Games Workshop can’t seem to get their production numbers right, supposedly throwing away a million dollars of new-in-box products.
In early 2023, a ton (literally) of Games Workshop products that were supposedly slated to be destroyed (for whatever reason) look to have ended up on the secondary market. This actually isn’t anything too out of the ordinary because also in early 2023, someone found Six pallets of Magic the Gathering cards in a dump,
But it wasn’t always like this. Games Workshop has seemingly throttled back their production numbers post-COVID to avoid the kind of overproduction that led to so much product allegedly being ‘liquidated’ for a tax write-off.
Exclusive Image of Verified Games Workshop Product From an Online Liquidator
If you’ve been trying to get any of Games Workshop’s new releases lately, you’ve probably seen the issues… Basically, everything sells out immediately, and if you want a new release, you better be near the computer within the first few minutes when the pre-order goes live. Or get to your local store early and hope you can get in on their allocated release numbers.
Despite the change in ordering policies, Games Workshop has struggled to meet the demand from consumers eager for new releases. A prime example (and probably very recent in everyone’s minds) happened when Warhammer: The Old World launch boxes and other products quickly sold out on the first day of their pre-order window (the Bretonnians sold out in no time).
Games Workshop Can’t Get Their Production Right
Exclusive image of Games Workshop product that was reportedly supposed to be “recycled” as presented to prospective buyers in a Memphis, TN storage facility.
Games Workshop supposedly sent around a million dollars (at retail value) of new-in-box product to be “recycled” at a landfill in Memphis, TN, and obviously, it didnt make it. We can only speculate on why that happened.
However, it doesn’t take much to look up the value of just one of these boxes online from a phone for the driver to realize that a semi-truck full of GW products could potentially be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to someone.
Some of that merchandise is shown above in a storage unit waiting on a “buyer” in these exclusive images shared with us.
Thirty Pallets of Warhammer Product
When stacked up, it was over thirty pallets of merchandise. This was just one of several storage units containing what would fit on one semi-truck. The sellers told us that they thought it was worth around $500k based on secondhand prices.
However, our estimates of retail pricing, with knowledge of the products on the manifest they created, suggested it was closer to $1 million in value to hobbyists.
120+ Heart of Ghur Boxes
Here are some highlights of the products we saw in the pictures:
- 120 Heart of Ghur
- 100 Kill Team Moroch
- 160 Warcry terrain
- 400 Ash Wastes
- 200 Raven Guard Battleforces
- 100 White Scars Battleforces
- 120 Ad Mech Battleforces
- over 200 Forge World Heresy Character series models (black boxes)
100+ Kill Team Moroch Boxes
Either way, this is pretty wild, as it’s the most enormous stash of Games Workshop products we’ve ever seen (at least for us) to ever hit the secondary market like this. From the looks of it, most of the product looks to be in good condition, too, but it is hard to tell for sure how the contents on the inside look and if there are any “defects” or not.
Over 200 Forge World Horus Heresy Character “Black Boxes”
It’s possible that the best part of these merchandise not hitting the dump is that, eventually, a lot of these products made their way onto the secondary market at discounted rates. Now eBay and Amazon sellers have all sorts of deals, sometimes daily, on Warhmmaer 40k, Age of Sigmar, Necromunda, Horus Heresy, and more.
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Imagine getting your hands on the latest miniatures, paints, and game expansions for up to 50% off retail prices or even more! We have been posting these deals when we find them for you. You can always check out these bargains to see how you can elevate your Warhammer, 40k, hobby, and board game experience on the cheap!
While it seems like GW is starting to understand consumers’ issues getting their products, its CEO said they would continue to sell out of everything. Either way, they recently mentioned building a new factory to help meet the demand for their miniatures and rulebooks, but it may still be years from happening.
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What do you think about this much Games Workshop production being “discarded,” only to hit the secondary market instead presumably?
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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.
