2024 Pricing Update

[Marshal Rohr]

11 minutes ago, Chapter Master Valrak said:

As it was pointed out, we knew the rises were coming, it will happen again, same time next year.

 

My problem was with the post, maybe I read it wrong in my head but it comes across as a little dishonest, they state stuff is going across the board (which it is), but then trying to make themselves out like the average working man when they’ve been having record profits for the last 5+ years.

 

I dunno, just rubbed me the wrong way.

 

Their announcement read to me as “your groceries are more expensive and now your minis are too!”

[darkhorse0607]

16 minutes ago, Chapter Master Valrak said:

As it was pointed out, we knew the rises were coming, it will happen again, same time next year.

 

My problem was with the post, maybe I read it wrong in my head but it comes across as a little dishonest, they state stuff is going across the board (which it is), but then trying to make themselves out like the average working man when they’ve been having record profits for the last 5+ years.

 

I dunno, just rubbed me the wrong way.

 

 

I mean do you not like how they named Warhammer in the same sentence as essentials such as food and transportation?

 

Let's just all take a second and appreciate this sentence

 

"Prices for food, materials, and transportation have been trending upward for a few years now, and Warhammer isn’t immune to that trend."

 

Food. Materials. Transportation. Warhammer. Your essentials to being able to live

[terminator ultra]

Just now, darkhorse0607 said:

Food. Materials. Transportation. Warhammer. Your essentials to being able to live

not me! I don't like any of the new minis and haven't bought anything in years! (I wait I'm dead never mind)

[Doctor Perils]

4 hours ago, Joe said:

Worth keeping in mind that prices are going up in general for all goods, not just luxuries. Admittedly, it was mildly shocking to see the price of a cucumber at Asda drop back down to £0.89 from the £1.06 it'd been sat at for months.

I'd be careful if I were you: its probably gone mouldy after all this time...

[Scribe]

4 hours ago, System Sound said:

I wonder how long will GW Keep pushing prices up, before people give up en mass....

 

They got me some time ago. It's just too much when they inflate the size of the game as well.

 

I've been running down my MTG stock. Everything I had for GW is going next.

Edited May 7 by Scribe

[Osteoclast]

So I went and looked at some of my previous purchases, back from when I first started. 
Inceptors 10/19 $50 then, $60.87 today with inflation, retailing $60

Sororitas Rhino 11/19: $60 then, $72.86 today, retailing $60

Sororitas Imagifier: 11/19: $30 then, $36.43 today, retailing $33.50

Sororitas Zephyrim 11/19: $55 then, $66.79 today, retailing $60. 
Hellblasters 9/20: $60 then, $72 today, retailing $60

Aggressors 9/20: $50 then, $60 today, retailing $60

 

Inflation calculated using BLS.gov calculator. 
 

Prices going up is never fun, but this very much does not look like gouging by GW. If anything, they aren’t keeping up with inflation. 

[templargdt]

I haven't bought anything for a long time now.  It's astonishing to me how prices doubled on products from when I started this hobby.  I have some stuff still sitting in boxes but am probably going to start ebaying things.

 

I haven't played a game of 10th edition because I'm so disenchanted with the simple rule set.  I think back to how custom you used to be able to make things and it's so bland now.  It's all so disappointing. 

[Kastor Krieg]

1 hour ago, Marshal Rohr said:

Really can’t use immoral when discussing toys. It’s immoral to pass costs on for medicine and stuff, not a space marine. 

This kind of relativism is part of the problem. Hiking price of insulin is more immoral than in case of toys. But it doesn't mean that this example of greed is not immoral just because people do worse.

[Kastor Krieg]

8 minutes ago, Osteoclast said:

So I went and looked at some of my previous purchases, back from when I first started. 
Inceptors 10/19 $50 then, $60.87 today with inflation, retailing $60

Sororitas Rhino 11/19: $60 then, $72.86 today, retailing $60

Sororitas Imagifier: 11/19: $30 then, $36.43 today, retailing $33.50

Sororitas Zephyrim 11/19: $55 then, $66.79 today, retailing $60. 
Hellblasters 9/20: $60 then, $72 today, retailing $60

Aggressors 9/20: $50 then, $60 today, retailing $60

 

Inflation calculated using BLS.gov calculator. 
 

Prices going up is never fun, but this very much does not look like gouging by GW. If anything, they aren’t keeping up with inflation. 

