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Made in us
Haughty Harad Serpent Rider





Richmond, VA

Didn't see this posted already...

Both spikeybits.com and the retail store, FTW Games, located in Richmond, VA, have closed up shop as of 11pm EST last night.

I know a lot of people loves spikeybits online store, including their crazy Christmas bundle deals.

Just thought I'd post a heads up!

Doug

EDIT:

New financiers and partners have stepped in and bought the remaining store stock and leased the location before any banks became involved. Their lawyers were able to negotiate from the final sale price the inclusion of customers' store credit and preorders. The new store is now called Battlegrounds. The new owners have tons of experience in the hobby including running currently successful game shops. They are evaluating the stock previously carried and are very amicable to requests and considerations for new product lines or expanding existing ones.

Additionally, spikeybits.com (which relied upon the stock of FTW Games) branding has been sold to Dicehead Games.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/10/14 13:18:32


"...and special thanks to Judgedoug!" - Alessio Cavatore "Now you've gone too far Doug! ... Too far... " - Rick Priestley "I've decided that I'd rather not have you as a member of TMP." - Editor, The Miniatures Page "I'd rather put my testicles through a mangle than spend any time gaming with you." - Richard, TooFatLardies "We need a Doug Craig in every store." - Warlord Games "Thank you for being here, Judge Doug!" - Adam Troke 
   
Made in us
Warning From Magnus? Not Listening!





Va

I just heard this. I live a bit away, but my group and I head that way a couple times a year for tournaments Sad to see them go.

Have they said what they are going to do with their inventory?

Check out my Deadzone/40k/necromunda blog here! 
   
Made in gb
Decrepit Dakkanaut




UK

wonder if it's a consequence of the bitz business getting a lot more tricky or something else

 
   
Made in us
Numberless Necron Warrior





Glendale, AZ

What details are available on this? Their website says closed for maintenance, but they just listed a sale for Infinity yesterday. Seems odd to post a sales offer and close shop roughly 12 hours later.

http://www.spikeybits.com/servlet/StoreFront

Link provided for hopefully news updates on their site.

jlong05.

The only "hobby" GW is interested in is lining their pockets with your money.  
   
Made in us
Lieutenant General





Florence, KY

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/617104.page

'It is a source of constant consternation that my opponents
cannot correlate their innate inferiority with their inevitable
defeat. It would seem that stupidity is as eternal as war.'

- Nemesor Zahndrekh of the Sautekh Dynasty
Overlord of the Crownworld of Gidrim
 
   
Made in gb
Decrepit Dakkanaut




UK

The owner posted a 'so long and thanks message' on the FTW forum

http://www.ftwgames.net/2014/09/thanks-for-memories.html

suggestions in comments below (from somebody claiming a strong source) is all store credit is toast, and the remaining stock is probably going to go up in some sort of auction

 
   
Made in gb
RogueSangre



West Sussex, UK

On the facebook page the owner confirmed that all assets will most likely be auctioned off by liquidators (he didnt answer the question on store credit). Seems like a few people are upset as they were taking preorders and money up until last night when they knew they wouldn't be able to fulfil the orders (they claim that they couldn't have a closing down sale or advise customers as the tenancy contract they have lets the building owners store all assets if they do, all of which sounds very unusual).
   
Made in no
Stealthy Grot Snipa





Aeneades wrote:
Seems like a few people are upset as they were taking preorders and money up until last night when they knew they wouldn't be able to fulfil the orders.


I don't know much about U.S. laws, but around here that's the sort of thing that could end up in a prison sentence.

"The Emporer is a rouge trader."
- Charlie Chaplain. 
   
Made in us
Implacable Skitarii





Denver

Thud wrote:
Aeneades wrote:
Seems like a few people are upset as they were taking preorders and money up until last night when they knew they wouldn't be able to fulfil the orders.


I don't know much about U.S. laws, but around here that's the sort of thing that could end up in a prison sentence.


Aeneades wrote:On the facebook page the owner confirmed that all assets will most likely be auctioned off by liquidators (he didnt answer the question on store credit). Seems like a few people are upset as they were taking preorders and money up until last night when they knew they wouldn't be able to fulfil the orders (they claim that they couldn't have a closing down sale or advise customers as the tenancy contract they have lets the building owners store all assets if they do, all of which sounds very unusual).


My first game store was seized by the government for lack of payment on taxes due to being way behind on bills. This is possibly what has happened(no proof though) because no notice can be given until it is too late. What the owner has said, is very in line with a seizure by the government and for those that have pre-ordered items, you won't see any of it.

