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once I realised you could get it all from other hobby web stores for about 20% cheaper I stopped using GW but as far as I am aware they still do quite a lot of business.

Who pay GW prices when you can get it cheaper?

I do, for new-release card packs, and the book they're for.
I've been stuffed by webstores too often to trust they'll deliver LE or semi-LE items.

I did for direct only, until I discovered Dark Sphere could do it at 10% off.

Unless it literally cannot be purchased elsewhere, never. It amazes me that people still do.

I do when I pre-order codices or limited stock items like the beastsnagga box.

In the case of codices I often want to play them on the day they are released, and since the brexit German resellers aren't able to get their deliveries on time anymore.
For limited stock, resellers are just too unreliable.

There's a selection of direct order models that used to be only sold by GW directly, which 3rd parties couldn't stock. It's shifted to now where they can stock them, they are just really poor on profits because GW doesn't give them much wriggle room to mark up from the wholesale price.

Sometimes the GW store has products that are only sold through their store or there are limited production runs where 3rd parties can quickly get swamped and where the GW store might hold more stock and thus is more reliable.

Sometimes, esp these days, the GW store might be the only place with a product in stock. The 3rd parties might have a lower price, but might just not have the stock to sell.



Also don't forget that the online store is only one avenue; there's also the physical highstreet stores too. A lot of people buy from them because its in-person and convenient and because they game at the store and thus feel a sense of loyalty toward supporting the store so that it sticks around. Same as what most do for 3rd parties as well, even if another 3rd party, online, offers a better price.

Plus some people are just ignorant of other options or very untrusting.




Personally most of my GW direct buys tend to be things like cast/print on demand; limited runs (eg books) and some boxed sets when they are limited (this is sometimes after the 3rd parties are swamped and stock is vanishing fast and webstores are erratic with working).
I've also supported my local when playing there; plus the birthday store events are pretty good each year if you've saved up a bunch of money. The free bag they gave away with purchases over a certain value a few years back has proven to be a really useful.

The closest to ordering from the GW webstore I do is from the kiosk at the back of my local GW and have it shipped to store. Mostly for preorders of new things. Yes, I pay full retail. But when done this way the store gets credit for the sale, which helps keep his lights on and the door open.

The closest FLGS that offers a discount is a 45 minute drive to get there. Been a while since I’ve been there. I also buy a lot of stuff from Amazon sellers. I can get decent discounts there, and can use gift cards/reward points. Unfortunately, what they have can be spotty at times, and there is often a lag for new releases.

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
Unless it literally cannot be purchased elsewhere, never. It amazes me that people still do.

More or less this, but my appetite extends to stuff that happens to be sold out at the time.

I now have a proper FLGS just down the road, so if I can source it from them, I will. Their discount isn’t the biggest I can get, but Support Your Local Plastic Crack Dealer.

Though I do need to find out if they can order in specific bits and bobs for me, as they don’t carry a large range of 40K and AoS. Skirmish and Boxed Games, yes. But not The Big Boys.

Only if it were limited edition, GW exclusive and I really want it - very rare.

I get everything from Element Games in the UK. Never failed me to-date and they offer a generous discount.

If it’s limited edition or made to order but other than that not really. I’ve done it before just for the click and collect but other than that it’s my FLGS or eBay.

I used to use the GW webstore for new releases and for items that were not on the shelf at my LGS because independent webstores are far too unreliable.

I stopped using GW's webstore entirely when GW themselves became too unreliable and their customer service became absolute gak.

Now I only buy from my LGS and the local Warhammer store because I can get quality customer service.

Seriously, I cannot stress it enough, GW's webstore customer service is such absolute trash it cannot be called customer service. Part of my job is customer service, I do technical training and classes that involve aspects of customer service and I'm not joking; I use GW as my example of the epitome of gak customer service.

I frequent my local warhammer store, and use it as a gaming space, so I like to put my money where at places which host games.

I don't typically order much online, except for the odd thing I can't get in store (like some bases, and webstore exclusive kits), or limited edition things like collections edition of codex.

I do get stuff from other physical stores in my area, but usually it's oop stuff you can't buy from gw direct.

I also like the free shipping to my local store, especially as shipping to my home address is unreliable.

