While ordering direct from Games Workshop might seem like the easiest way to go, here’s why it may actually be a terrible idea…
Games Workshop has recently updated its policies for shipping out directly from them, and it’s not looking so good at all. With these changes, they’ve made it even better to order from your Local Game Store, Amazon, or other independent retailers now. If you’ve been following things closely, you’d probably agree that for most of 2023, Games Workshop has been plagued by shipping issues and delays, and it doesn’t look like things will be getting much better soon.
Ordering Direct From Games Workshop Is A Bad Idea
Before their rebrand to Warhammer DOT com, this was the previous delivery information for ordering direct from Games Workshop:
The problem here is they say you should wait 25 working days until you contact customer service. If you consider the working days part as well, this means over an entire month!
After the rebrand, they updated their delivery page as follows :
So, currently, your “new release order” could take nine working days to deliver, which on the calendar is two weeks.
It also seems that with the rebrand, they are emphasizing trying to get customers to ship their orders to the Corporate Warhammer store for pickup on release day. This is fine for some folks, but when you consider that, in most cases, Warhammer Stores are in major metro areas, they seem to be trying to bypass the Local Game Store there altogether.
Amazon Has Taught Customers Not To Wait More Than Two Days For Shipping
Perhaps, like, five years ago, this would have been alright, but in the age of Amazon Prime and even some same-day shipping, waiting two weeks or (gasp) an entire month to get online orders is just a feels-bad moment.
While they say you will get your pre-orders on time, that really only applies if you pick them up at your Corporate Warhammer Store, putting the extra transportation costs on you to actually go get them.
So ordering directly may be a good option if you don’t care about having your hobby stuff soon, or perhaps if something just came back into stock on their website that is a hot commodity like Armigers, Sagiaturs, or Biovores, for example.
When you compare Amazon to the Warhammer webstore, not only is it cheaper (and by a lot in some places), but you can see that the shipping times can be as soon as tomorrow.
Games Workshop also has terrible reviews on Trust Pilot, currently a whopping 1.6 out of 5!
So, for all non-special edition Games Workshop pre-orders, it seems like it would be better to order from your hopefully friendly Local Games Store. Because of GW’s new release policy, by the “go live” pre-order day, Local Game Stores already know their allocation of new releases and should be able to lock in your order with no trouble.
Click Here To Browse The Latest New Games Workshop Product Releases With Links To Local Game Stores
Have you had long wait times lately for orders direct from Games Workshop for things like pre-orders or regular stock items?
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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 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.
