As was foretold, we've added advertisements to the forums! If you have questions, or if you encounter any bugs, please visit this thread: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/240191/forum-advertisement-faq-and-reports-thread/
Options
Australian Gamers need Penny Arcades help
highlatency
Registered User new member
Registered User new member
We need Penny Arcades help because we are being seriously ripped of by Games Workshop in Australia.
When I looked at the new paint set which is available at the moment it was the last straw for me. On the US version of their online store it is $450 in the Australian instance it's $730. I've known for a while that GW was putting an "Australia tax" on all of it's products but this is just a joke.
Here's a link here as an example http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?catId=cat470002a&prodId=prod1760002a . You can change which country you are shopping from in the bottom right hand corner of their website.
I have been a long time player and supporter of Games Workshop, but it seems they no longer want Australians to support them.
Either that or we are the bailout plan for Greece.
When I looked at the new paint set which is available at the moment it was the last straw for me. On the US version of their online store it is $450 in the Australian instance it's $730. I've known for a while that GW was putting an "Australia tax" on all of it's products but this is just a joke.
Here's a link here as an example http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?catId=cat470002a&prodId=prod1760002a . You can change which country you are shopping from in the bottom right hand corner of their website.
I have been a long time player and supporter of Games Workshop, but it seems they no longer want Australians to support them.
Either that or we are the bailout plan for Greece.
0
Posts
There's unfortunately not much that can be done. Someone even brought it to the attention of the ACCC, who informed them that since it is an embargo done in Europe, by a European company, against European comanies, they have no grounds to do anything.
It's quite simply GW doing something legal in Europe to stop us doing something legal in Australia - buy the stuff from Europe.
That said, there is a way out. Buy from American stores. One example is Dicebucket. Another example is ebays Discount Games Store. Buying from the US gives you between 40%-60% off depending on their discount on the US RRP and their shipping.
The trade embargo is yet another issue to the way they are doing things at them moment. It also applies to thier US stores, they even "freeze" reshipping addresses when they figure out thats what they are.
I think the only reason they charge the prices they do here in Australia is because they think they can get away with it (which so far it seems they can). My hope is that if their behaviour can be put in the spotlight they will have to rethink the way they are doing business.
Really you have a few options, some of which Loki has already covered.
1: Buy from ebay or a US retailer. The second hand market is where it's at anyway.
2: Stop supporting GW and play a different game. It's cheaper to buy Warmachine from an Aussie store like Defiant than a UK one like Wayland.
3: Suck it up. Yeah the pricing sucks, but GW has a monopoly on Space Marines etc. Having a monopoly means they can be the biggest Geese that they want, so long as people keep buying stuff.
That said, the sentiment is correct. If you can't stomach paying local prices for 40k but still want to play games and support your FLGS (and your FLGS isn't a GW), there's plenty of options these days. The aforementioned Warmachine, Kings of War/Warpath, Dust, etc. You could even branch out into skirmish games - Infinity, Mercs and Malifaux have you covered pretty awesomely. Or even into 15mm - Dystopian Wars, Dropzone Commander, Flames of War, etc.
The tabletop wargame market is fucking saturated right now. GW really still is the big fish in Australia even after their blunders, but that doesn't mean there's not other options out there. Hell, I was a 40k only player for ~20 years, and recently I've been getting into Infinity and started looking at Flames of War (if the fiancee doesn't get too angry).
That said, I do still play 40k, and all my 40k stuff is bought locally. I recently dropped $96 on a Tyrannofex and $83 on a Carnifex, so yes, I know the pain. But I, like you, like to support my local FLGS.
South West Sydney.
It's no big deal - as I said, Warmachine is hardly the only alternative these days.
So I went with Infinity instead, which has the benefits of being a skirmish game. Deeper rules, more complex gameplay, and fewer models to paint. The exact counter I wanted to 40k's more simplified (if obtuse at times) rules, hordeish gameplay and buckets of models.
Those qualities also got my brother and a friend into the game. Which is beneficial to playing with strangers.