   
Made in gb
Decrepit Dakkanaut




UK

It could be they owed the landlord money and the contract allowed them to recover debts from stock

If they started a major sale the landlord would know things were sticky and would have seized the (some/all) the stock leaving them with nothing to sell

so from a business sense until the finally knew they were finished (somebody probably called in a debt they could not pay) it would make sense to keep trading as long as they were making more than their operating expenses as they might have been able to fix things.

Not ideal but a situation a load of small businesses find themselves in at one time or another.. given enough time some trade out of trouble, some fail completely and some stagger along in an almost dead situation until a creditor gets fed up and call in the debt

 
   
Made in us
Maddening Mutant Boss of Chaos





Colorado

I got reimbursed this morning for items I had ordered last week. I am sure everyone else who ordered/preordered did as well

NoTurtlesAllowed.blogspot.com 
   
Made in us
Decrepit Dakkanaut





The Golden Throne

This sucks!
   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut





VA, USA

Well, this blows beyond belief. I loved that store, played there often and only bought through them. On top of that I was still waiting for my Operation Icestorm which I pre ordered. I guess I wont be seeing that. The people that worked there were awesome and it's sad they are out of jobs.

While they are singing "what a friend we have in the greater good", we are bringing the pain! 
   
Made in us
Cosmic Joe





 Musashi363 wrote:
Well, this blows beyond belief. I loved that store, played there often and only bought through them. On top of that I was still waiting for my Operation Icestorm which I pre ordered. I guess I wont be seeing that. The people that worked there were awesome and it's sad they are out of jobs.

Yup, had OIS pre-ordered and on the way. This SUCKS. I was going to go there this Friday for a game of Warmachine. :(



Also, check out my history blog: Minimum Wage Historian, a fun place to check out history that often falls between the couch cushions. 
   
Made in us
Most Glorious Grey Seer





Everett, WA

Taking pre-orders up until your store is shuttered is pretty low brow. Someone there knew the hammer was about to drop. They should at least have stopped taking people's money given they wouldn't be able to fulfill that debt.


 
   
Made in us
Haughty Harad Serpent Rider





Richmond, VA

One of my relatives works for one of the other two remaining FLGS in town - the current scuttlebut is that Rob Baer, the owner, cleaned out the store's stock the night before and fled town. This is not the first store he's opened and run into the ground. He had a tendency to be very abrasive (including to me on several occasions, such as mocking me for playing historicals and not playing "elite" 40k, guffaw)

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/10/01 13:28:08


"...and special thanks to Judgedoug!" - Alessio Cavatore "Now you've gone too far Doug! ... Too far... " - Rick Priestley "I've decided that I'd rather not have you as a member of TMP." - Editor, The Miniatures Page "I'd rather put my testicles through a mangle than spend any time gaming with you." - Richard, TooFatLardies "We need a Doug Craig in every store." - Warlord Games "Thank you for being here, Judge Doug!" - Adam Troke 
   
Made in gb
Ultramarine Land Raider Pilot on Cruise Control




Bristol, UK

That guy always struck me as a egotistical [MOD EDIT - Language. - Alpharius]

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/10/01 18:39:23


If you can keep your head, while all about you are losing their's, then you have probably completely misunderstood the situation!

6,000pts
5,500pts
3,500pts
2,500pts 
   
Made in us
Cosmic Joe





I was there yesterday and everything looked in place. I peeked through the windows. Some of the lights where on. I looked like everything was in place.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/10/01 14:12:41




Also, check out my history blog: Minimum Wage Historian, a fun place to check out history that often falls between the couch cushions. 
   
Made in us
Maddening Mutant Boss of Chaos





Colorado

i may be able to shed some light on what happened. I have been a close friend of Rob's for years and have been informed through others as to what happened.

For starters, this is now a bankruptcy issue. Rob has sought for bankruptcy protection.

The issues stem from the lease that Rob had. It was a beast of a lease with something like 30 pages. There were several clauses in the lease that outlined sales figures, employee numbers, and stock levels. Basically if he could not maintain something like 4k a month in sales, a certain number of employees and a certain stock level, he would be found in violation of his lease.

Since GW stopped the bits business, Spikey Bits and by an extension, FTW Games has been losing money. It has come to the point were the amount of money lost due to this and the declining sales have forced this. In addition, FTW games did there best to keep the 10 employees that worked the bits side despite no longer having the business.

Some people have mentioned that not giving an indication of things to come and still taking preorders up until the last minute was a shady move. They do not understand that this would also have been in violation of his lease. By not conducting business as normal or having a fire sale would have resulted in the land lord being able to seize all stock immediately.

