Jonrogue: this is where you come in. It sounds like your LGS needs a strong VS community to get the game going. You (and your friends) can accomplish this.

Evilspider: do you play at your local store? If so then you might want to support it. I am not talking about buying ALL your cards from them but it sure would help the store if you purchased SOME from them. I really like my LGS, they have great hours and a great community, it has kinda become our "cheers" (sad I know). saving $50 doens't really matter if you've got noone to play with and/or no local tourney support.

I am really glad that this thread has created so much debate and information. I think this is a very important topic for gamers and it is good to see all the different opinions on here.

Trust me: Every day that I ring up comics, I see that Canadian price and thank the heavens that I live in the U.S. We already spend at least $100 a week (without discount) between the both of us. I can't imagine having to pay full price in Canada.

Sad to say, I never got into Heroclix. I left that for my husband and the boys. He just put his entire set up for auction. We're still getting a couple of Gallacti, but probably selling them in the store, or to friends. :P

Great thread, Kergillian. I generally agree with everything you say and I'm enjoying the healthy debate. As for me, I've get a box coming from an online place and the rest will very likely be bought at my local store.

Speaking of which, you really make Quantum sound cool! If it doesn't become my regular purchasing place (I'll see what it's like and how far it is from me on my first visit), I'll atleast buy a couple of extra packs whenever I show up for tourneys. :)

I'm glad to see that some companies are looking out for us and supporting local shops. Recently, someone local began selling comics from their house, online and in person, at the same discount that we give subscribers. The real problem there isn't the competition, but that Diamond gives practically anyone and everyone their own account, making it possible to seel comics from home, and some people bite. What are we supposed to do? Drop our 30% discount even more?

I don't think that consumers understand how small businesses operate. We cannot lower prices to compete with distributors who sell online at their cost, which is less than the cost that we, the local shops, pay for it. They're STILL making a profit, where we'd be losing money, and the only way to try and compete is to buy in mass quantity, which most stores can't do. We can't sell our Marvel Legends figures at the Wal-Mart $7.88 because we can't buy the 500 cases required to get that MSRP for the figures. This is the reality of every product in our store, and as far as CCG's go, they aren't any cheaper at Target.

In addition, stores like Target don't purchase gaming supplies in enough quantity to keep them alive, and you certainly can't play Pokeman in the middle of a Target aisle. Neither can you play a tournament online, unless you're playing Magic Online, and I'm not even sure if that's possible. If you're just playing for the heck of it, fine, but if you're counting on that game being around, or for prizes to be offered, as a fan and a gamer, product needs to be purchased from these local stores in order to keep more coming.

As a consumer of ANY product that isn't mass-marketed (like soap), you are responsible for supporting local stores in order to keep that product alive. If we stop buying comics from comic shops, eventually there will only be trades of the books we've already read, and then after that there will be nothing. There won't BE any comics to make trades out of. The same goes with any product that is sold almost exclusively in local shops.

As a retailer, it's upsetting to see other stores close down, even if they were competition. In this industry, we support our competitors, because it's more important to have two stores than one.

Ha ha sounds good =) The ladies who own Quantum are super people who are concerned primarily with the customers. They started the store to ensure that kids had a chance to play in and buy from a store that didn't gouge them and just happened to draw all of us older folks who were getting tired of the gouging as well. They even instituted a no-trade policy in the store to prevent young children from being ripped off, and when they trade for cards on their 'want list' they make sure to give a fair deal.

Just make sure to separate the comic shop from the gaming shop - Quantum doesn't sell comics - everything I said about comics is a reference to a separate store.

Cheers!
-Ben =)

Don't you play ignorant with me, Kergillain C. Florjortson! Your disclaimer...

...is clearly a cheap knock off of my own from this post.

I demand that you edit the post to include an additional disclaimer that states that the proceeding one is copyright® Bizarrosworth N. Ninetyeight, Metropolis BW, 2004.

I'd support my local store more if their prices were anywhere near reasonable. They don't discount anything, and they even jack up the prices on the anime they have. Boxes of M:TG are $110+ tax. Who in their right mind would spend that when they could order online and save $30 or more?

Aaron

Not to get to off topic, but the one time I went to Quantum it was great. I forget who, but one of the ladies told me if I needed any clix she would take them down and if someone came by with something I needed she would trade or buy for the piece depending on what my preference was (trading or buying), this is on my first visit. The people there for the tournament were all great and the atmosphere was so relaxed, healthy competiton but not cut throat. If it wasn't so far I would go there so much more often.

I also think this is one of the key points of this thread. If your LGS is a good place and if your playing tournaments there, then you should support it (within reason). But if your LGS doesn't hold tournaments, overcharges and is generally a poorly organized then maybe it deserves to close. I don't think anyone is trying to say support your LGS at all cost just because their there, but support them because they support your hobby (through tournaments, a place to play and meet new people and a great atmosphere with decent prices).

-grin- if you were at Quantum for a tourney then you very likely ran into me, as I'm usually at the tourneys there =)

Bizarro: somehow I doubt that the industry standard disclaimer which has been used in journalism and editorials for over a hundred years is your intellectual property. But heck, you never know :p

(Darn, he's on to me.)

Alright, I'm willing to go for a $15,000 settlement, but only 'cause I likes the cut of your jib.

DOWN WITH THE eSYSTEM, YO!

Hehe, anyway, I fully support my LGS, even though said shop's in Concord and I'm somwhere currently on the outskirts of Charlotte, but I still support the place. Just goes to show that if the LGS is a great place with employees that are helpful and support that you know you won't find anywhere else, you'll make it local as long as you can.

Besides, a 20 minute ride in order to obtain sweet, sweet gaming stuff isn't really so bad.

Bizarro: I WAS going to offer a cool million, but since yer pushy you'll have to settle for a cookie =)

Cheers!
-Ben =)

It's simple really, and I'm surprised no one has said it, it comes from the adage,

Pay where you play.

If you don't want to support where you are playing, why are you playing there? If you don't support where you play, it won't be there for you to play anymore.

If you are more of a collector, (which I'm guessing spider is) then you are by nature, a "hunter" and will go any/everywhere with less loyalty and less concern for the "health" or "status" of the state of the game. This post I believe therefore was not meant for the collector, but for the player. Responsibility, I don't think is the best word to use, "role" might be more appropriate. However, do as you will.

Kergillian, I agree with the difficulty of the "roaming nomads" as I like to call them, who come in and snatch up all the prize support. What I've found works (in theory) is to spread the prizes out more, there might be a bit lower attendance, but the regulars are more likely to get something, and new people who may not be very good, can get something too. Leave the grand prizes for the tournaments where they rent halls.

I'm so happy you are Canadian!! Where are you? The reference to Quantum lead me to think of Montreal.

when my locak venue buys up all the stock at the local toys r us and then charges double what they cost then yes I can feel that way about stores, you try and portray stores as these all benevolent institutions.

On an earlier point about people sucking up the prices when I enter a tourny I usually spend a lot of money at that venue , and never win a tourny anyhoos so it's not like I win anything in return but that's fair because there can be only one, so it's not like I go to a tourny not buy anything and take the prize that's true of many people. Like at neutral ground here at nyc I'll buy soda drink boosters singles cause I'm there and I want to have fun but I'll buy one booster cause that's all I can afford.

Again I buy starters at stores to start off but I am not going to spend 7 dollars a booster when I can get what I want on ebay. that doesn't make me selfish but you can usually spend an obscene amount of money at a game store, that's money that can go to other things.