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I was looking at the dark sphere website and a thought struck me. How do stores sell things at a significantly lower price?

They buy at wholesale prices and then don't put the full mark up to RRP on them. The margins are small though so you have to shift a lot of stock to compensate.

Short answer?

When GW or any other manufacturer sell to the customer, they charge retail price.

When they sell to a company, they sell wholesale, which IIRC is about 60% of the final price.

If a company decides to sell at less than Retail, in the hope that they will sell more by offering a discount, you get the situation that you have with DS, who obviously believe they make more money in the long run buy making less on each item and selling more of them.

Ah, ok then. That was really confusing for a second, but that makes sense.

can a mod lock this or something?

The FLGS in my area pays 55% of GW retail price and he gives us a 15% discount ... works out pretty well as I am loathe to wait to get my shinies.

Pretty much.

The standard discount for trade sales is 45%.

Brick & Mortar stores without an online component that discount are typically doing so to pull in more business than they might otherwise.

Online stores are also making their sales up on bulk, just on a grander scale. There's also the issue of overcharging for shipping & handling to cover some of the difference, of course.

On a related note, trade accounts can actually get (or could a few months ago and for the previous couple decades) GW product through other distributors, just at a lower discount. Alliance gives a 35% discount, for example. Basically an online store writ large.

 Raesvelg wrote:


On a related note, trade accounts can actually get (or could a few months ago and for the previous couple decades) GW product through other distributors, just at a lower discount. Alliance gives a 35% discount, for example. Basically an online store writ large.

They still can, one of the stores I go to, started order there GW stuff form them. With the free shipping it comes out to only a few bucks more then GW.

It's threads like this that make me think rule #1 should be more malleable and situational.

On a completely unrelated topic; Have the school holidays started already?

 notprop wrote:
It's threads like this that make me think rule #1 should be more malleable and situational.

On a completely unrelated topic; Have the school holidays started already?

Really, what part makes you want to be rude?

GW England offer their bricks and mortar independants it at 35% off the RRP after VAT at maximum discount levels.