You can currently see the price difference on miniature market now. Go do a search on X-wing and look at all the ships. Any ship that will be available in 2016 costs more than the 2015 ships, this includes pre-orders that were supposed to be here for 2015.

So a small ship (X-wing, A-wing, TIEdef, TIE ): 9.87 versus 11.21
Medium ship (K-wing, TIE Punisher, Mist hunter) 13.17 versus 14.96

Aces/Vets sets 19.77 versus 22.46

For 2 bucks more per ship/set I am OK with the increase. I have seen those peeps at conventions busting their butts to schelp product around in 4 days away from their families then tear it all down and head home. Don't know for sure but hopefully it goes to increasing the FFG salaries some. It may not, but they won't go up without some increase in product price.

TOTALLY WORTH IT.

Cool Stuff has already changed their discount on all FFG products up for preorder, from -33% off MSRP to -25%. If ~$1.50 per small ship is breaking your bank, as others have said, maybe you have other problems you should be worried about.

You can currently see the price difference on miniature market now. Go do a search on X-wing and look at all the ships. Any ship that will be available in 2016 costs more than the 2015 ships, this includes pre-orders that were supposed to be here for 2015.

So a small ship (X-wing, A-wing, TIEdef, TIE ): 9.87 versus 11.21

Medium ship (K-wing, TIE Punisher, Mist hunter) 13.17 versus 14.96

Aces/Vets sets 19.77 versus 22.46

For 2 bucks more per ship/set I am OK with the increase. I have seen those peeps at conventions busting their butts to schelp product around in 4 days away from their families then tear it all down and head home. Don't know for sure but hopefully it goes to increasing the FFG salaries some. It may not, but they won't go up without some increase in product price.

TOTALLY WORTH IT.

Yeah, the price increase really only amounts to about 10% over what we were paying before online. Not huge, but of course that could change by April 1st. Again, it goes back to my point that this change will do nothing with respect to increasing sales for FLGS's.

I also feel for the FFG staff, they are all woefully underpaid but, unfortunately, now that they merged with Asamodee and are no longer an independent company, they are beholden to new masters and will have to squeeze even more money out of their operating budget which means things won't be getting better for them anytime soon either.

They are now resolving the problem. so good for them.

I don't want to hear sob stories, these things need to change. be glad you had the discount while you could get it. accept this as another reality of where and how you live your life and move on.

So again, this new policy has nothing to do with bolstering FLGS sales and everything to do with increasing ANA's profit margins by increasing the wholesale price of products sold to online retailers. And I have a feeling that this time next year we are going to be back here again complaining because ANA raised the prices on all their products across the board.

by making online stores sell at less of a discount they are infact encouraging people to buy at local retailers. if you cant see how that works then this conversation is not worth having.

Mass market is a completely different thing and only shares a few products (at this time only the core sets have been available in mass market) leaving the entire rest of the line exclusive to specialty stores. Again the physical qualities of their physical products means letting people see the product in a physical store is an important step in marketing the product, shelf space in target is a huge marketing boon.

They are now resolving the problem. so good for them.

I don't want to hear sob stories, these things need to change. be glad you had the discount while you could get it. accept this as another reality of where and how you live your life and move on.

So again, this new policy has nothing to do with bolstering FLGS sales and everything to do with increasing ANA's profit margins by increasing the wholesale price of products sold to online retailers. And I have a feeling that this time next year we are going to be back here again complaining because ANA raised the prices on all their products across the board.

by making online stores sell at less of a discount they are infact encouraging people to buy at local retailers. if you cant see how that works then this conversation is not worth having.

Mass market is a completely different thing and only shares a few products (at this time only the core sets have been available in mass market) leaving the entire rest of the line exclusive to specialty stores. Again the physical qualities of their physical products means letting people see the product in a physical store is an important step in marketing the product, shelf space in target is a huge marketing boon.

But again, if we can still buy product online at a 25% discount while my local retailers refuse to even have an occasional 10% sale, what incentive do I have to buy from them vs. the online retailer? That's assuming they even have what I want in stock which they almost never do. I live on the west coast, so that is part of the problem. We don't have good gaming stores out here because most people don't have time for hobby gaming and the cost of real estate is so high. This new policy does nothing to address these issues.

If ANA is going to pull the capitalism card, why can't I, as a consumer, pull the same card as well?

