Does anyone think that COVID-19 will permanently change the business model for Magic: the Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Pokémon TCG, and other Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games to digital exclusive akin to Hearthstone by discontinuing the Paper versions since all Local Game Stores (LGS's) are on lockdown? Sources I've been hearing say that it could take months If not a year or two before a cure or vaccine is found for COVID-19 which with the United States in lockdown would have a catastrophic impact on the U.S. Economy by plunging us deeper into recession, with all 3,000+ Local Game Stores (LGS's) forced to go out of business.
I have an EDH / Commander deck that I borrowed from a friend of mine that I hang out with during the weekends and now I'm worried I'll never be able to return the deck back to him with all the LGS's in my area in lockdown due to the virus. I could try to mail it to him though I don't know his home address as I'd much rather deliver it back to him in person as crazy as it sounds in the current times we're in right now. My job is safe for the most part even though Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been pretty strict in regards to how many people are allowed in an occupied area at once since their limit is 10 people.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
It's unlikely any of those would switch to 100% online. Even if every single currently existing LGS shut down due to this outbreak; when it clears new LGSs would open to fill the role. People like going to LGSs so it's unreasonable to expect them to disappear.
A lot of the stores that I go to are on lockdown as well but I'm not overly worried for the state of being able to play in an LGS once this pandemic clears up. I know a few of the stores that are in lockdown will still be delivering orders over a set amount so they can still make their money and people can still supply their needs.
Even though I've seen a bunch of people saying they were gonna be playing online, I still think that there's a certain experience that you get from playing at an LGS that playing online can't replace. In a sense, playing at an LGS is more of a social experience as well.I guess you can say it's more of a social experience that yo can't get online. Plus There are people that won't wanna pay to have collections online in addition to paper
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin recently made an announcement saying that the current U.S. Coronavirus lockdown already set in place by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is said to last 10-12 weeks or as early as June 2020:
I think it's already too late for these small businesses that are heavily in debt right now. They have no chance of competing online against Amazon and eBay because the margins are too low. When you're buying for $78 a booster box and someone is selling $80 shipped online then there's no way that you would lose money selling for $80 shipped online. Card singles used to be a good source of revenue for these small businesses however they're buying Secret Lair products at the exact same price you are and then marking them up just like a reseller. The Local Game Store (LGS) is really no different from a reseller on Facebook Marketplace or on eBay.
They might buy collections but as we know Magic collections' value are going to decrease in this upcoming economic recession because Magic is a luxury item as it's going to be one of the first items that people will be forced to stop buying during times of need. A lot of these stores are going to end up becoming barren wastelands due to the Coronavirus pandemic. They don't attract the cleanest people when it comes to personal hygiene and even If they were clean you don't want to be in large crowds. This is going to have a major effect on their bottom line. This is the straw that will break the camel's back.
I think this will have a big effect on people flipping products and that includes Local Game Stores so it won't last forever. You're going to see card prices and inventory drop. Whose going to realistically buy Standard or Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths when there's nowhere to play? When people get laid off from their jobs and need money they aren't going to buy Ikoria or any future Magic products let alone for other Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games. When these businesses go bankrupt then there's really no place to play Paper Magic so you're stuck having to play on Arena or MTGO.
The problem is that these store owners don't treat the Local Game Store as a business but more as a hangout place which normally isn't a problem per say. They don't open Local Game Stores to make money, they open them because they love it. However labor of love doesn't always keep the lights on. Stores that are in financial difficulty right now who are juggling credit cards getting maxed out are not going to be able to survive this. Stores that aren't doing really good but are stable and don't have so much debt are going to be pushed to the brink of elimination. They'll have no choice but to liquidate all their inventory and there will be an opportunity to buy these businesses.
JP Morgan says that 47% of small businesses have less than two weeks of working capital. Assuming even distribution that means at least half of Local Game Stores are closed If there's no customers right? These businesses are still paying rent. Rent is also a huge issue for them right now. They're already on the edge of bankruptcy as we speak. Cards will drop, everything will drop in a recession. Magic cards as well as other Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games like Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokémon TCG are going to be the last thing on peoples' minds as they're going to need to pay medical bills. Maybe they lost a job. Brace yourself as this is going to get really bad really soon.
