So does Mongoose stuff get stocked in Gaming shops much?

[danskmacabre]

I went for a daytrip into town today and dropped into the local "Forbidden Planet". Strictly speaking not a RPG shop, but they DO have a smallish RPG section.
I noticed all the usual stuff, DnD, Pathfinder and a few less well known games like Smallville and BRP.
I asked if they stocked MRQ2 or any Mongoose products at all, to which they said no.

I also frequent another dedicated RPG/Boardgaming/Wargame store from time to time and on my last visit I asked about Mongoose stuff, to which he replied we don't stock it, it doesn't move stock fast enough, he didn't have BRP either.
His big seller was DnD 4e and various boardgames, plus lots of magic cards.

Now the ONLINE presence of Mongoose stuff is pretty good, I generally buy Mongoose stuff from various online shops and they always have what I want in stock, so I guess it sells well online, but not in Bricks and Mortar shops As far as I can see (I appreciate that I've only visited several shops over a limited area, but still).

Now regarding Bricks and mortar shops, I try to remain loyal to them, but I find more and more they only stock the big sellers and less and less the slower movers. It's no biggie for me, as like I said I buy 90% of my RPG stuff online because of the poor availability of RPGs that I like.

If you don't mind me asking, what's the view of Mongoose with Bricks and Mortar shops?
Are they that important to you?
Are my observations just local to my area?

 

[Mixster]

I brought my copy of the MRQ2 core rulebook in a "Bricks and Mortar" here in Denmark, when I plan on extending my library, I'll probably do it through the internet. But when I first buy a book that I might need for a long, I want to be able to look at it and feel the quality, so I don't get some shoddy glued together piece of plastic.

Luckily MRQ2 Wasn't, so I brought the book and have been very happy with the results.

 

[danskmacabre]

Yes it's nice to physically see the books first. So I did the next best thing and read some reviews, which for MRQ2, were quite positive.
I also asked on the rpg.net forums for people's views, which were also very positive.
One other great place to check for reviews is on youtube, I search on there a lot for reviews if I want to "see before I buy".
I think overall, MRQ2 has got some great press, it's just doesn't get the same level of advertising that the big RPGs get.

 

[DamonJynx]

I think overall, MRQ2 has got some great press, it's just doesn't get the same level of advertising that the big RPGs get.

No doubt due to the differences in advertising budgets.

My FLGS has only got some old MRQI stuff in stock and will order other product in. My only other option for locally sourced hard-copy is mail-order via a company in Melbourne, Victoria. In which case, I may as well buy direct from Mongoose and give them the retail profit as it ends up costing me about the same once postage is added.

 

[danskmacabre]

No doubt due to the differences in advertising budgets.

Oh yes absolutely I agree.

 

[medievaladventures]

I went to the nearest gaming store last week to buy the core rule book and they didn't have it. So I went to the next closest and they didn't have it. So I went to the third closest gaming store and they didn't have it. I gave up and ordered it from Amazon. I should have just done that to begin with.

 

[Titus]

My FLGS in downtown Lansing carries all of the Mongoose Traveller line, but does not carry Runequest. I have bought most of my MRQ2 books from them, but they special order them for me from their distributor. They still give me the same deal as if I had bought it off their shelf. (When you buy your fifth RPG book, you get the average cost of the previous 4 purchases off the price of the fifth. They keep track for you as it is a sort of buyers club.)

They used to carry the MRQ1 line, but I was the only one buying them so they stopped stocking them.

At Christmas time, I went to the other 3 gaming stores in the Lansing area and none of them carried MRQ2. The two I asked said they could order the books for me. At least they'd heard of it.

 

[ThatGuy]

My FLGS has everything...but the store is awesome. "Games of Berkeley" is a legendary outlet, carrying every MRQ2 book, occasionally on a 10-30% sale rack. But they have every game imaginable, and have a long history with RQ dating back to the Chaosium days (when they were a small, Berkeley upstart with some guy named Steve Perrin and Greg Stafford- or so the story is told).

Interestingly, I was at another store in San Raphael that had all of the MRQ1 stuff and the guy had a bit of an attitude about the quick switch. I guess he felt shortchanged or something. He did have ALL of the MRQ1 stuff, but seemed slow to get the new stuff unless someone was going to pre-order it.

But, to stay on the thread topic (too late!), my FLGS does, indeed carry it- and pretty much the whole line.

 

[languagegeek]

Now the ONLINE presence of Mongoose stuff is pretty good

Not in Canada it isn't. Neither Amazon nor Chapters-online (our big-box-book store) carry the core book. This is pretty serious considering the international shipping rates can be pretty high.

