Glen Soustek of Westlake Cards, Comics & Coins, Inc. in Roselle,  Illinois has been following the recent Talk Back discussions regarding WotC Premier Stores and had this to add regarding the issue of Internet/store product "dumpers."

A lot of Premier Stores are no longer premier stores.  A lot of Premier Stores took the products they bought direct from WotC and dumped them in their stores or on the web for pennies over their cost.  That's one of the reasons WotC stopped selling direct to certain dealers.  Some dealers aren't happy, but those of us competing against the "direct dumpers" couldn't be happier.

We experienced a jump in sales when WotC cancelled orders to an Iinternet dumper and we expect to see a similar increase in sales as WotC addresses the in-store direct "dumping" issue.  I see any number of "direct" accounts selling to the public for less than my cost from a distributor.  Perhaps if these "dealers" hadn't had such a "Ha-ha, I made $2 on a case of boosters and you didn't" attitude, they would still be Premier Stores.   By the way, I don't recall "jumping through hoops" to become an authorized retailer.  Maybe five minutes to fill out the paperwork and stick it in an envelope.  It wasn't really an issue, all things considered.

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