I was wondering why CoolStuff raised the prices on wave 8 pre-orders. Now I know.

After reading the interview I have to say that I support their new wholesale pricing policy that gives a discount to brick and mortar stores based on the work they do to promote the gaming hobby. It makes a lot more sense than the policies I've seen from other game companies which involve artificially restricting prices (Mayfair Games), limiting quantity of product available to online retailers (WizKids), or outright forbidding online sales (Games Workshop).

The bottom line is that CoolStuff's discount for X-wing products appears to be now be 24-25% instead of 36-37% (roughly a $1.80 increase for a small ship) and I suspect that other online retailers will adjust their prices similarly. It will certainly hurt my wallet since I am heavily invested in several product lines put out by FFG and I make most of my purchases online. But it is not the end of the world. You can still get good discounts online, just not as crazy as before.

My only concern are these statements:

What impact do you expect this change in policies to have on the online marketplace for products from the Asmodee companies?
We believe that online sales is a viable and important marketplace, and that some consumers either prefer to buy their games online, or do not have access to a high-quality brick-and-mortar gaming retail store. As a publisher, we obviously still want to serve those consumers. We expect to authorize a number of excellent online specialty dealers, and would expect our products to be easily found online.

and

Do you expect the number of online retailers to decline?
Yes.

If they expect the number of online retailers to decline is it because of the decision of the individual online retailers or FFG? I want as much competition as possible and I don't like the idea that FFG might be artificially thinning the herd and thereby picking the winners.

If you envy the play and support Magic the gathering gets from local retailers know that magic already has similar pricing Terms in place. Dispite your feelings on the subject FLGS are a critical sales channel and not some charity.

There was a great murmur of hobby shops talking about dropping x-wing specifically in industry channels because people would buy online and play in store. This was ffg's problem to fix and thank goodness they are fixing it.

There was a great murmur of hobby shops talking about dropping x-wing specifically in industry channels because people would buy online and play in store. This was ffg's problem to fix and thank goodness they are fixing it.

Once again I feel compelled to say 'adapt or die'. It's not FFG's job to make the FLGS business model viable. If the FLGS can't compete with online sales, then it needs to find some other way to compete.

There was a great murmur of hobby shops talking about dropping x-wing specifically in industry channels because people would buy online and play in store. This was ffg's problem to fix and thank goodness they are fixing it.

Once again I feel compelled to say 'adapt or die'. It's not FFG's job to make the FLGS business model viable. If the FLGS can't compete with online sales, then it needs to find some other way to compete.

It is their job because if ffg wants to survive it needs to protect its valuable marketing and sales channel in hobby game shops.

It's understandable why a customer of online stores would not understand how valuable game stores are to a company like ffg but trust me they are a very important customer.

I was wondering why CoolStuff raised the prices on wave 8 pre-orders. Now I know.

After reading the interview I have to say that I support their new wholesale pricing policy that gives a discount to brick and mortar stores based on the work they do to promote the gaming hobby. It makes a lot more sense than the policies I've seen from other game companies which involve artificially restricting prices (Mayfair Games), limiting quantity of product available to online retailers (WizKids), or outright forbidding online sales (Games Workshop).

The bottom line is that CoolStuff's discount for X-wing products appears to be now be 24-25% instead of 36-37% (roughly a $1.80 increase for a small ship) and I suspect that other online retailers will adjust their prices similarly. It will certainly hurt my wallet since I am heavily invested in several product lines put out by FFG and I make most of my purchases online. But it is not the end of the world. You can still get good discounts online, just not as crazy as before.

My only concern are these statements:

What impact do you expect this change in policies to have on the online marketplace for products from the Asmodee companies?

We believe that online sales is a viable and important marketplace, and that some consumers either prefer to buy their games online, or do not have access to a high-quality brick-and-mortar gaming retail store. As a publisher, we obviously still want to serve those consumers. We expect to authorize a number of excellent online specialty dealers, and would expect our products to be easily found online.

and

Do you expect the number of online retailers to decline?

Yes.

If they expect the number of online retailers to decline is it because of the decision of the individual online retailers or FFG? I want as much competition as possible and I don't like the idea that FFG might be artificially thinning the herd and thereby picking the winners.

In one letter they list a number of distributors that they will no longer supply product to. The ones listed are the distributors also selling online. I suspect they are the online salers they expect to go away.

It is their job because if ffg wants to survive it needs to protect its valuable marketing and sales channel in hobby game shops.

