Is it ever okay not to support your local gaming store?
There's strong grassroots opinions to support your friendly, local, game store (FLGS). I agree that its great to have a local store for your hobby; somewhere to congregate with like minded individuals and peruse the latest and older products. These stores should be supported, otherwise we'll lose them.
But, what happens if the store doesn't support you? Or at least doesn't support you enough?
A little background, I recently moved to a new town with the one and only FLGS is right down the road. I was thrilled to finally have a store that wasn't an hour drive away. I quickly came to realize this store was not interested in supporting RPGs.
When I say "not interested" I specifically mean, he's not running games in store. I never even got a chance to offer to run the games. The idea seems to be a non-starter. Magic and Warhammer are no problem, but table top RPGs don't make enough money...end of discussion.
I hear what he's saying. The big money is in cards and miniatures. He does maintain a modest selection of RPG products, about a shelf worth of books, some minis and dice. No problem ordering anything I want, as well. But, we're not going to take an evening to try and bring RPG players (new and old) into the store.
It's his store, he can promote what he wants.
I want to support local stores, but I don't feel particularly drawn to going down the street and entering his brick-and-mortar to just order something, when I could just order it from an online store that a lot of times is just as much of a small business as the FLGS and much more interested in supporting my interests.
Should I feel guilty for not supporting my local FLGS that doesn't directly support my hobby?
This sounds harsh, but YES, it's perfectly fine to not support your FLGS. I'm a firm believer in not "rewarding" poor service, rude employees, inadequate selection, etc. So I don't go places or spend money where these are in play. But in your case, it sounds like the store doesn't want to carry/support/run RPGs. Treat it like a comic book store then -- a niche shop that caters to a narrow clientele that has nothing that you're interested in and is unwilling to support you as a customer. Spend your money and time elsewhere and leave the guilt at home.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I agree.
ReplyDeleteAs one last effort, you could mention that other stores run D&D Encounters with a $1 table fee (per player, none for DMs). My local game store does that and I do not mind throwing them a buck or two to get them something in return for having space to game and guarantee them a small amount of revenue on game nights. At my store, they usually have 2 tables going, so it's a $10 - $15 "sale" every week. It's an arrangement that works out for all.
But... it sounds like even this may be a non-starter.
I would say try one more time to befriend the owner and make suggestions, but after that, if he's still not receptive, move on. It's unfortunately sad but true state of the industry that war gaming and Magic are a steady revenue generators whereas RPGs generate revenue in fits and starts, so you have to impress the notion that there may be ways to generate more steady revenue from RPGs as well.
Appeal the the business man and perhaps he will listen.
I agree, Marty. I wonder why he wouldn't want to charge a seat fee? I've even seen fees up to $5. That and the store purchases besides gaming material, like soda and snacks would be enough to cover the light bill I would think.
DeleteI pop in every so often to purchase something, just so he knows he has at least one customer that's interested in RPGs.
Its hard for me not to think of a FLGS playing RPGs. It always seemed like the soul of the game store.
I was in retail for 30 years, even running a WoTC retail store (back when they had them) for over two years. Needless to say, we ran _everything_, even having T1 lines so players on online games could rent time to play at high speed. Heck, I even had puzzle mornings for seniors that "mall walked". This fool doesn't see the potential for positive marketing or growing a brand. I can tell you equivalently that this man is a fool, and you need not feel an ounce of remorse for not rewarding his foolishness.
ReplyDelete