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Privateer Press is joining the list of companies with sales policies that aim to limit discounting by online retailers. But while the usual approach seems to be to restrict sales to approved retailers, Privateer is making a list of sellers it calls “free riders”.
Online retailers who have little meaningful contact and offer few or no services of value to player audiences undermine the stability of the market by selling product at discounts well below the retail value. They are depending solely on the efforts of independent brick-and-mortar retailers to offer those services that they do not in order to keep their business model alive. This model of business is widely recognized by experts and the justice system as “free riding” and is viewed in the hobby game industry as crippling and anticompetitive.
Under the new policy, Privateer, best known for the miniatures games Warmachine and Hordes, will delay deliveries to distributors that sell the company’s products to anyone on the free rider list.
Privateer’s Free Rider Policy went in to effect April 4th.
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