Why I don't mind the price.

[Wolfshade]

I would disagree prices are very subjective. Take (my standby example) Miller beer. One of the largest beer producesrs in the world (not that I recognise their produce as beer but that is an aside that is currently irrelevant). They know that the cost of production has very little to do with the end price, hence a miller beer is not the same price universally. The price of a beer in South Africa is about equivalent to 2 hours work, any higher and they think people will be priced out by it. Transfer that to £/$ from Rand and it becomes pennies or cents. If they tried to sell it at UK prices in ZA they would not sell a unit as it would take days to earn enough to by a beer.

So it is all about value.

I might consider that £200 for a bike wheel represents good value, you might think that anything more than £20 is over priced.

[40kGamer]

I don't mind the price but I do have a love-hate relationship with it.

I love the fact that GW's overinflated prices make it easier for new companies to enter the market. (This is the biggest bonus we all get from their unreasonably high prices.)

I hate the fact that it creates a barrier to entry for new players and because there is no compelling reason for the prices to be what they are... For years GW has adopted a policy of increasing prices well beyond inflation to prop up shrinking sales. I actually understand why they have done it. It is an easy, unimaginative answer to address lagging sales and stockholders only care about what you have done for them lately. However this is not a long term winning strategy, it is simply milking the cash cow.

[Wolfshade]

I think given the very slim profit compared with revenue that they can't be that over inflated. 10% margin on a luxury good? Or to put it another way £4.9 on each stormwolf sold

[Mr Mystery]

Indeed. PP have a similar model for model cost to GW, yet the merest fraction of the overheads. Nobody ever calls their prices over inflated.

The price is the price is the price. Yes, they probably could cut the price. But, in order to maintain profit, any price cut would need to generate a significant boost in sales volumes.

For instance (roughly worked out. Not a economist. Figures for ease of working and illustrative purposes only).

Model A costs £10. Of this, Company Z makes £2 in profit. If Company Z sell 100 units of Model A, they make £200.

Company Z then apply a 10% reduction to the cost. Profit margin halves to £1. In order to make the same amount of profit, they now need to sell double the number of units.


Model B costs £10, but has a profit of £4 per unit sold. Company Z sells 100 units, making a profit of £400.

Company Z then apply 10% reduction to the cost. Profit margin reduces to £3 per model. In order to make the same amount of profit, they would need to sell 33% more.....

I think. Like I said, not an economist.

But in short? Cutting prices doesn't necessarily solve anything ever. Most sales are performed to ditch 'last season' stock, on account it's better to make 50% less profit, than no profit at all and a stockroom full of stuff nobody wants to buy!

As for ever increasing prices....GW do offer lowered prices. But nobody ever seems to pick up on it. What am I gibbering on about? Plastic Kits. Some examples - pre-plastic, Wraithguard were what, £12 a model? Perhaps more? Now, £30 for 5. Hive Guard likewise, around £15 a chuck if memory serves. Now, £42.50 for 3.

Those right there are two very recent price cuts. Yes, other prices have gone up. Welcome to the wonderful world of capitalism. But those who pretend GW only ever put their prices up up up are frankly lying.

- - - Updated - - -

My wife and I do LARP. What stuns us is the prices you just quoted. It costs us $5.00 American to attend one here in the States. You guys are sure conditioned to hand over large sums of money. How many people attend your LARP events versus what it costs to rent the hall? I'm just fascinated by the economics of this weirdness.

Hall? Dude, we rent entire campsites and have at it over a long weekend!

This is the system I play in [url=http://curiouspastimes.co.uk/]Curious Pastimes[/url] And in the following image, you can see my mace swinging for the big gribbly. Shortly before I got squished into the tree just behind him...



And value is inherently subjective. For instance, Bloke A wants a Ferrari, because of the prestige. He finds value in that. Me? I'm happy with a 3rd of 4th hand Honda Estate I'm buying off my mate for £400. Indeed, although an impressive feat of engeering, the appeal of the Ferrari baffles me. Who in their right mind would pay more for a car than a house?

Same with GW. I enjoy the hobby, and the setting blah blah, and am happy to pay the price asked because I find value in it. Bloke H? Perhaps not so much. Doesn't make either of us wrong, as it's all about the price tolerance of the individual.

[Gotthammer]

Who in their right mind would pay more for a car than a house?

EG I believe this one is for you


But yeah, value is highly subjective. I've spent a lot of money on a snowboard and I don't go to the snow because it was pretty, similarly I just finished setting up half a dozen $40 action figures because I love the show their from. Haven't bought any GW stuff in ages as the amount of enjoyment I get from it vs cost isn't right for me any more sadly.

