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Post by Gilvan Blight on Mar 26, 2010 15:06:49 GMT -5
He's a great thread on EnWorld in which a Michigan retailer posted a blog about how the gaming retail experience has changed, in his opinion for the worst. His basic point is that games stores used to be the source for games and information about games. Games store owners were the gaming gods with all the info. Info they got from distributers who actually would call stores and attempt to push sell games. Distributers who were contacted by Publishers who tried to sell them the games. Now Publishers sell games direct to retailers and even direct to consumers. Distributers are nothing but warehouses and order systems and know nothing about their games. Information on games is now disseminated mainly through the internet and now the consumer is the expert and not the retailer. What's most interesting about the whole thing though is that WotC caught the post and one of their main sales guys responded and explained why they thing the retail store is the most important parts of the chain. Not that I like sending people to better bigger forums (we get so little activity as it is), but check it out: www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/273913-wizards-coast-brick-mortar-retail-stores-greg-leeds-weighs.html
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Post by ghostwes on Mar 26, 2010 19:30:36 GMT -5
Huh. I think I've been to that guy's game store in Battle Creek.
At least I assume it was his... can't be that many game stores there.
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Post by isaac on Mar 27, 2010 21:11:10 GMT -5
I read the three subject articles in the thread, and then the first two pages of forum blab after them, and it was interesting in that it seems like owning a game store seems like so much fun that it's easy to forget how quickly they go out of business. I think that the first article was written by the guy who writes the Behind the Counter column at Rpg.net, which exists to gripe about how precarious the existence of a game store is, and the author's authority lies in that he's been able to keep his head above water for over 25 years. Of course, he also says that he does it by selling DVDs, music, and used textbooks at his stores, so maybe a lot has to do with knowing your market, and hey, whatever it takes. I think that the FLGS is so valuable that I'd understand if they had to run late-night cockfights in the back to make the rent.
Of course, the forum denizens heaped lots of scorn on him for his opinion, but they're already on the internet where they can get reviews of the latest games, and then buy them at a discount online. I doubt they'd understand why a casual gamer wouldn't mind paying full retail price for a game that they never would have bought if they hadn't been attracted to it sitting on a shelf, while they were wandering around in a store that promised them a little distraction from the rest of the world.
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Post by ashaman771 on Mar 28, 2010 8:22:08 GMT -5
Great find Gilvan!
The author did give some insight on 'the internet changed business', but I think it was still just that. Yes the internet has let to companies canibalizing themselves and sales channels. Do you buy the gateway PC online from gateway, futureshop maybe...?
In terms of the role of the gaming store for me, I find it unique. I try to get all my stuff from H&M not because of low price, not becuase it's the closest store, but because I want to support the store that lets me game there.
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Post by Skeptical on Aug 18, 2010 19:48:35 GMT -5
Yeah, I have to say that I wished I bought my stuff from H&M when I first started out. My excuse is that I wasn't aware of it's existence, but I didn't make much of an effort before buying it from Chapters.ca.
Won't make the mistake of spending my hard-earned cash to line the pockets of a huge corporation again.
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