer, retailer, distributor... of the goods. The issue comes into play when you look at a wholesaler located in the US and importing the goods at those lower prices to Australia to sell their through normal retail chains. The idea is to protect Australian distributors and what not (as far as we could figure it) - mostly though it just inflates the price by creating a climate that actually almost allows for price fixing by the retail/wholesale companies as the tax roughly brings it to parity with whatever the current market value of the product is.