Monday the 16th - The End of the World?

[Spevna]

I think that my Shylock comment is becoming more and more fitting.

It fills me with joy everytime I read a thread like this. Mark my words, GW will be their *<--grammar police edit!* own undoing. I shall dance a merry jig whenever they do something of equal stupidity.

[Colonel Voss]

Geez, all this doom and gloom. You guys are beginning to make me look like an ascetic monk with my stoicism. What ever happens, I'll improvise, adapt, and overcome.

[Primarch]

I've been giving this a whole lot of thought, ranging from spitting my dummy out and giving up on 40k to boycotting GW to just cutting back on what I buy.
Then I tried looking at it from someone else's point of view. Recently Ikeda san set up a small shop selling GW stuff here in Nagoya. There is no way he can ever possibly compete with Maelstrom and Wayland as things are. Even if he offers a discount, he'll still be at least 60% more expensive. From his point of view, these rumoured changes are a godsend. Instead of people routinely spending 20000 yen or more on orders from the UK, they will spend it at his shop. Sure they'll get less product, but it will allow him to expand his shop and hopefully do it full time.
The problem lies, not with GW imposing draconian shipping regulations, but rather with the way they deal with the exchange rates. When I first started buying models here in Japan, the exchange rate was roughly 200 yen to the pound. GW charged 215-225 roughly, but places like Yellow Submarine offered a small discount and I could get models in my hands when I wanted them, so it wasn't that bad. Then the rates went up around 2006-2007 and so did GW's, so that 225 is the minimum they will charge. And then, the rates dropped hard so that the pound was only worth 140 yen or so. GW didn't move it's prices and it still hasn't.
This outrage I am feeling comes from a sense of entitlement that I should be able to take advantage of the poor state of the UK economy. From GW's point of view, they could lower prices significantly, but if the exchange rates ever went back to normal they would have to increase prices massively which would cause even more outrage amongst their core customers (and that isn't us, its the kids/parents who go to the GW stores).
So what is the answer? I guess I will keep buying Warmahordes, Malifaux etc from Maelstrom, but I will buy my GW stuff from Ikeda and support the local hobby more. Sure, it means that I will be buying less/paying more, but it will help Ikeda san and in the futurethere may be some long term benefits such as a regular gaming store. Who knows?

[me_in_japan]

The exchange rate thing doesnt wash with me. How the pound varies against the yen has hee-haw effect on the UK prices of UK GW products. Amazon et al seem to be able to bill people in any currency they choose, with exchange rates updated daily. Why can GW not do the same? If I go to Amazon or ebay or whatever, I can pay in my local currency, or the currency of the seller's location, or (often) USD. Would it be so hard for GW to set up their webstore so that it is NOT localised, aside from language, and then people can buy their minis at THE SAME PRICE as everyone else? Exchange rate would favour different countries at difference times, but that would not affect GW at all, except inasmuch as they couldnt shaft people by setting ridiculous exchange rates (like they are doing to japan just now)

Of course, this would only be viable for web sales, but whats so bad about web sales? Theyre a bloody good way of making money, as wayland have found. I am not really sold on LGS being the core of the hobby. I have never had a LGS. (I mean, they exist in glasgow, i just never really used em) I did have a local GW when I was younger, but by the time I went in there, I was already into the hobby. In my opinion, a bricks and mortar shop does not really boost interest in gaming, particularly. (based on personal experience only)

I think the main problem here (as discussed to death on warseer) is that GW retail prices are too frickin high. If wayland prices = profit, surely GW could do the same? Presumably, whatever rate GW are selling their product to wayland et al for still nets them a profit, no? Presumably wayland add a bit onto that, and thereby make a profit for themselves, too. GW should just add those two profit margins together, and charge that much for their minis.

[Admiral-Badruck]

What MIJ said to the 10th power.

I have no problem buying from GW of Forge world in fact I can see a lot of Forge world in my future... giving you an example here...

a good Japan Web page price...
Blood Angels Frioso Dreadnought
GW99120101089

Price: ¥6,100

MKIV IRON CLAD DREADNOUGHT BODY
(PRODUCT CODE : IA-ISM-D-031)

£26.55

any arm you like for£7.20 each

total price £40.95
¥5,315

Plus you can get some plastic from Forge world...they seem like the your best bet but I think everyone should try to buy from the Japanese stores when they can...

[me_in_japan]

Ha!

good point, badruck. If this does come to pass, we're all gonna end up with more FW than GW stuff.
It is a sad, sad, stupid day when a Death Korp of Krieg army, shipped internationally at extortionate rates, is cheaper than a regular IG army bought in your LGS.

madness, i tellz yer...

*edit* They also NEED to make their Jsite more used friendly. Why can it not look the same as their UK and US sites, hmmn?

out of interest:

Leman Russ (vanquisher) from GWJ: 6900yen, plus local shipping (I dunno, 500yen?) = 7400 yen = 57GBP
Leman Russ (vanquisher) from GWUK: 30.75, + 7.50 shipping = 38.25GBP
Leman Russ (vanquisher, Gryphonne IV variant) from FW: 35.75 + 5.24shipping = 41GBP

That's right folks: We get shafted so badly on the exchange rate it is cheaper for us to buy direct from FW already, and by quite a large margin, too. Obviously, FW shipping is a percentage of your total order, so as the order goes up, so too do the shipping costs. BUT if you cross that 250GBP, free-postage, mark, suddenly it becomes cheaper to buy from FW than GW. Now THAT is stupid pricing policy.
*note* obviously, at the moment it still depends on what youre buying. Death Korp are still a deal more expensive than GWJ IG, but for how long, I wonder... (FW DKoK squad: 40quid, GWJ IG squad: 23quid)



*edit*

but I think everyone should try to buy from the Japanese stores when they can...

why?

[Spevna]

Totally agree with MIJ about that exchange rate thing. Pretty shoddy excuse if GW are going to use it.

I would also like to thank whoever spotted my heinous grammar mistake (twas I! (MiJ)). In my defence (and it is a weak one), I was in a hurry this morning.

[ashmie]

One good thing that may come of all this is that we keep the models we have, get a chance to paint them all before we can buy more and our metal models become all that more collectible. The side I really enjoy about gaming or manga/comics are the rarities and collecting aspect.

[Primarch]

*edit*

but I think everyone should try to buy from the Japanese stores when they can...

why?

Because it's better for the local economy.
Because it keeps Ikeda san employed.
Because in the future the exchange rates will eventually swing back to normal and having somewhere local to buy from would be nice.
Because it gets new folk into the hobby. (There are lots of players in Yokkaichi due to the store there and lots more in Tokyo). We can't just rely on ex-pats.
Because having a place to game which we dont need to pay for would be cool.

However, this is all very much offset by the "GW charges too much" argument. As M_i_J says, it would be nice if they just had one price which the charged worldwide. However this would be difficult to do in the shops and you would get angry customers who bought a product one week only to find it a lot cheaper the next. As for "do we need shops?" when I got into the hobby, there weren't many shops, but GW had agreements with MB to make board games which dragged me in. Now they have PC games doing the same thing. However the stores still provide a place to shop and a place to play if our regular circle of friends aren't interested in the game. GW could just have one webstore and nothing else, but that would probably reduce the number of new players entering.

[Spevna]

GW could just have one webstore and nothing else, but that would probably reduce the number of new players entering.

Fair point. But the hobby has gotten too big. It was a very different thing when it was smaller. Growth has not made the hobby better in my opinion.