I watched people playing in a local game store tell folks who just bought and played with a starter set in the store that their next purchase should be online.

I learned of the game by seeing a Tantive on the shelf at B&N. I went home, read up on it, then bought the core set on Amazon. After seeing that was fun I went back to B&N and bought a few expansions, then started checking ebay and craigs list. By the time I discovered MM and CSI I already had nearly one of everything through wave 5 (which had just released when I started playing). I used MM and CSI to fill out my fleet.

After all of that, I still didn't set foot into a LGS until the single store championship I went to 3 months after buying into the game. And haven't been back to that location since because they don't advertise a game night. I've on and off gone to a couple other LGS since and even bough almost half my wave 7 items from one of those because I was a regular at the time. I haven't been back to a LGS in a while so the TFA stuff was all bought online and I again got more than I would have in any retail store at MSRP.

If LGS want my business they need prices better than MSRP+sales tax to draw me in when I can go online for a discount. And if FFG is really trying to help the LGS they need to offer and promote more must-play OP events. (I very nearly bought an armada core set online just to play in that pre-release tournament.)

So, if I always just bought stuff off Amazon for full price, is anything going to change for me?

Does it placate the US-based players if they were to know that the rest of the world is already paying anywhere between USD $17 and $25 for a small ship? You're still getting it cheaper than the rest of us, even with a measly $2 increase.

Each person has their own price sensitivity this is an effort to bump more people into the buy at FLGS category and out of the BUY online category. a price shift of %10 or more will do this for some people, not everyone but possibly enough to make a difference.

Stores will only support play for products that people buy at their store. many of you who say their stores are not supporting play well, FFG is not supporting them if they sell to online retailers for the same price as stores that put in effort. so why put in effort if you are just generating consumers for the online store.

These types of behaviors may change slowly but it's up to FFG to correct its course as they are the only ones with the ability to do it.

These types of behaviors may change slowly but it's up to FFG to correct its course as they are the only ones with the ability to do it.

It's not just up to FFG. The FLGS have to do their part in enticing new customers either though better prices or an outstanding customer service and/or play environment in store.

Probably all of the above actually.

Does it placate the US-based players if they were to know that the rest of the world is already paying anywhere between USD $17 and $25 for a small ship? You're still getting it cheaper than the rest of us, even with a measly $2 increase.

No, you pay for your free health care or whatever through increased taxes which in turn increases the cost. I pay for my own health care out of pocket. There is some things that cost you more and there is some things that cost me more. I do not envy what you get, why envy what I get for less.

Bottom line: our economies are different.

Do we anticipate this having much of an influence on the used market?

Do we anticipate this having much of an influence on the used market?

The cost of new product is increasing, so one would expect the cost of used product to increase as well.

Having had a night to sleep on this, I decided to put aside my knee jerk reaction as a consumer and look at this through the lens of my professional training and experience (graduate-level econ/business training and experience in both retailing and management). Having done that I think that Asmodee's actions are going to have the opposite effect of what they hoped.

Looking at it from an economic standpoint, the birth of online retailing was a fundamental revolutionary shift in retailing, and the Brick and Mortar (B&M) market segment must evolve to accommodate it. By interfering with the market, Asmodee not only harms the online retailer, but they also retard the evolution of the B&M segment which will ultimately be harmful because, like it or not, all products have a life cycle and eventually the Asmodee lines will fade and those old school B&M stores will be left competing against the ones that did evolve. This will ultimately result in the exact opposite effect Asmodee hopes for as these non-competitive stores go out of business and lessen both the exposure and number of sales points resulting in lower sales.

Their position also ignores the fact that the new evolved B&M stores are typically a much better buying/playing experience than the more traditional stores as the evolution has changed the model to a service business focused on the customer experience that does retailing on the side (albeit a unusually large'ish side) with more of a "convenience store" retailing model where the customer is willing to pay more for instant gratification. This in turn drives sales for them as happier players with easy access to plentiful and pleasant playing space will buy more and stay with a line longer.

