Consumer confidence in Games Workshop is dangerously low as Eldritch Omens failed to sell out, and some retailers are even calling it a “flop”.
The Eldritch Omens box set failed to sell out on pre-order making it the latest in a string of release flops going back a year to Pariah Nexus. Since March of 2021 when stock was actually available to order for retailers, nothing has sold out even when GW offered a pre-order guarantee.
The community seems to have voted with thier hobby dollars, (and it might be the only way to get GW’s attention), but what is the root cause of this decline in Games Workshop consumer confidence?
Obviously, there are some easier reasons to spot than others, but does it really just come down to value, or is there more to it?
Games Workshop Consumer Confidence Drops As Eldritch Omens Release Flops
We covered a lot of what is in this post in the opening of our Unboxing & Build video on Eldritch Omens below. You can watch just that section by clicking here.
Sticker Shock
The first most obvious reason could just simply be sticker shock, (even though there is an estimated $120 of value in the box set).
However, seeing a price tag of $200 (which seems randomly upped from the previous price of $170) for 16 models could be a pretty hard pill to swallow.
Depending on who you ask really feels as if they expected Chaos and Eldar players who are so deprived of new models to jump on this simply because they are new sculpts. It’s hard to deny when you’re army hasn’t had an update in a decade or two, you want new stuff.
However, that didn’t seem to carry this product through.
This was taken on 2/7/2022 Eastern Time and as you can see, it’s was still available. They promised to MTO this once it sold out for a week to anyone who wants it, however, it’s not on MTO, it’s just a regular pre-order. So that means the initial stock still hasn’t sold out.
Lack of Value
We saw a very similar thing for the AoS Dominion box (which had way more value), so it seems like the big boxes just aren’t doing it for people.
When you consider Indomitus was the same price, now only a couple of years later, you get 16 minis for the same price compared to almost 60 minis that could be a very hard pill to swallow for some folks. Obviously, those miniatures are ETB, and Eldritch Omens are multi-part, but when they price the ETB minis separately at Multipart prices like the new Orks, and most of Indomitus, it’s a dangerous precedent to co-mingle the two.
Click Here For 50% Off & Free Shipping!
The most common type of release lately for Warhammer 40k has been battle boxes like Hexfire with a couple of new minis, however, they only went for $170. However, the AoS battle boxes seem to have way more value and come with a small version of their rulebook as well for the same price.
Back to 40k for a second, we understand that it may seem strange that a box with an almost identical value goes for $30 more just because it may have more new minis inside. Perhaps that is the problem that could be further deteriorating consumer confidence in Games Workshop?
Where’s the Minis?
As folks have also pointed out the Dark Vengeance box set from around 10 years ago contained way more models, all of which were “new” at the time, however, they were ETB easy to build. That box set also contained a “Mini” rulebook too for Warhammer 40k which also had value.
Back to Dark Vengenace that box set retailed for around $100, if you convert 2012 money to 2022, even that is a little off…
The recent Shadow Throne box went for $170 and had about $113 worth of value inside which equals about $7 a figure retail. Eldritch Omens cost per figure in an unboxing is about $12.5, which is close to a 50% jump. Both box sets contain multi-part figures.
However, when you look back at something like Indomitus with 61 figures, the cost per mini in the box is $3.27, compared to dark Vengenace’s 50 figures at $2.20. The difference is that these sets were “Starter Boxes” and contained ETB or easy-to-build miniatures.
Are people tired of the pricing structure? Is the sticker shock too much? Are people just not interested? Is it more than that, or a little of everything combined?
What do you think the problem is, if there are any at all, with consumer confidence in Games Workshop?
Please take a moment and click on any of these articles which outline a lot of the issues hobbyists have had with Games Workshop over the past year, along with the price increases (some over 50%) since 2019.
- What the Community Thinks About the New 40k Rules Updates
- Is Warhammer+ Plus Worth It: Everything You Need To Know
- Games Workshop NDA Leak More Damaging Than Their IP Policy
- YouTubers Have Started Attacking Warhammer TV
- News of the GW ‘Fan Revolt’ has Hit Wall Street
- Boycotts Don’t Work, Do This Instead to Games Workshop
- Lookout YouTube, GW Just Updated Their IP Guidelines
- Where GW Fan Creativity Ends & IP Infringement Starts
Lastest Price Increases From Games Workshop Since 2019:
- GW Announces Sweeping Price Increases for Warhammer in 2022
- GW Raising Prices Again (but it’s not as bad as it sounds)
- Games Workshop Price Increases Versus Inflation
- GW Raised Prices on 135 items TWICE in Less Than a Year
- GW 2019 Price Hike: Some Marine Units Up Almost 50%
Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group, or our new Discord server, and make sure you enter the latest monthly giveaway for FREE today!
Get ad-free access to hobby videos, a monthly drop of miniatures, and support some of the best creators out there for as little as $6 a month on Patreon!
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.
