Your FLGS and You - What's your take?

[cignus_pfaccari]

I've got several:

Fantasy Forum: Okay, this doesn't really count, but it really was my first FLGS. They went out of business like 10 years ago after moving to a location that wasn't zoned for retail (and selling to someone who didn't know that). Ironically, that location I hear now is zoned for retail.

Dream Wizards: This is my current primary FLGS. They're way out in Rockville, but OTOH I work out there. They've got a decent selection. I get my Shadowrun, Exalted, and other stuff there. The staff's pretty good, though the people I knew have since moved on to other jobs.

Compleat Strategist: I occasionally go out to their Falls Church location, but it's too far from the Metro for me to go on my own (I don't have a car). But they're pretty good.

Game Parlor: Same deal, except closest one is in Woodbridge, and I think the shrinkwrapping is silly, but it does keep stuff in good condition. They have the best selection of any of my stores.

Comic Quest (Evansville, IN): This is where I go when I go home to Kentucky. Nice selection, lots of comics and action figures, too, so I can pick up Wizard and anything else.


I actually get most of my D&D books at Barnes & Noble, due to the discount and that I've got one both by my work and by my apartment. They carry Shadowrun hardcovers, and the occasional Exalted book, but they don't get the softcovers.

Brad

 

[Votan]

Put that all together and it adds up to a simple conclusion: Canadians are far more likely to browse online and buy in a traditional brick and mortar store. Which is exactly what we usually do.

This might also explain why books in the US appear to be much more worn on the shelves than back in Canada. If the store is a place where people read the books but do not purchase them then the books tend to become worn with use making them even more unattractive!

 

[Glyfair]

If the retailer does not charge those sales taxes -- the Canadian government imposes both federal and provincial sales taxes, like it or not.

I will note that in the U.S. technically the sales tax is not supposed to be avoided. If you live in a state with a sales tax and buy without sales tax (such as over the internet, or from a state with no sales tax) you are supposed to pay a use tax (which is equal to the sales tax if you bought it in the state). It just is very difficult to enforce. A lot of people aren't even aware they owe it. I do know people are charged it during audits every year though (som
I am lucky to live in Delaware which has no sales tax, so it's not an issue for me. However,

 

[Pseudonym]

I tend to buy from either the Borders or Barnes and Noble in town, as both have a surprisingly well stocked selection, Borders more so than B&N. There is one store in town, but it is just getting going under new ownership, so its inventory is rather low, but it is close. It would be nice if they expanded their mini selection, as this is the only place to buy now that the GW store went belly up.

Even though it is new, I see the hanger's on problem already developing. I don't like having to wait with my purchase in hand for the stereotypes to stop leaning on the counter chatting about their past campaigns so I can pay and leave.

 

[Ahnehnois]

Time was I'd wait eagerly outside the local WotC store for the latest release. However, I stopped doing this. The store folded a while ago, but I didn't move on because I'm no longer interested in WotC products. I've looked at other gaming stores, but they didn't have much selection and amazon has what I want at much lower prices. I read through products at the local Borders/B&N every now and then, but I don't buy D&D books there because they don't have much 3rd party 3e/PF stuff at a place like that.

I've never much needed the meetup function of such a store either, having had the same basic group of people for over ten years.

 

[Steel_Wind]

I will note that in the U.S. technically the sales tax is not supposed to be avoided. If you live in a state with a sales tax and buy without sales tax (such as over the internet, or from a state with no sales tax) you are supposed to pay a use tax (which is equal to the sales tax if you bought it in the state). It just is very difficult to enforce. A lot of people aren't even aware they owe it. I do know people are charged it during audits every year though.
I am lucky to live in Delaware which has no sales tax, so it's not an issue for me.

True enough. That's the case in Canada too, even when buying from another province.

But, as you say, the enforcement of that is problematic. In Canada, the taxing authorities have set up the couriers and postal service as the tax collectors for international sales and that system pretty much works very well (from a revenue / trade barrier perspective).

