- aurynn wrote:
- EDIT: and dont get me started on model prices... I see ppl buying FW stuff and then crying that something from GW is expensive...
I'd love to see the figures for how many units Forge World shifts, what their stock sizes are. I bet they sell considerably less than GW does, considerably less than most model manufacturers I bet. forge World should be compared to those kickstarter companies you see that produce gorgeous mini's in limited quantity and on a one production run basis. They're the very high end of the mini's market, a market inhabited by collectors who really enjoy the models (probably more so than actually gaming with them) and have the cash to burn on ultra-premium products. You can't compare FW prices to GW because they're entirely different markets.
GW is for everyday play models and their prices are simply too high. GW is constantly struggling to maintain it's size and position in the marketplace, it hasn't felt true growth for years. In fact it's struggled a lot and had to downsize massively to stay competitive. Meanwhile it's rivals grow constantly. So there's no shortfall of money in the tabletop gaming industry (Warmachine, X-wing and many other games are a testament to that) but GW is left scratching it's head as to why it can't grow. Because their prices are too high.
Their lack of player appreciation/inclusion is another big problem they have. I gave up on GW as a company when they started to get stupid with their price rises in the early 2000's. The company changed. I walked away from the game not long after (dissatisfaction had some part in that but so did many other larger factors). But since then I've dipped in and out keeping my eye on things (and recently attempting to revive the hobby) but in probably 15 years I've not bought a single model from GW directly. I've barely bought from indie retailers (and only then when I can get the absolute max discounts). Much of my collection is bought off players giving up on the game and selling their collections on Ebay. This is a problem for GW. Because I can still play their gaming products but I'm not giving them cash directly. And it's hurting them. I've bought a couple IPad army books for fantasy and will buy my codexes there when it comes time to play at the table but that's about it. I'll get my models second hand when I need them. But I've been looking hard at Malifaux in the last years or so. The difference is I'd have no problems buying new and straight from the source. I don't feel Wyrd are exploiting their customers, alienating them and telling them to STFU and buy their miniatures. I haven't personally bought into the whole knock-ff recast thing but I can see why so many have.
In short GW would sell far more models if they lowered the price and started treating their customers like the valuable resource they are. They'd undermine the black market that's hurting them and they'd claw back some the market presence they lost to other games. And importantly they'd retain players and cut down on the levels of second hand models available on Ebay, increasing sales yet further. GW's woes are all their own making and the longer they refuse to listen to their customers the more those customers will just drift away and/or feed the black/grey markets that thrive under GW's short-sighted policies.
For all GW's rhetoric if the game wasn't paramount then the likes of Chapterhouse would never have arisen. If it was only about models the Chinese recasters wouldn't exist. For players it's about the game and having nice models to game with. It's not about having nice models that you might game with.
Subject: A Polite Request to GW 
Wed Oct 29 2014, 03:56
