Saturday 5 October 2013

No One Likes Us, We Don't Care!

The title of this piece comes from Millwall Football Club in the 70s. It was a famous chant of defiance from the fans to other teams' supporters.

Increasingly it seems to be the watchword for The Evil Empire.

I came across this note from Wayland Games on their Facebook Page.

And followed the thread to the Beasts of War announcement.

I cannot comment on the various legal arguments but as a wargaming customer who spends, I suppose, around £2,000 a year on wargaming products I would like to make the point that GW is seriously pissing me off by their constant attacks and threats.

And yes, this is affecting my purchasing decisions.

23 comments:

  1. They are a dying company. (Kosh voice)

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    1. I keep wondering why the company is being hollowed out. Went to a GW store on Saturday afternoon. I was the only paying customer and it shut at 3pm.

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  2. Vote with your vallet, thet is the easiest thing to to. Writing about how you feel about it on your blogs is another.
    If they dislike their customers, individuals or traders, then we should reward them accordingly. I've made my decision.

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    1. You are right. In commerce only money talks.

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  3. You cannot argue against the fact that they are a market leader and as such if you want to sell their produce you have to abide by their rules if you want to sell their product. But this is no reason to act like bully boys in a playground though as what they get is free advertising on their products and it is a real shame that Wayland and BoW have had to part.

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    1. GW does seem to use its monopolistic power to push other companies around.

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  4. I see the company stagnating year on year. No cutting edge rules since "Necromunda" and all the figures are rehashes of what they have done before.

    I think they know it too. Seems to me like they are playing it safe!

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    1. They have cut costs by dumping their best creative. Not a good long term strategy.

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  5. I gave up years GW a few years back, solely based on their approach to customer engagement. Gave me far more time to pick up a huge range of other systems that have proven to be highly rewarding. And of course, doing it now mean that I had enough to time to flog my GW stuff on eBay whilst people still wanted it :)

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    1. Sigh, it's all rather sad, Phil.

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    2. I agree, I've been playing since Rogue Trader days, and still like the fluff. However, not playing GW has exposed me to Bolt Action, FoW, many smaller 'Indy' games and a few new systems have never played if I was still 40K-ing...

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    3. Phil, I realised I have only played one game of 40K since the new edition came out.

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  6. It's got me confused as to why you would buy GW toys. This opinion is based on price alone. They are just SOOOO expensive.

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    1. I am will to pay the price for quality but I agree. £30 for a codex before you can use a box of models as allies is insane

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  7. I dropped out of buying pretty much anything from GW many years ago. This was partly because I was fed up with the price rises, partly the constant new editions of rules and army lists and partly because of their behaviour towards staff, customers and other companies in the widdy hobby industry.

    I've commented elsewhere earlier today they really are working terribly hard at maintaining their 'Evil Empire' image. Their days are definately numbered, its just a matter of whether it'll be a quick death or a long drawn out affair.

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    1. Last line of the first paragraph should read "wider hobby industry" not "widdy hobby industry" ! Doh!!

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    2. They do treat their staff badly.

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    3. I dunno, widdy sounds strangely appropriate when applied to wargame model makers.

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  8. I have played since Rogue Trader was released and loved every minute but more recently I have only played a couple of games since the new 40K edition was released and 2 of WHFB since released. I hate the way they are behaving Finecast (that is not and yes I have made the mistake of buying some), the price we pay in Australia vs overseas and now GW Legal carrying on like Big Brother.

    I have shifted over to Hail Caesar, Black Powder, Bolt Action, Flames of War, SAGA, Muskets & Tomahawks, Hordes and a few others. I don't miss it.

    I have not sold off all my GW collection yet as I know I could never afford to replace it - lol

    After the post on Beasts of War though I am calling it quits on all purchases from GW. I am voting with my wallet as well :)

    Great to see I am not the only angry customer (former customer).

    Keep up the great posts John! We loved the Hail Caesar supplement by the way.

    Happy Gaming,

    Allan

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    1. They treat their staff and customers with what can only be described as disdain.

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    2. Britannia is excellent John. Lots of great content for a guy like me who is still reading up on his history.

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