I used to love going to GW stores in the early 2000s because they were much more of a community hub than retail space. The more enthusiastic fans you had in the store, the more likely they were to sell more product. A lot of the early games I had of 40k 4th edition were at GW stores that routinely had 10-20 people inside playing other games or painting models. It was somewhere around 2010 that it started to feel like I was walking into a used car dealership instead of a hobby store, so I stopped going.
Definitely agree that with a more focused community aspect more people would get involved & would be willing to spend money. I remember a very long time ago a store said they’d do an underworlds event / league so for my bday got given the core set etc then the store never bothered supporting the game… so kinda broke my trust etc.
I remember as a kid going from gran to gramps to mom to dad, doing chores etc , so at the end of a week l would gave those 5-7$ to buy a blister with 4 dudes in it (or 3 if it was a command squad). I remember the "agony" of saving for 8 weeks (and my gramps watching my "pain" over the summer and giving me 50$ after harvest time), so l could drop it on a large box of metal dragon princes and a bolt thrower. And mind you in the 90s people her made like 200$ on avarge, so a 100$ spend on toy soldiers was crazy. Now we make more money, but the prizes are crazy. 100$ plus for a starter, 35$ for a hero , requirment to use multiple expensive kits . It is not bad if you are 40 plus with a good job(still expensive though, there is a reason why we are 3d print central), but for a kid? +500$ (avarge monthly salary) for an army? How many 12 boys will pick up models (to be build and painted) over a consol , games on steam etc? And the models themself, some are hit, some are miss. But archer hand coming in 2-3 parts ? Again 20-30y in the hobby ? No problem, but try to look how a 12y old tries to assemble modern GW models and you will want to do that for them. Ah in some cases of models they are designed with a good/proficient painter in mind . Ton of extra details/clutter, smoke/fire/magic modeled on to the models . Those can look great when the painter is proficient, and HORRIBLE if he isn't. Old models were no where near as detailed as modern ones, but l had never had problems painting them as a kid.
Hey appreciate some background & I love in depth comments like this. Really brings it all down to a human level that people seem to miss at times (especially corporate). Everything going up in cost but for a lot of people pay rises not matching inflation… people gonna prioritise other things / less risky investments. A miniature set for £30/40 (not including paint/glue etc) or if you already own pc/console a video game with guaranteed hours of play time. I do recall when I could get a metal mini in mid 2000’s with money from parents/grandparents for £10 etc. It’s a shame as the cost of entry is raised regularly. Appreciate you stopping on by :)
I just can’t justify buying stuff direct from GW as their prices are nuts. £40 for a box of intercessors as a benchmark has got to the point it’s just not affordable anymore. I’ll get most stuff from my local gaming store at a 20% discount or second hand from eBay now
Would love to buy things from our local Warhammer store, but following the relentless GW price increases I’ve now limited this to on-line purchase only special items. Anything else I’ll purchase from my FLGS or off eBay. We used to be able to play in store too which created community and meant we were more likely to buy stuff from them. This is gone now as they don’t have the space, so even less reason to go in. I feel really bad as the Store Manager is excellent, it’s the poor decisions made at head office that have changed my purchasing habits. At some point I fear it will all go horribly wrong.
Yeah, my local GW has lovely staff overall but you can tell a lot of the negative comes from head office. I do miss the regular game nights / painting sessions for hours on end & that community aspect. 90% of my purchases are LGS / Online sellers etc. Even if I had stupid amount of money to spend I'd still look for ways to save / find a decent deal.
I find myself doing the same. I go to get the free mini and pretty much leave. Maybe some paint if i need it. There’s nothing else really in there i want because im not playing like i used to, like at all. I can barely build or paint. Both my local stores have stocking issues. Outside of big releases. I’d rather buy on ebay for a slight discount.
Only recently, a friend of mine came visit with his son and we wanted to go to FLGS, buy some generic-like humans which could proxy as fanatsy cultist and some cheap something for his son to practice painting. Well, shop closed so we went to the GW instead. And.... nothing on the cheap for the boy and nothing generic enough numbers for him that was worth the money ( because he wanted 20+ ones, also partly for converting ). So nothing for them, i checked the paints or something else fun for me - because I don' t want to leave hobby shops without buying at least something - but nope, nothing I needed but worse, nothing I wanted for the fun of it. Sure, nice things but where are the 5-8 euro impulse buys? You know, just a fun fig to splash some paint at or just for the pile? "yeah, I don't see you much these days, the friendly sales fellow told me". True. I bought there in the past but at one point I got my needs and then there is nothing else to buy. And ordering I can do online and have it for free delivered in that GW store. No, they don't have anything to offer to me I fear. And also their oop stuff they send back to Nottingham rather than leave over there just for the fun of it or to pick up later at an impuls, also nope. No surprises over there anymore...
Yep. I gave up on GW about a year ago. I got tired of being treated like an addict rather than a loyal customer. I now only buy non-GW rules and miniatures. Have just got into the Silver Bayonet and it's glorious fun. For generic fantasy blokes, might I recommend Wargames Atlantic's Dark Age Irish Clansmen boxed set? Lots of models, lots of posing options, £25.
