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 Compel wrote:
I've got to admit, that pay is more than I expected it to be. That's genuinely more than I imagine most other 1 man store owners would make. I was expecting maybe 28k at absolute most. - Truth be told, even that seems high.

Yes but what country? .
here in NZ thats only $15.80 per hour (on a 40hour week) (and $17.60 on a 36hour week... GW lowerhutt only open 36hours a week)and our minimum wage is $13.75..

So I'd love to know what country this "guy" comes from... maybe her/she should have converted the pay to different currency's????

I'd work for that (36 hour week)... I'm a poor student.. love the hobby ..


as far as prices go... when i started playing, codex's were $40.. now they are $105*********************.. box of space marines $40 upto $75***********

. mega nobs $19 upto $46*************************.

most prices have doubled... wages haven't.. i now looking at finding someone to ship stuff from oversea's UK? (get 20% off and ship here= about 20% less what we pay here)

And they (GW) wonder why the auckland shop closed/closing down...

Ah, yes. The all-knowing guy in a shop.

I stopped by the Wal-Mart at Wujiaochang in Shanghai, took the manager out for lunch, and asked him all about how Wal-Mart operates, its corporate strategy, and based on his store's sales numbers I now know exactly what Wal-Mart sells and to whom. As it turns out, Wal-Mart does not sell any guns and ammo, don't sell any music, but do sell pets, octopuses, and quite a lot of study materials. The manager knows! He's in the biz!



Seriously, guys?

 azreal13 wrote:
As I've said before, GW expects us to buy what they make, rather than looks to make what we'll buy.

QFT.

This statement cannot be QUOTE FOR TRUTH-ed enough.

-C6

 catharsix wrote:

 azreal13 wrote:
As I've said before, GW expects us to buy what they make, rather than looks to make what we'll buy.

QFT.

This statement cannot be QUOTE FOR TRUTH-ed enough.

-C6

Could this be because the mindset at the top is still the same as in 2005

http://investor.games-workshop.com/chairmans-preamble-annual-report-2005-06/

"....all we are doing, every day, is selling more toy soldiers, at a profit, to people who are truly grateful."

My emphasis

 Dynamix wrote:

 catharsix wrote:

 azreal13 wrote:
As I've said before, GW expects us to buy what they make, rather than looks to make what we'll buy.

QFT.

This statement cannot be QUOTE FOR TRUTH-ed enough.

-C6

Could this be because the mindset at the top is still the same as in 2005

http://investor.games-workshop.com/chairmans-preamble-annual-report-2005-06/

"....all we are doing, every day, is selling more toy soldiers, at a profit, to people who are truly grateful."

My emphasis

Ugh, that made me wince a bit. What an arrogant thing to say.
They are a business, not a charity.

For GW's sake I hope it was just a throw-away line from the Chairmans report from some time ago and not an attitude central to company policy



Edit : too many its

 Dynamix wrote:
For GW's sake I hope it was just a throw-away line from the Chairmans report from some time ago and not an attitude central to company policy



Edit : too many its

Sadly, that was from an annual report, it is essentially an open letter from Kirby to the shareholders. It has been postulated in the past that he may deliberately use ideas and language to deliberately get a rise out of the proletariat, but even that theory speaks volumes.

I think we can safely apply the same sort of logic that psychiatrists use when they say "there are no jokes" in that, however it is intended, statements like this are coming from somewhere, and that doesn't strike me as a particularly respectful place.

I've generally found there are very few situations where the relationship between customer and vendor is one of respect outside organized crime.


Though most people have the brains to not advertise they think their customers are idiots.

Thud wrote:
Ah, yes. The all-knowing guy in a shop.

I stopped by the Wal-Mart at Wujiaochang in Shanghai, took the manager out for lunch, and asked him all about how Wal-Mart operates, its corporate strategy, and based on his store's sales numbers I now know exactly what Wal-Mart sells and to whom. As it turns out, Wal-Mart does not sell any guns and ammo, don't sell any music, but do sell pets, octopuses, and quite a lot of study materials. The manager knows! He's in the biz!



