My FLGS just put 4E on 50% off discount

[Mistwell]

I'm watching all this debating and bickering back and forth and I cant help but think that if I played 4E I would be like:

AWESOME 50% OFF 4E BOOKS?!?! WHERE'S MY WALLET?!?!

Why can't you guys just enjoy your good fortune? I'll tell you if it were Pathfinder stuff or M&M stuff? I'd be snatching stuff up quick. Cause of the sale be darned...

With shipping it's a couple bucks less for a minorly used book than the new price through Walmart online and shipped to your local store. We're not talking some huge deal here.

 

[jdrakeh]

Though I can imagine there being a lot more remaindered D&D books online and at amazon.

There were tons of them. I bought things like Heroes of Horror and Lords of Madness in like new condition for less than $8.00 (not including shipping). I really lucked out, though, because shortly after that (about six months later) those same books were selling for ridiculously high prices.

 

[Dinkeldog]

Oh no! I accidentally committed a GAMER HATE CRIME. I guess I better leave the hobby, and the forums, in shame! Or, you could, well, take rod A out of slot B and realize that I'm not bashing GAMERS, I'm bashing a GAMING STORE.

Actually you're not. You're pulling the same "gamers are smelly, oblivious mouth breathers" BS that non-gamers pull and I think it is reprehensible -- especially so as a gamer.

See, you didn't say there was this one guy at the game store who was like this -- yes, we all have experience these people. What you said was the game store made the poor choice of putting the games near people that actually played them, so you had no choice but be in the same space as those vermin.

You can pretend you are being clever or targeting the store or whatever, but the fact is you are insulting the members of your own community in the worst way: by subjecting them to the stereotype of the other that we, gamers, have had to deal with for a very long time.

Perhaps you are a new gamer and you don't remember what the post "scare", pre "geek chic" years were like. If that's the case, I would caution you to use more tact when describing members of your own community. If that's not the case, I am simply calling you out on it, because it is entirely inappropriate.

Guys, let's both take a step back. --Dinkeldog/Moderator

 

[Holy Bovine]

So, as the subject more than implies, my FLGS gave all non-PHB, DMG, and MM books a 50%-off clearance sale on Wednesday.

Also, D&D Encounters is down from 4 tables plus subs if someone can't show up to one table, which includes 1-2 people who used to be DMs.

PANIC!!!!!1!one!!!!!!!2?!!!!!!!!!!!!

On the plus side, Magic has never been more popular, ever.

(A coupla Pathfinder RPG books have sold, but it's worse than the 4E situation.)

Store owner blames a downturn in the RPG market plus typical WotC stupidity plus schools out for summer.

I say this is part of a larger digital trend, which includes Magic and will eventually also eat comics.

Opinions and experiences?

Also, does anyone play Pathfinder **in-store**?

Dammit! My FLGS is having record sales this summer! No discount for me

 

[Holy Bovine]

There were tons of them. I bought things like Heroes of Horror and Lords of Madness in like new condition for less than $8.00 (not including shipping). I really lucked out, though, because shortly after that (about six months later) those same books were selling for ridiculously high prices.

Man, you guys get the best deals. I found Champions of Ruin for $7 at Chapters bookstore (Canadian version of Borders in the states) once but never anything else. Sadly it wasn't worth it

 

[TirionAnthion]

4e Sales

Just another quick comment on 4e product sales. The store I work at chooses to stock 1 of each 4e book available from WotC. We face as many books on the shelf as possible, which is about 42 products. This includes books, tiles and power cards. The rest of the products are spined on the shelves.

For most RPGs we only carry only the main book and the more popular supplements. However, we consider D&D the "flagship" RPG and give it the most space. It is our strongest seller. We also dedicate considerable space to Pathfinder and the White Wolf products as well. These three product lines are our best sellers.

We generally do not discount a product until it is out of print and no longer available or the sales of the product has dropped off significantly.

As a quick note, we also have a section dedicated to used 1st, 2nd and 3rd edition D&D books which has proved popular for the customers.

My store has not received any word from WotC that any books are being taken out of circulation. I follow the online gaming community on various message boards to keep in touch with what is going on in the wider hobby world. I look at the Essential releases as products that compliment the existing product range. I do not worry about the old books suddenly being obselete.

In regards to discount products, it can be a dangerous road. If you commonly discount items within 6 months or so if they do not sell, I have found that customers pick up on that. They start delaying purchases to wait for you to discount the material.

Again, these are just my observations about what has worked at my store. I appreciate everyone who took the time to comment on my previous post.

 

[haakon1]

So many game stores refuse to put anything on discount, ever. Old, slow-moving inventory should be marked down to whatever you can get for it, regardless of how much it cost you originally, in order to free up space and capital for newer inventory.

The trade-off is the game store owners to make.

I liked this policy at one local FLGS, which now moved to a cheaper area, because I like being able to buy old stuff when the fancy suits me. It's particularly nice for items that have "gone collectible", as they don't charge OVER the original issue price, either. Makes it a bit of a treasure trove, but it does mean, for example, that a 3.5 PHB that someone trades in will be gone in 60 seconds, at the original price . . .

 

[frankthedm]

As noted, some stores "1/2 off" things no longer in production.

In regards to discount products, it can be a dangerous road. If you commonly discount items within 6 months or so if they do not sell, I have found that customers pick up on that. They start delaying purchases to wait for you to discount the material.

I love playing Bargain-bins & Bottomfeeders

 

[thatdarnedbob]

I love playing Bargain-bins & Bottomfeeders

Haha yeah that's a great game. Good for the consumer, if they learn the rules and like them. Amazon commonly gives 34% off on shipped, physical, books? That's my new base price for stores to beat. Borders gives me a 33% off in-store coupon every week? That's my new price for brand-new gotta-have-it-now stuff. I love the modern consumer system, and am a level 3 Bottomfeeder with the Ruthless Scoundrel build.