Sorry, paizo.com people, this was the only Customer Service type board I could find.
Barnes & Noble suppliers are out of the core Bestiary. All the warehouses, distributors, everything except what's now on the shelves (1 copy out of 4 B&Ns in my region).
For Pathfinder to thrive, more Bestiaries need to hit B&N shelves.
Thanks for listening.
Edit: Some (all?) of these stores automatically restock it, there just aren't any to restock.
This is not BN's fault. Their distributor is out. We will be getting some copies to them. It should be back in the channel shortly.
Barnes & Noble needs Bestiaries. Also, Mars needs Moms.
That's kind of funny, because the only Pathfinder books my Barns and Noble has is Bestiary 1 and 2. Kinda sad; I was debating picking up the Inner Sea Guide.
Thank you, Pierce.
I wasn't actually looking to blame.
I wanted to promote Pathfinder sales.
:)
(Sniff, sniff, I love you guys.)
I think it's tied to a more general Barnes & Noble policy. I've never been in a Barnes & Noble and seen more than a half-dozen Paizo books (and usually far less), yet I've never been in one and seen less than a whole raft of D&D material.
So whoever is doing their purchasing is definitely very WoTC-happy.
I think it's tied to a more general Barnes & Noble policy. I've never been in a Barnes & Noble and seen more than a half-dozen Paizo books (and usually far less), yet I've never been in one and seen less than a whole raft of D&D material.
So whoever is doing their purchasing is definitely very WoTC-happy.
Part of it is demand. Dungeons and Dragons is a much more-renown product than Pathfinder. Regardless of which is the better game (which is entirely up to personal preference), the name "Dungeons and Dragons" is a fairly mainstream concept that people will recognize. From my own browsing experience (I personally only order my new books from Paizo and any older books I need from Amazon), the Pathfinder stock has gone from nothing, to one or two books, to about half a dozen, as you said. When I was there two days ago, my Barns and Noble even had a copy of Ultimate Combat, which I was rather surprised to see.
I expect that as popularity for Pathfinder continues to grow and Wizards of the Coast continues its questionable business practices, you'll only start to see more Pathfinder books in-stock. But you're always going to be better off A) ordering from Paizo or B) going to a hobby or specialty games store.
I think it's tied to a more general Barnes & Noble policy. I've never been in a Barnes & Noble and seen more than a half-dozen Paizo books (and usually far less), yet I've never been in one and seen less than a whole raft of D&D material.
So whoever is doing their purchasing is definitely very WoTC-happy.
Not a big surprise, if said decision-making individuals were around for the relative success of 3.0 and 3.5 -- like most of us, you try the well that's given you water before you look for another.
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I think it's tied to a more general Barnes & Noble policy. I've never been in a Barnes & Noble and seen more than a half-dozen Paizo books (and usually far less), yet I've never been in one and seen less than a whole raft of D&D material.
So whoever is doing their purchasing is definitely very WoTC-happy.
Part of it is demand. Dungeons and Dragons is a much more-renown product than Pathfinder. Regardless of which is the better game (which is entirely up to personal preference), the name "Dungeons and Dragons" is a fairly mainstream concept that people will recognize. From my own browsing experience (I personally only order my new books from Paizo and any older books I need from Amazon), the Pathfinder stock has gone from nothing, to one or two books, to about half a dozen, as you said. When I was there two days ago, my Barns and Noble even had a copy of Ultimate Combat, which I was rather surprised to see.
I expect that as popularity for Pathfinder continues to grow and Wizards of the Coast continues its questionable business practices, you'll only start to see more Pathfinder books in-stock. But you're always going to be better off A) ordering from Paizo or B) going to a hobby or specialty games store.
You know I would agree with you but for a few things. Yes D&D as a brand name is widely popular through word of mouth, advertising and the like. But if a store like B&N is unwilling to order any pathfinder and or keep a small amount of the books in their stores and chainwide they will get very little response on people buying the books. If they stock the books on a regular basis and did so in a way that brought them to the for front of the store in comparison to the D&D brand I assure you they WILL sell them there. But they choose not to do so because of some assumptions.
