"Support Your Local Stores" Topic

A new thread recently came up on our GHQ company forum lamenting the loss of another great gaming store, American Eagles in Seattle. You can see the thread here:

link

This store has been around for decades, is multi-generational family owned, and everyone there has always been a pleasure to deal with.

Too often we (as a manufacturer) hear from customers complaining that they don't have a gaming store in their area, or that the store just closed. Everyone needs to evaluate whether, or not, having local stores is important. Think about being able to see the merchandise up close before you buy it, the gaming space that many offer, the camaraderie that you get, the new opponents that you meet because you aren't playing in your basement, and much more. If you have one near you and value it, then you really need to patronize it. If they don't have what you want, then talk with the owner/manager and let them know what you would buy. Be tactful about it, don't make it sound like a complaint. Make it sound like what it is- a helpful suggestion. Most store owners welcome this kind of information. No one knows what the customers want to buy, more than the customers.

In this age of internet shopping too often people allow the discounted online price to outweigh the camaraderie and ability to see the merchandise up close that come from a local store.

If you do have a local store, stop in this weekend and buy something. If it doesn't have the exact miniatures/rules/books that you want, then buy some paint or brushes, and let them know what you would like to buy. There are new stores that pop up periodically, but over the years there have been far more that have closed. Most of the time they never come back.

In the grand scheme of retailing this is a small, niche market. Everyone needs to help each other- the customers, the stores, and the manufacturers. That 10% that you save by making an online purchase is very shortsighted if you lose your local store because of it. Many store owners will often make deals with regular their customers.

Now get out there, visit your local gaming store this weekend, and buy something whether it be GHQ, some other historical, fantasy, sci-fi, books, rules, paints, brushes, etc. Save your local store, they can't exist without you.

Thank you,
GHQ

Do it all the time…

Good advice. I try to stop by both of my loacl stores at least once a week to buy something, even if it's only a bottle of paint, etc.

I did just that yesterday. I could have bought a big game online. I didn't even look. I drove to the local shop and paid full price for it, and I don't feel bad at all. The fleeting joy of paying less money will soon be squashed by the grief of having no more game shops to play at, show off, recruit from, hang out in.

I've tried to buy from local shops but too often such businesses are run as hobbies rather than businesses with predictable results.

Here in Atlanta we had a great wargame shop. But their special order system consisted of post-it notes stuck in a dog-eared notebook. Most orders were either lost or I had to rescue them from the shelves as they were often simply treated as regular inventory. Still, I remained loyal and when they closed their doors I had two orders waiting to be filled…

Our community includes the HQ of a popular hobby shop chain. Again, special orders are hopeless! We tried locating our monthly club meetings there but they repeatedly messed up the schedule and double-booked their gaming tables. You think they could buy a calendar.

We have at least one GREAT store remaining in Atlanta, Giga-Bites. Special orders are filled reliably. They provide an outstanding gaming space including plenty of gamer-friendly food. You can schedule a table without fear of double-booking. My kids are getting into WHFB and WH40K and, while I can order such items cheaper online, we buy all of those items from Giga-Bites. Their secret? Instead of assuming they get our business simply by being the FLGS they truly earn our business by providing professional service.

I've had friends lose their stores to online competition, so I fully buy into the idea of shopping locally. But for the hobby to thrive hobby shops, both B&M and online, need to operate professionally (eg good luck trying to find product photos on many online shops!!!).

If I game at a store, I buy there!!!

There used to be oodles of really great games stores in my area. Now there are two about 40 miles apart (which doesn't seem much admittedly but still). I love the idea of being able to actually look at miniatures, to not have that barrier of a computer screen between me and lovely shiny!

To be honest my dream is to actually one day open a games store that would carry the lesser known or foreign companies; eg Mirliton, RAFM and Reaper etc, while also stocking online stuff like Heresy, Hasselfree and Black Cat Bases! And no GW products! Unfortunately this is highly unlikely to happen T_T

No stores here in Charlotte, NC that I know of. I never met a store owner that I could not special order from if they didn't carry a product I wanted. Good advice GHQ, wish we had a store.