 Overread wrote:

Also don't forget that the online store is only one avenue; there's also the physical highstreet stores too. A lot of people buy from them because its in-person and convenient and because they game at the store and thus feel a sense of loyalty toward supporting the store so that it sticks around.

This is the reason for me, there are no independent shops near me or places to play, only GW stores. I get a place to play and socialise and the manager of the nearest one gives great advice so I primarily buy from them. Also with free shipping to the store and quick turn around it can be that simply ordering anything not instore from their internal system is quicker and just as cheap (or only a quid of so difference) as ordering online.

Not to say I don't use online retailers, buying my nth box of troops that I don't need in a hurry I will shop around. It's just a balance between cost and having somewhere to actually enjoy the hobby.

Yes, primarily for the reason that I'm splitting my time between three different bits of the UK and hobby on the go and for all else they have been consistently *excellent* at getting stuff to me where I am at any given point so long as I order with a four day window of opportunity.

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
Unless it literally cannot be purchased elsewhere, never. It amazes me that people still do.

Same. That's their biggest profit margin, too.

My FLGS doesn't have discounts so I still try to buy from them, but eBay pulls pretty hard.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 oni wrote:

Now I only buy from my LGS and the local Warhammer store because I can get quality customer service.

Seriously, I cannot stress it enough, GW's webstore customer service is such absolute trash it cannot be called customer service. Part of my job is customer service, I do technical training and classes that involve aspects of customer service and I'm not joking; I use GW as my example of the epitome of gak customer service.

Err, well, it's been pretty universal that GW has awesome customer service so I'm not quite sure what you're on about there.

Books in german translation are not allowed to be discounted in germany, so they're items that are the same price everywhere, these I sometimes buy directly.

And made to order things.

And I once ordered directly when they gave you that special Space Marine with your order. That Space Marine became the challenge cup in our gaming group because nobody plays generic Space Marines

 Daedalus81 wrote:

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
Unless it literally cannot be purchased elsewhere, never. It amazes me that people still do.

Same. That's their biggest profit margin, too.

My FLGS doesn't have discounts so I still try to buy from them, but eBay pulls pretty hard.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 oni wrote:

Now I only buy from my LGS and the local Warhammer store because I can get quality customer service.

Seriously, I cannot stress it enough, GW's webstore customer service is such absolute trash it cannot be called customer service. Part of my job is customer service, I do technical training and classes that involve aspects of customer service and I'm not joking; I use GW as my example of the epitome of gak customer service.

Err, well, it's been pretty universal that GW has awesome customer service so I'm not quite sure what you're on about there.

I heard that, esp during the Kirby days, the overseas (from the UK) shop staff could be more on the "salesman" side than "hobby" side in terms of how they were hired and trained. So I'm aware that some overseas can be more pushy on sales and such; but in general GW's customer service is often one of the best. Certainly in the UK they are generally great at resolving things. About the only thing they will fall down on is dealing with finecast errors and that's mostly because when the mould gets an error it normally persists through a whole batch so replacements can wind up with the same (or worse) errors.

To say that they are one of the worst sounds highly abnormal compared to the general experience of GW customer service.

I do often get it directly through the webstore and their is one very good reason, shipping costs. The shipping costs were I live are terrible and getting free shipping from game stores in my country often requires buying 100 - 200 dollars or more at a time so if I am just buying a few things like a codex or a model since GW offers free shipping at 40 dollars it can actually be cheaper to get it directly from them.

Nope. GW customer service is trash.

I'm not talking about sales help. I'm specifically referring to support when there is a damaged / defective product or order issue.

Their support was good some time ago, in fact is was spectacular, but not anymore.

Now...

GW will refuse help unless you purchased the item directly from them. If you purchased through a LGS you must seek resolution through the LGS. This was not always the case.

If you purchased from GW's webstore you can only get help through their online customer support. A local, GW owned and operated Warhammer store is not allowed to help. This was not always the case.

If you purchased from a local, GW owned and operated Warhammer store, you can only get help from that specific store. The online support and/or a different GW owned and operated Warhammer store are not allowed to help. This was not always the case.

In all cases you MUST have proof of purchase. Lose your receipt and you're out of luck. This was not always the case.

GW's customer support line is only available Mon-Fri 6AM to 11AM Central time. That's 7AM-12PM Eastern, 5AM-10AM Mountain and 4AM to 9AM West coast. WTF!?!? This is the most inconvenient time slot I have ever encountered. They used to have normal business hours for each time zone.

