Local Games Stores Are Dead!

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

This all has the rusty cogs turning in my head. To wit: I have three stores in my vicinity that I could go to for my gaming fix, but each with their own quirks.

One is my standard FLGS, where I do most of my shopping. They have a great selection of RPGs, and a knowledgable staff, but 1) they are in a crappy shopping center with awful parking on weekends, and 2) their RPGs are on a second floor, accessible only to people who think to go up there. For the handicapped, and people like me with knee injuries, it can be a scary climb. More importantly, they have no gaming table, miniature gaming, card gaming, or anything. Strictly retail. They also seem to have been on the verge of folding for about 10 years.

Another is a somewhat scuzzy comics and games shop. They have gaming tables in the back (Mostly WH40K and Magic played there, but occasional D&D), but have a very strange RPG selection. They carry more 2nd Edition than newer stuff (or did, last time I was there). It's great for out-of-print books, or finding obscure WoD books, but I wouldn't go there for new D&D. It happens to be in a very good location though, and gets a lot of foot traffic from the movie theater a block away.

The last is a world-class comic and toy store, in maybe the best location of the three (sandwiched between two high schools!), but with only a rudimentary RPG selection and some card games. Alas, no gaming tables.

Someone needs to sit down with these three owners and work something out. Together, they could be the preeminent comic/game/toy store in the Bay Area.

Hmm. Must organize a summit.

 

[Tetsubo]

I am always going to prefer a hard copy of a game book rather than a digital version. I like the feel of a book. I can take it with me and it requires no power source to read. I love my FLGS. That said... I just pre-ordered four gaming books on Amazon.com. I got a great price and free shipping. I could join the gaming club at my FLGS but that requires paying for the privilage, which bugs me. I buy probably 90% of my gaming materials from my FLGS, but sometimes the online deals are too good to pass up...

 

[AeroDm]

Another Outpost Goer!

Small world.

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

I haven't been in Outpost in a while but Jeff offered some nice discounts when I did go. I heard he was moving into a larger building too.

 

[Kaodi]

My Local Gaming Store

The store in the city where my parents work is dedicated solely to gaming as far as I know. Small place, with one wall full of RPGs, the other wall is miniatures I believe, and a few other things scattered around. There is space to play at the far end of the store, but I am not sure if it is general use of if the owner just plays with his employees/friends. Mike, the owner seems like a good guy, and pretty knowledgeable. The place is called the Kingston Gaming Nexus, or just Nexus, and its in, you guessed it, Kingston. I wonder who around where I live reads these boards..

 

[Sam]

While it is appreciated, I'm not actually looking for advice on running a game store, right now. It's still just a possibility. I am an attorney, and frankly that income will always bring in decent money, even if it becomes only a part time portion of my income. Running a game store would be for pleasure, and because it is desperately needed in my area (if I decide to do it). I merely wanted to get response on this (crazy) idea that books are an archaic medium of communication.

I know you're not looking at immediately starting a gaming store, but if you're thinking about it, look at this thread:
http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=38015

In January of this year I seriously considered opening a store and did a fair amount of research. I determined that I would not be able to support my current standard of living. Undaunted, I continue to play the lottery, with the plan of opening one of the best gaming stores EVAR if I win. (If anyone would like to help facilitate my plan of winning lottery->opening game store, private message me and I'll tell you where to send the lottery tickets. )

As others have said on this thread, I don't think that the threat to FLGS' are are from PDFs. Rather it is from a) mass retailers and heavy online discounters, and b) (probably most prominently from) the mismanagement of the small gaming stores themselves. I live in a heavily populated area (western Long Island, NY). There is 1 gaming store (worth the name) in my county (Nassau). There were others, but they closed. There are two gaming stores in Manhattan. You would think that there would be more "coverage" for gamers. One of the main reasons for my desire to open a FLGS is because there is nowhere within a 45-60 minute drive that has tables available for RPG play (the one store that is relatively close to me is primarily a wargaming shop).

