British Shopping Advice?

[vadersson]

Hey gang,

 

So my sister and family are going to visit her husband's family in England.  While she is there I was going to ask her to maybe pick up some LI stuff for me.  I know the price in pounds is generally much better than what we play in the US when we purchase here.  From my own trip to England, I know about the GW store in London that lets you buy and ship direct from the warehouse in the US at English prices.  But I also see people talking about other shops around that discount GW stuff.  So if I was looking for some cheap prices for my sister to buy kits and bring home in her suitcase where would I best send her?  

 

She will be visiting London and Glasgow in Scotland, but most of her time will be with her husband's family in Runcorn.  Does anyone have suggestions for those areas to go shopping?  Alternativly, might it be a better deal to order something from an English online shop and have it delivered to Runcorn and then have her bring it home?  Obviously I can't get a lot of stuff (unless I pay suitcase fees and provide one...).  I just want a chance to get some sweet, sweet cheaper English prices.  :)

 

Thanks for the help brothers across the pond.

[Emperor Ming]

Like Wayland games and darksphere do 20% off, 

 

Darksphere is in London. If your on a time constraint, darksphere post by default royal mail 24 so that's quite quick and reliable.  

 

There's also some minor ones, element games, goblin games, alchemists workshop. 

 

I would only order from 3rd party retailers now if the items are in stock, 

 

it seems to take forever for restocks now. 

Edited June 30 by Emperor Ming

[Cactus]

@pawl is the expert on UK discounts.

 

I agree that ordering online (if in stock) for delivery to the family will be the easiest logistically.

[Firedrake Cordova]

If you don't want to actually go browsing in the shop, it's probably better to get your relatives to order to their house now, so the items arrive in time - the stock situation is pretty variable at the moment. If going into a shop, it's probably best to phone ahead to check the stock level and see if you can "reserve" the items you want before travelling.

 

I've ordered from all of them that @Emperor Ming suggested (except Darksphere), and haven't had any problems with any of them (although I know that some have experienced stock-related issues with Wayland and Element).

Edited July 1 by Firedrake Cordova

[pawl]

7 hours ago, Cactus said:

@pawl is the expert on UK discounts.

 

I agree that ordering online (if in stock) for delivery to the family will be the easiest logistically.

I have a list of stores offering a discount here. Admittedly I haven't gone back through it and updated the discount rates for quite a while - I'll add it to my to-do list - but the recommendations themselves should still be pretty accurate I think. =]

[LameBeard]

I’ve had good experience recently with Wayland. It’s free shipping UK over £20 so very good deal for “medium sized” orders. Echoing what other say about stock - ignore any retailer that says “stock expected soon” or “awaiting reprint” - that’s just the storefront.

[Karhedron]

I have had issues in the past with Wayland taking orders and then saying they were waiting for stock but that was some years ago. My recent purchases from them have been smooth and easy.

[Valkyrion]

The only two that have never let me down are Dark Sphere and Alchemists Workshop, and when I'm shopping I open both sites and order from whichever has the most of what I want in stock, with AW winning the ties due to free carriage. 

[Karhedron]

Dark Sphere have always been 100% reliable for me.

[Ace Debonair]

Well what are the chances I just happen to click on a topic that happens to mention my hometown?

 

Sadly, Runcorn's a little town with not a lot of stuff going on regarding The Hobby. The nearest GW store is in Warrington, a couple of towns over (not a long drive, but still a bit out of the way), and I've had no luck finding cheaper shops selling GW stuff around the area. 

 

Online shopping is probably your best bet, and I've had decent luck with Wayland Games and Element Games myself, but then I also haven't bought anything in the last few months - I have so much grey plastic to deal with already! 

 

[Remain_Indoors]

Element Games is my go to. They have a store in Stockport, and they’re fast on dispatch and delivery. I’m in Liverpool and items I order before 4pm are usually with me the next day.

[firestorm40k]

Wayland are currently having a summer sale, and a few LI bits are in it, at 25% discount 

 

https://www.waylandgames.co.uk/hot-deals?f__multi_game_system__name=Game+System&f__multi_game_system__value=Legions+Imperialis&f__multi_game_system__eq=54307

[Xenith]

On 6/30/2024 at 11:00 PM, vadersson said:

I know about the GW store in London that lets you buy and ship direct from the warehouse in the US at English prices.

 

I've never heard of this and it seems pretty unusual, so be careful. 

 

If you're in Runcorn, and from the US, then an hour train ride to Manchester might not be too much for you. The Manchester GW store is really good, has a massive BA v Nids display, as well as a lot of stock. Once you're in manchester, element games is 30-45 mins away in stockport, and it has a lot of stuff in at ~15% off. You can also take the M56 motorway to go Runcorn -> stockport direct. 

On 6/30/2024 at 11:00 PM, vadersson said:

Alternativly, might it be a better deal to order something from an English online shop and have it delivered to Runcorn and then have her bring it home? 

 this for sure. Many small stores dont carry much LI stock, so bets bet would be to order it in. 

[vadersson]

So a couple updates.  My sister says she probably can't bring back more than 1 or 2 boxes in her suitcase.  ;(  However, my brother (who wants some shirts he can only get in England) has suggested we provide an extra suitcase and pay the $100 baggage fee.  :)  I doubt we will go that far.

 

The Warhammer (Games Workshop Official) store on Tottenham Court in London will let you order stuff shipped to the US and pay British prices.  I actually was there and was going to do that (except that LI released late, had it been on time I would have.)  I good deal for Americas traveling in London.  Of course from the rest of my brothers across the pond, I have now learned that other stores discount GW stuff even more.  So that seems where the real deals are.  It is sad that I can get stuff in the US generally 15% off max off a retail price that is 30% higher than the equivalent in the UK.  And then UK stores often seem to do 20% off.  Make GW stuff a lot cheaper at home.  Lucky bums.  ;)

 

Anyhow, I'll let you all know what my Sis brings me.  

Thanks,

Duncan

[Xenith]

Make sure to share pics of the swag!