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View Full Version : Stores going to Discontinue 3.5?



Killersquid
2008-05-31, 11:27 PM
With 4e coming around, are stored discontinuing to sell 3.5? The bookstore near me no longer sells them, but I don't know if the rest are.

Chronos
2008-05-31, 11:45 PM
I imagine that stores will continue selling them as long as they have copies and as long as there are buyers. But they're not printing any more, so when they're gone, they're gone.

Lycan 01
2008-06-01, 12:02 AM
My local Hobbytown USA, the best place for RPG stuff, is bustin' at the seems with 4e stuff. But they haven't sold 3.5e stuff in over a month and a half. Believe me, I searched every inch of the store trying to find it. They have a big box in RPG section though with a massive stack of forms next to it for 4e pre-orders, though...

Collin152
2008-06-01, 12:06 AM
I imagine that stores will continue selling them as long as they have copies and as long as there are buyers. But they're not printing any more, so when they're gone, they're gone.

!
Not printing any more?
So.. assuming they are slowly destroyed by the Cult of Jack Chic, the value of said books will go up with time?

Mewtarthio
2008-06-01, 12:35 AM
!
Not printing any more?
So.. assuming they are slowly destroyed by the Cult of Jack Chic, the value of said books will go up with time?

Well, eventually...

"Look at this. It's worthless - ten dollars from a vendor in the street. But I take it, I bury it in the sand for a thousand years, it becomes priceless."

Killersquid
2008-06-01, 12:39 AM
Well, there's always E-Bay...

Reinboom
2008-06-01, 01:04 AM
I work for a small store called "Hastur's Games and Comics" (around 6600 South on State street, for those in Salt Lake County/Salt Lake City area of Utah).

Today, I sold (and note, I only work a 6 hour shift, and saturday is a slow day for D&D sales): A DMG, A MM, request for PHB2 (we sold out temporarily, however - those sell hot right now). A random setting book.

This does not include what others possibly sold today.
Or through the week.

We also highly advertise 4e, as well. And any products related to 4e also sell decently (not as good as 3.5, but then again, there are no 'true' strong books for 4e yet).


Here, 3.5 is very very not dead.

Temp.
2008-06-01, 01:34 AM
!
Not printing any more?
So.. assuming they are slowly destroyed by the Cult of Jack Chic, the value of said books will go up with time? Seeing how I can buy the second edition core books at $3-4 each after less than a minute's worth of search, I don't think you should count on that sort of investment.

AslanCross
2008-06-01, 03:59 AM
Depends. The local chain of hobby stores I frequent has got all of their d20/3.5 material on 60% off. They told me that they'll keep with the sale until they run out of stock, so this might mean they don't plan on picking up the material anymore.

SamTheCleric
2008-06-01, 06:49 AM
Depends. The local chain of hobby stores I frequent has got all of their d20/3.5 material on 60% off. They told me that they'll keep with the sale until they run out of stock, so this might mean they don't plan on picking up the material anymore.

Our store did an steadily increasing sale of 3.5 material... last week started (what would have been) the 90% off sale... but they have been out of stock of everything since it was at 60% off.

I'll probably through my collection up on ebay... or maybe advertise it at the store for cheap.

JaxGaret
2008-06-01, 08:45 AM
last week started (what would have been) the 90% off sale.

That's some sale.

Serpentine
2008-06-01, 09:00 AM
"Look at this. It's worthless - ten dollars from a vendor in the street. But I take it, I bury it in the sand for a thousand years, it becomes priceless.":smallbiggrin: Just watched that again today.

I asked my local about it. He said he's not keeping any 3.5 in stock, but he'll order them in for me if I want them. He said he's preparing for 4th ed, with the assumption that once it comes out in force, no one will be looking for 3.5 anymore. Sounded like it was more or less a precautionary measure, though...
:smallfrown:

Solo
2008-06-01, 09:05 AM
Thank the Omnissiah for PDFs.

Zeta Kai
2008-06-01, 09:10 AM
The owner of one of our local stores reported that he's heard he will have to clear out his stock of D20 material sometime in the next year or so, as the OGL will be discontinued. Whatever product isn't sold will have to be sent back to the publishers for destruction, I think.

I believe the OGL will be replaced with a 4th Edition version, called the GSL. The GSL (Game Service License?) will have tighter controls, so as to prevent a glut of poor-quality third-party material. How much of this is true will be seen, but this is what I've heard, & it seems plausible so far.

Solo
2008-06-01, 09:12 AM
The owner of one of our local stores reported that he's heard he will have to clear out his stock of D20 material sometime in the next year or so, as the OGL will be discontinued. Whatever product isn't sold will have to be sent back to the publishers for destruction, I think.

He's trying to get you to buy it.

JaxGaret
2008-06-01, 09:57 AM
He's trying to get you to buy it.

Before it's irrevocably destroyed!

What are you doing standing about, mouth agape, man? GO, RUN, BUY WHAT YOU CAN BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!!!

