Games Workshop revises 2003 policy concerning online sales

As seen on BoLS http://www.belloflostsouls.net/2013/03/40k-news-cya-later-bits-says-games.html?m=1

GW has revised their 2003 Policy to now not only make sure they have the monopoly when it comes to online sales but now they are forbidding stores and sites from conducting Bitz sales as well.

Bwuh?

With postage costs having risen lately this could very well mean the death of bits sites.

This is a punch in the face for most people interested in converting their models

Dogmar wrote:

This is a punch in the face for most people interested in converting their models

Never bought from a bits-seller yet my whole army is converted.

same here.....

Far more interesting is them shutting down websales

I dont see anything changing. This is just GW making a heavy handed move that gets them in trouble all the time. Whether its over shoulder pads or public outcry... its normal GW tactics. They normally like to pull every cent out of their profits that they can, Im surprised it hasnt happened sooner!!!

I doubt that anything will change, really, maybe just higher bit prices. If something does actually change as a result of this, people will simply find a way around it. That's the part of the Internet that GW has never understood, and never will with the current regime.

There has been discussion elsewhere that GW may get back into the bitz biz themselves and this is a precursor. I would be very surprised in many ways, but considering they are hungry for ways to make new sales, it may just be. Given their pricing strategies of late, though, I don't see it being successful.

The rumor of the getting back into the bitz business is just that. They got out of it originally because they could not handle the logistics of it. And that hasn't changed. This is just another ploy for them to attempt to monopolize their sales to them selves by "forcing" people to buy full boxes.

The problem is there arent "bits" anymore. It was easy to sell front left steam tank hulls when they were cast individually.
I think its far more likely to be an effort to shut down web sales.
Easy enough to sell "bits" for less than the total.

I seem to remember GW used to sell frames as opposed to bits, but I might be misremembering. I know they sold the individual bits for Inquisitor stuff, because I can remember scouring the catalogue, listing the pieces I'd need to create my warband, only to find out that precisely none of my friends wanted to start playing! Ho hum...

I wouldn't mind too much if they closed down on bits retailers - it'd be a shame, and obviously terrible news for the retailers themselves, but not insurmountable from a hobbyist perspective. Online retailers with their discounts would be more of a problem, but if the potentially increased sales through official GW channels mean that they don't do their annual price rise, that'd be nice. Maybe they could even lower the prices?

Mr Believer wrote:

I seem to remember GW used to sell frames as opposed to bits, but I might be misremembering. I know they sold the individual bits for Inquisitor stuff, because I can remember scouring the catalogue, listing the pieces I'd need to create my warband, only to find out that precisely none of my friends wanted to start playing! Ho hum...

I wouldn't mind too much if they closed down on bits retailers - it'd be a shame, and obviously terrible news for the retailers themselves, but not insurmountable from a hobbyist perspective. Online retailers with their discounts would be more of a problem, but if the potentially increased sales through official GW channels mean that they don't do their annual price rise, that'd be nice. Maybe they could even lower the prices?

I'm not sure the term "lower price" actually exists in the minds of whatever lunatics are running GW at the moment.

The ban on Bitz sales looks to be easily circumventable by selling the unopened product onto a 3rd party, who happens to be the same person that bought them from GW in the first place but under a different company name, and that 3rd party then sells the bits. There's probably some legal/tax reason that this won't fly though!

Mr Believer wrote:

I seem to remember GW used to sell frames as opposed to bits, but I might be misremembering. I know they sold the individual bits for Inquisitor stuff, because I can remember scouring the catalogue, listing the pieces I'd need to create my warband, only to find out that precisely none of my friends wanted to start playing! Ho hum...

They had some bits for sale, but it wasnt much...

Or you could of lived where I did, went to the US Headquaters, and buy each individual GW piece if you wanted too... and yes I mean each and every piece. You could get them for cents, and just stock up on them. Sadly that went the way of the dodo when they moved all the manufacturing to Memphis... man I miss that... Although it did lead to an awesome bitz grab when they shut down

Is this the case for the U.S? and would this affect Ebay bits stores?