GW closed their NA customer support office.

If you email GW support, you're lucky if you get a response within two weeks. My last issue where I was forced to go through GW's online support took nearly one whole year to get resolution. No joke, one whole fething year.

GW now has their support personnel determine for you if the product has an issue and is acceptable for replacement. Your input and satisfaction as the customer no longer matters. You think your damaged product is damaged; you're wrong if GW tells you you're wrong. This was not always the case. It used to be no-quibbles. Now, it's all the quibbles.

I have personally experienced ALL of this.

If I buy from my local Warhammer store and have an issue, my local guy is great, he tries, but that's just one guy and unfortunately even his hands are sometimes tied due to draconian corporate customer support policies.

So to say that GW has good or even acceptable customer support as a whole is living in the past.

Oh god no. I get everything for 30-40% off.

I only make SOME exception for an LGS who's been particularly good to me, which also sells for full GW price. But that's for them, not GW.

 oni wrote:
Nope. GW customer service is trash.

I'm not talking about sales help. I'm specifically referring to support when there is a damaged / defective product or order issue.

Their support was good some time ago, in fact is was spectacular, but not anymore.

Now...

GW will refuse help unless you purchased the item directly from them. If you purchased through a LGS you must seek resolution through the LGS. This was not always the case.

If you purchased from GW's webstore you can only get help through their online customer support. A local, GW owned and operated Warhammer store is not allowed to help. This was not always the case.

If you purchased from a local, GW owned and operated Warhammer store, you can only get help from that specific store. The online support and/or a different GW owned and operated Warhammer store are not allowed to help. This was not always the case.

In all cases you MUST have proof of purchase. Lose your receipt and you're out of luck. This was not always the case.

GW's customer support line is only available Mon-Fri 6AM to 11AM Central time. That's 7AM-12PM Eastern, 5AM-10AM Mountain and 4AM to 9AM West coast. WTF!?!? This is the most inconvenient time slot I have ever encountered. They used to have normal business hours for each time zone.

GW closed their NA customer support office.

GW now has their support personnel determine for you if the product has an issue and is acceptable for replacement. Your input and satisfaction as the customer no longer matters. This was not always the case. It used to be no-quibbles. Now, it's all the quibbles.

I have personally experienced ALL of this.

If I buy from my local Warhammer store and have an issue, my local guy is great, he tries, but that's just one guy and unfortunately even his hands are sometimes tied due to draconian corporate customer support policies.

So to say that GW has good or even acceptable customer support as a whole is living in the past.

Given the increase in 3D printing fidelity I can only expect that these changes would come and that the nobs taking advantage of the system would get pushed out. They're not particularly worrying changes. The only part that would need fixing is the staffed hours, but it's pretty difficult to staff something like that globally.

All of my GW purchases are from Wayland Games. 15%-20% discount and free P&P on orders of £20+.

Without such discount Games Workshop is far too expensive. They would lose me as a customer.

 Daedalus81 wrote:

 oni wrote:
Nope. GW customer service is trash.

I'm not talking about sales help. I'm specifically referring to support when there is a damaged / defective product or order issue.

Their support was good some time ago, in fact is was spectacular, but not anymore.

Now...

GW will refuse help unless you purchased the item directly from them. If you purchased through a LGS you must seek resolution through the LGS. This was not always the case.

If you purchased from GW's webstore you can only get help through their online customer support. A local, GW owned and operated Warhammer store is not allowed to help. This was not always the case.

If you purchased from a local, GW owned and operated Warhammer store, you can only get help from that specific store. The online support and/or a different GW owned and operated Warhammer store are not allowed to help. This was not always the case.

In all cases you MUST have proof of purchase. Lose your receipt and you're out of luck. This was not always the case.

GW's customer support line is only available Mon-Fri 6AM to 11AM Central time. That's 7AM-12PM Eastern, 5AM-10AM Mountain and 4AM to 9AM West coast. WTF!?!? This is the most inconvenient time slot I have ever encountered. They used to have normal business hours for each time zone.

GW closed their NA customer support office.