Even though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are encouraging businesses like the Local Game Store and GameStop to stay closed, the rent doesn't go away so the overhead doesn't go away and it would be bad to ask your employees to take a pay cut or I'm not going to pay you because you're not working. I'm very scared for Local Game Stores in my area because I like them and appreciate the service they give me to be able to play my favorite games. We're all in this struggle together unless the U.S. Government manages to intervene and saves them from going under.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
10-12 weeks is an absurd amount of time. I just hope everything can recover from this pandemic. Stuff like whatever that game release that caused a lineup at Gamestop is worrying with this scare.
While prices for this game are absurd, prices dropping isn't good and stores could struggle. I hope that people come back after the shutdown to support stores in force
I think we might still have a chance to save physical retail, brick-and-mortar, and mom-and-pop stores from going extinct If the U.S. Government acts quickly enough. Congress's first attempt at the Coronavirus Stimulus bill didn't go through so hopefully both Republicans and Democrats will find some wiggle room to get it passed for the President to sign. I overheard that they're injecting $1 trillion into this piece of legislation though I don't know If it'll be enough to save these "non-essential" small businesses in the long run.
Recently at work I was given a parole slip to show to police officers notifying them that I work at a supermarket during this 30 day "Stay at Home" Shutdown so that I won't lose my job or get laid off. I was also rewarded with a $25 gift card to spend in case I needed to buy groceries for my family as well as getting a 50 cent raise on my next paycheck. Just spent $100 worth of groceries so I'm set for the next few weeks. I might pick up some more toilet paper If my store happens to restock them though I think we're going to have to import them from other countries to sell.
Also you can help urge Congress to send substantial, regular payments to the people:
It's imperative for the U.S. Government and Congress to suspend evictions, mortgage / rent, and utility bills / payments during the Coronavirus Lockdown in order to prevent potential economic collapse without intervention. Without acknowledging the crisis we all face currently we're at a much larger risk than just the health concerns over COVID-19. You can help sign the online petitions below to help fight in the effort:
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
I would caution those who want to jump on the suspension of mortgage, rent, and utilities. (Is that the same Florida mayor that had electricity turned off for some low income residents?) They are not all equal.
Suspending rent for a short time is possible. I had it done to me by my then landlord when I lost my job. I was, however, still on the hook for utilities. Which was fine because I made other arrangments. But not all rental contracts are the same. Mine did not include utilities so it worked out. As part of that agreement I did almost all my own maintenance anyways (never got my deposit back though, jerk.)
Utilities cam be suspended but care must be taken. Those are considered "services" and the utility companies will track your usage and you will have to pay what's owed at a later date. You can develop a payment plan over X months. Your bill will be higher but you need to learn to turn off the lights anyways.
Mortgages are tricky. It's not a rent and your thirty year mortgage can balloon in unexpected ways depending on interest rates and the like. Be careful and do the math. Otherwise, you'll regret it.
I would caution those who want to jump on the suspension of mortgage, rent, and utilities. (Is that the same Florida mayor that had electricity turned off for some low income residents?) They are not all equal.
Suspending rent for a short time is possible. I had it done to me by my then landlord when I lost my job. I was, however, still on the hook for utilities. Which was fine because I made other arrangments. But not all rental contracts are the same. Mine did not include utilities so it worked out. As part of that agreement I did almost all my own maintenance anyways (never got my deposit back though, jerk.)
Utilities cam be suspended but care must be taken. Those are considered "services" and the utility companies will track your usage and you will have to pay what's owed at a later date. You can develop a payment plan over X months. Your bill will be higher but you need to learn to turn off the lights anyways.
Mortgages are tricky. It's not a rent and your thirty year mortgage can balloon in unexpected ways depending on interest rates and the like. Be careful and do the math. Otherwise, you'll regret it.
