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That's one issue, GW's anti-scalper might stop the casual scalpers, which likely have been on the rise a lot (esp for GW). It will also limit most of their customers to a single box, which will naturally spread the stock out a lot more (at least when ordered direct from their own site).

However it might just free up stock for a professional scalper with their bot farm and such, to just swoop in and take even more. Of course GW might find other ways to stop them - eg at the point of delivery and shipping when they spot oddities such as dozens of orders going to the same address or all going to the same block of flats or such.

It's one thing to order 30 copies to the same address, but it would be rare for a whole block of flats or linked addresses or mail boxes to also order tens to hundreds of copies.


This might also explain why sometimes we see stock re-appear after its sold out, because GW have gone through the addresses and orders, spotted an oddity and cancelled the orders.

Cronch wrote:

drbored wrote:
We'll see if the anti-scalper measures actually help. I'm not planning on getting it, but for once I'd love to skip the whole 'omg GW is awful I didn't get the box I wasn't planning on buying!' phase of the regular complaint cycle.

Get a VPN, tie a bot to it, scalp away. Companies like Nike, adidas etc. have been dealing with scalpers for years and they always get through. The professional scalpers i mean, not some rando that ordered 10 boxes by hand.

I wonder how many actual scalpers there are for warhammer stuff. I ran a poll on another forum and about 80% of the people who tried to buy Cursed City were able to get hold of one.

This suggests that gw didn't make as few copies as people think. It's pretty easy now to get hold of a copy of Indomitus without paying ridiculous money. Given the relative popularity of the two systems if GW make the same number of copies it might be enough.

Personally I love the Stormcast but I'm not crazy about the Kruleboyz. If I can wander into my local store on launch day and check out the models in the flesh, I may well buy a copy but unlike with Cursed City, I'm not going to take part in the pre-order day scramble.

Chikout wrote:
I wonder how many actual scalpers there are for warhammer stuff. I ran a poll on another forum and about 80% of the people who tried to buy Cursed City were able to get hold of one.

I think it's massively dependent on location, because they did send a lot out to retailers in addition to the online sales, so if the local community was excited they would have sold out almost immediately, and if the local community didn't care you could end up with copies sitting on shelves for weeks or months or years even (assuming the local retailer isn't savvy enough just to put them on eBay with a massive mark up).

Out here, I called all the shops I typically frequent and none of them had it. The local GW used their system to check if there were any in stock in other GW's in the area (there's 7 of them throughout the city) and none had any stock, the only GW that did have some left in stock was hundreds of miles away.

That would hurt sales of starter and solo sets.

tneva82 wrote:
That would hurt sales of starter and solo sets.

Not if this WAS the starter...

I'm torn on the orcs. On the one hand I've always liked the appearance of Lord of the Rings orcs so getting some for Age of Sigmar gives me a Destruction army I may be interested in. On the other hand, what the hell are Lord of the Rings orcs doing in AoS?

Sigmarines look good for the spearmen and halbardiers. The banner bearer is also cool. The rest isn't inspiring.

So a pretty mixed bag for me. There's probably not enough in the box that I like to justify the considerable price it's bound to have. Not the worst thing that can happen since it'll like sell out in five minutes anyway.

 DaveC wrote:
Just having a rewatch of the boxset video it looks like there might be new terrain there - if it's not just something they 3D printed for the pictures. Might be for the Command edition equivalent.

There's a partially ruined building under reconstruction, a statue with a lion shield and domed towers that have a mixed SCE and KO look.

The (assumed) equivalent to the 40k starter box with terrain in it is what has me interested much more than Dominion. It'll be interesting to see what they do with it. I've been wanting AoS ruins akin to the 40k ones for years, but GW has so far not gone for the modular panel approach. Which is a shame in my opinion. Not that some of the terrain they make for AoS isn't cool, but it's hardly anything you get more than one of to build something larger.

Would be nice to see that change with the new starter set or, if it contains more purpose-made terrain because it's a starter set, an individual release of modular ruins afterwards.

 NAVARRO wrote:

tneva82 wrote:
That would hurt sales of starter and solo sets.

Not if this WAS the starter...

A) it would hurt solo set sales even more
B) gw has 3 starters(recruit, elite, command). This is and never was starter set,. You want starter set, you buy starter set. This doesn't even have stuff starter sets are. Are you willing to turn this 160e discount box to 250e starter set?

Less lotr orcs, I assume people mean the orcs from the movies and subsequent GW game - which all looked interesting, more like 80s GW orcs, which is a good thing. Best orcs GW has produced in a very long time. Definitively going to pre-order this even though its a shame about the game.

I very much like these new orcs. They do however look like they come from an entirely new game or setting.

The proportions on the hobs kind of push them a little too far to the silly looking side but I don't hate them.

So far this is the only AOS army that I really like the overall look of. I don't know if it's enough to get me to drop what will likely be a large sum on the box (if I'm even able to order it before a sellout), though.

 Kanluwen wrote:
That's something that I'll never understand.

Why would you let someone preorder something and not pay up front?!

