FLGS rant

[thalmin]

There is a lot of product out there, and hundreds of publishers. It's very difficult to keep up with them all. Hate to burst the bubble, but Monte Cook is not that well known outside of certain d20 circles. You'd be surprised at the number of my regular D&D customers that say "Monte who?"
I hate to admit it, but one of my newer employees last year didn't know who Gary Gygax was. (He was given a quick gaming history lesson.) However he is an expert on Games Workshop. (BTW, does everyone here know the name Greg Stafford?)
For myself, a little over a week ago, someone called looking for the "Scarred Lands Player's Guides." I told him I had no idea when they were coming out. Got 'em 2 hours later. I didn't recognise them by that title. DOH!

 

[bloodymage]

My FLGS is a 40K store. You deal with the money partner and he knows 40K and educational games (their other big product). You talk to the working stiff partner and he's a bit more savvy on RPGs but I still fill him in on the latest stuff. I had to clue him in on AU even though I won't be buying it. They still don't have any stock (they're pretty cash poor during the summer), but I tried to impress on him that it was going to be the biggest thing since d20. Regardless of what they stock, I can talk to Bob and order anything. That's cool.

 

[Bloodstone Mage]

Re: Re: Re: FLGS rant

[hijack]

Congratulations, Bloodstone!

BTW, is that Wayne Newton in your avatar pic?

Whoops...I should have noted...it's not my baby. My bad. It's my friend's, actually. I was gonna participate in Ceramic DM, but I went to go be with her instead (her husband was out of town - he works on oil rigs and such, so she was by herself with the exception of her mother). Thanks for the congratulations! I'm real happy for her.

My avatar is Mike Patton, and it's a pic from the late Faith No More days.
[/hijack]

I'm gonna go ahead and spout off about the Challenge Games and their rival store, Victory Games, here. They sell nothing but miniatures and Magic: The Gathering. They typically don't cater to the RPG crowd, with the exception of the Wizards books. They probably wouldn't know Monte Cook from Gary Gygax, or Malhavoc from Green Ronin. I'm guessing the people who run the local comic book store here know more people in the RPG industry than those gaming supply stores. But then again, RPGs aren't their specialization, so I guess I can't complain.

Cheers!

 

[TalonComics]

I can sympathize. I've been trying to get Fiery Dragon's Dwellers in Dungeons and Darkness from my FLGS for a couple months now, and they tell me the distributor tells them that it's out of stock everywhere. I try to get Counter Collection III: Modern and the distributor tells them it won't be out for a month or more (it was released some time ago).

FDP4002 Dwellers In Dungeons & Darkness Counter Pack - 10.95 (9.30)

FDP4005 Counter Collection III (d20 Modern) - 18.95 (16.10)

Both of those are available through my distributor. If you like, I can set you up for an order for them. My prices are the ones in parentheses.

~D

Btw, isn't Monte Cook the guy who wrote "Of Sound Mind"?

 

[Larry Fitz]

Ok, I'll bite... who is this Monty Cooke guy? Sounds like the host of a game show on the Food Network....




j/k Monte

 

[BrooklynKnight]

I wonder how his Pecan Pie tastes.

 

[Sixchan]

I just got off the phone with my local role-playing game store. At least the guy was friendly, but the ignorance was astounding:

ME: Do you have in that new game by Monte Cook, Arcana Unearthed?

HIM: I think so let me see. I don't think it's that new. I think it's been out for about a year.

ME: No, it was just released at Gen Con a couple of weeks ago.

HIM: [after some searching] I guess we don't have it. What did you call it again? Arcana...?

ME: Arcana Unearthed.

HIM: What was the con you went to?

ME: It was Gen Con. I didn't go to it. I just read about it on the internet.

HIM: A minute ago you mentioned the publisher?

ME: It's by Monte Cook, and it's published by Malhavoc.

HIM: OK, maybe we can get some in next week...


What I can't reproduce here was the total cluelessness of his tone. It was obvious that the guy had never even heard of all of the following:

1. Arcana Unearthed
2. Monte Cook
3. Malhavoc
4. Gen Con

How in the world can a guy run a game store and not be at least passingly familiar with these big names? It boggles the mind.

Hey, at least you have an FLGS. Not all of us recieve that privilege.
My FLCS has half a shelf of gaming material. Ottikars has a whole shelf. Borders has a about half a case (a head height case, not a ceiling to floor case). So about 4 and a half shelves of material, and most of it will be doubles of other copies. Hey, at least you had a chance of getting AU without ordering online.

 

[WayneLigon]

Both of those are available through my distributor. If you like, I can set you up for an order for them. My prices are the ones in parentheses.

If they don't have them today and give me the same spiel, you can bet I will.

 

[KenM]

I do have a FLGS here on Cape Cod. But they sell card games, and GW stuff, NO RPG's. If I mention RPG's, the owner has no intrest in selling it, and would not know one product from the other.

 

[spacecrime.com]

Damn, I'd love to have a game store on Cape Cod.

Any idea how available and how expensive retail space is?

not quite serious, but not joking,