Concerning buying D&D 4th Edition

[Pendragon67]

Finally! Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition is almost here! along with other new and fun, quality games this Summer. But may I make a suggestion?

DON'T buy your gaming supplies from those big online sellers. If you truly care about your local gaming community and our channel of the gaming industry, namely the "Hobby Channel", consider supporting your local game store, instead.

Sure, they are cheaper, but those big online sellers specialize in, well, online selling. They DO NOT specialize in game knowledge, nor do they specialize in customer service. They may save you a few dollars, which can be a good thing, but they DO NOT provide you with ways to more fully enjoy your game, which game stores can and should provide.

Many of you may already have a favorite game store that you are loyal to. But for those that do not know, game stores are evolving along with the industry. They are no longer a place to just buy gaming supplies, many of them now serve as a place to play games and meet other gamers who want to play with YOU. Many stores also host gaming "events" or tournaments and offer special prizes provided by the game companies themselves that can not be purchased or acquired any other way. Also, these stores serve as places to network with other gamers, sometimes for trading and other times to gather gaming ideas and, the best part, to make new friends.

Remember, your local game stores work hard to support YOU, the gamer/consumer, and your gaming interests. Most of these stores are small businesses and they need YOUR support, not just for their survivability in today's economy, but for the longevity and health of the gaming community.

Each time you buy online, small businesses suffer. Take advantage of all they have to offer and support your local game store.

Thanks for reading. Please post any thoughts on this.
Sincerely,
A friendly-local-game-store owner. ;0)

 

[VannATLC]

I have no overly polite way to say it.

The local gaming store is being summarily defeated by Online Sales, and the combined knowledge of forums like this.

I can learn more, or get questions answered better, by asking here, than any of the 3 local gaming stores.

And I used to work in one, with aspirations of owning one. But I'm afraid it is a legitmately dying market.

 

[Lurker37]

I no longer have a FLGS. I order online because there's no alternative.

So I try to find a FOGS.

 

[Kabol]

Hate to say it - but most gaming shops .. suck, and suck it hard.

I'm gonna stick to Amazon, where its fast, cheap and reliable and I don't have to scrub the stank off me when I leave.

 

[Incenjucar]

I try to avoid having relationships with people who are trying to get as much of my money as they can because I can't trust the nature of the relationship and I will have less actual product if their prices aren't the best, putting me in a lose-lose situation.

I've been gaming since I was 13, and for several years went to the same stores, and I never once had a conversation with the shop keeps, and I never got the impression they had much interest in D&D to begin with, since they were usually reading comics or playing with Chinese Yo-Yos instead, so there's no added value to them for me.

It just comes down to time and money, after that.

 

[Flobby]

I would love to support my local gaming store... But there isn't any here! So I'm stuck with Amazon.

 

[Deverash]

For me, I don't mind paying a bit more for the ability to browse through new stuff and/or old stuff and see if it's something I want to buy. I have a hard time dealing with the sheer /volume/ of what's available on the internet. Information overload, I guess.

 

[VBMEW-01]

Yeah it comes down to a lack of good shops in my area (and the overpricing that occurs in the ones that are available with a very long drive).

Budgeted Lifestyle + gas prices + insane cover prices + unfriendly (uninterested) staff have driven me away from these sad merchants,

Please avoid political references. Thanks, Dinkeldog/Moderator

 

[MindWanderer]

I visit my FLGS regularly. My wife and I buy some game accessories from them (dice, etc.), pay to participate in tournaments and auctions, and occasionally snacks. Very rarely we'll pick up an immediate gratification item. There's also occasionally things that are next to impossible to get at any significant discount (like Arkham Horror). But spending an extra 30-40% on books is just out.

 

[pogminky]

I wish I could support my FLGS. But there isn't one. The only physical place I could get the D&D 4e core books from is 40+ miles away. And even if I did drive that far - it is't guaranteed they'd have them. For a guarantee I'm lookin' at 60 miles, maybe.

Assuming I did do the insane drive I'm then faced with game shop syndrome. You know, the shop that's run by a gamer not a businessman. So it's cramped and hasn't been cleaned for a year and overstocked with things with dust on them and is full of scary-looking figures from horror movies that my wife doesn't like. And nothing is in order, and there's only 1 copy of anything decent and that copy's being read by a scary guy with no face, and the guy behind the counter - the one who wants my business - refuses to smile or even look up from his computer screen where he's playing some MMO, and when he does talk it is in some sort of Orcish version of valley-speak with added brevity and rudeness. He then overcharges me for my non-mint condition books and tells me 4e sucks and I'd be better off playing whist.

Sorry - I'm sure you're a great game-shop owner. I've just had many bad experiences of game shops. I really want to be able to go to a clean, friendly game shop where I can play RPGs - but it exists only in my dreams.