Companies are simply not entitled to quarterly price-matching to inflation. And it's much worse in context, when wages do not follow the same rules, but remain stagnant or people are mass fired and have to seek worse-paying jobs to survive.

[Agramar_The_Luna_Wolf]

Agh, agh and 3 times agh. Right in my feelings...I mean, in my wallet.

Anyway, and being a bit more serious, I'm not surprised at all. I was fearing this to come. Every day is a bit more complicated to continue and not only in this hobby.

[Valkyrion]

9 minutes ago, Osteoclast said:

So I went and looked at some of my previous purchases, back from when I first started. 
Inceptors 10/19 $50 then, $60.87 today with inflation, retailing $60

Sororitas Rhino 11/19: $60 then, $72.86 today, retailing $60

Sororitas Imagifier: 11/19: $30 then, $36.43 today, retailing $33.50

Sororitas Zephyrim 11/19: $55 then, $66.79 today, retailing $60. 
Hellblasters 9/20: $60 then, $72 today, retailing $60

Aggressors 9/20: $50 then, $60 today, retailing $60

 

Inflation calculated using BLS.gov calculator. 
 

Prices going up is never fun, but this very much does not look like gouging by GW. If anything, they aren’t keeping up with inflation. 

 

It's not so much that there is a price increase due to inflation, it's that there's a price increase despite making massive profits, which could deaden the impact of inflation and generate goodwill amongst their consumers.

So more of 'hey, we know everyone's skint, but even though our costs have increased, this year there will be NO PRICE INCREASE as a thank you to all our wonderful customers! Woo hoo, get the party hats out and buy our limited edition, 500th anniversary, exclusive Grombrindral and celebrate with us!'

Instead of 'hey, we know your weekly shop, utilities and all round cost of living has increased this year, leaving you with less income for your hobby, so we're going to have increase the cost of your hobby because you're going to be doing less hobby. Sorrynotsorry.'

 

 

[SkimaskMohawk]

1 hour ago, sarabando said:

not quite, ive seen many hobbiest who exhibit clear signs of addiction in this hobby. Predatory sales techniques coupled with Fomo due to scalpers and a customer base that has a higher than normal percentage of "socially reclusive" types means that i think immoral is absolutely fitting. 

 

Lots of people in this hobby simply can't say no, plenty of sales posts come up after big releases with intros like "over bought rent is now due quick sale" etc 

 

 

to the "its only a small increase" crowd at what point is it too much? because il be honest £40 for the new khorne beserkers was too much for me, i certainly wouldnt pay £50 for a box of marines, how about £100 for a tank? 

 

 

 

You're getting downvoted, but i know multiple people that have so much unopened GW product that their houses are more similar to hoarding situations. One literally fell behind on mortgage payments due to over-spending on GW minis. There's another guy that'll always go all in on each new codex that comes out, just to sell at a loss a month and a half later at least before some of the more rapid fire 10th codex releases). And yet another was a wannabe influencer/content creator that overbought into a number of 9th edition armies. Addiction to buying stuff is very real, and not just in this hobby.

 

People also quibble about the verbiage; "immoral" and "predatory" seem to be a bit contentious, but at the end of the day their marketing techniques (and general pricing) are certainly not consumer friendly. 

 

 

[Marshal Rohr]

1 hour ago, sarabando said:

not quite, ive seen many hobbiest who exhibit clear signs of addiction in this hobby. Predatory sales techniques coupled with Fomo due to scalpers and a customer base that has a higher than normal percentage of "socially reclusive" types means that i think immoral is absolutely fitting. 

 

Lots of people in this hobby simply can't say no, plenty of sales posts come up after big releases with intros like "over bought rent is now due quick sale" etc 

 

 

to the "its only a small increase" crowd at what point is it too much? because il be honest £40 for the new khorne beserkers was too much for me, i certainly wouldnt pay £50 for a box of marines, how about £100 for a tank? 

 

People’s personal failure to control their own finances and purchases isn’t the fault of the company making them. It’s not even like food or something addictive! It’s just toys! As for when is it finally going to be too much - it never has been and it never will! 

[Matcap86]

22 minutes ago, Kastor Krieg said:

Companies are simply not entitled to quarterly price-matching to inflation. And it's much worse in context, when wages do not follow the same rules, but remain stagnant or people are mass fired and have to seek worse-paying jobs to survive.

