Space Hulk price gouging...

[bielmic]

It's unbelievable what people are trying to charge already for space hulk. You can still walk into a GW or FLGS store and see a dozen on the floor at MSRP and people are claiming GW is "SOLD OUT!". from what i've read, only GW online is sold out and that's because they've sent their stock to stores. while i agree that historically space hulk will go up in value in a few years, it's hard to justify $150+ USD in addition to shipping this early. while any internet purchase is a buyer beware situation, i'd be worried that a bartertown newbie might not know any better and actually get ripped off by one of these "deals".

[GMMStudios]

Well its what people are willing to pay. If people want space hulk bad enough they will gladly pay 150 or more. If not they just won't buy it. Its just like when Nintendo releases a system. As long as someone is willing to pay then to that person the price is fair. If someone does not want an item because the price is too high then they won't buy it, no one is forced.

[MEDEVL]

I think even worse is the people that are breaking the sets up and selling off the pieces for $200!! I understand people can do what they want but sometimes it's just taking advantage of others. Since I can't comment in the ads at least I get to vent a little in this thread!!

[bielmic]

yeah, like i said buyer beware. i made this post because i won't comment in their threads either; i just don't think its fair for them to claim something is sold out when it's not and then overcharge for an item. as for splitting up the parts and selling them separately, i'm all for it. there are people that just want the broodlord or a termie or two from the set and are willing to pay STANDARD gw prices for them (but not the $100 for the whole box that they won't use). the people that are making $200 from their space hulk sets are selling the individual parts for no more than GW does (with termie models going for $8-$12 each). is it really gouging if you're matching GW is in regards to pricing?

disclaimer: i did split up and sell some of my hulk box and bought components from another person's similar deal.

[Norseman]

Well in many places it IS sold out. Like my city there are a few Hobby stores and the are completely sold out. We have had the stores check thier suppliers to get more in but no dice... So I can see a few guys in my city going onto ebay and paying the $150. Just wait for the Christmas rush!!!

[reegsk]

It all depends where you live. Hobby Centers may have plenty of copies in stock, but the nearest to me is a few hours away in NYC. Out of three local indy retailers, one never stocked it, one is sold out and the other has two copies left. I know Miniwargaming is sold out, and I would imagine Warstore is too (if they ever stocked it). Whether it's actually sold out across the nation is immaterial -- whether it's sold out in your area is what's important.

Like GMM, if people are willing to pay it, it's not "gouging". This is a board game and is in no way necessary to life. Raising the price is just, plain a smart business decision for those that still have them. It's supply versus demand.

If people were doing this for supplies of water or electricity, then it's an issue.

[HarlequinZero]

I don't mind people asking a lot for their copies. If someone wants to spend that then that's their deal. [vent] The problem I have are the people who buy like 10 copies to hoard and then sell at a premium. Those people make me want to be violent. They artificially inflate demand by taking stock out of circulation. It's the same thing as the (insert colorful language here) people do near Christmas when new video game consoles come out and then a kid can't get one for the holidays because mommy and daddy can't find one anywhere. Well, unless they willing to go on eBay and only if they're willing to spend 5x the retail price of the system. I remember trying to find a PS2 for my kid brother the Christmas it came out. I wanted to throttle those people who'd line up outside Best Buy at like 4 in the morning not because they wanted to make a kid happy, but because they wanted to exploit Sony's inability to manufacture the console fast enough and line their pockets with cash. [/vent]

But yea, if Joe Trader has a copy he decides he doesn't want and can sell it for $150 or whatever then more power to him. If Joe Trader bought 10-20 copies and is trying to unload them for ghastly amounts of cash then I hope there's a special place waiting for him in hell. (Avarice is one of the seven deadly sins, yes?)

[reegsk]

I would agree with you on that, Harlequin. Now I'll admit, I have a few extra copies myself, but more through a comedy of errors than desire to jack up the price. However, now that I have them in my possession, I'd like to see if I can't have my copy paid for by selling the second one.

