I'm new to the boards but I wanted to comment on this thread since it looked particularly inviting; here's hoping that I don't get flamed to high heaven.
I'm something of an old-school gamer, you might say, but I've never known a business that wasn't capable of passing on some kind of discount to its customers, even a minimal discount. The explanations I'm reading, however, make one feel that gaming stores are somehow an the exception to the norm. I find that hard to believe, no matter how much math people are willing to commit to their posts. Frankly, I don't think people are asking for much when it comes to a discount. If 10% is unreasonable, then make it 7%, or even 5%, or even 3% off. I think what people want to see is some kind of effort to show that gaming stores care about their customers.
Politeness is good. Customer service is good. A lot of stores suck in those areas, but I think it all comes down to money in the end (at least for those short of coin), and if gaming stores want to be competitive, then they should find a way to compete. I hate to use a darwinian analogy, but that's always been the nature of business, mega-stores or not.
The gaming store nearest me (self-owned and operated) is more of a hang out than a hard core business. They make most of their money in miniatures, I think, but they also carry books, of which they sell a fair number. Do I buy the books? No, I can't say that I do. I don't make that much to begin with, but I do occasionally buy a back issue of dungeon from them, and that's about it, really.
My real shopping happens online, whether it's eBay or Amazon. I would happily give my money to the FLGS if they could match those prices, but were I to do so at current prices, then that means one less book I could have purchased from Amazon.
Wizards piublishes a lot of expensive hardcover books these days. I'm trying to keep up. I can't do it at a FLGS.
I'm something of an old-school gamer, you might say, but I've never known a business that wasn't capable of passing on some kind of discount to its customers, even a minimal discount. The explanations I'm reading, however, make one feel that gaming stores are somehow an the exception to the norm. I find that hard to believe, no matter how much math people are willing to commit to their posts. Frankly, I don't think people are asking for much when it comes to a discount. If 10% is unreasonable, then make it 7%, or even 5%, or even 3% off. I think what people want to see is some kind of effort to show that gaming stores care about their customers.
Politeness is good. Customer service is good. A lot of stores suck in those areas, but I think it all comes down to money in the end (at least for those short of coin), and if gaming stores want to be competitive, then they should find a way to compete. I hate to use a darwinian analogy, but that's always been the nature of business, mega-stores or not.
The gaming store nearest me (self-owned and operated) is more of a hang out than a hard core business. They make most of their money in miniatures, I think, but they also carry books, of which they sell a fair number. Do I buy the books? No, I can't say that I do. I don't make that much to begin with, but I do occasionally buy a back issue of dungeon from them, and that's about it, really.
My real shopping happens online, whether it's eBay or Amazon. I would happily give my money to the FLGS if they could match those prices, but were I to do so at current prices, then that means one less book I could have purchased from Amazon.
Wizards piublishes a lot of expensive hardcover books these days. I'm trying to keep up. I can't do it at a FLGS.