I think LGS owners are coming to the harsh reality that having overhead costs more compared to going Digital only where they end up saving more money to pay for rent which ends up sacrificing play space for people who want to enjoy playing Paper Magic. Spending $200-300+ on decks you only end up playing 2 days a week given you work 5 days a week paycheck to paycheck may seem like it's worth the reward at first due to the experience but in reality it really isn't when other things in life come first. Much like Comic Book Shops which are already going extinct, you get into the Local Game Store (LGS) wanting to spend more time around your hobby and quickly find out that you need to be prepared for it to be a profession and potentially not your dream job. It's literally impossible to cushion the type of financial blow a Black Swan Event like the Coronavirus Pandemic creates.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
People who play Paper Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games like Magic: the Gathering REALLY need a reality check and come to terms that this is a luxury gaming hobby designed to make them poor and homeless. Let me ask you a hypothetical question, what would you have done with the amount of money you've spent on Magic: the Gathering since you first started playing? Maybe you could've bought some new clothes, stock up on groceries, bought a new car, or be able to pay your bills and mortgages easier. Whatever the case may be it most likely would've been something that's more essential to your livelihood than expensive cardboard rectangles. You're literally spending thousands of dollars on a gaming experience you only get two days a week at most but is it worth it? That depends on who you ask. Now I don't regret all the good times I've had in this gaming hobby with my friends at my locals for nearly 18 years. Sure it'd be nice to pass the torch to the next generation but what good is it If they already see how taxing it is to peoples' financial situations and mental health? They're mostly playing Digital because it's more convenient to them without having to put in the effort so that future generations become lazier and lazier.
Maybe that's the way it's meant to be. We've already lost the generation gap war to convince them otherwise. There's absolutely no reason why gaming companies like Wizards of the Coast, Konami, and Pokémon Company International should still be manufacturing and managing Paper Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games in the year 2020. This isn't the 90's anymore where there's still a need for a physical location to play these games. This is really reminiscent of how the North American Amusement Arcades died out in the early to mid 2000's when the hardware on home consoles were able to outperform them without needing to crunch so many quarters / tokens. It's this pay-to-win loot crate gaming model that's milking the crap out of us and it's not just predatory towards children 13 and under but gets people addicted to the point where the risk just isn't worth the reward. I'd like to say that there is a reward but it's small compared to how much you're willing to pay for it. Unfortunately there isn't a cheaper alternative that's just as successful because there's always that rush when it comes to opening booster packs that you don't get from other gaming genres.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
There are already a few promising "cures"/synthetic antibiotics in the making for covid-19. So the knee-jerk panic that a "cure" (so to speak) is months, if not years away is now false information.
Having an actual card in your hand, something tangible and solid will always feel more real, more permanent and collectible aspect of a TCG. Just as it is a different feeling to pop in a CD or put the needle to a spinning record, there is a sense of ownership and pride to hold it in your hand and actual say/think "this is mine." And because we will always have that psychological& emotional connection, we will typically/usually need a place to compete and be social animals w/ said objects. The LGS will always be that central hub. No Starbucks, Barnes & B\Noble, or fast food joint will ever compare. The LGS may be a bear in hibernation, but once things warm up & the suns comes out from behind the clouds, social gatherings to play Magic will resume. Arena, Untap.in, Magic Online, etc... will all just be "in the meantime" to hold us over.
There are already a few promising "cures"/synthetic antibiotics in the making for covid-19. So the knee-jerk panic that a "cure" (so to speak) is months, if not years away is now false information.
Having an actual card in your hand, something tangible and solid will always feel more real, more permanent and collectible aspect of a TCG. Just as it is a different feeling to pop in a CD or put the needle to a spinning record, there is a sense of ownership and pride to hold it in your hand and actual say/think "this is mine." And because we will always have that psychological& emotional connection, we will typically/usually need a place to compete and be social animals w/ said objects. The LGS will always be that central hub. No Starbucks, Barnes & B\Noble, or fast food joint will ever compare. The LGS may be a bear in hibernation, but once things warm up & the suns comes out from behind the clouds, social gatherings to play Magic will resume. Arena, Untap.in, Magic Online, etc... will all just be "in the meantime" to hold us over.
Except buying singles is cheap, easy, and doesn't require customers to wait ages for their LGS to get it in stock. Not to mention that the kind of people and environment that these stores attract from what I've heard isn't very pleasant. Some players would rather hang out with their friends, draft, or play EDH / Commander at home where they aren't confined to a space that makes them feel rather uncomfortable. That's not even bringing up the rampant sexism and gatekeeping that makes just about any woman who steps foot in an LGS instantly uncomfortable. It takes a few bad apples to ruin the LGS experience for the rest of us though I will say that I was one of the fortunate few who was able to enjoy it while it lasted by building a positive community that will sorely be missed. Perhaps one day I may be able to revisit but until then I wouldn't get too optimistic.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
There are already a few promising "cures"/synthetic antibiotics in the making for covid-19. So the knee-jerk panic that a "cure" (so to speak) is months, if not years away is now false information.
