D&Done and the FLGS

Mishihari · January 13, 2023, 04:33:49 PM

I was in Dallas over Christmas and my brother in law brought me to Madness Games and Comics in Plano. It was really, really good - definitely worth a stop in you're in the area. I chatted with one of the staff (looked like he might be an owner, didn't ask) about the impact of WotC moving their content online. He said it would likely really hurt them, as a huge part of their business is D&D. In his place I would start directing customers towards other games, but I don't know how much impact that would have. What's a FLGS owner to do? Thoughts?

rytrasmi · January 13, 2023, 05:06:35 PM

I have 4 go-to places in Toronto for gaming. Store #1 doesn't have tables. Store #2 is full of MTG players and has mega bright lights and closes early, Store #3 still requires masks and proof of vax. Store #4 is also a game cafe and they have great decor, lighting, food, and amazing staff. More stores should be like The Guild House, especially since they are now competing with VTT.

GeekyBugle · January 13, 2023, 05:07:23 PM

Quote from: Mishihari on January 13, 2023, 04:33:49 PM
I was in Dallas over Christmas and my brother in law brought me to Madness Games and Comics in Plano. It was really, really good - definitely worth a stop in you're in the area. I chatted with one of the staff (looked like he might be an owner, didn't ask) about the impact of WotC moving their content online. He said it would likely really hurt them, as a huge part of their business is D&D. In his place I would start directing customers towards other games, but I don't know how much impact that would have. What's a FLGS owner to do? Thoughts?

Smart store owners would indeed direct people to other games, they should also diversify into selling stuff even normies buy.

IMHO between Crowdfunding, PoD and Digital their days are numbered tho.

migo · January 13, 2023, 05:07:44 PM

Emphasize face to face play. Start hosting gaming sessions, to start with perhaps with D&D in any case, but start branching out to other systems, particularly those that are supported by some kind of organized play.

tenbones · January 13, 2023, 05:13:37 PM

Madness Comics in Dallas is/was spectacular. It's a Walmart sized temple to Nerdery. But they went woke... and their customer service has gone to shit. MOST of their business is MtG. They have mini-Cons there and everything. However they have/had a robust TTRPG crowd.

I haven't been there in a long time, mainly because they catered mostly to the 5e/Pathfinder crowd... and whatever was new. Lots of FFG Star Wars at one point, but I think that's died down. The place is HUUUUGE. No idea how they're going to weather this given WotC's Magic and now D&D issues.

I live not far from there - but I have no reason to go, I'm old and the chromatic-haired crowd and I don't see eye-to-eye on a lot of stuff.

hedgehobbit · January 13, 2023, 05:52:49 PM

Quote from: Mishihari on January 13, 2023, 04:33:49 PM
I was in Dallas over Christmas and my brother in law brought me to Madness Games and Comics in Plano. It was really, really good - definitely worth a stop in you're in the area. I chatted with one of the staff (looked like he might be an owner, didn't ask) about the impact of WotC moving their content online. He said it would likely really hurt them, as a huge part of their business is D&D.

That's surprising. I've been going to Madness for many years now and their RPG section has been shrinking year by year. It is now about 1/8th the size of it was in their old location. I guess that just means that D&D has grown in terms of how important it is in the RPG sector as the store doesn't stock much else.

Svenhelgrim · January 14, 2023, 04:29:14 AM

Since the 5e craze is about to come to a crashing halt, many of us at the local FLGS are just bringing in games that we own and running pickup sessions.

What we need to do is coordinate with the store owners and run shit that they can sell. I would like to run a one-shot, or mini campaign of Casltes & Crusades. Such an easy game rules wise, and the printing is all done in the US. So we won't have the distribution issues that many other game systems have.

Dropbear · January 14, 2023, 11:56:02 AM

I'm about 2 hours NW of Dallas! I have been to Madness. It was not bad then. But family lives in Houston so I'm always going to 3rd Planet a lot.

grimshwiz · January 14, 2023, 12:21:30 PM

Quote from: rytrasmi on January 13, 2023, 05:06:35 PM
I have 4 go-to places in Toronto for gaming. Store #1 doesn't have tables. Store #2 is full of MTG players and has mega bright lights and closes early, Store #3 still requires masks and proof of vax. Store #4 is also a game cafe and they have great decor, lighting, food, and amazing staff. More stores should be like The Guild House, especially since they are now competing with VTT.

