I’m pretty grouchy about a local store’s prices, so I’m going to complain about it here.
I’ve brought pricing issues up with them a couple of times – not this specific purchase, but enough other purchases that it’s clearly 1) pattern that 2) isn’t going to be fixed.
(I don’t want to put them on blast, so I’m redacting the specific store from the below. It’s not a big secret, but although I’m extremely frustrated I’m too much of a chickenshit to want to burn any bridges.)
Anyway: everyone knows that most GW products are trivially available at 85% MSRP (15% off) online. It’s extremely rare to find it from a retailer for less, but a 15% discount online is standard. Many? Most? FLGSs charge full MSRP – and I believe they’re right to do so. A local store, with space to play, provides a value and a community that an online retailer cannot. A good member of a store community is one who buys stuff from their FLGS to support it and ensure they stick around. You spend more in the store because you get more from the store.
I am, to be absolutely clear, perfectly content paying MSRP for things at my FLGS.
That’s not what’s happening, however. As a specific example, my most recent purchase has been such a negative-feeling, bad-vibes experience I can’t get over it. I ordered one of the new FOMO Gitmob Army Sets through them. This box is $230 MSRP, and the sales tax in Manassas Park, Virginia is 6%.
They’ve managed to rip me off three ways with this purchase:
- First off: they charged me $235 – more than $230 MSRP. They say this practice, charging over the MSRP, is something they have to do to keep their sales rep happy, but that’s nonsense. I cannot believe it’s true and, even if it were, that’s still nonsense.
- They applied an inexplicable 3.5% “Comis” commission fee for unknown purposes. I’d brought this up previously and was told that maybe this was charging back the credit card fee (not exactly common practice, but maybe…) except this was applied before I chose to pay with a card, so I am skeptical.
- They charged me 7.5% sales tax. Again, in Manassas Park that should be 6%, full stop. Food or hygiene adds 1%, but these are toy goblins, not food, so not that’s not applicable. Even if it were, I’m unaware of anything that could push it an additional .5%.
Wild, right? Here’s the (redacted) receipt for mmy purchase, with a comparable order (not actually purchased) from both Warhammer.com and a reputable eBay seller.
Like, let’s just compare these costs:
| Online Retailer | Warhammer.com | Store in Question | |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSRP | $230 | $230 | $230 |
| Discount | -$34.50 (15%) | $0 (0%) | +$5 |
| Random Surcharge | $0 (0%) | $0 (0%) | $8.22 (3.5%) |
| VA Sales Tax | $11.73 (6%) | $13.80 (6%) | $17.62 (7.5%) |
| Shipping | Free | Free | N/A |
| Total | $207.23 | $243.80 | $260.84 |
| Δ from GW | -$36.57 (-15%) | – | +$17.04 (+6.53%) |
It cost me $17 more to buy this box from this store over Games Workshop! (More than $50 compared to going online!)
I don’t need a discount. I don’t need them to compete with online retailers. I mean it when I say I’m perfectly content to pay MSRP: but this isn’t MSRP, is it?
I like the store! (Or, rather, I really want to like the store but this makes it very difficult.) I’m grateful to have a store with a nice play space so close to my home. I’m grateful that there’s a store in what’s been a mostly abandoned retail space since we moved in.
I’m also deeply frustrated by this, however. Frankly, I feel like an enormous chump for buying this stupid box from them. I have such a viscerally negative emotional response to this purchase: I don’t think I could make another large GW purchase from them. How could I?
I’ve been playing in the store almost every week for months; it’s the most “outside” I’ve had since 2020. I like playing in the store. I want them to succeed. I want them to persist. I don’t want to feel like a sucker. That means I need to figure out how I can support them going forward because I don’t think it can be “by buying minis from them.”
