GW terrain policy RAGE!

[Ixe]

Apologies if I'm late to the party with this, but I just returned to my local GW store (under new management) and most of the terrain was gone. The manager informed me that it would NOT be replaced because the new official policy was three pieces of store terrain per table. He said that we were free to bring in our own terrain to use, but we couldn't donate it for others to use unless it was GW terrain--custom-built (i.e. reasonably priced) foam scenery would not be accepted.

I think this is ridiculous. It's an obvious money grab to boost terrain sales. It's perfectly reasonable for a corporation like GW to grab for money, that's what they do, but I've been playing 40k for more than 10 years and GW stores have always had their own terrain--they've typically had much better terrain than independent hobby shops. So while it's reasonable for GW to try and sell their terrain, this feels like a betrayal because they've reversed long standing traditions that their loyal customers have relied on. As the brits say, poor show. I am seriously considering not going back there and moving to an independent retailer (which I was sort of thinking anyway because the local store has tons of little kids and more than a few really scrubby armies that aren't a challenge to fight).

[Bookwrak]

Three pieces of store terrain per table? You sure about that, because the two GW stores and battle bunker I've been to seem to have been left out of the loop on 'official policy' then. The move to using GW only terrain has been ongoing for a while, though, as I got to take home a bunch of the custom terrain from one of the stores a little while back.

[AngelofSorrow]

What store is this?


Ready for eternal war!

[Artinam]

(Another) Good time to leave the GW club and found your own with your friends .

[ArtificerArmour]

If you go to warhammer world each table has oodles of terrain all on realm of battle boards and some specially made terrain. I wonder if theyll ditch these in favour of 3 per table

[xxRavenxx]

With no offence to the OP, either He or the manager is lying.

GW just allocated independants a budget enabling them to set up a realm of battle full of scenery per year. They would not follow this by removing everything from their own stores. They KNOW the formula for sales: Bring them in to play = they will spend. Such a step would be unproductive.

[Richmt11]

I hadn't noticed this change at either of my local gw's. Personally I love GW scenery and welcome a move for them to sell more however if they are to do this they really should sort out their scenery sections.

It's always in the corner with no wow factor and often poorly stocked. Realm of battle boards always kept under the window display with no 'buy me' aura to them...

[Liber]

@TheOP

First off, what would happen to all the old terrain in the store?? They scrap it? That doesn't sound right to me.

And if you don't want to give away your full location, can you approximate? Like if you are in the USA, west or east coast?

[stroller]

Soooo... you're not going to go back because they won't have as much free stuff for you to use as they used to have..... I guess they'll miss you then.

My local store has more than that - but - what's wrong with three pieces of scenery anyway?

[Born Again]

At least here in Australia, it's been GW-terrain only in stores for a while. I have no problem with that as I like their terrain and my table at home is almost entirely populated by it anyway. However, 3 pieces per table seems a bit dodgy, depending on the size of the table... for a 6 x 4 it's nowhere near enough, if it's a 4 x 4 (like most of the tables in the stores around here, battle bunker excluded) then it's fine for a decent game, and if the staff don't let you borrow terrain from other tables that aren't in use then you need to find somewhere else anyway. Some of the LotR tables in my area are even little 2 x 4 things, in which case 3 pieces of terrain is more than enough.

[eldargal]

The GW-only terrain makes sense, you don't want some little snot coming in and getting cranky because he can't buy the thing on the table. Three pieces only is ridiculous, and seemingly has not been implemented in any of the stores near me.

If true it is just another reason why I'm glad I have a games club and aren't beholden to GW to play my games.

[wascloud]

I can 99.9999999% guarantee this is not a GW corporate decision, but rather a manager getting hacked off with constantly having to replace terrain, and throwing a hissy fit.

[Lord_Goober]

my only gripe with the realm of battle boards myself is that the hilled sections don't work that great for WFB. The other gripe I have with GW only terrain is that they don't have any rivers/ponds that they produce and thus a whole section of the WFB terrain isn't easily usable at a GW store using their terrain.

[Ixe]

Three pieces of store terrain per table? You sure about that, because the two GW stores and battle bunker I've been to seem to have been left out of the loop on 'official policy' then. The move to using GW only terrain has been ongoing for a while, though, as I got to take home a bunch of the custom terrain from one of the stores a little while back.

I'm positive that's what I was told, and the manager said it came from his boss. Whether it's true on a company-wide basis, either it's not or it's yet to be implemented.

With no offence to the OP, either He or the manager is lying.

No offense that I might be lying with no motive to lie? Yeah, that's super-non-offensive bro. How about a third option: it's the official policy at this store. This is the manager who said it's the policy, so it sort of is. Whether it comes from corporate or the regional manager or what, I dunno.

GW just allocated independants a budget enabling them to set up a realm of battle full of scenery per year. They would not follow this by removing everything from their own stores. They KNOW the formula for sales: Bring them in to play = they will spend. Such a step would be unproductive.

