War game prices are outrageous!

[W8taminute]

Last week whilst on vacation I visited "The Compleat Strategist" an old school wargame hobby shop in the greater Philadelphia area.  They had several games on the shelves that I was prepared to buy on the spot until I flipped over the box to look at the price tag.  I was stunned. 

A game like "Empire of the Sun" which retailed at about $80 back in 2019 at this shop now sells for $110?  Has the price of store bought wargames increased that much in your neck of the woods? 

I can buy 2 or more computer games for that much money!  I check the price of GMTs games directly on their website and noticed that games have gotten more pricey there too. 

[Ubercat]

Who waited on you?

[Jarhead0331]

COVID. It's raising the price everything.

[ArizonaTank]

Last week whilst on vacation I visited "The Compleat Strategist" an old school wargame hobby shop in the greater Philadelphia area.  They had several games on the shelves that I was prepared to buy on the spot until I flipped over the box to look at the price tag.  I was stunned. 

A game like "Empire of the Sun" which retailed at about $80 back in 2019 at this shop now sells for $110?  Has the price of store bought wargames increased that much in your neck of the woods? 

I can buy 2 or more computer games for that much money!  I check the price of GMTs games directly on their website and noticed that games have gotten more pricey there too.

I think prices have edged up some since the pandemic...but not as much as my local Wendy's or Taco Bell...

Most new games are $50 - $80 dollars, and I think this is mostly consistent with 2019 prices. A few publishers like OSG and Compass regularly have prices on some games around $100 - $120, but they had those prices in 2019 as well. 

At my local game store, prices are at the manufacturer's suggested retail or about 20% above the average ebay price. This is actually OK with me, since I like to support the local business. But I still find myself buying mostly online.

Overall, GMT games are still a good deal IMHO. I recently bought GMT's Storm Above the Reich for $60 on ebay. It is a huge, hefty game, with great components and I think it is a very good deal.

But the key to prices is supply and demand. That same $60 "Storm Above the Reich," will probably be sold out and then go for $110 in six months...until there is a reprint anyway.

So in the case of "Empire of the Sun," it is a popular game, that is almost continually out of stock. The next print run won't put them back on shelves for at least another six months. At that point you'll pay about $50 for it. But until then, the $100+ is purely market driven. If lower cost is important, buying right after a print run is the path to happiness.

When today's prices are more than I want to pay...I sometimes look at older games on ebay, or even Board Game Geek. I have found some good deals there. Since AH was so prolific with their print runs, even 40 year old AH games are pretty cheap sometimes. I found a good used 3rd Edition "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" for $25 for example.

[Toonces]

Hey W8.

First, Compleat Strategist is an absolutely fantastic game store!  Isn't that the one in Alexandria?  Color me jealous!

Second, I read this article in the New York Times just a few days ago that talks about how global shipping rates have skyrocketed, and this is impacting the price of everything.  I'll link the article below, but this quote in particular is relevant:

"In Miami Beach, Eric Poses, an inventor of board games, developed a product aptly named for the pandemic: The Worst-Case Scenario Card Game, a title that could also be applied to his experience relying on China to make and ship the product.

Before the pandemic, shipping a 40-foot container of games from Shanghai to the warehouse he uses in Michigan cost $6,000 to $7,000, Mr. Poses said. His next shipment, scheduled to leave China in mid-September, will cost at least $26,000. And his freight agent warned him that the price will most likely rise, to $35,000, because of rail and trucking difficulties in the United States."

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/30/business/supply-chain-shortages.html

[W8taminute]

Hey W8.

First, Compleat Strategist is an absolutely fantastic game store!  Isn't that the one in Alexandria?  Color me jealous!

Second, I read this article in the New York Times just a few days ago that talks about how global shipping rates have skyrocketed, and this is impacting the price of everything.  I'll link the article below, but this quote in particular is relevant:

"In Miami Beach, Eric Poses, an inventor of board games, developed a product aptly named for the pandemic: The Worst-Case Scenario Card Game, a title that could also be applied to his experience relying on China to make and ship the product.

Before the pandemic, shipping a 40-foot container of games from Shanghai to the warehouse he uses in Michigan cost $6,000 to $7,000, Mr. Poses said. His next shipment, scheduled to leave China in mid-September, will cost at least $26,000. And his freight agent warned him that the price will most likely rise, to $35,000, because of rail and trucking difficulties in the United States."