The postal service, because it avoids the grossly excessive "brokerage fees" is the far preferable way to go. Canadians always want to have things shipped via the US Postal Service. Strangely enough, a lot of US Internet retailers don't "get" this preference. They want to ship via UPS, because UPS provides them with shipping supplies and easy to use shipping calculators. UPS picks up as well - so it's a brain dead shipping model for the US based internet retailer to use which take no effort and little start-up cost.

Failing to offer USPS shipping, however, essentially costs any US based internet retailer 99% of potential sales from a Canadian purchaser. In my experience, a good portion of US retailers just don't care about this though. They've never seen any Canadian purchasers because of their shipping policies, so they imagine that there aren't enough out there to matter ( a self-fulfilling prophecy at work).

Some US based internet retailers do understand the issue and accommodate it as best they can. When USPS is used and the sticker price is low, it can still be a good deal for those of us north of the border. (Sometimes, a very good deal.)

I certainly do appreciate my FLGS though - and I would agree that most of the Canadian ones are better stocked than their American counterparts based upon my own anecdotal experiences. It's not that we know how to do it up here better than the FLGS owner does in America. It's simply that the Canadian stores operate in a different competitive environment. It's still 1994 in Canada when it comes to the retailing environment and our stores are better stocked as a result.

I do appreciate that if I lived in the USA - I'd probably be buying most of my purchases online. Awfully tough to be an owner of a FLGS in the USA, to be sure.

 

[Pepster]

Near Charlotte, NC

The store I gamed at has its RPG night on Wednesday. Its Magic night is on Friday. In early 2009 we had a regular Friday night Pathfinder game. Our GM had to quit due to his freelance writing duties that spring, so we ended that campaign. Some of the players continued to play on Friday night in new campaigns.

Another game store closed and those Magic players came to this store to game. Friday nights became crowded at the store. In June 2009, the game store owner decided to start charging for table space due to these Magic players not purchasing product. The fee can be offset by buying product. I shrug and say, "No problem." I am not gaming at the store during that time but plan to if another Friday night game develops that I'm interested in.

In July, due to overcrowding from Magic and RPG'ers, the game store owner asks the Friday RPG players to move to another night. They start playing in their homes instead. I decide to pull my support from the store since I'm not gaming there anymore. I have made two purchases at the store since August 2009.

Noble Knight and individual publishers' e-stores get my business.
I also will buy at dealer's tables at the cons I attend.

There is another store in west Charlotte, but it appears to be moving. I've never been there as it's in an unsafe area of Charlotte.

 

[Chainsaw]

There is another store in west Charlotte, but it appears to be moving. I've never been there as it's in an unsafe area of Charlotte.

Agreed. Wouldn't drop my kids off there (if I had any), but the rent's dirt cheap, I'm sure.

 

[Dice4Hire]

Well, in the 80s, when I was into gaming a lot, I bought books at bookstores (chain and private) gaming stores (though none were really places to hang around and play, they just had a shelf of Avalon hill wargames and such)

At university, it was much the same, playing with friends, but not really having a store per se to go to.

And then I came here to Japan in 1991. When I first came here a few gaming stores had a bit of English stuff, but that ended after a few years. The Yellow Submarine now has tiles and miniatures at 60% markup over retail, so it is not too bad, but my real gamin store for the last 15 years or so has been AMazon Japan. Delivery toteh door, good service, and such make it a good deal for me.

Now if they would stop shipping preorders a week late, when you can order them the day they are released and getthem in two days after release...... I would like htem a lot more.

 

[drothgery]

I do appreciate that if I lived in the USA - I'd probably be buying most of my purchases online.

I suspect I'm hardly uncommon among Americans that mostly buy books (gaming or otherwise) online in that I buy almost exclusively from Amazon.com, not some gaming store's online storefront. Is the selection at Amazon.ca or Chapters.ca much more limited their US counterparts and/or not significantly cheaper than your FLGS?