scottaroberts
Villager
I run a social club for tabletop roleplaying gamers. I charge $8 per 4-hour session, or $15 for two. DMs get a free session as a player for every one they run. I have a rotating crowd of between 30-50 customers (depending on season, school, etc.)
This is not enough money to run a regular business--I should be charging more--but I often get complaints that I charge money, or about how much I charge, and the release of Xanathar's Guide gives an opportunity to explain why I do so--and why I think it behooves every FLGS to do so.
The MSRP for Xanathar's is $50. Amazon & Walmart sell it for $30, and I usually try to match that. However, in this case, my cost of goods sold (COGS) margin is around $26-27 per book. The cost for shipping varies--but books are heavy, and shipping is in part based on that. This does not count the labor involved to obtain the books--not a large amount, but it *is* work. This for a profit of between $1-$2 per book...for those who actually wish to buy it from me as opposed to PDF'ing it or D&D Beyond'ing it or Fantasy Grounds-ing it.
In contrast, Tomb of Annihilation (MSRP $50; COGS the same as Xanathar) is on Amazon for $37. I sold it for $45--and I felt bad about that. Asking people to pay more than they could get it for elsewhere goes against the grain--it feels like I'm asking for charity. I will likely have to do that again to make any money on Xanathar's. Xanathar's is also the most popular type of book--a player-oriented book rather than an adventure; I could sell many of them if it weren't for D&D Beyond, FG, or PDF pirating.
If I buy an amount based on guesswork--I usually do--I often find myself with one or two books that never move. If I buy based on individual special orders, I often face complaints that I don't have enough of the book. I cannot--and, I expect, most FLGS cannot--maintain a D&D/RPG only location on that margin. We don't have the volume of sales to warrant it and I can't afford to invest in books that sit on the shelf forever.
Instead, I charge people for what we *do* actually provide them, the thing you can't get anywhere else than an FLGS: gaming space: a large community of local players to play face-to-face with regularly, a community, use of miniatures, printing services, comfort and a place to be surrounded by fellow geeks. In the 10+ years I've been in business (I did not always use this model--I once ran an FLGS that gave away free space to play)--I've seen lifelong friendships built; I've seen marriages occur between two couples that met through my store; I've seen socially awkward kids and adults with nowhere else that they'd be respected finally find a thirdspace that they could relax in and be accepted. I wouldn't trade it for the world--but it needs to make more money, and companies like Wizards aren't helping. Their "exclusives"--the alt-covers--are not the value-adds they think they are (we were expecting leather-bound covers, not "faux" leather). Support for in-store events in D&D sucks--AL modules cost money and ink and paper to print, and they may give out a single free module from time to time.
I was once a huge "Support your FLGS!" guy, railing against the tide of history and technology by expecting people to buy books from me if they played there. I once policed gamers at my store to make sure they had physical books (even if not bought from me) rather than pirated PDFs. While responsible adults--caring adults--*MIGHT* buy a book from me at full retail and not save money, those are mostly the "grognards". Newer players just don't see the point. It's like asking for charity. More than that, Amazon doesn't have bad days; it doesn't have rude incidents with staff or customers, it doesn't have a messy bathroom because someone didn't clean it in time...it does not have the foibles and failings of a human-run retail business.
So--what do you think? If you're an FLGS, do you charge--and if so, how much--or do you not charge, and why? Do you provide RPG space to customers for free? Players & DMs, what do you think of the idea?
This is not enough money to run a regular business--I should be charging more--but I often get complaints that I charge money, or about how much I charge, and the release of Xanathar's Guide gives an opportunity to explain why I do so--and why I think it behooves every FLGS to do so.
The MSRP for Xanathar's is $50. Amazon & Walmart sell it for $30, and I usually try to match that. However, in this case, my cost of goods sold (COGS) margin is around $26-27 per book. The cost for shipping varies--but books are heavy, and shipping is in part based on that. This does not count the labor involved to obtain the books--not a large amount, but it *is* work. This for a profit of between $1-$2 per book...for those who actually wish to buy it from me as opposed to PDF'ing it or D&D Beyond'ing it or Fantasy Grounds-ing it.
In contrast, Tomb of Annihilation (MSRP $50; COGS the same as Xanathar) is on Amazon for $37. I sold it for $45--and I felt bad about that. Asking people to pay more than they could get it for elsewhere goes against the grain--it feels like I'm asking for charity. I will likely have to do that again to make any money on Xanathar's. Xanathar's is also the most popular type of book--a player-oriented book rather than an adventure; I could sell many of them if it weren't for D&D Beyond, FG, or PDF pirating.
If I buy an amount based on guesswork--I usually do--I often find myself with one or two books that never move. If I buy based on individual special orders, I often face complaints that I don't have enough of the book. I cannot--and, I expect, most FLGS cannot--maintain a D&D/RPG only location on that margin. We don't have the volume of sales to warrant it and I can't afford to invest in books that sit on the shelf forever.
Instead, I charge people for what we *do* actually provide them, the thing you can't get anywhere else than an FLGS: gaming space: a large community of local players to play face-to-face with regularly, a community, use of miniatures, printing services, comfort and a place to be surrounded by fellow geeks. In the 10+ years I've been in business (I did not always use this model--I once ran an FLGS that gave away free space to play)--I've seen lifelong friendships built; I've seen marriages occur between two couples that met through my store; I've seen socially awkward kids and adults with nowhere else that they'd be respected finally find a thirdspace that they could relax in and be accepted. I wouldn't trade it for the world--but it needs to make more money, and companies like Wizards aren't helping. Their "exclusives"--the alt-covers--are not the value-adds they think they are (we were expecting leather-bound covers, not "faux" leather). Support for in-store events in D&D sucks--AL modules cost money and ink and paper to print, and they may give out a single free module from time to time.
I was once a huge "Support your FLGS!" guy, railing against the tide of history and technology by expecting people to buy books from me if they played there. I once policed gamers at my store to make sure they had physical books (even if not bought from me) rather than pirated PDFs. While responsible adults--caring adults--*MIGHT* buy a book from me at full retail and not save money, those are mostly the "grognards". Newer players just don't see the point. It's like asking for charity. More than that, Amazon doesn't have bad days; it doesn't have rude incidents with staff or customers, it doesn't have a messy bathroom because someone didn't clean it in time...it does not have the foibles and failings of a human-run retail business.
So--what do you think? If you're an FLGS, do you charge--and if so, how much--or do you not charge, and why? Do you provide RPG space to customers for free? Players & DMs, what do you think of the idea?