Which would those be? I know there are fast-tracked trials in the UK which hopes to have data available by June, but even they are trying to temper expectations that they are unlikely to find a magic bullet. Even if that trial finds something promising, a treatment for a virus that can render someone contagious for a week before they even know they need treatment won't slow the spread, it may even increase it as people get reckless thinking that it's over.
We know a vaccine is over a year away, an effective treatment will save many lives but I'm not sure that really signals the end to the pandemic and social distancing.
We know a vaccine is over a year away, an effective treatment will save many lives but I'm not sure that really signals the end to the pandemic and social distancing.
A "re-opening" of the global economy by gradually ending social distancing / quarantine would largely be a re-opening in name only. People aren't going to go out in public for social gatherings while health experts say it still isn't safe just because elected officials say it's safe. Once we see another spike of infections that our medical system still isn't equipped to handle due to less people in quarantine, not only will more people social distance despite the restrictions being lifted for them to go out again but they may not even know when it's safe because the authorities lied. A premature "re-opening" is less of a Catch-22 "damned If you do, damned If you don't" scenario as much as it is a "making things worse" scenario. I imagine 80% of people will continue to social distance while the other 20% will continue the social gatherings they previously did.
Moreover, If peoples' governments absolve themselves of any responsibility of providing aid under the pretext of "it's an open economy", then the actual impacts of that economy are far far worse. Job scarcity for example would be more common as many businesses literally can't afford to be open but there may not even be expanded unemployed insurance to weather it. It's already bad enough that the U.S. Government has run out of small business loans to keep essential and non-essential businesses for filing for bankruptcy permanently after this is all said and done. While there are plans that use surveillance as the core of a re-opening sooner-than later plan, I don't trust most politicians advocating the most basic phase being widespread testing, simply because that very step clarifies just how bad our current situation with this pandemic really is.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
Places like Michigan are opening up again after protests of disgruntled workers who weren't allowed to work. Also that it was less about the economy for them and more about being forced to stay at home.
Hurray...can't wait to hear how such places cause a spike in the virus and how the quarantine only gets extended more because people can't for the life of them stay at home. "
"They can't just take away my freedom during a pandemic."
-Probably an American
over here in my country, the lockdown is extended to April 30. The virus is still around killing people.. I hope a cure for this can be found soon.
got two orders from scg already arrived, but I cannot pick them up from the post office. Family members are freaking out if I so much take a step outside our front gate.
edit: and the fear of my family is justified, in some mornings I can hear neighbors outside the house coughing. wtf, I'm inside the house yet their cough is so bad I can hear it.
PINELLAS PARK — Kitchen Table Games is a place where gamers can build their decks for tabletop card games like Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Dragon Ball Super Card Game and test their skills against other gamers.
But it's not an essential business allowed to operate under the "safer-at-home" order, which is why deputies said they arrested the owner on Thursday.
Galen Trent Wood, 36, has run Kitchen Table Games at 9600 66th St. N since 2014. The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said that it has received multiple complaints since April 3 that the store was still open despite being considered a non-essential business restricted from operating under lockdown orders to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Deputies said they visited the store five times earlier this month, found it was open and watched employees interact with customers. They issued warnings, deputies said, but each time Wood argued with them. The store told customers via its Facebook page that it would be closed for browsing, but still open to sell items via curbside pick-up or via mail delivery.
When Wood refused to close his business on Thursday, deputies said he was arrested on misdemeanor charges of operating a non-essential business and traveling to operate a non-essential business.
The Sheriff's Office could not be reached for comment late Thursday. Wood was booked into the Pinellas County jail at about 7:30 p.m. and soon freed after posting $500 bail.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
Thank you for all your support! It has been overwhelming, calls from around the country expressing support. We all have a duty to make sure that we remain a country of Laws, of the people, with government that respects the constitution and officers that enforce the law, not try to make new ones. It's your duty to say NO when officers are not respecting the Law of our country.
I didn't do anything special or set out to be a martyr. I just asked them to provide a court order or even an interpretation saying why, and after them repeatedly saying they would get a court order, and never saying it was criminal, they arrested me and charged me with a misdemeanor! We cannot allow this to become the norm in the United States of America! Stand up for your rights which are God-given, not granted by the Constitution but enshrined there so we never forget.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
America Bless Christ Jesus
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
Sounds like he did break the state's quarntine law. He was given several warnings to close shop because he is operating a non-essential business that goes against the state's lockdown. Keeps it open anyway. Surprised when he gets arrested.
