NEWS

Barnes and Noble games shelf

  • 30 Replies
  • 11411 Views

savaze

  • *
  • Omae
  • ***
  • Posts: 341
  • I'm a zombie/quadriplegic hybrid
« Reply #15 on: <03-30-11/1604:35> »
Book stores have an interesting ordering process.  They usually look for what's regionally popular and order top sellers based on the volume of sales per genre, and that's it.

Now if the person ordering is a fan of a certain genre and it's not well purchased category in that area, then they'll buy an amount that's still allotted for in the business model, but it'll have a greater variety of authors.  So if your local big chain book stores have an awesome selection of gaming books then there's probably a gamer ordering books, and if there is a lot of gaming books then there are probably a lot of gamers in the region.   It's unfortunate that the local book stores around here have such a limited selection of scifi and fantasy...

The largest gaming selection in a big chain book store that I ever saw was near a CSU (CA State University).  It had devoted a full aisle and a half to gaming...

Loki

  • *
  • Omae
  • ***
  • Posts: 340
« Reply #16 on: <03-30-11/2222:28> »
I usually order from a lgs that deliberately undercuts the other lgs due to personal disputes. As I dislike the 2nd lgs for reasons of my own it's a win/win. I do reap a tide of B/N gift cards at Christmas which sometimes goes to sourcebooks.
« Last Edit: <03-30-11/2224:05> by Loki »

freddieflatline

  • *
  • Catalyst Demo Team
  • Omae
  • ***
  • Posts: 326
« Reply #17 on: <03-31-11/1114:31> »
I am lucky where I live.  We have a great local game store that is run by a guy who appreciates his local gamers.  He keeps most of the new stuff in stock and even takes suggestions for orders. 

PeterSmith

  • *
  • Ace Runner
  • ****
  • Posts: 1086
« Reply #18 on: <03-31-11/1220:47> »
I am lucky where I live.  We have a great local game store that is run by a guy who appreciates his local gamers.  He keeps most of the new stuff in stock and even takes suggestions for orders.

Sounds like a businessman went into the business of running a game store, rather than a gamer who said: "Pfft, your store sucks. My store will be awesome!"
Power corrupts.
Absolute power is kinda neat.

"Peter Smith has the deadest of deadpans and a very sly smile, making talking to him a fun game of keeping up and slinging the next subtle zinger." - Jason M. Hardy, 3 August 2015

Fnord

  • *
  • Newb
  • *
  • Posts: 21
« Reply #19 on: <04-03-11/1935:56> »
Quote
Just want to point out that if you order straight from BattleCorps, Catalyst gets more of the actual profit. Catalyst profit converts to more products and depth to the universe.
While this is true, there is another aspect to it. If you (and some other) buy shadowrun books from your local bookstore, then they are more likely to order more shadowrun books, and with more shadowrun books on the selves, shadowrun will get more exposure, thus it might lure in more potential buyers. When you order books online, you usually know roughly what you want to buy, so you search for it, then you might get a few suggestions (hey, you like shadowrun, how about trying Eclipse phase?), but for the most part, you will be limited to things that already are within your slice of reality. It is a lot harder to randomly browse books online and find something new and unexpected than it is in a bookstore. When I had a good FLG in my area, I would sometimes go down there, check what they have and buy something on a whim, simply because it looked cool (had I not found that shiny Shadowrun 3rd edition book in my local gamestore, I would probably not be here now).
 And heck, you don't actually have to buy shadowrun specifically to make it more likely that they order shadowrun books. If people are buying several different RPGs, then it is more likely that they will get a small stock of several different RPG books, and possibly order some other books while they are at it. Sure, it might only be 1-2 shadowrun books, but if those sell, they might order a few more, and suddenly you have a decent selection of shadowrun related material in your local gamestore.

freddieflatline

  • *
  • Catalyst Demo Team
  • Omae
  • ***
  • Posts: 326
« Reply #20 on: <04-10-11/1550:44> »
I am lucky where I live.  We have a great local game store that is run by a guy who appreciates his local gamers.  He keeps most of the new stuff in stock and even takes suggestions for orders.

Sounds like a businessman went into the business of running a game store, rather than a gamer who said: "Pfft, your store sucks. My store will be awesome!"

He does not RP but does play some war games.  You are right through he is a business man first and always.  It's kinda funny when he first bought the store from the previous owner his wife wanted him to get rid of the gaming.  He said no and they have been doing well ever since 1990:-)

CanRay

  • *
  • Freelancer
  • Mr. Johnson
  • ***
  • Posts: 11141
  • Spouter of Random Words
« Reply #21 on: <04-10-11/1921:33> »
My local FLGS was saved by Army Surplus sales.

