Wal-Mart D&D?

[Desdichado]

Hey, there's been a lot of discussion about the 3.5 books from walmart.com -- are they also being sold in Wal-mart retail outlets? And if so, are they available there now, since they've already shipped from online?

I want to know if it's worth stopping off on my way home tonight or not to look for them.

 

[Darrin Drader]

Hey, there's been a lot of discussion about the 3.5 books from walmart.com -- are they also being sold in Wal-mart retail outlets? And if so, are they available there now, since they've already shipped from online?

I want to know if it's worth stopping off on my way home tonight or not to look for them.

If Wal Mart were to start stocking D&D books to their shelves, I might actually start shopping there again. However, I would call both possibilities highly unlikely at best.

 

[PatrickLawinger]

I am pretty sure I saw some of the 3rd edition DnD core books at a Wal-mart one time. Surprised me though.

I have a feeling that would be very dependant on the manager. If a Wal-mart store does sell some, I doubt they'll break release.

Remember, if you buy something at Wal-mart.com you can return it to a Wal-mart. Someone might have returned the books I saw and that could have been why the hit the shelves.

 

[Dr. Zoom]

I had the same thought, but my local Walmart Superstore does not stock D&D material. So much for being a "super" store.

 

[Pseudonym]

I looked around the local Wal-Mart here in Danvers, but I couldn't find them. I looked in the books as well as the toy section, but they were no where to be found. I do hope they end up selling them retail, just because seeing them on the shelf next to the bibles would be too amusing.

 

[Hairy Minotaur]

As someone who used to be a department manager at a Wal-Mart, I can tell you the store itself has almost no control of the selection of any books in the individual stores. That decision is made by someone making the buying choices in Bentonville Arkansas, and the actual product is managed by an outside company who works all the inventory in each store. The likelyhood of a D&D product ending up on the self not because of a returned item is about zero. The store manager only influences amount of a particular stock and not what that stock is. My personal oppinion of why Wal-mart is selling these is on a trial basis, since Wal-mart already deals with WOTC due to Poke'mon, and Magic TG I believe WOTC convinced someone to try selling the 3.5 books. Individual stores would only get these books on the shelves if the sales were very high and demand was great. My advice is to go to your local store and let the "store manager" know you saw this product on the website and would like to see it in the store.

 

[2d6]

I had the same thought, but my local Walmart Superstore does not stock D&D material. So much for being a "super" store.

My FLWSS (Favorite Local Wal*Mart SuperStore) doesn't stock RPG stuff. Tho I suspect that now that Topps is buying Wizkids they may start stocking clicky stuff and eventually maybe rpg stuff.

 

[hellbender]

Wal Mart and Hastings are affliated and I waltzed (almost literally) into Hastings and picked up all three for just over $60, it was like buying 3.0 all over again, except that I got them all at once instead of over three months.

hellbender

 

[der_kluge]

I wasn't aware that Wal-Mart and Hastings were affiliated. Are you sure?

I worked at the Wal-Mart home office for the 3 years, and basically what Hairy Minotaur said is correct. The HO governs what kinds of things can show up in an individual store. They have numerous traits that they assign to each store and if the "D&D" trait is applied, then they'll be there. I would imagine that it would, at the very least, need to be defined as a college store. That would probably be a start.

 

[hellbender]

I wasn't aware that Wal-Mart and Hastings were affiliated. Are you sure?

I worked at the Wal-Mart home office for the 3 years, and basically what Hairy Minotaur said is correct. The HO governs what kinds of things can show up in an individual store. They have numerous traits that they assign to each store and if the "D&D" trait is applied, then they'll be there. I would imagine that it would, at the very least, need to be defined as a college store. That would probably be a start.

I am only sure in what the Hastings employees tell me, so I cannot swear in a court of law to it. In the armpit of Idaho where I reside, the two stores are across the street from each other, and basically Hastings is like a tripped out book/record/video store that has all the goodies that Wal Mart doesn't (music with an adult lyric here and there, D&D books, grown up magazines and videos, a huge selection of art books, weird action figures and various odd items, like resin skulls and various hippie-ish gear). I had heard from more than one employee that the two are connected, but it is nothing I can distinctly point out, but then, why would they lie about something as dorky as being connected to WalMart?

hellbender


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