Stephen Armstrong of Mad City Comics in Moncton, New Brunswick saw retailer Derek Garrison’s comments about deep discounting of Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition products (see “Derek Garrison of Talon Comics on 'D&D 4E Out Early'”) and says Wizards of the Coast should establish a ‘Magic’ discounting policy for 4E.

As a retailer I've bought most, if not all, of Wizards of the Coast products over the years because they're good and they sell well.  They have had my retailer loyalty for quite some time.  What upsets me most right now is the terrible way they're letting online retailers get such deep discounts.  They're effectively hitting me where it hurts--sales.  If they (online retailers) can do it, I would appreciate being able to do something similar for my loyal customers who come in month after month buying the new books from me.

With the current price hikes all around us, in gas, food, etc., it's no wonder that if they can get a book at such a great deal, they'll find the cheapest price regardless of what it may be.  For the customers that come in and read ENWorld and the like or just have the savvy to look around, they can easily find the best deals.  For each customer coming in wanting to buy D&D 4E from me that mentions Amazon and their deep discounts,  I have to tell them to purchase from them (Amazon) because I cannot possibly match their price.

This is not good for the RPG industry or for me, the brick and mortar store, that publishers should want to support.  Is the trend shifting to online only sales?  What is a retailer like me going to do if this continues?  These are some important questions that will be affecting not only me but other brick and mortar stores around the country.  It is a valid concern.

I also purchase Magic: The Gathering, another huge WotC product.  They have a policy preventing unfair online sales, trumping brick and mortar stores from losing out.  I spoke to my distributor about this and he assures me this is the case.  So why are they not doing this with 4E as well?

The opinions expressed in this Talk Back article are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.