Tough_Tonka
2008-06-01, 10:06 AM
Funny, there's plenty of 3.5 books around where I live. However, that's because there's a lot of half-price books stores within reach. Also a new Barnes & Nobles opened up recently and its pact with a solid shelf of 3.5 books, with quite a selection too.

Of coarse I haven't bought any 3.5 books in for months now. Not so much because I think 4e will lead us to the promise land, but the quality of the most recent 3.5ed supplement books has been sub-par. I just don't feel like I'm getting my moneys worth. Besides the cores (and maybe the cores II, ToB, Expaned Psionics Hanbook and Epic Level Handbook) what do you really need?

Chronos
2008-06-01, 10:10 AM
No store owner will be forced to destroy books. The store bought those physical copies of the books, so they own them now, and they're free to do whatever they want with those physical objects, including reselling them at whatever price they want. What he's referring to is remaindering: Most bookstores and publishers have an agreement that if the bookstore buys something from the publisher and it doesn't sell, he can sell it back to the publisher for a portion of the original price, to be destroyed. This often takes the form of the bookstore cutting the cover off of the book to "destroy" it, and then just sending the covers back to the publisher as proof (if you've ever bought used books with the cover cut off, this is why, and the publisher was getting ripped off).

However, nobody is under any obligation to remainder books. The store owner can choose to hold on to them, in the hopes that they'll sell to consumers for more than the remainder amount. At most, the publisher might set some date after which they won't remainder the books, meaning that the store would be taking a risk by keeping them longer.

At least, this is all my understanding of how it works, but I'm not in the book business. SweetRein, any more details or corrections?

RTGoodman
2008-06-01, 12:37 PM
I don't really have to worry about it, seeing as how there's no gaming store that sells D&D stuff within probably an hour drive or more from me. All my purchases are from Amazon or the local B&N (when they have good stuff - right now all they have D&D related is a shelf of the new minis, a couple of the oldest Completes, and some Eberron stuff that I'd never buy).

With my advanced knowledge of economics (i.e., I took Civics back in high school), I doubt stores will stop selling 3.x stuff if it's in high demand. Most of the people I gamed with at college were hesitant about 4E and the stores there didn't do a lot of pre-selling of 4E, and of the few people around here that I know almost all want to keep playing 3.5 alongside 4E, meaning they might occasionally, at least, need 3.5 stuff.

@Chronos: That's really interesting. I always see the little warning inside books telling you not to buy them if they don't have a cover, and I never knew why! I guess I do now!

RagnaroksChosen
2008-06-01, 06:49 PM
I wonder if they will ease up on people downloading copy's, either through torrent or Limewire.


I know drive through rpg will prolly keep selling them.

Jayngfet
2008-06-01, 07:47 PM
I checked two bookstores months ago, all I found is some Ebberon books, exemplars of evil, and that one with the lovecraftian horror beings.

TheOOB
2008-06-01, 10:05 PM
Amazon.com is still selling new copies of the 3.5 rulebooks.

That said, I think most book stores are trying to get rid of their 3.5 stock, within a year it will probably be difficult to find old books except online and in discount book stores.

Reinboom
2008-06-01, 10:37 PM
At least, this is all my understanding of how it works, but I'm not in the book business. SweetRein, any more details or corrections?

That depends on who the bookstore went through, and the price for security.

How we get shipments:
Publishers -> Warehouse -> Store
We buy from the warehouse, and we can ship back if there is any error in the product. However, in that case, we just get a replacement if they have one or funding if they don't. Since things sell eventually, and the store I'm at tends to cater to the gamer rather than the publisher, I have not seen anything shipped back just because of it not selling.
On the other hand... also at the store I'm at, we do very well in profits..

We tend to only go directly through the publisher on massive orders (usually a release), such as all our preliminary 4E supplies have been via WotC and not in through a standard shipment. For deals like that, there is security, given that 4E 'could' flop. (It won't flop on release though... at least here)

For Zeta Kai: The OGL can't be discontinued. Rather, it will just sit in a shadow.

holywhippet
2008-06-01, 11:08 PM
Keep in mind, shelf space is a valuable commodity for any store. Any item that isn't being sold is costing the store money as that shelf space could be used for an item that would have been sold. If those 3rd edition books aren't seeing decent sales then they can expect to be ditched in place of the 4th edition books which will see sales.

You will still be able to get hold of 3.5 books for a while. Try eBay if nothing else, I got the 3.0 core rulebooks from there and that was less than a year ago.

Tyger
2008-06-01, 11:25 PM
And at the end of the day, WotC isn't making any more, or won't be soon. So yes, eventually stores will stop selling it. Not necessarily by choice, but because there are no more new copies being printed.

Reinboom
2008-06-01, 11:34 PM
Keep in mind, shelf space is a valuable commodity for any store. Any item that isn't being sold is costing the store money as that shelf space could be used for an item that would have been sold. If those 3rd edition books aren't seeing decent sales then they can expect to be ditched in place of the 4th edition books which will see sales.

