Game Stores, d20, and stupidity...

[Horacio]

Maybe not, Horacio - figure up how much you spend on shipping costs in a year and see if it is cost effective. Now, you might have to wait several weeks before getting a "new" product, but that might be better than paying for shipping... (shrugs - maybe)

Well, I spend let's say $18 for each order with Talon, and, let's say, 12 orders/year, it gives me... OH MY GOD!!!!!! 18x12=$216/year!!!!! In shipping costs!!!!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOD!!!!

Derek, can you confirm me the $250 thing?

 

[Jim Butler]

My local store receives the new stuff a month after the release date. It's really annoying. So now I buy everything in internet (talon comics and orcsnest), but the shipping cost are killing my wallet

I've been hearing comments like this more and more, and it's quite disturbing. As a manufacturer, I want to sell all of my products to local hobby shops where gamers can go and pick them up. And see all of the other cool games out there. And make new friends. And play games. And...

Unfortunately, I know it's hard in some areas (I grew up in Gillette, Wyoming). When I started up the Bastion Press online store, I decided that shipping should be free anywhere in the U.S. I recently changed that to anywhere in the world.

Good Gaming!

Jim Butler, President
Bastion Press, Inc.
http://www.bastionpress.com

 

[zouron]

buying online usually have this huge shipping cost, and since I usually don't have enough money to go wild and buy huge amounts, I end up paying late overpriced books at the local shop, all that said I loved what bastion press did, perhaps one day soon I can afford a product form there yeah!

 

[NLP]

buying online usually have this huge shipping cost, and since I usually don't have enough money to go wild and buy huge amounts, I end up paying late overpriced books at the local shop, all that said I loved what bastion press did, perhaps one day soon I can afford a product form there yeah!

I buy from Taloncomics.com. All their product is 15% off cover. Thus if you buy a $20.00 book, it only costs you $17.00. Shipping for the book will be around $4-5.00. That means you'd be paying between $21-22.00. If you figure how much a $20.00 book would cost you at your local game store, factoring in sales tax, you're looking at about the same price.

The advantage is two-fold: The more books you buy, the less you pay per book for shipping (thus you come out ahead in the end) and, The online stores generally carry anything you want from any company. If they don't have it in-stock, they can get it in a few days.

 

[Ashy]

I think that the original issue here was that international shipping is a bit more costly than US shipping, trancejeremy.

 

[Horacio]

I think that the original issue here was that international shipping is a bit more costly than US shipping, trancejeremy.

I don't know if it's the original issue, but it's at least my issue... Too much money wasted on shipping.

BTW, the offer of BastionPress seems really really a good idea to me...

 

[Dartnet X]

Over where I live we have 2 big sources. 1.) A hobbey clone, err I mean Town, who decied to buy a ton of stuff from Paladium and no name game companyes. This is after comming to the stunning conclushion that Wizards, Steve Jacksons, Pennical, Aldric, and White Wolf were just too "unvibale" as companeys to order books from. Needless to say that they stoped geting new game stuff at the first of the year because of the "death" of the hobbie. 2.) The other store however sends out an E-mail flyer 2 months before book are schedued to come out asking what pople whant. The they let pople special order stuff. On top of that they hold orders for up to 2 weeks.

Guess who gets my money?


Dartnet X

 

[spacecrime.com]

But they did have at least 12 copies of Chaosium's d20 adventure, Slaves of Fate.

Why on Earth would they buy so many copies of one module?

And why don't they carry more WW d20 or Deadlands d20 stuff?

Eep. As a store owner, I can think of only one justification for buying 12 copies of "Slaves of Fate". If you sold 25-50 copies of Dragonlords of Melnibone when that product first came out, you might expect to sell 12 copies of "Slaves of Fate" in about the same amount of time.

Even if that were the case, though, buying 12 copies of Slaves of Fate isn't particularly smart. Not only has the market changed since Dragon Lords came out, there's no practical reason you can't get 3-6 copies now and more when those copies sell.

Virtually any game store in America can get at least one shipment of product a week. If you've got enough volume to move 12 copies of a module in a week, you can do daily reorders, so there's no reason to have 12 on the shelf at once unless you're going to sell them all within 72 hours. Somehow I don't think that's happening here. (Hell, I don't think that's happening anywhere in America. Chaosium's D20 stuff just ain't that popular.)

There may be good reason for that store not to carry Dragonstar, the White Wolf D20 books, or Deadlands D20. While I find it unlikely that all three lines wouldn't sell in a particular store, it's possible. But my professional opinion is that whoever's doing the ordering for that store is a dumbass.

yours,

Chris Aylott
The Space-Crime Continuum
selling science fiction, mysteries and games
http://www.spacecrime.com/

 

[PrivateerMatt]

The manager at the game store I frequent has flat out told me that he won't order any more d20 product unless a) it comes from one of the Big Four as he calls them...

Now THAT sounds like a challenge! Chris, can you let me know the store's name and number? Or the name and city if you don't have any other contact info... When I hear about a store like that, I like to get in touch and send them a couple of samples.

I can't talk to every store owner, but I do what I can.

Cheers,
Matt

 

[Mindcrime]

Here's the address, Matt:

The Fantasy Shop
9030 Gravois
Affton, MO. 63123
314-631-6046

http://www.fantasyshoponline.com
(They have shops all over the St. Louis Area - this is the one I frequent once a week.)

Good luck

Don't mention me - I don't want to get banned from the store And I like the guys who work there so I also don't want them to think I'm dissing them.

Chris