Local Games Stores Are Dead!

[romp]

I think its very possible to run a gaming store successfully. The caveat here is that in order to run one successfully the employees need to go up and beyond the normal customer service standards. Unfortunately, time and time again I have seen local gaming stores (Ive moved around a lot having been military) that have employees who show little regard for the customer, unwillingness to cater to customer needs (many wont even special order for you!), and a general lack of knowledge of the products they carry. These stores, imho, are destined to fail and go out of business (Ive seen it in a few cases already). With internet bookstores offering discounted items quicky and with minimal hassle, the gaming store proprieter must increasingly raise the bar for customer service and product availability in their store.

Oh, very well said, to operate a FLGS you must have a passion for it, it is not a way to enrich yourself. I myself find the internet a very attractive medium for gaming because I am hard of hearing and the 'net does not care whether you can hear. But I love the feel of a book in my hands and do not expect PDAs or electronic paper to change that at all; hence, .pdf's will never be more than a curiousity to me.

A generation may change things and today's kids may accept .pdf's the way we accept computers compared to our parents inability to even program a VCR.

FLGS's are still going to be around, but they are never going to be a get-rich-quick scheme. In the same way that more and more games at cons are now sponsored by a company unlike before when most games were just run by whoever. An FLGS will need to go an extra mile to attract and retain customers. Just as a way of survival.

 

[Stormfalcon]

I don't think the gaming stores are going away anytime soon, and I don't think they're in any serious trouble, at least not in any more trouble than any other store in this economy. As others have pointed out, stores are becoming more diverse in what they offer to the local gaming communities, such as demo games and tournaments. They're also good for local gamers to meet and compare notes in person. None of these things can be adequetely met by net stores.

There's also another factor: customers who want to support their local stores and economy, and who rarely (if ever) shop by net. I'm one of those. I like walking into a store, browsing through merchandise and checking the quality of the items offered in person. I like being able to make friends with some of my local game dealers, and having them know what to recommend when I stop by to make a purchase. A good retailer will always give me better service than a net store can possibly offer.

 

[Ezrael]

Once it becomes an easy and viable alternative to use a PDF instead of a book, then maybe. I see more threat to the FLGS from Amazon, quite honestly, than I do from electronic downloads. I certainly wouldn't buy the Player's Handbook or DMG as a PDF right now, and I *have* an iBook. In order to get the whole page to display on the screen, I have to tilt the computer on its side.

Tablet PC's may be a way for this to start becoming more common, but it's still just easier to pick up the book and flip to the page for most people, and less intrusive. Also, I'd feel really uncomfortable passing my laptop around during a game session.

 

[Treebore]

I will believe .pdf's are the wave of the future when I finally see that paperless office I have been hearing about since the early 80's.

My FLGS stays open because he also rents anime movies and rents time on networked computers. Plus he charges to play in his store. Plus you can only eat the snacks he sells, which are reasonably priced ($.50), so I don't really care about his "monopoly". He also sells comics, art, and related toys. Related being to the comics and the anime, and not being easy to find at toys r us. Now if only he would carry more Gundam.

 

[Vaxalon]

Another thing that game stores allow that online purchasing doesn't is the chance to peruse the book before you buy it.

 

[storyguide3]

Your obviously not very up to date with the technological advances of our time. Electronic paper is just around the corner. Electronic paper can be reused and reused, thus you'll end up with only the need for one electronic paper book with a couple of Gigs of flash memory that'll hold a couple of hundred books.

And as soon as it can be folded and stuffed in my pocket while I sit on it without danger of becoming unusable., can be placed near a magnet or other strong EM source with impunity, and will run forever without power, then it will be good enough to replace a book. Till then, no thanks.

 

[WayneLigon]

Your obviously not very up to date with the technological advances of our time. Electronic paper is just around the corner. Electronic paper can be reused and reused, thus you'll end up with only the need for one electronic paper book with a couple of Gigs of flash memory that'll hold a couple of hundred books.

More than 15 years ago, I heard about 'the paperless office'. It was 'just around the corner'. It still hasn't turned that corner yet, and barring a drastic breakthrough, might never save in certain specialty shops.

You know, except for the 'gigs' part, I heard that digital paper 'just around the corner' about five years ago. And about five years before that.

 

[Xeriar]

The best store I've ever seen in this regard is Outpost 2000 in the Twin Cities. Jeff the owner ran tournaments 6 days of the week, sometimes multiple tournaments on the same night. He charged no entry fee except that you had to buy 1 or 2 packs of whatever game you were playing. In this way he was able to move product, encourage people to come into the store, and very rarely did anyone ever buy only the minimum I'm sure.

Another Outpost Goer!

Small world.

Jeff is also good at sales and marketing, as well as not intimidating parents.

I also routinely special order hundreds of dollars worth of books from him.

 

[jgbrowning]

I would really doubt it. As long as there are people who enjoy in keeping a hard copy, there will always be a need.

Besides, there are poeple like me who have bad eyesight, and can't stare at a monitor for more than 15 minutes at a time, even though I often do. That way, i would rather have a book that I can put downa nd rest my eyes anytime without having to worry about how much electricity I am wasting (even though I know it is very minimal)

And a book cost $30 and you can lug it anywhere. Whereas a desktop costs more- and doesn't go anywhere. An iBook costs much more, so i can't see anyone giving up the cheap alternative yet. And printing it off the web just feels funny to me. You sit down at a gaming table and pull out a 500 page folder with printouts from yesteryear... the printing cost itself would have paid for the book itself, and with the pride of knowing that you have supported the designers and creators of that book...

Price, quality (ease on the eyes), and portablity for electronic products have massively increased in the 30 year period since 1973. I expect the increase to be equal, perhaps even greater, in those three areas over the next 30 years.

There will always be books, at least in our lifetimes. People like them. But it's not inconceiveable that slowly generations will grow up and be weened onto electronic devices just as in generations we have been weened onto books. Something like the movement of music from hardcopy to portable files like mp3.

Suzi's little brother, doesn't buy CDs. He buys files. Its normal for him and all his friends, while it seems weird to me. I like CDs. There's basically three new "generations" of users happening in the next 30 years and I wouldn't be surprised if that last group might prefer electronic over hardcopy books.

joe b.

 

[Xeriar]

My FLGS stays open because he also rents anime movies and rents time on networked computers. Plus he charges to play in his store. Plus you can only eat the snacks he sells, which are reasonably priced ($.50), so I don't really care about his "monopoly". He also sells comics, art, and related toys. Related being to the comics and the anime, and not being easy to find at toys r us. Now if only he would carry more Gundam.

You know, this is another bit - Jeff's Outpost 2000 sits right next to a Pizza Hut.

Those two businesses must love eachother to death.