GenCon Newbie question

[Drkfathr1]

This will be my first Gencon, and I'm going primarily for the goodies!

Can any of you vets tell me what to expect as far as dealer prices go? Are products sold at about the same price as everywhere else? Cheaper? More expensive?

I need to prioritize my potential purchases before I get there!

thanks.

 

[billd91]

This will be my first Gencon, and I'm going primarily for the goodies!

Can any of you vets tell me what to expect as far as dealer prices go? Are products sold at about the same price as everywhere else? Cheaper? More expensive?

I need to prioritize my potential purchases before I get there!

thanks.

I've never noted the price to be much lower (if at all) than normal list prices. But then, in Milwaukee, Gen Con attendees counted as distributors and we didn't have to pay tax. In Indy, I hear we will. I wonder if we'll see some minor discounts to compensate.
The main thing about goodies at GenCon is the vast array all in one place, including small press-type stuff and out of print retailers like Crazy Egor. For out of print stuff, expect to pay higher prices than list (for most) but not as high as when Magic and the Cult of Speculation was at its height.

 

[der_kluge]

A lot of the d20 publishers have sales, so you should expect to get things at least a little cheaper than you would at your FLGS.

 

[Cog]

Excerpt from a chat with Peter Adkison (the main dude of GenCon) :

coggie says, I heard from one of the stall owners last year that year the WotC had told them to sell at retail prices (for WotC products) - will that be the same for this year, or can we hope to find some bargains?

gencon_peter says, Well, it's extremely important to us that the manufacturers come and come in force. We figure most people can bargain hunt on the net, so we allow manufacturers to force other dealers to sell at MSRP or block other dealers from selling their products altogether.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

Some guys sell stuff at discount, but price isn't the main reason to buy at Gencon. Buy at GenCon cause you just can't FIND the stuff anywhere else. Go for the rare and hard to find items, and the stuff that you can't get at game stores.

 

[Cog]

There is always the auction room - they have a little store there to buy stuff (not bid for). Also, you can find some bargains on the last day (books that got creased, etc. )

 

[haiiro]

A lot of the d20 publishers have sales, so you should expect to get things at least a little cheaper than you would at your FLGS.

This is sometimes true for other companies as well. One that comes to mind is Out of the Box games (Apples to Apples is probably their best-known game) -- they generally offer a deal on their games, and a package deal for buying multiple titles.

Con specials can also be pretty deep discounts: Rook premiered their steel card containers at last year's GenCon, and the 4-deck size was $20 instead of $40.

I've pretty much always found good deals on a few interesting items each year, but I don't count on it.

 

[d20Dwarf]

Most of the posters have been right on. I try not to buy my mainstream purchases at Gencon, as it siphons too much money off for the COOL stuff you can find at Gencon and nowhere else...and believe me, it is there.

Now if I can just avoid for one more week the 40% off sale on Dwarven Forge that my FLGS is having...

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

Don't forget to check out the art gallery. Lots of stuff there you can't get elsewhere. It's no fun spending all your money on books you could have bought a week later online, and then seeing a piece of art you really want but can no longer afford.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Some do provide package deals, buy X+Y and get Z for less.

As said before, if you can find the stuff at your local store, you don't have to buy it at GenCon, go for the hard to get items.

Best thing to do is walk threw the dealer room first without buying (it is hard) looking at everything thing and taking notes of items that interest you. Then check that list for items you want now, then buy.