[Psychosplodge]

If you're buying a Ferrari the odds are you paid more for your house still....

[40kGamer]

I think given the very slim profit compared with revenue that they can't be that over inflated. 10% margin on a luxury good? Or to put it another way £4.9 on each stormwolf sold

Fair point. Without being able to see line item expenses it is hard to argue with a 10% margin. I also realize that some of the issue is that GW doesn't get the full price from their own product. With 36% going through independent retailers 44mil of their sales are going out the door at around 50% of "the price".

That being said it would be interesting to know the bottom line profitability of their company stores vs the profitability of the sales through independent channels. It would also be nice to know how much senior management milks out of the company for compensation.

Like I mentioned in another post, market saturation and substitute goods have to be annoying as crap to deal with!

Indeed. PP have a similar model for model cost to GW, yet the merest fraction of the overheads. Nobody ever calls their prices over inflated.

The price is the price is the price. Yes, they probably could cut the price. But, in order to maintain profit, any price cut would need to generate a significant boost in sales volumes.

Infinity prices also cause a good deal of pain for the wallet yet it is ofter referenced as a cheaper alternative.

The price is theoretically what they need to operate and for those of us who have been in the hobby for a couple decades is almost meaningless anyhow. It is a barrier for new players and one that could be addressed with games targeted at newbies. Space Hulk for example is a classic game that allowed a low entry price and gave you base figures that you could use as a jumping off point into 40k proper. Something similar if marketed correctly could give an infusion of always needed new players plus give us veterans a quick play alternative for those times you don't have an evening to game.

Another big issue I have with GW corporate is that they blatantly ignore the fact that 50% of their potential customer base is female. They also do a horrible job of representing minorities in their universe. Good to know that the grim dark future is pretty well whitewashed and still ran by old men... but this is a whole different issue from price.

[spiralingcadaver]

Indeed. PP have a similar model for model cost to GW, yet the merest fraction of the overheads. Nobody ever calls their prices over inflated.

Nobody on their forums, or in general?

Because, while I initially was happy with their prices, the emphasis on larger forces and the decline in their material quality without a lessened price definitely moved them from the "fun to buy a force with a budget" category to the "GW, Jr. with worse looking minis" for me, at least.

I realized that the decrease in my PP purchases was almost directly linked to their worse materials: they're just no fun to paint any more, when they're as much as high-end stuff (GW or Wyrd) but made out of that god-awful restic that I only tolerate because usually it's tied with some really cheap minis (like the giant boardgame KS's that have been around).

[Path Walker]

Another big issue I have with GW corporate is that they blatantly ignore the fact that 50% of their potential customer base is female. They also do a horrible job of representing minorities in their universe. Good to know that the grim dark future is pretty well whitewashed and still ran by old men... but this is a whole different issue from price.

This is a general issue in the wargames hobby sector, not at all unique to GW, most games seem to have poor representation of women!

[Arkhan Land]

Another big issue I have with GW corporate is that they blatantly ignore the fact that 50% of their potential customer base is female. They also do a horrible job of representing minorities in their universe. Good to know that the grim dark future is pretty well whitewashed and still ran by old men... but this is a whole different issue from price.

Maybe its being 1/2 hispanic, 1/2 Russian/Euro but I almost always paint my gaurdsmen with three different skin tones and then vary washes on all of em so almost no one in the unit matches. But i understand in the UK White population is about 85% in the US its closer 60-70% depending on how you look at it who you ask.

and on females in 40k, i think were in the midst of a lot of change right now in the US leaning towards Female military leadership take for example: first female 4 star just a bit ago, and the whole debacle concerning the USMC female officer training/course requirements thing earlier this year. Things are changing, albeit slowly but I wouldn't be surprised if this change in attitude wont have effects in other representations of the military like 40k, Movies, TV that arent already apparent.

But to bring a lot of meandering thoughts down to relevance, If GW somehow found a way to really appeal to minorities/women in a way that wasn't condescending. If it was well received it would in fact theoretically speaking be, very profitable. But thats also assuming that if they made these changes enough women would actually care about it to buy their products. My girlfriend (who normally does a lot of two dimensional painting) from time to time buys and paints a reaper models of a female warriors/monsters and was even thinking about trying to get one of the kingdom death pinups, but the truth of the matter is that if there was a set of female inclusive Eldar Gaurdians or IG troops I don't know that she'd really have any interest in getting into 40k/wfb anymore than she has now, which is none at all really.