Things haven’t been pretty rough lately for stock and after the latest allocations, it’s looking like GW was not ready to release 10th edition Warhammer 40k.
We’ve seen a lot of recent issues with the warehouse, caps, and even Games Workshop’s own inventory on their website. Most of the allocations have been pretty tight, but the Lion might have been the worst of them.
According to reports GW sent two kits to influencers to create content and then just two single kits to stores to sell, which seems to make very little sense.
Now, with the “non-limited” Lion version allocated to 5 per store, everyone seems to have had it with these ongoing stock issues.
Rightfully so too, if we’re being honest.
It’s Not Looking Good For 10th Edition Warhammer 40k Releases Moving Forward
GW Warehouse is Even More Clogged As Skynet Takes Over
The recent allocations (or caps) were supposed to be a way for all stores to be able to get new release products (instead of bigger stores just getting all the stock), but it hasn’t really turned out quite as anyone was hoping.
This has led to severe shipping issues to stores, people not getting what they want, and with the pricing increases coming, it could get way worse, and quite soon. For the past five months (as of July 2023), we have seen caps about as bad as ever, and this included Leviathan and now the individual release of Lion El’Jonson.
However, according to sources, this wasn’t just to get all stores some stock; this was also meant to help reduce the workload in the warehouse. So, in theory, this is a good idea for all parties involved.
Unfortunately, it hasn’t seemed to work out this way, and here’s why:
Stores are already not getting their orders when they are supposed to. According to reports, Games Workshop has broken the North American Warehouse up into two parts, with the first being for new releases (and where the machines work), and the other half of the warehouse is for restocks with actual people pulling and shipping stores their orders, which reportedly was behind by about 2-3 weeks.
According to some, this has gotten much worse, with the stores ordering even more volume for the launch of 10th Edition.
Now that we know the potential issues, let’s see how this has already affected 10th Edition Warhammer 40k, and releases moving forward.
Not Enough Stock
Does anyone remember the Indomitus debacle from 2020?
Back when they released Indomitus, there were crazy supply chain issues, COVID problems, and everything seemed sold out all the time.
Unfortunately, we’re starting to see very similar issues right now. With Indomitus, they had a bit more of an excuse as they had to shut down for obvious reasons, and then they took a really long time to catch up.
They also tried to keep up with their new releases. Guess what? The exact same thing is happening now; they are still behind from weeks of releases and are constantly trying to pump out the new minis.
With them already behind and allocating every new release, the future of 10th looks a little rough. GW sold out of Leviathan, the Lion, and allocated bundles of Index Cards, one per store.
Delays & Allocation Issues Are Worldwide
As we said, this also isn’t just in the USA either, as multiple retailers from over the pond have also had issues from allocations to delivery and fulfillment delays.
So, these issues, whatever they are, seem to be worldwide and seem to be making everyone a little nervous for the rest of 10th edition.
However, as we said before, there is another possible reason for all of this.
GW Trying to Force More Customers to Their Webstore?
To us, it seems like there are really only two main reasons for the crazy caps to stores, GW either is having serious shipping and stock issues, or they are trying to drive more traffic to their own webstore where they make more profit margin.
We’ll never know really know for sure as we’re not privy to GW’s inner workings, but one seems more preventable than the other, and neither is really acceptable anymore.
What do you think about the past five months of allocations from GW and the stock issues now that 10th Edition 40k is here?
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About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures. Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including the Adepticon Team Tournament and American Team Tournaments, and is on a first-name basis with almost every major company in the space.
He’s all gaming all the time. With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. He advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1908s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
