Battlewagon Bits Goes Kaputt

[Lexington]

From TheWarStore's front page:


It has been a privilege and a lot of fun to be the bits supplier for so many amazing conversions on battlescapes the world over. But, like all good things this too must come to an end. Because we wish to remain part of the greater Imperium (Games Workshop) we must be compliant with it’s policies. An act of noncompliance would surely bring Roboute Guilliman and his Ultra-Marines (corporate lawyers) thundering down on our homeworld (store) to bare none other than destruction on what we have worked so hard to build over the past 14 years.

If the political climate changes and Games Workshop permits individual bits to be sold again you can count on us to be the bits supplier you’ve always known.

As of Monday, June 10th, TheWarStore.com’s Battlewagon Bits will no longer be filling orders or clipping new bits. Our plan is to break the bits room down to form the most awe-inspiring Mondo Bits Bags ever made.

The Mondo Bits Bags will be available starting Monday evening, June 10th until Friday night, June 14th on a first come, first served basis.

Unfortunately, after the 14th we will cease to sell Games Workshop bits.

Thank you to all of our customers for your business and support of our bits program throughout the years. It has been an honor.

-TheWarStore.com

Too bad. TheWarStore had remained mum on their plans for BW Bits after GW's nonsense "no bits" policy was announced, which gave me a bit of hope that they'd found some way around it. Sadly, that's not the case. Good new is, a few of the big eBay sellers seem to be sticking around, with one in particular even bitting up the new Eldar kits. Hopefully they'll remain sneaky about where their supplies come from. Bits sellers are a great secondary market serving a legitimate interest in the player community, and GW's attempt to kill it is just bizarrely spiteful.

[rle68]

well sad fact is they may have an actual account with gw and if they do they have to comply with whatever BS they say, however if they bought from a distributor they could tell GW to go pound sand

[Lexington]

Sadly, nope. GW's policy extends to distributors as well - they're not allowed to sell to any stores that sell bits. Of course, it'd be harder to prove with that extra layer of removal from the source, so that may be part of existing bits stores' survival strategy.

[rle68]

id like to see paperwork from gw to a distributor telling them they cant sell to the war store.. can you says auto lawsuit?

by the way i know from first hand experience dealiing with gw and their online demands

[Lexington]

id like to see paperwork from gw to a distributor telling them they cant sell to the war store.. can you says auto lawsuit?
They're not saying the distributor can't sell to WarStore, but that they'll discontinue sales of their product to any distributor selling to a store that breaks kits into component pieces and sells them. As a threat, that holds legal water. Their public reasoning for enacting this policy change is just bunk.

[Mr Mystery]

Don't know what health and safety is like in the USA, but here in Blighty, they could wind up with a nasty lawsuit if something is sold without child safety warnings.

It might sound churlish, but like any company they need to look after number one.

Think what you will of other reasons, but that one is a genuine concern.

[TheBitzBarn]

Mr. Mystery that is not the reason they believe that selling the bit is a box sale lost. They see bitz sellers as cutting into their sales. Their failed logic is that if you want 2 heads form the Death Company you will buy the Death Company box if the bitz sellers are gone. They will cover it in a "best interest of the Hobby BS, because bitz sellers are bad for their name and diminishes the quality of the hobby and products." Same reason no online sales. Lets hope there is a change in Ownership and smarter heads prevail

[DrLove42]

As a point...American "bitz" law is now the same as its been in the UK for years.

we have several bits companies making money...y.ou just can't buy the kits in at discount then sell them for bits.

[vharing]

At least they will still remain open. I have ordered stuff from them before, they are a good store.

[Defenestratus]

Sad.

I ordered bitz from Neal dozens of times and I'm going to buy one of the Mondo bitz bags for sure. I always enjoyed ordering those bags - it was like christmas going through them and seeing the cool crap you got.

Personally, this will cause me to do two things -

1) Order from 3rd party bitz suppliers like Chapterhouse
2) Cast my own bitz from my vast collection

Sorry GW, its not going to get you anymore sales.