Which place in TO still requires a poke pass and face panty? I purchase from shops in TO often online (I live in rural ON). Fee free to message me if you don't feel comfortable answering publicly.

Jam The MF · January 14, 2023, 12:40:58 PM

Quote from: Svenhelgrim on January 14, 2023, 04:29:14 AM
Since the 5e craze is about to come to a crashing halt, many of us at the local FLGS are just bringing in games that we own and running pickup sessions.

What we need to do is coordinate with the store owners and run shit that they can sell. I would like to run a one-shot, or mini campaign of Casltes & Crusades. Such an easy game rules wise, and the printing is all done in the US. So we won't have the distribution issues that many other game systems have.

All printing is done in the USA? That's a great positive for them, in my book.

rytrasmi · January 14, 2023, 01:19:24 PM

Quote from: grimshwiz on January 14, 2023, 12:21:30 PM
Quote from: rytrasmi on January 13, 2023, 05:06:35 PM
I have 4 go-to places in Toronto for gaming. Store #1 doesn't have tables. Store #2 is full of MTG players and has mega bright lights and closes early, Store #3 still requires masks and proof of vax. Store #4 is also a game cafe and they have great decor, lighting, food, and amazing staff. More stores should be like The Guild House, especially since they are now competing with VTT.

Which place in TO still requires a poke pass and face panty? I purchase from shops in TO often online (I live in rural ON). Fee free to message me if you don't feel comfortable answering publicly.

Sword and Board. Great store otherwise. Lots of good used stuff.

shoplifter · January 14, 2023, 01:25:40 PM

Quote from: hedgehobbit on January 13, 2023, 05:52:49 PM

That's surprising. I've been going to Madness for many years now and their RPG section has been shrinking year by year. It is now about 1/8th the size of it was in their old location. I guess that just means that D&D has grown in terms of how important it is in the RPG sector as the store doesn't stock much else.

My FLGS is the same. Back when I started shopping there in the late 90s, the entire front half of the store was shelves and shelves of RPGs. They've now been relegated to two or three smaller shelves in the back of the shop, replaced largely by boardgames. The majority of the shops sales were always largely GW and Magic, but the RPG section is a pittance of what it used to be. To their credit, they'll order anything you want, but long gone are the days when I'll pop in just to see what random obscure RPG they'd just gotten in stock.

I'm sure that Amazon and Kickstarter have taken a toll on that portion of sales, but I'd rather give the FLGS my cash when I can.

Bruwulf · January 14, 2023, 01:31:31 PM

I suppose I'm not as lucky as some to have been graced with a lot of good FLGSs. There was one good one where I grew up, run by the same guy, alone, for like 20 years because any time he tried to hire help they stole from him or were worthless employees. Most of the other stores were either incompetently managed or... well... a different type of incompetently managed, with far too many of them seeming to be someone just trying to turn "a place where me and my friends can hang out and play games" into a side hustle of sorts.

Armchair Gamer · January 14, 2023, 01:57:06 PM

Quote from: Jam The MF on January 14, 2023, 12:40:58 PM
All printing is done in the USA? That's a great positive for them, in my book.

TLG not only does their own printing, they make it company policy to source merchandise from US producers.

Effete · January 14, 2023, 02:51:25 PM

Quote from: Bruwulf on January 14, 2023, 01:31:31 PM
I suppose I'm not as lucky as some to have been graced with a lot of good FLGSs. There was one good one where I grew up, run by the same guy, alone, for like 20 years because any time he tried to hire help they stole from him or were worthless employees. Most of the other stores were either incompetently managed or... well... a different type of incompetently managed, with far too many of them seeming to be someone just trying to turn "a place where me and my friends can hang out and play games" into a side hustle of sorts.

Same.
There were a couple okay stores. One was very small and cramped, but it was owned by an older gentleman who had a TON of older books. I would have bought more if I wasn't so poor at the time. Another store I went to about 3 or 4 times was owned by a young kid. Everytime I went there there were a couple kids in back playing World of Warcraft. You can tell they were close friends with the owner by how chummy they all were. I ordered a sourcebook for Shadowrun 3e, put $20 or $25 down, but when I went back two weeks later the store was completely shutdown and empty. I should have guessed because I never saw another customer when I was there. And this was early 2000s, during the d20 boom.