D&D 5E (2014) BAM: Where's 5E??

[Mavkatzer]

This is merely anecdotal, but the BAM near me, right before Christmas, had several 5E DMGs displayed on a table right inside the front door. I don't know what that means in relation to the other information shared here. But I do know it made me happy to see them.

 

[IgnatiusJ.Reilly]

Yes, I had to dig around quite a bit when looking for a second player's handbook, my first one fell apart. They wanted $50 for it, so I just went to Amazon and got it for $30.

 

[txshusker]

The week before Xmas, The BAM near me had a table in the middle of the traffic maze that leads into the shelves with about 10 starter sets and 3 stacks of PHBs and the DMGs and MMs were very easy to find on the shelf. Don't know if it's 'cause they were overstocked and trying to move them... but I picked up the starter kit, which I didn't have until then. So it worked on me.

 

[Dungeoneer]

Speaking as a former big-box book store merchandiser, I'm calling BS on some of this.

If BAM operates anything like B&N or other big-box book stores, the merchandising team doesn't pay much attention to the obscure little corner of the dungeon where they've stuck the "game books" (I noticed videogame strategy guides crammed in there too...yeah, those shelves are not seeing a lot of turnover). It's all about the front of the store, the endcaps, the big displays, the things that corporate sends special signs for.

Hold onto your hat: this was one aisle up from the front of the store. The front row? Manga. They aren't hiding this stuff in the back anymore.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Hold onto your hat: this was one aisle up from the front of the store. The front row? Manga. They aren't hiding this stuff in the back anymore.

Good news for gaming stuff! Doesn't contradict my broader point about nobody paying for much on those shelves, though. It's still "in the stacks." That info does nicely dovetail with the idea that Paizo would pay for some shelf banners -- if BAM is selling enough gaming stuff to give it that real estate, they likely see some room for growth, and it's probably selling better than, I dunno, art books or whatever.

Does make me wonder where the other comic books are, though. The Marvel/DC books are typically with the gaming stuff and the manga, but usually a little more prominent thanks to their recognizably. If gaming stuff is row 2, and manga is row 1....

 

[Mark CMG]

As a former bookseller, I can assure you that many times the book that is going to end up with that coveted cover facing out shelving is entirely based on chance when the person stocking the shelves needs to solve the puzzle caused by new stock that needs to be shelved and old stock being sold while trying to avoid undesirable gaps on the shelf. End caps are a different story, since those are designated by corporate usually.

As a former bookstore employee and asst manager for three different stores (from two major chains) I can say that this was as true in the early 1980s as RCX says it is now. Sure, there are some exceptions if a store manager has some pet sections or favorites to highlight. Otherwise books are stocked on the regular shelves quickly and neatly so that it appears appealing at a glance, more so than due to vigilance over the newest or special products.

 

[Queer Venger]

Let's play a fun game. It's like "Where's Waldo/Wally" except instead of a guy in a stupid hat you have to spot the 5e D&D books on the roleplaying games shelf at my local Books-A-Million this morning.

Ready...

Set...

Go!

View attachment 65886

Follow up questions: imagine you don't closely follow tabletop gaming news and you are just casually browsing the shelves at this store, what version of D&D do you think is the latest one? What game do you think is most popular?

Tongue-in-cheek games aside, I'm quite curious about what is going on here. When I was in store it took me about five minutes to spot ANY 5e books. They are obviously not being given priority shelving or prominent placement even relative to the 4e books. Is this because of sales? Is this because the distributor has dropped the ball? Is this a vast conspiracy perpetrated by the Pathfinder-loving staff at BAM?!?*

* Hahah just kidding. The staff at BAM probably thinks Pathfinder "is kinda like Magic".

Ive been to a few stores in my area, this type of display is not uncommon, you can tell the owner/staff are really biased towards PF. This is unfortunate, because as you say a casual browser will miss the new 5e books. Is this place a preferred network store?? Because if they are, I wonder if you should send this to WPN.

At my FLGS, which is WPN preferred store, D&D 5 has a display all to itself and its stocked fully. PF also has its own shelf display (which is 3x the size).

 

[Beleriphon]

At my FLGS, which is WPN preferred store, D&D 5 has a display all to itself and its stocked fully. PF also has its own shelf display (which is 3x the size).

Nope, its a Books A Million a big box book retailer akin to Barnes & Noble. The Chapters bookstores in my area at least for the most part have employees capable of recognizing that D&D and Patherfinder aren't the same thing and will usually keep them on separate shelves. Mind you Chapters also has a whole section for boardgames and tends to keep stuff like Lords of Waterdeep well stocked along with stuff like the Settlers of Catan.

 

[Mark CMG]

you can tell the owner/staff are really biased towards PF

You've spoken to any of them?

 

[steeldragons]

Having just visited a Barnes & Noble at the beginning of the week (in search of a MM and DMG), I can honestly say, their organization of these materials was little better.

For 5 minutes I was scanning the hodge podge shelves, with rows of Pathfinder materials, 2e reprints, 3.x PHBs, MMs and DMGs, 4e PHBs (1, 2, and was there a 3?), MMs (1, 2, and was there a 3?), and DMGs (1 & 2?)...eventually, in disgust, I happened, quite by accident, to notice the remnants of the 5e "end cap" it's called? Which was about 15 PHBs and a half dozen Rise of Tiamats, stacked , face up, on the floor...and a single MM remaining on the facing out shelf (which I scooped up after checking a few pages for printing smears and the like, all good. It was MINE!).

Has the DMG not hit B&N yet or were they just all gone from the holiday rush? I am chalking some of the disarray of the whole thing to the fact it was 5 days after Xmas and the store was still reeling/trying to get rid of its holiday stock. But the fact there were NO 5e books on the "normal" PF/D&D/gaming shelf where I would imagine everyone would go to look, was a bit disconcerting. But the PF materials do, notably, overrun the shelving compared to 3 past editions of D&D.

When I got my PHB from them [a different location, but a B&N], in Sept, I also could find noting but past editions on the shelves. But then, after asking, was directed to where the PHB and RoT (that's the one with the white dragon on the cover, right?) were right up front, on the "new release/hot stuff" tables in the front of the store.

I was surprised the (new enough, I would think) MM wasn't to be found their as well.