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The other problem I have with FLGS is that not only the person running the store has to be friendly but the people you may be playing that game need to be friendly too. If the people in that store playing the same game as me are donkey caves then I am not gunna want to go in there let alone buy an item from the store. This is especially true with warhammer. Curb stomping the new kid who just finished putting his starter box of marines together, shunning and objectifying women who enter the store, and creating a generally unfriendly environment happens a lot these days with toy soldiers. A store that supports these actions (by not taking actions against it) is a store I WANT to see closed.

 IronMaster wrote:
I see that as a better business model than customer-shaming or threats of "Well, if you don't buy from me, the store's going to close and you won't be able to play your game anymore." That's holding a customer hostage, not promoting a business opportunity.

It's not really holding the customer hostage if the customer doesn't care about having a local store. The reality is that if people buy elsewhere, the local stores will close (or stop selling these product lines) and the local community will suffer and possibly die. As a customer, your only recourse will be to play games at someone's house or the rare (in the US) paid gaming club and attend an occasional, out of town tournament.

"If you don't buy from me, the store's going to close and you won't be able to play your game anymore." isn't holding someone hostage. It's just telling them the truth. Many people aren't able to continue playing at anywhere near the same frequency when their local store closes. If you aren't one of those people who needs a local store's community, buy wherever you can get the cheapest price. If you need the local store's community, realize that getting the cheapest price generally means eventually losing your community.

I just personally disagree with the concept of Customer Shaming, and that seems to be what's being brought up as the only "logical way" of keeping the FLGS's open. It's not.

There are plenty of ways a savvy business owner can get around this and have been. There are many successful FLGS's out there that aren't going to make their customers feel bad about themselves for not buying all their Games Workshop products from their stores.

To be honest, it's wrong to do it. If I went into a store to play a game and the store manager was there giving me dirty looks for having not purchased my items from that store, I wouldn't go back. If I was also "reminded" time and time again that if I didn't buy from them they'll shut down, that leads me in the direction of not wanting to go back just the same.

Bring people into your store not through Shame, but through Ingenuity.

 Xerics wrote:
If the people in that store playing the same game as me are donkey caves then I am not gunna want to go in there let alone buy an item from the store.

You should absolutely vote with your wallet, and I don't think that any pro-FLGS guy here would disagree with you for doing so. If the store isn't friendly due to customers or the owner, then it's just an LGS and not an FLGS.

The two shops I visit have good employees. I only play at one, and the gamers there are laid back. The store that is furthest away attends GenCon and AdeptiCon, and I support them as well as I can. It's just too far of a drive for me these days with my travel schedule.

 IronMaster wrote:
I just personally disagree with the concept of Customer Shaming, and that seems to be what's being brought up as the only "logical way" of keeping the FLGS's open.

I don't know why you associate "If you shop elsewhere, I will go out of business" as customer shaming. It's just a statement of fact. If you, as a customer, feel ashamed, perhaps you feel as though you're doing something wrong by using a store's resources without supporting the store.

 IronMaster wrote:
If I went into a store to play a game and the store manager was there giving me dirty looks for having not purchased my items from that store, I wouldn't go back. If I was also "reminded" time and time again that if I didn't buy from them they'll shut down, that leads me in the direction of not wanting to go back just the same.

I'm suppose that store manager is going to go home and cry himself to sleep from all the lost sales you weren't going to be making at his store anyways? And you're missing a core concept here. As a store manager, you don't beat people over the head with reminders. You pull the occasional problem person aside and say "Hey, I notice that you never buy anything from me but use my tables/whatnot. I've also noticed you talk about online discounters and eBay in my store. If you want to continue to be welcome in my store, I need you to stop recommending my competitors immediately and I'd appreciate it if you supported the store by making the occasional purchase." If the person persists in advertising for your competitors and not buying products, kick them out. They're undermining your business and it's not like you're losing any sales by doing so... they're not a paying customer.

In my most humble opinion,

They charge enough for their toys, and am addicted enough.

If I find a loophole, come at me GW.

Maybe if GW sold other modeling supplies. Like the rubber used to make your own molds and pewter ingots to make your own metal models. I am starting to do a little sculpting (just starting) and when I get somewhat decent at it I want to be able to cast that model a few times for myself or maybe to give to some friends. Selling Pewter ingots and the other stuff to make your own models could be a step in a good direction. The only issue I see is people using those mold making material to recast GW's models, but on the other hand GW is still getting $$$ for you buying the stuff to do it from them. Anyone with internet access and the will to try and recast will figure out how to do it eventually. Then all they need is a single box of marines and they will be able to make marines for days if they do it right.

 KingCorpus wrote:
In my most humble opinion,

They charge enough for their toys, and am addicted enough.

If I find a loophole, come at me GW.

That's all fair enough. Unless you want to use a local FLGS regularly.

We're lucky enough to be near one of the UK's best FLGS, Dark Sphere, so we buy from where we play. But if ever we've been on vacation and dropped regularly into a GW store, we've always bought something, it would usually only be a single figure, but £5 profit for the store is surely not over-paying for using up table space.

Likewise, I can't see the OP having a problem, as long as he's polite in the store, buys the occasional item and doesn't tell others to avoid buying from the store.

The phrase "abuse starter sets" puts a goofy mental image in my mind. Like Toy Story's Sid torturing toys for fun.

 TheWaspinator wrote:
The phrase "abuse starter sets" puts a goofy mental image in my mind. Like Toy Story's Sid torturing toys for fun.

Ha Ha, that made me laugh.

But seriously them starter sets take the brunt of the abuse, think of all them kids ripping open them boxes and snapping the models out of the sprue only to then cover them in a thick layer of paint. And thats not even the end of it, they will soon be hoovered up stood on and forgotten about. If they are lucky they will survive the process with enough limbs still attached to justify being sold on Ebay.

How do model kits work under Toy Story logic, anyway? Do they only come alive once they're built or is a sprue a bunch of tortured dismemebered body parts and heads?

They gain sentience, like golems, once they are assembled, and then initiate a Rhino assault against those plushy Xenos in the back corner of the toy box.

They'll hate not getting your money, and will be butthurt about that, but aside from that aspect no. Considering they let people spam whatever they want at this point, you're not doing something that hasn't been seen a million times already by GW, I'm sure. Just don't go around bragging to everyone in the store about how much cheaper your bike swarm was on Ebay.

 metallifan wrote:
They'll hate not getting your money, and will be butthurt about that, but aside from that aspect no. Considering they let people spam whatever they want at this point, you're not doing something that hasn't been seen a million times already by GW, I'm sure. Just don't go around bragging to everyone in the store about how much cheaper your bike swarm was on Ebay.

Plus if you tell everyone about the deals on ebay, eventually the prices will go up due to increased demand. So keep it a secret!

 corpuschain wrote:

 metallifan wrote:
They'll hate not getting your money, and will be butthurt about that, but aside from that aspect no. Considering they let people spam whatever they want at this point, you're not doing something that hasn't been seen a million times already by GW, I'm sure. Just don't go around bragging to everyone in the store about how much cheaper your bike swarm was on Ebay.

Plus if you tell everyone about the deals on ebay, eventually the prices will go up due to increased demand. So keep it a secret!

Prices will go up because GW, but yea, you gots it fam