WotC Stores?

[DrNilesCrane]

There were a couple in the metro Detroit area and I found that while their pricing wasn't competitive (standard MSRP for everything), they had a good selection of non-WotC boardgames in addition to getting WotC products in quickly. Pricing hurt them the most: I tend to buy most of my d20 material online these days but make occasional exception if there is something I'm particularly eager for and don't want to wait the 2 or 3 weeks for Amazon to get it in their system.

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

I find that too many hobby stores sell books for above retail price, let alone charging the SRP that the WotC stores sold at. That's why Amazon gets most of my business.

 

[The_Universe]

My wife worked at the WotC in Arlington, VA when we first moved out to this area - it was fantastic. We got a discount, we got products early, and it really kept us "in the loop" as far as happenings in the gaming world. I think closing the stores hasn't really had all that much effect on the market, other than removing one of the "mainstream" outlets for D&D.

I miss the store (it's where we met a bunch of our friends) but I don't think it's closing has had a terribly large effect on the gaming industry as a whole.

 

[jcfiala]

Hm. We had a WotC store here near Denver - it was out of my way to go up there, but if I was at the mall anyway I'd go and browse around.

Back when they had the big sale on non D&D games, I stopped by and dropped a big chunk of cash to pick up a bunch of neat books. I was pretty happy about that.

But these days, I doubt there's any big change in the landscape. The WotC store was stuck between Denver and Boulder, both of which had game stores already. So their absence didn't really affect the community.

 

[MarauderX]

My wife worked at the WotC in Arlington, VA when we first moved out to this area - it was fantastic. We got a discount, we got products early, and it really kept us "in the loop" as far as happenings in the gaming world. I think closing the stores hasn't really had all that much effect on the market, other than removing one of the "mainstream" outlets for D&D.

I miss the store (it's where we met a bunch of our friends) but I don't think it's closing has had a terribly large effect on the gaming industry as a whole.

I went there often when I was living in Crystal City, two blocks away. It helped me get back into gaming circa 3.0, but thought there would be more of a gamer connection than I got. I was surprised that there weren't any adverts for more games and 'organized' play seemed out of control with ~20 players showing up on Sundays. The regulars and employees had their own culture going on with little interest in teaching a few of us the nuances so I ventured onto the internet instead. The stores should have stuck it out until the miniatures were released as they might have made out like bandits.

 

[Joshua Randall]

There was a WotC store in Mentor (near Cleveland). As others have remarked, it used to carry non-WotC d20 publishers. Then it stopped carrying non-WotC stuff, but I didn't really care because I rarely bought any of it. At that point the store still carried a massive selection of WotC books.

And then they went and closed up shop, and now I have to go to normal bookstores (Borders, Barnes & Noble) if I want my D&D-book fix. So I personally am saddened, but the overall effect on the market? Eh, not much.

 

[The_Universe]

I went there often when I was living in Crystal City, two blocks away. It helped me get back into gaming circa 3.0, but thought there would be more of a gamer connection than I got. I was surprised that there weren't any adverts for more games and 'organized' play seemed out of control with ~20 players showing up on Sundays. The regulars and employees had their own culture going on with little interest in teaching a few of us the nuances so I ventured onto the internet instead. The stores should have stuck it out until the miniatures were released as they might have made out like bandits.

That's too bad - my wife and I never participated in any of the store's "organized" play, but I definitely mined the clientele for my own current group. We must have missed you. Perhaps you merely missed her, as she (and another employee, Xath on this board) were definitely friendly to the more casual gamer. For a brief time, I worked in an office attached to that mall, so I was in every day my wife was working for lunch.

 

[TerraDave]

I went there often when I was living in Crystal City, two blocks away. It helped me get back into gaming circa 3.0, but thought there would be more of a gamer connection than I got. I was surprised that there weren't any adverts for more games and 'organized' play seemed out of control with ~20 players showing up on Sundays. The regulars and employees had their own culture going on with little interest in teaching a few of us the nuances so I ventured onto the internet instead. The stores should have stuck it out until the miniatures were released as they might have made out like bandits.

I am 95% certain that is the store I am refering to. At one point, it was a good store (though I only bought stuff there, I never used it as hang-out or whatever). And I have to wonder, if it had just staid the Game Keeper, if it would still be there...

Its closing is also part of a pattern of disapearing game stores "inside the beltway". The one in Roslyn is long gone, the one in Claredon is gone, a few in DC have come and gone...

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

I had heard they existed, but never saw one so their closing didn't affect me in any way.

 

[BvS]

I'd heard of them as well, but I don't think they had any locations in Canada. Could be wrong though.