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Had a 15 minute talk with a game store owner that changed how I see board game prices
He told me most of the markup goes to shipping damage replacements, not profit, and that $60 game might only net them $4. Has anyone else gotten the real breakdown from a shop owner about where the money actually goes?
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wright.taylor6d ago
My buddy runs a small game shop in Portland and told me once that a $50 game costs him $35 from the distributor, plus another $5 in shipping damages he has to eat. He showed me his receipts for a stack of Tainted Grail boxes that got crushed in transit, basically wiped out any profit for the month. The worst part was he said he keeps the damaged ones in the back as a reminder not to overorder.
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maryh966d ago
I read a post on the BoardGameGeek forums once about a guy who owned a shop in Ohio. He said his profit margin on a $60 game was like $8 after all the hidden costs. Stuff like damaged boxes from FedEx, unsold stock taking up shelf space, and customers who played his demo copies and then bought online. He mentioned that a single crushed box from a distributor could cost him $30 or more if it was a premium game. That's why a lot of small shops just can't afford to take risks on niche games. They have to order safe, popular stuff to not get wiped out by one bad shipment.
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