Where to buy my RPG materials?

[Thyrkill]

After reading the excellent threads on the RPG industry, I got to thinking about not only my spending habits but also where I spent my money.

A little background on my RPG consumption:

For over 4 years I owned a comic book/gaming store, and thus had the advantage of wholesale prices and promotional material. But I am no longer involved in that business (I am now a teacher), and consequently do not have that discount advantage. Unfortunately that 40-50% discount is a hard habit to break, and I have had difficulty buying any product without a discount.

My local gaming shop gives me a 10% discount. A friend of mine runs a game store out of town and gives me 10-30% off my purchases. Amazon gives a standard 30% off all books over $20. I also get a 20% discount at Borders for being a teacher.

My reason for posting:

Several posts on this board have made me stop and reevaluate my purchasing habits. I realize now that, as a consumer, I also have a responsibility to the RPG community and its continued growth. Discount is no longer a major concern, and I am more interested in supporting places and companies that care about the RPG community. I now want to spend my money more wisely and concientiously.

Here are my options and feelings about them:

Local gaming store - 10% discount and a good selection of material, but the store is part of a chain.

Friend's store - Great discount, service, and selection. Helps support my friend. But part of a chain and a little far to travel.

Amazon - Good discount but limited selection. Big corporation.

Borders - Good discount with a limited selection. Another corporate giant.

EnWorld - 10% discount and supports a community I have recently become a part of. Can't physically see the product before I see it.

I would like to get opinions, feedback, and thoughts (no matter how biased) from everyone on where I should get my future RPG purchases.

Thanks very much,
Thyrkill

 

[Thorin Stoutfoot]

price is a big deal

I know in the other thread I said I do hope prices go up, but there's a difference: I don't mind giving money to the publisher of the RPGs --- if they do good enough work that I'd like to buy the product they deserve the money.

What I don't like to do is to give money to middle-men. That means distributors, wholesalers, and retailers. To me, they don't add any value whatsoever. Hence, I buy as much mail order as possible to get the deepest discount I can. (And I'm very patient, so slow shipping doesn't bother me, though I demand top notch customer service even from mail order operations)

What this means is that for photography I buy from New York mail order stores. For cycling related stuff I buy from Bike Nashbar or Colorado Cyclist (though for some reason the local cycling stores are pretty competitive, so when they have a sale I drop by). For RPGs, that pretty much means Amazon.com --- no one else seems to be offering the 30% (+5% I get for using the ecard) and free shipping that they offer. I batch up orders or combine offers with my gaming group to hit the free shipping $99 limit.

Shop smart, and cut the middle man out of the loop. I'd rather pay the designers, publishers (who do take risks by publishing books), and artists who put their work in the product than people who effectively just move things around and skim off the top.

 

[KnowTheToe]

I use a combination of value and local support. For instance I thought the value of the core rule books at $19.95 was fair and I purchased them from local game stores, and I believe the cost of the modules are relatively fair so I purchase them locally etc...

I do no think the class books are close to being worth $20, so I buy them from Amazon for $14. I still think I am paying too much for them, but I will buy them. I would skip them at $20. Magic of Faerun, too much $ for the product.

I read that the industry needs young blood and new players, but at the costs of some of the products it may turn away many players. I played very few published games growing up and almost exclusively played homebrew games and they were no less fun than d20!

 

[Crothian]

I support the local store when I can. They have good service and are nice and friendly.

 

[trancejeremy]

I mostly buy stuff on Ebay, because I really can't afford to pay even 30% off for most RPG items that places like Amazon.com offer. Usually if you wait long enough, you can get older d20 stuff for 30% or less of the original value. Like $10-12 modules tend to go for $2-3, and I got the main Kalamar book for $9.

Still, I do occasionally buy new products from companies I like, so to support them, and when I do, it's almost always from my not so local gaming store.

Also, my not so local gaming store tends to have a crappy selection. And while they are friendly enough, and geeks, they tend to be a bit on the ignorant side. So many times I have to order online to get the products I want.

Anyway, as to what you should do, well, if you've got the money to burn, you should order direct from the companies themselves half the time, then from your local game stores the other half. That would maximize the benefit, I think, though of course, not to you...

 

[TalonComics]

Re: price is a big deal

I know in the other thread I said I do hope prices go up, but there's a difference: I don't mind giving money to the publisher of the RPGs --- if they do good enough work that I'd like to buy the product they deserve the money.

What I don't like to do is to give money to middle-men. That means distributors, wholesalers, and retailers. To me, they don't add any value whatsoever. Hence, I buy as much mail order as possible to get the deepest discount I can. (And I'm very patient, so slow shipping doesn't bother me, though I demand top notch customer service even from mail order operations)

What this means is that for photography I buy from New York mail order stores. For cycling related stuff I buy from Bike Nashbar or Colorado Cyclist (though for some reason the local cycling stores are pretty competitive, so when they have a sale I drop by). For RPGs, that pretty much means Amazon.com --- no one else seems to be offering the 30% (+5% I get for using the ecard) and free shipping that they offer. I batch up orders or combine offers with my gaming group to hit the free shipping $99 limit.

Shop smart, and cut the middle man out of the loop. I'd rather pay the designers, publishers (who do take risks by publishing books), and artists who put their work in the product than people who effectively just move things around and skim off the top.

Must... resist... ranting... AAAAAAARRRGGGGGGH!

Okay, I can't resist. You do realize that no one publisher can just sell their product direct because there's no way they would have time to write the stuff, print the stuff, advertise the stuff, demo the stuff and ship the stuff?

Come on! How the heck do you expect publishers to pull that off? I can just see some poor guy standing on a street corner: "Hey! Wanna try out my game I've created? You can be a wizard, an elf, a fighter..."

A good gaming retailer pimps product for publishers. A good retailer asks questions directly to customers who are interested in purchasing gaming material. A good distributor points out product that the retailer might have missed out on. There's no one taking advantage of the publishers. We all need each other to keep this industry alive and people interested. Also, and this is a big one, how many of the writers and artists out there do you think got started because they bought product direct from the publishers? My answer would be none.

Sigh... Why do I feel I just got trolled?

~Derek

 

[TalonComics]

Thyrkill,

My suggestion to you would be to buy from both the local store and the store your friend works at. Discounts may save you money but supporting your friends and your local gaming economy is the most important things... in my opinion at least.

As an online retailer I've always said shop your local stores first. If those don't work for you or you don't have a local store then by all means shop with me.

~Derek

 

[Mixmaster]

Talon (Derek),

Someone I know wants to buy Gaming Frontiers #2 from you, but the link is not up. Just want to know when.....

 

[Horacio]

If your FLGS doesn't suit you, just buy from Talon Comics, you FIGS (Friendly Internet Game Store)...

Best. Service. Ever.

 

[TalonComics]

Talon (Derek),

Someone I know wants to buy Gaming Frontiers #2 from you, but the link is not up. Just want to know when.....

Give me just a minute and I'll get it up (Hmmm, that sounded bad).

~D