Seriously, guys?

Walmart sells both guns and ammo.

Petrov wrote:

Thud wrote:
Ah, yes. The all-knowing guy in a shop.

I stopped by the Wal-Mart at Wujiaochang in Shanghai, took the manager out for lunch, and asked him all about how Wal-Mart operates, its corporate strategy, and based on his store's sales numbers I now know exactly what Wal-Mart sells and to whom. As it turns out, Wal-Mart does not sell any guns and ammo, don't sell any music, but do sell pets, octopuses, and quite a lot of study materials. The manager knows! He's in the biz!



Seriously, guys?

Walmart sells both guns and ammo.

...not in my state.

Ammo shelves used to be full

I suspect the key point you need to take away re:guns and ammo, is that he specifically mentions the Shanghai branch.

The point being that the manager of one store on one part of the planet won't really be in possession of enough facts to answer these sorts of questions when the company he works for has stores located in very different economic and cultural landscapes.

I suspect that guns and ammo are very strictly controlled in China, not sure, but call it a hunch.

What you mean A giant mega corporation is going to follow the law to protect its interests?

Petrov wrote:

Thud wrote:
Ah, yes. The all-knowing guy in a shop.

I stopped by the Wal-Mart at Wujiaochang in Shanghai, took the manager out for lunch, and asked him all about how Wal-Mart operates, its corporate strategy, and based on his store's sales numbers I now know exactly what Wal-Mart sells and to whom. As it turns out, Wal-Mart does not sell any guns and ammo, don't sell any music, but do sell pets, octopuses, and quite a lot of study materials. The manager knows! He's in the biz!



Seriously, guys?

Walmart sells both guns and ammo.

his post

-----------------

your head

 azreal13 wrote:

I suspect that guns and ammo are very strictly controlled in China, not sure, but call it a hunch.

But what constitutes Donkey Meat is not, apparently.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/02/us-walmart-china-idUSBREA0103O20140102

Petrov wrote:

Ammo shelves used to be full

That is more guns than I (in NZ) have seen in person in my life... and its in a supermarket. No wonder people get shot all the time in the US... thats scary.

 azreal13 wrote:
I suspect the key point you need to take away re:guns and ammo, is that he specifically mentions the Shanghai branch.

The point being that the manager of one store on one part of the planet won't really be in possession of enough facts to answer these sorts of questions when the company he works for has stores located in very different economic and cultural landscapes.

Wow....thanks for explaining

 PLC wrote:

 azreal13 wrote:
I suspect the key point you need to take away re:guns and ammo, is that he specifically mentions the Shanghai branch.

The point being that the manager of one store on one part of the planet won't really be in possession of enough facts to answer these sorts of questions when the company he works for has stores located in very different economic and cultural landscapes.

Wow....thanks for explaining

You saw the conversation that prompted that post right? I wasn't being patronising, it genuinely seemed to have gone over some chaps heads.

 Swastakowey wrote:

That is more guns than I (in NZ) have seen in person in my life... and its in a supermarket. No wonder people get shot all the time in the US... thats scary.

I have more guns than that in the closet under the stairs. People in other countries automatically assume that all these guns get used all the time, rather then gather dust most of the time.

 BaronIveagh wrote:

 Swastakowey wrote:

That is more guns than I (in NZ) have seen in person in my life... and its in a supermarket. No wonder people get shot all the time in the US... thats scary.

I have more guns than that in the closet under the stairs. People in other countries automatically assume that all these guns get used all the time, rather then gather dust most of the time.

Yea true, its hard to imagine for most people here. An Ak-47 is like mega exciting for us gunless peoples to see (and it can only be fired on semi auto...)

I'm not a gun person and I don't own any, but I'm pretty sure that a fully automatic weapon, or even one with a burst-fire option, is illegal in the vast majority of jurisdictions in the US.

