You're right, they end up selling for more than 50% greater than amazon. For example, martial power on amazon right now is 19.07. So a game store is selling it for ~57% more. But then factor in taxes (of say 6%) and the game store is selling for a 66% markup over amazon.
And note that once amazon figures out that you like gaming books, it'll often give you an extra 5% off in its deal of the day, which means that I would have paid 75% more to have purchased martial power from my LGS over amazon.
You're misusing the term markup. Markup is the amount of a retailer's selling price that represents overhead and profit to the retailer.
Amazon marks up its books, or else it cannot make any money. LGSs just have to mark them up more, because their overhead is spread over an extremely small number of products compared to Amazon.
The sales tax issue is tricky, and disadvantageous to B&M stores. Presumably the sales tax you're referring to is a state tax rather than federal, or else Amazon would be required to collect it from US residents. In Canada we have a federal sales tax of 5%. Things purchased from the US are charged this tax (plus a $5 handling fee!), if your package happens to be chosen for random inspection at the border. So you generally avoid the sales tax if you order from Amazon, but not necessarily. You'll always avoid the provincial sales tax, but that $5 fee can hurt when your item is only worth $20.
What he said. Crap we agreed on something!
LGS are not selling for more than amazon. LGS are your baseline and are selling close to MSRP, it is jsut that amazon can afford to sell for much less and still make a profit.
Don't blame the LGS for high prices, blame the manufacture if that is your point because amazon has nothing to do with MSRP between the manufacturer and the LGS.
Because CCG players and their money are soon parted. Between games, CCG players are far more likely to pick up more CCG cards. Whether trying to get trade-bait, hoping to make their deck better after a crippling loss or just impulse buying, the CCG players swiftly fritter away the $5 per hit for their drug of choice.
RPG players probably already have their books. Impulse buys can happen, but those won't be generated by Competitiveness or Collectability. And that is ‘if’ the store has any of the books for that edition of the game in at the time. Also you may have RPG players looking up rules in the books rather than buying them to bring to a home game. And I’d suspect sometimes impulse buys are even averted by since the DM can give the Yes or No answer right there in the store before the book is bought.
Also CCG players drift from game to game, often with time to do some shopping between games or pop out to go for a burger. RPG players might take ‘a’ break, but generally will be at the table for hours, wanting to bring in food, wanting to befoul your bathroom and wanting you to stay open past closing.
So you are prejudice against RPG players in stores because they stick around longer than a CCG player? CCG players often are around more and cause more noise and problems than a group of RPG players that stay int he same spot all the time not having to run all over the palce to trade for this, trade for that, buy another pack of this and leave their wrapper trashs and drink trash all over the place, while an RPg group will clean up after themselves mainly because they want to make sure they don't leave a single lucky dice behind and have leftovers to take home or offer the store owner some pizza.
Yes the CCG player will do more impulse buying, but it takes more space for them than an RPG gorup.
1 CCG game is usually played on a single table an entire RPG gorup could use, and are very recluctant to move and make room for a new game because they have all their junk sprawled out making theirselves at home and don't want to clean it up because they have to have those things not in use all over the table to prevent anyone else from being able to use the space.
6 people vs 2 at a table, I will take 6 anytime.
The point being not who is what or which is better, because the loud and smelly CCGers will lose everytime; but the fact that they can do something and have found ways to get CCG players into the store to buy, if they want more RPG players in the store, then they also need to do something to give them a reason to come into the store to buy or play int he store.
One RPG group could cause an increase in sales to new people wanting to try it out for themselves. I have seen it happen, but only once because I was passing through that store and didn't have time to stick around long.
So you want RPg people buying from an LGS, give them a reason to buy from the LGS instead of getting less expensive product elsewhere be it online or at another LGS.
