Why I refuse to support my FLGS

[Dannyalcatraz]

Oh, i get it. If you could get all the group on the same page, that could help out both the gamers and the LGS some. If you had one dm that everyone trusted to keep the books, that could work out. Probably not well for most groups though. But if you had the right group, that could be a cool solution

I've seen it work a couple of different ways, with different levels of sophistication.

Some do it like a club, with dues, and then the group votes on what to buy with the dues money. Some of those groups even have bank accounts to gain interest...but treasury work can get ugly if their are trust issues.

Other groups had 1 D&D guy, 1 GURPS guy, the RIFTS dude, a HERO person, etc.

If someone wanted to try a new system, he could (if he got approval) buy the core stuff for the game, and if the game wasn't immediately popular with more than 50% of the group, he'd be responsible for reimbursing the group. At that point, the game he bought becomes HIS property- he has "bought out his partners." If the game simply falls out of use (people get tired of it over time), then the group could just hold on to it for later or sell it to a used book or game store or donate it to an appropriate charity (some libraries, veterans groups, and even military bases LOVE to get gaming supplies).

If trust in general is an issue, you could adopt a "library" system, where the books are kept in one place, and there's a sign-out sheet with dates. That way, everyone knows who has what books and for how long.

(I'm VERY close to doing that with my novels, RPGs and my CDs...all of which I currently loan out pretty informally and very frequently)

In a group like my current game, where D20 is the only game, decisions are pretty easy to make.

 

[nopantsyet]

I'm a big fan of my FLGS, Danger Planet in Waltham, Mass. In the years I've been shopping there, their inventory has changed. More and more of the store is devoted to minis. And I think that's great!

I don't buy minis, by the way...

But it keeps the store in business, and keeps it active. There is a community value to it, like a public swimming pool. You may not use it all the time, but it's good to know it's there when you want it. Personally, my favorite time is on a rainy Saturday afternoon. I usually pick something up when I stop in. It's nice to feel like there is a local gaming community, even if I game in a closed group.

But I don't always buy there. I favor them. But if I'm buying something online already and I can get free shipping by getting something else, well...the savings is worth it. And if it's a niche brand the FLGS doesn't carry, I'll order it online from the publisher instead. Otherwise, I'll wait till a rainy day.

Which in New England isn't so hard to come by.

 

[Belen]

That's not all you're saying. You've also explicitly blamed Amazon for the killing the d20 Star Wars line, accused on-line purchasers of contributing to the rising costs of WotC products, and soothsaid that further on-line purchasing will ultimately lead to D&D being converted to a collectible miniatures game.

No. I speculated. And the SW information was based on an answer given to me by someone with the company.

 

[Kanegrundar]

No. I speculated. And the SW information was based on an answer given to me by someone with the company.

These are some pretty wild claims from "someone in the company." The very idea that buying D&D books online will lead to D&D becoming a minis game solely is so out there you might as well tell us that D&D is perpetuated by aliens. That statement would carry as much logic as the whole D&D will morph into a minis game. Plus, I think that many people here (me included) take shady insider information with a truckload of salt. Either present a little proof to back these statements up or risk losing the last shred of credibility in the debate.

Sorry if that comes off rough, but I get tired of hearing about "my secret contacts in <insert company> tell me this and that." 9 out of 10 times (I'm being generous) it's just typical messageboard crap. One of my major online pet peeves.

Kane

 

[Belen]

These are some pretty wild claims from "someone in the company." The very idea that buying D&D books online will lead to D&D becoming a minis game solely is so out there you might as well tell us that D&D is perpetuated by aliens. That statement would carry as much logic as the whole D&D will morph into a minis game. Plus, I think that many people here (me included) take shady insider information with a truckload of salt. Either present a little proof to back these statements up or risk losing the last shred of credibility in the debate.

Sorry if that comes off rough, but I get tired of hearing about "my secret contacts in <insert company> tell me this and that." 9 out of 10 times (I'm being generous) it's just typical messageboard crap. One of my major online pet peeves.

Kane

Dude, you were the one pushing for more info. I never said that Wizards said anything about D&D going away. I said that I found out that nothing was scheduled for release and that the OP kits for SW d20 had been canceled.

Wizards MAY relaunch the SW d20 game in the future. My opinion was that the minis sales so dwarfed the RPG that it will not be worth their time to keep printing the books.

You wanted a whole thread about the subject when I had already given you all the info I had, then have proceded to attack me (on two threads!) because I cannot give you your pound of flesh.

I am sorry that you want them to continue with your game. I hope that they decide to pick up the d20 game again, especially with a TV series out next year. However, retailer support for SW d20 has been canceled and replaced with retailer support for the minis game.

That was my info. Take it or leave. I do not care.

 

[Mark Chance]

No. I speculated.

Speculated. Made wild accusations that have no apparent substance. Toe-may-toe. Tah-mah-toe.

The point stands: You've done more than...

I am only saying that people should give a store a chance.

 

[Kanegrundar]

Belen, all I'm looking for is something a little more substantial than saying an inside source told me that SWD20 is dead. You've switched gears in the other thread and went from the death was official to "it seems." It's the wild claims that I (and others) are attacking. Due to the change in tone in the other thread, it damages your position on the whole SW issue. It doesn't have that much to do with me not wanting SWD20 to die (though for all intents and purposes it is, but WotC has NOT said definantly yet), but more to do with ambiguous sources. If you can't come out and say this is what <insert name here> told me, then it's really best not to bring it up. Plus, things that you claim to be speculating in this thread actually are written to sound like you KNOW that things are heading in the gloom and doom path you're describing rather than just making a guess.

