FORGE GAMA

[Luke]

I spent Sunday to Thursday in Las Vegas at GAMA. Overall, the show is small and sedate compared to Gencon and even Origins. GAMA is a "trade show" for RPGs, board games and card games. It's focused more on promotions and panels than straight up sales. It's also for schmoozing. Lots of "industry bigwigs" were there with plenty of time to talk or offer advice.

The show floor consisted of two largish rooms of exhibition booths. Again, smaller than Gencon or Origins, but much larger than local cons. Traffic, for those used to Gencon, was syrup slow. You could watch folks working their way down the aisle, booth by booth.

I was there representing IPR. We shared a stand with Profantasy Software (which sounds like Profanity Software when you say it quickly) -- Simon from Pelgrane's other company. I'd say about 60% of the people who stopped at our booth were there for Profantasy, 40% for IPR or RPGs in general. I'd guess we had a 10-15% crossover rate -- retailers who'd want to talk to both of us, or who were passed over to the other company after the initial pitch.

The quality, or rather utility, of each customer was generally much higher than the standard "consumer" show. Most attendees were retailers. These were people who, if interested, could be the portal to many sales of the games. I estimate that I talked directly to 25 retailers. Not all were interested, but all the same, that's not too bad -- considering our current roster is about 6 retailers. I also spoke at a seminar with about 50 retailers present. I can't recommend seminars and panels enough. I received a very favorable response and a number of retailers came to the booth or stopped me in the halls and professed interest in what we do and what we stand for.

And, just to get it out of the way, I had at least 3 retailers -- who order our games or want to order our games -- complain to me (rather vehemently) about IPR. They complained about the 42% discount and having to pay shipping on the smaller orders. They also complained about the shipping turnaround time. Apparently, IPR has the worst turnaround time out there. Even compared to Alliance! I explained that we were a small outfit and that our titles are self-published and POD. I think all of them said, "If your cost per unit is high, raise your prices." Apparently, the 42% discount is too narrow of margin for them. They claimed serious hardship! Anything we can do to ameliorate that would probably increase orders by a large degree. Personally, I think we should have a loyalty program. Retailers who repeatedly order should get a progressively better discount. Create a tiered scheme so that the retailers want to make their next order so they can get a better discount and make more from these games. I suspect we'd see an increase in volume.

That's all well and good. I can already hear Tony and Ben saying, "Fuck those guys." Whatever. Go on hating the money of people who want to buy your games.

Anyway, I don't think the discount issue is the end of the world or the most important lesson from GAMA. Regardless of the discount, I think there is a real opportunity at GAMA for IPR. I think IPR can storm GAMA like the Forge storms GenCon. I think IPR can create a fun, informative and exciting booth for retailers.

I learned that retailers are busy and they don't really care about how pretty or cool our games are. Most have no frame of reference for how that will translate into a benefit for their store. Being pretty and cool simply isn't enough to get the games into the store. Your average game retailer needs a broader web of data. They need reviews, quotes, promotional material, in-store displays, demo games and a clear view of how the game will look on their shelves.

I think that if we went to GAMA as a FORGE-style booth with fiery demos, posters, stickers, pins, PDF CDs full of preview materials and reviews, sample copies and, most important, actual shelves that display the IPR roster in a simulated store environment, we would blow retailers away. We could SHOW them how cool our games are, rather than merely telling them. I think this could be accomplished by a two or three man team with a corner booth at the show. It would require time, investment and commitment on the part of the whole community. But, I believe the benefits would outweigh the costs in the long term.  Everyone wants us to succeed. We are the new hope -- the revitalization of roleplaying games. But in order to be successful, we've got to be more savvy and better organized. We've got to stop looking like the rank amateurs that we are not.

Comments are welcome.
-Luke

[Jason Morningstar]

Thanks for representing, Luke.  That's all thought provoking stuff.  I hope you got to snort coke off a prostitute or something while you were in Vegas.

The retailer perspective is interesting to me, and it sounds like what you heard from them varies considerably from what passes for conventional wisdom.  Conventional wisdom is that retailers complaining about things like form factor and fulfillment difficulty are just lazy and/or clueless, with stores like Endgame Oakland as the counter-example.  In what way was your experience at odds with this perception?

I don't like hearing that IPR has a poor turnaround reputation, regardless of the circumstances. 

Were the retailers you talked to upbeat and confident about their own situation and the state of the industry?  What was the general mood at GAMA?

[Luke]

No coke or strippers.

They complaine about form factor and fulfillment difficulties, too. But these are old saws. Individually, or even together, those aren't that much of a barrier. But add onto those the poor retailer discount and the shipping costs and you sliced our retailer base down to folks who do it out of love.

End Game stands as the prime example of retailers who carry our stuff. They are all of a type: These stores have an active manager or owner who like roleplaying games and keeps abreast of the latest developments in our community. They do it out of love. This is universally the case with retailers who carry IPR stuff.

As for the general mood at GAMA, I forgot to mention the title of that panel: Save vs Death, strategies for saving RPGs. We're the hind end of the rump, my friends. And we know it.

