Mr Mystery
11-21-2014, 04:38 PM
How do?
So there's a bit of a broo-ha-ha at the moment about the limited nature of some releases.
In the past few months, several items have sold out in the blink of an eye. First one that springs to mind? Void Shield Generator. Nice piece of kit, but not necessarily a gaming essential for most. Next - End Times Nagash. Then End Times Glottkin, followed (very) swiftly by Leviathan (sold out in an hour or two), and today - End Times Khaine seemed to sell out in no more than 20 minutes.
Understandably, those who miss out are a bit fed up. They're popular products, and not everyone has the cash at the right time to make their purchase.
Some are suggesting that this is a deliberate ploy. And it is to a degree. Limited Edition toys are Limited Edition for a reason after all. Yet some suggest it's more nefarious - that GW are deliberately underprinting/producing supply, and the unintended downswing is that Scalpers snap up as many as they can, then effectively collude to ramp up prices, turning a quick profit.
My question here? Knowing that Exhibit A is going to be popular, why would GW deliberately under produce? Is it not more likely that Exhibit A has been a good deal more popular than they anticipated?
Lets use End Times as a measuring stick for now, as they're the most directly comparable.
Kicked off with a whopper - Nagash. Long term background, but almost as long Sir Not Appearing In This Game. Warhammer itself has apparently not been doing too well in recent years (though how any can say for certain, when GW don't break down their figures that far).
Yeah. Sold out in a couple of days. And when we got our clammy, rotting, dead hands on it - the book simply blew us away (us being long term Warhammer players). The content exceeded expectation. Lots of new background, massive advancement of the Warhammer World. We've never had anything like it before.
Now, that was released late August/early September, or roughly three months ago.
Last month, we got Glottkin, the second End Times installment. That sold out in a couple of hours. And there was much grumbling because of this. Again, the content of the product was of a high quality - compelling story, and some shiny new rules for fielding the various Chaos armies as a single entity.
Today? End Times Khaine sold out in a truly astounding 20 minutesish. I only got my copy because I'd been refreshing my phone since 6 pm, during a work outing. Can't waffle about the contents, as nobody has the book yet (and if they do, they're playing tight mouth Larry about it). But I think it's safe to say we're in for another treat. HURRAH!
Now, I have a bit of history in the print trade (old family business) and typically, books are printed a good few months in advance. By the time the plates are set, the order volume is also set - and that volume can only be a prediction of sales.
Take the above, and apply the unexpected level of demand for Nagash, and it seems likely the ordered stock (GW I believe use a foreign printer. China, I think? Don't quote me on that though!) for Glottkin and Khaine would still be based on pre-Nagash expectations.
If we take the above as even vaguely accurate (may not be), and add in the panic factor, and the naked greed of Scalpers seeing very, very easy bucks - we can see why things keep selling out faster and faster, and it doesn't seem terribly deliberate at all on GW's behalf. Simply put - the larger the print run, the cheaper it gets. The price Scalpers can command is the price many are willing to pay - and everyone willing to pay through the nose would have bought at the GW price - to suggest they wouldn't would be frankly bizarre and worrying. So why would GW deliberately underproduce to this degree? They could be raking it in! I know many question GW Management practices - but seriously, even the dimmest of company runners wouldn't pass up money like that.
Now I could be completely wrong - certainly wouldn't be the first time. But do at least consider what I've gibbered about above. I'd say the accuracy of my waffling will be seen over the next few months, as according to me, future End Times books are more likely to be printed with post-Nagash sales expectations, and should prove easier to get hold of :)
And yes I know this has mostly been about Warhammer rather than 40k, but this board is busier. And the panic/scalp demand thing can also be applied to Leviathan. Soon as something is mentioned to be Limited Run/Edition now, it kicks in.
And here's a Top Tip from me to you.....
If you have odd paydays, and they don't quite align with GW's release schedule (very likely now they're weekly) do give thought to holding a stock of GW E-Vouchers. I'm doing this from now on, as I reckon a level of around £100 will mean I need not miss out due to lack of funds :)
So there's a bit of a broo-ha-ha at the moment about the limited nature of some releases.