Funny, i was just browsing B&N hottest new items in the fantasy genre and Ultimate Combat was on it.
CEO
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Barnes and Noble is ramping up their Pathfinder product presence. I have even been told that there is going to be an entire table of Pathfinder and GameMastery products in each store come Christmas! They are very excited about the Beginner Box that comes out in October and are ramping things up to coincide with its release.
-Lisa
Funny, i was just browsing B&N hottest new items in the fantasy genre and Ultimate Combat was on it.
Right, but I'm talking brick and mortar here. When someone is looking online, they're almost always looking for something specific. Presence at a physical store is something else entirely.
Barnes and Noble is ramping up their Pathfinder product presence. I have even been told that there is going to be an entire table of Pathfinder and GameMastery products in each store come Christmas! They are very excited about the Beginner Box that comes out in October and are ramping things up to coincide with its release.
-Lisa
That's really good news. Here's to hoping they put the Beginner Box in with all the other games, rather than only off with the Pathfinder stuff. The B&N by me is expanding their game selection, and I'm very happy to see that. They even have stuff like Arkham Horror and the Arkham Horror follow on with all the cool minis.
Barnes and Noble is ramping up their Pathfinder product presence. I have even been told that there is going to be an entire table of Pathfinder and GameMastery products in each store come Christmas! They are very excited about the Beginner Box that comes out in October and are ramping things up to coincide with its release.
-Lisa
That's great! I wonder if there can be some sort of introductory games that can be run, similar to PFS (PFS is great but can be offputting for a newbie) tie ins that can be used to get new folks interested through the product to game (i.e., your first gaming experience needs to be a good one).
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CEO
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That's great! I wonder if there can be some sort of introductory games that can be run, similar to PFS (PFS is great but can be offputting for a newbie) tie ins that can be used to get new folks interested through the product to game (i.e., your first gaming experience needs to be a good one).
They have been nosing around about doing some PFS in stores, but so far, nothing concrete has come of it. But we will keep pushing on it and perhaps it will come to fruition!
-Lisa
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That's great! I wonder if there can be some sort of introductory games that can be run, similar to PFS (PFS is great but can be offputting for a newbie) tie ins that can be used to get new folks interested through the product to game (i.e., your first gaming experience needs to be a good one).They have been nosing around about doing some PFS in stores, but so far, nothing concrete has come of it. But we will keep pushing on it and perhaps it will come to fruition!
-Lisa
They as in Barnes & Nobles?
Keep us up to date on that, I am running out of room at our Local Gaming store and that would be perfect!
Who would I contact to get involved in this, as in I'd run some sessions, especially around Christmas. There is a Barnes & Nobles about 6 miles from my house that is a bloody huge store, in Poughkeepsie NY 12603. Is there a reasonably local Venture-Captain?
-- david
Papa.DRB
That's great! I wonder if there can be some sort of introductory games that can be run, similar to PFS (PFS is great but can be offputting for a newbie) tie ins that can be used to get new folks interested through the product to game (i.e., your first gaming experience needs to be a good one).They have been nosing around about doing some PFS in stores, but so far, nothing concrete has come of it. But we will keep pushing on it and perhaps it will come to fruition!
-Lisa
-Floor display of PF at B&N for Christmas is awesome. This is when the retired, old-school players most often look for RPGs for their kids. The larger presence gives legitimacy to PF as a "DnD successor" brand. Parents get wary when they only see 5-10% of the RPG section on PF as opposed to 85+% on 4th. Yay, 2nd quarter results, for aiding us in this endeavor!
-Gaming at B&N? Locally, maybe, Papa-DRB, so check with your store's manager (or CRM, if they have one), present the idea and how it will boost interest/sales. They maybe don't know about the PF table, so you may want to wait a month for the Christmas plans to arrive. (But not two months, as their 'talk time' will be diminished by actual prep.)
