What would you do if GW lowered their prices?

[Saemael]

Just as the title says, What would you do if GW lowered the prices of their models to be more in line with what other scale model companies charge? This seems to be the biggest issue a lot of people have and I'm curious to what people would do.

As an example let's look at something that is the size of a SM dedicated transport. GW charges approx 37-42 USD for it, compared to approx 15-30 USD for a model of the same size from another company.

[ragnarcissist]

i would buy more things.

[YorkNecromancer]

I would also buy more things.

[iamian]

as would I.

[Maelstorm]

If prices came down I would start another 40k army. As it stands - no more...

[Mr Mystery]

I'd buy the same amount of stuff. Mostly because I only need so many armies.

But hey, never going to happen.

[Popsical]

Sell my house and all my possessions. Pool all my money. Buy a purpose built nuclear bunker with provisions for as long as i can get.
Hide. For surely as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, doom, death, destruction, famine, pestilence and plague must be upon us!

[DarkLink]

I already own more than a company of Grey Knights. I really don't need more.

[hyudun]

Buy more often. I had a couple of FLGSs have huge sales recently and I took the opportunity to start a second army (Orks).

~$15-20 is also in the "affordable gift" range for my poor friends and I, so I'd also end up gifting 40k models more. I know the single model clamshells are supposed to fit that, but there really is no point to having more than 1 HQ and the 3-model marine packs are equally useless to an existing army. New models = excitement to play more = want to buy more.

In my nerd gaming group of ~8, only I'm still buying models (mostly on eBay, occasionally via FLGS during a good sale), 2 others are holding off for 6 months - 1 year due to personal budget constraints, and 2 more know how to play, but don't want to commit to buying their own army due to perceived cost of entry. The other 3 don't even want to learn because they don't see themselves ever spending money on it.

To summarize effects on lower GW prices for my friends and me:
-$$ spent on models for myself - possible slight increase
-$$ spent on models for friends - significant increase
-$$ spent by spouse & friends for myself - significant increase
-Frequency of purchases - significant increase
-Additional players - significant increase

[Denzark]

I would buy the same amount of things for the same prices. Mostly because I mostly buy from Fleabay or internet companies. Any money I saved I would either donate to the Church of Phil Kelly or spend on loose drink and hard women.

[lattd]

Nothing because I have no room to put any more models, maybe but some more carry cases if I could find room for them.

[Wildeybeast]

Depends on the circumstances. Most of my existing armies don't need much adding to them, but new releases would persuade me to buy more. If, for example, Witch elves had been £25 for ten models like Space Marines, rather than the outrageous £35 for ten models, I'd have bought two boxes rather than one and GW would have made an extra £15 out of me. But I suspect they have already done that calculation and figured plenty of people will buy two boxes any way. Most people have a budget for plastic crack and that budget won't change, regardless of how cheap or expensive the crack is. People would buy more products, but they probably won't spend any more money.

[jonas the jedi]

I would seriously consider starting a fantasy army. The main reason I only do the 40k system is because I can't afford both.

[hyudun]

Total $$ spent on models for myself - slight increase due to higher susceptibility to impulse purchases
Total $$ spent on models for friends - significant increase. $15-20 is "affordable gift" range. I know the clamshells are supposed to fit this bill, but who really needs more than 1-2 HQ's at 1000pts and under?
Total $$ spent on models for myself by friends - moderate increase; my friends who play 40k are all relatively low-income
Total $$ spent on models by new players - significant increase; I have 2 friends who are holding off buying anything for 6-12 months due to personal budget reasons, 2 more who know how to play but don't want to start armies due to cost, and 3 that aren't even interested in learning because they never see themselves spending that much money on it, even though they blow plenty of money on LEGOs, Magic the Gathering, and other games

[Sitnam]

I'd start buying again. $90 for a Reclusiam Command Squad is ridiculous. I don't even play, I just like putting together and painting models and I still find the prices unbearable. The idea that a single full strength marine squad in a Rhino costs around $80 bucks put me off of ever seriously getting into the game

[zenjah]

I would complain endlessly on every 40k related blog and forum I could find.

[silashand]

i would buy more things.

This. There are quite a few items that I would purchase if the prices were more reasonable. I spend generally the same amount each month so if GW lowered their prices somewhat they would get more of a percentage of that amount rather than it going to alternative manufacturers and/or other systems. Just me anyway...

[Mr Mystery]

Depends on the circumstances. Most of my existing armies don't need much adding to them, but new releases would persuade me to buy more. If, for example, Witch elves had been £25 for ten models like Space Marines, rather than the outrageous £35 for ten models, I'd have bought two boxes rather than one and GW would have made an extra £15 out of me. But I suspect they have already done that calculation and figured plenty of people will buy two boxes any way. Most people have a budget for plastic crack and that budget won't change, regardless of how cheap or expensive the crack is. People would buy more products, but they probably won't spend any more money.

Apologies for pedantry, but....

The Witch Elves thing would net GW less than you might think, on account the cost of getting them on sale remains static.

Numbers that follow purely for demonstration, and are not indicative of any actual knowledge of that kits particular mark up.

