Time to Pony UP
In a time of a tight economy and ever increasing prices within our hobby, we hobbyists often look around for the best deal before surrendering our hard earned money.
What many of us don’t realize is that the majority of the time, the best deal is right around the corner at our FLGS (Friendly Local Game Store).
See, it’s not all about how many models we get for our dollar. It’s really about the value we get for our dollar.
Here in Michigan, we are blessed to be surrounded by a ton of great game stores who go out of their way to have the square footage in their stores to give us a place to play. These game store owners keep our tables lit so we can see our awesome paint jobs while keeping us cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The only value of this square footage to the store is giving us gamers a place to hang out and enjoy our hobby. Sure it benefits the store by having gamers there laughing and rolling dice, but who is the real winner here? Sure we put up the money and time in our armies, but our FLGS are putting up the tables and terrain on which we get to enjoy our armies.
These store owners step up when they hear a new release is coming and load the shelves with the latest models, and when they don’t have what you want on the shelf, they’re eager to get on the phone with their distributer and get that special item in your hands as soon as possible, and they don’t even charge you shipping.
They happily host tournaments, staffing their stores early on tournament days and give out prize support to the attendees. When the inaugural Michigan GT comes to them and ask for support, they step up providing ridiculous amounts of prize support to award all the gamers who frequent their stores.
As gamers, we have a lot of options out there on the internet to get our gaming products for a little bit cheaper.
As gamers, we have a responsibility to spend our dollars in our local stores. Sure we could save a
few dollars by purchasing online, but are you really saving anything if your online purchases drive the FLGS under? Those online retailers aren’t taking any risk for you. They’re just pocketing your money. Your FLGS is fighting for you. They’re fighting for your money, they’re putting a roof over your head. Don’t look at that 15%-25% more you’ll pay in a brick and mortar store as a loss to you. Look at it as an investment in your hobby. That store is where your future opponents are going to be bred.Pay where you play.