Why is WotC trying to kill my FLGS?

[JeffB]

They would also be out of business due to a vastly reduced sales volume that couldn't possibly support their overhead.

This...

and

I have a couple of LGSs nearby... none are FLGSs... Amazon wins for me every time.

That.

 

[malraux]

I have a couple of LGSs nearby... none are FLGSs... Amazon wins for me every time.

That matches my experience.

Also, RE GW, my experience with purchasing minis and paints is that I'd much rather buy those locally, as you'd have to order way to much at one go to order from amazon, and its the kind of thing where you need to see the item closely before deciding to purchase.

 

[DaveMage]

I'd guess at this point, WotC needs amazon as much as the OP does for sales.

 

[Scott_Rouse]

In before the lock.

The title of the thread is ridiculous. It could just of well been titled "AnothyRobeson is trying to kill his FLGS because he likes paying less for books and is shopping at Amazon."

If you don't like a particular retailer, don't buy from it.
If you don't like a price of a book, don't buy it (or look for it somewhere else).

Personally, sometimes I will pay more to support a local business and/or get the better service and sometime I mail order just to get it for as cheap as possible.

 

[xechnao]

The title of the thread is ridiculous. It could just of well been titled "AnothyRobeson is trying to kill his FLGS because he likes paying less for books and is shopping at Amazon."

If you don't like a particular retailer, don't buy from it.
If you don't like a price of a book, don't buy it (or look for it somewhere else).

Personally, sometimes I will pay more to support a local business and/or get the better service and sometime I mail order just to get it for as cheap as possible.

You speak mostly about the possible casual mentalities of the customer (end user). But you do not consider here the possible mentalities of the retailer which is related to the market environment in a different way. There are various different prospects that are all important to the final result.

 

[Knightfall]

Personally, sometimes I will pay more to support a local business and/or get the better service and sometime I mail order just to get it for as cheap as possible.

QFT.

Personally, I prefer buying books from my FLGS even if it does cost me more than ordering it online, which I rarely do since I don't have a CC. I don't trust the idea of PayPal. (I've heard too many horror stories.)

 

[Asmor]

If you don't like a particular retailer, don't buy from it.

Precisely.

I have a few FGSs, but no FLGS. I don't get to them often, but when I do I make sure to buy some stuff to support them, even though it would be cheaper on Amazon.

And just to illustrate The Rouse's point, I haven't set foot inside a Wal-Mart in around 5 years because I disagree with their business practices.

 

[firesnakearies]

If I ever buy a book, or CD, or piece of software, or any other kind of media, in a retail store again, I'll be surprised. (With the possible exception of rare/used stuff in a specialty store.)

It will almost certainly be for no other reason than that I have a relationship with the proprietor of said establishment, and want to support him or her personally, because the physical venue itself and the people involved with it are actually important to me.

Failing that, I'm going to continue paying half the price to have it hand-carried to my door, by ordering online. Driving to a store and spending a bunch of extra money seems pretty silly to me.



Also, suggesting that WotC or any other publisher should choose NOT to do business with Amazon or any other major online retailer is just . . . absurd. I'd like the company that makes my favorite products to, you know, actually stay in business. So no meaningless cutting of their throats, please.

I'm totally happy to buy every D&D-related product that WotC puts out, and I expect that I will continue to do so for a long while. But I won't feel the slightest hesitation to finding the best deal online that I can for those purchases.

 

[doctorhook]

In before the lock.

The title of the thread is ridiculous. It could just of well been titled "AnothyRobeson is trying to kill his FLGS because he likes paying less for books and is shopping at Amazon."

If you don't like a particular retailer, don't buy from it.
If you don't like a price of a book, don't buy it (or look for it somewhere else).

Personally, sometimes I will pay more to support a local business and/or get the better service and sometime I mail order just to get it for as cheap as possible.

Hear hear! Really, this is all that matters.

Dollar voting FTW!

It depends on the business plan. Games Workshop's business plan for example treats things differently (no business with Amazon) and they are considered pretty big.

Are they still in the RPG business? Nope

Not a good example in my mind.

I think it' s a good example. They are the other giant of the hobby. They sell minis and books. Wotc sells minis and books through amazon. If Wotc had a plan of selling to end customers they would do things more like Games Workshop does on this end.

Don't forget that WotC used to be in the retailing business, too; it flopped. For it to succeed, they'd likely have to do exactly what GW does: Mark-up their products exorbitantly just to sustain their business model. Not only would this be a shot in the foot, but the nature of WotC's products don't require an entire store in every shopping mall; GW sells thousands of different products, mostly blister packs, and WotC doesn't. I dare say that it's no surprise that the biggest barrier to entry in GW's products is the ridiculous prices.

WotC, not that I think you were considering it, but please don't do what this guy is suggesting!

 

[AnthonyRoberson]

In before the lock...Personally, sometimes I will pay more to support a local business and/or get the better service and sometime I mail order just to get it for as cheap as possible.

Thanks for the sane response, Scott. In retrospect, my comment was poorly worded. My current FLGS (Games Plus) is awesome and I will probably end up buying the Draconomicon from them. I just wish the big discount from Amazon wasn't so tempting. Times are hard after all...