One of C's favorite game stores, Good Games in Butte, MT
Geeks are children of the internet, and we spend a lot of our lives online. It’s only natural that when we spend so many hours surfing the web, we end up doing a little bit of shopping. It’s hard to resist the lure of glossy online stores, with discounts and codes for free shipping, nearly limitless stock, and no line to wait in to check out. I rather like it myself.
But yet, when it comes to gaming books and supplies, I go to my friendly local gaming stores – Kelly’s Komix here in Great Falls, MT, Good Games in Butte, and Good Turn Games in Missoula – as often as I can, even when I can get it cheaper online, even when I’m so poor I can’t afford to pay attention. And you should do the same, wherever you are. Why bother putting on real clothes to go to your FLGS when you could be shopping in your jammies online? Here’s why.
Use It Or Lose It
This seems like a no-brainer, but it needs to be stated. Businesses that can’t keep afloat close their doors. If you do all your hobby shopping online, you may not miss that FLGS at first – maybe not at all, if you were never a big patron. But other gamers in town who frequented the store will miss it, and if they’re not comfortable shopping online, they may leave the hobby, which will affect your chances of finding new gamers to fill your table. Or imagine going to another city for a small con or game day, and realizing (to your horror!) that you forgot your dice. No problem, you’ll just pop down to the FLGS and pick up a cheap set…except the FLGS has gone out of business. OK, well, the dealers’ hall at the con, then! Except there are no FLGSs left within a distance that would have made the con cost-effective to come to, so there’s no one selling dice at the con. Sobering thought, isn’t it?
(And before you say that last example is far-fetched, consider the wide open spaces of the Great Plains and Midwest, where cities of any size are many miles apart, and not all of them have gaming stores. On the last day of MisCon this year, one of the local game stores – the only dealer selling sets of dice at the con – packed up their booth and didn’t come back for the final day. Guess who was a dummy and hadn’t bought new dice yet? Grrr. And I wasn’t the only one.)
The Power of Browsing
You can browse online – anyone who has suddenly realized they just lost an hour reading board game reviews on Amazon can attest to that. One thing you can’t do when shopping online is physically touch a product. If you’ve ever ordered something and been disappointed in its appearance, size, or quality once you got it in your hands, you’ve probably wished you could have gotten a better look at it first. Head down to your FLGS to see what those minis actually look like. The picture you saw online might be misleading, for the good or the bad. Some things don’t photograph well, and if you went strictly off what you saw online, you might pass them up, when they’re actually really cool.
And regardless of how many hours you spend online (and if you’re like me, emphasis on the many), you’re never going to reach the end of the internet. The brick and mortar store may have a game, manga, or action figure you had never heard of before. You just may find something awesome that you’d never have known about if you hadn’t gone shopping.
Testimonials
My day job is in retail, and I’ve seen the power of testimonials. When I can tell a customer, “Yes, these are excellent shoes if you’re on your feet all day – look, I’m wearing them myself,” or one customer tells another how happy they’ve been with their high-end hiking boots and that they’re worth the higher price, the prospective buyer feels more confident that they’re purchasing the right thing. If I go into a FLGS and the employees there tell me that they’ve played a board game and that it’s a lot of fun – and can answer my questions about it so I know they’re not just blowing smoke up my ass – you can bet my interest will be piqued. Likewise, if I see a few people sitting at a table painting minis, and they’re discussing how disappointed they are in the pricey new paints that just came out, I’ll be more likely to stick to the tried and true instead of automatically buying the latest and (supposedly) greatest.
Instant Gratification
When you have your heart set on buying something, you usually want it yesterday. Pop into the FLGS and you can be back home with your new treasure within the hour. Instead of waiting 2-5 business days for an online order to ship halfway across the country (and then just sit for a day in the next town over – thank you UPS and USPS tracking for letting me see this happening so I have another thing to get annoyed over), you could be playing that game, reading that graphic novel, or painting those minis.
What happens if the FLGS doesn’t have your coveted item in stock? Could have just as well ordered online, right? Not necessarily. Many game stores will gladly order in whatever you want. At our FLGS, so long as you let Brooks know what you want before he places his orders on Monday, you’ll usually have your special order by that Friday. That’s just as quick, if not quicker, than you would have received anything you ordered online, you didn’t have to pay shipping, and you supported a local business. Plus, if enough people come in wanting to special order the same thing, the store will eventually add it to their stock. Winning!
Meeting People
You can meet lots of people online. The fact that I have this writing gig at all is proof of that. Meeting people in real life can be a lot more difficult. So why not make it easier on yourself by going to a place where your chances of meeting others with similar interests are high?
The guy you see in the Warhammer aisle might be looking for a new group, just like you. Or the girl picking up the latest issue of the obscure comic you love would probably be thrilled to find another fan of the series. Even if you don’t have luck mingling with the other customers, don’t forget to make friends with the owner/employees. Those folks are in the know about gamers in the area and can get you in touch. It’s thanks to Brooks at Kelly’s Komix that my husband and I learned about the Sandbaggers Game Club – and that’s where we finally made a family, after living in this town for years.