@@peterclarke7240 Thanks. I know Silver bajnet. Not played it yes but have some monsters and the Russian gang for that game. We had Frostgrave barbarians or cultists in mind and those he ordered online later but I'll point him to the Wargames Atlantic Irish. But that is indeed my point, go to a shop and let them surprise you with what they got. At my FLGS, the stock or can order almost anything form Northstar/Osprey, Warlord, GW, Wizzkids etc. etc. too so yeah, unless they're closed it's impossible to leave that shop without buying at least a couple of blisters and not have to spend 50+ euro for it. You can ( and I do practically every time spend that ) but it feels fun. The "wow", look at this, what is it- factor.
@@duncanmcdane388 I totally agree. There really is nothing like going into a well stocked shop that supports whatever your hobby is, and getting to have a proper meander around the displays, maybe get some advice from the staff, and come out pleased and possibly even surprised with your purchases and knowing you'll get to go home and get to work on them on the same day, while the enthusiasm is still burning bright Plus, there's something nice about supporting local businesses and people. GW always felt a bit too much like they were pushing, though, and even more so nowadays, to the point where I just got sick of going in there.
One thing I will say about GW stores they do a (free mini of the month) which is kinda neat. Basically walk in, ask to build the free mini then take it home & paint. That's a positive I will highlight if your always just looking for a random mini to paint. That all said... yeah impulse buys that are below £10 mini wise I think is 0% chance now sadly. Even if I was being flexible & pushing it to £20 there's a few single characters but like mentioned / for the same price you could pick up some Wargames Atlantic, Perry Minis, Bolt Action, Frostgrave, D&D & so much more from a LGS & enjoy the process of browsing. I don't feel bad if I don't buy anything from a GW due to the company value £££ but I always try to support LGS due to the personality / human approach behind it.
You're right, managers don't really have control over what gets put on their shelves. The stock management system has a record of how many of a certain product you should have, and if you sell one it automatically puts in an order for the next delivery to include a refill for that item. A manager can call head office and request one of the numbers gets changed, but you can't really say 'hey Aeronautica Imperialis doesn't really sell here, but the lord of the rings game does, so could you just not send me AI and send more MESBG instead?' Also, stores that sell more stuff get more 'niche' products. So a store that doesn't sell much only gets the basic bread and butter stuff, but if you get more customers and sell more stuff, you get moved to a higher tier where you get the more niche boxes to sell.
Ah yeah that one. Been there multiple times, the staff is classic GW staff trying to push anything to get a sale out of you, chasing through the store until you say something that they cannot follow up, I went there a couple of times already and I bowed myself to never step again in that shop. Is much better to go to Dark Sphere (Even with also their own reputation) At least over there you can browse and look around the shop safely whidout being harrased by staff.
I was fortunate that they kinda just left me to it. Just some small talk (usual what you’re working on etc) but in this instance they left me to it / pleasant experience. I have definitely experienced in other stores more pushy methods. “Let me pick that up for you & leave it at the till” I hadn’t even decided if I wanted the product yet bud 😂 or just following me around like a bad smell. Next time I’m in London I’ll make an effort to drop by Dark Sphere.
That is the worst of the plushies! I got the Nurgling, Squig and Grot, of course had to get extras for wife (she passed on new nurgling as she has old one, not that that stopped me). So currently 2 old nurglings, 1 new nurgling, 2 squigs and 2 grot plushies in our house.
i just stopped going because there is no reason the prices of the models only go up when the production only has gotten cheaper. I hate it when a company clearly milks its costumers for every penny rather than providing value for that penny. It shows they do not care, they dont want to make something good. they just want to milk you. On top of that the side content like lore in the various books have gone down hill in the last 10 years so much its crazy. so we pay more than ever when the quality is lower than it has been since the freaking late 90s.
Yeah, the 3rd price rise in 3 yrs (I could be wrong) but record profits etc. Just leaves a bad vibe all round. A new edition starter set used to be £100, then £120 now £150ish. Something has to give way at some point.
I just brought up this point in another video (Warhammer Man). They just revealed the cost of the new Dwarf models. The shield bearer and the oath stone models are about $100us. I went to the store yesterday to pick up a few things for my new apartment. I spent $101 and some change. 9 piece pots/pans set 2 side sleeper pillows Body pillow Sunblock blinds Dish soap Sponges Trash bags A case of soda Shredded cheese Pound of beef Taco shells Cookies Crackers Little hooks for the shower And a few other things. GW prices make absolutely no sense. I'm glad I own my armies and everything else I might want has plenty of printed alternatives.
Been to warhammer shop at Tottenham Court Road a good few times. It’s not that big in my opinion and the stock is pretty limited. It’s all online like you say. Never anything from the specialist games unless you go in release day. You can jump on a train and go to Darksphere in Shepherd’s Bush and have much more choices 😎 It’s just a bigger standard warhammer store.
Unfortunately didn’t have time (spent too much time at pubs 🫣) to stop by which is a shame. As it was on my list of places to go. I will definitely make the effort next time later in the year. I did go by the Orcs Nest though. Cool little board game shop.
