Death of the LGS

[billd91]

My FLGS has birthday and good grade discounts. So you tend to get people coming in with birthday money to spend. And you get parents willing to reward kids who keep up the studies as well as game.
I don't know how it helps the total bottom line there, but I sure tend to spend a big chunk of change on my birthday.

 

[Mallus]

ISee re: Amazon and deep discounting loss leaders.

Speaking of Amazon... have you looked into partnering with Amazon and selling some of your stock through Amazon Marketplace? A lot of brick and mortal retailers seem to use it. Obviously you can't compete with them on the new 4e books, but on small press and out-of-print items?

Trying to lure customers away from online retailers is tilting at a contemporary windmill. But online retailers like Amazon offer some --seemingly, again, as I haven't looked into the specifics-- tools that can help small independent businesses.

 

[gamersgambit]

I live in NYC and I've yet to find a FLGS in the area... there are LGSs, but they are far from friendly. So if my gaming dollars help employ friendly people and /or support a company with better prices in another part of the country that's great in my opinion.

People seem to confuse FLGS with LGS... I would be willing to pay more at a FLGS as the "friendly" part is a service that is valuable to me. I refuse to pay more just because they are local.

One of the biggest compliments my store gets is in the form of a number of customers from New York City who take the bus (or drive) out to NJ (we're really only about a half-hour away from the city) rather than do business with Neutral Ground or King's Games, both of which are apparently sub-par in terms of friendliness and customer service and...well, everything.

 

[Corjay]

Speaking of Amazon... have you looked into partnering with Amazon and selling some of your stock through Amazon Marketplace? A lot of brick and mortal retailers seem to use it. Obviously you can't compete with them on the new 4e books, but on small press and out-of-print items?

...But online retailers like Amazon offer some --seemingly, again, as I haven't looked into the specifics-- tools that can help small independent businesses.

Great idea. There may be lots of opportunities out there through such online assistance.

 

[Mallus]

Great idea. There may be lots of opportunities out there through such online assistance.

Thanks. It was my wife's. We were talking about some of the issues raised in this thread over Vietnamese food last night.

 

[Raven Crowking]

Music piracy rose in direct response to the technology that enabled it. Also, explain the success of legal music download services like iTunes, which is thriving despite the effect of illegal music downloads.

The technology that enabled it was developed specifically as a counter to price gouging (perceived or actual) in the music industry. Services like iTunes specifically lower prices, removing the perception of price gouging, and, by negative advertising related to file sharing, add a perceived value at a low cost. Of course, if legislation passes that makes playing your iTunes at parties illegal (and that legislation is on the table here in Canada), then things might change.

Which does not mean that all competitors exert equal or meaningful pressure. An independent game store does nothing to Amazon's pricing on game books.

In your worldview, why does Amazon offer a deep discount, if not to get you to purchase from Amazon rather than elsewhere?


RC

 

[Corjay]

The technology that enabled it was developed specifically as a counter to price gouging (perceived or actual) in the music industry. Services like iTunes specifically lower prices, removing the perception of price gouging, and, by negative advertising related to file sharing, add a perceived value at a low cost. Of course, if legislation passes that makes playing your iTunes at parties illegal (and that legislation is on the table here in Canada), then things might change.



In your worldview, why does Amazon offer a deep discount, if not to get you to purchase from Amazon rather than elsewhere?


RC

Again, keep it on topic. This is so far off topic as not to be relevant to this thread at all. I would prefer that this thread stay open before a mod changes the status. If you wish to continue to discuss that issue, please fork it.

 

[Silver Moon]

Interesting thread, I've read all eight pages and there is a key point that has been hinted at but not directly stated - We Are In An Economic Recession!

During the last recession in the early 1990's there were four FLGS in the Boston area (where I lived at that time) that closed due to the economy. The same thing is happening now, because when it costs an extra $ 30 a week for gasoline and an extra $ 20 a week for food that's $ 50 which isn't going to be spent at the FLGS, no matter how much the customers might like the place.

My upstairs tenant manages a Comic Book/Sports Cards/Gaming/Used Paperpack store, and right now they are hurting big time due to the economy. They've had to cut back on personnel and are buying stock much more thinner and cautiously these days in hopes of getting through this economic downturn.

My friend's store will survive, as you probably will too Gamersgambit, because of a diversified product line and willingness by the owners to make adjustments. But the smaller stores with narrower lines won't and that is the sad reality. They'll go under not because of Internet Sales or Big Box Bookstores, but because they are in a "Nice to Have" business rather than a "Have to Have" business, which during an extended economic slump can't be sustained.

 

[tenkar]

One of the biggest compliments my store gets is in the form of a number of customers from New York City who take the bus (or drive) out to NJ (we're really only about a half-hour away from the city) rather than do business with Neutral Ground or King's Games, both of which are apparently sub-par in terms of friendliness and customer service and...well, everything.

I might have to make that trip one day.

You left out the Complete Strategist... where old games go to die... stuff that was old and out of print 25 years ago can still be found... cramped, nasty place with no "friendly" at all. Oh, and no place to game.

 

[gamersgambit]

Two things.

Re: Amazon marketplace.

To be honest, this fills me with more than a little trepidation, but perhaps it's trepidation from ignorance.

My thoughts are, I would have to link to it from my website. I don't know what the fees are for Amazon Marketplace (AM), or how, exactly, it works, but from a "capturing my own business" point of view, I envision this as sorta shooting myself in the foot. Potential Customer (PC) looks me up online, clicks on amazon link, buys from there instead of coming to my store. I have overhead on my store. The space I'm devoting to the product in the store doesn't get paid for by the AM revenues, as I have to discount my stuff on AM very deeply to compete, take all the time involved in shipping and other maintenance concerns and putting all that stuff online (one of the reasons I don't have an online store is a lack of time and employees to do so), worry about shipping and all of the myriad other things that come with it.

Re: Recession

This is another one built, perhaps, on ignorance.

It's my belief that the recession (let's assume it's here for the nonce and eschew debate on whether or not it is a recession, downturn, or what have you) will have less impact on my product lines than other possible retail stores. Rationale: While RPG books can be bought cheaper online, shipping costs are likely to go up. That, however, is not gonna save me. However, the other things in my store such as used video games, boardgames, and to a lesser extent CCGs represent entertainment options that are more reasonably priced and more durable than other entertainment choices (such as new video games and movies). Thus, operating on the assumption that, short of starvation considerations, people in depressed economies prefer to have entertainment in their lives (if for no other reason than to distract them from miserable economic woes), they'll turn to less-expensive alternatives to going out for their entertainment, such as staying home and...playing games.

Thoughts?