Surely FFG would be better served figuring out what will replace hobby game stores (most likely clubs and gaming cafes / pubs) and getting in on the ground floor. While I am willing to accept that LGSs were once important to the hobby as gaming becomes more mainstream a lot of them are becoming a problem the community needs to overcome.

There was a great murmur of hobby shops talking about dropping x-wing specifically in industry channels because people would buy online and play in store. This was ffg's problem to fix and thank goodness they are fixing it.

Once again I feel compelled to say 'adapt or die'. It's not FFG's job to make the FLGS business model viable. If the FLGS can't compete with online sales, then it needs to find some other way to compete.

It is their job because if ffg wants to survive it needs to protect its valuable marketing and sales channel in hobby game shops.

No, it doesn't. We have a changed marketplace. FFG can do just fine by using online sales.

I make most of my purchases from my FLGS, despite the 50% discounts I can find online, because my FLGS puts a lot of emphasis on the F and the owner is a friend. But I can tell you right now that if that store were to close, it would not affect the local community one iota. Except we'd all have more X Wing stuff because we can get it for cheaper.

Now obviously anecdotal evidence is anecdotal, and my group is not the same as every group, but if the problem (of people buying online) is so significant, then I feel extremely confident that if the FLGS were all to go out of business, then the remaining handful of loyal customers would move seamlessly over to buying online.

We aren't selling crochet supplies here. Star Wars and X Wing fans are tech-savvy people who can find discount online retailers on their own, and given the fact that players need to actually socialise with other players to play games, there is ample opportunity for the best websites to be spread by word of mouth. Not to mention the omnipresent nature of social media.

I'm sure there'd be a period of adjustment as players had to find somewhere else to play, but I'm extremely confident that losing the FLGS would not be a long term set-back for X Wing.

Well Major Tom I'm just going to say smarter more connected people than I disagree with your opinion. FFG is onto what's next and they are supporting it with paid volunteer programs.

I certainly agree I'd rather play in a pub/cafe environment.

paid volunteer programs.

Reading that I silently screamed.

My FLGS has a brilliant owner who recently bought a ready made x-wing collection off of a previous player (He prefers Armada/MTG). The prices are a little bit higher than online but I buy as much as I can from my FLGS.

We support our FLGS and we get a place to play/socialise with fellow gamers its not a bad policy in my eyes.

If they expect the number of online retailers to decline is it because of the decision of the individual online retailers or FFG? I want as much competition as possible and I don't like the idea that FFG might be artificially thinning the herd and thereby picking the winners.

I think a lot the ones that will be lost are the ebay and amazon stores. In one of the threads on BGG, there was someone talking about the issue of stores ordering way more than they could ever hope to sell in order to get a better discount. And then clear out the extra on their online stores. Can someone please tell me how that model is sustainable?

Better control of the discounts and forcing stores to be a bit more responsible in their ordering seems like a good thing to me. Stores being forced to compete with online isn't necessarily a bad thing. However, adapt or die seems a troubling issue when you are talking about the full industry.

An increasingly popular aspect of this game are the official/unofficial events being held by game stores and the prize support (often in the form of promo kits) being offered by them. You don't get those without two things: space, and volunteer support. What's the link? Community, something you also don't get out of your garden variety cafe. If people would rather not be a part of this community and hide in their basements instead, by all means, do so. The game isn't going to grow that way, and all of your cries of 'adapt or die,' or whatever other laissez-faire excuses you conceive of to defend your selfish interests will become a reality, and X-Wing will shrivel up and disappear.

I live right in the middle of SoCal, and I remember a time when I had to drive an hour to the nearest Magic event, because LGS' weren't a thing. Is that what we really want to go back to? Again, stay in your basements and speak with your wallets, and keep throwing tantrums if you really must. If you don't want to 'subsidize' my hobby, then do me a favor and stay well the hell away from it.

An increasingly popular aspect of this game are the official/unofficial events being held by game stores and the prize support (often in the form of promo kits) being offered by them. You don't get those without two things: space, and volunteer support. What's the link? Community, something you also don't get out of your garden variety cafe. If people would rather not be a part of this community and hide in their basements instead, by all means, do so. The game isn't going to grow that way, and all of your cries of 'adapt or die,' or whatever other laissez-faire excuses you conceive of to defend your selfish interests will become a reality, and X-Wing will shrivel up and disappear.

