Your FLGS and You - What's your take?

[Dannyalcatraz]

Since others are doing it, I guess I'll actually say where I shop.

I'm in the D/FW area of Texas.

My primary FLGS used to be Lone Star Comics. Their closest store to me closed due to rent issues (the strip mall owner was jacking it up). The chain is not a pure game store- they sell comics, fiction, memoribilia and so forth.

Generation X games also sells comics, but has a broader selection of games than LSC did. They don't sell novels...at least, not that I've noticed. They also host the occasional LAN party and so forth.

Game Chest is a pure game store, but not purely a gaming store. They're located in a traditional closed-in mall, so their selection is perforce broader. They cover traditional card & board games, puzzles of all kinds and a wide variety of wargames, CCGs, mins games and RPGs. They also have a knack for getting the OoP stuff. I kid you not- I could walk in there today and find Doom Trooper or Hyborean gates cards, still in their wrappers.

Not a one of them is cheap. They can't afford much in the way of discounts, but I have rarely walked away from one of those stores without EXACTLY what I went in for...plus some stuff I didn't know I needed.

 

[Stormonu]

I used to have a decent FLGS near me, but after about 2001, they dried up and gave up on RPGs, did Mechwarrior and Magic for a while and then it all went belly up. They are a small store that doesn't have space for games in the store, but they did rent a building on Friday nights that I went to for RPGs and Mechwarrior for a while - until I had kids. I went back to the store a few months ago, they stopped hosting game nights and they still had the same stock from 2001 with nothing new. The owner's son now runs the store, and has a really bad additude towards customers. I haven't gone back since.

We had two other LGS (I hesitate to say "friendly"), but they quickly went out of business because of "hanger-ons" and staff that were too busy playing to attend to customers who wanted to buy something. They lasted about a year apiece. It's rather funny, they dogged on the other hobby shop from above, but in the end their practices were worse.

I did, however recently have a nice visit to Oxford Comics in Atlanta last month. While they don't specialize in games & RPGs nor appear to have space for gaming, they've got quite the collection - not only new stuff, but stuff all the way back to 2E's glory days. I was amazed and picked up quite a lot of stuff while I was there (non-D&D stuff; I actually already have a complete 2E collection). I intend to make another run there in March, and the staff was very friendly as well.

For the most part though, I prefer to get my stuff off Amazon. I have no desire to deal with FLGS on a regular basis any more.

 

[carmachu]

Okay, that being the case then, I am still just baffled at the assertion by the head of Goodman Games (anybody recall his name?) that the FLGS is still one of the primary marketing arms / ground forces for PnP RPG distribution. The dearth of quality FLGSes would seem to indicate that they're not really the best indicator of the RPG movement (minis games and CCGs is another story). So why this "faith," or "trust" that the FLGS is really "in touch" with the PnP RPG community?

Also, what has been everyone's experiences in playing in an RPG with a group formed at your FLGS? Good, bad, in between? Are the caliber of people / players high enough to make it worthwhile (i.e., few power gamers, good citizens (want to constructively help the group have fun), have showered in the last 48 hours, etc.)? And what's the deal with the "living" campaigns? Are they a worthwhile experience?

AS to your second paragraph, non-exsistant. I got into my current group via enworld actually. players looking for players.

As for goodman, remember he's visited many many FLGS. So if he's seeing say 1000 of them, he's going to see things alot differently then what I see with the 3 locally that I see around me. Or the two from another guy.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

FWIW, the main one I used to go to in Austin was Dragon's Lair. Good people, good store.

And I used to get some gaming stuff at Austin Comics...on 38th street or some such.

I also used to go to one on the northern section of Lamar- I can't remember its name- because they had a seemingly inexhaustible supply of M:tG cards, typically selling large amounts even after other stores had sold out a month before. The owner said that he knew a game store in Los Angeles that couldn't move the stuff, so he'd buy out their stock and sell it in Austin.

 

[Doc_Klueless]

FWIW, the main one I used to go to in Austin was Dragon's Lair. Good people, good store.

My favorite FLGS is Dragon's Lair in San Antonio. Very nice people. Helpful without being intrusive. The place is clean, well lighted, organized and well stocked. Plus, the people behind the counter stop their gaming conversations with the regulars who are hanging out to see if you need anything or can help you.

They're in the middle of a remodeling now which is making the place even nicer.

