Craftworlds Price Increases

[Onónion]

Following the course set by WarriorFish here I thought I'd create a topic for Craftworlds to discuss price changes that may impact us as players.

 

Rumoured price changes as follows, let me know if I missed any...

1. DATACARDS: CRAFTWORLDS (ENGLISH & GERMAN) +£2.00
2. CRAFTWORLDS FARSEER +£2.50
3. CRAFTWORLDS SKYRUNNER +£2.50
4. CRAFTWORLDS ELDRAD ULTHRAN +£2.50
5. CRAFTWORLDS GUARDIANS +£2.50
6. CRAFTWORLDS HEMLOCK WRAITHFIGHTER +£5.00
7. CRAFTWORLDS WAR WALKER +£2.50
8. CRAFTWORLDS WAVE SERPENT +5.00
9. ELDAR DARK REAPERS +£5.00

So overall some interesting changes.

 

For me the kicker is the HQs, for others I think the Wave Serpent as it seems to feature in most lists for Craftworlders as we are quite fragile and need to deliver our tools as quickly and safely as possible - therefore I think this one will be felt the most. Followed closely by Dark Reapers?

 

War Walkers not too bothered about as if I want them I'd probably invest in the Start Collecting kit.

 

Guardians? Really? An old, old kit which is already a turn off for me has been made even less desirable by a price increase.

 

Anyway nothing here is going to stop me purchasing what I want, this is a hobby I want to indulge in and they are a business out to make profit for shareholders. When I no longer wish to partake I won't, this is less of a rant and more of a if you want any of these kits and you've been putting off, maybe now is the time to reconsider it? (I'll probably be ordering my cards before they go up!)

 

I get all companies need to increase prices from time to time and now is particularly difficult for many companies just seems odd to of done it the way they have.

 

Any thoughts on this; will it effect your hobby plans?

Edited May 22, 2020 by Onónion

[Captain Coolpants]

I understand price increases now, trying to make up for lost revenue... But £5 more for dark reapers is darn right insulting! The models are ugly and 50 million years old.

 

Clearly just preying on the meta gamers, unfortunately this also affects the regular joe too...

Edited May 22, 2020 by Captain Coolpants

[SilverShire]

The Farseer and Skyrunners are the only things I'd buy in the near future, but I have enough unpainted space wolves models to keep me occupied for now 

[Prot]

I know this topic will be something we need to make sure doesn't turn too negative, but as a simple observation a Pound is 1.7 Canadian Dollars.

 

So I know I want another Crimson Hunter Exarch, but it means it's going up from 90 to 98.5 is really taking something that was top dollar and pushing it harder. 

 

I think this personally makes my past tendencies of putting massive add ons to every army turn into an exercise of focus. Do I want to play Eldar anymore? If so, I better get a few CHE's now, get that farseer, maybe a couple of pieces and forget about expenditures on the Chaos side. Or perhaps I should sell my Eldar now and focus on the Chaos expenditures? 

 

This price hike is what it is. I'm not going to complain about it, but I will be making some tougher decisions.

[SilverShire]

Yeah I understand exactly what your talking about. For me I'll probably still buy what I want for my army when the time comes but there will just be more time in between purchases.

[Wulf Vengis]

Do we have any idea as to when to expect these to come in to effect?

[Karhedron]

Do we have any idea as to when to expect these to come in to effect?

1st of June which gives us a week to make any urgent purchases. Some of the box shifters may go sooner. On the other hand, some may continue to sell old stock at old prices so YMMV.

[Dread]

Glad I've been collecting since 2nd ed. Getting tougher to make it worth it anymore.

[Wulf Vengis]

Figures...

[ThePenitentOne]

For me, the big insult on any increases were the increases to finecast products. I always thought it should have been GW's highest priority to get plastics to replace those kits. There are many people who hate finecast enough that they won't buy it at current price.

[Wulf Vengis]

Finecast was so bad i wouldn't even buy it when they came out with it, Heck i wouldn'tbuy it when they finally got it right, I'm definitely not gonna buy it now at an even HIGHER price.

[Fajita Fan]

I understand price increases now, trying to make up for lost revenue... But £5 more for dark reapers is darn right insulting! The models are ugly and 50 million years old.

 

Clearly just preying on the meta gamers, unfortunately this also affects the regular joe too...

It's possible that DR and Guardians may be getting an updated model and this is a good way to get people to quickly buy up the existing stock. This would be a simple reason for publicizing the list in the first place.

[The Yncarne]

It's possible that DR and Guardians may be getting an updated model and this is a good way to get people to quickly buy up the existing stock. This would be a simple reason for publicizing the list in the first place.

 

If that logic holds, then no new Falcon. Didn't that come out in the 2nd edition era/mid-'90s? I used those to make my own wave serpents before that model was released.

[Wulf Vengis]

It seems somewhat a reverse psychology tactic.

Raise the price of some older less good-looking kits to actually drop sales.

Use that drop in sales to convince the shareholders that a line revamp is necessary for the Eldar.

Design or release pre-designed new models with another price increase.

[Fajita Fan]

 

It's possible that DR and Guardians may be getting an updated model and this is a good way to get people to quickly buy up the existing stock. This would be a simple reason for publicizing the list in the first place.

 

If that logic holds, then no new Falcon. Didn't that come out in the 2nd edition era/mid-'90s? I used those to make my own wave serpents before that model was released.

 

Well either that or falcon chassis stock is low enough they don’t need to spike sales. When the Wave Serpent rules changed a few years ago they were selling so fast GW ran out of printed boxes, they were sending out sprues in white boxes with laser jet printed instructions on stapled typing paper.

 

if you’re planning on increasing prices to increase revenue why publicize the list other than to move current boxes? Maybe they need warehouse room for 9th edition boxes or maybe they want to get rid of stuff. Dunno, I just bought two Wave Serpents and they look pretty good for old kits. 

[The Yncarne]

Publishing a list could lead to sales based on loss aversion or uncertainty about its future. Those can raise sales due to behavioral economic theory, but I'm not saying that is a primary reason. If they really wanted to move those boxes, it'd be easier to raise prices across the board then put some items on sale for a limited time.

 

In any event, I'd like a big redesign of the entire line, but not sure that will happen anytime soon.

[Wulf Vengis]

Here's hoping for something like a slick redesign...

[Prot]

I foresee a pattern they started with the Banshees. Banshees and the corresponding Phoenix Lord. 

 

The only thing is they need to include better rules when the do this. I wouldn't be surprised if that boxset was one of their worst selling.

 

The pricing is an interesting cash grab going into a financial quarter that is going to see the first downward trend in earning for the first time in a while. They will be able to use the world situation for one or two quarters, then it's time to keep the stockholders happy so it will be very interesting to see how this works out in the long run.

 

I personally find that 9th edition around the corner has completely halted my purchases entirely. 

[DarkPhoenix]

Agreed. I’ve put all my model purchases on hold pending the release of the next set of rules.