Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

 azreal13 wrote:
Not re boxed, just opened and resealed, perhaps with a sticker saying "Includes new rulebook"

Spoiler:

There's no need to waste precious, precious money on new packaging, someone is probably having conniption fits over the price of all that shrink wrap they're just throwing away!

I don't see how having direct only items in stock is a problem in any way? If the SKU is different, send a sticker, if you're adamant direct shouldn't be in store, then recall those specific items. Where's the issue?

And a mandatory price increase off course

Their financial year end is the end of May, so expect any amount of shenanikins to boost their sales revenue over the next 2 months. Their loss of sales revenue (and ensuing reduction in profit margin) in the first half of the financial year stank and knocked over 20% off their share value. They don't want to go through that again so will pull out every last trick in the book to try and increase sales volume and margin.

Of course often measures that may boost sales volume will be at the expense of lost margin, and vice versa, so GW being GW expect much head-scratching to ensue as the company appears to eat itself out of sheer desperation in order to keep the shareholders happy!

Time to order popcorn and pull up a comfy chair...

"We didn't make a loss on Wood Elves! WE NEVER SOLD THEM! COUNTERFEIT! COPYRIGHT! BELIEVE US!"

Ha ha posed are out of there too

 Byte wrote:
Yes, Direct Order means this. Costs them money to order it for customers(shipping). My FLGS still orders the stuff for me.

We still don't have to pay shipping for direct orders, we just get a worse margin and the product usually shows up in blank packaging that would look awful on display shelves.

 Byte wrote:

 chiefbigredman wrote:
Interesting how much stuff for Fantasy is becoming direct only.
Does that mean that FLGS can't order them at their regular discount? Because if so that sucks...

Yes, Direct Order means this. Costs them money to order it for customers(shipping). My FLGS still orders the stuff for me.

Interesting i will have to get some night runners before this happens.....already stocked up on Plague Monks tho!
I don't understand why they are moving so much to direct only......more profit for them tho I guess.

The resin Tau commander battlesuit is also unavailable on the GW site.

 warboss wrote:
The resin Tau commander battlesuit is also unavailable on the GW site.

That's another specialty of North America. Still available in Europe.

Also a confirmation of the 40k starter box being discontinued:

Games Workshop: Groningen wrote:Last 2 Duistere Wraak sets.
They go to HQ next week.....

 warboss wrote:
The resin Tau commander battlesuit is also unavailable on the GW site.

Well I was pricing them out just this morning, so this happened today. Im kinda happy, I didn't want a failcast buffmander.

 Kroothawk wrote:

 warboss wrote:
The resin Tau commander battlesuit is also unavailable on the GW site.

That's another specialty of North America. Still available in Europe.

Also a confirmation of the 40k starter box being discontinued:

Games Workshop: Groningen wrote:Last 2 Duistere Wraak sets.
They go to HQ next week.....

This only counts for the Dutch version I guess, which makes sense, since the codexes/army books are in English, yet the rulebook is in Dutch.

Confirmed today at my flgs they were not restocking any fantasy terrain kits. Get them while you can.

I can understand why they're discontinuing it in the Netherlands. Heck, they even named it the dusty rack edition because it just sits there unsold!

Quite, everyone I know buys the english box rather than the dutch one since we have to make do with everything else in English anyways so why bother with a brb in dutch. Even the limited version stood on the shelves of my lfgs for a loooong time.

Ofcourse it is a bit of a shame, we have had so many laughs reading the often horrid trainslated versions. Somehow refering to the regalboek won't be the same anymore

Just for the record:
Seems a lot of kits are missing from the US website that are still available in Europe, e.g. Sentinel and Tau Commander.

What does all of it mean, though? I'm more than a little frightened by the suddenness...

Insert cynical response: GW is taking all their stuff off the market so there is nothing available to liquidate when they go belly up. You saw it here first, nobody else gets to claim that thought process or I'll sue them. No knockoff beliefs-you hear that, Spots the Space Marine?

Is the reason for all this not obvious? They need the plastic to melt down to make more Hobbit Goblin Town starter sets!

Wolf Guard Terminators are off the website. They sometimes pop up on featured items for the Space Wolf army but if you click the link it just takes you back to the home page.

THE_DUDE wrote:
Wolf Guard Terminators are off the website. They sometimes pop up on featured items for the Space Wolf army but if you click the link it just takes you back to the home page.

Quite often in Australia I see units not appearing on the AUS website at all but they show up on either the UK or USA pages. Herald of Khorne on Juggernaut, and Flesh Hounds of Khorne are both completely absent from the Aus website.

Not a good explanation for some disappearing models, but an official one:

 ClockworkZion wrote:
So with us having several threads about this so far, and more to come I did the most sensible thing I could think of and emailed GW Customer Service inquiring about it and seeing if they were aware of the potential issue. This was the reply:

Hi there,

Thanks for writing in to us. Over the last week or so, items have been removed from the website as we run out of stock; to avoid back orders. Once we our re-stock arrives, then the appropriate items should once again be available.

Sorry for the confusion, but I hope this helps.


David Monroe

Games Workshop

North America Customer Services

So it's just GW pulling models to avoid back orders. Strange, but it's GW so not to be to unexpected, as pretty much everything they do we call "strange".

Also:

 Kilkrazy wrote:
We know from GW's half year financial statement that they were spending a lot less on manufacturing products than the same period the year before. In other words, they have fewer in the supply chain to fulfil customer orders.

Although sales have declined, if their supply chain management isn't working 100% efficiently, they might keep running out of model kits.

They remove the missing kits from their eCommerce site to avoid the problem of back orders.

With the new release of the GW website I figured out what is Direct only for Skaven (I would do other armies but a little short on time here):

Direct Only:
Jezzails
Vermin Lord
Thanquol and Bone Ripper
Doomflayer
Queek Headtaker
Deathmaster Snitkch
Rat Swarms
Warlord
Ikit Claw
Craventail
Grey Seer
Lord Skrolk
Rattling Gun
Gutter Runners
Skweel
Warp grinder
Plague Censor Bearers
Poisoned wind globadier
Warlord Spinetail
Assasin (Both kits)
Giant rats

Remaining Kits:
Battalion Box
Screaming Bell/Plague Furnace
Hellpit Abomination
Stormvermin
Rat Ogres
Night Runners
Clan Rats
Plague Monks
Warplightning Cannon/Plagueclaw Catapult
Doomwheel

That is almost 70% of the army is direct only...SO RIDICULOUS
I don't normally get upset about that but this is kind of irritating. It seems it is mostly the finecast and the metal models that they are doing this to.

Also did anyone else notice that shipping is $26 MINIMUM for orders under $80.....I don't know what the prices were before but that it pretty outrageous.
And check this out:
http://www.games-workshop.com/en-CA/Delivery?_requestid=1668349

Look at the prices for shipping the fast delivery. The MORE money you spend the MORE you pay for the express shipping....shouldn't it be the opposite way around?
Another backwards business model.