Whining, whose whining!!!
MAN, I sure wish they would not increase the price, though!!! I hate it when that happens. Everything has to change and prices have to continue to rise. Gas, food, electricity, water, waste, dogs, cats. lol!!!!!
I read the new TF Rivet newsletter this afternoon which had this announcement in it. I also have noticed just recently that the eBay stores I have dealt with in the past suddenly raised their prices. Also the brick and mortar store I regularly buy from used to give a nice "pre-order" discount which they have suddenly changed due to this new pricing policy. Seems to be a common announcement with several manufacturers that pricing is going up. I suppose this is to be expected with the new labor laws being regulated in China along with the changing world economy. Like you Donnie, I am very glad that I have developed my WB ACW collection as much as I have. Looks like going into next year I will have to be more selective in my purchases and learn to live with less. With the recent price increase announcements from K&C, I have also decided to stop adding to my K&C collections and going forward will only be concentrating on my WB ACW figures sets and H&A accessories. I have seriously given some thought to divesting myself of all of my K&C items going in to the first of the year and spending the proceeds on my WB ACW habit . . . er I mean hobby
Mike
Shoot, those Romans were actually close to St Petersburg in quality and finish!
Thank you Ken. This statement makes me feal much better. I will still buy every Napoleonic figure as long as avererage prices are below $35, and as long as I can get the figures for $25. I know my dealer will still sell me these figures at that price, because I know he is makng a fair profit, and no one is getting slighted. I am glad Richard is being realistic, and knows that in this hobby, making more money is ultimatly less profitable than making more friends. I implore everyone to keep their words warm, and not to **** theselves with self destructive speech and actions. Keep buying as usual. Nothing has really changed. Then other manufacturers will se what a comprhensive policy can do.
All the best,
Sandor
Tell me about it $300 bucks yesterday at the vets for an ear infection !!
Regarding the price increase, currently the savings I receive from my dealer covers the postage and tax. Hopefully he will implement a shipping discount to offset this like he does with his K&C. If that is the case it shouldn't affect me that much.
Hello all,
As I have stated in other places the general increases we are seeing in individual figure pricing is a direct result of real increased costs of materials and labor for this kind of product. It is a reality for every single manufacturer of collectibles using white metal alloy and hand decoration.
I think the real intent of the W. B. policy statement was to minimize the possibility of advertised 'price wars' to attract sales. This has occurred in the past with many products in all areas of the hobby. As any retailer knows there is a 'tipping point' at which some products are no longer worth investing in for store inventory. The profit margin just becomes too low.
From a personal perspective, I think every manufacturer knows that retailers may make case by case decisions when adding up the final total on any customers bill. Any good salesman knows how to 'close a deal' and build relationships with repeat customers.
Here is a direct copy from a memo sent to me by Richard Walker should I be asked about this policy statement...
I sent this updated policy out about two weeks ago. From time to time we have this issue come up and thought it best to put it more firmly in black and white. The logic is simple, new collectors come into this hobby overwhelmingly through brick and mortar stores. These stores have considerable overhead. Therefore they will only carry and promote product lines that they can make a decent margin on. If they can’t then they will eventually drop the line. In essence the position I found WB in when we took over from RC2. I will not let that happen again, especially after five years of hard work and the production of considerably better figures, developed and promoted at considerably higher cost. Ultimately this hobby and this business will die without new collectors, so we must maintain our momentum. One final thought, over the last five years we have brought in 2,850 new collectors into W. Britain and the hobby (and these are just the ones we can confirm), the influx of these new collectors has allowed us to develop the extensive ranges we have and to go out and meet collectors all over the world at a myriad of events. We’ll never forget, nor let down our core base of collectors and this strategy is designed to insure the aggressive development of new figures to keep all our stalwarts happy and keep us in business for another 117 years.
Thank you,
Richard
Hope this helps clear up any questions,
All the Best,
Ken Osen
Im so new that there are still some items that are selling cheaper then the new stuff but bottom line is quality and nothing I have seen looks better then WB stuff....So I will stay regardless of the price....the only debate I have and it is killing me is should I go to the WWl line???? I really want to just not sure......
Everyone needs at least two lines to collect Pops so I would go for it!!! You can always sell of some of those tractors to pay for it