Legend Story Studios (LSS) announced a their Retailer Supply Policy for Flesh and Blood Trading Card Game.
Starting with Crucible of War's release on August 28 (see "Legend Story Studios Reveals New 'Flesh and Blood' Set"), LSS has added terms and conditions in which retailers are allowed to sell their product. The new policy essentially defines retailer types that are eligible for wholesale in the United States and Canada, and states that online sales for sealed product may only be conducted by brick-and-mortar retailers. They also explain their new MAP policy for North American retailers, and how breaches of the policy are dealt with.
"We believe the introduction of minimum advertised pricing will help maintain value of Flesh and Blood products for retailers, players, and collectors alike, and promote fair competition across all retail channels in the North American market," said James White, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Legend Story Studios.
The full policy can be found up on LSS's web site under their Retailer News section.
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America Bless Christ Jesus
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
To the question in your thread title. What do you think magic can learn from this? A quick look seems to say magic doesn't have anything to learn here because they don't have a problem fixed by this solution their cards aren't undervalued and sellers are under cutting each other but rather the opposite. Is the problem that Wizards isn't taking their fair share of the pie? I don't understand what you think you've accomplished by posting this here.
What I'm saying is that If Wizards of the Coast had implemented a Retailer Supply Policy for Paper Magic then more money would actually go to Local Game Stores (LGSs) instead of online vendors like Sports N More, Card Kingdom, ChannelFireball, Star City Games, etc. that are taking away the profit margins that these small businesses need in order to survive and provide a place for people to play Paper Magic. Instead what they've done is partner with Amazon to sell direct-to-consumer which is good for helping those who don't have access to a Local Game Store (LGS) while at the same time is putting them out of business through competitive pricing by forcing these small businesses to charge higher while the online vendors sell lower.
Seems as though the company behind Flesh and Blood TCG knows just how important the Local Game Store (LGS) is for In-Store Play / Organized Play which is something that Wizards of the Coast has often neglected for some time now. There's no membership for these stores like the WPN which singles out those who are able to receive products and those that don't when this is about understanding your customer base and what their real needs are. Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro has gotten so big as a company that they've completely lost sight of how they became successful in the first place. Their competition understands how important transparency and communication with their customer base is because they aren't blinded by corporate greed.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
You realize this is exactly what Magic had before right? I'm not 100% sure why they dropped it but based on a brief investigation it would be because it was stifling the growth of the game globally. Certainly, corporate greed pushes a number of their decisions almost certainly the one that involved dropping this policy but despite greed being the reason for its drop it is what allowed magic to be what it is today as opposed to what it was 10+ years ago.
They do need to think more about keeping LGSs in business but killing their player base's ability to obtain product isn't the way.
I think the pandemic has made them rethink their dependency on LGSs where they're trying to turn Paper Magic into a Living Card Game akin to traditional board games like Monopoly and Scrabble. They don't want their product being associated with the recent scandals and controversies surrounding loot crates / loot boxes that's mostly affecting the Video Game Industry right now. EDH / Commander sort of made it easier for them to step away from how people used to view Paper Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games as they knew it into something that now feels very foreign to them. Wizards of the Coast is probably thinking to themselves how they can change the landscape of the gaming genre to where Paper Magic doesn't eat up as much inventory for selling singles at Local Game Stores compared to their competition where they have to look elsewhere by purchasing online or at a different LGS that supports said game.
A Local Game Stores' ability to multitask card singles for various Paper Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games is already a daunting task as it's all based on market demographics and demand for said games. It's not that they don't want to carry single inventory for Yu-Gi-Oh!, Pokémon TCG, Force of Will TCG, Vanguard, Weiss Schwarz, etc. when Paper Magic makes more of a profit for them depending on how much of their customer base buys into the product. The ability to multitask in this sort of thing is much harder than it sounds as you're pouring so much money into this gaming hobby just for a dopamine rush that doesn't really get you ahead anywhere in life other than to satisfy yourself. I guess Local Game Stores aren't really looking to become public libraries managing books on shelves within a Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) for organizing card singles for said Paper Trading Card Game / Collectible Card Game.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
WotC did a lot for the stores, like 15-20 years ago.
Right now they just dont care anymore.
They can so easily sell their stuff to big retailers and sell even more product that way, without any hassle to mess with distributors to single stores (which all want their share and do their job good or terrible).
Magic Online could exist together with paper magic, while Arena is often cannibalizing the paper players ; some people start with Arena and then find a nice store to play, others stop playing at stores and just play Arena (which means no more income for the stores at all).
Price wise they simply charge stores too much, instead of giving them an edge for the services they provide, WotC is charging them MORE than the big retail stores (which simply buy in bulk).
For a lot of stores it would be cheaper to buy boosters and other product in the open market rather than from their overpriced distributors, which they are FORCED to use if they want to stay a WPN store.
----
Its a giant mess and WotC has no real intention to change anything, as long as they make such an easy money with people that blindly buy everything directly from them.
Meanwhile in an LGS people bring their own food, their own drinks, buy nothing and even dare to STEAL from the store.
People that want to see the singles folder of cards for over an hour, then buy NOTHING ; yea, thats the kind of people lots of stores have to deal with.
Its just sad ...
Some stores work better, have better customers, that have income and behave like civilized people.
Long time players will buy product just to support the store, even when they know its 20%+ more expensive than online alternatives.
It all depends on if a store can find enough LOYAL and RESPONSIBLE customers , then it works out quite well.