I live right in the middle of SoCal, and I remember a time when I had to drive an hour to the nearest Magic event, because LGS' weren't a thing. Is that what we really want to go back to? Again, stay in your basements and speak with your wallets, and keep throwing tantrums if you really must. If you don't want to 'subsidize' my hobby, then do me a favor and stay well the hell away from it.

Community isn't the exclusive domain of the FLGS. Facebook has more to do with growing the X Wing community than FLGS do. Should we also tack a 'facebook tax' onto the price of our models? After all, we seem to think that subsidising the local games store is fine because they grow the community. In fact, many games stores are smelly nerd dungeons that actively turn people AWAY from the hobby.

Cold fact is, the gaming communities exist outside and separate to the game store. A lot of communities game there because it's convenient, not because it's essential, and if those game stores go away those same communities will continue to flourish and will just find somewhere else to play games. It's not hard to find enough table-space to lay down half a dozen 3x3 mats.

All the stores in my area are full of trendy 20 somethings. Sorry the stores in your area weren't satisfactory.

Gaming communities that don't actually play isn't much of a gaming community, imo. I think you greatly exaggerate the lack of impact losing the convenience of a game store would do to many communities.

Yes, there are plenty of bad stores (luckily, my local stores are not).

All the stores in my area are full of trendy 20 somethings. Sorry the stores in your area weren't satisfactory.

Well, it's kinda the crux of the matter isn't it? Good game stores don't need to be helped along by FFG, and bad ones don't deserve to be.

I certainly agree I'd rather play in a pub/cafe environment.

a place i regularly play has a pub inside of it.

selling beer and coffee is not the magic potion that funds play space. they do far less business than an normal pub especially with games like x-wing that take massive square footage to host even a few players.

I live right in the middle of SoCal,

Bakersfield?

All the stores in my area are full of trendy 20 somethings. Sorry the stores in your area weren't satisfactory.

Well, it's kinda the crux of the matter isn't it? Good game stores don't need to be helped along by FFG, and bad ones don't deserve to be.

I think there is plenty of examples in this thread where people are thinking that brick and mortars should be able to match online prices.

An increasingly popular aspect of this game are the official/unofficial events being held by game stores and the prize support (often in the form of promo kits) being offered by them. You don't get those without two things: space, and volunteer support. What's the link? Community, something you also don't get out of your garden variety cafe. If people would rather not be a part of this community and hide in their basements instead, by all means, do so. The game isn't going to grow that way, and all of your cries of 'adapt or die,' or whatever other laissez-faire excuses you conceive of to defend your selfish interests will become a reality, and X-Wing will shrivel up and disappear.I live right in the middle of SoCal, and I remember a time when I had to drive an hour to the nearest Magic event, because LGS' weren't a thing. Is that what we really want to go back to? Again, stay in your basements and speak with your wallets, and keep throwing tantrums if you really must. If you don't want to 'subsidize' my hobby, then do me a favor and stay well the hell away from it.

Community isn't the exclusive domain of the FLGS. Facebook has more to do with growing the X Wing community than FLGS do. Should we also tack a 'facebook tax' onto the price of our models? After all, we seem to think that subsidising the local games store is fine because they grow the community. In fact, many games stores are smelly nerd dungeons that actively turn people AWAY from the hobby.Cold fact is, the gaming communities exist outside and separate to the game store. A lot of communities game there because it's convenient, not because it's essential, and if those game stores go away those same communities will continue to flourish and will just find somewhere else to play games. It's not hard to find enough table-space to lay down half a dozen 3x3 mats.

Yeah? I challenge you to put your money where your mouth is. Go organize an event somewhere that isn't an LGS and tell me how much more time, energy, and personal resources ($$) it takes. Bonus points if you can finagle FFG into selling you an event kit.

Our opinions on the value of FLGS are of no importance. fact is FFG thinks they have value and they are doing what they feel is needed to preserve that value.

Do you have all their sales data and information?

Please let this thread be locked soon.

Edit:

I want this thread locked because the issue has been fully explored and is now a circular argument. i happen to agree with FFG that FLGS are important.

I will keep on editing this post with additional comments rather than add another post to it.

Funny that the majority of people calling for the thread lock assume FFG doesn't care about us and we don't matter.

Funny that the majority of people calling for the thread lock assume FFG doesn't care about us and we don't matter.

And if they had locked the thread early, would have said it was censorship.