11 hours ago, dadocollin said:While I still think B&N doesn't know what they're doing, it's possible there is some strategy here. I agree that the big-box stores are starting to catch wind of the rise of board games. One very recent example: Target has exclusive rights to the new D&D Essentials box for three months before anyone else (from Amazon to local stores) will have it. Now, D&D is a little different because they're owned by Hasbro and one would think Hasbro would cater to the big stores if they could. Still, if you look at a game like D&D, local stores and B&N can't even come close to touching Amazon prices on new releases. If Amazon wanted to, they could probably single-handedly corner the X-wing market (if FFG would allow them).
As games like this grow in popularity, more and more places/sites will want a piece of the pie. X-wing ships are expensive, so that can lead to lucrative sales, but also risk. I see several markets for X-wing product currently:
1. FFG direct - The only advantage here is getting product a few days before the game stores, but now they're offering free shipping on preorders as well, so you're not losing money ordering from them, but you are paying full retail price. Still, for the "health" of FFG, if you can't order at a game store, you're cutting out the middle-man here and letting them reap the full profit.
2. Amazon - Can be very competitive on price, but don't seem to be ordering the volume yet themselves to dominate (yet). A lot of ships still sold by third party sellers (who in many cases are game stores, cough cough), which means they can't discount quite as much.
3. Big Box stores like Target and Walmart - Not really in the X-wing game yet besides core sets. Not competitive on price yet unless they have clearance. I can see them being most worried about theft plus the risk/reward may not be there for the individual ships on such a large scale.
4. B&N - I put them in their own category because they're such an anomaly. Sometimes I feel like they must be losing money with these deals. Even at full retail price, you can still use 20% off coupons plus your 10% member discount. Then, they have these crazy BOGO or clearance-price sales that look like they're getting rid of the game (which they did for a time in 1.0, at least at my store) and then they're back. What if they actually negotiated early rights to this wave? Probably not, but look at my D&D example above.
5. Big game sites like Coolstuffinc - They order in bulk, offer pre-order, and can be very competitive on price. Also have loyalty discounts, but you often have to get past a certain spending threshold to get free shipping, which makes them not as competitive for one-off sales. Still, if you don't have a game store and are price conscious, this may be the best option for pre-ordering an entire wave.
6. Local games stores - The good ones offer enough discounts, pre-order benefits, freebies at events, and local camaraderie to make them the go-to for many people, but there are large swaths of the country that don't have a good game store (like where I live). It's worrying that they're facing so much competition. I have two small stores locally and one has tried to start X-wing twice and abandoned it. They keep getting stuck with product and it doesn't move fast enough. (They also don't offer any FFG giveaway events and no discount that I could see.) The other place is more of a boardgame cafe, but they've recently flirted with carrying a little product. I don't see it lasting here either because of a lack of any events and a lack of significant discounts.
For me, Cool Stuff is my FLGS one of the only ones in Miami Florida. They also offer free store pick up on any item ordered on their site so win win.