Bookstore treats D&D books like Playboy

[IronWolf]

Theft prevention was the first thing that crossed my mind...

 

[Dirigible]

My hopes for a Lidda centrefold are once against dashed.

 

[BOZ]

there's something to be said for those chainmail bikinis.

 

[Raven Crowking]

but from a practical standpoint, since this pretty much precludes browsing them, I no longer go to that bookstore for gaming books, even though they have them. (Ok, so I order from Amazon most of the time anyway, but still).

Have you considered that the above might be the reason?

Not every store wishes to be a "browsing section" so that you can see the books before ordering them from Amazon.com, you know. Moreover, browsers with no intention of buying that which they browse are almost invariably less concientious about damaging the browsed materials than those who browse to buy in the store.

"Shrinkage" occurs not only due to outright theft, but also due to damages incurred by inconsiderate browsing. D&D books seem to have a much higher chance of suffering wear & tear than, say, the latest Terry Goodkind novel. And there are a lot of people for whom the store's investment is nothing more than a free test drive.


RC

 

[ColonelHardisson]

It's almost certainly theft prevention. Back in the 80s, I heard bookstore employees complain a lot about the high theft rate of RPG books. At a few places I went to, employees told me that D&D books were the most stolen items in the store. And consider that at that time, modules ranged from $5-$8, and hardback rulebooks could range from $12-$20.

 

[VirgilCaine]

It's almost certainly theft prevention. Back in the 80s, I heard bookstore employees complain a lot about the high theft rate of RPG books. At a few places I went to, employees told me that D&D books were the most stolen items in the store. And consider that at that time, modules ranged from $5-$8, and hardback rulebooks could range from $12-$20.

That's sad.

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

I saw it happen in the 1980s; it was a shoplifting issue back then. Probably the same thing, as ColonelHardisson said.

 

[CrusaderX]

My hopes for a Lidda centrefold are once against dashed.

Centerfold? Lidda's so short, she'd only need half a page!

 

[domino]

When you say "behind the counter" how behind the counter are we talking?

Because I worked at a Barnes and Noble for a while, and when we'd put stuff behind the counter, it was because we wanted to promote it, by putting it in a location people are most likely to see it.

And of course, we never put playboys behind the counter, they were sealed in plastic bags, but stayed in the magazine rack.

 

[BOZ]

i knew a guy who used to steal RPG books when we were still in high school. his employment at radio shack was terminated when someone found out how much stuff was missing from the store...

let's just say he has matured a bit since then.