What is happening now is all legal bankruptcy proceedings. The inventory will be auctioned to pay off debts.

As far as preorders and regular orders are concerned, if they were through the online store, they either have already been or will be refunded. Sadly, if it is through the brick and mortar store, there will be no refund. Those are now part of the bankruptcy proceedings. In a few weeks, anyone who made an order that was not fulfilled can look to add themselves to the list of debtors. Also, store credit is pretty much lost. It is valued at 1/100 of a cent per dollar.

Let me also express my sympathy to Rob and everyone who lost there jobs. This has caused Rob a lot of stress and other complications, and now several people are out of their livelihoods.

Like I said, I do know some about what is going on, and will answer any questions that I can and do not conflict with the bankruptcy.

NoTurtlesAllowed.blogspot.com 
   
Made in us
Shas'o Commanding the Hunter Kadre





Richmond, VA

Even as I was one of the 4 primary employees directly under the owner of the LLC that oversaw both FTW Games and Spikey Bits, I didn't know this was happening until I showed up for work this week. Needless to say, I'm not happy.

I shall be sad to see the storefront and to a lesser extent the online business end. It was a great store that every FLGS aspires to be. 12 Full sized 6x4 tables, enough seating for over 150 CCG players, a separate paint bar with personal lights and seating for 8, racks and racks of gaming and hobby supplies, all the major and minor games barring only 2 that I can think of.

Above all else, it was a clean and welcoming environment to play all the games in. The store lasted 4 and a half years and it was great to be a part of it.

Desert Hunters of Vior'la The Purge Iron Hands Adepts of Pestilence Tallaran Desert Raiders Grey Knight Teleport Assault Force
Lt. Coldfire wrote:Seems to me that you should be refereeing and handing out red cards--like a boss.

 Peregrine wrote:
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Made in us
Fresh-Faced New User




earth

Just curious as I have no idea about leases on shops but why would the terms of a lease include stuff like that ? - I mean a landlord wants his/her rent ....what does he/she care about sales figures/number of employees/stock levels ?
   
Made in us
Willing Inquisitorial Excruciator





Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Breotan wrote:Taking pre-orders up until your store is shuttered is pretty low brow. Someone there knew the hammer was about to drop. They should at least have stopped taking people's money given they wouldn't be able to fulfill that debt.



judgedoug wrote:One of my relatives works for one of the other two remaining FLGS in town - the current scuttlebut is that Rob Baer, the owner, cleaned out the store's stock the night before and fled town. This is not the first store he's opened and run into the ground. He had a tendency to be very abrasive (including to me on several occasions, such as mocking me for playing historicals and not playing "elite" 40k, guffaw)


UltraPrime wrote:That guy always struck me as a egotistical.


Why don't some of you keep comments like these to yourselves? I know everyone feels like they have to add their two-cents on the Internet, but this was someone's livelihood. Instead of kicking someone when they're down, gloat quietly to yourself, and maybe pray that something similar doesn't happen to you and your family today.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/10/02 00:41:00


   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut



Nashville, TN

Curious if Rob had signed any leases like this before, or had an attorney look over the lease before signing it.

Just screams insane to me.

Joe Smash. 
   
Made in us
Sneaky Striking Scorpion





 keas66 wrote:
Just curious as I have no idea about leases on shops but why would the terms of a lease include stuff like that ? - I mean a landlord wants his/her rent ....what does he/she care about sales figures/number of employees/stock levels ?


It depends on where the shop is. I know a lot of malls require a certain minimum number of employees be in the store during business hours. Not sure of the other stuff though.

agnosto wrote: To the closet, batman and don't forget the feather duster!



 
   
Made in us
Shas'o Commanding the Hunter Kadre





Richmond, VA

 the_Armyman wrote:

Why don't some of you keep comments like these to yourselves?


They can't. There are a handful of spiteful people in the area that hate the owner out of their own ignorance. While he's a decent fellow, everyone has their bad days. Their hate is more than likely related to a small group in the area and the non-store/business drama from well before the store opened.

Desert Hunters of Vior'la The Purge Iron Hands Adepts of Pestilence Tallaran Desert Raiders Grey Knight Teleport Assault Force
Lt. Coldfire wrote:Seems to me that you should be refereeing and handing out red cards--like a boss.

 Peregrine wrote:
SCREEE I'M A SEAGULL SCREE SCREEEE!!!!!
 