Maybe GW should have done what a lot of stores do in the example you noted above -- restricted the number a single person could buy. Sure, people could create multiple online accounts, or shop different stores, but at least then they're inconvenienced, and for the online account thing, it's easy to catch them (same mailing address). Honestly, though, I would imagine GW would do a second print of this. It would be idiotic for them not to. It sold out in, what, a week? They already have the molds, so if they don't reprint it, they'll just sit around collecting dust.

In your example, though, those people who are buying tons of extra copies to jack up the price later are worse than the ones who do the same with video game consoles when they're released. At least with the consoles, you can wait a little while (or, sometimes, the better part of a year) and get one. With this, if you don't get it now, you don't get one period.

[wookieegunner]

Maybe GW should have done what a lot of stores do in the example you noted above -- restricted the number a single person could buy. Sure, people could create multiple online accounts, or shop different stores, but at least then they're inconvenienced, and for the online account thing, it's easy to catch them (same mailing address). Honestly, though, I would imagine GW would do a second print of this. It would be idiotic for them not to. It sold out in, what, a week? They already have the molds, so if they don't reprint it, they'll just sit around collecting dust.

Actually, they may not have the molds anymore. There are several ways of making a mold, each with a different cost and lifecycle. If they were expecting a single run, they may have used a cheaper method of mold making figuring it was ok for the molds to wear out.

[MagickalMemories]

I have no problems with any of this.
Heck, I even did it myself with the Black Library Ltd Ed gaunts Ghosts chapbook. I'm not ashamed about it (and I even still love you guys who want to throttle me for it! LOL).

I do not see it as price gouging. I see it as having the foresight to know to know something's going to be valuable, and taking the initiative to make a profit off of what's going to happen, anyway.

Unless you're buying 5 or 10% of the print run, your individual action (buying 3, 4 or 5 copies) by itself isn't doing anything to affect the scarcity of the item in any meaningful way.

Eric

[NuWishA]

I think the best video game version of this is the PS3. People stampeded to get it, and sold it for a crapton of money.. then it proceeded to tankity-tank-tank.

Makes me so happy inside, not because I dislike the PS3 (I think its a fine piece of hardware), but because of the stupidity of some people who will overspend to make their little devil spawn "happy" for awhile. Yeah, it sucks if your kid wants it, but they can't expect you to pay more than you can afford.

Space Hulk is expensive as it is, upping the price is really only preying on those who have way too much money. If you don't want to spend $150 or $100 on it, don't. I preordered one, and got another copy from a local store. One set of termies is getting hacked up for conversions, the other Hulk set will remain just Space Hulk...

Well unless I need to pay a bill and someone wants to give me buckets of duckets.. Mmmm.. money!

[getupandgo]

Patience is the name of the game, just like with on here... The WORST time to look for something is when it's brand new. I almost never pay retail for anything. I'm a cheap bastard... That's why I'm on here. If I'm looking for something new, I never need it right away... It will show up eventually. Unless you have an unlimited source of disposable income, I think that's really the only way to go about doing hobby things and other superfluous entertainment expenses.

I promise that with 100k in circulation, that the price will drop dramatically in a few months... it won't rise when there is an over-saturation... I highly doubt that the original space hulk had even close to a 100k run... GW just did a great job with marketing this one, so they bumped up the demand significantly.

[s_o_r_r_o_w]

I highly doubt that the original space hulk had even close to a 100k run... GW just did a great job with marketing this one, so they bumped up the demand significantly.

Now that's one of the most interesting things that has been said on this subject. Just how many copies of SH 1 and 2 were there?

[reegsk]

Or, if you really want a copy of the game, wait until people start selling/trading their used copies. Guaranteed people will get sick of this, and then you can swoop in and grab it for much less than it's original value. But, as NuWishA said, if you're not willing to spend $200 on the game, you won't. No one can rip you off with something like this unless you let them.

[THEFAN]

How many copies were there made of this??? I was told only 10,000. You ask GW and they don't know. ATleast that is what the dumpass said to me today. HMMM Thanks Don