So, let's say they cost £10 to get on the shelf ready for purchase. And I buy one box at £35. That's a £25 profit margin.

You buy two at £25, for a total of £50 paid, but £30 profit.

The increase in sales required to match the dent in profits is considerable. In essence, for every percentile you drop the price, to maintain profit margins, sales need to increase by an identical amount. Which is not to say its impossible. But given the depth of price cut you typically see demanded (20% is a common one), that's a massive spike needed in your like for like sales, just to break even. And seeing as any business decision is made to increase profit, the jump needed to make it worthwhile is higher still.

Though as an aside (and not related to any comment on this thread), the interweb heroes who insist buying at a discount retailer somehow damages GW's bottom line absolutely crack me up!

[interrogator_chaplain]

I just got a new Realm of Battle (http://www.lounge.belloflostsouls.net/showthread.php?37515-Finished-arctic-Realm-of-Battle-gameboard!) board and I would definitely be populating it with a bunch of buildings and terrain. $40 for one building is nuts when you consider all the cool things they build for their Bat Reps in WD cost over $100 per terrain piece.

[Wildeybeast]

Apologies for pedantry, but....

The Witch Elves thing would net GW less than you might think, on account the cost of getting them on sale remains static.

Numbers that follow purely for demonstration, and are not indicative of any actual knowledge of that kits particular mark up.

So, let's say they cost £10 to get on the shelf ready for purchase. And I buy one box at £35. That's a £25 profit margin.

You buy two at £25, for a total of £50 paid, but £30 profit.

The increase in sales required to match the dent in profits is considerable. In essence, for every percentile you drop the price, to maintain profit margins, sales need to increase by an identical amount. Which is not to say its impossible. But given the depth of price cut you typically see demanded (20% is a common one), that's a massive spike needed in your like for like sales, just to break even. And seeing as any business decision is made to increase profit, the jump needed to make it worthwhile is higher still.

Though as an aside (and not related to any comment on this thread), the interweb heroes who insist buying at a discount retailer somehow damages GW's bottom line absolutely crack me up!

But my issue isn't with the actual price of witch elves (well, it is), but why they cost £10 more than the exact same amount of models for space marines. Especially when a space marine model seems to have twice the amount of plastic as a skinny witch elf. Though your point about the impact of price reductions is a valid reason as to why it won't happen.

[Mr Mystery]

And now at the risk of sounding like a butthole, it is what it is.

That GW wanted to set the price at £35 is reason enough for them. It seems highly likely that there is a reason, and as curiously distasteful as it is nowadays, greed/hunt for profit is a legitimate one.

Some seem to feel GW are ripping them off, but I ask why? All hobby purchases are optional. Energy companies rip us off by colluding on price, and manage it because life without their product is a lot harder. Likewise water companies. That's a basic building block of all life on earth, and whilst I appreciate the treatment of waste water, plus management and distribution has it's cost, charging me £1,000 a year? That is simply money with menaces. Especially when it's all 'estimated'....an estimate based on my owning a washing machine (I don't), dish washer, and being otherwise wasteful.

But a company selling small soldiers and rule books? They literally cannot rip me off, even if they try, on account I can just walk away saying no thank you.

[Dalleron]

If GW somehow managed to lower their prices, I'd only have a bigger pile of models to paint.

[Orange]

It wouldn't change too much as the majority of my army does not come from Games Workshop but from Forgeworld.

[Limey El'Jonson]

I'd start a Fantasy army. I have four 40K armies so... :D

[Darren Richardson]

I second this, the same would happen to me


If GW somehow managed to lower their prices, I'd only have a bigger pile of models to paint.

Personally I can justify the cost of one box up to £30 per month at my current wages, but all the transports and tanks cost more than that so I can't at present buy them, so that's a lost sale for them, if they did lower the price a bit, I might be able to then buy a couple and that would be an increase in sales long term for them.

[Wolfshade]

I would continue to spend the same amount of money with GW and hope that they still maintain financial viability.

[SaveModifier]

Buy the same amount of things, I buy too much to paint and use as it is, same as everyone else, despite what they say here

[Katharon]

If there's one thing I'd rather like, it's that they would return to making good paint pots with screw-on caps. The current version of paint pots were created because they realized that they could make more money if the paint gamers were using was drying up faster than they could use it -- so they're designed to fail. Once you open that plastic little pot, its never going to have the same airtight seal.

Been one of the main reasons why I buy my paints from Tamiya Color instead of GW (unless there is a GW color I really want).

[Mr Mystery]

If there's one thing I'd rather like, it's that they would return to making good paint pots with screw-on caps. The current version of paint pots were created because they realized that they could make more money if the paint gamers were using was drying up faster than they could use it -- so they're designed to fail. Once you open that plastic little pot, its never going to have the same airtight seal.

Been one of the main reasons why I buy my paints from Tamiya Color instead of GW (unless there is a GW color I really want).

You never used the screw caps then? Because they were sods for drying out at the drop of a hat.

Since the switch back, hasn't happened to me once.