GW now has their support personnel determine for you if the product has an issue and is acceptable for replacement. Your input and satisfaction as the customer no longer matters. This was not always the case. It used to be no-quibbles. Now, it's all the quibbles.

I have personally experienced ALL of this.

If I buy from my local Warhammer store and have an issue, my local guy is great, he tries, but that's just one guy and unfortunately even his hands are sometimes tied due to draconian corporate customer support policies.

So to say that GW has good or even acceptable customer support as a whole is living in the past.

Given the increase in 3D printing fidelity I can only expect that these changes would come and that the nobs taking advantage of the system would get pushed out. They're not particularly worrying changes. The only part that would need fixing is the staffed hours, but it's pretty difficult to staff something like that globally.

The proof of purchase is likely nothing to do with 3D printing.
It's mostly likely because of Ebay. People would buy a defective model, get a replacement from GW and then put the defective model on sale on ebay. Someone buys it and suddenly they too are requesting a replacement from GW for a defective product.

Rinse and repeat and the same defect is going around in circles.

So now GW requires you to provide proof of purchase. Which is honestly totally fair and what most other retail stores require.
The shift toward you having to deal direct with the store is likely because resellers are part of this. Ergo an innocent customer could buy a secondhand product from a reseller without realising that its resold. So they believe they've a first hand sale.

In reality all GW is doing there is enforcing common sales practice - the buyers contract is with the store not the manufacturer. GW was just willing in the past to deal direct as it was quicker. Now it seems that the USA at least (my last UK experience was ages ago and GW did require proof of purchase but would deal with a replacement for products bought from a 3rd party store); is enforcing the common practice. The customer deals with the store then the store deals with GW. This means that only stores that are trading with GW can get compensation, whilst GW can cut our resellers.

Sure maybe that would stand up if they weren't charging 5,000 yes five thousand percent cost. Look up some lawsuits yes 5,000 once again 5,000 percent mark up. If buying direct you are pay 5,000 percent. That's rediculas and the costermer service should be no questions asked and absolutely anything can be returned.

I buy the launch boxes direct from GW since they usually include limited edition goodies like tokens etc. I also buy direct if something is costed so low that the -20% discount one can get doesn't cover the expensive shipping costs (which can sometimes be close to 20€ alone!), or if every other shop at my disposal is out of stock.

Still waiting for Deimos Rhinos to show up at GW direct. @37€, it qualifies for free shipping from GW so buying it for 30€ from a -20% discounter but paying additional 18€ for shipping would make no sense whatsoever.

Proof of purchase is standard for any after sales support from most any company. Not a barrier in any way.

A casting defect on a spruce cannot be resolved by a retailer if they’ve no stock, and GW absolutely do replace stuff if you’ve raised it with retailer, have receipt and politely explain that you need their help as the manufacturer. First hand experience that they will help. No idea what other poster said to get no support, but polite persistence and demonstrating you’ve tried retailer first but they’re not appropriate resolution is all you need to do.

I can't remember the last thing I bought directly from GW at full price. I don't do that any more. Never pay full price and never spend your own money if that's an option you have.

Boosykes wrote:
Sure maybe that would stand up if they weren't charging 5,000 yes five thousand percent cost. Look up some lawsuits yes 5,000 once again 5,000 percent mark up. If buying direct you are pay 5,000 percent. That's rediculas and the costermer service should be no questions asked and absolutely anything can be returned.

The mark up has nothing to do with it.
There's nothing wrong with a company requesting proof of purchase when a customer reports a defect. In fact its bog standard normal. Heck many firms will require you to not only provide proof of purchase, but will also require you (at the company cost) to return the defective product when issuing a replacement. Or proof of destruction of the product.

GW doesn't do that, you keep the defective product and GW sends you a replacement.


Sure we had it good in the past, but GW are clearly a little wiser in the business sense when it comes to providing support and have taken sensible, standard practice approaches toward protecting themselves.

EBay is my go to place anymore.

 oni wrote:
Nope. GW customer service is trash.

I'm not talking about sales help. I'm specifically referring to support when there is a damaged / defective product or order issue.

I don't know what you are talking about. GW customer service has always been second to none.

They once lost an order for a Ltd. Edition book (one of the Blood Angel/Tyranid Campaign hardbacks) as well as everything else in that order, so gave me a GW voucher for the same value and sent me a replacement for everything in the order free of charge.