[rle68]

They're not saying the distributor can't sell to WarStore, but that they'll discontinue sales of their product to any distributor selling to a store that breaks kits into component pieces and sells them. As a threat, that holds legal water. Their public reasoning for enacting this policy change is just bunk.


that is a direct threat and its called restraint of trade and it is a violation of the law.. the parent compnay can not tell a buyer if you sell this stuff to anyone else you will not be allowed to buy from us.. that is actionable

it would be like a gun manufacturer telling a sporting goods store if you sell to a gang member we will not sell you any more guns

[Caitsidhe]

Essentially Games Workshop is shooting itself in the foot. They are making it cost effective for people to go totally lone wolf. What do I mean by that? Bitz stores were still guaranteed sales for Games Workshop. They were probably MORE guaranteed sales than over the counter to customers because a Bitz Store was willing to pay up front on a lot of product and then part it out slow to make up the loss. Many customers wanting just one thing simply will not make the box purchase, nor can they afford to lay out for bulk.

What this means is that more and more customers accustomed to being able to getting bitz will turn to less savory sources to aquire them. It will also spur an even GREATER movement in using models from OTHER companies to represent Games Workshop product. This new policy is about the worst thing they could have done. They have thrown gasoline on a fire.

[lobster-overlord]

Don't know what health and safety is like in the USA, but here in Blighty, they could wind up with a nasty lawsuit if something is sold without child safety warnings.

It might sound churlish, but like any company they need to look after number one.

Think what you will of other reasons, but that one is a genuine concern.

In the US, there are ways around this when you are deal with the "hobby" trade. ALso with the internet being the primary form of sales for bits, the argument can be partly that since most sites requrie registration and to be 13 years or older then the marketing being done doesn't target children, nor does ebay have children's accounts, thus marking products "used" as HOB does is sufficient to get around the safety concerns.

John M>

[Mr Mystery]

Still needs the warnings on the packaging.

And it's hardly restraint of trade. If you are sold a packaged good, the supplier is well within their rights to request it be sold on only as supplied.

But of course, this is GW, who apparently can do no right, except somehow break laws left right and centre with no come back.... :rollseyes

[Lexington]

Don't know what health and safety is like in the USA, but here in Blighty, they could wind up with a nasty lawsuit if something is sold without child safety warnings.
Well, that's their public reasoning, but it's pretty silly on its face - GW isn't responsible for the particulars of second-hand sales of this nature. More, even if this was a concern (which it hadn't been in the near-decade since the first online bits shops started popping up), they'd simply have to stipulate that anyone selling bits put a safety warning on all bit product listings/auctions. No one would have blinked an eye, and we'd continue to have bits sales without incident.


What this means is that more and more customers accustomed to being able to getting bitz will turn to less savory sources to aquire them. It will also spur an even GREATER movement in using models from OTHER companies to represent Games Workshop product. This new policy is about the worst thing they could have done. They have thrown gasoline on a fire.
This, definitely. There's a growing set of sellers in Russia/Eastern European countries that re-cast and sell FW/GW kits for half off, and they're gaining a reputation for solid product and delivery within a number of gaming groups that I'm familiar with. Some of them are already in the bits business, and others will follow. If GW does succeed in killing off bits sales, it's going to drive a lot of potential revenue towards these companies - both for bits that will no longer be readily available on an individual basis, and for the full kits that are available for the low prices.


that is a direct threat and its called restraint of trade and it is a violation of the law.. the parent compnay can not tell a buyer if you sell this stuff to anyone else you will not be allowed to buy from us.. that is actionable
Hey, if so, I'd love to see them taken to court over it. I doubt there's much grounding in it, however. Besides being a standard storefront, TheWarStore is also a distributor, so they'd be the perfect ones to bring this to the legal arena. Of course, there's always the possibility that they simply decided it wasn't worth it.

[Faultie]

Mr. Mystery that is not the reason they believe that selling the bit is a box sale lost. They see bitz sellers as cutting into their sales. Their failed logic is that if you want 2 heads form the Death Company you will buy the Death Company box if the bitz sellers are gone. They will cover it in a "best interest of the Hobby BS, because bitz sellers are bad for their name and diminishes the quality of the hobby and products." Same reason no online sales. Lets hope there is a change in Ownership and smarter heads prevail
What's interesting is that I feel like the "no bitz" actually hurts them even more, because instead of a store buying their boxes and splitting them up, you have the upsurge in generic parts producers, which cuts GW out of the entire equation. I don't know of many hobbyists that will buy a whole box of Marines for just the one combi-melta.

[Eldar_Atog]

How much product do you tend to get in one of these mondo bags? It'd be cool to pick up a few bags for my gaming group :)