$50 per Marine

[Vorlon]

Amen Ymir...
This is a hobby that costs money. If 40k is too expensive you can always; play something else, kit bash custom models, search ebay.

That being said...the chimera and basilisk are very lackluster....

[Madness]

Details or size are hardly the reason for the price, if you exclude the design cost (which has to be invested only once per kit), the production cost is pretty much the same for 10 grams of plastic as it is for 1kg, what defines the price is:
- Stocking costs
- Distribution costs
- Generic company costs (paying for the website staff, miniature sculpts, artists, accountants)
- Sheer gain

GW is consolidating its structures so the generic costs should be decreasing. They also reduced dramatically the maintenance costs as they don't have to keep as many molds as they used to (with the digitalization and whatnot). Stocks and distribution are somewhat affected by the fact they are increasing the model range, on the other hand they are losing most of the metal miniatures in favor of versatile kits.

So all in all I don't see many reason for a price increase, they basically set the price to what people is willing to pay, and their financial reports show that it's far more than what it costs them to make.

If they keep up with this I can see a black market of cloned molds taking place, it's what the market does when there's too much added value and too little actual value.

In other words, they are speculating, and it's a bad move for them, as every speculation is just a bubble ready to burst. The dot com bubble is a great example, pseudo professionals selling their services at unjustifiable prices, and it worked, until people realized they didn't HAVE to pay for it.

[Razorx1970]

Ok. These are all U.S. prices. So follow me here!

Killa Kans - $44.50 for 3 with all weapon choices, better sculpt, and easier to put together vs. $25 each or $75 for 3 pewter which do not come with all weapon choices, dated look, and are tricky to put together.

Deff Dread - $49.50 for a Deff Dread with all ranged weapon choices and 4 CC weapons, better sculpt, and easier to put together vs. $55 for 3 different ranged weapons and 2 CC weapons (you want the Kustom Mega-Blasta you have to make it yourself and if you want 2 more CC weapons you need $8.25 each), dated look, and I have put one of these together I hated it. So for a total of $66.50 you can get the current one.

Venerable Dreadnought - $43 for a VD with twin-lascannon, plasma cannon, and assualt cannon. Along with 3 different CC hands and 3 different heads. It also has a ton of chapter specific parts vs. a $50 for a assault cannon and CC weapon. Want other ranged weapons buy a plastic dread for $40 or forgeworld it.

Now you guys apparently do not understand that more detail equals cost of molds and does increase the cost of the final product. A Landraider does not have that much detail sorry. A Landraider costs $57.75 and has very little detail compared to the kits listed above. I must laugh at the guys who say well....it's bigger so it must cost more. Sorry but no...more detail and ability to customize equals cost.

As others mentioned if you don't like it don't buy it. Less whinning and competition, but more cool models for me!

You had a good arguement until you got ignorant and had to toss in that conflicting opinions where "whinning", and that we didn't "understand", because YOU felt differently. Totally lost credibility when you got cocky at the end.

The argument others had too, which I agree with, is that a Land Radier is not just bigger, but it's more useful, thus the cost for the model makes more sense in real life money, and in in-game points to boot. The cost of old and new Ork Kans are out of hand, for what they are, and the same goes for the new Ven Dred as well, and ALL the dreds they offer, aside from the AoBR ones off eBay for $10-$15 max.

GamesWorkshop is out of hand with thier pricing anymore. Not everyone makes 50k-100k a year, and has $500 a month of extra luxury income to toss around.

That's what you don't "understand"

[Razorx1970]

Amen Ymir...
This is a hobby that costs money. If 40k is too expensive you can always; play something else, kit bash custom models, search ebay.

That being said...the chimera and basilisk are very lackluster....

Cost money yes, but doesn't have to cost as much as it does. GW is bending us all over as of late. They're moving US HQ soon, further cutting costs. They're raking in millions off the plastic kits, and laughing all the way to the bank, prob wishing they did it sooner than they did now.

