How much is GW ripping YOU off?

[Iyandagar]

Not sure why this topic keeps popping up. If stuff is too expensive, don't buy it. Hobbies tend to be be cash drains, well mine certainly are. GW are like any other business, in it to make money, that isn't going to change any more than the Earth choosing to stop spinning. Either you fork your cash over to them or you don't.

[Gotthammer]

I also do think personally that GW maybe getting to that pricing point now were they could reasonable start losing sales, maybe not turnover but sales. I have always said its an expensive hobby but there are ways to still enjoy it on a budget. eBay and the very good for value starter sets are good ways to start. But I do worry when GW start selling 1 single model such as that new chaos beastie for £50, well I think that's a bit much especially as that model really isn't that special.

Losing sales volume, if not turnover can be rather dangerous for a social hobby. I mean look at LotR or many of the smaller "indie" games - how many times have we seen people say "I'd love to play X, but nobody else here does"? If people start cutting back and due to downsizing go to stores left, the community may not die but it will certainly atrophy to a degree. This of course reduces new players as there are less people to bring others in, which means less income and replacing of older customers buying less etc etc.
And given that Japan and Australia were both recently named the two most expensive countries in which to find housing by one study, the countries with the most skewed CPI / income / markup ratios are the ones which will bleed customers the most when they hit the age when they need to save dosh to start their own lives.

I feel that I get an excellent value for every precious greenback I spend. I get SO MUCH enjoyment and fulfillment out of this hobby. I have as yet to begrudge GW their profits for the wonderfulness that they sell me.

May I ask if there is a price point where you'd draw the line? I used to be very similar to you but around the point of the Dark Eldar release the dollar to enjoyment ratio started getting far to skewed to really continue.

I just bought the Horus Heresy book from Forgeworld. It is one of the nicest, best written, best put together tomes I've ever seen. I've had many hours of enjoyment pouring over it... it cost me over $110 since it was priced in Sterling! It has been worth every cent. Cheers.

I almost count Forge World as a separate company now due to the price difference - the HH book you mentioned was cheaper than the LE DA codex which, I admit this is just a personal feeling, is just wrong.

There are really separate conversations here.

First up, yes the Australian pricing structure is harsh. It is a tough spot for all sides of he equation. GW wants to keep margins up with the higher cost of business in Australia compared to the EU or NA. AUS customers don't want to feel like they are being singled out for markedly higher prices than others around the globe.

Well at least we're not in South America or Africa, those guys are totally hosed - trade embargo, outrageous international shipping from the official webstore etc :/

Second is the differences between that AUS price differential from line to line and even model to model.

I think as other have said we are at the cusp of seeing the price peak in the Australian market. As some point a company does reach a price ceiling where further increases degrade sales an a clip that outshines the extra margins and hurt the bottom line. Also now consider that this price peak varies from system to system. Even within GW, it could easily be that Fantasy sales are dropping off at a faster rate than 40k. If that were true, you would expect any business to begins to slowly and methodically begin to walk back that AUS differential in whatever system is most ailing until they find that equilibrium again.

I have this funny feeling that with the rapid release of both Dark Angels and Warriors of Chaos we are seeing this pricing policy adjustment play out before out eyes.

-Larry

The fantasy players I know are hard core, but it's always been second fiddle in my experience - needing to buy dozens of blisters for ranks back in the day at high prices meant (from my observations and conversations) that people steered away from it to the smaller 40k.
You might be right about seeing the adjustment in action, especially with the newer releases being much "flatter" in markup across the pacific group. What's weird is that the basics (tac squad, codexes, supplies) are basically flipped - cheaper over there than here - not something I expected and may even be a contributor to GW price fatigue here. By that I mean most people will buy one or two of things like the Forgefiend, Flyers or big monsters, but you need to buy four or five tac squads for a 1500pt army and a codex. I dunno, it seems backwards to me to give people the more expensive things cheaper, and say to people "you need this" and hit them hard with it.
To give an example the classic retail scheme is making money with the extras - 50 cents for sauce, 25 cents for cream etc. It feels like GW is charging a premium for the meal but giving the little things people might not want away for free. While it may make the people buying a three course meal more inclined to do so, the casual passer by might look at the price of a burger and think "too much".

[eldargal]

I think the GW UK prices are reasonable for the quality and the fact they are made here, I think the US prices are acceptable for the most part but the Australian prices are completely ridiculous. I understand some of the arguments and accept that as a consumer we may not have the full picture but I still think they are priced higher than they ought to be and that will just hurt them down there in the short/long term.

[Deadlift]

I HATE these discussions. I could make you all feel bad, but I won't, because this type of argument is degrading.... I enjoy the hobby, I'll pay for it.

Yes I can agree with you to certain point. I enjoy the hobby, I continue to pay for it. I spend the same but get less. I have no issue personally with that. But as Gott said, if you price too many out of the hobby then who the hell will be left. Less players and purchases could see GW slow down on the new releases which nobody wants to see.

Now my moan.
What the ****ing hell were GW thinking when they released the DA book, it was so full of mistakes and problems that they had to release printable corrections and changes within a week. £30 for a book which needs corrections and amendments within days of release really is a big mistake to me. So now anyone who doesn't use the iPad version now has to carry the codex and then pieces of paper within a week of buying the book. GW if your going to charge premium prices, then your products need to be premium quality. For the most part they are, but this DA was rushed out and wasn't ready.

[White Tiger88]

Ah i can't wait to see what they do to all the other armies.........Next we will have a tau codex with Tau spelled as Tuna..........

[Wildeybeast]

I thought Australian prices were so high because the brick and mortar stores over there basically didn't make any money and the only way they could keep them open was to subsidise them through high prices. Or have I just made that up?

Anyway, this discussion is pointless and only going over old ground. 'Everything is worth what its purchaser will pay for it'. If you want prices to go down, stop buying GW stuff. They only jack up the prices because they know they can get away with it.

Gott, have you considered getting someone over here to buy stuff for you and then ship it out? I'd imagine that would work out cheaper.

[eldargal]

There is OzHammer:
[url]http://ozhammer.webs.com/[/url]

British RRP + shipping. I've recommended it to a friend but I'm not sure he has used it yet but it seems to be well-regarded.

[lobster-overlord]

my only issue is that it outpaces inflation. If they were doing inflationary increases, it would be one thing, but to be 10% or more every year on hot units is a joke.

I've always gone the used route for stuff, but have gone used more recently because of the prices. I bought myself a stormtalon for xmas, but that was a splurge. Other than that, everything else lately has been retreads from ebay or friends. Let them take the price hit, and I'm OK with it.

Half the fun of the hobby is finding a good deal. (I was manager at my FLGS for a year and a half and I paid cost +5%, but when that ended, I was back to trolling the boards for good stuff.)

John M>

[Caitsidhe]

Games Workshop isn't ripping me off because they rarely sell me anything directly these days. I have found that if I am patient and take the time to look, I can generally get anything I want for about 60-70% off by using Ebay, trades, Amazon, sales, and so on. This doesn't even go into conversions to build what I want myself or prize support. I think, without a doubt, that a lot of people are paying way too much... but I'm not.

[ksoh75]

Ah i can't wait to see what they do to all the other armies.........Next we will have a tau codex with Tau spelled as Tuna..........

hahahhahahahahahahah.....like we are going to see the Tau this year........

We've been seeing them coming for the past 2 years.....