[/end ramble] Anyway, seems to me the problem is with larger diversified retailers realizing the size of the RPG market and moving into it, and lack of adaptation on the part of most FLGS. I guess you can consider this a function of the industry being "burned" by its own success. If the gaming market hadn't grown to proportions large enough for Wal-Mart and Amazon to take significant notice, they woundn't have come into this space. (OTOH, if the industry had continued to stagnate, the typical FLGS would be facing a whole different set of challenges).

 

[Dr. Strangemonkey]

If any of you know anyone who has gone through or is in a Technical Communication program with any sort of theory emphasis you should mention the whole paper vs. electronic thing to them.

That field has done some really interesting work on the issue.

Everything from radical reworkings of Kuhn's paradigm concept to simple tests of the effeciency of paper vs. screens.

I went through one of those tests and paper has a mind boggling edge over monitors/screens in terms of data retrieval. People really remember things they access spatially.

Of course, electronic has a few comparative advantages in transportation and filing.

As a result all of the students turn in papers electronically but bring them in paper form for tutoring and have all of their grammar rules recorded in both environments.

Of course, even if paper were downright inferior we would still keep textbooks around. Mmmm, payola.....

 

[d4]

Re: My Local Gaming Store

The place is called the Kingston Gaming Nexus, or just Nexus, and its in, you guessed it, Kingston. I wonder who around where I live reads these boards..

is that Kingston as in Kingston, Ontario? right across the border from New York State?

i wish i knew about that place when i was in the Army up at Fort Drum! we used to drive all the way down to Syracuse to get gaming supplies. (although Twilight Book & Game in Syracuse is an awesome game store.)

 

[Davelozzi]

.PDFs and other electronic mediums can never replace books for me. Reading online is okay for skimming messageboards like this but when I want to really read something I want to sit down in a comfortable place with a book in my hand. I want nice art, a cover, and a binding.

As for online retaliers, I don't use them. I really enjoy going to my local game stores to browse, and prefer to spend my money there. Plus I like to be hand over my money and walk out with the book, not wait for it to arrive in the mail and not know what kind of condition it will be in.

Long live the FLGS!

 

[ShinHakkaider]

As a DM I really like PDF product.

I load my PDF's of the SRD and several Malhavoc press books onto one 100MB Zip Disk and leave it in my bag at all times.

If I have any down time at work I can just pull it out for reference. Mostly though I print them out at home two sided on my laser printer, three hole punch them and but them in those paper binders. I can beat that copy up as much as I want make notes iin it or whatever, because I have virtual master copy elsewhere. I wont do that with a purchased printed copy. .

If there is a new spell or feat that I want ot use in my game I just copy and paste it to where it's most convienient for me.

Like I said as a DM PDF's RAWK.

As a player though I dont see myself buying a core rulebook or anything like that as a PDF. I like to sit on my couch or at my computer desk and read through a game book.

Right now the balance is fine. I dont think that PDF's are in any danger of disrupting the printed books at all. AS a DM the PDF's are great especially if I'm putting together a game..just copy and paste.


The issue of the local game store I'm a little more torn on. I bought my v3.5 Core Books through Amazon and saved $33.66.
Tha't the price of a fourth core rulebook + tax here in NY. Lately the only things that I pick up at my local game store are mini's and HERO system books, but that's it. I refuse to shell out the full price for WOTC books when I can get them cheaper on line.

The FLGS provides nothing else for me other than the availability of product. I don't play games there. I don't use their space. If I can get it cheaper somewhere else then I will. One or two books cheaper means that I may be able to get a third book. In the end that's all that matters to me. I like the guys at the store, theyre ppretty cool people, but cool doesnt put extra money in my pocket...

 

[Treebore]

I have to agree. I would love to support my FLGS, but saving 10.50 on a $35.00 book is just too much loyalty to give. $7.50 on a $25.00 book is a lot of loyalty. I have over 100 3e books. Say they average a $21.00 a piece price tag, that is $630.00 of loyalty I would have paid to my FLGS. Sorry, that makes for a lot of other purchases.