Dragon Snack

Just wanted to point out a newer pledge level that I added after the campaign started - the $60 "Miniature of the Month" level. Once a month, get a miniature (that we choose) with an MSRP of between $4.99 and $8.99. You can pick them up if you're local or semi-local and stop by our monthly Paint Day. We also have a $750 level that let's you display your poster or advertising for at least a year (subject to approval), if you run a gaming company and want to get your message out to gamers while they're in store looking to spend their money. Obviously I will carry at least some of the products of any company who backs at this level, if appropriate. Remember, this was only a 2 week campaign, so there's only about a week left. Thanks! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/978735882/dragon-snack-games-buffalo-tabletop-hobby-game-sto

I suppose there may be a store I haven't heard about, but it's been a few years since I've heard of one. I love visiting gaming stores, even before it was my business. Some stores, especially Magic-centric (or Magic only) shops, do very little to promote themselves (and even with promotion, I know there are people near me who've never heard about me).

Oddly enough, there were two small card shops in Mt Morris a few years before I opened, so there were some YGO and Magic customers built in. There will still be another store here, but it's a sore subject. I handed a "friend" my business (this location and customers, at a VERY low price) and he repaid me by stabbing me in the back and moving out of my location overnight without saying a word to me. All so he could save $200/month (in business that's not a lot of money)... I'm actually renting the new place, so bringing it up to code was the landlords responsibility. Thankfully... I'm still surprised Utica or someplace around it doesn't have a game store. There are a lot of smaller towns that do have them. There has been a Renaissance for a lot of small towns in the past few years. Some have cultivated it a little better than others. I was the first to come back onto Main St here and survive (when they did the big "introductions" at our "Main Street Reopening" a few years ago I was the oldest of the new wave, then there was a span of 6 years to the next oldest business), but I know the negativity you talk of as well. Sadly, it ranks up there in my decision to move (when the Mayor laughs in your face when you bring an issue up with him, the writing is on the wall)...

Utica (going by your "3 hours" reference) is an interesting market. AFAIK, it's never supported a thriving store, but I'm not sure if that's because of poor attempts or the low median income of the area. I've talked with one of the owners of a former store there and even he admitted they did many things wrong. There are over 20,000 people in the 18-44 age group, that means there should be around 600 gamers. However, having run a store for nearly 6 years, I've come to realize that "3% of the population is a gamer" stat that has been bandied about may not be realistic (the study that popularized this was from 1999, so it is dated, and online stores have likely taken their toll since). A store is never going to cater to every local gamer anyway, it's just a matter of fact. College gaming clubs have a huge influence on the surrounding community (not only are they customers themselves, many run conventions to help grow/solidify the gaming scene - provided they do it right) and Utica only has 2 relatively small colleges. I'm not sure there is a "critical mass" of gamers at either college. There is a store in Herkimer that is looking into expanding into Utica sometime in the next year, but he's very Magic-centric...

Give me time for my plans for world domination to take shape... I mean ... if the public demands it!

Hey Reaper-peeps, remember me? I used to be a thing hereabouts (no really, look at my post count), but my posting dropped off significantly when I opened my own game store back in 2009 ("living the dream" doesn't tend to give you "free time")... And speaking of that game store, I'm in the process of moving my store to Buffalo, NY. It's a much bigger area to do business in (200,000 people within 3 miles of my store, as opposed to 65,000 in the entire county for my current store) and has a few more competitors. Because of that, I'm hoping to make my new store the best it can be and to do so, I've started my own Kickstarter! If you know anyone in the Buffalo, NY area that's into gaming, please let them know about my Kickstarter. Or, even better, if you remember my posts (and they didn't annoy you too much), back it yourself! I'll even take backers who just want to help out a local game store even if they'll never set foot in it themselves... So, without further ado, submitted for your approval, the Dragon Snack Games - Buffalo Kickstarter... https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/978735882/dragon-snack-games-buffalo-tabletop-hobby-game-sto

ACD does it too. I just order direct from Reaper now. You give up a couple of points, but you can order nearly everything...

I'm a backer, but I'll be honest - I barely use mine. They're best used when you have time to predraw the maps (especially if you're drawing across an edge) and the dry erase often leads to smudging (perhaps fixed by being able to use wet erase with the new product). I also had problems with scratching (I keep my stuff in pretty good condition, so I don't know if it was caused by miniature use). Perhaps a quirk of my groups more than a failing of the product, but nearly every group I've been in uses *LOTS* of space in combat, meaning we would need many multiple of the 12 tile sets to actually represent our battlefield (we had one set of 12, which was often insufficient). Good product, but limited unless you have the time to prepare in advance and the money for multiple sets.

Late bumpity bump, since I couldn't log into my account... January's Paint Day at Dragon Snack Games is tomorrow, January 4th! Stop on down and paint some minis, starts at 1:00 pm and runs until whenever!

