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 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Painting stuff needn’t be formal sessions either. If there’s a dedicated painting table, chat to the others using it. It’s pretty normal to exchange tips and techniques.

If the store has room, see if you can get a semi-official painting group up and running at a weekend (or an evening) - not full-on memberships, or anything like that, but a known day/time where people will be in to paint. Shop might need a box for water pots, tiles, and something to protect the table with, but that can probably be stored under a gaming table or in a store room easily enough.

What about GW stores, can you apply any of this helping out by painting or modeling in the store, or is it a corporate no-no to have a non-employee doing things?

 Lathe Biosas wrote:
What about GW stores, can you apply any of this helping out by painting or modeling in the store, or is it a corporate no-no to have a non-employee doing things?

Likely comes down to the store manager plus the person approaching. Ergo if you present yourself poorly chances are you won't get far; but present yourself well and you might have a chance.

IT might be a bit more restricted; eg the store manager might well do demo games for newbies; but nothing would likely stop you doing a game-night newbie friendly game or helping others informally whilst painting and so forth.

 Overread wrote:

 Lathe Biosas wrote:
What about GW stores, can you apply any of this helping out by painting or modeling in the store, or is it a corporate no-no to have a non-employee doing things?

Likely comes down to the store manager plus the person approaching. Ergo if you present yourself poorly chances are you won't get far; but present yourself well and you might have a chance.

IT might be a bit more restricted; eg the store manager might well do demo games for newbies; but nothing would likely stop you doing a game-night newbie friendly game or helping others informally whilst painting and so forth.

Yeah, it never hurts to ask the person in charge if it’s okay.

Yeah also - like a lot of social things - its often best to be part of the group for a bit before offering such things. It's much easier when people know you; have a measure of who you are; how you behave; conduct yourself and so forth.

It's also a measure of how often you turn up - its REALLY easy to get into something and make promises and turn up every day for a few weeks and then suddenly "life" happens and the shinyness of the new store and group wears off and suddenly a month later you don't turn up for weeks at a time.

Plus it also lets you know what the group and place are really like.

So by all means have energy to do things; but also spend time getting to know the place and them to know you

Thank you for the advice. I'm going to play the "do you mind if I assemble these models in the store?" card after a couple visits and judge the reactions before volunteering and possibly stepping on anyone's toes.

Trust me, I've spent enough $ at my local shop that I don't feel any guilt/pressure to buy something every time I walk in.

A twist on the question then.

Do you feel any pressure to buy from a game store (that's not the one you usually haunt) when you are there solely to play in a tourney?

 Lathe Biosas wrote:
A twist on the question then.

Do you feel any pressure to buy from a game store (that's not the one you usually haunt) when you are there solely to play in a tourney?

Hobby stuff? Absolutely not. It's an event, I've paid, etc. Even if the entry fee is paid out in store credit, the store is still making (a small amount of) money off hosting the event.

Drinks/Snacks? absolutely. I get how it works. Even if it's just few bottles of water i try to get something.

Never really done that. But, I usually enter such a store with the intention to buy something. Not as an entry fee, but because there’s something specific I wouldn’t mind adding to my collection. Could be a paint, could be a kit.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Never really done that. But, I usually enter such a store with the intention to buy something. Not as an entry fee, but because there’s something specific I wouldn’t mind adding to my collection. Could be a paint, could be a kit.

What if your somewhere new for a tourney?

I remember going to a Bunker tourney in Downers Grove (Chicago) that had players getting ready for their Adepticon tourney (Which didn't help me, I came in dead last at Adepticon that year, and yes, I lost to the ringer team).

And I was in a store I'd never been to before, and the locals GWers were very, very suggestive that I buy something. I never went back to that place.

I don’t do tourney play myself. Not my bag.

Used to be when I was on holiday somewhere I'd go find the local GW and buy a thing to commemorate the visit.
This would be maybe once a year so putting a little flag or gubbins on something to show "Hey look I was at this place" was fun.
But there's nothing that cheap anymore to do that.
I can't get a cheap clampack character or a box of Grots.
If I'm at an event (I do Heresy weekenders from time to time) I'll get my food and drinks from the place cos that's just polite but I'll rarely if ever buy actual stuff cos I've already got an army to lug about.

