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Heard from a friend who says there are three new stores opening in the NW Seattle area? Anyone heard anything - locations etc? Fairly reliable as apparently one store is doing training new staff for it.

I wonder if this is to do with the lower level of support FLGS are giving GW in the NW. Went into three gaming stores over the weekend. From 3 or so years ago GW stuff used to occupy 80% of shelving (excluding board games). Now it seems much like 40% or 50% is GW with FOW, WM and Confrontation taking bites out of GW market share. It was quite a eye opener I can tell you - just looking at what is on the shelves and what is being played tells you GW is in trouble in the US.

What is it like in other states - Gw opening more stores - FLGS moving more and more away from GW?

I am waiting to see what the prepainted SST will do to mix, coz I tell you for nothing - if the rules are good I am getting it. A game with no painting woooo hoooo.

Well I can't see any good locations in the NW Seattle area. There are already stores in Factoria and Lynwood and as far as I know there is not any other good locations. The only places I can think of would put the new stores within a few miles of another store.

GW's modus operandi for a long time was to wait for an areas LFGS hit a certain sustainable sales benchmark and then would open a Hobby Center. Right after that, any indies in the area would find thier simultaneously drastically reduced and considerably more problematic (ie: orders arriving sporadically, unusual "backorders", getting preordered new releases a week or more after the new GW store, etc..) alongside ever more restrictive policies (large minimum orders, requiring 'x' amount of blisters to be purchased to get new releases, 'x' non-new release blisters having to be ordered, etc...).

Needless to say, indy stores responded by either closing, dropping GW's product entirely, or reducing their GW stock. Can't say that I blame them. Some "superstar" stores never experienced this and have continued to have a good relationship with GW. On top of this, with the drastic decline of stores carrying GW product in the US, they have started trying to make good with the LFGS again, at least those outside of areas where they plan on concentrating their own stores. If an area has GW hobby centers, LFGS are still getting screwed over.

Anywhere on the eastside would be a prime candidate. Lynnwood's a good trip north, especially with the 405 traffic, and Factoria is just about equally out in the sticks.

Of course they'd butt heads with 3G which they may be reluctant to do - I'm told by the owner that 3G is the largest seller of WFB on the entire west coast. Or something along those lines.

I would think that the two GW stores are enough....  It seems like all the indepedent stores only last a short period of time even without GW competition.  I can count at least six out-of-business game stores just in the Redmond/Bellevue area since I started playing.... Wonderworld, Darkholder, Games and Gizmos (Bellevue), Games and Gizmos (Crossroads), Coyote Games, Ludicrous Games, WOTC Bellevue Square, WOTC Crossroads... the list goes on and on.  And that is just Eastside - this doesn't even count American Eagle, Games and Gizmos Capital Hill, and probably 30+ other game stores I never knew about that went OOB.

Luckily there is a great indy store in my town (Cascade Comics and Games)....  I try to give them my business instead of shopping at the Factoria GW store.

Mez

Posted By Jeff on 09/19/2006 2:23 PM
Anywhere on the eastside would be a prime candidate. Lynnwood's a good trip north, especially with the 405 traffic, and Factoria is just about equally out in the sticks.

Of course they'd butt heads with 3G which they may be reluctant to do - I'm told by the owner that 3G is the largest seller of WFB on the entire west coast. Or something along those lines.

Man, that 3G is hopping.  I went last week and there must have been 30 people in there at least... and this is after their remodel into a smaller area.  Mez

Posted By Jeff on 09/19/2006 2:23 PM
Factoria is just about equally out in the sticks.

Wha? It's located ~2 miles over from downtown Bellevue. Not exactely what I'd consider the sticks.

Of course they'd butt heads with 3G which they may be reluctant to do - I'm told by the owner that 3G is the largest seller of WFB on the entire west coast. Or something along those lines.

I've never heard of 3G but it sounds like it might be worth checking out. Where are they located?

3G is in Bella Botega, in Redmond.

They're OK. Big store, some of the players there I can't stand but that's just because I've got a really low tolerance for typical gamer BS.

Also Coyote is still in business; they just call themselves Oroboro now (christ worst name for a store ever).

Fire and Sword up in Northgate is pretty good; I play Warmachine up there every Thursday. Kind of small, but the owner is a great guy.

Ok, G3 = Genesis Games & Gizmos.  Yah, I've been there.