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Obviously, plastic is also costing GW more right now, both because of transportation cost and because polystyrene plastic is a petroleum product. However, they've decided to obviously try and make up the difference in other areas and keep plastic kit prices stable for the moment. A lot goes into business decisions like this when costs increase because things are tighter for your customers too and raising prices can cause a drop in sales volume that more than offsets any gains from an increase. It's not simple stuff and it can't be treated that way, especially without all the massive numbers involved that only company accountants get to see.
I'm not saying costs aren't going up. I'm saying that the burden of bearing the costs is being selectively applied.
Yes it is. All price increases from any comapny are selectively applied based on sales projections, overhead, market as in what customers will pay, etc. That's not really a revelation or even a criticism.
If the demand for metals is (supposedly) so low, how do they plan to support the added costs for ALL products with additional cost on a range that's being phased out? Fewer metals sold means less of this extra surcharge coming in. The plastics price increase is coming. I'd rather they did it now, and applied a smaller percentage increase to all items, instead of forcing out metals now, and then upping plastics later.
You are correct, it's not a revelation. Everyone has seen this coming. If GW wants to move exclusively to plastics, this is exactly what they should be doing.
I'm not trying to argue just to argue, and you make a good point. I'm fully aware that costs are not evenly spread out to various lines. I just don't think it makes sense in this situation. I'm also just a bit sore about performance. Speaking as a shareholder, the last few years have been awful. Leisures in the MID300 have taken hits in the last year, but GW has been dropping for some time now.
in Australia the price of the codex is listed at $43 pre-increase; but its selling for $50 when it comes out
As for the GW financial problems...
My local GW area Manager is constantly talking about how he's about to open four to five new stores in the DFW area over the next couple years. Could be hype, could be propaganda, but who knows? Also, I know what the store discount is for GW employees, which leads me top believe I know what the markup is on most of the products (unless they sell to employees at a loss). I'm not sure how you can not make money with that sort of profit per box!
An interesting, if only vaguely related, thought. I was perusing my Oct White Dwarf and read the article about the evolution of the Space Marine. Jes mentioned of the original Rhino (way back old version), that they sold more of those Rhinos than any other kit they'd ever made. I think I know why. The first time I bought a Rhino, they were three to a box and cost $15. So maybe there is something to the accessibility through affordability logic? That said, they could sell it cheap because they only used one sprue, they just used it twice per Rhino, and they probably had way less overhead. Still, if the new ones were three for fifteen dollars, who wouldn't have about twenty of them laying around?
GW has also been rather aggressive with company stores this decade. Most stores are well supported and do well. Having to close 35 stores and reopen them in more appropriate locations sounds pretty smart. It also means that I’ll have stores near by for me to get my plastic crack cocain.
I pointed out a lot of this a few days back in a thread that took a tangent into economics.
http://belloflostsouls.blogspot.com/2008/09/new...
And yes, I do pat myself on the back!
Hm. I should go and fiddle with BFG and see how much rebalancing it'd take to turn it into a small ship game. Escort/Light Cruisers only, massive fleets which go down in one hit... could be awesome.
It's the labor. Metal casting is far more labor intense and far slower than plastic injection.
Gasoline is merely a convenient reason.
Marine players, except Deathwing, only need or can even field a small number of Terminators. Tactical Marines should be making up a lot more of your army. So the average marine player might only ever buy two boxes of Terminators, but five or six or even more Tactical boxes. To make the money off the lower selling box, you have to charge more. This plus the fact that I believe that GW at one point fessed up and said, you are also paying for how good/powerful the unit is in the game. This isn't gospel, just my observations.
I'm not sure the price is geared towards manufacturing costs either. The much anticipated Ork Stompa kit or Space Marine drop pod, as examples, have been delayed till they are viable to produce in quantity. The Tau Piranha moving from the Forge World line to the Citadel line is another example that illustrates the point that GW makes kits when they are feasible and desirable.
Whatever their secret formula, it could use some improvement.
This is true. The formula's a proprietary secret, but the implementation of it is not. It's why a small single mini in one blister (e.g., an Imperial assassin) often costs more than a blister of three larger ones (e.g., witch hunter henchman). As has been pointed out, this can also affect the boxes of premium or elite plastic troops as well.
Again, in answer to the rants that go something like, "what about this and what about that", etc., the pricing structure of a variety of goods from any company is complex, extremely complex, and it is not realistic to think there will be any anwer that will satisfy that kind of questioning. The simple answer is, some items have a higher profit margin (e.g., mark-up) than others. It's true in every industry, be it restaurants, toys, computer goods, bedding, and on and on.
-Today our plastic kits came down in price
-Metals stayed the same
-Codex for the most part went down
-Hobby supplies (Primer, Brushes) went up in price
Here is the link to the PDF with the price changes:
http://ca.games-workshop.com/news/cn/Announceme...