 

Doesn't have anything to do with morality or the wider economic spectrum (although wages in a lot of places in general are also rising).
 

Inflation is up; their costs are up, so it makes business sense to crunch the numbers and figure out if they can still keep the current profit up or need to increase their prices without losing too much customers.

 

Would it be nice if they were altruistic and said "this round is on us?". Sure but the business that does that are the exception and not the rule. The fact that it's a toymaker also gives them a LOT more leeway in my book than a pharma, food or energy company. I (and I reckon most people) still have a giant backlog to go through. 

Edited May 7 by Matcap86

[Halandaar]

49 minutes ago, Karhedron said:

Comparing the "Start Collecting" sets to "Combat Patrols" is not really like for like. The SC Space Wolves was 15 infantry plus and HQ. The CP for Space Wolves is 15 Infantry plus HQ plus an Invictor. So yes the RRP has gone from £60 to £95 in the course of a year (I think) but the Invictor costs £42.50 RRP so the overall saving is broadly similar.

 

I did acknowledge that Combat Patrols do have more in them than the old SC sets, but IMO what's important here is the headline price, rather than the potential saving on offer. If you want to get started in the game and your budget is in the £50-£60 range (i.e. the range covered by Start Collecting), the fact that a £95 Combat Patrol is objectively a good discount vs RRP doesn't help you. 

 

By the same token, a Battleforce is a good deal. That doesn't make it a good starter product.

[Marshal Rohr]

4 minutes ago, Matcap86 said:

 

Doesn't have anything to do with morality or the wider economic spectrum (although wages in a lot of places in general are also rising).
 

Inflation is up; their costs are up, so it makes business sense to crunch the numbers and figure out if they can still keep the current profit up or need to increase their prices without losing too much customers.

 

Would it be nice if they were altruistic and said "this round is on us?". Sure but the business that does that are the exception and not the rule. The fact that it's a toymaker also gives them a LOT more leeway in my book than a pharma, food or energy company. I (and I reckon most people) still have a giant backlog to go through. 

Exactly. Just because we use money to buy it doesn’t make it equal to all the important stuff we use money to buy. If it’s too expensive do what I had to do when I couldn’t afford it! Don’t buy!

[Matcap86]

Just now, Halandaar said:

 

I did acknowledge that Combat Patrols do have more in them than the old SC sets, but IMO what's important here is the headline price, rather than the potential saving on offer. If you want to get started in the game and your budget is in the £50-£60 range (i.e. the range covered by Start Collecting), the fact that a £95 Combat Patrol is objectively a good discount vs RRP doesn't help you. 

 

By the same token, a Battleforce is a good deal. That doesn't make it a good starter product.

 

TBH the starter product for a lot of people is their first hobby set with some brushes and a marine or 3.

 

(But then we get in the whole is the main GW customer a gamer or a hobbyist debate and I got yelled at a lot the previous time that was discussed so... meh.)

[Mechanicus Tech-Support]

The price increases will continue until moral improves...or sales drop

As long as things keep selling out, GW will always find a reason to increase prices. Anyone remember when/why we got the start collecting boxes?

 

Sales and profits tanked so much GW got a new CEO

[Halandaar]

2 minutes ago, Matcap86 said:

TBH the starter product for a lot of people is their first hobby set with some brushes and a marine or 3.

 

(But then we get in the whole is the main GW customer a gamer or a hobbyist debate and I got yelled at a lot the previous time that was discussed so... meh.)

 

Yeah that's fair; maybe there need to be starter products aimed at both gamers and hobbyists, at equivalent pricepoints for both.

[Redcomet]

1 hour ago, Valkyrion said:

 

It's not so much that there is a price increase due to inflation, it's that there's a price increase despite making massive profits, which could deaden the impact of inflation and generate goodwill amongst their consumers.

So more of 'hey, we know everyone's skint, but even though our costs have increased, this year there will be NO PRICE INCREASE as a thank you to all our wonderful customers! Woo hoo, get the party hats out and buy our limited edition, 500th anniversary, exclusive Grombrindral and celebrate with us!'

Instead of 'hey, we know your weekly shop, utilities and all round cost of living has increased this year, leaving you with less income for your hobby, so we're going to have increase the cost of your hobby because you're going to be doing less hobby. Sorrynotsorry.'

