The Great GW Pricing Poll

[Skrall]

i understand what your saying however finecast is a cheaper way of making models rather than metal so if anything they should be cheaper.
i belief we need to take things back to a basic level of understanding that manufacturing models only cost a penny so why are they so expensive. this is wrong in my opinion i belief that cost and selling point should have a pricing of at least 1:2

on another note they should stock all character models

It's not about 1:2, it's about getting a product who's quality matches it's pricetag. Finecast simply doesn't. If it was cheaper, then yes it would match (costs less, but the quality might be lower). It's been the main issue with metal vs finecast. Metal was almost always flawless, you got exactly what you paid for. Finecast is fiddly, breaks all the damned time and is often miscast. For that pleasure you also get to pay an increased price compared to it's quality metal counterpart of some two years previously.

That's a massive problem, and one they have solved by wedging their heads in the sand and letting finecast die off in the same manner as the Specialist Games.

I love 40k and it's bast*rd children, but some times the moves made by GW in there attempt to gain greater profits are staggeringly out of touch. To the outsider they appear to focus on making maximum profit for minimum imput, and aren't afraid to sacrifise it's core audience in an age where they are no longer captive. Unlike 5-10 years ago there are so many high quality miniature hobby companies on the market the only way GW can compete is to sell it's brand, not sell 3 boxes of space marines and then adopt a scorched earth policy on what has made the company successful over the past 30 years. They've completely killed off there once rock solid grip on the skirmish games market because it required effort. If you buy into the rumours, they are going to let fantasy slide off in to the same bottomless rocky abyss.

-skrall

[Damian Bryson]

My two cents, Ive stopped buying models from GW mostly because they are so expensive and their quality is horrible compared to some other minaiture retailers so I use other models add to my armies. I never go to "GW sanctioned" tourneys or whatever, so the weird rule of "having to have so much % of GW mmaterial" means nothing to me. Ive also started playing X wing by FFG, and that game is awesome. Yeah, its more expensive per model, but I dont need several hundred models in order to have a competitive list or variety. I have almost completely stopped playing 40k to play X wing instead.

[Zach Hightower]

While they are expensive, I would much rather see more communication and humility from them, rather than price decrease (not that I would complain!) Such as hobby related articles, willingness to quickly answer rules questions, seek feedback from their customers, and even reviewing their rules if there is a legitimate outcry.

[confoo22]

1. fire 75% of their marketing department, cut costs 30% on models.
2. ride massive wave of sales
3. spend 50% of profits on web-based marketing firm, rebuild website
4. divide 50% of product development to R&D of affordable 3d printers, drop hobbit and LOTR product lines completely to mitigate costs

5. Go unicorn hunting.
6. Grind up horn to make immortality potion.

If you're going to be unrealistic might as well go all the way.

[Bork]

i voted 30% because thats the kind of drop that would allow me to buy models again with my budget...maybe. GW priced me out of the hobby long ago and i only maintain my tentative hold on the hobby because i sold my previous models to buy new models which is essentially just swapping old for new miniatures.
i buy an army and stick with it, designed so it can be run in a few ways with minor unit swap outs so it doesn't stagnate but theres no way i can afford to add new units just to try out or start investing in escalation or fortification pieces. i will also admit to downloading the codex's because theres no way im being ripped off for what they cost for something i'll have memorized inside of a week.

GW are overpriced by a long way and i think they are finally approaching the wall where they cannot conceivably raise prices much higher without risking their growth as they will start to shed as many players as they rope in.

at best i think they might freeze prices for a while, i think it'll be a cold day in hell before they drop them. i don't expect it to happen and i know my days are numbered in this hobby if something doesn't give somewhere.

iv'e played for 20 years and at my peak i was buying a new army maybe every 3-4 months, maintaining several armies for 40k, fantasy, LOTR as well as bloodbowl and a few other offshoots like BFG and at least 2 or 3 other non GW games on the side. i wasn't earning any more than i am now but with the price rises and the fact every other bill in my life has gone up ridiculously in the past 5 years it boils down to a choice between heating and eating or buying a new unit.

[Larabic]

I think the real problem with GW is that they don't give you ways to save money. It used to be that when you bought a starter or army deal it would come with a free character model, unit or army book. Now if you buy a bundle from GW it cost exactly the same as buying them individually even though it saves GW packaging. Some of the apocalypse formations make me sick because some cost even more then buying them individually. Makes us want to do business with you, it has been years since i bought anything GW due to the fact that i have dropped 40k from my games played and played Dwarves for Fantasy. It means i have been sinking all my resources into Hordes, Bolt Action, and Kickstartes, or buying Avatars of War Dwarves!

Give us a break GW, i don't want to be in an abusive relationship anymore.

[mockier]

Some things need to drop by 30%, the recent Escalation book for example is way overpriced and over engineered. We don't need that in hardback.

The plastics GW make are excellent but they aren't the only game in town anymore. The prices on some of them are excessive, the heroes for example. Fine models, but they would be better bundled together with other characters from the same race to get the price down.

I've pretty much stopped buying due to the price, but mainly because they are gutting the player base. Dropping prices on essentials Rules, Core, HQ, Fast Attack/support, paints would help immensely to grow the player base. Returning to larger troop boxes for Guard, eldar etc would also help diversify the armies out there which imho is a bigger problem than price.

[SuperDann]

I voted 30%
The question was about GO getting me to buy more, not about staying in business.

Realistically, I can't see a drop in prices being adequately compensated by an increase in sales. As it happens I buy or am bought something (usually a single box of something) every two months and I have a back log of models as it is. Dropping the prices would let me buy more each time, maybe a bit more frequently, but probably not over 30% more.

[Larabic]

I think the real problem with GW is that they don't give you anyways to save money. In the old days you used to but a starter, army or bundle and get a free mini, unit or army book. Now-a-days the bundles are the same price or more expensive then buying the pieces individually! Even though it is less packing for them and saves them money. This kind of practice and the fact i gave up 40k and play Dwarves for fantasy means i haven't bought GW in years. I have sunk my money into Hordes, Bolt Action, Flames of War and Kickstarters rather then GW. I have even bought Avatars of War stuff for GW games because they give me new stuff more then once every 10 years and cost less. I was and am sick of being in a abusive relationship with GW!

[Vautravers]

I live in Spain and the salaries here are really low: the 1000€ paid as a "low salary" between 2000 and 2008 now is a dream, the usual is finding really awful works were they pay near 400-500€. So Games Workshop miniatures feel higly overpriced, so not 30% but that prices should drop even 40/50%.

A Warhammer Fantasy goblins box is 31€ with 20 plastic minis, I can buy a Mantic's Kings of War box with 20 plastic goblins for 16.66€!