Support Your Local Game Store?

[Allen]

Buying at the Store

I would really like to support my FLGS more often. But the only day I can stop by is Saturday. Saturday is CCG tourny day and the shop is filled wall to wall with smelly, sweaty, loud, unwashed children and even adults.
The staff is actually very friendly and the owner will order anything you want. Most of the people in my two groups choose to shop online or go to a shop in another city because of the CCG crowds.
So if I know they have something I need/want I will try and get it from my FLGS. But if not I will either order it or go to another shop where I get a discount and there are not crowd of noisy kids and their smells.

 

[Arnwyn]

I know there are some publishers on this board, so I'm wondering how you guys deal with offering special deals to customers at GenCon. Do you do it? Do you feel bad about it? Do stores get angry with you because of it?

As a consumer, I don't care one whit. I will go wherever I can get my books cheap and/or fast (usually fast; cheap very rarely - only if I don't consider the book to be all that valuable).

 

[Desdichado]

As a consumer, I don't care one whit. I will go wherever I can get my books cheap and/or fast (usually fast; cheap very rarely - only if I don't consider the book to be all that valuable).

That's me exactly. I'd rather have a book right now than get a 10% discount. On the other hand, I ordered the ELH from buy.com for $13 because I didn't think I'd actually really want it that badly.

 

[Cullyn]

I must admit that I find this thread very enlightening. As a person whose ultimate goal is to open and run a game store, this thread has been very informative and has (to my mind anyway) confirmed what I have always thought.

The sense of community that a local game store provides, especially one that holds tourneys, demos, and the like helps create a loyal customer base. Being reasonable, helpful, and polite helps foster that sense of community in your patrons. And while discount programs and such never hurt it really seems to me that the 'aura' of a game store will keep people coming back, even if they do buy the occasional item somewhere else.

I know that I will travel the 20 miles or so to my local game store at the drop of a hat. I rarely need a reason, or money for that matter, to want to go. Basically being able to talk to people of a like mind or get ideas on existing or new games makes the trip worthwhile. That 'face time' isn't something you can get online. And at a con... you get almost too much face time. A local game store provides a nice balance.

 

[shouit]

A good friend of mine operates an Internet bookstore and I buy most things from him. The only game store near me really is in MN/StP and I go there from time to time. I normally buy paint and mini stuff from them..

 

[Umbran]

I don't see that convention sales are really an issue on the large scale. WotC market research suggested something on the order of 3 million gamers back in 1999, right? How many of them attend any sort of gaming convention in a year? I don't expect the percentage is high.

The FLGS vs Online Retailer debate is a tough one. I can see that supporting a FLGS is a good thing. But, for those of us who are working on smaller budgets, getting a better deal (buy three books, get one free, in essence) is hard to pass up.

 

[DaveMage]

I guess that's the whole point I was makin' -- there's more reasons than just the fiscal one that drive my decision. 90% of my stuff I buy from one store, just because I know I can pop in there and find something interesting. I don't get any discount, but the convenience is still worth it to me, most of the time.

Oh, I like convenience, and as I said, I'd rather buy local, but as my desire for products is great and my wallet is ever-shrinking, I have to do what works best. (Kids are expensive!)

(By the way, Joshua, I don't want to alarm you, but your child [avatar] seems to have...changed. Is he going through a phase? )

 

[2d6]

I haven't been to a Con since GenCon '93. Back then, as I imagine it is now, you had to pay to enter the venue and then pay to play, so getting a modest discount from the vendors kinda helps mitigate the cost of admission. I would think that the second-hand/ebay market is more concerning.

As to supporting a FLGS, are we ever going to let that horse rest in peace?