Stop down to Dragon Snack Games in Mount Morris, NY (about a half hour south of Rochester, an hour southeast of Buffalo) for our new monthly Paint Day this Saturday, December 7th. There will be a wide selection of Reaper Paints (it's most of the MSP and Pro Paint lines, but some didn't survive when I loaned them out) available for your use as well as brushes, water, etc. Show up early enough and there may be some minis (Bones and others) for you to paint and take home! Starts at 1:00pm and runs until...well, whenever people get tired of painting (the store closes at 9pm, but I've been known to be a little too lenient). Hope to see you here! Dragon Snack Games 42 Main Street Mount Morris, NY 14510 http://goo.gl/maps/TMXMD

Don't want to steal your thunder, but https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dragon-Snack-Games/361313642048'>Dragon Snack Games is starting to do a Paint Day on the first Saturday of the month (most months, but an MtG prerelease and local convention will interfere in February). We had a bunch of people last time, but new people are always welcome! I'm about a half hour south of Rochester off of 390 (Exit 7, Mount Morris). Feel free to bring your own stuff, but we do have paints and some brushes on hand for use (and to buy). Thrym, can I get a link to your fb group? If you'll have me...

Alright, I'm biting the bullet and going (closing my store for a week, yikes!). Arriving Tuesday night for Trade Day on Wednesday and then...??? Well, who knows. This is why I *work* conventions, after grabbing all the swag I can carry I wander like a lost puppy...

Coming soon, Reaper's new Oops line of miscasts...

Relevant username?

Second hand info, but worth checking out... I've heard a good review of Roll The Dice in Murfreesboro, although that seems to be almost an hour from you. It's run by a couple, so I imagine that alleviates some of the "ZOMG, female gamer!" problems. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Roll-the-Dice/156008307750146 There's also The Nerdery Nashville, but the only reason I know of them is they were about to go out of business (it appears they got a last minute reprieve however). https://www.facebook.com/TheNerderyNashville

Thank you! Hopefully that info will placate my customers a bit...

As I said in my post, "running the numbers" on the tracker has proven to be nigh useless. Thanks, but I need an official answer on this one...

I love you guys, you know that, right? I've defended you to other retailers griping about the delays (and the "can't get regular minis because of the KS" gripes). I realize things happen, the KS was probably way more successful than you accounted for... That said, my customers are starting to gripe. I look bad, because customers who were direct backers have had their Bones for weeks now and I don't have them for the ones who missed the KS or wanted to buy directly from me. Add in some customers who are going to be moving away for school and I'm looking at flat out lost sales if they don't arrive on my doorstep ASAP. While I would love to hear they are going out this week (it looks possible, but the ticker has given me false hope before), the least I need is another target date so I can have something I can tell my customers (and plan ahead for the arrival of hundreds of minis, you know what that's like, right?). Please tell me they are being blister packed while waiting for the RoW orders to ship (or already have been). Again, I love you guys, I didn't back the KS as a business decision (because wrapping up $1,000+ for 7 months was not going to be a good investment, to say nothing of the extra 4 months), but I do need to see some information. I don't like looking stupid to my customers, it hurts me and you when I have to shrug my shoulders in answer to when the Bones will be in. Even worse, these are customers who are itching to spend money! The iron is hot, let's get to striking! Seriously, even though I love minis, they have been a hard sell in my area. I finally have excitement for miniatures, let's not lose it...

I was going to back it at the $225 level, but they scheduled it to end on the Saturday of a Magic prerelease. Bad timing for both of us...

I've seen a concept picture pretty close to this... Too late: https://www.reapermini.com/OnlineStore/geek/latest/50231 Look at the one on the left, then scroll down and see what his Boneyard name is...

FedEx Ground once repeatedly misrouted a packaged I shipped to a customer, bouncing it back and forth between Oakland and Salt Lake City something like 4 times. What was really infuriating about it is that it was going to Elko NV, and the trucks carrying the package were driving on Interstate 80, which passes no more than 200 feet away from my customer's delivery address. I told FedEx that if they missed it again, my customer was going to start holding up FedEx Ground trucks passing through Elko... Just recently I watched a UPS order of mine go from Kentucky to Syracuse, Syracuse to Buffalo, Buffalo back to KY (then say "weather delay"), then KY back to Buffalo, and somehow end up on the local delivery truck (all in the span of 24 hours) without it ever "appearing" in Rochester (where my driver is based) or back in Buffalo. Who knows if it really went on that sightseeing tour...

Maybe Kit can add a limited time item to the store: "Food for minions". Then they can order what they want...

Thank you for working through your birthday...

Well, this week is a bit special, with the big Bones push, but I can give you an unreliable data point: I placed a regular order for supplies last week, and it shipped within less than 24 hours. I was actually pretty shocked (and super-pleased). To clarify, I'm asking about the Bones shipping to retail stores. There were at least 247 orders going to stores (the Undertaker level), plus whatever we added. It was previously stated that we would go last (I have over 50 items, so I was going to be near the end anyway), but it also appears they are doing what they can to get the bigger orders out the door as well. There's a Magic prerelease coming in less than 2 weeks AND this is coming in (most likely the week of the prerelease at this point), I need whatever sort of heads up I can get so I can try to work out the logistics on this end...

I miss Picture It! What? I do...