 

 

They are a publically traded company. They have an obligation to make as much money as they can, all the time. Thinking about whether to be nice to consumers do not factor in on the spreadsheet. 
 

It is not a Gw problem, it is a system problem, where the only acceptable measure of success is constant growth.

[Sothalor]

5 minutes ago, Redcomet said:

They are a publically traded company. They have an obligation to make as much money as they can, all the time. Thinking about whether to be nice to consumers do not factor in on the spreadsheet. 
 

It is not a Gw problem, it is a system problem, where the only acceptable measure of success is constant growth.

 

I believe this is going to be something that will ultimately tank GW. The 2020-2021 years of COVID lockdowns and the surge in consumer spending on hobbies and entertainment looked really really good from a shareholder's short-term perspective, but that created an impossible expectation that it'd be the norm going forward.

 

And that was never sustainable. We've already seen sharp drops in various other entertainment sectors like films, television, digital gaming, etc., and I suspect that's only going to get worse as inflationary pressures keep squeezing from fiscally suicidal monetary policies enacted by governments around the world combine with increasing geopolitical instability.

 

Basically, GW struck one vein of gold and are now trying to convince themselves (really, their shareholders) that it's much more extensive than it actually was.

[Valkyrion]

2 minutes ago, Redcomet said:

They are a publically traded company. They have an obligation to make as much money as they can, all the time. Thinking about whether to be nice to consumers do not factor in on the spreadsheet. 
 

It is not a Gw problem, it is a system problem, where the only acceptable measure of success is constant growth.

 

I understand that, but it's whether or not the need for 5p on the pound is worth the ill feeling it generates.

If even half the people on this thread alone follow through with their thoughts or threats to abandon GW because of such gouging, then such a price increase will actually lose money, and some of that money will go directly to competitors. 

 

Had they announced a price freeze as though it was a promotion, I actually think I would have bought Grombrindal as a kinda of 'cheers, appreciate that, here's £25', but now they aren't getting that £25, which actually would have been £50 due to carriage paid, and that's just me. Is not getting my £50 today really worth the chance of getting £52.50 from me later?

I know I'm only one person, but it's short sighted behaviour like this that sows the seeds of discontent amongst consumers, and consumers like us *waves generally at hobbyists, gamers, fans of football teams etc* tend to be loyal, passionate, and a regular source of income, and once you've lost us due to ill will you don't tend to get us back. 

 

[SvenIronhand]

1 hour ago, Kastor Krieg said:

Companies are simply not entitled to quarterly price-matching to inflation. And it's much worse in context, when wages do not follow the same rules, but remain stagnant or people are mass fired and have to seek worse-paying jobs to survive.

Eh, I agree with you in this respect, but 'tis what 'tis. GW isn't going down anytime soon. We can think through the alternatives, though. 

As for what Skimask said, (think it was Skimask) yeah. There definitely are people who have unhealthy relationships with the wargaming hobby. Part of that comes down to self-discipline, part of it might be the addictive personality and brain wiring. GW isn't necessarily, without government intervention ala cigarettes or gambling, going to promote painting what you have before you buy more. 

[Robbienw]

Talk of immorality and ‘predatory pricing’ (always makes me laugh that one, is usually incorrectly applied) is for the birds.

 

These are not essential items we must buy.

 

GW will know when they have gone too far with the prices because it will show up in their sales data, when that happens they will act accordingly or fail.

[phandaal]

14 minutes ago, SvenIronhand said:

Eh, I agree with you in this respect, but 'tis what 'tis. GW isn't going down anytime soon. We can think through the alternatives, though. 

As for what Skimask said, (think it was Skimask) yeah. There definitely are people who have unhealthy relationships with the wargaming hobby. Part of that comes down to self-discipline, part of it might be the addictive personality and brain wiring. GW isn't necessarily, without government intervention ala cigarettes or gambling, going to promote painting what you have before you buy more. 

 

Yeah, there are plenty of ways to engage in wargaming and even the 40k hobby without dropping ever-increasing amounts of money on model kits.

 

On the flip side, there are plenty of people who have not hit their breaking point yet. Whether they are future Facebook "haven't gotten around to these 700 boxes, looking to sell" posts, or just people who are fine with the price, GW is going to look at that and see validation of their strategy.

 

Edited May 7 by phandaal