Because not every sales system is set up that way? Because some companies(BBTS, Entertainment Earth, Walmart, Target, Amazon) are large enough to not have to worry about left over stock not selling? Because some local stores get more than enough demand that they have a wait list if you can't pay?

There's tons of reasons and it's actually MORE common to have an order system where they pay on receipt than on order. Of the countless stores I've frequented in the 10+ states I've lived in, ONLY GW has ever had a "Pay on order" system.

 Platuan4th wrote:

 Kanluwen wrote:
That's something that I'll never understand.

Why would you let someone preorder something and not pay up front?!

Because not every sales system is set up that way? Because some companies(BBTS, Entertainment Earth, Walmart, Target, Amazon) are large enough to not have to worry about left over stock not selling? Because some local stores get more than enough demand that they have a wait list if you can't pay?

There's tons of reasons and it's actually MORE common to have an order system where they pay on receipt than on order. Of the countless stores I've frequented in the 10+ states I've lived in, ONLY GW has ever had a "Pay on order" system.

Most times I've preordered things they either don't ask for money up front at all, or they ask for a deposit of 10 to 20% to ensure you are motivated to come back and get it months later when it actually comes out.

Given GW's preorders are typically only a week in advance it doesn't make a huge difference if they ask you to pay up front I guess, but you'll still have headaches if people change their mind and want their money back.

Maybe I'm just weird then, because my FLGS that I frequent gives us the option to "pay it now" for a preorder on most things...but for these kind of LE sets(and not just from GW!)? They won't reserve/preorder one for you unless you pay up front.

AllSeeingSkink wrote:

 Platuan4th wrote:

 Kanluwen wrote:
That's something that I'll never understand.

Why would you let someone preorder something and not pay up front?!

Because not every sales system is set up that way? Because some companies(BBTS, Entertainment Earth, Walmart, Target, Amazon) are large enough to not have to worry about left over stock not selling? Because some local stores get more than enough demand that they have a wait list if you can't pay?

There's tons of reasons and it's actually MORE common to have an order system where they pay on receipt than on order. Of the countless stores I've frequented in the 10+ states I've lived in, ONLY GW has ever had a "Pay on order" system.

Most times I've preordered things they either don't ask for money up front at all, or they ask for a deposit of 10 to 20% to ensure you are motivated to come back and get it months later when it actually comes out.

Given GW's preorders are typically only a week in advance it doesn't make a huge difference if they ask you to pay up front I guess, but you'll still have headaches if people change their mind and want their money back.

They can cancel and get their money back anyway...that way you just have to spend more effort returning the money

 Gallahad wrote:
What do people expect the price to be? I really like those orcs, so I better start saving now.

They said around Indomitus pricing, so most likely £130-£140.

I can't really put my finger on it but something about these hobgoblins scream 80's dark fantasy. Digging it.

I'll pick up this box if I can and try to trade the SCE half for the hobgob half.

 Arbitrator wrote:

They said around Indomitus pricing, so most likely £130-£140.

Sounds about right!

...but will they fall into exactly the same trap as with Indomitus by severly under estimating / under producing?

Sweaty Palms time


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 GrosseSax wrote:


I'll pick up this box if I can and try to trade the SCE half for the hobgob half.

Hah! If you were UK based I'd done just that with you. I 'like' the Hobgobs, but... no thanks. I really like the Stormcast, but the Hobgobs look like a massive time sink painting wise. They are greatly detailed, an amazingly good reimagining... but something about them just does not appeal.

 GrosseSax wrote:
I can't really put my finger on it but something about these hobgoblins scream 80's dark fantasy. Digging it.

Some of my favorite Citadel sculpts are the mid/late 80's orcs and hobgoblins, ie, pre-Kev Adams. RR15 Throg's Hobgoblin Despoilers (Jes Goodwin?) and BC2 Manic Hobgoblin Hero (perhaps one of my favorite sculpts of all time) and Nick Lund's BC4 Mighty Ugezod's Death Commandos,

RR15 as shown here: https://www.zerotwentythree.com/2018/10/hob-orcs-complete.html

and BC2 Manic Hobgoblin as shown here:


These new models look like an insane reimagining of Nick Lund as filtered through Gary Chalk and I love 'em.

SquealMcSqueal wrote:

 Arbitrator wrote:

They said around Indomitus pricing, so most likely £130-£140.

Sounds about right!

...but will they fall into exactly the same trap as with Indomitus by severly under estimating / under producing?

They didn't "fall into some trap" or "under estimated", they're not stupid, they made precisely as many as they needed to, so they could create artificial scarcity and exploit FOMO. It was a calculated business decision.

I forgot about the forced scarcity nonsense with these sets. Nah, not gonna be interested in this for sure knowing that.

But I looked at the models again and I like them even more the second time. Definitely a range to keep an eye on. I actually like the weird proportions, I think it makes them look properly different.

 judgedoug wrote:
These new models look like an insane reimagining of Nick Lund as filtered through Gary Chalk and I love 'em.

