FLGS Evolution
When I started gaming in the late 70s, the public internet didn't exist for the most part, being limited to government, colleges and business. Most people didn't have a home computer that can do what ours can now. I used to walk a couple of miles downtown in Salem, Mass. to a game store on Washington street, since it was the closest in its day. I couldn't look for the best deal as there weren't other ones to get. Roleplaying was a MUCH smaller industry and its products in entirety could occupy one bookshelf (or less). The FLGS was likely a model hobby shop or a book store with other produst to know about. They never knew much about AD&D then and that was okay. I culd figure it out. But they were friendly.
The industry as a whole is huge and the output of some companies can equal my entire D&D collection in 1982 in only a couple of months. (Mongoose is a great example of churning out tons of product
). We have the internet now, so buying (and selling) is much easier to do, even nationwide. I picked up a Heavy Gear book from Tennessee, and it got to my house in three days (woof!). More people on the average have internet capable computers so they chan shop and browse online quite easily. Though they can't browse directly a product, they can read probably anywhere from 3-5 reviews of a product before they decide to purchase. And shipping costs aren't bad, considering the product usually has a severely marked-down price. Overhead on running an internet based business can be significantly lower so those costs are given to the customer (yay!).
What does this mean to the FLGS? They need to evolve or die. Competing financially is almost impossible and since gamers don't tend to be Fortune 500 CEOs, they're gonna spend their money where it stretches the furthest. Well, so what do we do?
1)Accept the change and watch the LGS disappear as an entity.
2)Change the LGS so it offers products/services/solutions that the internet businesses cannot.
3)Hybridize the LGS to other than just a game store, such as a book, hobby, comic or even coffee house.
As many game stores are labors of love as opposed to businesses, they are very quirky and tend to attract some interesting clientele. Those of us in gaming for years see ourselves as the gamers in question, a little off the beaten path of everyday average person.
If we want to see a local gaming store survive, these are some suggestions I recommend:
1)Buy the product from that store, even if it's more expensive. It supports your local economy and keeps the store in the black.
2)Volunteer! If you are permitted (big if of course), advertise the store through flyers at school, work, or other social gathering places. If you're an owner, it's a great way to get your name out and it's usually cheap, offer a few free products and you can get yourself your own set of Baker Street Irregulars.
3)Talk to the owner(s). Whether they deserve your support as a customer will be quite obvious. If they don't want to support your favorite product/setting/whatever, ask them to give you reasons for this. Perhaps you can show them that they can offer these things.
4)Promote in-store gaming. If there is room in the store, and the owner is willing, run your game there. Though one's house may be private, it may not be central, or mom may not want that person in her house, as has been said, some gamers can be pretty unique.
5)Word of mouth. In San Diego when I was in college, word of mouth meant a lot to gamers and the stores we frequented. We learned the cool places to go and we went there.
6)The People. As had been mentioned earlier, gamers are unique, probably more so than some cultists. As everyday, more mainstream people come into the hobby, there will be conflict and confusion. A little tolerance goes a long way, on both sides.
7)See if the LGS has a way to easily order your product if they don't have it. Give them a chance to get it for you, if they will.
Now much of this is up to both sides of the coin. The gamer or customer, who can do any or many of the things above to help improve his LGS and the owner/managers who run the places, who can do or listen as much as they can. If those businesses want to survive, they will need to diversify their setup. They need to try to please their local customers and as many as they can afford to. Unfirtunately this means that sometimes a game we might play will not be the one they choose. I have two local stores. One focuses on CCGs and miniatures, the other Online Network Gaming and Miniatures. They have very small RPG selections, as they have few to no RPG customers. And that's not the only problem. Distribution and purchasing wholesale has changed some too. When D&D was owned by TSR, they distributed directly, then to game distributors around the country. When WOTC picked them up, they actually dealt direct for awhile as well as distributed. Then when Hasbro bought WOTC, ot changed even more. The big thing is minimum orders, and buying other product. For awhile (and I am not sure if it's still true) Game Towne in San Diego had to generate a minimum order before they could get anything from Hasbro. So much for D&D. And GW did minimum orders for a long time, plus requiring product to be displayed and marketed a certain way. This was not always to the game store's advantage. A game store owner sometimes had to make hard choices.
This evolution is not over and where it's going I don't know. But as customers, we're partially responsible for the effects we're seeing. It's going to be an interesting ride.
