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Can Hobby Stores Make Their Saving Throw?
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<blockquote data-quote="LordEntrails" data-source="post: 7720472" data-attributes="member: 6804070"><p>Interesting, you start by saying you want customer service. Then you say you won't pay for customer service...</p><p></p><p>For those of us who are old enough, we remember going to a store in the 80's and expecting good customer service. It was normal, it was expected, and it was important to a successful business.</p><p></p><p>Then, economic downturn, emergence of discount stores and warehouses. Expand that with internet shopping, mega retailers willing to sell products at a loss or a 2% profit margin. Now we have a large group of customer who expect and demand lowest prices. And now some of them actually want customer service too.</p><p></p><p>Customer service costs money. It costs people to be in a physical location for x number of hours. To answer your email and your phone calls. To talk to you when you walk in the door. It costs money to have product sitting on a shelf waiting for you to look at it and maybe buy it. </p><p></p><p>Brick & Mortar stores, your FLGS costs money to have. Overhead is higher than it is for Amazon. Overhead is higher than not only Amazon's costs, but also more than their overhead and profit margin. (You do know Amazon has said they are willing to loose years worth of profits just to establish a monopoly don't you? You know what happens when a monopoly exists don't you?)</p><p></p><p>So, if you want no customer service, if you want your products at the lowest cost and that's all you care about. Then buy your hobby products for the lowest price. But then please don't complain about lousy customer service, about having to pay some membership or table fee to play at a FLGS or game club. Or whine when there are no game stores near you.</p><p></p><p>Don't complain when some adventure module you buy has crappy editing, or is poorly converted from one system to another. When some adventure module is poorly conceived, when the artwork is uninspiring, when your favorite publisher releases half or less of the splat books you want.</p><p></p><p>When you are only willing to pay the lowest price for a product, then that item becomes a commodity. In the worst sense of the word. Quality,originality, and support become worthless, because by buying it as cheap as you can, you have spoken with your dollars and have said those things are unimportant. </p><p></p><p>Commodity products do not attract the best and brightest to the industry. Your favorite authors will go elsewhere. The brightest up and coming talent will go into some other field.</p><p></p><p>Have you ever wanted to invent a nut or bolt? Sell milk or salt? Those are commodities. Their is little creativity, originality or quality (other than that mandated by regulations) in those products because they are commodities.</p><p></p><p>I hope RPG's never become a commodity. Therefore I will pay for customer service. For a clean well stocked store with friendly and knowledgeable staff. For a place I can go to for social and community aspects.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="LordEntrails, post: 7720472, member: 6804070"] Interesting, you start by saying you want customer service. Then you say you won't pay for customer service... For those of us who are old enough, we remember going to a store in the 80's and expecting good customer service. It was normal, it was expected, and it was important to a successful business. Then, economic downturn, emergence of discount stores and warehouses. Expand that with internet shopping, mega retailers willing to sell products at a loss or a 2% profit margin. Now we have a large group of customer who expect and demand lowest prices. And now some of them actually want customer service too. Customer service costs money. It costs people to be in a physical location for x number of hours. To answer your email and your phone calls. To talk to you when you walk in the door. It costs money to have product sitting on a shelf waiting for you to look at it and maybe buy it. Brick & Mortar stores, your FLGS costs money to have. Overhead is higher than it is for Amazon. Overhead is higher than not only Amazon's costs, but also more than their overhead and profit margin. (You do know Amazon has said they are willing to loose years worth of profits just to establish a monopoly don't you? You know what happens when a monopoly exists don't you?) So, if you want no customer service, if you want your products at the lowest cost and that's all you care about. Then buy your hobby products for the lowest price. But then please don't complain about lousy customer service, about having to pay some membership or table fee to play at a FLGS or game club. Or whine when there are no game stores near you. Don't complain when some adventure module you buy has crappy editing, or is poorly converted from one system to another. When some adventure module is poorly conceived, when the artwork is uninspiring, when your favorite publisher releases half or less of the splat books you want. When you are only willing to pay the lowest price for a product, then that item becomes a commodity. In the worst sense of the word. Quality,originality, and support become worthless, because by buying it as cheap as you can, you have spoken with your dollars and have said those things are unimportant. Commodity products do not attract the best and brightest to the industry. Your favorite authors will go elsewhere. The brightest up and coming talent will go into some other field. Have you ever wanted to invent a nut or bolt? Sell milk or salt? Those are commodities. Their is little creativity, originality or quality (other than that mandated by regulations) in those products because they are commodities. I hope RPG's never become a commodity. Therefore I will pay for customer service. For a clean well stocked store with friendly and knowledgeable staff. For a place I can go to for social and community aspects. [/QUOTE]
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