The Brick and Mortar Tax

[Griffen]

I am brand new to Warhammer. My husband decided to play and convinced me to give it a try. I went to the local store and was surprised. I mostly play Magic and am used to a store serving as the local game hub. This store had 1 table for play. 1 tiny area for building, a few books, then a wall of paint, 40k figures and then AOS figures. The owner had the twin kindness of constantly pushing people to buy more things and cutting my tutorial game short.

When I play Magic I pay the brick and mortar tax. I deliberately paid more for my packs, starter decks and booster boxes. I paid more because the store provided play space, ran tournaments, and was willing to playtest on slow days.

Is is worth paying the brick and mortar tax for Warhammer or did I just get a crappy local store?

 

[NIGHTBRINGER]

I am brand new to Warhammer.

Welcome!

Is is worth paying the brick and mortar tax for Warhammer or did I just get a crappy local store?

Sounds like you simply came across a crappy local store. I wouldn't support such a place myself. Hopefully you can find a better store in your local area and make your purchases there.

 

[Fhanados]

I've seen this same thing happen. For years there weren't any game stores near where I live that run GW games in-store, but they were more than happy to push the product the moment you showed interest. Now there's 2 stores not far from me, one is an independent store with a very strong MTG scene but hosts fairly sizable 40k events (but they still shun AoS) and the other is a much smaller GW store, which has a LOT of events and the guy is happy to play games with whoever walks in. It's luck of the draw really, and depends a lot on where the owner's passion lies.

 

[Ritual]

If you don't like the way the store is run, don't give it any money - that's how I always operate.

 

[Fhanados]

If you don't like the way the store is run, don't give it any money - that's how I always operate.

Couldn't agree more. I've actually started paying retail price (aka "all the dollarydoos") to buy from my local GW instead of online purely because I want to support the store. Before now I used to buy all my stuff from online stores in the US at almost half the price.

 

[Ritual]

Whenever I can I'll buy something from them - I bought Silver Tower, one of the big carry cases, and varying other bits and pieces in one whack a few months ago after I sold some eBay stuff. I do buy some things online though, particularly bigger items. Unfortunately the economy is not what it was and splashing that level of cash often isn't practical.

Whenever I am in there I will buy something though, even if it's just White Dwarf or a few paints.

 

[Aginor]

Welcome!

Yeah that doesn't sound like a good place to play. I would probably give them another chance though, perhaps they just had a bad day, which is something that happens to everyone now and then.

But if that behaviour persists, search for alternatives. The GW games are too good to let them be spoiled by a bad shop environment.

 

[Griffen]

I would love to abandon the store because friends at work also say the store is crap. However, it is the only store within 2 hours drive and my guy has a friend there. I am not about to boycott a semi-functional erratic playgoup after pushing him to get out of the house. However, all my future purchases will be through the game workshop online store. Thank all for the replies.

 

[NIGHTBRINGER]

However, all my future purchases will be through the game workshop online store.

Depending where in the world you're living, some countries have online stores that offer a discount off of GW retail price. Just something to keep in mind.

 

[n810]

I would love to abandon the store because friends at work also say the store is crap. However, it is the only store within 2 hours drive and my guy has a friend there. I am not about to boycott a semi-functional erratic playgoup after pushing him to get out of the house. However, all my future purchases will be through the game workshop online store. Thank all for the replies.

...Wait....
eBay isn't their online store....