"We did well with boardgames this Christmas.
But I must have had a couple of dozen customers ask for chess sets and or cribbage.
Thing is, I carried a basic 40.00 wooden chess/backgammon set for a year, and was turned down by just about everyone.
After I sold it, I kept asking, "What kind of chess set are you looking for?"
"Oh, just your basic set."
My theory is they come in not looking for "a" chess set, but "the" chess set; one they already have an image of. And the chances of me having "the" chess set are minimal; maybe it'll be wood and they want crystal. Maybe they'll want Star Wars and I'll have LOTR's. Something.
I have a Pirates of the Caribbean that no one has even had a follow up question. Not interested.
I also don't really have room to display chess sets, and I have a feeling this is probably necessary.
Anyway, Alliance seems to only have a small selection of them and doesn't seem terribly interested in them.
My questions; does anyone here do well with them?
How do you go about it?
Where do you buy from?
The answers were: What You Said.
Everyone seemed to have the exact same experience.
I was telling a customer this, and he said, "Hey, What's the problem? We used to play with coins."
"Really? You needed coins? I used to just play it in my head!"
"Oh, yeah? 3-D? I'm talking 3-D."
"But, of course...."
Anyway, someone else mentioned that you can play chess online now, what do you need a board for?; and I was somewhat thunderstruck. Of course. I haven't played Solitaire with an actual deck of cards in ages.
Does anyone know of someone who sells Chess sets in town?
4 comments:
B&N sells chess sets.
$40 is kinda spendy for a basic chess set. Maybe that's why they didn't sell.
yeah I agree with blackdog. For such a classic game, I expect it cheaper.
I think a basic set means simple representations of the pieces. Not these character distractions like The Simpsons or Star Wars... ugh!
Wood or marble. Simple but solid. No distractive frillies. Crystal is a distractive frilly. It's very hard now-a-days to find a basic un-frilly chess set. And if you do, it's cheapo. Like as in, it probably cost a dollar for the company to make, but they're charging $20.
Like board games, I think chess is one of those things that people benefit from playing in person. But unfortunately, sometimes there aren't enough people to play chess with in person, so online has diminished sales.
Leitmotiv: Do you really expect to get a marble chess set for $20?
Re "character distractions": Those sets are for amusement, not for serious play. I have a Simpsons chess set given to me many years ago by my daughter. Never play with it, though.
blackdog - maybe fake marble!
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