But nationally, no, not during Christmas. Every square foot is laid out and books are stacked under tables the overflow is so large. There'd be no table to game at, no unused space. You might be able to talk those with a B&N Cafe (as opposed to actual Starbucks) into using a table there, but tableS, you'd be lucky.
It's unlikely B&N will devote any booksellers to this effort (payroll to play/GM) , but volunteers from the staff...maybe. See if your local store has RPG Guy(s)/Gal(s), and what games they play (cross fingers). That's your most likely 'in'.
They may let you set up a sign-up sheet, perhaps on that PF table.
Those are the most plausible options for those looking to tap the B&N customer base.
Actual gameplay at the store is bonus. If you do manage such a feat, make certain to encourage players to buy "I'm a PF Player" products (RPG stuff/fantasy books/food) from the store and to thank the staff each time you buy/play for letting you play there. If they see a % boost in their RPG section, you win.
And clean up. Giving them extra work is a good way to get booted. You are a foreign presence in their normal routine. Unlike a FLGS, the staff is mostly non-gamers, confused by RPGs, much less PFS.
Note: The Fisherman's Wharf B&N (now closed) did have tons of open space upstairs where you could set up folding tables, so exceptions are possible. If you're blessed with such a store, capitalize on it.
@Lisa:
B&N (main HQ) does dabble in a lot in different ideas (as music dept. shrinks), and is currently pushing a larger game presence (as anybody can see from the changes in the last two years (yay, Catan & Munchkin!)). Now, backed by Q2 results, is an excellent time to push the PF agenda (esp. non-book RPG items/side-games). If PFS products/sign up info, could be put into the mix, that'd build strong foundations in many areas.
Having just signed up with PFS online, it needs to be more straightforward for newbies. I felt like I was rummaging (which was fun, but distracting). Maybe somebody could design a walkthrough that leads them through sign-up, character enrollment, 'find event/players', etc. There is a 'list', but a walkthrough would be so much better, even if it's just links after every page to the next step on that list.
Of course, linking them right to nearby players/regional PF websites after sign-up (publicized events are scarce in my region) would probably be enough, as having an experienced PFS onhand is invaluable.
As for GMs setting up, a large download combining all the needed downloads would help. (Just downloaded six files, and I'm not sure I don't need more. Lots of reading to do.)
Kudos to the posters for all the help setting up threads, it helped a lot!
Thanks, Lisa & Co.
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Director of Brand Strategy
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Who would I contact to get involved in this, as in I'd run some sessions, especially around Christmas. There is a Barnes & Nobles about 6 miles from my house that is a bloody huge store, in Poughkeepsie NY 12603. Is there a reasonably local Venture-Captain?
-- david
Papa.DRB
Your nearest venture-captain is Art Lodbell in New York City.
It's unlikely B&N will devote any booksellers to this effort (payroll to play/GM) , but volunteers from the staff...maybe. See if your local store has RPG Guy(s)/Gal(s), and what games they play (cross fingers). That's your most likely 'in'.
They may let you set up a sign-up sheet, perhaps on that PF table.
Those are the most plausible options for those looking to tap the B&N customer base.
My anecdotal experience, when I worked for one of the Megalith Bookstore Chains several years back, was that they weren't willing to let a staff member volunteer due to liability concerns (i.e., "said staff member is a store employee but was participating in an event held at the store while the employee was not on the clock" doesn't work too well for insurance companies). So it was actually an imperative, from their perspective, that the employee was clocked in. If the event is informal, they may face less objection, but I'm betting that even then they'll balk.
Otherwise, I agree with Castilliano's points -- if you buy stuff while you're there and clean up after yourselves, you're much more likely to be welcomed back.
Your nearest venture-captain is Art Lodbell in New York City.Who would I contact to get involved in this, as in I'd run some sessions, especially around Christmas. There is a Barnes & Nobles about 6 miles from my house that is a bloody huge store, in Poughkeepsie NY 12603. Is there a reasonably local Venture-Captain?
-- david
Papa.DRB
Art! Art's a great guy, I recommend him highly.