You will still be able to get hold of 3.5 books for a while. Try eBay if nothing else, I got the 3.0 core rulebooks from there and that was less than a year ago.

Highly depends on the shelf.
Looking at the walgreen's I work for (yes, I do two retail jobs...), each end stand and boat has to reach a certain gross profit per month or it's changed items. Each of those is kept a very accurate detailing on what is sold and what isn't. They are valuable.

On the other hand, the special 50$ whitening kit sitting on the top shelf in the dentistry section? Sells... I would say... once every two months. Once a month at lucky. However, the profit gained from it even then far outweighs its sitting cost, since where it sits is not a very valuable location. (Top shelf stuff usually isn't, eye level stuff is the most valuable).

Really, for a lot of the books, if it's a gaming store it could be valuable just to keep it in the back for when someone requests it. Storage is cheap for the comparison of selling the book even maybe once a year.

RationalGoblin
2008-06-02, 07:21 AM
I work for a small store called "Hastur's Games and Comics" (around 6600 South on State street, for those in Salt Lake County/Salt Lake City area of Utah).

Today, I sold (and note, I only work a 6 hour shift, and saturday is a slow day for D&D sales): A DMG, A MM, request for PHB2 (we sold out temporarily, however - those sell hot right now). A random setting book.

This does not include what others possibly sold today.
Or through the week.

We also highly advertise 4e, as well. And any products related to 4e also sell decently (not as good as 3.5, but then again, there are no 'true' strong books for 4e yet).

Here, 3.5 is very very not dead.

Whoa, wait, what? You work at Hasturs? I've been to Hasturs before! (Once.) I don't think I was there when you were working, though. All I remember is a guy working there with lots of piercing everywhere visible. And he was tall. After that, I didn't really want to go to Hastur's anymore. Plus, there was a D&D store closer to where I live.

Still, thats weird that you work at Hasturs! (And wait, wasn't it called Hastur Hobbies once?)

Reinboom
2008-06-02, 07:34 AM
Whoa, wait, what? You work at Hasturs? I've been to Hasturs before! (Once.) I don't think I was there when you were working, though. All I remember is a guy working there with lots of piercing everywhere visible. And he was tall. After that, I didn't really want to go to Hastur's anymore. Plus, there was a D&D store closer to where I live.

Still, thats weird that you work at Hasturs! (And wait, wasn't it called Hastur Hobbies once?)

It has like... 3 names. I really am always unsure of how to answer the phone.
I think it's officially "Hastur's games and comics", but the sign says "hastur's hobbies".


Also, if there was a guy working there with a lot of piercings everywhere then... well... I haven't seen anyone come in like that.
One of the day shift workers has a tiny tiny nose ring/crystal thing if I recall correctly. That's about it. Oh, and purplish hair.

I'm sorry if image in anyways sent you away. Please come back. :smalleek::smallfrown::smalltongue:

DigoDragon
2008-06-02, 08:59 AM
A friend and I are waiting for the inevitable 3.5 sale once 4e has settled in our local gaming store, Sci-Fi City. It still has a good sized inventory of 3.5 books. :smallcool:

SamTheCleric
2008-06-02, 09:08 AM
I miss Sci-Fi City... when you grow up with a store that enormous... it kind of sucks to barely get a corner store (like here in tallahassee)

Chronos
2008-06-02, 12:24 PM
I miss Sci-Fi City... when you grow up with a store that enormous... it kind of sucks to barely get a corner store (like here in tallahassee)It could be worse... I ordered some things through the local comics-and-games store around here, got about half of my order in a few weeks, and waited about six months (nagging them periodically) for the other half, before they ended up closing. I don't think there's anything in a three hundred mile radius, now, beyond the standard Barnes and Nobles and the like and a "hobby shop" at the mall that sells nothing but miniatures.

SamTheCleric
2008-06-02, 12:27 PM
It could be worse... I ordered some things through the local comics-and-games store around here, got about half of my order in a few weeks, and waited about six months (nagging them periodically) for the other half, before they ended up closing. I don't think there's anything in a three hundred mile radius, now, beyond the standard Barnes and Nobles and the like and a "hobby shop" at the mall that sells nothing but miniatures.

:smalleek: Ouch.

That's one reason I told my wife that no matter where we move... I have to be able to have a decent comics and games store within a 30 minute drive.

Mr the Geoff
2008-06-02, 01:58 PM
The small store where I get my gaming fix had a fire sale of a lot of the d20 OGL stuff (think I got the entire mongoose publishing back catalogue at about 50p a book) but is keeping the core stuff full price.

Even that is selling fast though as the owner isn't ordering in new stock. He's on too small a profit margin to afford to take that gamble. As of about 3 months ago he was down to a Complete champion and a DMGII I think.

I went in there hoping to get hold of some of the Complete series cheap, just to find that half of the home counties had got there first.