GW looks a bit unhinged right now after two straight weeks of embarrassing allocations to retailers, and it’s about to get worse…
Something seems to be rotten in Nottingham as retailers and hobbyists alike are up in arms about new release allocations, deplorable customer service (and trade sales) response times, and Games Workshops’ inability to fill restock orders in any reliable manner.
As one retailer put it to us “GW looks to be coming apart at the seams over the last few weeks.” Worst yet- in just days, the UK will enter another lockdown, and everything “non-essential” will shutdown, again…
Closure Looms As GW Silent On The Issues That Plague Them
The issues leading up to now:
- On the retail side, store owners report abysmal restock rates on orders, and huge lead times- some as much as two weeks. On the customer side, hobbyists have to scramble to secure the products they want to purchase both in stores or on the web with allocations of half a dozen or less, that is something that has never really happened before…
- Scalping is at an all-time high as just about any new release seems to sell out in record time only to be going for a premium and in some cases double on secondary markets like eBay etc.
COVID has made everything a little crazy, but without any info from Games Workshop themselves, we can only really guess at the issues that seem to plague them currently.
GW Allocations Hurt EVERYONE
For this week, they just released the allocations for the new kits, and they are sparse, to say the least… Most stores are only getting one of every item. To us, it seems like it doesn’t make sense to do all this marketing and then not be able to deliver those products in a profitable manner.
Times are hard enough right now and sometimes we all just want a little bit of plastic to make it better! These new boxes are some of the releases to only be getting a single allocation to stores, if you want one, get in on it early! Chances of getting it from your FLGS are small, but who knows how many will even be online.
Why not just wait for a little while and catch up with demand? Kind of confusing the amount of time, money, and marketing they put into the releases than can’t really deliver.
Why Can’t GW Keep Up?
From a purely speculative point of view, here are some of our thoughts on why GW may not be able to keep up, and why, maybe, they should take a time out and get caught up.
1.) Catching Up From Spring Shutdown?
Obviously, COVID slowed everything down in the world. With how much they were shut down earlier in the year, they may be still catching up on all the previous production, while still trying to keep manufacturing new releases (which seems silly in theory). If the Indomitus releases, limited edition minis, and even the 40k app are anything to go by, they still have a way to go before they are caught up. and allocations cease.
2.) Supply Chain Chaos?
Shipping delays, warehouse shutdowns, and suppliers are moving slowly across the world. Even getting some packages within the same country can take two to three times as long as normal. That means just getting material shipments to their warehouse could be the sole reason for the issues. When you add in their suppliers also being behind and warehouse illnesses, it only makes sense things are behind.
Still from a consumer perspective, if you’re having issues, we’d like to know what they are so it doesn’t seem like we’re just getting shafted. Almost every release, and tons of semi-new kits, have had some of their lineup selling out globally. On top of that, there is quite a waitlist for some of the favorite units for every faction. Which has led to another problem, scalpers.
Because of how fast things are selling out, if you want the minis, you have no choice but to hit up the secondary market. Just look at the Catachan Colonel, it actually sold on eBay for over $300 at first! That is just insane for a single mini, but people wanted it and paid. Then the price came down when GW released it as an exclusive to help stores, but it is still going for a premium.
3.) The Shell Game?
Simply put, it’s also possible GW is playing the shell game with their stock- rationing more to their online store and brick and mortar Warhammer stores over their partner Local Game Stores. This would mean LGS’s that depends on people actually buying from them instead of online will have an even harder time moving forward.
If you’re only getting one of each thing, it almost makes sense for the store to wait till they are sold out online and in stores and sell them on eBay for more. Just puts the store owner in a strange spot. If they want to survive, they need more profit than they get from just one box of everything.
If Games Workshop’s online store is getting more stock allocated to it, in a lot of cases it still sells out in a matter of days/weeks. That just gives ads fuel to the fire for scalpers and people upset they can’t get in on the new releases they’ve been anticipating for months.
Just look at the Necron line, over half of the products are out of stock- including their brand new codex! That is a pretty hard pill to swallow if you had to wait for a payday or didn’t have time (or money) to buy the second they went on sale.
Fast forward to now, and the last two waves of releases have been slashed allocation wise. When will they be able to catch up? Perhaps a bigger question is that if GW is having such issues, why not just wait for a little, get caught up, and then move forward?
That almost seems like a win/win for everyone and seems to solve all of the problems above in one clean sweep. Well, as it turns out, Games Workshop’s hand may be forced in just days by the British government.
Another Shutdown Coming to the UK
Starting in just a couple of days the UK will face another 4-week long shutdown. Here’s a little about the shutdown from BBC:
Pubs, restaurants, gyms and non-essential shops will have to close for four weeks from Thursday (Nov 5). But unlike the restrictions in spring, schools, colleges and universities can stay open.
After 2 December, the restrictions would be eased and regions would go back to the tiered system.
Because of a new spike in cases, the country is shutting down once again. If GW was already behind from the first wave, how far will this set them back again if they are forced to close? The real question then becomes is GW’s Warehouse essential? If it’s not, that means we may see another potential lull in products in the next few months (or worse).
We Want to Know
Well, what is it GW? Your community and partner retailers would surely like to know, as we all try to navigate these troubled times. You have basically given us nothing on the situation, and why it has gotten so bad. Will it be improving soon? Will you be shutting down again? Is it all COVID-related, or have you been playing the shell game with stock to pad your coffers at the expense of your partner retailers?
We’d love to know, even if it’s in the form of a cheeky video like the one about import embargos.
+++UPDATE: One hour and a half after this post went live, GW posted an operations update, that didn’t really answer any of the burning questions above.
They did say this though, which is even more puzzling in our opinion:
The good news is, we’re not expecting any knock-on effects from the lockdown in England to our operations elsewhere in the world. Warhammer shops will stay open (wherever it is safe for them to do so), our webstores are standing by to take your orders, and our factories and warehouses are operating safely – so your weekly Warhammer new releases will keep coming!
Honestly, as we showed above, it seems like keeping the new releases flowing to stores in meaningless numbers because of allocations is causing more harm than good.
While we’re glad to hear that GW has deemed themselves “essential” and are operating their warehouses safely, the end result of this should be a constant predictable flow of goods to market- clearly what is not happening now.
Have you been able to actually get the releases at a normal price, or at all lately? What do you think the main issue is, or is it just everything coming at once?
Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group, and make sure you enter the latest monthly giveaway for FREE today! You can also support us on Patreon and get ad-free access to the site, plus a ton of minis that helps support some of the best creators out there!
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 also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), 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 1980s, 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.