In the past few months, several items have sold out in the blink of an eye. First one that springs to mind? Void Shield Generator. Nice piece of kit, but not necessarily a gaming essential for most. Next - End Times Nagash. Then End Times Glottkin, followed (very) swiftly by Leviathan (sold out in an hour or two), and today - End Times Khaine seemed to sell out in no more than 20 minutes.
Understandably, those who miss out are a bit fed up. They're popular products, and not everyone has the cash at the right time to make their purchase.
Some are suggesting that this is a deliberate ploy. And it is to a degree. Limited Edition toys are Limited Edition for a reason after all. Yet some suggest it's more nefarious - that GW are deliberately underprinting/producing supply, and the unintended downswing is that Scalpers snap up as many as they can, then effectively collude to ramp up prices, turning a quick profit.
My question here? Knowing that Exhibit A is going to be popular, why would GW deliberately under produce? Is it not more likely that Exhibit A has been a good deal more popular than they anticipated?
Lets use End Times as a measuring stick for now, as they're the most directly comparable.
Kicked off with a whopper - Nagash. Long term background, but almost as long Sir Not Appearing In This Game. Warhammer itself has apparently not been doing too well in recent years (though how any can say for certain, when GW don't break down their figures that far).
Yeah. Sold out in a couple of days. And when we got our clammy, rotting, dead hands on it - the book simply blew us away (us being long term Warhammer players). The content exceeded expectation. Lots of new background, massive advancement of the Warhammer World. We've never had anything like it before.
Now, that was released late August/early September, or roughly three months ago.
Last month, we got Glottkin, the second End Times installment. That sold out in a couple of hours. And there was much grumbling because of this. Again, the content of the product was of a high quality - compelling story, and some shiny new rules for fielding the various Chaos armies as a single entity.
Today? End Times Khaine sold out in a truly astounding 20 minutesish. I only got my copy because I'd been refreshing my phone since 6 pm, during a work outing. Can't waffle about the contents, as nobody has the book yet (and if they do, they're playing tight mouth Larry about it). But I think it's safe to say we're in for another treat. HURRAH!
Now, I have a bit of history in the print trade (old family business) and typically, books are printed a good few months in advance. By the time the plates are set, the order volume is also set - and that volume can only be a prediction of sales.
Take the above, and apply the unexpected level of demand for Nagash, and it seems likely the ordered stock (GW I believe use a foreign printer. China, I think? Don't quote me on that though!) for Glottkin and Khaine would still be based on pre-Nagash expectations.
If we take the above as even vaguely accurate (may not be), and add in the panic factor, and the naked greed of Scalpers seeing very, very easy bucks - we can see why things keep selling out faster and faster, and it doesn't seem terribly deliberate at all on GW's behalf. Simply put - the larger the print run, the cheaper it gets. The price Scalpers can command is the price many are willing to pay - and everyone willing to pay through the nose would have bought at the GW price - to suggest they wouldn't would be frankly bizarre and worrying. So why would GW deliberately underproduce to this degree? They could be raking it in! I know many question GW Management practices - but seriously, even the dimmest of company runners wouldn't pass up money like that.
Now I could be completely wrong - certainly wouldn't be the first time. But do at least consider what I've gibbered about above. I'd say the accuracy of my waffling will be seen over the next few months, as according to me, future End Times books are more likely to be printed with post-Nagash sales expectations, and should prove easier to get hold of :)
And yes I know this has mostly been about Warhammer rather than 40k, but this board is busier. And the panic/scalp demand thing can also be applied to Leviathan. Soon as something is mentioned to be Limited Run/Edition now, it kicks in.
And here's a Top Tip from me to you.....
If you have odd paydays, and they don't quite align with GW's release schedule (very likely now they're weekly) do give thought to holding a stock of GW E-Vouchers. I'm doing this from now on, as I reckon a level of around £100 will mean I need not miss out due to lack of funds :)