Wednesday, October 10, 2012

So tired of hearing we are not a Game Store

So as the title suggests we get to see me (Eric) go on a Roy rant style bender.  Since our competitor opened we have heard this a time or two (For those keeping track besides word of mouth our competitor also posted these ideas on their facebook. Then on yelp they recommended every game store in town including us but while all the others had what great game stores they were it was only mentioned we were a comic store.)  But I digress  the final straw was last night, at the game night we sponsor no less, was the latest time.   It was pointed out (as business cards for our competitor were handed out) that it was not bad they opened up 3 blocks away.  The reason it was not bad:

-because we were mostly a comic store and not a game store.  

 -we had a small game selection

 -no gaming space

So I would like to address these and then add things I think make us not only a "game" store but the damn good game store.

- Our square footage is roughly 1/2 comics (on walls) and 1/2 for games (all on the floor fixtures).  By their logic I can't be a good comic store but they seem to think we are.  So if we have a good selection of comics why not games

- Facts about our "small" game selection.  We have extensive lines in Warhammer/40K, Privateer Press, and Heroclix.  In minis we carry 3/4s of reapers entire line.  Over in RPGs we have 71 different systems totally some 371 different books.  On the board game side (for this blog purpose non collectible card games count as board games but for the record we have about 115) Games + expansions we have over 400 games.  If you take out non collectible card games we still have just under 300.  And every week there is where from 1 to 5 new board games.  The one area in which we are weak is CCGs.  All we have is Magic because, to be blunt, the others sold like crap and were not worth the space.

- It is true we have no gaming space.  That is why we help found the South Austin Gaming Group.  They use to meet at Austin Pizza but when it got to big Jonathan and I looked at Rockin Tomato for the new venue.  Which seems to have worked pretty damn well as the group as grown from a few people to 40+.  As a side note I would like to point out that there have been at least 3 stores before we opened that were majority gaming space/ minority product.  You will be hard pressed to find them now, they have all closed.

So now that I have addressed those point let me add a few more things -

- We contributed more than any other game store to Give to Game, not only this year but every year we have participated.

- We were the top sponsor of Board Game Bash both years.  The only game store in town to really get behind Jonathan's efforts to build a Gaming convention. 

- Our gaming library is with Jonathan and available at any SAG game night. We are addeding games to that every time we get new demo copies. 

- Oh and we were the host for the official Steve Jackson Games 30th anniversary party.

Yeah we totally are not a game store.  What on earth was I thinking.

6 comments:

  1. Wife and I recently had to leave Austin to move to Houston. Not only did we shop at Tribe solely for games in the first place, but now that we've left we had no idea how good we had it there.

    The one argument you could feasibly make towards Tribe "not being a game store" would be their lack of space. However this is completely negated by the fact that any time I mentioned a game they didn't have (which was rare), they ordered it immediately. And their setup at Rockin' Tomato.

    I just am not a comic person... to me Tribe has aways been JUST a game store. And having tried to frequent six or seven game stores across Texas, the best game store I've been to. !

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    1. Thanks for the kind words. I actually was speaking of you guys the other day asking if anyone had seen you swing back by since leaving for Houston. I hope the big city is treating you well. Know you guys are missed.

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  2. I'm so sorry y'all are still having problems with this. I know I'm new to table top gaming, but you guys always have what we're interested in, plus lots of other choices. I've been watching a ton of board game reviews online, and you always have the reviewed games in stock. I know I would never even dream of buying from anyone else. We'll always check with you guys before we shop somewhere else. I know other people value your customer service as much as we do, and that is the most important thing to us. Who cares if another store may have a better selection and whatnot. They do not have the community of friendly, welcoming gamers you attract. And isn't playing with other people the point of board games, or am I totally off bases here?

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  3. Dude, I didn't even know you had a competitor open up near you. One of the selling points for my new residence was that it was around the corner from Tribe. I enjoy coming into Tribe and so does my fiancee. True, the lack of gaming space is ever present but you know that doesn't change the fact that they have an awesome selection, are open to ordering product they don't have right then and there, and are friendly and knowledgeable about everything in the store. Heck, I'd love to host a few games at Tribe just to prove the rumors wrong if I can!

    I'm going to cross post this on Yelp, FYI. :D

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  4. I know I'm late to the party, but Kudos for this post!

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  5. I love your store. I like the others too and I've tried to be good to all the game stores here in Austin. However, I was not aware of the depth of your support for our gaming community. I was aware of the SAG meet up and I've gone once. I don't game in any stores so your lack of space means nothing to me. However, now that I know your involvement in supporting Give to Game, etc, it definitely tips the balance and you'll be my first choice FLGS. I've always found your selection to be good--a deceptively large amount of games in a small space. Thanks for all your hard work and great service.

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