Borders Stopped Stocking D&D Minis

[talien]

First there was the Wizards of the Coast store. When it went out of business, I bought nearly their entire stock of D20 games at 50% off.

Then there was the Borders store in the mall. When it went out of business, I bought nearly their entire stock of D&D games at 50% off.

That leaves one Borders left. It's the only place I can buy minis or buy D&D books. With their 20%-30% coupons, it's worth it.

Unlike the Borders in the mall, this one keeps the minis behind the registers. Which is fine, except that none of the staff seem to know what it is, so I have to explain to them what Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures are. And since they walk away from the register while pointing at various things (the latest romance novel, a Stephen King book on reserve, you get the picture), I usually have to yell the description to them across the gap. It's not ideal, but hey, I get minis at a discount so I'm happy.

A few weeks ago, the minis suddenly disappeared. To my relief, I discovered they were actually just behind display books. The first time this happened, the guy at the register was amused by my reaction. The second time, the woman at the register thought I had psychic powers...

Or to put it another way, the staff didn't know the D&D minis were being blocked by books, didn't know they existed, and couldn't figure out how *I* knew they were there. Not a good sign.

Two weekends ago I bought out the last two boxes. They weren't even newer sets.

And that's it. They haven't stocked anything new since, and the boxes I bought were much older sets. They should have had newer sets if they were routinely stocking D&D minis.

Has Borders and WOTC had a falling out? Or is my store just not interested in stocking the one thing I've been buying consistently from them for over a year now?

 

[Rauol_Duke]

and Hastings???

I bought the last box of D&D Mini's at Hastings here and they have yet to restock... for the last two years...

 

[WayneLigon]

It sounds like your store probably isn't interested in stocking much of anything if that's the kind of customer service you get there. It should take them seconds at their computer to know that they do in fact have such things.

Depending on how large the store is, they may not know where such things are, just where they are suppossed to be - when I worked in a bookstore the owner made us do both register and stock and upkeep on a different section every two weeks so we'd know where everything was and where it was suppossed to go. I'm thinking not every manager is like that

They also might not be interested in stocking them. They're behind a counter for a reason and the manager might have decided it wasn't worth the trouble of theft and treating a marginally selling product with special care.

You can always get them online and get them cheaper even with shipping, and get them delivered to your door a brick at a time, too.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Or to put it another way, the staff didn't know the D&D minis were being blocked by books, didn't know they existed, and couldn't figure out how *I* knew they were there. Not a good sign.

More than likely, no one buys 'em. Most Borders employees have a vague sense of a bunch of plastic things over in the "anime toys" section, but it's not something that's crucial to job performance, like, say, knowing if we have the Secret in stock or knowing how to push the little red member's card.

Two weekends ago I bought out the last two boxes. They weren't even newer sets.

And that's it. They haven't stocked anything new since, and the boxes I bought were much older sets. They should have had newer sets if they were routinely stocking D&D minis.

Well, it could easily be that way if they're not selling many. You could always try to get them to order a set for you. There's no instant gratification, but a half-decent Information desk worker should be able to get you what you want in a week or two.

On the plus side, if people start ordering sets, there's a chance they may begin stocking sets better.

Has Borders and WOTC had a falling out? Or is my store just not interested in stocking the one thing I've been buying consistently from them for over a year now

Falling out? I doubt it. I work at the busiest Borders in the nation, and just got a call a few weeks ago from Wizards wondering if we had any stock of the SAGA edition Star Wars book. We keep getting the newly released D&D books. Etc.

More than likely, like my store, yours just doesn't sell a lot of minis. Even if you're buying them, your lone service doesn't warrant much shelf space for the things.

So, either get more folks to buy 'em, or start bugging the booksellers at the Info desk to order 'em for you. They'll be confused at first, but have some patience, they should be able to get ahold of them.

 

[GAAAHHH]

If you have to special order them, it would be easier to order them online. Or find a gaming store that carries them.

Most likely they stopped carrying them because people steal them. Every Borders or Books-A-Million that I've visited has packs of miniatures that someone has opened.

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

Why not just ask them if they're still stocking them? The mere act of asking (especially if others do the same) could twig them to order more.

 

[Pagan priest]

Most likely they stopped carrying them because people steal them. Every Borders or Books-A-Million that I've visited has packs of miniatures that someone has opened.

I ended up buying a pack from a store because it had been opened. Most likely, it became open because the shelf was not high enough and the top caught. I looked in and there was the roof of an AT-ST from Star Wars...

But, on the other hand, I've been in a bookstore that had an open pack on the shelf with only on or two figures left in it.

 

[pawsplay]

Stocking is up to the manager for that departmet, typically.

 

[Venator]

No LGS around you? Where do you live?

 

[JustKim]

The same thing has happened all over here, and I'll tell you why it is. No store- not Borders, not Barnes & Noble, not Hobby Town, not LGS- can carry DDM packs where they're not under constant supervision. They're a great moneymaker, yes, but if you leave a box out it will be opened and after that you will be lucky to sell it to anyone. Thieves don't leave good figures.

It's depressing to think that so many gamers are scumbags, but it's common enough that book stores are responding on a national level.