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut




North Carolina

I've oredered from Spiky Bits before and always had a positive experience so it's a shame the store is gone. My hobby time and budget isn't what it used to be, although my pile of unpainted minis seems as tall as ever, so I haven't made any purchases from them in a while. I've always thought that a FLGS was a tough business plan to work, being the middle man is never easy and it's difficult to monetize the amenities that make a FLGS great, gaming tables, painting areas etc.

 keas66 wrote:
Just curious as I have no idea about leases on shops but why would the terms of a lease include stuff like that ? - I mean a landlord wants his/her rent ....what does he/she care about sales figures/number of employees/stock levels ?


I'm not going to make assumptions regarding contracts I haven't seen but since I'm a real estate professional and the lease has come up in this thread I wanted to shed a little general light on the subject. Including sales figures in a lease is a standard practice and necessary when dealing with breakpoint rent. There is the base rent, which is the set payment that is typically paid on a monthly basis, and there is breakpoint rent which is determined by setting a breakpoint, usually on annual sales, and when the tenant's sales exceed that breakpoint they pay a percentage to the landlord. For example if a tenant had a $1 million breakpoint and had $1.5 million in annual sales they'd pay $25k in additional breakpoint rent.

Other operational procedures are also included in standard leases like hours of operation. Most retail centers will insist on tenants being open whenever the center is open, having customers arrive at your mall and finding out the store they want to shop at is closed is bad for everyone. There are companies that negotiate exceptions to that like GW, whose stores are open on weekends but closed during the week and there's other businesses here in the south that insist on being closed on Sundays.

I've seen leases include dress codes for employees and marketing/advertising restrictions which isn't unusual but I personally have never seen one that deals with stock levels and number of employees. A typical lease is going to require tenants to not commit violations of local codes like the occupancy level determined by the firecode but in my experience landlords don't want to get too involved with the minutiae of running a tenant's business.

The bottom line is that every lease can be different because owners/landlords are people too and you can get some weird ones that want things their way. Obviously Rob thought the lease was good enough to sign it and it's unfortunate that it didn't work out. These situations remind me of a Steve McQueen quote from my favorite samurai movie:

Calvera: What I don't understand is why a man like you took the job in the first place, hmm? Why, huh?

Chris: I wonder myself.

Calvera: No, come on, come on, tell me why.

Vin: It's like a fellow I once knew in El Paso. One day, he just took all his clothes off and jumped in a mess of cactus. I asked him that same question, "Why?"

Calvera: And?

Vin: He said, "It seemed to be a good idea at the time."





Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur
 
   
Made in us
Fixture of Dakka






 the_Armyman wrote:
Breotan wrote:Taking pre-orders up until your store is shuttered is pretty low brow. Someone there knew the hammer was about to drop. They should at least have stopped taking people's money given they wouldn't be able to fulfill that debt.



judgedoug wrote:One of my relatives works for one of the other two remaining FLGS in town - the current scuttlebut is that Rob Baer, the owner, cleaned out the store's stock the night before and fled town. This is not the first store he's opened and run into the ground. He had a tendency to be very abrasive (including to me on several occasions, such as mocking me for playing historicals and not playing "elite" 40k, guffaw)


UltraPrime wrote:That guy always struck me as a egotistical.


Why don't some of you keep comments like these to yourselves? I know everyone feels like they have to add their two-cents on the Internet, but this was someone's livelihood. Instead of kicking someone when they're down, gloat quietly to yourself, and maybe pray that something similar doesn't happen to you and your family today.


Because Dakka community is often preyed upon by frauds and cheats... and guess what? some of this information like past behavior, business track record and customer interactions are valid experiences for people to have when deciding what to do if they are personally impacted or in regards to future interactions with a company or person in the community. Bad stuff happens sometimes... but so does other stuff. I think it is valid for people who have direct involvement to share experiences.

And that lease sounds insane. As long as the rent is paid and the actions of the space are lawful and not harming other tenants who share the facilities... why would it matter how the company is run? Very odd indeed. I have literally never heard of a lease begin that invasive.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/10/02 00:41:34


My Models: Ork Army: Waaagh 'Az-ard - Chibi Dungeon RPG Models! - My Workblog!
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Made in us
Unrelenting Rubric Terminator of Tzeentch






In the Ring of Debris Around Uranus

I am not going to comment on anything with the store, however being a business owner myself, the lease seems a little odd to me. But I live in a different state and maybe practices like that are more common in Virginia. Here I have never heard of any lease like that. Cheers

Armies
Eldar, Dark Eldar, Harlequins, Eldar Corsairs, Orks, Tyranids, Genestealer Cult, Chaos, Choas Space Marines, Tau, Sisters of Battle, Inquisition, Necrons, Space Marines, Space Wolves, Grey Knights, Imperial Knights, Dark Angels, Imperial Guard, Ad Mech, Knights, Skaven, Sylvaneth 
   
