I found the following at FAEIT212, one of my favorite blogs. I have to agree wholeheartedly. One of the points he makes involving limiting internet sales and local stores is a good one, and in the end it contributed to a FLGS here in Ohio closing. Read on:
I have been avoiding the negative side of these rumors and announcements like the plague. I do not like to over indulge in negative posts. I enjoy my hobby, do not believe that Games Workshop is actively working against the hobby, or hates us so. This often puts me into a place where I do not want to post a few things that I find, so I skip over them, or try and handle them in my end of the week editorial.
Lately we have seen Games Workshop stop Northern European companies from selling their reduced priced products to other countries. We have seen resin models with a price hike, and now the latest rumor control policy that limits GW managers from getting anything. All of this, and probably more, has led to quite a bit of frustration, and to be blunt, is pissing people off.
First the overseas ban on companies:
I am in the United States, in Oregon. So I do not know how the pricing works elsewhere, and I will not speak for the people in Australia or elsewhere. It seems from what I have read that their pricing atm is out of control. I do hope that a local plant in that region will help on pricing. I don't know enough to really comment more though.
In my neck of the woods. I see Games Workshops new policy helping local stores. Too many people purchase their product from companies like Wayland Games, and only show up at stores to play, and do so with shiny new models that were bought online (even bragging about it). Since the local stores are bound to the pricing GW gives them, they lose a ton of business, and I see the new policy levelling the playing field. I personally love my local game shops (Knightfall Games and Rivals), and see this as a positive. They after all should be making the money on the sales. They just cannot compete with a company like Wayland who has no overhead in this local area.
Once again, I am only commenting on a local perspective, I do not pretend to know all the workings or pricing in other countries.
Price Hikes and Resin:
The full announcement is not here yet on the resin. So I personally love rumors, but do not jump the gun on something I do not have enough information on.
As for the price hikes. People will not spend more or less on models. You spend what you spend. If things cost more, you will simply be more cautious what you are spending, and spend the same. I want Games Workshop to remain competitive, and remain on the top of tabletop games. I do not like spending more than anyone else, but I also want to see the quality of 5th edition maintain. It is the best out there.
I am sure they know of the negative images this kind of stuff gives them and I am sure it pains them greatly, (even if no one believes me), even though they must watch the bottom line, and make sure they are profiting, they also love our hobby. Costs in our world have increased greatly. Inflation is out of control (another subject personal to me like the skyrocketing cost of food and fuel), and to reasonable think this doesn't effect our hobby is alarming.
Rumor Control
Rumors will come. GW Managers are the ones who are no longer allowed to know anything. This is the just of the new policy. Managers in any company are generally the worst source of info, and yet everyone turns to them. They know just enough to get them into trouble, and yet not the truth of what is really going on. Generally they know just enough to piss people off. This is why I would find it important to limit their knowledge of what is coming out. The upper echelons I am sure know this, and know that rumors are important. This way they can control the negative, and then keep up the current rumor releases. This is logical and makes sense.
Conclusion
These are sensitive subjects. They tend to piss people off. I am the kind of person that stays away from all the melodrama the world throws me. However, it is OK to get pissed off on these subjects, they are tough ones. I do not vilify Games Workshop. They might make some decisions I do not agree with, but I do believe they are trying to do the best they can.
In the end we can only speculate on what they are doing and why, but they are a business and in order to continue to exist, they must make a profit and satisfy their investors. Do I like it? no, not one bit, but its out of my control.
Larry, I agree with most points of the article. However, my skin crawls with the concept of a company restricting another’s business ability to conduct itself in a "free trade" environment. It's one of the reason I dislike Apple. That said, with the advent of on-line sells retailers most change they business models to compete and survive. Ultimately, I feel location, outside interests and a passive-aggressive attitude toward GW did more to lead to the demise of the FLGS then on-line retailers. Out of those issues I think location was the prime problem. I spent a quarter of the time driving the last two miles down RT. 256 then I did driving thirty-two miles from Newark.
ReplyDeleteNo argument from me my friend, I am simply pointing out a factor in the closing, and a partial cause parallel.
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