 

[DamonJynx]

(When you buy your fifth RPG book, you get the average cost of the previous 4 purchases off the price of the fifth. They keep track for you as it is a sort of buyers club.)

That my friend is a seriously good deal! If all your books are around the same $, then it's basically buy 5 get one free!

 

[Titus]

(When you buy your fifth RPG book, you get the average cost of the previous 4 purchases off the price of the fifth. They keep track for you as it is a sort of buyers club.)

That my friend is a seriously good deal! If all your books are around the same $, then it's basically buy 5 get one free!

Yup! They also have a similar deal for boardgames. They do it this way as a reward for customer loyalty. Works for me.

 

[DamonJynx]

And to think, I was ecstatic when I got a 5% discount!

I bet that store does really good business! BTW are their prices on par with other retailers? They're not giving an illusion of a good deal?

 

[danskmacabre]

Not in Canada it isn't. Neither Amazon nor Chapters-online (our big-box-book store) carry the core book. This is pretty serious considering the international shipping rates can be pretty high.

That's strange, Amazon here is the UK is pretty good with that sort of thing, failing that Ebay has a lot of RPG shops as well, which I have used on occasion.

 

[danskmacabre]

One thing about my FLGS is that actually his prices are pretty high.
So for example, if book's marked RRP is say £30, he'll charge £33-£35.

But I can quite often but RPG products online for the marked price or more often than not marked down from the RRP.

This sort of makes it hard for me to be loyal to this store anyway and seeing as it's the only specialised gaming store for miles around, I get forced online for purchases.
I don't mind supporting Bricks and mortar shops over online purchases, but when they charge over the odds, I balk at it and buy online.

It does make me wonder if there's really a NEED for bricks and mortar shops, they don't REALLY provide anything I want and it's actually cheaper and more convenient for me to just buy online.
He does do RPG do MTG gaming sessions, in there in evenings, but I don't play that game, so it has no interest for me.

 

[Dan True]

It does make me wonder if there's really a NEED for bricks and mortar shops, they don't REALLY provide anything I want and it's actually cheaper and more convenient for me to just buy online.
He does do RPG do MTG gaming sessions, in there in evenings, but I don't play that game, so it has no interest for me.

To me there's a need. We only have 2 proper shops in Copenhagne, and only one carries RQ products (and not very much). But I live that I can go to the shop sometimes and just browse their collection, feel the book in my hand and look at the accessories they have (I buy a lot of dungeon tiles and battle maps - I properly wouldn't have found those online).

But I guess it's a matter of habit.

- Dan

 

[danskmacabre]

Sounds like you have a good RPG shop, which is nice.
There's not much to choose from for me, so I guess I've just got used to ordering stuff online most of the time.

 

[danskmacabre]

ooh, just got a shiny new Elric GM screen delivered today..
Very nice solid Cardstock.
I also printed out and laminated some cheat sheets someone made (Linked in the MRQwiki) and stuck them to the back of the GM screen (As it just has pictues on the back anyway)

 

[DramaticExit]

My local store here in Germany stocks a huge amount of board-games and rpgs, and is generally up-to-date and on the ball. However they only seems to have the previous edition of MRQ.

What we've bought so far has come from UK online retailers, eBay and direct orders with Mongoose.

 

[languagegeek]

failing that Ebay has a lot of RPG shops as well, which I have used on occasion.

Ebay sellers typically charge $10 + on a $20 book, so that's a poor option really. Fine for something obscure, but the latest version? The only corebook on ebay is charging $70. Sure there are one or two Canadian on-line game stores from other cities, but if I'm just a casual gamer, how would I even know about them?

If a publisher wants lots of sales, they have to make sure the books are available without too much fuss. As it stands, I doubt any new-to-rpg or switching-from-D&D potential customers are going to spend the time and money tracking down the core rulebook, let alone supplements. Especially when other games are so much easier to get ahold of. I specifically went to RQ II because I was keenly interested in the mythological aspect, so I took the two hour train ride to buy a copy. I can't see anyone else I know doing the same.

 

[sdavies2720]

My FLGS is a comic book store that has a rack of RPGs -- mostly D&D with a smattering of other stuff. He special-orders Mongoose titles for me, and based on my orders he occasionally orders something for the racks.

Unfortunately, it means that he has a couple of MRQ1 items plus MRQ2 Arms & Equipment on the rack, and they've been there for a while. Because sales are spotty, he's (quite reasonably) not willing to take much of a risk by stocking many titles.

As a loyal customer I do get enough of a discount that it covers sales tax plus a little more, so ordering through him costs about the same as ordering online. So it's easy to stay loyal.

Steve