Is the age of discounts over?

[Storminator]

Again, we have had polls here on ENWorld.

Oh. Well then...

Do you seriously consider this to relevant?

PS

 

[Raven Crowking]

Again, we have had polls here on ENWorld. Most people learned from friends at home, not in a store and most people have never played at a store or at a convention.

Even if we grant that the polls on EN World are representative of the hobby as a whole, I would have to say that, while I learned at home, I first became aware of the game through a TV spot. Now, did the TV spot begin because of a hobby store? I don't know. I do know that, by running games at Golden City Comics, I brought people into the hobby.

We used to have regular HeroClix gatherings, too. And those brought people into HeroClix. The opportunity to see, to sit down and try, and to watch people having fun is important.

Likewise I brought people into the hobby by playing in my High School library way back when, and in military Rec Centers when I was in the US Army.

You might play in your basement, but it is doubtful that people wandering by your house are going to see you and get drawn into the game thereby.

 

[rgard]

I would not want to go up against Wal-Mart as any sort of retailer.

Thanks. It's actually kinda funny when the pro-Walmart view is put forward by some radio commentators, here is their perceived chain of events:

1. Walmart builds a store.
2. The local retailers who sell clothes, electronics and other consumer goods die to Walmart's good prices.
3. Employees from the local retailers get jobs at Walmart when their employers fold.
4. A whole bunch of boutique and specialty shops spring up around the Walmart, the area is revitalized economically as a result and theoretically everybody is happy.

The assumption in step 4 is that the boutique shops don't complete with Walmart as Walmart doesn't sell the same stuff or doesn't provide the same service.

Great in theory until Walmart starts selling what the boutiques shops do. A FLGS (mine was friendly) is by most definitions a specialty or boutique-type shop.

Thanks,
Rich

 

[2WS-Steve]

I got into the game because I could buy the basic box in a mall toy store -- and that's the only RPG stuff they carried.

I'm rather suspicious of the claim that FLGS's serve as much of an entry point, since they're typically in out of the way places and one has to specifically look them up, then drive to them -- something you'd really only do if you were already involved in the hobby.

However, they might serve an important function of helping new players transition into lifetime players (as opposed to moving on to something else). Still, it wasn't until I was older and had access to a car that dedicated hobby shops even showed up on my radar.

And, by then, I was already an addict

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Oh. Well then...

Do you seriously consider this to relevant?

Much more relevant than LGS being the entry point for zillions of gamers because we want it to be so.

 

[Arnwyn]

Again, we have had polls here on ENWorld.

Uh huh. And?




(While I don't necessarily disagree with you, you're going to need to do a lot better than that before declaring that your statements hold any more water than other posters'. Huh. And I thought the day of quoting "ENWorld polls" had long since come and gone, since we're all aware of how laughably inaccurate and irrelevant they are.)

 

[Sigdel]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Felix
Assume:

Hobby stores grow the market demographic.
Discount retailers do not grow the market demographic.


No. That's an obviously untrue assumption based on illogical emotional ties to the notion of an FLGS. The local Barnes & Noble sells more copies of the D&D Basic Game than I've ever seen stocked at a game or comic book shop.

So, what has barnes and noble done to help the hobby market grow? Has your store hosted a game day? Did they participate in free RPG day on the 23rd? Can you camp out at one of those cute little tables they have and run a RPG or minis battle game? I doubt it, but then again, your store might be the acception.
What Felix was pointing out was that places like amazon make their buck by selling in bulk. If you take that advantage away from them, they suffer for it. Now online hobby stores like RPG.net offer decent prices and a community of people you can ask for more info on a product. Something the FLGS can do in a limited scope. And big retail stores (like barnes and noble) wont do.

 

[Felix]

In the late 1990s and early 21st century, before online retailing really took off?

You mean like in 1995 when Amazon launched whose initial (and successful) market strategy was to not turn a profit for 5 years?

Like during the .com bubble of 98-2001 when everything was going online?

Yeah. That's when I mean.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

I got into the game because I could buy the basic box in a mall toy store -- and that's the only RPG stuff they carried.

I'm rather suspicious of the claim that FLGS's serve as much of an entry point, since they're typically in out of the way places and one has to specifically look them up, then drive to them -- something you'd really only do if you were already involved in the hobby.

However, they might serve an important function of helping new players transition into lifetime players (as opposed to moving on to something else). Still, it wasn't until I was older and had access to a car that dedicated hobby shops even showed up on my radar.

And, by then, I was already an addict

Yeah, my gateway was the Red Box set in the toy department of a store.

 

[rgard]

Much of the discussion here is about whether the FLGS provide any benefit to the industry. I think we'll be able to determine the answer when most have closed their doors.

On a tangent, how many here think they'll be able to enjoy their amazon or on-line retailers' discounts when the FLGSs are gone?

Thanks,
Rich