So, I would argue that if Asmodee really wants to incentivize their sales policies, rather than altering the current discounts for existing channels, they should just create a new deepest discount level (better than current across the board discount) exclusively for those new format "play experience"-focused B&M stores that give Asmodee the biggest bang for the buck marketing-wise. This will allow the online retailers to continue to put pressure on traditional model B&M stores to evolve while forcing the new format stores to keep up the standard of the experience they provide or face pressure from online sales. Plus this has the added benefit that because those new format stores are selling at convenience store prices, their overall sales volume will be lower which lessens the impact of their deeper discount on Asmodee's bottom line while Asmodee still enjoys the increased marketing these stores provide..

-Maxgravity

They are now resolving the problem. so good for them.

I don't want to hear sob stories, these things need to change. be glad you had the discount while you could get it. accept this as another reality of where and how you live your life and move on.

So again, this new policy has nothing to do with bolstering FLGS sales and everything to do with increasing ANA's profit margins by increasing the wholesale price of products sold to online retailers. And I have a feeling that this time next year we are going to be back here again complaining because ANA raised the prices on all their products across the board.

by making online stores sell at less of a discount they are infact encouraging people to buy at local retailers. if you cant see how that works then this conversation is not worth having.

They may buy more at FLGS and less online (the officially intended effect),or they might buy less at FLGS and more online (a guy who was buying 50% at FLGS full price and 50% online at 50% discount might very well buy 100% online if he can only get 25% discount in order to preserve his average price per ship) or they might buy less period (which is really bad for FFG).

Idk guys, didn't you ever feel bad for choosing the obviously more logical choice to order online at a discount price rather than buy local?

I consider just driving to an FLGS every time Im about to put in an online order, but then I do the math, consider how many more ships I get for the same cost, and obviously choose to get more stuff for less, AND have money left for real life things.

It's not the fault of the FLGS that I can go somewhere else online for cheaper, but they really do get shafted.

As much as my wallet is unhappy, and as much as I know this is a pain for people who don't have local stores, I am very glad that it is no longer an obvious choice to bypass the FLGS and get cheap online stuff.

There will be more small stores to put on events or to hang out at that I will be able to easily give my money to, for I will KNOW that this price is as good as any other price.

It just, feels right, doesn't it?

Okay, maybe my understanding is fuzzy, but I thought what a retailer sells a product for doesn't really affect what the manufacturer makes. The retailer buys the product from the manufacturer/distributor, and that's where the manufacturer makes their profit, right? So it doesn't matter to their bottom line what the retailer sells it for, because they've already been paid.

Am I off-base on that?

Does it placate the US-based players if they were to know that the rest of the world is already paying anywhere between USD $17 and $25 for a small ship? You're still getting it cheaper than the rest of us, even with a measly $2 increase.

No, you pay for your free health care through VAT (increased prices), I pay for my own health care out of pocket. There is some things that cost you more and there is some things that cost me more. I do not envy what you get, why envy what I get for less.

Actually, I pay for my universal healthcare through my income taxes, and pay for my private health cover out of my own pocket. I don't envy you, I'm just putting things in perspective. People on here are complaining over an approx $2 increase in their toy spaceships.

As others have already pointed out, if that is going to break your bank, then you have bigger problems. X-Wing is a hobby and a luxury item (whether one admits it or not); not a life essential. Some of the vitriol being thrown around on this thread would be better saved for an increase in the price of fresh food, or school fees, or just about a thousand other things that aren't toy spaceships.

This cover everything or just minis and cards?

This cover everything or just minis and cards?

All ANA (re. FFG) products. Board Games and RPGs included.

Okay, maybe my understanding is fuzzy... , So it doesn't matter to their bottom line what the retailer sells it for, because they've already been paid.

Am I off-base on that?

The brick and mortar retail stores provide visibility and a sense of community. Visibility increases sales and the community increases the length of time someone stays with a line before abandoning it. B&M stores have expenses associated with the retail space and thus they charge more for their product to offset the cost of the physical space. Online retailers don't have the physical site expenses and thus can sell for cheaper. The rational/assumption is that B&M store owners are incapable of adapting to the new reality of retail (which is insulting actually) and thus have to be subsidized to avoid being driven out of business because less places to see/play a game.equals less sales.

-Maxgravity

But again, if we can still buy product online at a 25% discount while my local retailers refuse to even have an occasional 10% sale, what incentive do I have to buy from them vs. the online retailer? That's assuming they even have what I want in stock which they almost never do. I live on the west coast, so that is part of the problem. We don't have good gaming stores out here because most people don't have time for hobby gaming and the cost of real estate is so high. This new policy does nothing to address these issues.