There's only one LGS in my town. Sure, Hobbytown USA has tables, but they're not a game store first. I still shop at hobbytown for conversion and scratchbuilding supplies, since they carry plastruct and evergreen, but only one dedicated game store.

The owner says that the city is big enough to support another LGS, but too many store-owners don't treat the store as a business (the previous owners of the LGS didn't really treat the store as a business, either). I spend a lot of money at the LGS. Most of my paints, and a lot of special orders go through them to help keep the lights on and space to play open.

Even with all the space they have, they carry 4 main brands of minis: GW, Privateer, Battlefront/FoW, and Reaper. Well, they also have Wyrd and the Cypher Studios lines, but those are almost a non-issue in comparison. The other stuff just doesn't turn enough to keep in the store.

If your store's monthly expenses are $1000, your flat-out *must* move about $2,000 USD (retail) worth of product every month, just to make ends meet at the store (and you're not making any personal profit at that level of sales). Make that more like $6000/month in sales to make $2000/month in profits so that the owner can afford to pay personal bills. Fail to do that and so will your business.

I live in Atlanta and didn't even know giga-bites existed. Our best wargaming store IMO was the War Room, and they weren't the victims of their customers or even the internet. A great company, they did a great job, one of the few retailers to carry GZG for example! Huge gaming area.

Then a Games Workshop retail store opened up at a mall near them. GW's reps insisted that the move wasn't predatory, that they would even somehow be beneficial to the War Room. Obviously you don't have to read their investor materials and strategy papers to know that this is utter .

Local hobby stores operate dangerously close to the breakeven point even in the best times. You don't have to lose much of your market to a competitor to go under, especially if that competitor can operate at a loss. And especially if that competitor is also a supplier and can play games with pricing, distribution terms and availability.

The War Room was pushed out of business. Meaning that if you lived in the region and wanted to buy wargaming minis, GW was now your only choice. Or if you wanted to play at a gaming store.

Ironically, there is apparently a limit of how much of a loss even GW will endure from its retail arm. The GW store closed a few months ago. It's a testament to how self-destructive their channel policies are, not just to the hobby, but to their own bottom line.

(Btw, check my other posts; I'm not reflexively anti-GW.)

Having just lost my FLGS, I completely endorse anyone to keep shopping at theirs. You don't know what you got till it's gone.

Buy bonds.

Attend the church of your choice.

We had a few good ones in St Louis but we are down to just one with enough gaming space to have a good tourney. The Hobby Shop had an accident and some poor business practices made sure it didn't reopen. I think another problem FLGSs have a hard time it the minimum order/ stock rules some manufacturers place on them. So they must cut back on the smaller lines to meet their quota. Now, the best example of "how to run a gaming store right" is Tabletop hobby and games in Lenexa KS. Phil's store is immaculate, well stocked, knowledgeable employees, a separate gaming area for after hours gaming and he does not allow smelly counter-monkeys to hang out all day. He should teach classes on the subject!! His customers really enforce the play here, buy here mantra!
CW

Sad part for me is My local store just moved about a mile and a half away form my house about 4 months ago, and I have yet to get there. For me it is not about the want its about the time. I just needed to pick up plastic model glue. It took me a week to figure out a plan on how I could pick it up. And the only store I could get it from was a craft store next to my kids school. Then there is the fact than th store is 75% GW, and I am far from a fan. Do not get me wrong I pick up the odd GW bit from eBay, but I can not pay full price. And playing SBH I am lucky to only need a few guys. Next year my kids more to public school, and this should provide me with more time, and I should actually get a budget (I have to eBay my stuff to get a budget now).

So here is looking to next year.

Noel

There's no point in supporting the local store if 90% of their product is GW/PP/FoW, unless of course you actually play those games.

Most of the gaming stores I've encountered fit that description.

Here is an article from the Seattle Times about American Eagles closing:

link

GHQ

I realize it is probably better if I just shut up and move on… but I have to say it.

It wasn't the internet that killed this store.

There I said it. At least now I feel better.
Neal

I will miss American Eagles. In my early days it was a very special place to me. It was a victim of a turn in the hobby.

