Why is WotC trying to kill my FLGS?

[crash_beedo]

I wonder if we'll even have this discussion in a few years? The FLGS has been a dying breed for a few years now, but I wonder if the latest round of minis announcements (goodbye DDM skirmish, goodbye Wizkids) and other product line contractions really pushes the stand-alone game store over the edge.

I moved about a year and a half ago to a populous north of Philly and don't have any FLGS within 45 minutes - 1 hour; I end up buying D&D books at the local comic store (which also stocks some minis) or B&D, Borders, or Amazon. The comic store gives a 10% to subscribers, keeping it somewhat competitive.

Regardless, this has little to do with WOTC, and everything to do with market conditions. One way or another their books get published and distributed through various channels, long tail or short, and we have multiple options to purchase based on how we value our transactions - price, service, a local face, or a mixture. But I am concerned about the future retail options for DDM and whether non FLGS will be able to stock multiple SKUs of blister packs and whatnot.

 

[Barcode]

I wonder if we'll even have this discussion in a few years? The FLGS has been a dying breed for a few years now, but I wonder if the latest round of minis announcements (goodbye DDM skirmish, goodbye Wizkids) and other product line contractions really pushes the stand-alone game store over the edge.

I moved about a year and a half ago to a populous north of Philly and don't have any FLGS within 45 minutes - 1 hour; I end up buying D&D books at the local comic store (which also stocks some minis) or B&D, Borders, or Amazon. The comic store gives a 10% to subscribers, keeping it somewhat competitive.

Regardless, this has little to do with WOTC, and everything to do with market conditions. One way or another their books get published and distributed through various channels, long tail or short, and we have multiple options to purchase based on how we value our transactions - price, service, a local face, or a mixture. But I am concerned about the future retail options for DDM and whether non FLGS will be able to stock multiple SKUs of blister packs and whatnot.

Eventually, rising transportation costs will make a move to purely digital formats much more compelling, and that will kill off Amazon and any other business that relies on shipping everything everywhere on demand. Anything that can be reduced to bits will be. The irony is that the FLGS will likely survive as long as it sells things that cannot be digitally transmitted (board games, minis) due to a more efficient transportation model. What goes around comes around.

 

[malraux]

Unfortunately, that d20 chafe may have have represented a good portion of the store's profits. Buying product that turns out to be bad still costs money. At least by it being on shelf it makes the store look well stocked, might get bought someday and is ready for an insurance right off should an "accident" happen. If the shop discounts it, it will be willingly accepting that it lost money on d20 crap and opening up shelf space it might not have the cash to fill. Lots of stores did discount the d20 detritus & Outdated White Wolf Dung to get it out of the store, but not every LGS can afford/accept losses like that

If you were interested in any of the older d20 stuff at a store, try haggling. At worst the proprietor can tell you to leave.

Its called the concord fallacy for a reason. In general, the money spent on buying that stuff is already lost, and the store is screwing itself by not stocking new stuff.

 

[Doug Sundseth]

Unfortunately, that d20 chafe may have have represented a good portion of the store's profits. Buying product that turns out to be bad still costs money. At least by it being on shelf it makes the store look well stocked, might get bought someday and is ready for an insurance right off should an "accident" happen.

If you're going to consider the positive PR effect of full shelves, you should also consider the negative PR effect of shopworn merchandise and the lack of current product.

If the shop discounts it, it will be willingly accepting that it lost money on d20 crap and opening up shelf space it might not have the cash to fill. Lots of stores did discount the d20 detritus & Outdated White Wolf Dung to get it out of the store, but not every LGS can afford/accept losses like that

This is a regrettably common fallacy among small store owners. In retail, you live on turning your stock. For a fuller explanation, with examples, see this post of mine from last year. The short version is that you cannot afford not to accept losses like that.

If you were interested in any of the older d20 stuff at a store, try haggling. At worst the proprietor can tell you to leave.

You can certainly try it, and it might work, but offering $3.00 (often a fair price) for a product with a listed price of $29.95 is unlikely to win many friends, IME.

 

[Fifth Element]

Unfortunately, that d20 chafe may have have represented a good portion of the store's profits. Buying product that turns out to be bad still costs money. At least by it being on shelf it makes the store look well stocked, might get bought someday and is ready for an insurance right off should an "accident" happen. If the shop discounts it, it will be willingly accepting that it lost money on d20 crap and opening up shelf space it might not have the cash to fill. Lots of stores did discount the d20 detritus & Outdated White Wolf Dung to get it out of the store, but not every LGS can afford/accept losses like that

If you were interested in any of the older d20 stuff at a store, try haggling. At worst the proprietor can tell you to leave.