[SaveModifier]

But my issue isn't with the actual price of witch elves (well, it is), but why they cost £10 more than the exact same amount of models for space marines. Especially when a space marine model seems to have twice the amount of plastic as a skinny witch elf. Though your point about the impact of price reductions is a valid reason as to why it won't happen.

The difference cost of plastic is pretty negligible to GW, the volume of material doesn't matter, volume of sales will matter, so, if we imagine that the boxes are priced the same and each gives a £10 profit, a box of witch elves will only ever sell 2*X amount of units, no matter the cost, only X people play Dark Elves, so if they buy two boxes for example, then thats all done, so if there was only £10 profit, you've only made £2X*10, Space Marines are much more popular, there are probably, and this is being conservative, 10X people who collect Space Marines, and Tactical Squads are the most common choice for that army, everyone needs at least 2 boxes, but will probably buy at least 3, to fill out Devastator Squads and the like, so now, at £10 profit we have £ 30X*10. The costs for selling these boxes, shelf space, heating, lighting and staff is exactly the same, but even at conservative estimates, then you make 15 times more gross profit from each box and if you call the costs Y, we have £2X*10 - Y verses £30X*10 - Y, so you can see that GW need more per box of the Witch Elves to even begin to match the Space Marines.

[SaveModifier]

You never used the screw caps then? Because they were sods for drying out at the drop of a hat.

Since the switch back, hasn't happened to me once.

Yeah, this, the lids of screw tops would get gunked with paint and cover the thread after a few uses, they'd never screw on again properly and dry out very quickly. The new ones have a lid with more give so can close over a layer of paint. No paint pots are perfect, if you say otherwise, you've never used other types of paint pot. Dropper bottles clog, screw tops get gunked up, the old style hexpot lids got gunked up too in the lip, but were easy to pull the lump of paint out with a knife, but they weren't as stretchy so you couldn't close them until you did that.

[Katharon]

The new paint pots suck. They are made to fail. How is that better than a screw top?

[Mr Mystery]

Because you've made an incorrect assumption there? So might even consider it hyperbole.

New pots are fine. Never had one dry out on me.

Though could be different climates at play.

[SaveModifier]

The new paint pots suck. They are made to fail. How is that better than a screw top?

No they're not. You've read on the internet that they're made to fail, that doesn't mean that they are, that would be very silly. The failure rate is a lot, lot lower than the screw tops, the screw tops would be uncloseable after a fe uses, a year later, all my new pots, some 90 odd, are doing fine.

I've got over 300 different paints on my shelf, and GWs new pots, although small and expensive are better than most.

[Wolfshade]

The new ones are ok, not had one dry out yet.
The black tops I have had some paint dry out on me.
The old hexagonal pots were awesome, though a pain to open, sometimes even phyiscally, though some of those of mine are still fine.

[SaveModifier]

The new ones are ok, not had one dry out yet.
The black tops I have had some paint dry out on me.
The old hexagonal pots were awesome, though a pain to open, sometimes even phyiscally, though some of those of mine are still fine.

Yeah, try opening a pot of chestnut ink without getting it all over the place!

[Wolfshade]

I do regularly, I use a 1:1 chestnut ink and magenta ink on my BAs :) those precious inks I fear of losing.

[Denzark]

Can i wade in on paint here Off Topic?

I have several original cylinder citadel paints still workable although the paint was often watery.

I have several hexagonal again workable - seemingly less watery.

The screw tops seem to dry out the fastest of all.

The ones witht the chunky flip tops seem to dry out the second fastest to me.

The old colours in the new daintier flip tops, and the new colours, seem to be lasting fine.

That said, I think citadel paint is the only time GW teabagged me - there was no need to change the colours ever so slightly, beyond compelling peopl to buy all new paints and possibly upgrade armies if you are a purist that eants a uniform colour. They could have stuck iwth Ultramarine Blue ad infinitum irrespective of paint formula - it is mix that counts for colour especially with acrylics.

[SaveModifier]

I do regularly, I use a 1:1 chestnut ink and magenta ink on my BAs :) those precious inks I fear of losing.

Coat D'Arms are still available in the UK, who made the original GW paints in hex pots, they still do those inks, I'm sure you'll be able to get hold of them!

[Wolfshade]

Coat D'Arms are still available in the UK, who made the original GW paints in hex pots, they still do those inks, I'm sure you'll be able to get hold of them!

Excellent, cheers for that :D
I hate it when as 'zark says a colour is discontinued and you end up with your force with a variety of different shades of the same "colour"

[Darren Richardson]

I still have a couple of old GW paints in Hex Pots with the push lids, and their still usable, everyone's right the screw lids they introduced late 90's early 00's really arfe the poorest performers of the lot, the lids would gunk up and the paints went rock hard, I don't have any of those left, I had to throw them as they turned into a solid block of rubberery mess :(

All the others versions of the lids just occisionaly need a touch of aryclic thiner to keep them usuable, as for shades of colour the colour I've always used the most of was black, Black has always stayed Black :)

[Darren Richardson]

Yeah, try opening a pot of chestnut ink without getting it all over the place!

Yeah I've done this a couple of times myself, always the damn chestnut as well never any of the others I used!