Why is WotC trying to kill my FLGS?

[xechnao]

As is each and evey game store... as is Amazon... they are capitalist entities. They want and need to make a profit.

If the local game store can't compete with Amazon on price they better make up for it in service. Good, or even better, great service has a value to many consumers. Friendly personable service is one area where Amazon can't compete but where many LGSs fall flat. If they want my money they need to earn it or I will spend it where I get a better deal. They have no right to expect me to spend more without offering me something in return.

It is not that simple. Local as a parameter is something more than just the same capitalist profit measure.

 

[Treebore]

The only reason I bought as many gaming books as I did is because Amazon kept it financially feasible for longer. Still, as of two years ago I quit buying even from Amazon. I simply quit being able to afford to buy everything under the sun. So now I wish, and every once in a while I find a sale that allows me to get some of the stuff I have been wishing I could get.

So, for me, Amazon isn't killing my LGS, the economic realities are. Plus, the economic hardship has really driven home how stupid I was to pay that much for gaming books I hardly even use. So even when things do turn around for me I will never buy everything under the sun again.

So I will no longer be buying every module out there, unless I find it very discounted somewhere, and I certainly will not be buying "splat books" any more. Core books only, everything else I can make up myself, and will. Especially since my current hardship forced me to rediscover how much friggin fun creating your own stuff is.

 

[Maggan]

I
Remember though that Wotc as a capitalist entity thinks primarily about its profits and capital (short and long term), not about the hobby's long terms.

I think you are very, very wrong about this statement.

Yes, WotC thinks about the short and long term financial gains they can secure through D&D ...

... which is, given the the dominationg position of D&D, why WotC must also think about the short and long term state of the hobby.

If the hobby declines, so do WotC short and long term revenues.

/M

 

[Kishin]

Why is that many gamers seem to have this belief that companies which publish RPG material should be trying to avoid trying to make a profit off their industry because it somehow, for whatever reason, tarnishes their image? I don't get it. Its what a company is supposed to do. To suggest that WoTC should or even could avoid massive sale facilitators like Amazon is absolutely ridiculous.

 

[pogre]

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...

Just wanted to give you kudos for coming back to the thread and saying this. You were frustrated and vented - I totally understand.

I buy from a local gaming store because the guy running the place is a friend of mine. If I did not know the fellow, I would buy everything online.

 

[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.

I would also like to point out that when Dracomonicon came out for 3e in Nov. 2003 it was also priced at $39.95. Five years later it is the same price. Pretty rare these days to see something that didn't go up in price over the last five years.

Thanks for the very civil discussion.

 

[xechnao]

I think you are very, very wrong about this statement.

Yes, WotC thinks about the short and long term financial gains they can secure through D&D ...

... which is, given the the dominationg position of D&D, why WotC must also think about the short and long term state of the hobby.

If the hobby declines, so do WotC short and long term revenues.

/M

I said "primarily" and I tried to contrast times. It is obvious that to Wotc its capital counts primarily more than the hobby or D&D.
I use "capital" here with its legal financial term meaning.

 

[crazy_cat]

I try and support my FLGS - they're nice people and I'd like to see them stay in business.

But, I'm going with Pathfinder rather than 4e,and whilst I probably pay the same (or maybe more) to buy on subscription from Paizo I also get PDFs of all of my purchases, and my FLGS just can't compete with that.

I was buying Traveller from them - but Mongoose production 'values' mean I've dropped that, so my FLGS (who I'd like to support if possible) just don't have anything to offer me.

Otherwise its minis and old edition stuff via eBay - and here the only important factors are item condition and price - location and service don't figure in my buying decisions. There are many UK located online stores, but almost without exception I buy minis from the US - better value, so they get my money. Thats just the reality of a global internet connected economy.

 

[frankthedm]

The 75 dollar "Special edition Core books" were far more an 'attack' at LGSes. With a huge price point and a very limited differences in appearance from the normal editions, it is destined to sit on many a shelf.

 

[Vanuslux]

As near as I can tell, its both cheaper and faster for me to order from amazon than from my LGS. The LGS still hasn't cleared out what appears to be a ton of crap from the initial d20 glut, so doesn't stock any of the new stuff. If I have to order stuff either way, I'm gonna go with amazon everytime.

About two years ago, I moved to a place where I passed a LGS every day and I was initially excited about this prospect. However, they were literally drowning in old d20 stuff. None of it so much as discounted even a penny to help it move to clear up space. It was ridiculous. Eventually I got sick of seeing the same outdated products prominently displayed and having to dig for the newer stuff so I stopped going.