The end of an era ...

I didn't renew my subscription for Miniature Wargames this month.

I have been subscribed to Miniature Wargames ever since Henry Hyde took over as editor (and when Battlegames was folded in Miniature Wargames), back in 2013. I also have an almost complete collection of all issues since issue 1 (see also the Wargames Magazine Index).

But during the last year, my print magazines failed to arrive every month. Granted, the helpful people at the publisher's subscription services send me a replacement copy every time I asked for one, but this situation couldn't go on. It makes no sense to pay for a magazine that doesn't end up in your mailbox.

"What about a digital subscription?" Sure, but I like having a paper magazine in my mailbox and in hand, to sit down and read it. I know from personal experience I rarely read pdf magazines - they just pile up in unread digital archives. I spend most of my working day in front of computer screens, so I don't want to spend my evenings staring at screens as well.

I don't know why the magazine doesn't arrive in my mailbox. It could be anything, perhaps my local postman is snatching them up (maybe a wargamer?). Perhaps cross-channel mail has become unreliable since Brexit (that's one of the explanations the publisher gave me)? Who knows? But the end result is I'm not getting my magazines...

If due to Brexit, it's really ravaging my hobby. My magazines don't arrive anymore, all sorts of trouble with orders from the UK (basically stopped ordering from the UK, unless there's no other option), and two major conventions I used to attend and run games for stopped operating (not only due to Brexit, but it was a contributing factor).

So I guess I'll start collecting back issues from all sorts of 2nd hand sales from now on. Luckily, there's always WSS, for which I still have a subscription :-)

Brexit Woes

So the Brexit has been in full effect for a month now. I don't want to start a discussion about the politics involved here (follow my twitter account :-)), but I can say a thing or two how it will influence my wargaming purchases.

 (Addendum: As I said, I don't want to start a political discussion here. Comments regarding experiences ordering wargaming products from/to the UK are welcome, but other Brexit-related comments - especially if politics-oriented - are not. Such comments will be deleted. And yes, I already deleted a couple ..)

There have been reports in the press about small businesses hit hard, especially when sending orders across the channel. VAT should (or should not?) be added, custom duties are in order, carriers charge more because of extra paperwork. This creates confusion with the customer. After all, nobody likes to pay an additional sum that comes as a surprise, or that you weren't aware of before.

I am old enough to remember what it was like to buy wargaming items from the UK before the single market. During the early 90s, I made regular trips to London to go shopping (often combined with some other visits). Many products (I was heavily into Games Workshop and into roleplaying at the time) simply weren't available here in Belgium. Mail order was something that was not always easy in the pre-internet days. I still remember going to the local post office, and transfer money using postal money orders in the hope that the full amount would be transferred to the seller some days (more often weeks) later. Ordering from the UK was considered carefully, often trying to group several orders with friends.

Since the single market, but also thanks to the internet, that all changed. Ordering from abroad (or in my case for wargaming, the UK), was made very easy. But it has been made a bit more difficult now.

So, what's the effect on my personal shopping habits?

Since long, I have ordered many books through Amazon UK. An update was probably long due, but I switched to Amazon DE and NL. Now, in practice, this might not make much of a difference, since Amazon's processes were probably already optimized, but for me as a customer, it's a psychological shift.

For wargaming, I tended to order quite regularly from smaller UK companies. But I have put all my UK orders on hold for the time being, and I am going to wait till the dust has settled before ordering again. I have enough wargaming stuff lying around to keep myself busy, so that's not the problem. But I will also take a more active look towards manufacturers and companies this side of the channel, and that might be business lost to the UK wargaming companies permanently. Sure, one customer might mot make a difference, but if more people act like me, it might become a problem.

I might even consider postponing all my purchases till CRISIS 2021 (if it will happen). With the cancellation of CRISIS 2020, CRISIS 2021 might even become a huge shopping spree. Not only for me, but for many wargamers this side of the channel. We'll see. Hopefully, all the wargaming companies present during past years will still make the trip to Antwerp. Brexit has all sorts of weird and unforeseen consequences after all ...