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It seems fairly common these days, with supermarkets doing loyalty schemes and entertainment stores too.

What got me thinking is that are trying to cut down on internet discount retailers and sell more at GW's RRP. If they introduced a reward scheme then people may be more inclined to shop at GW if you earned points towards another purchase. This may be far fetched (I know this is GW we're talking about), but maybe loyalty customers get access to discounts (new releases, christmas, games days), even 10% might encourage a few more people.

So do you think this could happen? Or even if it would be worth it?

FLGS I go to already do this. I think people who shop at
discounts find them. I don't know if people will buy more. They
might shift their buying from one retailer to the GW store, but
I doubt more product will actually be sold.

They have run schemes in the past, like Skullz but it doesn't seem to be their bag these days.

That said I dread the day GW introduce a store credit card with a 60% APR.

Howard A Treesong wrote:They have run schemes in the past, like Skullz but it doesn't seem to be their bag these days.

That said I dread the day GW introduce a store credit card with a 60% APR.

lol, that's harsh.

I must admit, I did sign up for a Sony card to buy a discounted Playstation 3. But once
I got that, I never used the card again.

a) I was going to get a PS3 anyway.
b) I believe PS3's are actually sold at a loss for the console?

Either way, I can't see how the credit card helped sony all that much.

malfred wrote:FLGS I go to already do this. I think people who shop at
discounts find them. I don't know if people will buy more. They
might shift their buying from one retailer to the GW store, but
I doubt more product will actually be sold.

Yeah, not more product sold, just more sold at GW's RRP, rather than online discount retailer's prices.

I remember Skullz, I think I managed about one sticker. To be honest, how many people buy GW stuff regularly enough to build up enough points? It's not like the weekly food shop.

The other issue is that no-one is competing with GW to sell their products aside from FLGS, who at the end of the day make GW money, so aside from Darksphere stye discounts, there's no real need to encourage loyalty.

NoBaconz4You wrote:It seems fairly common these days, with supermarkets doing loyalty schemes and entertainment stores too.

What got me thinking is that are trying to cut down on internet discount retailers and sell more at GW's RRP. If they introduced a reward scheme then people may be more inclined to shop at GW if you earned points towards another purchase. This may be far fetched (I know this is GW we're talking about), but maybe loyalty customers get access to discounts (new releases, christmas, games days), even 10% might encourage a few more people.

So do you think this could happen? Or even if it would be worth it?

Why not just shop at a store that already offers a reward point system? Or cut out the reward point system and realize the gain immediately by buying online?

Pay $100 full retail to get 10% off your next purchase of $20 or more...or just get 15% off everything buying online. I would choose option 2.

No.

The ethos of GW is that it is the HHHobby and there is no place to buy HHHobby things except at GW.

It would be illogical to offer customers a bonus for buying the HHHobby supplies from GW when they can't buy them anywhere else.

Secondly, practically all non-GW equivalent hobby supplies are at least 25% cheaper than GW. They aren't competing on price so it makes no sense to give a price reduction.

Hmm, okay. You guys seem to have a much better understanding than I would. Feel free to lock if you want.

Airfix have had tokens on their boxes for yonks, though one has to be a member of the Airfix Club to redeem them.

Mantic have a points system so in theory there is no reason why it couldn't work

Don't see it happenening anytime this side of the final trump, all things being equal.

No. This is what good business do. GW is not a good business.

NoBaconz4You wrote:Feel free to lock if you want.

A polite difference in opinion doesn't warrant a lock. And seeing as there is no duplicate thread either, let the discussion continue.

Flashman wrote:I remember Skullz, I think I managed about one sticker. To be honest, how many people buy GW stuff regularly enough to build up enough points?

I did pretty well out of it...

Actually there is one consideration to loyalty schemes that has been missed thus far; market research. When you swipe your clubcard at Tesco's or what have you, they are getting an enormous amount of information about you and your buying habits. GW are missing out on such things. The actual reward points are pretty much negligible as far as the company are concerned - they want the juicy info on you and what you buy.

Kilkrazy wrote:No.

The ethos of GW is that it is the HHHobby and there is no place to buy HHHobby things except at GW.

It would be illogical to offer customers a bonus for buying the HHHobby supplies from GW when they can't buy them anywhere else.

Secondly, practically all non-GW equivalent hobby supplies are at least 25% cheaper than GW. They aren't competing on price so it makes no sense to give a price reduction.

What is the "HHHobby" thing about, I'm not quite getting it.

I think they should introduce some kind of novel scheme whereby if you subscribe to their monthly advert you get it delivered before, or on the day of general release, rather than sending it out after everyone else has been able to buy it from the stores.

You know, give people some inclination to actually subscribe*



* They could possibly combine this by adding some actual content...

Novel scheme.
Surely they should send you a BL book rather than a magazine?

Very droll

I think if you're fool enough to pay RRP in a GW store, instead of going online or supporting an independent GW, then you should get a free stamp in the face with a boot. Because that'll really bring home the corporate message of GW today; a boot stamping in the face of the hobbyists forever.

