Troll Lord Games

I'm doing this poll as a curiosity about the current shopping habits of the modern gamer. I don't mean for it to turn into a discussion or rant. Consider it market research.
A quick clarification for the shopping exclusively at the game store. If you shop at the game store normally, but will go online to get stuff your store can't like oop or stuff only sold online, then that can be a vote for shopping exclusively at the game store.

Online and at my FLGS. About 60/40 I would say.

......................................Omote

FPQ
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> Omote's Advanced C&C stuff <
Duke Omote Landwehr, Holy Order of the FPQ ~ Prince of the Castles & Crusades Society

I like to support my local gaming store when I can (much to my wife's chagrin), but will look online for some of the bigger ticket items (i.e., Rappan Athuk Reloaded (or whatever it was called). Don't want to pay the extra amount if I don't have to.

I try to buy from local game stores, but often they do not have what I am looking for so I end up going on line.

80 to 90% on-line, the rest at my LGS. Except when he has sales. Then I will buy a lot from him, but he only has two good sales/year.

I pretty much buy all my stuff online. You just can't beat the pricing and service.
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Count Rhuveinus - Lejendary Keeper of Castle Franqueforte

"Enjoy a 'world' where the fantastic is fact and magic really works!" ~ Gary Gygax

"By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes:" - Macbeth

Mostly online and over the phone with TLG. Online is 90% ebay since I'm usually buying OoP stuff. When I get to a gameshop I may buy from them if they have something decent in the used books or just happen to have a C&C product in.
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The Lord of Ravens
My blog

online since our local gamestore closed up shop. even before then I'd say I bought 60-75% online.

I could drive 50-70 miles to a gameshop but rarely do.

G

I buy mostly online, because most things I wouldn't pay full retail price for. If I would pay full retail price, or it is more convenient, I'll buy at the game store.

I am big into customer loyalty for stores. Sometimes I might buy something at the store simply because I want to support them... but I don't feel obligated to do so. Also, one of my favorite game stores has been going downhill...

Side Story: When I was back home, I went to my old favorite game store looking for C&C stuff. I was informed by the GamerClerk that they didn't stock C&C, they only stock D20 (I think he was p.o.'ed that I asked about the 1E Goodman module, quipping that I'm interested in their line but wanted to stay away from the "evil D20"... which I'm entitled to say since I own so much of it). Later, I went back and dug through their shelves and found a wealth of C&C stuff tucked away.

Anyway, if I feel I'm getting consistently good service at a store, I'll go out of my way to shop there. My non-roleplaying hobby is Flames of War, and there's a store back home that is so good to me that I do almost all of my FOW shopping there.

But there are a number of things I just wouldn't buy at full price... but I'll buy them at 60-70% price.
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"I despise all weavers of the black arts. Speaking of which, can you pass the gravy?"

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"I didn't know there would be this much talking."

I buy from the publisher, directly, in the case of new products through means of meeting them at cons, or they just send me stuff for free. In fact, its been almost 2 years now that I've purchased anything "new." For OoP stuff, I buy from a not-so-local-but-extremely-friendly game store called Crazy Egor's. That place rules.

serleran wrote:
That place rules.

Except his prices. *thumbs down*

........................................Omote

FPQ
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> Omote's Advanced C&C stuff <
Duke Omote Landwehr, Holy Order of the FPQ ~ Prince of the Castles & Crusades Society

Heh, ok. I've had no problems with them, but I can walk into the store. Online orders, or mail-orders are different, of course... so, I can't say. I do know at GenCon last year he sliced everything to around 50% or less, excluding the seriously rare stuff like the AD&D Combat Wheel.

[Edit-- I do know for a fact that what the store has and what is offered to "outsiders" is not the same thing. There is a bigger, and hence, easier to find cheaper selection, if you walk into the store.]

Then again, I've seen something like an incomplete (and unusable) game like Warhammer Quest (missing half the minis and all the books) go for over $150 on eBay... so price can be a relative thing.

True. Let me amend my statement just a bit. Crazy Egor at GenCon this year was surprisingly fair in his prices. However, in years past, especially for some reason at Origins, his prices have been outrageous. This commentary is based soley on his convention appearences, as I've never been to the ole' brick and morter.

........................................Omote

FPQ
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> Omote's Advanced C&C stuff <
Duke Omote Landwehr, Holy Order of the FPQ ~ Prince of the Castles & Crusades Society

I just hope that vendor at GenCon that was across from Monte/White Wolf selling the Wilderlands boxed sets for $25.00 is back again next year.