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Longtime Dakkanaut




nkelsch wrote:
 the_Armyman wrote:
Breotan wrote:Taking pre-orders up until your store is shuttered is pretty low brow. Someone there knew the hammer was about to drop. They should at least have stopped taking people's money given they wouldn't be able to fulfill that debt.



judgedoug wrote:One of my relatives works for one of the other two remaining FLGS in town - the current scuttlebut is that Rob Baer, the owner, cleaned out the store's stock the night before and fled town. This is not the first store he's opened and run into the ground. He had a tendency to be very abrasive (including to me on several occasions, such as mocking me for playing historicals and not playing "elite" 40k, guffaw)


UltraPrime wrote:That guy always struck me as a egotistical.


Why don't some of you keep comments like these to yourselves? I know everyone feels like they have to add their two-cents on the Internet, but this was someone's livelihood. Instead of kicking someone when they're down, gloat quietly to yourself, and maybe pray that something similar doesn't happen to you and your family today.


Because Dakka community is often preyed upon by frauds and cheats... and guess what? some of this information like past behavior, business track record and customer interactions are valid experiences for people to have when deciding what to do if they are personally impacted or in regards to future interactions with a company or person in the community. Bad stuff happens sometimes... but so does other stuff. I think it is valid for people who have direct involvement to share experiences.

And that lease sounds insane. As long as the rent is paid and the actions of the space are lawful and not harming other tenants who share the facilities... why would it matter how the company is run? Very odd indeed. I have literally never heard of a lease begin that invasive.


And your point would be a fair one if any of the 3 quotes offered any meaningful insight besides hearsay and trash talking. But since they are just immature spiteful and gossipy your point doesn't apply.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/10/02 00:41:50


 
   
Made in us
Fixture of Dakka






Chancetragedy wrote:
nkelsch wrote:
 the_Armyman wrote:
Breotan wrote:Taking pre-orders up until your store is shuttered is pretty low brow. Someone there knew the hammer was about to drop. They should at least have stopped taking people's money given they wouldn't be able to fulfill that debt.



judgedoug wrote:One of my relatives works for one of the other two remaining FLGS in town - the current scuttlebut is that Rob Baer, the owner, cleaned out the store's stock the night before and fled town. This is not the first store he's opened and run into the ground. He had a tendency to be very abrasive (including to me on several occasions, such as mocking me for playing historicals and not playing "elite" 40k, guffaw)


UltraPrime wrote:That guy always struck me as a egotistical.


Why don't some of you keep comments like these to yourselves? I know everyone feels like they have to add their two-cents on the Internet, but this was someone's livelihood. Instead of kicking someone when they're down, gloat quietly to yourself, and maybe pray that something similar doesn't happen to you and your family today.


Because Dakka community is often preyed upon by frauds and cheats... and guess what? some of this information like past behavior, business track record and customer interactions are valid experiences for people to have when deciding what to do if they are personally impacted or in regards to future interactions with a company or person in the community. Bad stuff happens sometimes... but so does other stuff. I think it is valid for people who have direct involvement to share experiences.

And that lease sounds insane. As long as the rent is paid and the actions of the space are lawful and not harming other tenants who share the facilities... why would it matter how the company is run? Very odd indeed. I have literally never heard of a lease begin that invasive.


And your point would be a fair one if any of the 3 quotes offered any meaningful insight besides hearsay and trash talking. But since they are just immature spiteful and gossipy your point doesn't apply.


I think people who are valid customers and have direct interactions with the person in question are valid observations... Maybe all of the discussions of the multiple frauds Dakka exposes is trash talking too? maybe anyone who does a user transaction report in the swap shop is trash talking?

Discussing pre-orders ethics, people who are employed or customers and interactions with the owner seem valid to report.

Your 'Woe be to poor business owner, his family and livelihood' what about the poor customers whoa re out real money due to no fault of their on except trusting a company to not screw or cheat them? It is best for everything to be brought to the surface so those who can get their money back can and in the future those people can see a history and make decisions if to trust that person again. Dakka has a great history of documenting such actions for posterity and never forgetting, so I would like to see that continue opposed to have things shouted down and covered up by people like yourself.

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2014/10/02 00:42:05


My Models: Ork Army: Waaagh 'Az-ard - Chibi Dungeon RPG Models! - My Workblog!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
RULE OF COOL: When converting models, there is only one rule: "The better your model looks, the less people will complain about it."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
MODELING FOR ADVANTAGE TEST: rigeld2: "Easy test - are you willing to play the model as a stock one? No? MFA." 
   
 
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