Any manager that refuses to discount old d20 stuff at this point needs to take some basic management courses. If you have shelves full of old inventory that is not selling, you need to discount it. Get what cash you can for it, and open up the shelf space for new stuff that sells better. Even if you get less than you paid for it, it's more than you get when it doesn't sell at all.

Unless you have the ability to return the stock for credit, the amount spent on the inventory is a sunk cost. It's irrelevant, because it's cash out the door. You can't get it back. Cost is surprisingly irrelevant in many rational pricing decisions.

As for the stores not being able to accept losses, look at it this way. If you sell something for 50% of what you paid for it, you've lost 50%. If you never sell it, you've lost 100%. Which is preferable?

 

[doctorhook]

I wonder if we'll even have this discussion in a few years? The FLGS has been a dying breed for a few years now, but I wonder if the latest round of minis announcements (goodbye DDM skirmish, goodbye Wizkids) and other product line contractions really pushes the stand-alone game store over the edge.

I moved about a year and a half ago to a populous north of Philly and don't have any FLGS within 45 minutes - 1 hour; I end up buying D&D books at the local comic store (which also stocks some minis) or B&D, Borders, or Amazon. The comic store gives a 10% to subscribers, keeping it somewhat competitive.

Regardless, this has little to do with WOTC, and everything to do with market conditions. One way or another their books get published and distributed through various channels, long tail or short, and we have multiple options to purchase based on how we value our transactions - price, service, a local face, or a mixture. But I am concerned about the future retail options for DDM and whether non FLGS will be able to stock multiple SKUs of blister packs and whatnot.

I believe strongly in the cyclical nature of economies. While it's impossible to say how long the current economic downturn will last, I think it's just a matter of time before things start looking up again.

Of course, the real questions are: "What (products/formats/businesses/business models) will survive the downturn and what won't? What will end forever and what will replace it?" The simple matter is that as long as some people are playing RPGs, there will always be new products, formats, businesses, and business models to cater to those players.

 

[Dragon Snack]

See, every time I see this brought up, nobody seems to mention Auggie's, the cut throat online DDM singles seller...

A couple of years back WotC DID threaten to put him out of business - because HE DIDN'T HAVE A BRICK AND MORTAR STOREFRONT. Now, he's still happily selling today so he worked around it, but by his own admission he was violating WotC's terms about having a B&M storefront (all he had was a flea market stall). So, for all the "WotC would never do that!" folks, well, they did want to at one point...

Why? Because cut rate internet retailers can depress the perceived value of a companies product because they offer the product at a lower than normal price, making MSRP a bit of a joke (how many people actually paid US$105, plus tax, for the 4.0 core book set?). Now, the customers love the deals and the company loves the sales, so it's not like it's going anywhere anytime soon - but when the owner of a LGS decides to order from Amazon because even he can't beat their deal buying from his distributor (as at least one told me he was going to), that's when it's probably gone too far...

 

[thedungeondelver]

You know, insofar as everyone's hat of dAmazon know no limit...

it seems to me that folks forget that Amazon can actually enable brick and mortar booksellers - look at the used book section, for example.

They're just trying to make a buck; it isn't like they feast on the blood of the innocent.*


*that'd be Wal-Mart

 

[Cadfan]

This is a regrettably common fallacy among small store owners. In retail, you live on turning your stock. For a fuller explanation, with examples, see this post of mine from last year. The short version is that you cannot afford not to accept losses like that.

Here's an even worse one- local gaming store refused to restock blisters of Reaper Miniatures that had sold out. The reasoning was that there were so many blisters of Reaper Miniatures that hadn't sold out that they simply couldn't afford to restock the ones that had. They told me this as an explanation for why they didn't have the figures I wanted, and couldn't be sure when they would get them.

I was young at the time, and didn't think to explain basic economics to an adult. But even then I could see the problem- some Reaper figures are cool. Others are not. The cool ones had sold out. The uncool ones had not sold out. Refusing to restock the cool ones (the ones people wanted to buy) meant that their stock was full of uncool ones that no one wanted to buy. This ensured that they had little to no sales of Reaper Miniatures, thus convincing them that Reaper wasn't a good product line to carry. I suppose it wasn't, if you intentionally sorted through their product line for the least popular miniatures, and then stocked them exclusively.

 

[Relique du Madde]

Personally, sometimes I will pay more to support a local business and/or get the better service and sometime I mail order just to get it for as cheap as possible.

In this economy? Hell no! I'll by where ever it's cheaper. If the savings and the cost of 2-3 shipping and handling still beats the local price (which includes a 10% B&N membership discount) or the not so local price (which includes a gallon of gas and 45 minutes to 1 hour of my time) then I'll gladly order from the gods of E-Commerce and wait a week for the product to ship. That is assuming that I am unable to by the PDF at a discounted price from the publisher (HINT HINT).