 Lathe Biosas wrote:

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Never really done that. But, I usually enter such a store with the intention to buy something. Not as an entry fee, but because there’s something specific I wouldn’t mind adding to my collection. Could be a paint, could be a kit.

What if your somewhere new for a tourney?

I assume that there's probably something like an 80% overlap in stock in all non-GW FLGS's, so unless they have very little stock you'll be able to come up with something.

I've never seen one without core GW boxes, paints, brushes, dice, etc. I can always use a few more brushes.

Though, from a Loot point of view? FLGS can be a rich vein of out of production models and sets. So those I’ll pick up, cashflow allowing.

I try to find something to pick up. Last Classichammer Day it was a brick of dice for my Skaven army.

I've been frequenting my FLGS for 20 years now. "Local" being a bit relative as it's still 65 miles away. In that time I've averaged well over $100 per month there, and I only go about every 6 weeks or so. I also haven't played outside my home since 2018. If I did play there I wouldn't feel bad about not purchasing anything, as I believe I've put in my dues by this point

Here's a quandary... I'm going to visit the onl FLGS in 100 miles and it's a Warhammer store. Should I make a small or big purchase my first time in?

If you're going in to get a feel for the place, and you don't have a burning need for anything... don't buy anything day 1.

If you then decide it is somewhere you're planning to frequent, you can then look at buying there in the future.

 Lathe Biosas wrote:
Here's a quandary... I'm going to visit the onl FLGS in 100 miles and it's a Warhammer store. Should I make a small or big purchase my first time in?

You are under no obligation to support a store just because you walk in the door.
Go in, have a chat, see what's going on; see when game or buys nights are; see what activities are going on; see if there's local clubs they know of etc... Scope it out and see

You are not obliged to buy anything unless YOU wish too. The line of "support your local" is from the angle of choosing to make your purchases from them OVER other stores or outlets. It's about respecting that if they provide you something of value outside of the simple supply of product; that you provide them with something.

Ultimately your (hobby) money should be spent purely on what you want to spend it on. If you go through a phase of playing but not buying new models or new paints; that is 100% OK and normal*.


* we all go through phases of buying and building; of painting; of gaming etc... There are even times when you might only read the lore or look at artwork etc...

The only FLGS I've seen stay open for over 10+ years are either chains or run a lot of TCCG events.
The one I've seen stay open the longest that isn't chain and didn't relocate also sells manga and figurines, but I have no idea if that is a significant source of income.

I have no idea how they survived Covid, let alone in general, because the margins on their GW products are not remotely extreme. I don't play anymore, but I pop in a few times a year and most of the activity is TCCG based or D&D. I can't fathom a store surviving solely on GW and the ones that tried in my area failed years ago.

GW has made it work with their stores. Placement helps, GW has the money to get a decent spot initially which helps tremendously with footfall - though over the years I've seen GW stores migrate further out of the best spots as the highstreet gets more and more and more expensive to operate on (seriously its like they don't actually want shops)

Of course GW has the bonus that they get larger margins as they get stock "at cost" and sell it at full price; whilst a 3rd party is squeezed on both ends as they can't buy at cost and most typically sell at a discount to the rrp to encourage sales.


I do agree most 3rd party I know of sell a bunch of things and card games are a huge thing. If MTG ever goes belly up (or just monetizes itself into the ground and drives their own market off...) I could well see it coinciding with a die off of stores if another card game doesn't rise fast into the void.

The other thing I casually notice is that GW store managers, at least in the UK are way more engaged in selling the hobby and being salesmen. Not being pushy (that does happen of course); but being active at selling the hobby; doing demo games; painting sessions; sales tactics and the like.
3rd parties I've walked into a more just selling you stuff that you walked in for and less about encouraging you to buy stuff. Though in part this is likely because they offer such a range that they kind of need to see where you gravitate toward too first; but I get at sense that they drive sales a bit less perhaps.

Of course this could just be that I extrude that "geek that knows what they are after" air and they don't engage with the sales tactics and such.

Barely dipping my pinkie toe into the lake a politics...