Howard A Treesong wrote:

Kilkrazy wrote:No.

The ethos of GW is that it is the HHHobby and there is no place to buy HHHobby things except at GW.

It would be illogical to offer customers a bonus for buying the HHHobby supplies from GW when they can't buy them anywhere else.

Secondly, practically all non-GW equivalent hobby supplies are at least 25% cheaper than GW. They aren't competing on price so it makes no sense to give a price reduction.

What is the "HHHobby" thing about, I'm not quite getting it.

There are two types of people in the world; the type who know about the tabletop wargaming hobby, and the type who know about only the GW HHHobby.

Kilkrazy wrote:

Howard A Treesong wrote:

Kilkrazy wrote:No.

The ethos of GW is that it is the HHHobby and there is no place to buy HHHobby things except at GW.

It would be illogical to offer customers a bonus for buying the HHHobby supplies from GW when they can't buy them anywhere else.

Secondly, practically all non-GW equivalent hobby supplies are at least 25% cheaper than GW. They aren't competing on price so it makes no sense to give a price reduction.

What is the "HHHobby" thing about, I'm not quite getting it.

There are two types of people in the world; the type who know about the tabletop wargaming hobby, and the type who know about only the GW HHHobby.

I don't get it either.

Howard A Treesong wrote:I think if you're fool enough to pay RRP in a GW store, instead of going online or supporting an independent GW, then you should get a free stamp in the face with a boot. Because that'll really bring home the corporate message of GW today; a boot stamping in the face of the hobbyists forever.

Being the small city that Hereford is, there is only 1 place that stocks GW products, and that's GW. I rather buy stuff there/online than spend time and petrol money going to an independent retailer which is 50 miles away.

Kilkrazy wrote:

Howard A Treesong wrote:

Kilkrazy wrote:No.

The ethos of GW is that it is the HHHobby and there is no place to buy HHHobby things except at GW.

It would be illogical to offer customers a bonus for buying the HHHobby supplies from GW when they can't buy them anywhere else.

Secondly, practically all non-GW equivalent hobby supplies are at least 25% cheaper than GW. They aren't competing on price so it makes no sense to give a price reduction.

What is the "HHHobby" thing about, I'm not quite getting it.

There are two types of people in the world; the type who know about the tabletop wargaming hobby, and the type who know about only the GW HHHobby.

I get that, it's the 'HHH' bit I'm unsure as to the origin.

I made it up because Games Workshop Hobby did not seem adequate to express the awesomeness of the GW concept.

It's more than a hobby, it's the Games Workshop HHHobby!

filbert wrote:Actually there is one consideration to loyalty schemes that has been missed thus far; market research. When you swipe your clubcard at Tesco's or what have you, they are getting an enormous amount of information about you and your buying habits. GW are missing out on such things. The actual reward points are pretty much negligible as far as the company are concerned - they want the juicy info on you and what you buy.

This. But then maybe GW doesn't need to know what we buy, because by the sounds of things the only thing they really think we buy are SPESS MAHREENS.

My objection to the old skullz campaign was that it really was of no benefit to me. At the time I was unable to buy product fast enough to acquire skullz before the campaign expired. At least not enough skullz to get anything interesting- a pen with an Imperial Eagle stamped on the side almost feels more like a middle finger than a reward. I think the "discount" when you take the number of skullz compared to how much you had to pay to get the skullz in the first place ended up being less than a 1% discount.

There was also a great disparity in the coolness of the Skullz "rewards" between the UK and the US. The US got a set of unique Adeptus Mechanicus figures. We got a box of Dwarf Lords that we could have ordered from GW ourselves literally the week before the promotion started. (Amongst other examples.)

GW doesn't know the meaning of the word "Discount".

That sort of a program once had a place. Was a pretty neat time of it as well. They had a card program where you'd buy a unit or two a week, as you build and play armies in the local GW stores, then you'd campaign over a planet with your new and fresh built armies.

I started a Tau army on that one, then changed over to another company of IG. ( IIR that was around the same time as the new Cadian and Necron plastics coming out.)

Good stuff...


Too bad they don't do things like that anymore. Those were good times.

It's more than a hobby, it's the Games Workshop HHHobby!

Quite.
A bit like beer with 4 X's
GW is THE triple H Hobby...

apparently.
Though some of us couldn't give a four X for their braggadocios.

I'd love it but I don't want to be battering people into getting loyalty cards.

GW see their customers as the enemy, so why would they reward anyone for buying their stuff?

The Skullz thing worked well - got myself an Ultramarine Standard and a couple of Assassins that way - but GW are a different company these days to even the days of the Skullz program, and that wasn't all that long ago.

H.B.M.C. wrote:GW see their customers as the enemy, so why would they reward anyone for buying their stuff?

The Skullz thing worked well - got myself an Ultramarine Standard and a couple of Assassins that way - but GW are a different company these days to even the days of the Skullz program, and that wasn't all that long ago.

You really think that's the truth. You must be really paranoid my friend. If they were really that bad, they would close all hobby stores and make people buy them from Other Hobby Stores but Set Prices.