American Eagles was always a model and hobby shop first and a game store second. One thing that never helped AE was that though they carried gaming materials and miniatures, the store never did much to support the hobby other than provide retail outlet.

This is somethign that even more "dedicated" gaming stores seem to be bad at. I will support a store that carries what I am loking for, will get it if if they don'tn and who seems to be interested in more aspects of the hobby than just the money they can get out of it.

-Eli

Much of the material we purchase is produced by cottage entrepreneurs. The internet is a boon to such small-scale producers, who can reach out to our niche market on a global scale.

Pg

Firestorm Games opened in Cardiff about 15 months ago. We moved our whole club there as they have ample gaming space. Our club has grown, the variety of games and gamers has grown, and the store is doing great and it is barely a mile from a big GW.

Get people in to play and they will buy.

While I worked through my 21yrs of active duty I moved all over the country as I went to technical schools and was transferred. The first thing I would do in a new city was check out the local game stores and martial arts gyms.

Unfortunately I ran into more of the game stores that were dominated by cliques run by guys extending their hobby buy owning a store.

But there were a couple gems…and these were inspiring and always left me with the consideration of opening up a store myself.

Without a doubt the most successful ones were the stores that did not rely on one aspect of the hobby, but rather split their efforts…the only local store to me is one such example.

He has been around for 12-13yrs and is doing well. Not even because he is the only game in town but rather because he offers other choices.

The store is big…three bays…in an old shopping center…on the corner of a busy intersection…pizza, burger x4, BBQ, convenience stores x2 all in that same intersection…big parking lot (125-150 spaces).

He offers a video cafe with 10-12 dedicated computers, linked or online options.

He offers a private RPG room that shuts out all the noise and wanderer traffic…a big plus.

He offers a dozen dueling tables for CCgames.

He offers a dozen 6-8' tables for open gaming.

He offers a separate table top gaming room with 5-6 big tables…lots of house terrain and many players store their bulky stuff there for common use.

He has the normal snacks…sodas, chips, candy, etc. and orders in pizza for the regular/scheduled game nights.

And best of all, a rarity…he is a nice guy. Calm, happy, big guy that always greets you and smiles.

…and never smells of convention gamer; that combo of ashtray + sun bloated dead goat + fried chicken grease.

*****

So he has a successful thing going. Focused and consistent.

Only issue for me is the store is usually loaded up with card gamers (bleh) and on certain nights/days dozens upon dozens of 10-11yr old boys hopped up on chocolate, chips, and soda…40K and WH types without any and I do mean ANY interest in playing anything else…or the RPG groups are social groups, you either belong or you do not; D&D only.

No open miniatures games, no giant monsters, no pod racing, etc..

They allow play without painted miniatures, they allow proxies that do not even resemble the intended miniature, and other such fun stuff.

So most miniatures gaming is primer white vs primer black vs primer gray at best.

But the store is a living creature…he pays his bills and has 20-25 people on any given night with tourny nights pulling in 50+.

*****

If I am ever bitten by the bug, then hopefully I can get treatment before it gets too bad, but if not then I think the best option for me would be to provide a gaming venue with lots of room and built tables with storage underneath, a comfy well lit area in a closed off area for painting/sculpting and have scheduled classes/meetings/etc., and offer a top notch online store with aggressive special orders; taking advantage of better shipping to a business, with constantly moving supplies/materials rather than slow/dead/dying stock on wasted shelf space…a small sandwich shop with fountain drinks (club cups), popcorn, smoothies, a club member rest area with a big screen TV and a game console…and a workshop in the back making terrain, casting, and working with other companies related and unrelated to gaming.

I would work in the work shop with cameras overseeing the gaming and sandwich zones.

Now that would be a great place, a club. Make it worth a persons time to invest their money and day/night hanging out, playing games, and in general supporting the house.

or

I could spare my sanity and get an island in Belize, open a bed and breakfast…watch coconut trees sway and count colors in the sunset…that would work also :)

*****

If you have a decent local store then support it!

@Wellspring

Our monthly group meeting is at Giga-Bites tomorrow. Kick off is 1:00. A member is running a WWII skirmish game. You're welcome to join us!

Game stores are cool!

Neal is right!