I believe that Magic The Gathering might become more accepted in the mainstream in the US our VP elect and hos wife have talked about him playing MTG on the weekends.

I can only hope this helps out the local shops around the US.

On the GW Staff thing?

Ideally it’s about being warm, welcoming and knowledgable. Not just in the rules, but the ranges on offer. This can go as far as helping Well Meaning Granny pick out a present for Grandchild, when all she knows is “they like Orcs”. Which could be any one of like….Orks, Krule Boyz, Ironjawz, LotR.

So there? You ask other questions to narrow it down as best you can. And if all else fails “keep hold of the receipt, as with that we’ll happily exchange any sealed items”.

Most fun I’ve had with that was “he collects little blue robots”. Which I assumed to be Ultramarines, and so off they went with a Tactical Squad and the “keep the receipt, sealed exchange”.

It also helps to know your regular kids’ names. Chances are their parents, grandparents and that live locally. If you know the kid, recommendations become a cinch as you know which armies they play or are working on.

Now. Here’s a classic example (which I know for a fact was brought up at a Manager’s meeting) of doing it wrong. Very wrong.

Link only, as it comes from Viz so will have some swears http://www.thefieldsofblood.com/2012/04/viz-does-games-workshop.html

FLGS can do the same. Basically, when you’re in a sales job (GW or FLGS, it is a sales job) you’ve got to know your product. Not just to help customers find what they want, but how to enthuse newcomers to get involved.

I rarely buy anything at my FLGS because they rarely have anything I want.

Let's face it. most FLGS only have GW, a handful of D&D Minis (various manufacturers), the starter set for a Star Wars game..... and that is about it for wargamers. Since I am not that interested in any of those, I rarely buy anything.

well, that's retail. As a gamer gets older they reach a point where they have everything they need for GW (say) and so have no pressing need to pick up the new stuff. But it is the stuff most likely to sell so that's where the shop puts it's efforts. I'm sure every store owner has at least one anecdote about a new game/range they thought was going to be a hit but it just spent over a year gathering dust on the shelves. So they get conservative.

That and lets face it the running of a physical shop these days is WAY more challenging than it was in the past. Even GW stuff sometimes doesn't sell fast enough. Remember when some were selling the new AoS starter set only a month or two after it went live at wholesale prices to clear stock to get faster selling products on the shelf.

Stores are under insane pressure these days and thus will often focus on faster sellers.

I'd also argue that 3rd party stores are much more heavily reliant on local groups drumming up interest in specific games. A GW store has the bonus that its all own-brand so its easy to drum up interest. A 3rd party has so many lines they can't easily focus on them all unless they've a very big site and a lot of staff .So they'll often focus on only the absolute best-sellers. You want that niche game or new game; the community has to take part in promoting and getting it going .

I used to feel guilty for not buying everytime I either just went into a local game shop or played in one. Then I realized it was a two way street. The shops have to at least try to be competitive. I went into a shop once to pick up a fairly common item once and the owner of the shop was in the process of closing the shop down and literally crying because people weren't buying from her store. It took everything O could to point out that she never really stocked anything and even when people made special orders they would be told their orders didn't come when all the time the item was sitting behind the counter the person manning the register just couldn't be bothered to look. If a shop just acts as a clubhouse so that the owner can hang out and play games and get a discount on the game items they want, I could care less for their business because they don't. At least put in a effort to run a successful
business and I will support you.

Running a store is definitely difficult.

There used to be one round my neck of the woods. First encountered the owner on a Warhammer World Coach Trip. A loudmouth by nature it seems, he regaled us, whether we cared or not, that his plan was foolproof.

See, he’d sell at a discount, therefore when the very nearby GW did the intro, naturally he’d then hoover up all the sales. Every last one.

Yeah went about as well as you’d expect and was out of business within a year.

I did visit it once. Shop was geared toward gaming, with sparse shelving and sparser products. Staff utterly ignored me, and indeed anyone else that wandered in.

Yup, I know. I was a small-business person for many a year. I ran the numbers myself on Hobby stores and Toy stores and they are incredibly hard to make successful.

They are best used as a tax write-off for a very high-salaried spouse!