BoLS Lounge : Wargames, Warhammer & Miniatures Forum

View Poll Results: Will customer action cause GW to lower prices?

Voters
57. You may not vote on this poll
  • Hell yeah boycott them baby!

    11 19.30%
  • Don't be dense they know we're hooked on plastic crack.

    46 80.70%
Page 1 of 5 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 45
  1. #1
    Chapter-Master
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Norfolk (God's County)
    Posts
    4,511

    Default Will customer action make GW lower prices?

    Hey chaps.

    I am interested in the whole 'GW profit warning' issue. Whilst that is being discussed at length elsewhere, I thought I would like to poll the opinions of the masses - will customer action (ie buying less or even a total boycott) make GW lower prices?

    Whilst we all grumble (quite rightly too) at every price rise, it has only been AFTER the profit warning that people are talking vociferously about boycott and about how GW have brought it on themselves.

    Personally i think what was true today was also the same as yesterday - the profit warning isn't a vindication of peoples opinions, and I don't think this alone will change GW policy.

    Indeed, if as we suspect they have official lurkers on the main 40K sites, they must know for years most veterans will buy from knock down internet companies or ebay - so I am not sure what a total boycott would achieve other than knock on to the internet companies or even crash the GW company, in which case no one wins.

    Thoughts on whether not buying will lower prices, and I would appreciate any commentary from brainy types (a la Mme L'Eldargal) as to how long consumer action will take to result in price drops.
    I'M RATHER DEFINATELY SURE FEMALE SPACE MARINES DEFINERTLEY DON'T EXIST.

  2. #2

    Default

    You are missing something in your thinking. GW thinking is, they don't care for vetreans. Vetreans to GW is anthema to them. They will not admit it. All GW wants is "fresh blood". You come in, you spend your $200+ and come back a second time so once you spent $500 or so, they don't want to see you again, since you don't buy so much anymore.

    So basically GW wants you and then shoosh you out. So for us people who know of GW we have bought enough that GW doesn't care for us, so if we boycotte they don't care because we are not their core audience no more. So the "newbies" or "fresh blood" will not know to boycotte because they just don't know about GW yet. For them GW is just standard and they don't know any better.
    What is the most important rule? That we should do whatever the hell we want, but preferably in the best interests of Games workshop when possible? :P Ill go with that

  3. #3
    Brother-Captain
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Licking my Baals
    Posts
    1,311

    Default

    Those veterans you are quick to dismis mostly rotate armies and buy new stuff all the time....

    YOU might not spend a lot of money, but hte average gamer I know drops several hundred on a new army every 4 to 6 months.

    John M.

  4. #4

    Default

    and is it any wonder that in any new codex the rules are shifted to make you buy new models and that game rules are tweaked to make you buy stuff less than useful

    no they dont care about the everyday player and thats a fact they cancel gamesdays and the likes and just expect you to keep forking it out again and again

    i buy new dex's as they are released but i use tourney wins to get new models i havent bought models in over 2 years with my own cash

  5. #5

    Default

    Funny thing is, when I speak to the staff of the three stores my brothers frequent they all say veteran sales are important, veteran sales are high and they have no idea why people get the impression they don't care about veterans.
    I think people are taking their own local grievances, extrapolating it out to a GW wide thing and then linking up with people in the internet who feel the same way to create this idea that GW has some kind of disregard for veterans when in actual fact it is probably just poorly run stores.
    Ask not the EldarGal a question, for she will give you three answers, all of which are puns and terrifying to know. Back off man, I'm a feminist. Ia! Ia! Gloppal Snode!

  6. #6
    Chapter-Master
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    scotland
    Posts
    2,105

    Default

    people have been arguing for this for years and noythikngds happend. even if 50 people stop purchacing gw and switch to WM and hate mail GW every day its not going to do much!

    also GW hikes there prices with VAT, GW's goals are to
    a) make monies
    b) sell stuff


    i agree with eldargal, people just belive the internetz, if 200 people say there going to do it on the internet, 3 do it IRL :P

    -fuzz
    visit my blog: www.fuzzbuket.blogspot.com I do cheap commsion work
    And COME TO BOLSCON UK and yell about my font!

  7. #7
    Chapter-Master
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Norfolk (God's County)
    Posts
    4,511

    Default

    Fair one both of you, I never thought about nerd rage online as a skewing factor.
    I'M RATHER DEFINATELY SURE FEMALE SPACE MARINES DEFINERTLEY DON'T EXIST.

  8. #8

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by eldargal View Post
    Funny thing is, when I speak to the staff of the three stores my brothers frequent they all say veteran sales are important,...
    Ten years ago I did an inventory, approximately $5000 (actual purchase cost) in GW product over a span of 10 years. This year has been a bit slow but in the last two years I know of about $1500 spent. I know of several Veteran players at my local store who have started new armies in the last year and several more are expanding/ starting new armies.

    With the shift to single employee stores in the US the vets at my store have been more active. Helping people with painting/ modeling questions, army list selection and occasional beginner battles.

    Quote Originally Posted by eldargal View Post
    I think people are taking their own local grievances, extrapolating it out to a GW wide thing and then linking up with people in the internet who feel the same way to create this idea that GW has some kind of disregard for veterans when in actual fact it is probably just poorly run stores.
    This goes back many years. In the mid to late 90's there were frequent reports of GW stores being indifferent and occasionally hostile to veteran players. I think some people were actually told by store employees that new players were the focus (not sure, could just be old and senile).

  9. #9
    Brother-Sergeant
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Huyton
    Posts
    84

    Default

    I can only echo what Eldargal said, i've had nothing but good experiences at GW stores, and at no point has there been any sign of discrimination against veterans in favour of newbies. It's possibly its different abroad, but in the UK at least i can't think of any occasions that would match up with the complaints i've read on the interwebs. In fact in a number of conversations with the manager at GW Grimsby, i was told that veterans are a priority since they bring in repeat revenue.

    Now if what the internet says is true and thats a big if, any attempt at a boycott would ultimately be pointless. If new customers are the priority then a veteran boycott would do nothing since Little Timmy will still be buying and won't be reading a vitriolic rant on Warseer.

  10. #10
    Librarian
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Great Britain.
    Posts
    845

    Default

    I've been a fan of GW since 1989.

    They have never lowered their prices, not even once, in that time. Yes, plastic sets have been released that are (marginally) cheaper than the metal sets they replace, but I cannot recall a single time the sets have been reduced in price by GW themselves (no, that drop in UK interest rates really doesn't count).

    The closest they've come is selling off old stock at extremely reduced prices, but those events are true one-offs (I remember one in 1994 and one in 1998). The other time was the Apocalypse era of bulk buying sets - that's what I'd like to see more of.
    However, the idea of asking GW to lower prices? I'd love it to work, but the last twenty years speak against it. It's a beautiful fantasy, like that farm we'll own. It'lll be ours, and nobody'll can us, and it'll be ours.

    Tell me about that place, George. Tell about how its gonna be.

    Well, Lennie, well have a few pigs, some sheep; we'll grow crops, grain, and have a patch of alfalfa

    For the rabbits?

    Yes Lennie, for the rabbits.

    Tell me about the rabbits George. Tell me how it's gonna be...

    Well...
    Last edited by MaltonNecromancer; 01-07-2011 at 12:19 PM.

Page 1 of 5 123 ... LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •