GW prices.

[Thornblood]

Just wanted to put this one to rest.

I have hated GW price increments, and the rise of toy soldiers and hobby extras has risen faster than inflation.

However.

A family relation of mine did quite well on London Transport (an essential service prone to price hikes) and had at one point to come up with a very very complex algorithm to do with price increases. Essentially he had to work out how much revenue was lost when prices were put in versus how much profit was made and where was 'too much'.

Similarly GW are arguably the leading manufacturer of this war games hobby. In the last decade or so we have seen severe recession in the west and GW has thrown some if its customer service and more family/friendly manners in favour for a more professional and more ruthless business model, which is not surprising seeing that they are a business.

Also, GW stores (in the UK at least) have been asked to destroy overstock of certain products (most notably vast amounts of black library books) rather than reduce to clear. This is a common business model amongst premium products- no reductions, the prices are correct and we would rather destroy stock than reduce it, because we can afford to and selling a few items at a high price which are cheap to produce is easier on the company overheads (shipping, staffing, manufacturing etc) than selling lots of products at a cheap price which are cheap to produce.

I.e. the budget supermarket struggles to make profit everyday, whereas the car showroom makes alot fewer sales and a much bigger profit per person.

GW is like the Harrods of mini wargaming. It costs alot, and that's part of the appeal. (In fact in Harrods GW products cost more than the rrp).

Whilst I am angry at GW for pricing issues, I think they can justify them in business terms. They are, after all the market leaders. (Im not saying therers not other amazing mini wargaming companies that might be turning more of a % profit, but GW are the giants here).

Update and edit-

Summary of this massive beast of a thread:
Essentially someone complains how GW can justify their prices. Someone else explains that GW justify it (or maybe don't have to justify it) because people buy it. Very occasionally we talk about GW overheads and marketing, staffing distribution and stock markets and business stuff. Sometimes people ask why other things cheap to manufacture (like computer games and DVD's) cost so much when the raw materials of dvds (simply picked from a tree or however they are made) cost so little. Then we talk about production and overheads again. Sometimes we talk about elitism, sometimes we say that the price is right because people buy it. We repeat the same arguments alot. Sometimes someone says something stupid, and sometimes that offends people and we end up in a different cycle of ethical arguments. Mostly we are all upset at GW prices and divided between the 'its not fair' camp and the 'its not essential, if you cant buy it, dont' camp. This summary uses vast generalisations.

Before Posting:
Please read the summary above in Red, if your argument has been covered, even if it is not to your satisfaction, don't worry about it. Someone else can wave that flag for you, just go and enjoy the painting and modelling galleries, content in the knowledge that someone else it getting upset and worked up over your point for you. I don't see many people having a fun or constructive conversation in this thread, and I somewhat regret making it in the first place.

[Necron2.0]

I wouldn't expect this to put anything to rest, sorry to say. It is not that I don't agree with you necessarily, but rather it is that the justifications do not matter. After all, I can quite easily justify indiscriminate wholesale murder, but that does not make it right, and it certainly does not mean anyone should take my justifications to heart. GW charges what they do because the can. Rapists do what they do because they can. There should be no get comfortable with either one.

I get that it becomes tedious hearing the same arguments over and over on why GW is overpriced. GW IS overpriced, and we all know that's not going to change. Likewise, people aren't going to stop complaining about it. My advice would be, if anyone is tired of hearing it, tune it out. Realistically, that's all that anyone can do.

[wittdooley]

Just wanted to put this to rest

what gave you the delusion any of this would?

Similarly GW are arguably the leading manufacturer of this war games hobby. In the last decade or so we have seen severe recession in the west and GW has thrown some if its customer service and more family/friendly manners in favour for a more professional and more ruthless business model, which is not surprising seeing that they are a business.

There's no arguably. They are. And their customer service is the best in the business. Wtf does "family friendly manners" even frakking mean in relation to business? They're a public company. Their goal is to make money with said business.

Also, GW stores (in the UK at least) have been asked to destroy overstock of certain products (most notably vast amounts of black library books) rather than reduce to clear. This is a common business model amongst premium products- no reductions, the prices are correct and we would rather destroy stock than reduce it, because we can afford to and selling a few items at a high price which are cheap to produce is easier on the company overheads (shipping, staffing, manufacturing etc) than selling lots of products at a cheap price which are cheap to produce.

Don't pretend this is purely GW. This is common practice with EVERY publishing company.

I.e. the budget supermarket struggles to make profit everyday, whereas the car showroom makes alot fewer sales and a much bigger profit per person.

Way to compare apples to automobiles. Wtf. What bearing does this have on, oh, anything?

GW is like the Harrods of mini wargaming. It costs alot, and that's part of the appeal. (In fact in Harrods GW products cost more than the rrp).

Assuming Harrods is a 'high end' store, who cares. Don't shop there. GW has nothing to do with how Harrods prices their merch.

Whilst I am angry at GW for pricing issues, I think they can justify them in business terms. They are, after all the market leaders. (Im not saying therers not other amazing mini wargaming companies that might be turning more of a % profit, but GW are the giants here).

Well, congrats on Being angry. Beyond wanting to express that I can't find the purpose of this post, unless it's to be asinine or start a flame war. Either way, mission accomplished.

To quote billy madison-- "[I] am now dumber for having [read] that. I award you no [internets], and may god have mercy on your soul"

[Uncle Nutsy]

clicked on this thread thinking 'hey it's another one of these threads!"

i wasn't disappointed.

[Wildeybeast]

I wouldn't expect this to put anything to rest, sorry to say. It is not that I don't agree with you necessarily, but rather it is that the justifications do not matter. After all, I can quite easily justify indiscriminate wholesale murder, but that does not make it right, and it certainly does not mean anyone should take my justifications to heart. GW charges what they do because the can. Rapists do what they do because they can. There should be no get comfortable with either one.

I get that it becomes tedious hearing the same arguments over and over on why GW is overpriced. GW IS overpriced, and we all know that's not going to change. Likewise, people aren't going to stop complaining about it. My advice would be, if anyone is tired of hearing it, tune it out. Realistically, that's all that anyone can do.

You are comparing GW to rapists and murderers? Did you even think before wrote such a moronic post?

[gendoikari87]

People. It's plastic.

[phoenix01]

People. It's plastic crack.

There, fixed it for you.

[Necron2.0]

For the record, I did not compare GW to murderers. I simply made the point you can justify pretty much anything.

As for the other, go talk to the Australians.

[Grenadier]

I lament the prices of GW models and lose a little love for the game each time they increase. Since I am consider poor I can only afford so much to spend on the hobby. And when I plan an army not only do I factor in the usual factors we players have but I also factor in the cost. For me price is the biggest factor when I build an army and choose units for it. Consequently I try to get the most for the least. And this doesn't even cover paints and tools of the trade.

An example: the current price of a single metal Ogryn is $22.25. A basic squad can be up to 3 Ogryns. So that comes to 66.75 for a whopping three models. And you can add an additional 7 models for a squad of 10. If one were to do so they're looking at shelling out $222.25. Now imagine if you wanted all three of your elite choices to be full squads of Ogryns: $666.75! Aside from whether or not a choice like this is sensible for an Imperial Guard army the fact remains the cost of these models alone are ridiculous. As for me I love the Ogyns most out of my Guard army and only field 5 of them. I'll never field anymore.

$22.25 for a few ounces of metal?!?

I've learned something about this game when money is your biggest concern: armies with low point models require many more models than those with high points. So if I wanted to field 2500 points to combat a Space Marine army of the same number of points I'm looking at needing many many more models than the Marine player. And thus low point armies cost you more money to build than high point armies.

And I don't even want to get into Finecast and the prices of. To date I've not bought a single Finecast model.

I know GW is a business but they've become so mercenary of late. I miss the days when I had a rules problem I could call them up for an answer. Or when they had a forum on their website. Even their customer service isn't what it used to be. Remember when you could scour their site and order the precise bits you want? Gone now.

So I wonder. How much does it cost GW to produce an Ogryn? Or any other model? How much in material, paying employees, packaging, etc does it cost them? How much of a profit are they getting off each model?

[Wildeybeast]

For the record, I did not compare GW to murderers. I simply made the point you can justify pretty much anything.

As for the other, go talk to the Australians.

True, you merely implied it, but you did directly compare them to rapists.

GW charges what they do because the can. Rapists do what they do because they can.

Not sure why you think rape is something that should be referred to with a smiley face.
You compared the 'unjustifiable' (in your opinion) actions of GW with those of rapists and murders. I find that to not only be stupid but deeply offensive, as I'm sure would anyone who has suffered as a result of murder or rape and indeed any GW employees or shareholders. Express your views on GW being overpriced by all means, but if you could try and provide some actual reasons for this view and leave the stupid, crass and offensive comparisons out of it, that'd be swell.