-L

[jdrakeh]

Thanks for that, Luke. We have one store here locally that stocks a lot of IPR products -- but, yes, that 42% discount keeps them from ordering the whole catalog. And, recently, I had some not small issues with shipping, myself, when ordering product for distribution to websites (as prize packages for contests)*. There is quite a bit of room for optimization, as you rightly point out.

I totally understand the allure of running a company through an informal, communal, structure -- the problem is that to business men, such companies look like amateur hour operations. And, in fairness, that's because they are. Successful corporations simply don't utlilize the kind of informal framework that IPR does, with good reason -- even such liberal companies as Apple Computer or Ben & Jerry's realize that with formal structure comes efficiency (and, of course, efficiency is one of the most highly prized attributes when businessmen are choosing who to enter into working relationships with).

That said, when IPR is ready to move out of the garage, it will. It might not be today, or even tomorrow. I do think, however, that the day in question will come -- but it needs to come when there is a concrete plan for growth in place, not before then. There's no need to rush things, IMO -- IPR isn't a retail or wholesale powerhouse of any kind at the moment, but it is in a position to become one. That's a position that may be lost if growth is not managed carefully (as many a small-press publisher has discovered).

*FWIW, Fred Hicks did a phenomenal PR job here, but the individuals in charge of website updates and inventory really dropped the ball. I felt kind of bad for Fred and the anonymous fellow in charge of shipping as they were left holding the bag when others failed to perform their assigned duties in a timely fashion.

[Matt Wilson]

Thanks for the scoop, man.

Since one of my primary motives for signing up--if not the motive period--is to reach retailers, I'm concerned.

[Jake Richmond]

I think that if we went to GAMA as a FORGE-style booth with fiery demos, posters, stickers, pins, PDF CDs full of preview materials and reviews, sample copies and, most important, actual shelves that display the IPR roster in a simulated store environment, we would blow retailers away

Travis Brown and I were there last year and had a good time, but we approached it the ame way we did a regular show and didn't get the most out of it. I think you are absolutly right that a show of force would work well.

The thing that we heard over and over from every retailer we talked to (I talked to 48, Trav talked to 26 or so) was that new role-playing games are a lot of work. No one has the time. Even with demo kits and sample copies the store owners don't have the time to learn a new game. They can demo and sell a game they know like Gurps or whatever, but a new game? Nope. Not unless they could sell it off the back of the book. By that I mean read the back of the book and know enough about the game to sell it to a customer.

Jake

[Brennan Taylor]

Thanks, Luke! I am really behind hitting GTS in a big way next year, and point-of-sale branding and promotion is something IPR wants to implement. We were thinking of a shelf hanger style display, in addition to a free-standing one.

The turnaround time issue is definitely one that I am aware of, and I have been working pretty closely with Chris Hanrahan to step up IPR's game. He's not shy about criticising, and has helped me understand the retailers' needs a lot better. We may still be a bit slower than some fulfillment places, but I've got retail turnaround down to about three days (as long as payment is received--this has been a problem in the past: I don't ship until I have the money).

I'm sorry there were some problems with your orders, James, I am definitely the guy who fell down on the job. IPR is also a small potatoes operation, still. I have some extra help, which has been instrumental in helping us grow. The problems are definitely growing pain style problems. IPR isn't making enough for itself to have any full-time staff at the moment, although that will probably change. I was doing everything along with working a full-time job until January of last year, and the work was definitely getting to be more than I could handle. We have a dedicated fulfillment guy who does the pick-and-pack now, and Nathan Paoletta and Fred Hicks have been giving me essential assistance on web maintenance and customer service.

For the structural complaints, I am in a bit of a bind, and this is something to hash out with the membership. I already have publishers complaining to me about 42% being too deep a discount. Of course, I know it's not a competitive discount compared to other distributors, but IPR's mission remains maximum value to publishers. We'll see what comes out of further discussion here.

(We also have about 15-20 retailers who regularly order from us at this point, not 6 as mentioned above.)

[Jake Richmond]

(as long as payment is received--this has been a problem in the past: I don't ship until I have the money).

Smart man.

Is 42% really that big a deal? I thought 40-50% was pretty standard. My old store ordered from alliance at somewhere between 40 and 50%. Complaining about 5% sounds like an excuse.

[Troy_Costisick]

Heya,

As for the general mood at GAMA, I forgot to mention the title of that panel: Save vs Death, strategies for saving RPGs. We're the hind end of the rump, my friends. And we know it.

We could SHOW them how cool our games are, rather than merely telling them. I think this could be accomplished by a two or three man team with a corner booth at the show. It would require time, investment and commitment on the part of the whole community. But, I believe the benefits would outweigh the costs in the long term.  Everyone wants us to succeed. We are the new hope -- the revitalization of roleplaying games. But in order to be successful, we've got to be more savvy and better organized. We've got to stop looking like the rank amateurs that we are not.

