Coenus Scaldingus wrote:
Or, you know, just wait a while and see what happens.
A few months ago, there was nothing, no support whatsoever. Miniatures were disappearing from the webstore left, right and centre, including those that were vital to make certain armies playable in the game. Since then, we've seen a number of these (and others that have been out of production for much longer) re-appear. There are new figures on the horizon, a new book (and more to come). The team responsible has been involved in the community online and on tournaments, sharing information and giving regular updates. None of this chimes with "GW's" behaviour in the past. Nobody expected anything of the sort even mere months ago. So maybe, just maybe, wait a bit longer, and see in what other ways they may behave differently now. They may well visit shows nearby. Or release another figure only available for that appearance near you. Or offer the figures for sale online on the same day it would be available on an event. And even if not, event-only models are hardly a new thing: it's just that GW never did them for LotR before (as far as I remember).
It's good for them to know people are interested in these figures though, so be sure to let them know - it's just that I would reserve judgement until we have more information on which to judge the new team and their actions.
Lets put this way. You're not wrong.
Thank goodness theyre supporting the hobby.
But you're looking at it in a positive standpoint as a fan/customer.
The way I see it from a business stance:
1. They have no where to go but up. They were at rock bottom in terms of what they offered us, and how they supported us. If youre that bad, of course you have no where to go but up.
2. Its obvious that the effort of the customer/hobbyists especially the GBHL community, channel, and now the DCHL efforts are what has pushed this. Without everyone else doing their work for them, they wouldnt have done this.
By all means, I am warming back up to Games Workshop like never before. That being said....its their obligation to do these things for us if they want to make money and retain us as customers. Long have they seen their profits slowly go to individuals on ebay and other such sites. They are happy to regain their piece of the pie.
In the future, it would be nice if they treated all of their communities the same. If they want to maximize their profits(because lets be honest, thats what most of this is about) they should treat customers like this is a proportionate relationship.