You've gone far beyond just saying "people should give a store a chance" many times. You're trying to give your rather weak arguement with concrete by stating claims from inside sources that you either can't or unwilling to back up. The worst part is, I agree that people should support their FLGS (emphasis on the Friendly) if they enjoy what the shop offers. You're just getting a little too far out there with your stance.

Kane

Kane

 

[spectre72]

The store has been open 3 months now. I'm not near profitable yet, but doing better than my business plan had me doing after 3 months. I have a strong core customer base who are repeat business.

Well from this statement alone I would say you have a decent chance of keeping your store open.

first, you have a business plan.

This shows that you know that your store is a risky undertaking and you have planned for that risk.

Second, you also seem to have some good ideas on how to provide customer service.

I wish you luck and if I am ever in your area I will drop by as I often do when traveling.

I have thought about opening a store myself, but have never been able to work out a business plan that provided enough support that I could keep a store alive (due to costs and customer demographics) so I have always held onto what little money I have.

Perhaps when I retire

 

[resscane]

Miami's FLGS, Sunshine Comics

If anyone one on the board lives in miami, and has been to sunshine comics, then they already know how poorly a shop can be run. The owners of the shop are a brother and sister combo I believe to be in their early 50's. They are 2 of the biggest wack jobs you have ever met. Both have been treated cruely by fate. Unattractive, mentally deficient, socially inept on a scale that makes your average d&d player seem like the BMOC, poorly organized, surly, suspicious, I guess it seems like I'm piling on here. When you walk in the store, the brother, who I believe has a glass eye, startes at you for a couple minutes. Finally he'll say, " Can I help you" with a tone I would use on a telemarketer. Then the sister starts yelling at him, and they start arguing w/ each other, screaming at the top of their lungs, with out regard to the people in the store. The store is a friggin mess, unorganized does not do it justice. And it's been that way for at least 15 years, since I started at U of MIami. It is the only store in dade county, I believe. But they are still there, after all these years. I've bought prolly 2,500.00 worth of gameing stuff from them over the years. My friends just as much. And everytime I walk in the store, he looks at me like I'm a leper. He has no idea who I am. Its sureal, because I introduce d myself to him the 1st 50 times I went into the store. As you walk out, having just bought $100.00 worth of gaming books, one of his eyes, the glass one or the good one, I'm never quite sure, follows you suspiciously as you leave. I Hate that place.

 

[Samothdm]

I've said this before in other threads on the subject, but I wish some of the stores that seem to exist in the Midwest existed here in Los Angeles, the second biggest city in the United States!. I just don't get it.

1) When I need something NOW- I know I can call and have it within an hour.

If I were to call my local game store, assuming the guy that normally works there actually bothered to answer the phone, I can guarantee that his response would not be helpful.

2) Sales staff who know me personally will approach me with news of changes in the landscape- a certain product about to hit, another about to be discontinued, a limited edition _______ available only to 50 people in a city or state or country...

Been shopping at this particular store since 3E came out in 1999/2000. There are three people I've seen work there. About 90% of the time I go, it's the same guy who has not once in five years greeted me by name (what am I talking about - he hasn't greeted me, period). His "gaming knowledge" extends to the current CCG fad of the moment, or whatever it is his little circle of friends are playing.

3) Face-to-face interaction with gamers in my area that allows me to find new players and new games...or avoid bad ones.

Not really an issue for me, as I game with a group of friends, and we gain new blood to our groups by having current people say, "Hey, I met this man/woman at work/school and he/she is interested in joining our group."

4) Improved awareness of the local legal environment re: RPGs. That is- who in your area is maligning gamers based on misinformation or stereotypes? Its a topic that shows up on the boards occasionally, but in the game stores, you know QUICKLY when a gamer has been accused of "corrupting the youth with their satanic hobby."

That would involve conversation with the guy working there, and he is apparently allergic to conversation.

5) Gamer Oasis. The one place you can GUARANTEE not being judged for participating in the hobby is the place that supports the hobby.

Uh, try coming to LA sometime and go to Last Grenadier in Burbank and ask them for help with an RPG product. You will be scoffed at because you are not a wargamer. It's fun! I love it when geeks condescend to other geeks.

Seriously, there are four stores that I have patronized (Pasadena, Burbank, West Los Angeles, and Diamond Bar). Of the four, the only one I really like was All Star Games in Diamond Bar, but I hear from a friend that they are closing down, which sucks. I hadn't been there in awhile because it's a pretty far drive (all the way in, shudder, the "909), but back in College I was there at least once a week. The staff was super friendly, I swear they had played every single game they carried and could offer advice/comparisons on the products, it was clean, well-lit, vaccuumed, air conditioned, sans-"gamer funk", the whole thing. The only downside was that they shrink-wrapped their RPG stuff.

Brad and Rich, you two need to come down here to LA and do some kind of "extreme makeover" on the game stores down here. That could be a new kind of business!

Anyway, I've complained several times about the "unfriendly" aspect of my local game shop, and I find myself going there less and less. It's not an issue of price. It's not even an issue of convenience (obviously going there to pick up a book and have it right then is more convenient than ordering it online and having to wait a week for it to show up). It's more of a feeling that this store has hired staff who are not interested in helping me or my gamer friends. They are there to hog the gaming tables, eat pizza, and play CCGs with their friends. They treat it as an inconvenience when you walk up to the counter to buy product. They do not get up out of their seat to help you find something, but rather wave their arm in the vague direction of where the product might be, if they have it in stock.

So why would I want to shop there?