I consider myself a pretty big fan of both Warmachine and Hordes, and more recently I’ve even picked up playing DUST: Tactics. I love miniature wargaming, and everything that comes with it: painting, terrain, models, lore, and fun. There are a lot of different companies that produce a lot of different sorts of wargames, from Spartan Games and Privateer Press to Fantasy Flight and Games Workshop.
Recently the latter of those companies proposed, and enacted, a new trade embargo that would introduce a lot of changes to how retail stores conduct business with their products. Games Workshop set out to expand their horizons, and with it their profits.
While many of us agree with some of the new policies being put into place by Games Workshop with the new embargo, many retail stores will suffer, and even more so some are being forced to shut down. One such store is the MiniWarGaming store, both on the physical and web fronts. The new embargo limits the sale of Games Workshop products online only to Games Workshop themselves, and retail outlets cannot sell products to countries outside their own.
For players in outside countries that purchase Games Workshop items from US-based retail this will be a blow to business as well. The currency exchange was hard enough, but the new embargo shuts down the biggest option for many players who are in different regions around the world. United States independent retailer cannot sell to other countries other than the one in which they are based, so many players will see a decline in available products, thus limiting Games Workshop games playability.
Here are a few points specifically from the new trade embargo:
- The prohibition against online retail sales of GAMES WORKSHOP products is restated and now expanded in its applicability to all North American Retailers both in the United States and in Canada
- A requirement that all Retailers resell GAMES WORKSHOP products (including, but not limited to, components) only in their Original Packaging and Labeling
- A requirement that Retailers limit their resale of GAMES WORKSHOP products to domestic sales in their respective countries – i.e., no exports
- A requirement that Retailers comply with the timing and disclosure requirements associated with new product releases
The new embargo will go into effect on June 15th, so retailers will still be able to sell Games Workshop products online until then. For that reason many stores will be having massive sales, and MiniWarGaming is getting one final sale in before the date hits. For more information about the new policy and to see details on why one retailer is shutting its doors to selling, check out the video below. I hope that things change in the future, but for now it’s something we will all have to deal with.