Judges that work for free, as they simply enjoy the game (i did that for almost 20 years, never charged my LGS anything, i would be there anyway each FNM, and in that way we stay there all night and the store does not have pay anybody).
And even in these LGS people steal stuff. If something expensive is stolen it eats up all the profit of an entire month, thats devastating for a store (and even just psychological, if you have to assume your customers are thieves and trying to rob you at all times, thats not a permanent situation thats healthy for anybody).
----
Many LGS will also sell online and make often way more money doing so then with the store itself.
The store kinda becomes a glorified storage place for packs.
If WotC would honor and respect their LGS stores , they would give a WPN store a hell lot more % price decrease, FREE extra product for the store and reward the players in that store with promos.
Instead they produce promo products themselves, sell them directly to customers for horrendous price tags, and these people just dont care at all.
i mean i get what you're trying to say but at the same time the interwebs has made it easier than ever for a small shop to sell online
Problem is that not every Local Game Store (LGS) especially ones that aren't built for In-Store Play with small overhead sells online simply because the space they setup to provide computers for customers to use to browse through their website eats up potential profits for their business. Say for example there's some merchandise you want to sell at your store but you're unable to sell it due to providing overhead for customers who want to play at your store.
If the number of people coming to your store for In-Store Play doesn't equate to the amount of products you're trying to sell then you're probably going to want to sell those products instead of providing table space for those said people. It isn't because they don't want to provide more table space when they're a business first and foremost trying to make ends meet. It becomes much harder under stressful economic conditions to maintain.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
America Bless Christ Jesus
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
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"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
Seems as though the company behind Flesh and Blood TCG knows just how important the Local Game Store (LGS) is for In-Store Play / Organized Play which is something that Wizards of the Coast has often neglected for some time now. There's no membership for these stores like the WPN which singles out those who are able to receive products and those that don't when this is about understanding your customer base and what their real needs are. Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro has gotten so big as a company that they've completely lost sight of how they became successful in the first place. Their competition understands how important transparency and communication with their customer base is because they aren't blinded by corporate greed.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
They do need to think more about keeping LGSs in business but killing their player base's ability to obtain product isn't the way.
A Local Game Stores' ability to multitask card singles for various Paper Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games is already a daunting task as it's all based on market demographics and demand for said games. It's not that they don't want to carry single inventory for Yu-Gi-Oh!, Pokémon TCG, Force of Will TCG, Vanguard, Weiss Schwarz, etc. when Paper Magic makes more of a profit for them depending on how much of their customer base buys into the product. The ability to multitask in this sort of thing is much harder than it sounds as you're pouring so much money into this gaming hobby just for a dopamine rush that doesn't really get you ahead anywhere in life other than to satisfy yourself. I guess Local Game Stores aren't really looking to become public libraries managing books on shelves within a Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) for organizing card singles for said Paper Trading Card Game / Collectible Card Game.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
Right now they just dont care anymore.
They can so easily sell their stuff to big retailers and sell even more product that way, without any hassle to mess with distributors to single stores (which all want their share and do their job good or terrible).
Magic Online could exist together with paper magic, while Arena is often cannibalizing the paper players ; some people start with Arena and then find a nice store to play, others stop playing at stores and just play Arena (which means no more income for the stores at all).
Price wise they simply charge stores too much, instead of giving them an edge for the services they provide, WotC is charging them MORE than the big retail stores (which simply buy in bulk).
For a lot of stores it would be cheaper to buy boosters and other product in the open market rather than from their overpriced distributors, which they are FORCED to use if they want to stay a WPN store.
----
Its a giant mess and WotC has no real intention to change anything, as long as they make such an easy money with people that blindly buy everything directly from them.
Meanwhile in an LGS people bring their own food, their own drinks, buy nothing and even dare to STEAL from the store.
People that want to see the singles folder of cards for over an hour, then buy NOTHING ; yea, thats the kind of people lots of stores have to deal with.
Its just sad ...
Some stores work better, have better customers, that have income and behave like civilized people.
Long time players will buy product just to support the store, even when they know its 20%+ more expensive than online alternatives.
It all depends on if a store can find enough LOYAL and RESPONSIBLE customers , then it works out quite well.
Judges that work for free, as they simply enjoy the game (i did that for almost 20 years, never charged my LGS anything, i would be there anyway each FNM, and in that way we stay there all night and the store does not have pay anybody).
And even in these LGS people steal stuff. If something expensive is stolen it eats up all the profit of an entire month, thats devastating for a store (and even just psychological, if you have to assume your customers are thieves and trying to rob you at all times, thats not a permanent situation thats healthy for anybody).
----
Many LGS will also sell online and make often way more money doing so then with the store itself.
The store kinda becomes a glorified storage place for packs.
If WotC would honor and respect their LGS stores , they would give a WPN store a hell lot more % price decrease, FREE extra product for the store and reward the players in that store with promos.
Instead they produce promo products themselves, sell them directly to customers for horrendous price tags, and these people just dont care at all.
WUBRG#BlackLotusMatterWUBRG
👮👮👮 #BlueLivesMatter 👮👮👮
that they have more than just a digital storefront. sure the big name ones are going to sell the most, but they also you know... exist.
as does all the little guys you see in tcgplayer.
i mean i get what you're trying to say but at the same time the interwebs has made it easier than ever for a small shop to sell online
If the number of people coming to your store for In-Store Play doesn't equate to the amount of products you're trying to sell then you're probably going to want to sell those products instead of providing table space for those said people. It isn't because they don't want to provide more table space when they're a business first and foremost trying to make ends meet. It becomes much harder under stressful economic conditions to maintain.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta