Our existing [ecommerce] customers were really quick to sign up and give us a try. From there, word of mouth spread like wildfire!

Warpfire Minis
Florida, USA

Subbly applauds anyone turning their passion into a successful business - just like the Warpfire Minis founders. As hobbyists of a cult classic tabletop game, these three friends know exactly what their customers want and are obsessed with delivering it. Learn how these friends (now co-founders) turned their regular ecommerce store into a growing subscription business... all while doing what they love!

Tell us the name of your company and briefly describe your business and product.

The name of our company is Warpfire Minis and we specialize in everything relating to the popular tabletop game Warhammer! We buy, sell, and trade Warhammer miniatures, both new and used, and also have a monthly subscription box we call the Warpcrate. We send out a hand picked lot of miniatures based on our customer’s preferences each month, guaranteeing $40 retail worth of miniatures and accessories in every box for only $25 a month!

What inspired you to start your business?

We’re all passionate Warhammer players, but we were always a little bit down about how expensive the hobby can be so we decided to take it into our own hands to try and make Warhammer as affordable as we can. Through discounts on new miniatures, subscriptions like the Warpcrate, and buying used models, we make sure our customers are getting the best value around.

Every business is on a mission. What is your mission as it relates to Warpfire Minis?

Our mission is to make Warhammer accessible and affordable for everyone who wants to play or collect. We offer our customers great deals on high quality new and used products, and make sure to do our best to ship everything with care (tons and tons of bubble wrap) to make sure everything arrives safely.  

What accomplishment are you most proud of so far?

So far we’re most proud of the community’s response! The Warhammer scene has lots of different characters and we’ve gotten great feedback so far from customers of all kinds whether they’re casual gamers, professional tournament players like Richard Siegler, or even people who just like to paint. It’s always awesome seeing pictures customers send in of our products or seeing someone win a major tournament with models they got from us!

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How did you get your first customers and how long did it take?

We already had a decent sized customer base from our regular online sales, so once we offered our subscription, our existing customers were really quick to sign up and give it a try. From there, word of mouth spread like wildfire! We were contacted by a few Warhammer YouTube channels like eBay Miniature Rescues and Goobertown Hobbies that wanted to feature the Warpcrate in their videos which really helped us expand our audience and acquire new customers.

Why is it necessary for you to have a subscription billing model and not just one-time purchases?

If you’ve ever played Warhammer you know that you always need new models. The meta is constantly changing; new armies emerge, new rulebooks, or players just get tired of using the same old army. The subscription model just makes it simple to receive those new models every month without any hassle.

What made you decide on Subbly to support your business instead of something else?

We had actually tried out a couple of other platforms before Subbly. We decided on Subbly due to the easy user interface, reporting, and being able to easily keep track of our customer’s needs.

What is your advice for someone who is just starting a subscription business?

Make sure you’re providing real value to your customers whether it’s through actual discounts on products or even just your knowledge base bringing your customers new and exciting things. Other than that, just ship things on time and take care of your customers! You’re eventually going to have mishaps, mixups, lost packages, damaged goods, and the likes and there’s no reason to sweat it; just take care of your customer and everything will work out in the end.

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