 

[jdrakeh]

We have several local game stores but only two of them were ever exceptional and one of those has gone downhill quite a bit in the last year, dropping about 80% of their RPG inventory and a large chunk of their minis inventory, as well. The other local game stores are mediocre to poor and have been since I moved here in 2004, either due to poor product selection or rude employees.

I did frequent the formerly exceptional store mentioned above several times a month for years, but in 2009 I visited it only about five or six times total (knowing they had nothing in stock that I wanted to buy). Anymore, I look and buy online first and, if I can't find what I'm looking for online (which is rare), then I go to the FLGS.

 

[Thondor]

I purchase nearly all my gaming materials from FLGS (or at least LGS). The only exception is the core three 1e AD&D books + ToEE I ordered from the Hitpointe (good customer service by the way).

I guess part of it may be the whole living in Canada and shipping costs and coverting to US$ almost always wipes any savings from ordering online. (Heck its almost always cheaper to pick a comic or magazine off the shelf here rather then ordering it to your doorstep.)

Its also not uncommon for FLGS I've been at to charge $US cover price, which makes them much better then ordering or picking it up from a bookstore (usually limited to D&D only - often just core books).

If it wasn't for FLGS I likely never would have stayed with the hobby (and gottne beyond being a player in a game or two). The simple existance of a store people can walk into and see awesome games is really powerful.

For me it was FLGS and Dragon Magazine.

While the internet ordering may keep you stocked on the latest games, FLGS have the potential to MAKE GAMERS.

 

[Steel_Wind]

I'm in Canada, where the competitive environment is very different than in the United States.

In the USA, internet store fronts are very much a part of the business environment. The reasons for this are straightforward:

1 - Far cheaper sticker "cost" of the product
2 - Less and often no sales taxes
3 - cheap and fast shipping.

If all of those factors were present when buying via the Internet while living in Canada, we'd have a lot less FLGS' in the Toronto area.

I expect many of you living in the USA are not aware that outside of the USA -- those same factors which give internet retailing an edge are simply not present. When buying over the internet from Canada, shipping costs are vastly higher. Sales taxes are never avoided.

If the retailer does not charge those sales taxes -- the Canadian government imposes both federal and provincial sales taxes, like it or not. If shipping is via a private shipper like UPS or FedEX, the brokerage costs for the PRIVILEGE of UPS or FedEx collecting that sales tax is an additional approx. $45 per parcel.

Shipping via USPS or Canada Post eliminates most of that "brokerage" fee and reduces it to only $5 per parcel. But shipping is slow. Buy it in the USA via the net, and you get your product in 2-3 days.

In Canada? Unless you are buying through Amazon.ca, (no brokerage costs at all as it is a domestic Canadian retailer) it will take 2-3 weeks to arrive. Add in all the surcharges, the internet product is usually MORE expensive, too. Sometimes, a LOT more expensive.

Put that all together and it adds up to a simple conclusion: Canadians are far more likely to browse online and buy in a traditional brick and mortar store. Which is exactly what we usually do.

As a consequence, the FLGS is Canada remains a stable and profitable business model. In Toronto, there are many FLGS, but the two in particular which I give my business to continue to sell a very large number of products with good inventory and selection. Pretty good prices too, for the most part at 401games.ca and the HairyT.

I can't complain and I will continue to give each of them my business in the Toronto area.

 

[Votan]

Put that all together and it adds up to a simple conclusion: Canadians are far more likely to browse online and buy in a traditional brick and mortar store. Which is exactly what we usually do.

That was what I observed in Montreal, as well. I aslo noted that the gaming stores in Canada were a lot better stocked (clean/professional too). So I wonder if it is a vicious circle here in the US: fewer sales leads to smaller inventories and more marginal business locations (plus absolute minimum in wages/costs).

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

A modicum of cleanliness, particularly with regards to air quality, would be nice too.

Hey, I'd like to be able to go into my FLGS without breathing in cigarette smoke with hints of pot.

Also, clean the bloody toilet so that it doesn't look like a set piece from Se7en for heaven's sake.

NOT BITTER AT ALL ABOUT HIS FLGS

HINT HINT

Heh. This one gaming store I go to sometimes, I had to use the bathroom, so I asked the clerk. I should've known from his expression that I was in for it.

When I came out, he said, and I quote:

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm only here on Sundays."

They've gotten a lot better lately, though.

Brad