It's possible they're trying a new formula: piss off the customers and see if they come back. Wouldn't be the first time. I agree that it's unproductive and it makes no sense, but that's how they're doing it at the closest GW store to me. I complained, and the manager said there was nothing he could do about it.

@TheOP

First off, what would happen to all the old terrain in the store?? They scrap it? That doesn't sound right to me.

Yes. They scrapped it. The manager's boss is apparently the one who did it. And no, it doesn't sound right to me either.

And if you don't want to give away your full location, can you approximate? Like if you are in the USA, west or east coast?

It's the Gig Harbor, WA store.

Soooo... you're not going to go back because they won't have as much free stuff for you to use as they used to have..... I guess they'll miss you then.

My local store has more than that - but - what's wrong with three pieces of scenery anyway?

Lol fanboy. What's wrong with three pieces of terrain? On a full sized 4x6 table? How about the fact that the rulebook itself recommends SIX pieces of terrain on a full sized board? There's nothing wrong with half as much terrain as the game is designed to work with, eh? They're not required to provide free terrain to encourage me to come into the store, but if they don't, I'm not required to spend my money there, am I? It would be one thing if they hadn't been providing full terrain for as long as I've gone to GW stores, but it's this reversal of policy as a naked money grab that bothers me. If they don't want to treat loyal customers with equal loyalty, then I guess I might not be quite so loyal.

I can 99.9999999% guarantee this is not a GW corporate decision, but rather a manager getting hacked off with constantly having to replace terrain, and throwing a hissy fit.

Nope, this manager is brand new. My local store keeps changing management with a fair degree of rapidity. It may be the manager's boss trying to boost sales of terrain. But I have no info whether it's a GW corporate decision. It sounds like it isn't, because other GW stores aren't doing the same thing. If it's not, maybe I can write the big boys and tell them this needs to stop.

EDIT: I e-mailed customer service asking for answers and hopefully a policy change if it turns out the store has got it wrong.

[Shamutanti]

Makes sense to me. I remember helping one manager shift a tonne of gw scenary into a skip because he didn't want it in the store anymore. Mainly a mixture of terrain being mis-used and having to constantly being replaced/repainted/rebuilt, or people simply not buying terrain and expecting to be given said pieces for all the expansion games they wanted to play (and often those people wouldn't even have the expansion book either...)

Unlucky I suppose?

You're now limited on how much free terrain you're going to be able to make use of. Nevermind!

I've no doubt it has come from his boss though through some discussion - he's probably seen a regular base of hobbyists, rather than a regular base of customers, who use the store like a club, rather than as a shop, and this is one step towards that. The solution is quite simple; start your own club up or gather a group of friends around someone's house and all pitch in for your own terrain! Hurrah!!!

edit:

Nope, this manager is brand new. My local store keeps changing management with a fair degree of rapidity. It may be the manager's boss trying to boost sales of terrain. But I have no info whether it's a GW corporate decision. It sounds like it isn't, because other GW stores aren't doing the same thing. If it's not, maybe I can write the big boys and tell them this needs to stop.

If the store's being going through quite a few managers then it's obviously struggling to maintain consistancy in sales, no doubt because the regular base isn't spending the money to sustain a LFL status (at a minimum). Additionally if the recruitment numbers ain't living up to what they should be, then you're going to see new managers coming in. Sometimes the best way to fix this is to change around the mentality of the store and often with that means a loss of regular hobbyists (this does not always mean though a loss of regular customers).

They won't of done it to boost the terrain sales. Not specifically. They may of done it to boost sales across a variety of product, sure, but I reckon it's more inclined to drive certain 'types' of hobbyists away and then with that free 'space' bring in a string of new spending hobbyists with a big recruitment drive.

And good luck writing to them complaining. You'll only get the same response you got here.

[Ixe]

Good points Shamutanti. Maybe they don't want dorks crowding up their shop scaring away potential new recruits. This notwithstanding the fact that every weekend I come in, half a dozen people wander in wondering what the heck this place is, and none of them walk out with a purchase, and I nearly always walk out with something, even if it's just some paint or glue. If your deduction is accurate, it seems to me like they're cutting off their nose to spite their face. All I can do is complain because the squeaky wheel gets the grease--and if it doesn't get any grease, maybe it just rolls along to greener pastures.

[Asp]

It's an obvious money grab

like the £25 hardcover army books and so much else with gw

[AndrewGPaul]

Everyone seems to be assuming that this is some sort of "GW" thing, and not just this one manager. Have you considered asking them, or are we all just going to moan on the Internet again?

[shelfunit.]

Everyone seems to be assuming that this is some sort of "GW" thing, and not just this one manager. Have you considered asking them, or are we all just going to moan on the Internet again?

I'm positive that's what I was told, and the manager said it came from his boss. Whether it's true on a company-wide basis, either it's not or it's yet to be implemented.

EDIT: I e-mailed customer service asking for answers and hopefully a policy change if it turns out the store has got it wrong.

Just a couple of posts up...

[yabbadabba]

like the £25 hardcover army books and so much else with gw

Name a retail business which isn't a money grab. Even charity shops are a money grab.