Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

In an effort to quell the GW and FLGS hate, I'd like to know why we are supporting out local stores. Are discounts a requirement of your store in order to keep pace with online discounters? Are the stores really that bad for customer service?

The two stores I frequent are not too local, but I go there because they are run well. The stores are clean, well-stocked, and the owners are nice. Sometimes the clientele leave something to be desired, but that's not the stores' fault. I'd rather purchase from them because they do give me a free place to play outside of my vey tightly knit gaming group. The least I can do is help pay the rent.

Do I purchase online? Sometimes. No one here sells bits, so I use the Warstore. Also, OOP models aee hard to come by in this area, so I check ebay and the forums for older models. However, if I am looking for something new, I'd rather wait and give my money to someone local, than to some online guy I'll never meet.

Excellent service, ability to order damn near anything, and a rewards programs that basically amounts to about 10% off all gaming purchases.

Significant gaming space in the back of the store and in a store two downs down in the strip mall that they can use for larger events.

The Game Preserve Greenwood ROCKS.

A GW store opened in my city, and I have no reason to go there, and doubt I ever will.

Well, for one thing, it's the only gaming store in the entire country.

Luckily this doesn't mean it doesn't try to be awesome:

- completely friendly atmosphere
- discounts up to 20%
- plenty of gaming space and store terrain
- sells soft drinks, allows alcohol on premises
- carries every major game line any will custom order anything
- if they can't order something at trade prices, the manager will buy it retail and pass it on with no profit margin(!)
- geek girls come to hang out

All this a 20 minute bike ride from my home.

Helpful and friendly owner & staff
Events are regularly hosted
Lots of items in stock
Plenty of gaming space
Friendly player community

There are 3 stores closer to me but this one gets most of my business.

WAAAAY back in the early 90's there use to be this hole in the wall place out of the way 45 minutes or so east of me that I use to travel to. He had some stuff on shelves, but his service was top notch and pretty quick for ordering stuff back then(which was a bit different from nowadays). He was a huge blood bowl player and had some awesome stadiums and knew just about anything there was to know about it. Man that place was great. Service kept me coming back.

My FLGS is actually a GW store. The store is really close to my house, like a 5 minute drive or a 10 minute bike ride.

The manager is a really cool, first class guy and has definitely fostered a great community at the store. We recently had an armies on parade where my friends and I submitted our armies, and apparently we had the largest turnout in North America which says a lot for a one-man store. Sure my Imperial Guard didn't win but it was really fun.

Obviously since it's a GW store you can get anything GW haha, I don't buy a lot there but I do buy stuff from time to time to support the store since I'd hate to see it go.

I'm fortunate to have a fairly large, well-run FLGS in Legions Games. Plenty of open gaming tables stocked with quality terrain; lots of stock including aftermarket bitz, as well as bins full of used/traded-in miniatures; and a nice, laid-back atmosphere without any noticeable drama or ass-hattery. I'll admit that I'm probably not a star customer of theirs, spending maybe a few hundred dollars a year max, but that's not because I get my stuff online. I'm just an older gamer who 1) has a lot of stuff already and 2) has a pretty tight budget. Sucks to be a grownup

I understand times are tough right now and internet discounts can be tempting, but if you have disposable income, keeping your dollars in your community and supporting a local businessman is important.

There is nothing being talked about in this thread that is not already being talked about in the "Future of the FLGS" and "What made you leave your FLGS" threads.

How many FLGS threads to we really need on page 1?

Motion seconded. Please re-route traffic back to the parent thread.