 RatBot wrote:
I'm not a gun person and I don't own any, but I'm pretty sure that a fully automatic weapon, or even one with a burst-fire option, is illegal in the vast majority of jurisdictions in the US.

Are there caliber limitations, here the biggest is .308 (i think) which is only allowed to be bolt action.

Man, GW is such a bullsh... money grubbing... greedy, over the top, apathetic money whor....

Grrr!

New players accept the prices for what they are? What a crock of bull! Maybe if by "new players" he means the kid whose Mom is too busy texting her boyfriend to notice she just plunked down almost a full fin for only 5 toys, then yeah, statement true.

I went down to a GW shop nearby once, planned it for weeks because oh hey, yeah that's right no one wants to carry GW anymore so there is literally 3 GW shops in BC. I made my father in law drive around for two hours to find the shop, I walked in with my fiance and walked right back out 5 seconds later, empty handed. And I wanted some new toys sooo bad that day, but hey guess what? I can't justify spending $98.00 on a Land Raider! If you can, send me a bloody land raider or two because obviously you're so filthy stinking rich you can afford it.

I'm not kidding, someone send me a free land raider! NOW!

You know, I work my butt off, just like the rest of us and all I ask is that when it comes time to spend my hard earned money there are no barrels involved and no bending at the waist. Is that so much to ask?

Yeah, okay sure, I could spend my money on other, similar high quality games, like Firestorm Armada or Flames of War, but who am I gonna play with? No one. That's the facts. I could spend months waiting for a game, I could spend even more money buying two armies in the hopes that I can convince someone to play, but in the end it's like this: There is only Warhammer in the 21st Century. And goddamn you better be able to afford it, you better not complain and you damn well better keep spending your money or GW will take it's nose and turn it straight up at you!

And yet... I love my 40k... it's a cruel trap. I feel like I did when I was just getting into hard drugs! Damn, you love it so much, but it's killing your wallet and eating your soul! I can sit down in my basement, escape from life for a few hours and paint and sculpt and do all sorts of cutting and gluing and be genuinely happy. Then I turn on my computer to drool over what I hope I'll be able to afford next and it just kills me every time I look, because the prices are so far beyond my means!

I mean, hell. I could afford a $100 tank, and yeah I could probably even afford a Titan or something, but will I ever have sex with my wife again? Will I be able to make my rent? No and no.

So go ahead GW, keep that head buried firmly in the sand. Keep raising your prices and keep churning out lackluster books and products. I'll be down here hiding in the corner, waiting for good deals on my toys.

 RatBot wrote:
I'm not a gun person and I don't own any, but I'm pretty sure that a fully automatic weapon, or even one with a burst-fire option, is illegal in the vast majority of jurisdictions in the US.

No, you just have to have a license to own it.

Topic, folks. You can talk about guns all you want in the Off Topic section.

 azreal13 wrote:

 Kanluwen wrote:

 azreal13 wrote:

Exactly, they closed it due to the moaning! They didn't look to the reasons for the moaning and try and address them (moaning isn't the disease, its a symptom, like you said, little or no moaning on FW's page, little or no moaning about FW here, except maybe the occasional "Whut, moar marines? Which is kind of fair comment.)

The "moaning" that was going on at the time of the closure had nothing to do with the products though. It was at the time of the whole "Spots the Space Marine" debacle.

I'm assuming you have something to follow that up with, as what you've written so far is a null point.

I think the point he was trying to make is that the GW Facebook page wasn't closed down as a result of people moaning about their product. It was closed down because GW sent a takedown notice over someone using the name 'Space Marine' on a completely unrelated topic, and people posted their opinions of that. In volume.

Rather than address the fact that their legal department had been a little over-zealous, they pulled the Facebook page.

 azreal13 wrote:
Sadly, that was from an annual report, it is essentially an open letter from Kirby to the shareholders. It has been postulated in the past that he may deliberately use ideas and language to deliberately get a rise out of the proletariat, but even that theory speaks volumes.

So Tom Kirby is a troll?