Yeah, odd combination, but there's a lot of Vets that go there, and word of mouth is getting around about the stuff.
Si vis pacem, para bellum

#ThisTaserGoesTo11

freddieflatline

  • *
  • Catalyst Demo Team
  • Omae
  • ***
  • Posts: 326
« Reply #22 on: <04-10-11/2019:35> »
My local FLGS was saved by Army Surplus sales.

Yeah, odd combination, but there's a lot of Vets that go there, and word of mouth is getting around about the stuff.

Yeah it is weird how that works.  The game shop we have also sells comics, toys, and other hobby stuff including skateboards.  He has been successful.  The store survived the comic collapse in the 1990s and the game down turn.

savaze

  • *
  • Omae
  • ***
  • Posts: 341
  • I'm a zombie/quadriplegic hybrid
« Reply #23 on: <04-10-11/2027:16> »
My local FLGS was saved by Army Surplus sales.

Yeah, odd combination, but there's a lot of Vets that go there, and word of mouth is getting around about the stuff.
That's an awesome combo! Does everyone wear k-pots while gaming at the store?!

Yeah it is weird how that works.  The game shop we have also sells comics, toys, and other hobby stuff including skateboards.  He has been successful.  The store survived the comic collapse in the 1990s and the game down turn.
That's a pretty popular combo here in AZ. It's so popular that there is a gaming store in every mall (usually filled with rug-rats going nuts over everything).

CanRay

  • *
  • Freelancer
  • Mr. Johnson
  • ***
  • Posts: 11141
  • Spouter of Random Words
« Reply #24 on: <04-10-11/2056:26> »
My local FLGS was saved by Army Surplus sales.

Yeah, odd combination, but there's a lot of Vets that go there, and word of mouth is getting around about the stuff.
That's an awesome combo! Does everyone wear k-pots while gaming at the store?!
They don't have any of those (Might not be legal in Canada.  (DigiCam is illegal in Canada, for example.  But Repros are legal.).  But there is a few Reproduction Coal Scuttle Helmets and a Tin Pot that I keep wanting to buy.
Si vis pacem, para bellum

#ThisTaserGoesTo11

savaze

  • *
  • Omae
  • ***
  • Posts: 341
  • I'm a zombie/quadriplegic hybrid
« Reply #25 on: <04-10-11/2142:51> »
They don't have any of those (Might not be legal in Canada.  (DigiCam is illegal in Canada, for example.  But Repros are legal.).  But there is a few Reproduction Coal Scuttle Helmets and a Tin Pot that I keep wanting to buy.
They're the newer-old Kevlar helmets.  That's weird that the digi pattern isn't legal... Well, the army down here is starting to transition away from the pattern they're using (it's highly visible from the sky and doesn't offer camouflage from anything really, well almost anything) to multicam for troops in Afghanistan with a more full transition coming in the next few years! It's rumored they want a different pattern than multicam, but that's a politicians call so troops could be wearing pink for all I know...

CanRay

  • *
  • Freelancer
  • Mr. Johnson
  • ***
  • Posts: 11141
  • Spouter of Random Words
« Reply #26 on: <04-11-11/0020:34> »
Pink actually works as cammo in a desert.  There was a British Commando unit in Africa during WWII were called "The Pink Panthers".

The Canadian Armed Forces deployed to The Sandbox in forest cammos...  In the desert.  They fixed it.
Si vis pacem, para bellum

#ThisTaserGoesTo11

savaze

  • *
  • Omae
  • ***
  • Posts: 341
  • I'm a zombie/quadriplegic hybrid
« Reply #27 on: <04-11-11/0036:58> »
I remember hearing about the Pink Panthers, but that's all I remember hearing about them...

I'm more referring to pink being the standard duty color, but point taken. I would rather have multicam be the standard all-environment single pattern, or go with a good two pattern, but I suppose that's a pipe dream.  Alas I'm no longer in the service so I can only write letters and encourage the politicians to do the right thing.

Politicians need a better title, like soul-sucker or some such...

CanRay

  • *
  • Freelancer
  • Mr. Johnson
  • ***
  • Posts: 11141
  • Spouter of Random Words
« Reply #28 on: <04-11-11/0116:54> »
At least the brown cammos the US Army had were better than the canvas bags they gave Canadians those first ...  Months?  A year?

Sorry, sore part on military supporters like myself.
Si vis pacem, para bellum

#ThisTaserGoesTo11

savaze

  • *
  • Omae
  • ***
  • Posts: 341
  • I'm a zombie/quadriplegic hybrid
« Reply #29 on: <04-11-11/0343:52> »
I understand and at that I'll quite hijacking this thread!