If you are lucky enough to have a FLGS in your area, please consider going to them first for your geek product needs. There are certain deals on the internet that just can’t be beat – and when money is tight, who can say no to half off cover price plus free shipping? – but for many purchases, the savings you’ll find online are offset by the convenience and other bonuses of shopping locally. Give your FLGS some love, and they’ll love you right back.
What’s your favorite FLGS? What do they do that keeps you coming back for more?
About c
I’ve found that my local gaming stores don’t have the selection for the items that I want. They can special order, but it takes weeks instead of days, if they get the order right to begin with. I can drive to the LGS to see if they have something, but that’s usually a 20-minute drive, and if it’s in a different store, there’s another drive. Not so much instant gratification.
On the other hand, I have Amazon Prime, so if they have it, I have it in two days with free shipping. I can find a much better selection of minis at Reaper’s site than even at a very well-stocked LGS, and I can search rather than looking up and down the wall of minis, hoping that what I’m looking for isn’t shoved behind someone else.
So, if something is a mainstream gaming item and just came out and thus likely to be in stock at the LGS, and I happen to be near the LGS, I might stop in and buy it from them instead of ordering online. But if it’s anything else, it’s going to be faster, easier, and cheaper to get it online.
Now, if you happen to have a FRIENDLY LGS, then things change. But not all LGSes are worth patronizing.
I find this interesting. I like to go to our local gaming store here in NYC. I definately go there to browse, cuz they have a seriously large selections of games. There is not much better than just taking an afternoon and going to see what games you have not actually heard about and give them a read.
The downside to is, you can get most game online cheaper. I hate the way that sounds, but it is the truth. I stilll try to buy my game locally, but damn it…I get caught up in buying it cheaper sometiems too. I always feel guilty about it, but sometimes finances play a part in where people buy their games.
Alan – Certainly, the FRIENDLY part is key. I won’t patronize any business, gaming store or not, where I’m treated poorly. There is another LGS I could have shouted out to, but they’re missing the friendly.
Amazon Prime is a great deal, but it’s not something everyone can afford (I know I can’t anymore). If you don’t have something like that, shipping really adds up in a hurry.
Stacey – I absolutely understand the issue of finances. I can’t afford to turn down a fantastic deal online, either. But if the price difference is small, I’ll buy locally.
I’m spoiled for choice where I live. I have 3 gaming stores within 20 minutes driving, and another 2 within an hour. I regularly drive right by the closest one (~5 minutes) to go to one of the others. Why? Because the owner of that one treats it strictly like a business. I get the distinct impression that the store could be a shoe store or a hardware store, and the owner would feel the same way about it. There is no emphasis on customer service and very little on product knowledge.
On the other hand, the 2 other stores are friendly, welcoming, eager to share knowledge and seem genuinely committed to the gaming environment. I’m happy to support my local stores and I enjoy retail shopping so I can see and feel the merchandise and ask questions. But I’d rather go online than go to that one dud of a local store.
I love my FLGS, so much so in fact that I have the store logo tattooed on my arm. Pretty much all of my current friends I have met there, and some of my greatest gaming memories are associated with it too. They are doing quite well right now, and have actually opened a second location, so I sometimes find myself driving almost an hour more just to attend an event at the other store, and to see some of the old regulars who live closer to the new spot.
As far as saving money by ordering online, I’ve only ever ordered anything after it was established my FLGS couldn’t get it at all. Even when I worked at a national chain retailer and could get 90% of my new books for 30% off, I still only bought from my FLGS, and event sent people there by having business cards in my pockets and directing them when ever possible.
The first posts in my somewhat updated blog have been dedicated to my FLGS, and I just did a podcast with the owner and manager of the two stores for a friend’s site as well.
Drew – You indeed sound lucky to have a wonderful FLGS! Awesome.
And doubly awesome that they’ve been successful enough to need a second location. It’s so much more common to hear about stores closing rather than expanding.
Wendy – You are definitely lucky to have choices, and some good stores to go to so you’re not stuck with the dud. I don’t blame anyone for going online if all they had was a unfriendly store within driving distance.
There’s several great game stores in the Seattle area. I used to go by one in a couple of miles away on a weekly basis immediately after getting gas. The pocket change I got from buying gas was spent on dice. Alas, that store moved an hour away.
My brother found books for sale at another store we frequented that had obviously been taken from the library. We haven’t been back since.
I live in the rural south, so there is no local store to pop in to. The closest is nearly a 2 hour drive.
I do, however, make it well worth the store’s while when conventions come around. Rather than make odd orders online, and yes those shipping charges add up. I give my favorite dealer a call before the con with a wishlist. If they don’t have it they order it and make sure I can get a good strong fix all in one go. Because I tend to buy all my gaming stuff in bulk a few times a year, they give me a discount, or sometimes they toss in an item or two. Since they have a list of things I want, they tend to toss in some interesting freebies that would have been on the list if I had known about them.