Games Workshop isn’t fooling anyone with their ‘Special Pricing’ event that is basically a sale, one of the first outright ever from the game manufacturer.
Can you remember the last time Games Workshop had a sale? Besides bundle deals and buy ‘x’ thing get a voucher promotion, we honestly can’t remember the last time GW had a sale.
Games Workshop just doesn’t have sales, and there is a simple reason for it.
Games Workshop Special Pricing is a Sale
Have you ever seen Rolex or Apple “go on sale?” directly from the retailer? Luxury brands shy away from discounting because they are primarily concerned with the perceived value of their products and if you lower the price, the perceived value decreases.
Games Workshop, whether you’ve realized it or not, really positions itself as the luxury “this is not a toy” toy soldier company.
Admittedly this wasn’t always the case. as it’s also one of the major reasons why Forge World, its boutique section, was often perceived as a wholly separate company. Forge World really owned the luxury “this is not a toy” toy soldier company.
Over the years, as a Land Raider raised in price from $45 to $55 and eventually to today’s $80 (see the inflation article here) you can really see GW is positioning itself as a luxury goods maker.
While competitors like DUST, Matic, Warlord, and Flames of War kept their prices low GW has been full steam ahead raising prices year after year. This transition to a luxury brand has also led to backlash from its more price-sensitive customers and the usual “well, this isn’t a hobby for the plebeians,” response.
Whats On Sale From Games Workshop
The line of ‘special pricing’ er sale items is probably pretty telling to most people from the looks of it.
Items that notoriously did poorly on release,e like the overhyped Dominion Box are all here. Underworlds was probably hampered by COVID lockdowns more than most due to its competitive release-cycle nature.
Splash in some Aeronautica (have you ever seen anyone play it?) and you have a catalog of misfit offerings that GW appears to be overstocked on.
Even more curious is if you shift the currency to the UK, you can see even deeper discounts that make these offerings appear even more… desperate?
Speaking of desperate, check out this sale from one of the biggest retailers in the UK on Dominion- yikes…
Now if you’re here in the states you’re probably wondering why the sales prices here are not as cheap. Or perhaps why US retailers are not “dumping” boxes of Dominion. That is because of the policy of Minimum Advertised Pricing, meaning if you are a GW retailer you can not advertise any discount greater than 15% off.
But retailers can price items at whatever they want in-store, and over the phone- but let’s be honest, if you do that enough it’s possible GW will not like any of that and find a way to get rid of you as a retailer.
Voting With Your Hobby Dollars & Consumer Confidence
COVID has changed the world and businesses have responded
Games Workshop has felt a disturbance in the supply chain and in demand from hobbyists in 2021. Some products are sold out in minutes, others, like Dominion, languish on store shelves and in some cases, are being sold at 50% off.
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Having a glut of luxury products is NOT a good thing, at least not for the brand. One of the hallmarks of luxury is scarcity.
Maybe Bob in GW’s forecasting department swapped the number of Indomintus boxes they needed with the number of dominion boxes they were going to try to sell, which is why months after the initial release, there are still more than enough Dominion boxes on the market.
Or maybe GW got high off their own supply so to speak and thought they had the marketing girth to push all that Dominion that’s currently just sitting in warehouses.
Our opinion is that hobby consumers have noticed all of Games Workshop’s very public missteps as of late, and are voting with their hobby dollars more now than ever, on every release. Well that and COVID has really changed consumer spending, and engagement with the hobby in the last six months.
Potentially it has changed the retail game more than anyone has ever seen, including GW, which has resulted in this ‘sale’
Hidden Value is Still Value
Whether it is a sale or ‘special pricing’ there is still good value here, whatever country you’re in.
Dominion has a ton of miniatures in it and is a great start to either a Kruleboyz or Stormcast army. The Underworlds sets are great for casual play as one of the sets has already rotated out. They are still a great deal if you don’t live near a retailer without a discount or these items.
The terrain box is also nice if you didn’t get any of the Sector Mechanicus kits yet.
Unfortunately, the deals significantly are better outside of the United States, as these prices are pretty close to the 15% off you can expect to find at most game stores or online retailers already here in the states.
Either way, it looks like time is running out on the deals. If they are for you, be sure to visit Games Workshop’s special pricing page and lock yours in now, they end Monday, Nov 8th at 8 am GMT.
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What do you think about this Games Workshop ‘sale’?
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