Would the D&D brand manager please stand up.

[CharlesRyan]

It seemed like we had a lot more contact with the folks in both the design and business side of things back then. Maybe this is just a function of more work and fewer people at Wizards.

I think that's exactly what it's a function of.

 

[CharlesRyan]

Oh well in that case can he explain why D&D Miniatures are still so expensive over here (that it's cheaper to import independently from the US) when the dollar is so weak compared to the pound?

As someone who's moved to the UK from the US in the last year, I have to agree with Lord Tirian. Yes, WotC minis are insanely expensive here in the UK. Along with, well, everything else.

 

[CharlesRyan]

I believe it is called "Hasbro" nowadays. Just saying...

Yes, you have ripped the mask of the big, dark secret. WotC has [dum dum DUUUM!] a parent company.

 

[Melan]

Yes, you have ripped the mask of the big, dark secret. WotC has [dum dum DUUUM!] a parent company.

It is not a big dark secret, or a noteworthy discovery. Just a reminder that there may be a difference of strategies and priorities between an owner who loves gaming, and a corporate entity who feels no responsibility/specific attraction towards it. The relation in the first case is personal; in the second, it is not.

 

[Bagpuss]

As foreigner in the UK, I'd say, it's just... well, the pound. *Everything* is expensive compared to €-prices in the UK, this seemingly also affects D&D-Miniatures.

Yet Amazon can provide D&D miniatures and D&D books at the dollar price converted to £. Sure they are a big buyer of that stuff but I would have thought a specialist games distributer would be as well.

If you are earning in £ and importing then they aren't expensive (or shouldn't be) of course things seem expensive to someone coming from a weaker currency.

 

[CharlesRyan]

Yet Amazon can provide D&D miniatures and D&D books at the dollar price converted to £. Sure they are a big buyer of that stuff but I would have thought a specialist games distributer would be as well.

Whenever you see an importer bringing in stuff at much cheaper than the normal rate, the first question you might ask is "are they charging (and paying) VAT?". Especially if that importer normally specializes in books, which are VAT-free. (VAT alone accounts for 17% of the UK price.)

I'm sure we'd all like to believe that a large, reputable company like Amazon would be fully compliant with tax laws, and would never "forget" that they need to charge VAT on a non-book product.

 

[meomwt]

Whenever you see an importer bringing in stuff at much cheaper than the normal rate, the first question you might ask is "are they charging (and paying) VAT?". Especially if that importer normally specializes in books, which are VAT-free. (VAT alone accounts for 17% of the UK price.)

I'm sure we'd all like to believe that a large, reputable company like Amazon would be fully compliant with tax laws, and would never "forget" that they need to charge VAT on a non-book product.

Unless, of course, they're bringing the stuff through their Channel Islands loophole operation where VAT doesn't exist as such.