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<blockquote data-quote="WizarDru" data-source="post: 4553815" data-attributes="member: 151">Some things to keep in mind:1.&nbsp; I suspect when you refer to board games, what you really mean are Euro Board Games or Hobbyist Board Games.&nbsp; These are, in North America, considered less mainstream and generally more complex than the traditional board game, thought this is hardly universally true.2.&nbsp; Euro games have gained much deeper penetration in the US in recent years, though rarely in mass-market toy stores.&nbsp; Book stores, by comparison, feature them fairly prominently.&nbsp; My local Barnes and Nobles carries a wide variety on a couple of large displays in the store, one located directly in front of the kids section.3. Unlike RPGs, board games have a much longer shelf life.&nbsp; A 1999 copy of Settlers of Catan is just as usable (rules versions aside) NOW as it was when it first was printed...and equally or more desirable.&nbsp; As the early d20 glut, 2e fallout and now post-4e release environments all show, some games immediately lose their market value and sellability.&nbsp; 3e rules supplements from 2002, especially from non-Wotc sources, are not selling.&nbsp; Supplements for old versions of Star Wars rule sets might sell to one or two completists, but the general demand is long gone.&nbsp; A copy of Puerto Rico from 2004, however, has retained its value (and perhaps even increased it).&nbsp; The Compleat Strategist near me, for example, has games that are out-of-print that online retailers don't stock.&nbsp; Unlike those old RPG supplements, they retain more of their value.4.&nbsp; One reason that WotC's stores failed was that they were fighting a two-level battle...trying to sell to retailers without undercutting them in their own stores.&nbsp; My local WotC store was undercut by the game store in the same mall, because otherwise they'd stop buying WotC product.&nbsp; The same applies to Amazon, but on a greater scale.&nbsp; Board Games are just as vulnerable to this: Thoughthammer.com undercuts brick-and-mortar sellers...but neither amazon nor thoughthammer can compete with the impulse sale.&nbsp; Sometimes you want to just go to a store and buy a thing and have it right then.5.&nbsp; I used to have a FLGS.&nbsp; I special ordered the first OOTS game through them.&nbsp; But then they decided they didn't want to sell the product I wanted, so amazon and thoughthammer benefited.&nbsp; Personal customer service can often trump low prices.&nbsp; But thoughthammer has often given me better customer service and suggestions than most LGS ever have.&nbsp; 6.&nbsp; Board games are self-contained and thus prone to impulse purchases.&nbsp; No one picks up a supplement on the Camilla unless they play WoD....but they might pick-up Knights of Charlemagne purely based on the box.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="WizarDru, post: 4553815, member: 151"] Some things to keep in mind: 1. I suspect when you refer to [i]board games[/i], what you really mean are Euro Board Games or Hobbyist Board Games. These are, in North America, considered less mainstream and generally more complex than the traditional board game, thought this is hardly universally true. 2. Euro games have gained much deeper penetration in the US in recent years, though rarely in mass-market toy stores. Book stores, by comparison, feature them fairly prominently. My local Barnes and Nobles carries a wide variety on a couple of large displays in the store, one located directly in front of the kids section. 3. Unlike RPGs, board games have a much longer shelf life. A 1999 copy of Settlers of Catan is just as usable (rules versions aside) NOW as it was when it first was printed...and equally or more desirable. As the early d20 glut, 2e fallout and now post-4e release environments all show, some games immediately lose their market value and sellability. 3e rules supplements from 2002, especially from non-Wotc sources, are not selling. Supplements for old versions of Star Wars rule sets might sell to one or two completists, but the general demand is long gone. A copy of Puerto Rico from 2004, however, has retained its value (and perhaps even increased it). The Compleat Strategist near me, for example, has games that are out-of-print that online retailers don't stock. Unlike those old RPG supplements, they retain more of their value. 4. One reason that WotC's stores failed was that they were fighting a two-level battle...trying to sell to retailers without undercutting them in their own stores. My local WotC store was undercut by the game store in the same mall, because otherwise they'd stop buying WotC product. The same applies to Amazon, but on a greater scale. Board Games are just as vulnerable to this: Thoughthammer.com undercuts brick-and-mortar sellers...but neither amazon nor thoughthammer can compete with the impulse sale. Sometimes you want to just go to a store and buy a thing and [i]have it right then[/i]. 5. I used to have a FLGS. I special ordered the first OOTS game through them. But then they decided they didn't want to sell the product I wanted, so amazon and thoughthammer benefited. Personal customer service can often trump low prices. But thoughthammer has often given me better customer service and suggestions than most LGS ever have. 6. Board games are self-contained and thus prone to impulse purchases. No one picks up a supplement on the Camilla unless they play WoD....but they might pick-up Knights of Charlemagne purely based on the box. [/QUOTE]

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