[Razorx1970]

Details or size are hardly the reason for the price, if you exclude the design cost (which has to be invested only once per kit), the production cost is pretty much the same for 10 grams of plastic as it is for 1kg, what defines the price is:
- Stocking costs
- Distribution costs
- Generic company costs (paying for the website staff, miniature sculpts, artists, accountants)
- Sheer gain

GW is consolidating its structures so the generic costs should be decreasing. They also reduced dramatically the maintenance costs as they don't have to keep as many molds as they used to (with the digitalization and whatnot). Stocks and distribution are somewhat affected by the fact they are increasing the model range, on the other hand they are losing most of the metal miniatures in favor of versatile kits.

So all in all I don't see many reason for a price increase, they basically set the price to what people is willing to pay, and their financial reports show that it's far more than what it costs them to make.

If they keep up with this I can see a black market of cloned molds taking place, it's what the market does when there's too much added value and too little actual value.

In other words, they are speculating, and it's a bad move for them, as every speculation is just a bubble ready to burst. The dot com bubble is a great example, pseudo professionals selling their services at unjustifiable prices, and it worked, until people realized they didn't HAVE to pay for it.

I'd be first in line to buy clones at this point.

[Vorlon]

I would like to make a counter point...

Yes I understand people make different incomes and have kids (or minions as I call them) but everyone acts as though there is a time limit to buying a model. If there is something you want to buy...but cant afford at the time...save your pennies (or pence/duhkats/yen) and buy it next week/pay day/month and buy it then.

[Akkon Sek]

GamesWorkshop is out of hand with thier pricing anymore. Not everyone makes 50k-100k a year, and has $500 a month of extra luxury income to toss around.

That's what you don't "understand"

But, you see Raxor... that is EXACTLY my point. Perhaps their pricing model is out of whack. That they've gone too far and are overcharging for an inferior product. There's a solution...

Don't buy GW. Really, it's just that simple. And it is the ONLY way consumers can affect that 'unfair' pricing model. By voting with your wallet.

You WANT GW swag... by no stretch of the imagination do you NEED it. Its a luxury item, and as long as consumers permit the company which pushes that luxury items to charge exorbitant prices, by purchasing at the elevated price point... you can bet your sweet bippy that they WILL continue to charge super-high prices.

A significant percentage of the price model in this instance is sustained by the customer. Demand based on desire, not even rarity or supply. Break that cycle, and the company backs off. Don't, and nothing changes. If you think the Chimera/Basilisk kits are crap, don't buy them. Enough not buying, and the message is sent.

[plasticaddict]

As I stated earlier and see as a common thread among those of us who have issue with GWs prices I worry about how this will effect the hobby as a whole. I am going to spend what I spend on little toy soldiers regardless of the price, I just won't have as much to show for it. I just hope that GW doesn't make any large errors in thier pricing that will drive people out of the game not because they want to quit but because they can no longer support the ever growing costs. Now making a more detailed model may cost more to set up initally however in the long run this is a minimal cost in relation to everything else required to manufacture, package, distribute and sell a model. There is a price point where you start to lose revenue by making more per item and GW is approching or at that point for many items they sell. With the exception of their Washes I can get a like quality paint at a lower price from Vallejo. I can get far more basing material for a lower price than they charge for their tubs. I can get glue of the same or superior grade for less. They did a good thing by comming out with a lower cost range of paint brushes however I can still find comparable brushes for less. I can understand some price increases however some others make no sense: IG squads came as a box of 20 for $35 now they are a box of 10 for $22 making them 20% more expensive for no added value. Empire Great Swords became plastic and more expensive right after their price had been increased last year. I don't mind and in fact encourage GW to make money, the real question is are they going about it the right way? Time will tell, until then I have 11 more Valkyrie models to get to complete my sons army and my own.

[wazatdingder]

Thank you, to Razorx and Denzark for your insight. This is the sort of dialog I was looking for.
I knew there would be a slew of posts about whining, and I appreciate an intelligent discussion on the matter.

[Akkon Sek]

What slew of posts about whining? I for one was attempting to illustrate the logic of the situation and a possible course of action to some manner of resolution. Games Workshop's prices are somewhat high. No one will argue that. But as a luxury item pertaining to a game, its not a necessity for anyone to purchase. And THAT is how company perspectives get changed.

Disagreement certainly does not need to include any manner of derogatory inferences about opinions.