[CONSUMER INFO] Warlord Games foreboding?

[Kommando_J]

Although in the past i've been known to trumpet Warlord games excellent mail order service...not any more.

On Saturday I made a custom order for metal miniatures for a Frostgrave gang, I finally received a reply this morning...it would seem that those days are now over citing that it causes problems/confusion with mail order...despite the fact that not two months before I made an order and was told in most cases i'd be able to do the same in future as most stuff was made to order barring exclusive miniatures.

Also from the tone of the email this seems to be the new way of things which saddens me, lately i've noticed the parallels between warlord and a ''certain company'', their relentless pushing of Gates of Antares(which even riffs off the original rogue trader in the artwork no less) i'm getting a terrible feeling of deja vu...

I hope im wrong butget the feeling i'm not, what say you leadadventure denizens?

[Rhoderic]

It's very much a "shades of grey" thing for me. They're certainly adopting some business practices that aren't ideal for us budget-minded hobbyists, and they seem to be escalating. On the other hand, it's probably true that custom orders do cause problems and confusion for a company that's grown well beyond the "garage industry"/"vanity business" level where most other miniatures companies are positioned.

Ultimately, I try to remind myself that there's many degrees of hell, and Warlord is still nowhere near GW in that respect. It's not corporate, and it's not "fronting" the way GW is. Rick Priestley pops his head through the door over at the TMP forums every so often. I just wish he'd find his way over to some other forums as well...

It's also not inconceivable that the people at Warlord may change their ways again for the better. Remember 5-10 years back when Foundry was the most hated entity in the hobby community other than Games Workshop (and possibly Mongoose Publishing) for its greedy, miserly business practices? Foundry-bashing was the national pastime here in LAF. That changed.

For the most part I'm just resigned to the fact that Warlord is going to do whatever Warlord is going to do. But I do hold on to some hope that it won't keep escalating to GW levels of meanness.

[Kommando_J]

I don't think they'll reach GW levels but... they do seem to be headed down a similar path.

The whole gates of antares pushing for one....after pretty much ages of no advertising, don't get me wrong it certainly interests me but take for example the new boxed set, it's too expensive to justify which bothers me as the exclusive Ghar mini is something i'd love to have...I feel like they are creating some artificial demand for people that are interested in Ghar but don't want to miss out on the ''once in a life time'' mini.

The articles have gotten more commercial, take the usmc one by Rich Dando, don't get me wrong a great article but at the same time annoying,he works there and has access to all the bits so OF COURSE he can do all these amazing/unique little conversions, as it turns out we the ordinary customer no longer have the same option(when we did only a few months ago).

''On the other hand, it's probably true that custom orders do cause problems and confusion for a company that's grown well beyond the "garage industry"/"vanity business" level where most other miniatures companies are positioned.''

To be fair it was never a garage industry, the smaller companies it snapped up where though.

I may be ranting slightly but tbh the whole thing today plus the things I have noticed have put a sour taste in my mouth.

[syrinx0]

It might depend on who gets your order as well. I have had a few custom orders for my Dacian forces that were handled in a timely and accurate manner by Lorenzo inspite of my mulltiple separate orders.  That was only in June so unless they have had a big turn over recently, I wouldn't think it was a new policy.

[Kommando_J]

It's funny you should say that as my order was mostly Dacians for a frostgrave warband project(now dead in the water unfortunately) and it was Lorenzo that answered/informed me of the change of policy, I quote his reply to my ticket;

''I'm very sorry but at this time due to the complexity of our range, we are not able to swap or amend items within customer orders.

This means that unfortunately we can no longer undertake requests for product changes and individual components/models as this was causing problems and confusion for our mail order team. It is something we will be looking into further in the future but I'm sure you can appreciate that due to the size and complexity of our current offering (and it's constant expansion) that this will be a significant undertaking. As soon as we have any news on the matter, we'll be certain to make an announcement via our Newsletter, Facebook Page, and Website - so by all means keep watching for news.'

I checked my emails and the last custom order I made was in early July.

[Momotaro]

Nothing they've done sounds unreasonable.  They're a very, very long way from the contempt that GW has for its customers.

The job of a company is not to bust their own asses for their customers, although many people who take pride in their work will do so.  A dollar in your pocket doesn't make you king for the day either.

[Predatorpt]

I remember that they warned about that change in the mail order service, in one of the Bolt Action FB pages. I think it was in August, early September. 

There was some uproar because of all the custom projects that people were doing, but they said they would implement a new system next year (after the launch of the Antares line and the overhaul of their other lines).

[manic _miner]

 Well i think that with all of the new lines they have trying  to do custom orders will take up lots of staff time.

 When anyone releases a new product like the Gates of Antares set you will of course get lots of promotion going into it.My game arrived this week and i love it.Very good value for money.The extra pieces for pre-orders via Warlord are a bonus.A good marketing plan to get more money into the company for future products.

 I have now placed an order for another box set too.The Ghar are just a very cool miniatures concept.

 For me i think Warlord will be doing very well with the new game.Time will tell.

[Kommando_J]

''Nothing they've done sounds unreasonable. They're a very, very long way from the contempt that GW has for its customers.''

True, i'd disagree with that latter statement though,  contempt implies they care, Gw is more just ignorant.uncaring of it's customer base.

''I remember that they warned about that change in the mail order service, in one of the Bolt Action FB pages. I think it was in August, early September.''

Didn't catch that, never been a big fan of facebook.

Personally I think a lot of it may be down to a case of Warlord biting off more than it can chew with regards to acquiring a heap of new ranges and trying to promote GoA at the same time, i'm hoping things change and am excited about the new Ghar.

[syrinx0]

Guess I got lucky with my order or it was easier to process for some reason.

[Kamandi]

I'm surprised they didn't quietly put Antares on the shelf and invest in launching Doctor Who. A shiny Doctor Who game with good production values would be a winner right out of the gate. Antares, as their own property, might be a bigger money maker eventually but it won't come without years of effort and investment.

There was never a second D&D or a second MtG. There won't be another 40K.

[Kommando_J]

I think Doctor who is a good way off yet, methinks next year at the earliest.

As for Antares they did low key at the start and that didn't really work, just look at their forum section on warlords site, it's been mostly empty for ages.

I agree with the banner, there will not be another 40k...although I don't think that will stop them from trying as they already use bolt action to snatch up the ex-40k crowd.

I want to get into GoA but the costs seem to prohibitive for a game that might not take off, even though it's a bargain £70 is a bit much for a starter set, especially when i'm only interested in one of the armies in it and have zero aesthetic interest for the other.

''Guess I got lucky with my order or it was easier to process for some reason.''

From the xplanation I was given ease of casting/spares kicking about seems to be a big factor.

[manic _miner]

 It looks like it is doing really well so far.Lots of pre-orders have been going in and now that the proper rules are out more people will be willing to give it a try.

 Looks like the Ghar force set is due out soon too.Just seen a post on there Warlord forums.You maybe able to pick up a Fartok miniature as some people have ordered multiple sets.There is a new trading site on FB for Antares stuff.

 The new Run Fartok Run scenario on the Warlord site looks like it will be fun.

[Rhoderic]

There was never a second D&D or a second MtG. There won't be another 40K.

Fingers crossed that you're right! I don't want (contemporary) 40K, I'll be happy with Rick Priestley's Beyond the Gates of Antares

[Kamandi]

I'm just being a bit of a cranky old man. I wish Warlord well with BtGoA. I'm just too jaded to get excited about it. I'm more interested in Bolt Action these days.
As a coda my "Won't be another 40K", if there is one game that has captured a piece of the 40K and/or WHFB market it would seem to be Warmachine.