Why I refuse to support my FLGS

[Janx]

For every $10 you spend at both of my FLGS, they punch a hole in a card for you. Once you get 10 punches, you can get 20% off of your next purchase.

It's systems like that that show how clueless shop owners are. The card systems end up being more work for the clerk, and likely to get lost. Just offer a flat 10% discount for regular customers and be done with it. Much simpler to deal with.

As for Attack! costing a shop $40, I doubt it. The rule of halves applies here. Generally, in EVERY industry, you can guess the mark up of something, by dividing the price in half. Ok, the jewelry and car industry maybe not. But darn near everything else, including the RPG industry (go read monte's little rant about that, proving my point).

Net effect is, the LGS likely paid $20 and marked it up to $40. Its the bigger chains that can afford to reduce their markup, hoping to make it up in volume.

Game shops are going the way of the railroad hobby shops. They're dying out, because they can't compete with online resources. Online shops can reach a larger target audience than a local shop.

The best thing for the LGS is to become an online shop as well. They can then e-bay goods that don't move as fast (used games are excellent for this).

Another problem most shops have is that they over-order on a regular basis. I used to demo for WizKids games, and I was amazed at how many shops I'd find with TONS of older expansions. Worse, was the slow shop that waited 3 months to order a new expansion. In most industries, the first 3 months is where the majority of the sales will be made.

To compound the error, many of these shops refused to have sales and liquidate their mistake. They retained the collector mentality that this stuff would become rare and worth more to customers. And so the product sat on the shelves, taking up space from other newer releases.

I don't want to see game shops die. But I can see why they die, and unless they change their ways, they will die, regardless of what you or I do about it.

 

[reveal]

It's systems like that that show how clueless shop owners are. The card systems end up being more work for the clerk, and likely to get lost. Just offer a flat 10% discount for regular customers and be done with it. Much simpler to deal with.

Yes, how stupid of them. Now I can never go back because of their inefficiencies. :\

 

[KaosDevice]

I'm lucky my LGS is pretty decent with a good staff and scaling discount cards. They sell CCG, minis and comics though so I think the diversification helps a lot. The game room could use some cleaning but otherwise its' not that bad. They have an order program that is decent so when I have the extra cash I try to spend it there.

The main reason is I like to support locally owned buisnesses. I like to try and keep my money in the local community, but hey, that might just be me. Also, it seems to me that it might be somewhat limiting in the diversity of RPGs by getting rid of the LGS'. I would think (and I could be wrong) that the mid-level producers (which have been mentioned before) just wouldn't have as much drive to create new content if the only market was PDF buyers, due to prohibitive costs of smaller scale pressing.

I'll buy stuff on line, but if I can I try to keep it local and keep some of those smaller scale guys producing quality stuff alive if I can.

 

[jokamachi]

edit

 

[billd91]

It's systems like that that show how clueless shop owners are. The card systems end up being more work for the clerk, and likely to get lost. Just offer a flat 10% discount for regular customers and be done with it. Much simpler to deal with.

Your analysis is flawed in one aspect. The tendency of cards to get lost is a benefit to the FLGS's bottom line. Customers lose track of their cards and blame themselves for their own mistake. So the FLGS gets to look good by having the regular customer promotion without having to make good on it as often as giving 10% every time.

 

[GMSkarka]

And do you know why there are only 2000 stores?

Because if you want to make a small fortune in the gaming industry you have to start with a large one.

I have no problem with people spending there money however they want.

What I take offense with is people who get online and think I should support any business because it isn't online or run by a big corporation, and we should support it blindly.

...um....

That's nice.

Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with my post (which was addressing someone else's comment about the GIN), so I'm not entirely sure why you're posting your rant in response to me.....

 

[fredramsey]

Your analysis is flawed in one aspect. The tendency of cards to get lost is a benefit to the FLGS's bottom line. Customers lose track of their cards and blame themselves for their own mistake. So the FLGS gets to look good by having the regular customer promotion without having to make good on it as often as giving 10% every time.

Watch out with that logic, there, you might hurt someone

 

[spectre72]

...um....

That's nice.

Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with my post (which was addressing someone else's comment about the GIN), so I'm not entirely sure why you're posting your rant in response to me.....

My rant as you call it is targeted at the thread in general but your point about 2000 stores triggered it

Making money and keeping a store open is a difficult task, especially if you are not carefull and creative.

There are very few stores because after a short period of losing money most businesses have to close unless they have considerable money to begin with.

I always get sucked into these arguments (something to do with my MBA training and years of working retail) and nothing ever get accomplished.

One side wants to save money, and the other the industry.

I fall somewhere in the middle....

So if you thought my "Rant" was aimed at you it wasn't, but I hate the general attitude about supporting businesses that don't always deserve our support.

If you thought I was ranting at you I am sorry

 

[jgbrowning]

Something that many people don't often realize is that a simple 10% discount to a FLGS owner is a much bigger hit to the profit margin than one would expect.

For example: The owner buys at say 60% of MSRP and uses around 10-20% of the remaining 40% MSRP margin in operating expenses (rent, wages, shipping, utilities, taxes, etc) leaving only a true profit margin of 20%-30%.

To many FLGS, a 10% MSRP reduction can be anywhere from a 50% to a 33% reduction in profit. This can put them in a situation where it's simply better business to never discount or they'll end up moving 33%-50% more product with no increase in profit while bearing the burdon of additional risk in buying practices.

joe b.

EDIT: And for those who care —out of 12 retailers, 2 own their own building while 10 do not.

 

[Jim Hague]

It's easy for people with money to blow on gaming books/cards/minis to critisize others for buying at Toys-R-Us or Amazon instead of a FLGS. It's hard to support a FLGS when you don't even make enough money to buy your own house and you still have to pay rent and live with roommates.

I don't kid myself...a FLGS owner doesn't care about our financial situation so why should I care about theirs; he's looking out for him & his store. I don't blame him, but it's not cool for people to critisize others for looking out for themselves too. I can't make an effort to support a guy who will give a child $3 for his collectible and then resell it in his shop for $15-$20.

If I was well off and living in my own home, sure I'd give the FLGS my business if the owner was a decent guy...but until then, I have to support myself first.

It reminds me of the time I bought my new car at the dealers and while haggling over the price the salesman said, "Come on man, I need to make some money off this car, I have a family to feed". I have a family to feed also and to top that off I had to buy a new car cause the old one died on me. I think my family would care more about me saving some of the money we weren't expecting to spend on a car & get a good deal rather than supporting this salesman who's trying to rip people off anyway.

See, this is why I'm glad our FLGS - Dragon's Lair, in Austin and Round Rock - does everything right. Don't care about your income? *bzzt* The Lair's owner - not a salesman, but the owner - offered me a tidy sum for some out-of-print games when I desperately needed the cash for things like bills and food. Won't special order or stock products aside from limited game companies? *bzzt!* The Lair stocks everything under the sun...and f they don't have it, they'll special order it and call you when it comes in.

I'm just amazed at the vitriol that gets slung at game stores - because the one near me is near perfect. Lots of game space, friendly staff, clean, knowledgeable about everything from anime to toys to traditional board games to comics to RPGs. They have a subscription service. They make recommedations, they recognize each and every one of their customers (hundreds of faces, at least). That a game store wouldn't do this boggles my mind. For their efforts, the Lair's got 4 locations here in Texas, and shows no signs of stopping.

You want to know why I'll pay cover for my gamebooks? That's why. I don't get that kind of service over the 'Net, nor can I browse new materials over it. So my FLGS gets my meager dollars.