ElectricPaladin
04-24-2013, 12:37 PM
I was wondering if anyone else has ever encountered the phenomenon of FLGSs throwing a fit about people playing Kickstarter games in the store.
Now, I understand that game stores are an unusual case. Usually, you never bring into Store A something that it sells, but that you purchased at Store B. No one questions the right of a restaurant to ban outside food, for example. However, most of us purchase our wargame stuff from a variety of sources. You were at this store and had a hankering for a new kit, you got that thing from a website that was having a sale, and you got that other thing off eBay, or from your buddy. As a result, most game stores have a more relaxed attitude. You bring your army - or board game, or whatever - to minis night or board game night, and you play, and the store is content to know that it is a community location, that your attendance serves as marketing, and that you will become a source of revenue in the long run.
Kickstarter games are different, I acknowledge that. They sometimes have more limited - or at least intermittent - printing runs, and are sometimes hard for game stores to get ahold of. I am unlikely to buy Legos for Mobile Frame Zero at my local game store - I mean, I would if they carried Legos, but that's not going to happen.
That said, every game store but one that I have encountered has applied the same attitude to Kickstarter games that they do to a dude's entire army. Maybe you didn't buy that tactical squad here, but you are here on a regular basis, so you will eventually buy something. Maybe you can't buy Legos - or Relic Knights, or whatever - here, but you are here.
Has anyone else encountered anti-Kickstarter attitudes at their FLGSs? Or is it just this one place near me?
Now, I understand that game stores are an unusual case. Usually, you never bring into Store A something that it sells, but that you purchased at Store B. No one questions the right of a restaurant to ban outside food, for example. However, most of us purchase our wargame stuff from a variety of sources. You were at this store and had a hankering for a new kit, you got that thing from a website that was having a sale, and you got that other thing off eBay, or from your buddy. As a result, most game stores have a more relaxed attitude. You bring your army - or board game, or whatever - to minis night or board game night, and you play, and the store is content to know that it is a community location, that your attendance serves as marketing, and that you will become a source of revenue in the long run.
Kickstarter games are different, I acknowledge that. They sometimes have more limited - or at least intermittent - printing runs, and are sometimes hard for game stores to get ahold of. I am unlikely to buy Legos for Mobile Frame Zero at my local game store - I mean, I would if they carried Legos, but that's not going to happen.
That said, every game store but one that I have encountered has applied the same attitude to Kickstarter games that they do to a dude's entire army. Maybe you didn't buy that tactical squad here, but you are here on a regular basis, so you will eventually buy something. Maybe you can't buy Legos - or Relic Knights, or whatever - here, but you are here.
Has anyone else encountered anti-Kickstarter attitudes at their FLGSs? Or is it just this one place near me?