These two things ring very true in my ears.  I think it's something we are all coming to realize, but haven't quite evolved enough to handle yet.  But reading your report makes me very excited about indie RPGs in the future.  Thanks for a great report, Luke!

Peace,

-Troy

[Ben Lehman]

Thanks so much for doing this, Luke!

I don't hate money!  I'm grumpy about an increased discount solely because it means I would have to raise my prices, which I feel like screws over my good, loyal, online customers.  Maybe I should do some sort of international shipping thing to compensate.  Hrmm...

[jdrakeh]

I'm sorry there were some problems with your orders, James, I am definitely the guy who fell down on the job.

No need to apologize -- it happens. My point wasn't so much that X employee messed up, so much as it was that the different employees had little if any immediate idea of what the others were doing and when they were doing it (hence my payment being accepted for an out-of-stock item that was listed as being in-stock at the time I placed my order and for which a restock date had yet to be confirmed). While the transaction merely made me uncomfortable for a few days, it would have given most store purchasers that I know fits (like I did, they expect an order to be filled in its entirely if payment for the entire order is retained by the fulfillment house).

IPR is also a small potatoes operation, still. I have some extra help, which has been instrumental in helping us grow. The problems are definitely growing pain style problems.

All understood.

IPR isn't making enough for itself to have any full-time staff at the moment, although that will probably change.

That is a bit worrisome from a business standpoint, and brings me back to my earlier comments about efficiency. If IPR itself is still operating at a loss after having its doors open for more than two years, it's time to reevaluate your business plan. Again, while I sympathize with the attraction of underdog values, if they're keeping your business from being. . . er. . . a business, some kind of compromise needs to be reached.

IPR currently seems to be stuck somewhere between being a non-for-profit org (not a non-profit[/i[ org, just so we're clear) and being an corporation (i.e., a business). The truth is that the two ends are in direct conflict wth one another and that you can't have both without engaging some questionable bookkeeping practices. I see a turning point in the future of IPR and the question that it hinge on is this:

Who is the more important customer?

If you want to be an effective fulfillment house for retailers, the answer must be "the retailer". If you simply want to serve as a gateway into distribution for publishers, then the answer is (obviously) "the publisher". Either way, one must take precedence over the other. When the time comes to make those choices, one can only ask members to vote their conscience and then move in the direction ordained by the the group, taking it on faith that this is the direction you are meant to move in.

[jdrakeh]

Sorry. "non-for-profit" in the above sentence should read "not-for-profit". A casualty of spellcheck, I'm afraid.

[Brennan Taylor]

James,

IPR isn't actually operating at a loss, but that is because I don't draw a salary from it. I do get compensation as an owner, but our operation isn't big enough for that to be even a part-time salary. We will see how things shake out this year.

IPR is a for-profit company, and although we have a mission to generate value for the members, we also plan to keep IPR viable and continue to build it to a point where it supports staff and delivers profit for the owners. Not to worry, we do have a plan.

[Paul Czege]

For what it's worth, I'm not an IPR stakeholder. But it seems to me what's relevant to a re-evaluation of the 42% discount isn't the past (discount precedent within the industry) or the present (discount comparison to other consolidators), but the future of the product category within the store. Are traditional roleplaying games a growing revenue stream for the store? Are mainstream board games a growing revenue stream for the store? Are collectible card games a growing revenue stream for the store? Are miniatures a growing revenue stream for the store? Is the IPR product line a growing revenue stream for the store? Etc. If you're a growing revenue stream among declining revenue streams, don't change your discount. If you're a decliner among growing revenue streams, you need to find out why, and adjust. If you're a slowly growing revenue stream among more solidly growing revenue streams, you need to be relentless in representing your enduring value and more solid future and minimize nuisances that might provoke resellers to abandon you in favor of products that burn twice as bright for half as long.

Paul

[Luke]

Good points, Paul. But, as I mentioned above, cutting into the retailer discount seems to create a barrier to entry. Rumors abound about game retailers suffering. Every year for the past 3 years we've heard of massive store closings. At the seminar, I asked the retailers if any had seen a decline in their RPG sales. I saw about 40 hands. I asked if any had seen an uptick in RPG sales. I saw only 6! hands there. At least three of those retailers carried IPR stuff, so that's encouraging. However, I think the majority of declining sales speaks volumes. We've got hot products, but we're asking wounded, wary beasts to take a chance on us. Why not meet them half way? Why not meet their expectactions of discount? They are the majority by 80% of the market. If each of those stores ordered once from IPR, it could be a huge jump in sales. And volume like that will more than make up for any lost percentage from the publisher.

Also, regarding the discount as a publisher, I have to admit my sympathy for the small discount is pretty much nil. If you're not pricing your books to be sold at a 50% discount, then there's something wrong. I've been all over the map in distro -- loss leading, break even and making money. It's not that hard to find a method of production and a price point that delivers a modest profit in distro and doesn't penalize the consumer.

Lastly, I used the word "distro" deliberately. Brennan is running a distribution company for small press and self-published games. Brennan's not fulfilling orders that go to distributers. He's collecting product and selling it direct to retail.

-L