Why I refuse to support my FLGS

[Sebastian Francis]

Anywhoo, just nitpicking a little detail. If your FLGS ain't friendly, then it ain't an FLGS.

Very true. The thing is, my FLGS is, if not outright *friendly*, certainly pleasant. But it's all about $$$.

 

[Sebastian Francis]

How about you save the childish attitude for childish boards? You may not like the tone, but what BelenUmeria is spot on in his reasons why it costs less at Toys R Us. If you're going to come on here and whine about the cost of games, try doing a little thinking first. It's basic economics: If a company can afford to buy a product in bulk, they buy it cheaper and can sell it cheaper.

How is my attitude childish? You may not like it, and it may be grating (I freely admit), but that hardly constitutes "childish".

My point is that *no matter what* the reason is for the higher price at my FLGS, it is a moot point, because the bottom line for me, as a consumer, is that the lower price will almost always win out.

(I say "almost" because there are always rare exceptions: store with higher price has book in stock, store with lower price doesn't but promises to order it in 4-6 weeks, etc.)

 

[Venport]

Joshua Randall:

How much of a price markup dose your FLGS have? I'm sorry but there is a price on the back of the book; I can think of about 10 places in the city i live in that i could buy said book.

each of them charge the price that is on the back of the book (printed by the publisher)

There is even on store that give 25% off of all RPG stuff.

now i know that some places can't offer that but borders and Barns'n'noble don't offer any discount where i live?

How much are the markups?

 

[reveal]

My point is that *no matter what* the reason is for the higher price at my FLGS, it is a moot point, because the bottom line for me, as a consumer, is that the lower price will almost always win out.

(I say "almost" because there are always rare exceptions: store with higher price has book in stock, store with lower price doesn't but promises to order it in 4-6 weeks, etc.)

But it's not a moot point. You specifically came on here and ranted about how expensive a game was at your FLGS. The higher price is the point. And you were given the reasons. But to rant and then say "Whaddever" to someone who gives you reasons why your FLGS charges what it does, that's just childish.

It's like someone saying "The Earth is flat" and then putting up their hand and saying "Whatever" when someone tries to explain the basic science behind the shape of the Earth.

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

As a side note: I think my FLGS ( Source Comics & Games in Falcon Hieghts MN) is owned by Atlas Games. I have also heard that Fantasy Flight Games is also part owner but never been able to confirm that.

The Source is my FLGS also, and I live on the opposite side of the Twin Cities in the western suburbs. I travel out of my way to buy from there. And truth told, I've been getting things at about even when buying from the Source. The Source sells a lot though and I believe they can charge competitively with online places (when shipping costs are accounted for), and combined with their 10% discount card. As much as I make use of their discount card... whoa!

Also, The Source is actually owned by the same company that also owns Fantasy Flight Games, and Atlas Games. It's a holding company called Trident Inc.

 

[smootrk]

A very basic economic theory is that consumers always want more value for the price. The big companies are doing that with the lowest prices. The small stores must must must come up with value that supercedes what the big companies are doing with price alone. They are not being successful at identifying those values and marketing them and therefore they are not getting the consumers' dollars. They (the small stores) need to wise up and change or they will go out of business.

On the plus side, the small store that does figure out that creative niche will likely succeed in a big way.

My suggestion to store owners is to try to form co-ops for purchasing power as a temporary quick fix, and do some major creative thinking for the future.

 

[KenM]

The reason I don't support my two FLGS's is that they don't sell ANY RPG books. They sell CCG's, and mini games, and they have a LAN set up computer gaming. Thats all they do.

 

[MoogleEmpMog]

This is how I see it. Supporting the local game store is considered some sort of moral imperative, but why? The game store will have what what I'm looking for maybe 20% of the time. Internet retailers will have what I'm looking for 100% of the time.

It's no moral imperative for me, it's a practical, even economic, consideration.

Again, I would have to pay (or get from my group) upwards of $500 per month for the service my FLGS provides free.

If we assume the (extreme) price difference of 40%, I would have to buy around $1251 of RPG material each month to be better off without the FLGS.

I don't.

If the business model of the FLGS doesn't make sense in this day and age, why shouldn't we let it die out?

Because, for many gamers, only blindly looking at the price tags on the books makes the FLGS seem more expensive?

If the only purpose the FLGS serves is as a place for gamers to gather, well, we should find a different place to gather.

Please send me the requisite $500 American to cover my expenses. Heck, drop it to $490 to account for the $10 I "lose" by paying more per product.

Per month.

I'm waiting for my check(s).

 

[Erik Mona]

The rumor floating around the industry goes something like this: A lot of struggling retailers hung on through the holiday shopping season, hoping against hope that the increased sales would pull them through a difficult time. This didn't happen, in most cases, and the number floating around the floor of Origins and in the halls of game companies says that something like 400 FLGS's closed up shop in January and February.

This has dealt a major blow to many publishers. Speaking as one of them, the sales numbers for Dragon and Dungeon in that market segment saw a significant fall-off during that period, even while things like subscriptions and general newsstand sales have been hitting three-year highs.

With fewer game stores, game distributors are less likely to put in large orders for new RPG products. Even "sure thing" products are unlikely to get preorders above 1,000 copies these days, because distributors are leery of carrying a big inventory risk on what is essentially a shrinking market.

It's true that internet sales can make up for some of this slack, but right now RPG publishing for anyone but the biggest kids on the block is a riskier venture than it's been since I came to the industry in 1999, and I don't see it getting much better in the short term. Gamers not supporting their local game store certainly isn't going to help the situation.

It won't hurt the tiny guys, who would sell the same number of products out of their trunk as they would ordinarily sell through hobby store distribution. It won't hurt the giant companies with distribution deals with major book distributors and retailers. But the "middle guys" are really feeling the pinch these days, and those companies produce many of the d20 products popular with the members of this community.

I'm not trying to tell anyone how to do their business, but I thought my perspective might be of value to the discussion at hand.

--Erik Mona

 

[mcrow]

The Source is my FLGS also, and I live on the opposite side of the Twin Cities in the western suburbs. I travel out of my way to buy from there. And truth told, I've been getting things at about even when buying from the Source. The Source sells a lot though and I believe they can charge competitively with online places (when shipping costs are accounted for), and combined with their 10% discount card. As much as I make use of their discount card... whoa!

Also, The Source is actually owned by the same company that also owns Fantasy Flight Games, and Atlas Games. It's a holding company called Trident Inc.

Yeah, that dsicount card is great! It works so I get 2-3 free hardcover RPGs in a years time. Thanks for clearing up that "ownership" thing for me. The Source is by far the best game store that I have ever been in and feel like I should support them because make a real effort to support the players aswell.