trancejeremy said:
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/