If ANA is going to pull the capitalism card, why can't I, as a consumer, pull the same card as well?

I live on the Left Coast as well, and we have plenty of good game stores. Mine frequently orders whatever I ask them to for me, whenever they don't have certain products in stock.

Anecdotal evidence is best evidence.

This whole policy and the fact that it is being sold to us in the guise of "helping specialty retailers" is just insulting. From the interview, it's obviously that what is happening is that physical stores will continue to buy ANA products at the same wholesale prices they do today (or who knows, maybe even a little more) while the few "authorized online retailers" will be forced to buy their products at an increased wholesale cost (which looking at some of the online retailers appears to be about 10% more than they paid before). So there is no additional incentive to an FLGS to make their store "better" as they still won't have the power to compete on price which is the #1 consideration a consumer takes into account when buying a product (especially when you have to buy multiples of a product like in the case of a miniatures game such as X-Wing).

This new policy completely shafts over scenario/epic players like myself who have zero interesting in the competitive/tournament scene. People like me want to collect every possible ship so that we can construct more complex scenarios and just have fun. Being able to buy X-Wing ships at up to 30% off MSRP is what has enabled us to do this so that we can amass the large collections of miniatures that are needed to do this. Now that we are having to pay more for each product, we will probably buy less, if any at all, going forward. Some of us might just be content to keep what we have and not purchase any future X-Wing products.

The thing is, X-Wing (and especially Armada) is already sold at a premium (some would save over-valued) price. The discounts brought the prices down into a more reasonable figure that was acceptable for those of us who wanted to buy lots of product.

I am just reminded again of the similar scheme that Games Workshop implemented in the early 2000's. Many FLGS's had to close up because they could no longer supplement their in-store sales with online sales and the entire Warhammer community suffered. I just don't want to see history repeat itself....

What does it matter why you, I, or anyone else buys little plastic space ships? If we want them, we pay for them. We don't need them, so perhaps we should stop pretending like something is owed to us.

And what exactly is a 'premium'? How many other pre-assembled, pre-painted miniatures games have you played that look this good? How many other miniatures games have you played at all?

My lgs even gives 20+ percent off for Pre orders. I haven't bought a single ship online, I just order what I want in advance.

They are now resolving the problem. so good for them.

I don't want to hear sob stories, these things need to change. be glad you had the discount while you could get it. accept this as another reality of where and how you live your life and move on.

So again, this new policy has nothing to do with bolstering FLGS sales and everything to do with increasing ANA's profit margins by increasing the wholesale price of products sold to online retailers. And I have a feeling that this time next year we are going to be back here again complaining because ANA raised the prices on all their products across the board.

by making online stores sell at less of a discount they are infact encouraging people to buy at local retailers. if you cant see how that works then this conversation is not worth having.

Mass market is a completely different thing and only shares a few products (at this time only the core sets have been available in mass market) leaving the entire rest of the line exclusive to specialty stores. Again the physical qualities of their physical products means letting people see the product in a physical store is an important step in marketing the product, shelf space in target is a huge marketing boon.

But again, if we can still buy product online at a 25% discount while my local retailers refuse to even have an occasional 10% sale, what incentive do I have to buy from them vs. the online retailer? That's assuming they even have what I want in stock which they almost never do. I live on the west coast, so that is part of the problem. We don't have good gaming stores out here because most people don't have time for hobby gaming and the cost of real estate is so high. This new policy does nothing to address these issues.

If ANA is going to pull the capitalism card, why can't I, as a consumer, pull the same card as well?

I live on the Left Coast as well, and we have plenty of good game stores. Mine frequently orders whatever I ask them to for me, whenever they don't have certain products in stock.

Anecdotal evidence is best evidence.

but why even wait for the store to order it? when the online option is available and is an easier option. The competitive advantage physical stores have is the immediacy of the product. They carry inventory so customers don't have to wait. A customer should seek out the best service and prices. I find it strange that people support a move that directly harms consumer choices.

This cover everything or just minis and cards?

All ANA (re. FFG) products. Board Games and RPGs included.

Great so those of us who lack a convenient game store have to pay extra due to an insane whim of the company. This doesn't bode well for what FFG will become in the future.