That quote though... wow. Just wow.

@ $33K a year is US starting or fresh store salary. There is also quite a nice benefits package attached. Medical, Eye/Dental/ 401K, stock options, profit share and life insurance. As well as 2 weeks a year vacation and 1 week of sick leave. Bonus weeks are added as you break longevity levels with the company.

Store sales volume over the previous years sales dictates the advance in pay, typically in $2k increments. Quarterly bonus for sales above the previous years sales for the same sales quarter are also offered to store at a rate of 20%. So make $10K more in the first quarter than you did last year in the first quarter you get a $2k check. Odds are if you are making that kind of cash you will see a pay rise at the end of the fiscal year. The reverse is also true, you dip in sales down into a lower pay scale because of lower sales you take a pay cut. Simple, you get paid with in what your shop makes, in a one man shop you are %100 responsible for figuring out how to get your money.

There is a minimum expected sales goal for every store, blanket wise its $150K a year bare bones, but there is no official policy beyond that expectation that I am aware of. There was a previous attempt to let the managers quote their own goals and then the support teams were there to "hold them to account" for what the established goals were. That didn't work and its no longer in practice. Some new store managers have had rather aggressive goals set for them and thus they are no longer with the company. All too often its not the goals that are set, but the simple fact that the job is not what they thought it was. Some guys have hard starts and the shop barely did $100K its first year others have had banner starts in primed area and did @ $250 their first year. There are older shops out there doing $350-450K a year.

One man stores are demanding, rigid and more challenging than they are trained for some of the time. They require salesmanship, creative thinking and diligence, not just a love of the hobby. Both is better but if you can sell, then it really does not matter what the product is. Yes, the more you know about your product the better but some one who is a big ol fan boy but not a salesmen will not last, it happens all the time. Probably why the majority of US managers have @2 years or less with the company.

Lets face it if your going to a GW shop to start with you already want what is there. So the stage is set, can they get you what you want but sell you just enough extra to make their numbers with out making you feel like they are fleecing you. Its a very delicate balancing act, and certainly not one specific to Games Workshop.

 insaniak wrote:
Topic, folks. You can talk about guns all you want in the Off Topic section.

 azreal13 wrote:

 Kanluwen wrote:

 azreal13 wrote:

Exactly, they closed it due to the moaning! They didn't look to the reasons for the moaning and try and address them (moaning isn't the disease, its a symptom, like you said, little or no moaning on FW's page, little or no moaning about FW here, except maybe the occasional "Whut, moar marines? Which is kind of fair comment.)

The "moaning" that was going on at the time of the closure had nothing to do with the products though. It was at the time of the whole "Spots the Space Marine" debacle.

I'm assuming you have something to follow that up with, as what you've written so far is a null point.

I think the point he was trying to make is that the GW Facebook page wasn't closed down as a result of people moaning about their product. It was closed down because GW sent a takedown notice over someone using the name 'Space Marine' on a completely unrelated topic, and people posted their opinions of that. In volume.

Rather than address the fact that their legal department had been a little over-zealous, they pulled the Facebook page.

Ya, I got that. It just didn't do anything to counter the point I made which is they'd rather turtle up than deal with anything negative, irrespective of the source.

 Captain Vyper wrote:
in a one man shop you are %100 responsible for figuring out how to get your money.

Unless of course GW decides how much of what stock you get and what your operating days/hours are.

I can only speak to the US sales chain for starters. You are allocated stock based on your sales volume, and can at will call and have you levels changed provided you can back up your requests. They work quite well with you on that so no issue there. Not every thing will be as you wish it mind you but show me a company that does that? Last year, managers of one mans were placed back on salary and told they could do what they liked in way of hours with in reason and that they must be open at least 35 hours a week. Some stores are now closed on Sundays and open tue-sat. Some went to later opens and later close times. I can't sear to any who have opened 6 days a week and I am pretty sure they would straight veto any one many trying to be open 7. But managers are pretty free to set what ever hours they like as long as it makes business sense.