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| Theboardgamefamily.com |
The other day the OSRToday announced the creation of a directory for those FLGS’s who stock items of interest to the OSR to put their names and relevant data onto a list, with the idea that it might encourage more custom to said stores. All well and good, and certainly couldn’t hurt anyone.
But what I found more interesting was the subsequent debate on GooglePlus between Jason Paul McCartan (who runs OSRToday) and Christopher Hardy, who runs the Savage Sorcery game store in… ummm… I’m not quite sure, because nowhere on “the ultimate game room store”‘s website do they actually give a physical address other than buried on a less-than-helpful Mapquest map (and you’re lecturing others about “insight and experience in the real “foot traffic” market”???). [UPDATE: It seems to be on the “About Us” page now.]
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| Daysofknights.com |
The discussion basically came down to Christopher saying that he doesn’t stock OSR material because it doesn’t turn a decent profit. And that’s a very fair point. If your clientele is more interested in LAN parties, Frisbee golf(!), and the latest M:tG release, then you need to follow the money. It’s a business, not a charity for 40-something gamers. But he also said “we don’t and can’t thrive on RPG Materials of any kind. It’s mainly an afterthought.” That I found quite revealing.
I say that because I know at least two FLGS’s in driving distance for whom RPGs are a significant slice of their business. Certainly not a throwaway category that’s more trouble than it’s worth. They go out of their way to cultivate a clientele that wants those games, and develops the sort of customer loyalty that brings them into the store rather than taking the discount on Amazon, or the convenience of buying from RPGNow.com. And bear in mind everything in this post I say about RPGs applies to board games, too.
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| Castleperilous.com |
I’ve also been in FLGS’s who have exactly the same attitude towards RPGs (especially RPGs that aren’t D&D or Pathfinder) that Savage Sorcery seems to have. They just can’t be bothered, and even if I am standing at the register with money in hand asking them to special order something for me, it just will never happen, and they act completely put out by even being asked to try. Those stores, I don’t go back to.
It’s admittedly a conundrum. Players/customers don’t frequent the store because there’s nothing there for them to play or buy. The store doesn’t stock any OSR stuff because it would sit on the shelf and represent a waste of money. Honestly, I get that problem.
This actually circles back to another discussion that was going on earlier this week about TARGA, the abortive Old School version of the RPGA that I originally boosted way back in the early days of the blog, and might have had a small part in getting off the ground when I posted about such an organization back in 2008.
I think that such an organization might actually be a perfect vehicle to solve the conundrum. Perhaps the OSRToday site might be able to do so as well.
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| Shopofmagic.com |
What if there was a way for any given FLGS to gauge interest in OSR type games? I’m thinking along the lines of GMT’s P-500 program, where people indicated interest until a critical mass was reached. Once, say, a dozen people said they would frequent the store if they knew it carried a selection of OSR games, the store would take the plunge and then be able to fire off a very specifically targeted email campaign at those people. Basically, opting in to an email announcement list that wouldn’t activate until it hit a target number of members.
Now, obviously not everyone who signed up for such a list would actually walk through the door. But I think it’s not unreasonable to say that there would be a higher-than-average response rate, especially if it was combined with special events, sales, etc. I only picked a dozen out of thin air; maybe each store would be able to set its own threshold, based on local conditions and the willingness of the store owner to take a risk on such a venture.
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| Myriadgames.com |
Heck, it could even get more specific and poll those signing up for which games in particular they’d be interested in. When you get eight people within driving distance who all say they are interested in Castles and Crusades, that could be valuable information for the store owner, and he might want to pick up some of the latest releases and let those people know.
Perhaps such a thing would be more useful to the stores, and ultimately more useful to the players, because it would give the stores a way to know that they weren’t speculating on some obscure title, and the players a way to know that there were others in their area who were interested in playing that obscure title, and would be willing to not only play at the store, but buy stuff there as well. And it could be expanded to board games, too.
I think it depends upon the locale.
When I was living in Grand Junction, Colorado some years ago, I couldn't get a game going.
No Game Store in the area carried RPGs and I couldn't find anyone who played RPGs. After about a year, I found two . . . and they just weren't interested enough to game anymore.
So I think the location of the Game Store is going to play an important part in whether or not they support the hobby.
I don't know if it was changed after you wrote this or not, but the physical address was listed on the about us link.
3 Center St
Union Springs NY 13260
It's entirely possible that I missed it, @Charles Atkins, but I know I clicked each of those links more than once specifically looking for the address.
I love seeing game stores with tables like that last one there. It makes my palms itch and money fly out of my pockets into the cash register.
Great post and thank you for the links to the discussions. I have kind of the same problem here in the Twin Cities; the biggest and best-known FLGS does support the local 'indie' game authors (which may or may not be 'in the OSR'), but one of the two owners of the store is one of the big movers and shakers in the local comics scene. He really pushed the comics side of the business, which I certainly understand, but as he also runs the store's website my experience has been that he'll push the hot product lines over the less commercial ones.
Again, I can understand this – he has to make money to stay in business. It's just difficult to have to try to deal with, as a 'non-commercial' / non-comics customer. As a result, I don't spend much money there, anymore; I do my shopping on-line, for the most part.
Sigh.
– chirine
I've really felt that the stores in South and Central Texas could carry more OSR stuff than they do and it be worthwhile. I've seen very little, and more of Raggi's products than anyone else's.
Actually, if you count DCC RPG, then Raggi's stuff would be a distant second in number.
As for depending on the locale, Newark, DE has never struck me as a hotbed of wargamers or RPG players, but I can personally vouch for the fact that one of the stores pictured in this post has been friendly to OSR types since the days when gaming was synonymous w/ OSR. They've had their ups & downs, but RPGs and board games have been the focus of their business since I first walked in over 30 years & 2 locations ago.
Games Plus in the Chicago area stocks a ton of OSR-related products. I bought all my copies of Labyrinth Lord, Swords & Wizardry and others. They even carry LotFP.
http://www.games-plus.com/
I don't know nearly enough about the economics or running a game store, but I'd be happy if my local game store carried more than just "Pathfinder," "NWOD/White Wolf," "left over 3.5 era books" and "indie game from the 90's that no one ever cared about." I went in there the other day, looking to burn some money and some gift certificates, and couldn't find anything that was "OSR," "Call of Cthulhu," "Shadowrun" or anything I was interested in. What's aggravating is that they'll randomly have some really cool books, but they often sell out of those decently quickly (not crazy, but a few weeks or so), and they just don't bother restocking. When I ask to order something, 75% of the time I'm informed that it's "out of print" and so I have to order it from the Amazon or the publisher directly.
I want to support my local gaming store, but sometimes they make it damn hard to give them money.
Having talked with several FLGS owners and managers, my understanding is that RPGs are a very small part of their business (this is the Seattle area, which has had a pretty large role-playing community). To make money, they're usually turning over other stuff: dice, collectable card games, fancy-shmancy board games, comics, and mail order product. It's not an easy or profitable biz, and many places that sell RPGs seem to only do it "on the side" for the love of the thing. A recent phenomenon is to attach the game shop to a pub, where the place can make money (off beer) and give folks a venue to play the games just purchased. That business model seems to be working out here.
For myself, I have to say I'm not a fan of the "critical mass desire" thing, as many times I don't KNOW what I want until I see it on the shelf…there's lots of "obscure titles" being published by independent publishers that just aren't well known, aren't marketed well, and yet are totally worth my dollar. I've known more than one game shop to have a "slush fund" with which to stock a copy or two of these obscure games, especially from local designers, and that's usually the bin I hit up first. It's nice when THAT stuff is more prominently displayed, but it is what it is.