By Midaski
It is that time of year when we all eagerly anticipate what Santa will bring us.
We know what we would like him to bring us, but we know the pitfalls and disappointments that are likely to occur.
Have you ever tried to get a loved one to buy you the exact minis you want?
“Well I thought they looked like greatswords! They’re in a packet marked warhammer, they’re metal, and aren’t those pointy helmets nice……………..”
“Well I would have bought you 20 for a Unit, but I never realised how much they cost!!!”
Take it from an oldie, never let the purchasing of minis ever be done by anybody else. I have discovered that however you manage it, you have to make sure you do the purchasing and then hand the item(s) over either to the ‘giver’ or an intermediary for wrapping.
Firstly you have, I hope, established already that you are a devoted hobbyist, and that if people want to really get you a special present then it is going to have to be minis.
Next you have to make sure that the ‘superb I will be forever grateful best Christmas present ever ‘ item(s) you want are likely to be complicated for the giver to get.
You need to make it sound tricky to get the exact item you want. This is where an intermediary can be very useful.
The simplest example is your wife/partner colluding with Aunt/Uncle/Grandparent. The former arranges to ‘obtain’ the present and is reimbursed by the latter.
Then you collude with your wife/partner and buy what you want, pass it to the wife/partner, who in turn as previously said, passes it to the giver.
Your wife/partner has to play her part as well, by insinuating that she has managed to find out your heart’s desire by subtle investigation and conversation over a long period of time, and you then have to be suitably excited and overjoyed on opening the gift:
“Oh fabulous, I have wanted this model for absolutely ages, how did you know? That’s wonderful etc etc.”
Truly that should not be hard to do, because it is the truth - that the model is exactly what you want.
Everyone’s happy, you because you have your mini, your present giver because everyone wants to give a much desired present, and your wife because you’re happy and she has gone up in the giver’s estimation for helping.
You could quite justifiably say that your 'manoeuvring' has spread much happiness.
In my starting comments I alluded to the dangers of cost awareness, and this has been broached in an earlier treatise to be found in our Library.
I am sorry guys, but your pocket may have to suffer a bit in the above ‘Christmas Presents’ scenario. You will buy the minis/models and be recompensed, but you will have to evaluate how much you want your wife/partner/present donor to know about the cost of your hobby.
You will have to bear in mind as well your that expenditure your wife or partner might find acceptable as a ‘special’ Christmas or even Birthday present, may NOT be considered reasonable on a more ‘regular’ basis – ie monthly in most of our cases.
Thus you may have to consider taking a hit on the cost.
I hope that I have managed to instil a ‘cost concept’ of my minis in my good lady’s brain. The plastic boxes of a few years ago were the foundation. In the ‘good old days’ when we could buy an Empire Soldiers Box for £12 ($20 ?). I used to go on about 16 or 20 models for £12 and break it down to 0.75p per man – it’s a variation on an old selling technique called “Reduction to the Ridiculous” – and I would never discuss the costs of metal minis, and it seems to have engendered the concept that they are the same price as plastic. I have never felt the urge to dispel this illusion strangely.
Finally there is the box set enhancement technique. This again is a very effective subterfuge that involves extra personal cost at Christmas, but also enhances one’s entire hobby year.
This mainly involves the metal minis sets where you have a whole box with possibly a mere 5 models within. Certainly the capacity of the polystyrene tray inside is greater than the actual contents.
Now you all know that 12 Pirazzo’s or 5 knights will not really be enough, and you will have to get extra blisters to make a decent sized unit. So do you get the box for Christmas and then buy the extras a bit later? That way you run the risk of two transactions, doubling the chances of cost exposure.
Why not remove the cellophane and ‘add’ the extra models to the box – if you have kept your wife/ partner/ giver an appropriate distance from the hobby shops they may well not realise there should have been cellophane and how many models are in the box.
This has to be handled quite carefully, just in case they have the urge to actually show some interest and read the text on the box describing the contents, and yours truly has managed to get this down to a fine art, by keeping the box hidden until present wrapping time, and waving it, at a distance, at my beloved before wrapping it myself.
The box once opened has to be carefully guarded though as well – I find a pair of scissors that just keeps the front of the box, and allows the rest of the ‘details’ to disappear into the trash in the post present clear up works wonderfully.
This may be a bit late as advice for this year, but maybe as you open your much-anticipated present from Auntie Florence hoping for that Militia box to make your new Empire unit, and find they’re Kroot ...... you will remember this post
Happy Christmas!