There's no point in supporting the local store if 90% of their product is GW/PP/FoW, unless of course you actually play those games.

Most of the gaming stores I've encountered fit that description.

Sounds like you've been to Orlando!

Our FLGS is Great Hall Games in Austin and it is an excellent venue. Great owners and hard-working minions with a great range of historical minis and board games as well as traditional games. Gaming space for free with two bathrooms! Not to mention a clientele that understands the value of good hygiene and scintillating conversation. Now if Rob and Bekka get a beer license. Naaa, too much of a good thing. Of course, in Texas "local" is 60 miles away so I can't get by daily but it will definitely do.

Frankly, I'm tired of hearing about supporting loacl shops. I've been around since before… well, since before there was GHQ. I remember GHQ being a new, exciting thing.

But moving around this country in the last 35 years, I've never had an LGS that was an FLGS, and for the past 22, no LGS at all.

Previously, the LGS haven't been wargaming shops, but a uniform store, a model railroad and aircraft store, and a military print store, that all just happened to carry gaming stuff. The owners weren't interested in input. Ever. And then we got here, where there is nothing; did get a deal on lots of GW stuff when the Waldenbooks closed..

So if anybody wants to move to the desert, open a shop, and be friendly, I'll talk to ya. Otherwise, excuse me while I patronize any number of fine mail order and online retailers. Because that's what this "hobby" has conditioned me to do.

And since L.L. Bean and Orvis and Filson and the like haven't seen fit to open outlets here either, I do my fly fishing shopping by mail, too.

Allen

Oh man, I lived in Seattle for ten years and I LOVED American Eagles. Really sad to see another shop go belly up. Times are changing.

"I've been around since before… well, since before there was GHQ. I remember GHQ being a new, exciting thing."

I hear that. The closeup photos of those first models would make one wince now.

Anyone on the board living near Spotswood, New Jersey? Spotswood Hobbies was the place I bought my very first miniatures. That was almost forty years ago, I suppose it would be a stretch to find that place still trading…… If I wasn't on the other side of the planet now, I'd probably still be going there.

What say you, Sydneysiders? Anyone running a B&M game AND miniatures store in the city, besides Tin Soldier and GW? In the current economic climate, and in the face of online ordering, I don't think it would be a great time to open one……

Duck

aercurtis,

I hear you.

I never could get what I wanted – either at all or in a reasonable time and my order complete (and no "shop credit" is no good if the LGS carries stuff you don't play) – so I went on-line. While most of my Reaper buying online/direct but because a friend puts on great games (even if he does use TSATF rules ) for colonial games when I play at the LGS in his games I make it a point to buy a figure (usually Reaper when I don't have $25 USD worth in my shopping cart at reaper to justify free shipping) every game.

Because I have mostly niche interests or the lines of figures I want are only available on-line I don't spend a large portion of my money there. They don't (other than Reaper) stock the miniatures I use. I use craft paints (lower $$) so no need for the overpriced artisan paints they carry for everyday troopers.

Supporting you LGS is very much dependent on how much they meet your needs/desires/wants. I don't go out and buy a Ford Fiesta just because there is a local dealer in my town but I plan to buy one this year or next to replace the old, failing Mercury Villager I have. The major difference from the LGS and the Ford dealer is the interval of need versus cost.

I say support the stores that support your interests. Basic free market economics. If the LGS can't or won't meet your needs there are plenty of good on-line retailers who will.

Gracias,

Glenn

Yeah, no decent FLGS in Orlando, except the GW/FOW places and I wouldn't call them friendly.

I live in the Philadelphia area and used to shop at Jenkintown Hobbies (PA) for all of my non convention purchases, and they were substantial. A great store! But alas, they went out of bus. (domestic dispute).

I now shop at Gamers Realm in East Windsor, NJ, but they are primarily fantasy, some FoW, Axis and Allies minis, FOG books, paints, supplies and board games.The propritor, John, is a great guy, very helpful. He wishes there were more historical guys around and I wish I could get Naps, ACW and Ancients there, but I am one of the few historical guys to go there.

I also shop at On Military Matters in Hopewell, NJ for books, rules, mags and plastic figs. Great stuff, and Dennis is terrific to deal with.Highly recommended.

