>I'm curious about American wargaming stores selling GW stuff at discounted
>prices. How can they? My local independant store tried the discounted
>stuff and was forced by GW to raise the prices to the normal selling price
>or face being struck off GW's retailers list!
I have a friend who used to own a Hobby store (then he decided to sell
it and go finish his Masters Degree) and this is the story he tells.
People in the UK can correct me if the details about that side of the
big puddle are wrong.
In the UK, GW distributes its own goods. Thus, they can decide who
gets to sell their stuff and who doesn't. In America, GW sells its
goods to distributors who then in turn sell to retailors. Distributors
will sell to *any* retailor, as this means more money for them.
A while back, GW decided that they had grown big enough in America that
they could bypass the distributors and distribute their goods directly.
However, in America we have this group of laws known as Anti-Monopoly
(or Anti-Trust) law. GW workshop quickly found themselves assailed
with legal action as the distributors claimed that GW was unfairly
excluding them from the Marketplace. From what I understand, this
is a legal battle that GW is currently losing.
Until the court cases are all settled, and unless GW wins them, then
the American distibutorships can continue to move GW product and, in
turn, American retailors can discount all they want. (GW can still
distribute their own goods as well, but who's going to buy from them
when they can get the same goods at a discount?).
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Allen (The Q&A guy)
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Check out the EPIC and EPIC 40K Q&A Pages at:
http://work1.utsi.edu:8000/~amccarle/default.html
If you have questions about EPIC 40K and can't find the answers
in the rule books, send them to:
allen_at_...
They will be passed on to Jervis Johnson and Andy Chambers.
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Received on Tue Aug 05 1997 - 18:37:20 UTC