Yeah, they're all kinds of retro and modern fantasy at once - to me, they have a "LoTR as in the current 'Shadow of ...' video games, but then reimagined by the folks who made the new Dark Crystal series" zany horror vibe that works really really well for me, much more than the first AoS orruks and the various 40k Ork iterations since, IDK, 2nd Ed.

Yes I definitely prefer these to the first round of AoS Orcs which I consider inferior to the old WFB plastics.

 Yodhrin wrote:
Only in the bizarro-world of GW fandom could customers being upset they're unable to buy product due to mismanagement and scalper-baiting policies be characterised as "hating"

We weren't speaking about people leveling legitimate criticisms--we were speaking about people who claim they do not want the box, complain they cannot get the box, and do both simultaneously with the box still being widely available. Which happened with Indomitus. A lot.

You elected to mischaracterize the original sentiment to create a straw man rather than engaging on a reasonable level. This is something you do frequently across multiple different discussions.

tneva82 wrote:

 NAVARRO wrote:

tneva82 wrote:
That would hurt sales of starter and solo sets.

Not if this WAS the starter...

A) it would hurt solo set sales even more
B) gw has 3 starters(recruit, elite, command). This is and never was starter set,. You want starter set, you buy starter set. This doesn't even have stuff starter sets are. Are you willing to turn this 160e discount box to 250e starter set?

Sigh, the starter sets in the past seemed OK, well it worked well for decades... GW kind of milked these differently now creating the Limited box then splitting into smaller boxes with terrain as different entry points etc... It works probably great for GW...and for people wanting terrain on smaller sets... For people that just want the minis like the old starters before indomitus not so much. They miss the week of release and game over.
Are you telling me in the past GW did not profit on solo sales, thats amazing considering the profits reports XD
Just because they do it like this now does not mean:
_ We don't understand its not intended as starter
_ If they sold as starter they would still profit on solos as they did since ever in the past.
_ Old starters were good deals for us too so yeah This could have been a starter that would linger for years and not a few week limited thing.
_ I don't need to turn anything into anything I just don't buy period. Besides old boxes were not expensive as you say this would be.
_ don't want to talk prices too much cause we don't know... and GW has increased the prices on some kits ridiculously recently. So no point arguing it.

I find bizarre people discard or choose to forget decades of practice for 1 year or so of a new practice.

GW stepped up to make things right with Indomitus though; they saw what happened and then did another (unplanned) print run to make sure everyone could get it. And it was/is available at tabletop stores for months afterword. My flgs didn't sell its last copy until April.

Like by all means criticize GW for making mistakes, but dumping on them after making their best effort to fix it just sends the message that they shouldn't bother.

At the end of the day it was a limited product to go along with the release. Companies do this all the time across a wide variety of industries, so faulting GW for that behavior isn't entirely fair, or productive. Though as mentioned before criticism should absolutely be leveled at poor execution.

Someone who always craps on GW for everything or who always praises GW for everything is just a black/white knight and their opinion doesn't mean anything. Even HNBC will give GW credit at times, and he has to put up with their Australian pricing scheme!

Tldr; we should go back to criticizing GWs handling of balance or Cursed City, that's where the juicy complaints are to be had!

I like the new practice that they started with the Indomitus Set. I won't buy this box set. I don't like either of the center piece leaders and I'm not a huge fan of the majority of the weirdly proportioned goblin/orcs. If they release a different follow on set with terrain and some of the models I will buy them. I have a ton of models and honestly need updated plastic terrain over models.

At the end of the day it was a limited product to go along with the release

The problem is, it looks like a starter set, it acts like a starter set, but now it's not a starter set, it's a Limited Launch Product and the "starter sets" to follow after it are frankly, trash in comparison. It's only limited edition cause GW said so. They will produce the same models they put in this set later and just split them into smaller "starters" with less value.

Cronch wrote:

At the end of the day it was a limited product to go along with the release

The problem is, it looks like a starter set, it acts like a starter set, but now it's not a starter set, it's a Limited Launch Product and the "starter sets" to follow after it are frankly, trash in comparison. It's only limited edition cause GW said so. They will produce the same models they put in this set later and just split them into smaller "starters" with less value.

Yes? That's the point of the launch box. It's for all experience levels of players to start a new army with a bit of a discount, whereas the starters are for new players to be able to start the game but it won't be as big as a discount (or have as many miniatures) as the launch box. The launch box should be seen more in line with the battle boxes (e.g., Aether War or Shadow & Pain) and not a starter.

Why? Why was Soul Wars ok to have full-sized rulebook and 52 models and stay available through the entire 2nd edition run but not this?

Cronch wrote:
Why? Why was Soul Wars ok to have full-sized rulebook and 52 models and stay available through the entire 2nd edition run but not this?

Because they have switched up their starter box/ edition launch model since AoS 2 dropped. The first instance of this new system was with indomitus.

ok, and? I'm getting an inferior product as a customer if I don't manage to nab one of those low production run Special Limited Boxes when GW clearly could supply plenty of Soul Wars boxes. Why. I mean beyond corporate greed, because as far as I can see, there is no redeeming quality to this shift.