As a rule i try and support that local game store that runs rpg sessions most weeknights in Nottingham when i do an rpg purchase. That said, i’ve tried ordering some of the Indy books that are popular on the gauntlet through them and it’s been hard going. No matter what they have tried they have not been able to get hold of the games (particularly PBTA games) when i’ve tried to order them.
Am i right in thinking that most distributors do not carry hard copies of indy games?
Which shop do you use in Nottingham? And do you mean the one in Britain?
(I ask because, if nothing else, we might be able to get Black Armada stuff in there, since we’re down the road.)
On the more general question, and again from a UK perspective: IPR distribute to some UK stores eg Leisure Games. Asmodee carry some indie titles but they’re pretty half-assed about it. And beyond that manufacturers have to go direct go retailers (hence my question above).
Primarily i’ve been trying to order through Chimera in Beeston, Nottingham, UK. We can get the modiphius easily and D&D stuff but i tried ordering Monsterhearts through them and after two months i had to end up ordering from Leisure Games.
Given their turn over, i dont think they want to hold stock. I suspect that they were ordering from from Asmodee
Up here in Canada all the indie stuff comes in via Indie Press Revolution (and I see a lot of our stock heading to Europe via IPR distro, too). I’d urge your FLGS to get hooked up with them along with the Bits & Mortar program so they can fulfill PDFs sold alongside hard copies as well!
My local always has at least a few PBTA games in stock at their locations, and a decent number of other indie games. I haven’t ordered anything through them, but I would imagine they’d be able to get in just about anything–though of course I can’t say for sure! With the caveat that I have no actual insight into how book distribution really works, it seems like it must be something to do with which distributors publishers have deals with, and which ones the stores have deals with. But I’m sure someone hear knows how that works much better than I do!
This mostly true for my FLGS in California. There are some other avenues available, depending on the game, but largely it’s IPR.
As a publisher, I can only reinforce what others here have said. Most indie games don’t sell in numbers significant enough to be carried by the larger distributors (Alliance, ACD, Asmodee, etc) so Indie Press Revolution is the best bet for a game store that wants to carry those titles. It would be great if someone started a similar operation in the UK, but for now Leisure Games and a handful of other game stores are your best bet.
Patriot Games in Sheffield (UK) have a really good range of Indie RPGs (well they did the last time I was in). I think that Jim who runs it works hard to get in touch directly with creators and often backs Indie Kickstarters if there is a retailer tier (which is becoming more common).
IPR has a good retailers list on their site which includes several stores in the UK. None in Nottingham, but perhaps one you can visit somewhere.
Yup, everything folks have stud is very true. This is also a totally viable reason to try and attend cons, even for a single day, you’ll often have access to retailers and/or designers you otherwise wouldn’t find locally.
From the buyer standpoint, what if anything can we do to support the FLGS getting access to these games, aside from pointing directly at the creator or Indie Press Revolution? The only thing that springs to mind is running more games at the store and asking them to announce the open table.
Asking to special order titles that they don’t have on the shelf, instead of giving up and ordering it yourself on the internet. That way they are encouraged to find the game (creating a channel with the publisher or a distributor who has it), they get the sale, and depending on demand they may start stocking it regularly.
We got our comic store to carry more indie games by asking him to stock them, offering to run showcases of them, and pointing him at IPR (who are very friendly to small retailers with small orders.) Now he carries a decent smattering and Monsterhearts 2 is one of his best sellers.
In the beginning, I’d get him to order 1 or 2 copies of a bunch of games and say, “I can’t afford all of these right now, but if copies are still there in a month or two, I’ll snatch it up.”
And yet, I have found copies of fiasco in Germany and Australia!
Weird little world.