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April 16, 2003
10:45 AM: Mike Sugarbaker says...
Yes, GW appears to actually be cutting off online retailers
A retailer reports on the call he got from a Games Workshop VP. He brings up at the end of his post the fact that there really isn't that much legal precedent for this. But leaving that aside for a second, suppose the cascade effect he also predicts takes place. If all major publishers cut internet retailers off, would it trigger a mass revolt in the hobby? Or just a mass not-having-enough-money-anymore? Or would we all just keep buying everything because we're hopeless addicts who like to talk big about boycotts?
April 16, 2003 06:03 PM: James says...
If I can't buy my roleplaying stuff online, I'll pretty much just stop buying roleplaying stuff. I have so much material on my shelves that there's no point in paying full price in a bricks-and-mortar store for more. A discount online, not to mention the convenience, is the only thing really keeping me in the market.
April 16, 2003 06:18 PM: misuba says...
James, your comment's given me a realization: the complaints about online retailers are largely about collectible commodities, whereas roleplaying products are the one gaming product where you're seeing online sales show up as the sole mode of distribution for a lot of new companies and products. Not sure what that means or where it leaves GW exactly, but it's interesting.
April 17, 2003 04:37 PM: Seth says...
If you've already bought alot of stuff, you're a drying up well for manufacturer anyways. I would guess this goes for the Mini market more than for the Book market. To succeed with the new buyers, the mini market needs successful venues to show them off. RPG games don't really need that.
Every player stops buying eventually. You've got to keep attracting new customers, or you might become the next FASA.
April 19, 2003 04:01 PM: Mark says...
I don't see how they are going to attact new customers to their products especially if you have to navigate through that mess they call a website. I mean it takes me at least a half a hour just to find one mini.