Wednesday, April 29, 2009

On the First Day of Retail

On the First Day of Retail,
My game store gave to me
Market Saturation

One of the few games in the office/storeroom

When this game went out of print, I scrambled to get as many as I could. After all, it had an annual turn rate approaching 40! While a strong game will sell 4 copies a year, this one went stratospheric. To lose it would make me sad. The replacement version is a $45 jobber with resin pieces, a clear over-complication of a great little game.

Alas, everyone who wanted one pretty much got one at that point, including customers at the last two game conventions. It has a solid turn rate of around 10 now, but I have 40 in stock, or a four year supply (what was once a one year supply). It didn't help that my turn rate of 40 was based on its first year of release, when a hot game sells the most. Overstock, meet market saturation. The silver lining is this is an "evergreen" title, so it will always be a good seller.

P.S. If any retailers want some at cost, let me know.