Amazon Sale of DnD Products

[nopantsyet]

Well that's the real trick, isn't it? Dirt retailers live and die on the magic $ale$/square foot ratio. Every square foot of gaming space screws that ratio. What's a dirt retailer to do?

Nah. That's old-school general retail rules. It applies well-enough to dirt, when all you do is move dirt out and move dirt in and if anybody doesn't like your dirt they can pi$$ off cause it's the only dirt in town. However it breaks down when it's something the sells on appeal rather than necessity and that has an interactive nature.

The two gaming stores I know with significant floor space open for gaming do signifiantly better than the numerous other stores I have seen struggle and come and go. Simple reason. Let's say you come in to play WarHammer. "Oh," you say, "I've been wanting a new orc band, I think I'll pick one up." Then, "Oh, my paints at home are dried out, I'll pick up some new ones." Then you start talking to the guy next to you who's painting some elven archers and you hit it off so you decide to meet back and paint some minis together.

Now if you had been at home with your buddies, you would have laughed about how your orc armies are pretty beat up and you really need some new ones. And you could just repaint them and that would help, but all your paints are dried out. And so on and so forth.

So what you may think you lose in space, you more than make up for in time. Niche businesses thrive by catering to their niche, not by following the rules of retail from business 101. However, even space as raw numbers is pretty meaningless if you don't take into consideration other issues such as is it catered to quick pick-ups or browsing. The longer they can keep you in the store, the more money you're likely to spend.

My FLGS has devoted 90% of their floor space to gaming. All their shelves except for two free-standing displays, are along the walls, spaced for browsing. They've got a better selection than any gaming store I've ever been to. And by better, that doesn't necessarily mean more. They're open until 11pm every night. And they're right by a great selection of greasy take out foods. If that's not catering to gamers, I don't know what is!

Long live the FLGS!!!

 

[AussieDM]

An Aussie's point of view

Well, in Australia, given the US/AU exchange rate, our local GST (Goods & Services Tax - 10%) and the fact that there are additional import duties and charges, all RPG products are quite expensive.

For instance the FRCS was around $80 Aussie!

For comparison, the cost of living in Australia to the US is about 1:1. For example, a can of Coke in Australia cost $1.80, about the same as in the US.... Salaries are broadly the same, and whilst our tax system here is barbaric (about 48% for decent incomes) plus the GST, overall I think middle income earning Australians are more cash poor than there US counterparts

So when your FLGS charges $80 for a book, then it gets ridiculous.

So I save up, and buy in bulk from Amazon. Last order totaled $140ish US and I got: F&P, Stronghold Builders G'book, Silver Marches, ELH and Lords of Darkness. This equated to about $275 Aussie.

Given that buying those books here over the counter would cost >$400, then to me that's a huge discount.

And they were all delivered within 14 days!!

So, for me, its Amazon all the way!

AussieDM

 

[thundershot]

Actually I think I'm suffering withdrawl symptoms from not being able to get on the WoC Psi- Boards

Well, that and the usual "Had to use my System Recovery Disc" side effects.

You too? I just got done doing that... I thought I was going to end up losing everything, but then remembered I had a spare hard drive to store my most valuable files in (D&D, pictures, etc).


Chris

 

[Zaruthustran]

Nah. That's old-school general retail rules. It applies well-enough to dirt, when all you do is move dirt out and move dirt in and if anybody doesn't like your dirt they can pi$$ off cause it's the only dirt in town. However it breaks down when it's something the sells on appeal rather than necessity and that has an interactive nature.

Right. That pretty much sums up the point of the post you replied to.

-z

 

[Qlippoth]

My FLGS has devoted 90% of their floor space to gaming. All their shelves except for two free-standing displays, are along the walls, spaced for browsing. They've got a better selection than any gaming store I've ever been to. And by better, that doesn't necessarily mean more. They're open until 11pm every night. And they're right by a great selection of greasy take out foods. If that's not catering to gamers, I don't know what is!

Long live the FLGS!!!

Your Move Games, perhaps? Or have you discovered another such place?

 

[ColonelHardisson]

Re: An Aussie's point of view

For comparison, the cost of living in Australia to the US is about 1:1. For example, a can of Coke in Australia cost $1.80, about the same as in the US....

What is the exchange rate? A can of Coke, depending on where you get it, ranges from 50 cents (which is really cheap) up to about a dollar here in the US.

 

[tleilaxu]

as of two to three years ago there were still some places in lansing MI that sold cokes for 35 cents. Plus, they are way cheaper in supermarkets and in bulk. I couldn't tell you the going price for six packs or twelve packs but it couldn't be more than 35 cents a can...

 

[BadMojo]

I wish I had a good FLGS. Unfortunately, I don't. I also wish I could find the "perfect" online store, but I haven't been able to so far.

I'm all for supporting the industry, but I would have to be kicked in the head by a llama to pay more AND wait longer for the book I've ordered. Gee...is there any way you could ship my book along with a live, rabid raccoon? Ya know, just to make the whole shopping experience even more miserable?

I've used Amazon for CD's, software, a magic 8-ball for my girlfriend, regular fiction books, RPG books, a frying pan...and I've received an acceptable level of service along with good prices. Amazon is even more appealing now since the free shipping minimum has been lowered to $25.

For me, it mostly comes down to availability (Amazon has most of what I want in stock, all the time) and quick shipping (for whatever reason, most of my Amazon orders get processed and shipped very quickly). The price is just the icing on the cake. I haven't really had the problems with slow shipping from Amazon that other folks have talked about. If I could find a well-stocked and responsive Mom & Pop online game store, I would certainly give them a try.

One thing that has been discussed before is that some of the smaller online merchants are selling stuff at deep discounts that *are not* conducive to a healthy RPG industry.

 

[maddman75]

Well, personally I tend not to shop at my LGS. I don't like the guy who runs it or his attitude. He seems more interested in selling collectables and such than gaming. He has a very sparse selection of 3e materials, but has had the same 2e and 1e books on his shelf for the past three years.

Amazon I don't shop at, as they are on the geek boycott list for abusing patent laws. Normally, I go to a chain store, or a good LGS in a nearby town if I'm in the neighborhood.

(Castle Perilous in Carbondale, IL == WINNAR)

His store is what I'd like to see here. Plenty of materials for all types of games. - D&D, battletech, vampire, warhammer, whatever you like. Tables set up to demo terrain and miniatures. Back room full of tables, generally full of gamers. Staff are freindly and knowledgeable about the games.

 

[johnsemlak]

Ah, this thread brings back fond memories of Adventureland, my old gaming shop in Bloomington IL. I wonder if it's still there....

Nowadays, Amazon (or Barnes and Noble.com sometimes) is pretty practical for me. They seem to have just about everything. I come back to the states from Moscow for only brief periods so it's nice to be able to just do a quick 10 minute surf and have everything I want delivered in a few days. I'd be nicer to browse, of course, or get knowledgeable help, but the ENworld d20 guide is pretty good for that.

While I'm here,though, I'll give a plug for Moscow's best gaming ship, Labyrinth. It's literally a labyrinth of rooms for gamers, and they're full of gamers. It has a cafe/bar and shop. I only hope places that this good are spinging up in the US.

One complaint about amazon, they're still selling out-of-date 2e stuff, and at ridiculous prices. I just saw the 2e Complete Wizard's Handbook for $14, Not only has this been updated by a whole slew of 3E stuff, but anybody who actually wanted that work can download a pdf version for 5 bucks at svgames.