Treebore wrote:
I just hope that vendor at GenCon that was across from Monte/White Wolf selling the Wilderlands boxed sets for $25.00 is back again next year.

No friggin' kidding. By the time I found out that they were selling for this price, they were sold out. Of course I found out, I think on saturday.

........................................Omote

FPQ
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> Omote's Advanced C&C stuff <
Duke Omote Landwehr, Holy Order of the FPQ ~ Prince of the Castles & Crusades Society

Mostly at my FLGS, with the odd thing ordered online. I have been making more special orders at the FLGS as of late, though.

With only 17 votes, the results are very telling. No wonder game stores across the country have been shutting down like mad. I know that before the online stores, most game stores generally made paper-thin profits, excluding times of crazes like magic, pokemon and yu-gi-oh, etc. So, if the results represented real world figures, just loosing the 17% of sales from those who buy exclusively online is enough to close most stores down. Add to that the ones who shop mostly online and the loss of sales is staggering! I bet the ones that are still open happened to be those rare stores that had healthy profit margins, but who's profit is now probably in the paper-thin category.

I think the days of many game stores in a town are long gone.

I buy mostly online because the nearest game store is about 50 miles from me. If there was on closer, I'd more than likely buy there.

R-
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Rigon o' the Lakelands, Baron of The Castles & Crusades Society
The Book of the Mind

*IF* my local game store carried more of the Castles & Crusades line, since it does seem to move off the shelves, I'd probably buy there more often. I have been able to buy two-thirds of the C&C module line, the Yggsburgh hardcover, and a couple of PHBs. However, I have tried to buy several other PHBs, and have only seen an M&T book there once, for the past few months.

It would seem to me that if the stuff is flying off the shelves relatively well, that a more concentrated effort would be made for keeping at least the core books in stock!

All in all, I have bought a total of 5 PHBs and 3 M&Ts for myself or on the behalf of friends (since the beginning of July). I have been forced to order 3 PHBs and all of those M&Ts online. In my case, it isn't just because I would like to see the store do well, it's also economics. I have found that shipping to Canada tends to out weigh any savings I tend to get by shopping online (when shopping a US based store). Amazon.ca is the exception since I am able to get free shipping if I spend over a certain amount.

Ah well, what can you do?

Moriarty the Red
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"You face Death itself in the form of... 1d4 Tarrasques!"

Partner to Brave Halfling Publishing
http://www.arcanacreations.com

My problem is distance. Instead of driving 50+miles to the closest store it's easier to order over ther phone or online. If there were a store closer I would deal with them but shipping is cheaper than gas is right now.
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The Lord of Ravens
My blog

well, a friend of mine just opened a game store so I guess I'll have to start supporting him .

but like most game stores, he has 90% D&D, 5% Gurps, 2% White wolf and 3% other games in stock, but no C&C

Hey Trolls - the "Biggest" game store in this area is just screaming for exclusive content - hint hint! that no other competition has...

I mostly buy online - because of a couple of reasons

a) US to CDN exchange rates are still being set at 65% on printed books - it's crazy when the dollar is at $.90usd. I'm not willing to pay a 20% hit because the distributors refuse to update the exchange rate on books. buying online means I get to pay current exchange rates = bigger savings

B) its a PITA having to go to a clerk, explain what books I want, having to wait for them to call their distributor to find out if it's in stock, place an order and get told that they will call when it's in... ordering online means all these steps are completed and I don't ahve to make 2 trips to pick up 1 order

C) online shopping allows me to purchase more of what I'm looking for at 1 time - rather that what is only in stock at the local gaming store

which brings the a big disadvantage for me in online shopping - the impulse buy. for "ONLY" $5.00 more, I get free shipping, drat, nothing there for $5.00, so I'll pick up that $20.00 book to get free shipping..... hrmmm, how is it that I suddenly dropped $50.00 when all I wanted was a 9.00 module ??

Cheers,

J

I wonder if many game stores don't do what mine does. If I walk in for something that is not in stock, if it's something they usually have in stock and are just out of or it hasn't been released yet, my name will get put down and when the product comes in on the next shipments within a couple days, they'll pull one aside for me and give me a call. If it's something they don't usually have in stock, they'll add it to their next order and have it in for me within the next 2-3 days and call me. If for some reason they can't get it in for me, like the distributer is out of stock, then I get a call and am let known that and when they'd expect in.

Also, since I'm a C&C fan, they special order me in an extra copy of every C&C product and call me when it's in.