Unfortunately, for lead, I mostly have to shop on line or at the cons (usually 1 per year).

I've got a current FLGS – Viking Hobby in the Sacramento, CA area. I try to get by at least once a month (my income has fallen courtesy of my firm reducing our work week by a day.) Jessica and her crew are always friendly and quite willing to order something if at all possible.

My previous FLGS was Hobbit Hobby in Fayetteville, NC. I've known the owners, Al & Feliet, since 1979, when I was stationed at Pope AFB.

Neither of these places are purely gaming stores, but they're supportive, knowledgable and amenable to the gmaing crowds.

Sadly, in the years between 1983 – when I transferred to Torrejon AB, Spain – and 1999, when I ended up here, there were no good hobby/gaming shops local to where I lived. I did get a chance to visit American Eagles a few times when I was living in Bremerton, WA.

I will also miss American Eagles. I shopped for Avalon Hill games there as a kid, and after I got out of the army, I found them in the Greenwood neighborhood and purchased "Patton's Best" from them in 1990 -still have the game! The last nine years I have been shopping there at their Lake City location since they are two blocks from my workplace in Lake City. On my lunch break, I would go down and see what they have and say hello to owner George Edwards and his co-worker Greg Rose. In 1978, when I was a punk kid, Greg Rose gave me some type-written rules for microarmor wargaming. In 2002 while on my lunch break I was surprised to find him working at American Eagles! He did not remember what he did for me but I sure did. I also remember George's dad, Mike, and how patient he was with me as he opened up a science-ficion wargame for me so I could check out the rules, counters, maps, etc. Like Greg told me last week, if American Eagles was a museum and charged a fee for people to look around and reminisce of the games played in the past, they would not go out of business. Yes, I spent a load of money in their store the past nine years, but it was not enough to help them stay in business. Now everything is marked down for clearance and I have been having a bittersweet time shopping for the sale items. American Eagles will be missed by many and good luck to George Edwards and Greg Rose, and thanks to them…

I hear y'all. In addition to trying to find the right mix of merchandise to sell, our TWO local bricks and mortar stores are having a tough time simply because of the rough economy. People forget that to run a real retail store takes a lot of money to stock a lot of material. And, sadly, with margins shrinking and costs going up, that is getting harder and harder.

About the special order offers from the local guys….

The problem for me is that they (the locals) always take a long time to get the product delivered, if at all. Whereas I can deal directly with an on-line vendor and get my stuff fast. It's almost if the LGS is having a personality conflict, trying to decide HOW and WHAT to sell. My point … make up your mind and stick to that business model. Retail takes a lot of money, get over it. If you're going to be a special order portal, you're competing with an industry that has already grown up, and you won't be cut much slack.

Got to mention an idea one of our locals has. He is putting in a small RESTAURANT to supply his clients with hot food. It's as if he's decided on a method of separating more money from the customer not from more gaming material available, but from the synergy of games and food. Interesting idea … have to see how it works out. Greasy paws on my figures are a big NO, but others may be more relaxed.

I buy almost everything online. My gaming store closed down years ago and there isn't anyone close enough fr me to support.

There were a couple of stores nearby that I sued to frequent, but they also went down the tubes. Primarily, they ran WHFB, WH40K, Various Magic, Pokemon and other tournaments, and sold comics. They pandered to the 14 and under crowd and it was almost impossible to game there either because of the funk or the noise or a combo of both.

I miss the old Toy Soldier in Bath, Maine. It was a GREAT place to play and buy from, but it is what it is and I doubt those days will come back again anywhere around where I live.

But seriously, I will be happy to support any brick and mortar store that supports ME and MY interests, but otherwise, I'll take my business to where I get the best value.

I was just at Sci-Fi City in Orlando the other day. Last time I was there it was still called Enterprise 1701 at the old location. Figured I would stop by and see what they had. I was looking to buy something, but they didn't have anything I was interested in. Looked like they were doing well, however. Maybe when I stop by in another 15 years, they'll be stocking historical stuff again.

natürlich

"I miss the old Toy Soldier in Bath, Maine. It was a GREAT place to play and buy from, but it is what it is and I doubt those days will come back again anywhere around where I live."

