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imagining Brigadoon

Started by Paul Czege, August 21, 2003, 04:49:05 PM

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Paul Czege

So, I've been mulling the http://www.indie-rpgs.com/viewtopic.php?p=41694&highlight=#41694">"Brigadoon Store" concept for some time. In fact, part of my motivation for building the Indie RPG display unit for GenCon was that maybe I'd eventually use it for a Brigadoon store (at small, local conventions). And so, having given the idea quite a bit of thought, Luke's http://www.indie-rpgs.com/viewtopic.php?t=7674">"Forge East" proposal compels me to describe how I'm thinking I'd do things, and see what people think:

It would be a store. So I would choose what I wanted to stock and sell. That is, I would use The Forge as a vehicle for contacting designers and asking them to send me their games, in quantities specified by me on a game-by-game basis.

I've done the GenCon booth three years in a row. My decisions for what to stock would be based on what I personally know I can sell well. For instance, I know I can close a deal on Dust Devils, so I'd probably want five copies. I have never quite figured out how to close a Trollbabe sale, so I might only stock one copy.

I would be buying the games from the designers for my "store," and would plan to pay a retailer price of 50% of cover (which is more than a designer would get for selling their book into distribution, and less than a retailer would pay to buy a book from a distributor). Designers would ship the games to me at their own expense; this cost would be the extent of their cash outlay. Probably I would pay for the books after the event I ordered them for, and probably I would reserve the right to return anything I decided not to keep back to the designer at my own expense.

I realize this favors low cover price books, but I like that.

Anyway, the only reason I haven't done it is because what I'd really like to do is a variation: an "indie RPG day" at local comic and game stores...and I haven't figured how to opt participating store owners in for a portion of what gets sold. They'll expect 40% of cover. I wouldn't be paying booth costs like I would at a convention, so I could do like I'm the distributor and pay designers 40% (with them paying for shipping to me, as above), but as a designer I know how much I paid to print my books, and how reluctant I'd be to sell them for 40%. So the whole damn idea is still simmering on my back burner.

Paul
My Life with Master knows codependence.
And if you're doing anything with your Acts of Evil ashcan license, of course I'm curious and would love to hear about your plans