Fenarisk said:
A moot point, given that torrents of the materials are already up as of this last weekend for those who would want early previews while waiting one extra day for the print material off amazon.
Not the customer's problem.
It's not WOTC's problem to see that smaller business do just as well as large ones, it's the problem of the business owners and management.
Local Gaming Stores are the only laughable stock of businesses that think it's the duty of the customers to keep them in business. You aren't a charity, you're a business, and the only job you have is to give people a good reason to buy there. Hosting free things, play sessions, or a nice atmosphere that don't require books to be bought doesn't keep a place in business. One can just as easily buy everything half off at amazon and play at your place. Name one other business that relies on some false sense of charity for a business.
Customers don't owe a business anything. Ever. That isn't how real business works.
You're right, customers don't owe businesses anything. They pay businesses money for a good or service. They are not there to make "donations" to the business.
Sure you could just buy everything off of Amazon and still use your FLGS to game, check out new books, etc.,
However, if enough people do this then pretty soon you will find you won't have a LGS, let alone a FLGS. Amazon might be able to sell you discounted books but you can't drop in to Amazon to have a quick look at the latest release. You can't hold gaming sessions at Amazon. You can't put a notice up that you are looking for new players at Amazon. There are a number of things that your FLGS does that Amazon can't.
Having said that, do I buy all my books from my FLGS? No. Like most people, I've only got a limited gaming budget and I try to get the most value out of it I can. Sometimes the prices available online are just too low for my FLGS to even get close to So I still buy some gaming books online (not from Amazon but other online stores) as well as my FLGS.
At the same time I still make sure I my FLGS sees some of my money. For example, whenever the latest set of D&D minis comes out I put an order in with my FLGS. I could probably save myself AUD$30 per case by buying them online but I buy them from my FLGS to keep them in business. That way they are still around when I need to find new players, check out a new product or if I just want to stop in and shoot the breeze about gaming in general. I'm not doing it as a charity. I get my money's worth due to the fact I have access to the things I listed above.
If you don't hold any value in having access to the things I have listed then obviously you don't need a FLGS. It has no use to you. Just don't complain when the FLGS closes its doors and you find it is suddenly a lot harder to find other people to play with or you can no longer flick through a product out before you buy it.
Olaf the Stout