Not that it's that close to you, but how's the place at Sebago Lake Station going? Crossroads, I think it's called. If that had been around in the '70s, I probably wouldn't have gotten married--just would have driven on by the missus' house for another mile!

Allen

I used to buy from and game in an LGS.
I moved cities and it became impractical to continue (3 hour commute each way).

I found what I thought would be a good replacement for me that was a 15 minute bus trip away (I don't drive).

Most of the local players were cheats.
The owner of the store was an avowed anti-Semite and self-confessed "race warrior". He wasn't too big on "gypsies" either (I had a Hungarian gypsy dad).

The shop closed last year. Ironically, most of the locals had opted to buy from the net (and some even freely admitted to downloading rules and/or codices). They killed their own venue.

I would buy miniatures at the one and only hobby shop(Hobby Town, USA), in Richmond, VA., if my efforts to convince the management to do so…..as it is, historical miniature wargaming doesn't have a following among the young people.

Regrets,
Wayne

Allen,

I believe they still are. I know of what you speak. My marriage lasted because we both met at Origins. OMG….. the geekiness of that. Sigh.

Our children are damned.

Thanks, Lance, for the shout out.

The down economy has not negatively impacted our sales. We were up in 2010 and things are on the plus side so far for 2011. Granted, Austin has not been as hard hit as some other communities, but it has been no bowl of cherries. (I was laid off from my software job and we have been living on just the store for almost two years, now.)

We are constantly reevaluating our stock. I have brought in lines which have been successes and others have been failures. The failures I reduce prices and close out, then move on to something else. If something has been in the store for more than a year, then we evaluate it and often decide to reduce the price, get the money back and reinvest in something that we hope will turn more quickly.

When we started we did not carry jigsaw and other sorts of puzzles. We thought there were many other places to get them, like Hallmark, Target, etc. Then Hallmark discontinued puzzles and we saw that all the puzzles available in the big stores were really cheap and mostly of a certain "Americana" flavor. So, we tried puzzles. We learned that puzzlers are like miniatures gamers: one is not enough, they have to keep buying more and more. Puzzles now account for a very important percentage of our revenue.

Likewise, I stopped selling Osprey (except the rules) because they are so cheap online. Same for other books. There are other lines of games I don't carry because they are so cheap online or they are available in the discount stores.

You have to keep changing and adapting.

I recently (and briefly) worked for a new LGS. I took up employ there on laughable wages to try and learn how one runs an LGS as a business in case I ever wanted to do it myself.

Simply put, in a grand majority of cases its not viable. Unless you have a webstore or a long list of constantly spending customers its just not going to pan out. This one's core revenue was in ice cream, TCGs and comic books, but the gaming oriented stuff was the same. There simply was no money to spread out into these less well known miniature lines – it had to me GW and Reaper all the way. Sure, we could have taken the money gained by selling some GW stuff and bought some Nappies or whatnot, but then it would take how long to recover that money? Like any business, its about dollars per square foot and dollars per minute. Retail is in and of itself tough – anyone trying to do niche retail these days might as well just give their money away.

In some areas stores have it good – good customers that constantly spend, giving them decent dollars per minute per square foot. Here, not so much. Sure, we had our loyal comic book customers who came regularly but the gamers were much more fickle. They were so grateful to have a place to game (translate: A place to park their for free), but a lot of them were much more likely to buy most of their stuff on-line. At best, they'd buy a box or such here and there or some paints, but that's not really support. Unless you're moving a good amount of product a day, you don't really make money. And playing games with figures you didn't buy from us in our back room (and occasionally buying a soda or a snack with a profit margin not even worth reporting) does not count as support.

This is why I favor web stores and larger, more diverse stores. I may have jade-colored glasses but most of the LGS/Hobby stores I've been into are much the same, if not worse, than major retailers and whatnot. In their quest to become more personable and retain the right monied customers, they begin to revolve around social cliques. Back in high school the (then) LGS was a huge put off as there were about 2 dozen guys who'd been going there years keeping the place (barely) open – good damn luck getting a game in with these guys if you were a newbie. Drove many customers off; I was a stubborn one and stayed on a long while but I saw many young potential sales get driven off; the gaming and miniatures retail area were one in the same.

