Ask a Gamer- Dueling Articles: It’s Okay to Click and Avoid the Brick

July 10, 2015 Alex Montoya Ask a Gamer 0

I remember walking into the first store that only sold tabletop roleplaying games. The owner was this older man who wore a long white beard; he was surrounded by a counter of dice with an odd eclectic collection of box set and single volume RPGs and miniatures. In many ways it felt like walking into a magic shop in some popular fantasy game.

While some of you may be lucky enough to sport a friendly local game store in your neighborhood, there are many, many more of us who don’t. In my neck of the woods, those shops of wonders have disappeared, replaced by a few sad shelves in an over-sized chain bookstore or a woefully under-stocked and out of date section in a comic book/ baseball card/ collectibles/ TV and VCR repair shop. Thankfully, with the birth of modern technology and convenience, a new kind of magic was born: online shopping!

Countless sites offer an endless supply of a wide range of games and supplies. From the popular games currently sweeping the marketplace, to otherwise unknown games from indie publishers and those long-lost out of print games you’d otherwise have to hunt down at conventions – they’re all out there somewhere, just a simple search away.

The advantages are many over brick-and-mortar. The customer can find exactly what they’re looking for, (no more long trip to the store that end with disappointment when your FLGS doesn’t have the book you’re looking for in stock), your game line doesn’t have to compete with others for limited bookshelf space (so you’re more likely to find what you’re looking for), and specialty, custom and unique items are easy to find.

With one query into my magic screen, I can locate any game I wish. With a tap of my finger, I can pay for my order, sometimes at deep discounts. Then, with the power of delivery, my order arrives at my door in no time, sometimes for free or for a nominal fee. The convenience along with the savings in both time and money are too great to overlook. Now that’s magic I can believe in!

Make no mistake; there’s a battle going on out there. There are many companies and vendors fighting for my hard-earned money, and until I find my golden ticket, I have to be selective in how I spend it. That means I search for the best deals and right now, those are found online. Sure I’m sad about the death of the FLGS, but investing in nostalgia brings back no returns. We abandon outdated technology in favor of the new, why should how we spend our money be any different?

I favor online shopping not because I’m against the mom and pop stores, but because they simply can’t compete. The success of online stores like Amazon or Noble Knight shows you not where the industry is going, but where it already is. The brick and mortar stores aren’t dying, but unless they evolve to include an online presence, they will.

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Alex Montoya

Alex hasn't done anything worthwhile with his life. He's a great disappointment to his family and friends (even his dog looks at him with shame). Despite his many, many failures and general lack of any redeeming qualities, we took pity on him and let him in here at the Gamer Nation (I don't think we'll ever get rid of that lingering smell now). They say every group of "hotties" needs to keep an ugly friend around to make them look better and It seems that keeping this poor wretch around really does the trick!

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