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/30/business/supply-chain-shortages.html

No but there was a Compleat Strategist in NYC at one time I believe.  I'm not sure but you could be right about the store in Alexandria.  Yeah supply chain price increases is a bummer. 

Who waited on you?

A guy I've not seen before.  He was probably about in his 30s maybe.  The usual guy (who dresses in female clothing) was not there. 

[Ubercat]

Heh. "The usual guy" and I would always carpool to WBC, pre-Covid. She's even been my room mate there a couple of times. The only woman my wife is okay with me sharing a hotel room!

It IS a good store. A bit farther than I'm willing to drive so I've only been there a couple of times.

[W8taminute]

^Oh wow that's pretty cool that you used to go with her to WBC.  She is very nice and knowledgeable and did indeed mention a trip to WBC in which she played a few games there.  Man I wish I could go.  Unfortunately every time WBC was held in the past it was always 1 week after the family vacation. 

Maybe someday I'll go if they open it back up again.

[Phantom]

COVID may well be a trigger to cause prices to rise, but what tends to happen is prices are then inflexible downward - ie: once people are used to paying top dollar suppliers will do everything in their power to keep it there, so even when shipping prices fall (which of course they will) don't expect a corresponding price drop. Only way to get prices down again is to stop buying.

[MengJiao]

Last week whilst on vacation I visited "The Compleat Strategist" an old school wargame hobby shop in the greater Philadelphia area.  They had several games on the shelves that I was prepared to buy on the spot until I flipped over the box to look at the price tag.  I was stunned. 

A game like "Empire of the Sun" which retailed at about $80 back in 2019 at this shop now sells for $110?  Has the price of store bought wargames increased that much in your neck of the woods? 

I can buy 2 or more computer games for that much money!  I check the price of GMTs games directly on their website and noticed that games have gotten more pricey there too.

  I tend to buy on ebay and get used and/or sat-upon games.  It also helps like unpopular games from a few years ago at ebay auctions...the semi-old ones nobody likes can be pretty cheap.

[ArizonaTank]

Last week whilst on vacation I visited "The Compleat Strategist" an old school wargame hobby shop in the greater Philadelphia area.  They had several games on the shelves that I was prepared to buy on the spot until I flipped over the box to look at the price tag.  I was stunned. 

A game like "Empire of the Sun" which retailed at about $80 back in 2019 at this shop now sells for $110?  Has the price of store bought wargames increased that much in your neck of the woods? 

I can buy 2 or more computer games for that much money!  I check the price of GMTs games directly on their website and noticed that games have gotten more pricey there too.

  I tend to buy on ebay and get used and/or sat-upon games.  It also helps like unpopular games from a few years ago at ebay auctions...the semi-old ones nobody likes can be pretty cheap.

There are some good Facebook groups where games are sold at some very good prices. CONSIM Market Place comes to mind. Prices around $25 are common.

[demjansk1942]

I was checking out the States of Siege games article recently on bgg.  Some people are asking $ 170+ for a $15 game, yes some of these game prices are crazy

[solops]

It's the supply chain

[ArizonaTank]

I was checking out the States of Siege games article recently on bgg.  Some people are asking $ 170+ for a $15 game, yes some of these game prices are crazy

I think in the case of States of Siege, it is just simple supply and demand. The games are good, popular and out of print. Probably not that many copies were even printed.

Good news...looks like reprints for several of the States of Siege games are in the works...

The only place I know to find a good $15 game anymore are listings of some old AH titles on ebay. A popular game from AH would sell 50,000 copies in the 70s...so there are still plenty of them out there. Some AH games go for much more of course (The Longest Day, and Advanced Third Reich to name a few), but these are mostly games from the 80s when AH was not printing as many copies.

[jamus34]

I’ve never been there, but yeah I imagine the logistics challenges are the primary reason for the cost increases.

My go to game shop was The Games Keep near King of Prussia, PA. More a general game store than wargaming but Karl’s got a whole back wall dedicated to wargames.

That said I miss being a part of a gaming group. My old one broke up about 6 months prior to COVID as the primary host moved and with Covid nobody meets in person anymore.