In any case, off with the LGS' and long live the webstores. More efficient that way.

M.

I have never been able to buy much through a LGS in my region, bit of paint and brushes really. The guys who run the stores seem to make most of their money out R/C vehicles and as previous posters have pointed out, seem to have real difficulty with special orders. The only half decent store in my state is not local, about a 3 hour drive away. If I happen to be down that way I pay it a visit, but can't really support it.
If I still lived in the UK I would take advantage of traders at wargames shows, but for now my purchases have to be over the internet.
I think GW have been successful in creating a GW sub-culture through their own stores- and good for them, but we historical gamers are such an eclectic bunch that I'm not sure a LGS could cater for this.
It also needs to be remembered that many of us prefer not to game at a LGS or indeed a club, but are content to meet with friends in our own homes.
If someone has the business skills, and indeed the social skills, to run a LGS, then good for them. The internet will not go away, and yes it may undercut B&M stores, but it also allows creative individuals with small scale operations and unique products to have a stake in the wargaming world alongside the bigger players.

Just some thoughts, and of course everyone will have their own perspective.

jacksarge

Other than GW shops I can't think of a games shop ever existing where I live in UK. There are hobby shops that cater for construction kits, model railways, flying models and RC vehicles, etc. I buy material from them for scratch building – plasticard, balsa, brass wire and similar stuff. Brushes and some paint comes from an art shop. Almost everything else I buy on line and I find that discounts are often available for bulk buying. I tend to plan the year's project as best I can and order all the figures I need in one go at the start of the 'season'. Anything else I pick up at the one or two shows I go to each year. I doubt a shop just catering for wargames products would ever be a going concern here in UK.

Bill

The nearest LGS to me is up in the Hershey PA area, Pastimes. There is rarely much foot traffic in the store, but they maintain a strong business as a dealer at HMGS conventions and apparently do enough in-store business to pay the bills.

Sorry to hear about American Eagles. In my youth, while stationed at a small site in Oregon, used to travel up to Seattle on my breaks and American Eagles was a must stop for me. Always something new. Many of the smaller board game companies who published in the ziplock bag format were represented. I even picked up the first two parts of the Europa Series from GDW there. And got my first issue of Wargamer's Digest there, quickly subscribing.

As an aside remember a restaurant not far from there, Marie's. At the time they were just bringing out their salad dressings bottled and for sale to the public. Always lunch there after shopping at American Eagles.

And 28mm, except for how long it has been there your first store sounds an awfully lot like the Gamers Parlor in Chantilly Virginia, but that store has been there longer then 10-13 years.

"…Viking Hobby in the Sacramento, CA area…"

Wow, 1970's flashback! Glad it is still going well in Sacratomato.

Gracias,

Glenn

Here in Minnesota we have four great Miniature LGS, The Source in Brooklyn Park, Phoenix Games in DeepHaven, Tower Games in MPLS and Village Games in Anoka. About 90% of my minis came fom The Source

My group does what it can to help out the local stores. We hold our game days at them, we buy from them, we have a link to their web site on our yahoo group, etc. One reason why we do this is that they help us back by giving us a place to game. I'd say that they do more for us than we do for them.

I also love GHQ's products and that of the other micro scale manufactures, and I do a lot to promote their products. I published a set of rules, I run 6mm games, I link to them on my yahoo group, etc. Over the past 25 years 6mm manufacturers have sold a lot of lead because of me.

One thing that I have found discouraging was that local shops have to jump through a lot of hoops to carry 6mm products, or at least thet's what they tell me. The owner of one new store tried in vain to get a major 6mm manufacturer to allow him to carry their product, or at least that's what he told me. Now it is very much possible that what the owner was telling me was not true. So it is not my intention to bad mouth any manufacturer. But it's important for the manufacturers to ask if there is more that they can do to help new shops that are trying to get started.

In the retail world it is natural for old established and seemingly successful business to nonetheless cease operations, and there are always new guys giving it a shot. It is important to support the new guys too.