Also literally taken from Galen Wood on the matter for a news article:
Quote from Galen Wood »
“We can’t live in a country where the cops tell you what to do that’s Nazi Gestapo type stuff,” Wood said. “That’s not where we live.”
^ can't make this up as there is people who posted this same stuff on his facebook page.
Also it takes place in the state of the crazy, Florida. Oh and its an American who talks about "Their god given rights" and how he believes the quarantine surpresses his liberty and freedom. Its practically double jeopardy.
Wouldn't be surprised if he gets higher bails posted for continuing to break the law.
Please do carry on spreading the plague mister Galen Wood.
Nevermind those incidents like where eighteen dead people were found in a nursing home as the caregivers didn't want to show up. Or how god-fearing Americans tried to hold service to spite the state for saying they were "non-essential" which resulted in their bishop literally ending up dead the next week. Or how the main leader for a group of survival nutjobs that held national park in Oregon a couple years ago with guns just died of the virus. Or how a man in Taiwan was fined $33,000 for breaking quarantine because he wanted to go clubbing.
Or how a man in Australia tried to circumvent a store's policy of having only 3 of a given item by getting a bunch of lackeys to buy their share for him and taking it off their hands, then being surprised he can't sell Toilet Paper and Hand Sanitizer online because that would be profiteering, and the store won't accept it back even when he realizes he wasted over $10,000 on all this supplies.
The truth of the matter is so many people have this mentality of "it doesn't apply to me, so screw em." yet it does and being an ignoramus about the situation for a pointless 'battle' is only going to result in more harm than good. Its a lot of the people with ideological baggage that are also prolonging the quarantine. Oh and doctors have noted that its not just infants or elderly who are at most of a risk for this virus, its also overweight people due to their poor health.
This isn't some earthquake or twister that goes away as quickly as it showed up. its going to keep festering and spreading until no one is infected.
So unless quarantine laws are different in each state / province, ALL Local Game Store (LGS) owners are already breaking the law just for operating non-essential businesses. In other words they're not legally allowed to sell their products to customers with an online presence via e-commerce, mail deliveries, and curb-side pickup be damned. If they can't stay in business because the "stay at home" order tells them not to then they literally have no choice but to liquidate everything they have because they're no longer able to sell.
Then the question becomes how are they going to liquidate their inventory If they're not even allowed to physically enter their store? The product HAS to go somewhere. It can't just be sitting around collecting dust while they wait until they can open shop again just to pay off small business loans / rent they can't even owe to their landlord only for them to go bankrupt permanently. Since the U.S. Government can't even help fund these businesses with the loans necessary to pay off their landlord they're already screwed either way.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
Mail deliveries are fine. The recipient just needs to disinfect the product when it arrives and wash their hands, while the person shipping it needs to make sure their product is actually safe. Post office is still essential by the way.
The issue for brick & mortar game stores is that for many of them, selling online was more of a side job. Yet now they are being thrust into an economy that wants more online purchasing. As that can be done safely from the home. While people had made fun of fake LGS's that were only a digital store, they are the ones that profit the most off of this time as they just have to keep doing what they were already doing.
And this pandemic is just another nail in the coffin for physical game stores. Can't blame Wizards or Hasbro this time as they didn't perdict such an event either as its causing complications for them also delaying their products. Can't really blame Speculators except for the limited edition products like Secret Lairs as even the non-lair fetchlands have been going down in price as people don't have money and sales are drying up. Cockatrice, MODO, and Arena while criticized for not being able to play in person, are now the holy grail for people and their ever increasing boredom of having stay at home.
The problem with mail deliveries is that the U.S. Government is privatizing the Postal Service by making it harder for brick and mortar retailers (which are now a non-essential business due to the pandemic) from staying in business while empowering big online retailers like Amazon which have the ability to offer lower prices and higher efficiency. In other words the U.S. Government is using the pandemic to give big online retailers like Amazon an economic advantage over brick and mortar retailers who were already on life support. They were hit pretty badly due to the 2008 Financial Crisis and now with the current Recession along with using the pandemic for one-sided financial gain is the ultimate death sentence.
Fake LGSs were mainly trying to stay in business through selling promos they got from what the game companies distributed to them when they were originally intended to be given out to participants for Organized Play events. That's one of the big reasons why Wizards of the Coast stopped supporting Local Game Stores before the pandemic and now they tried to help them in a terrible last ditch effort to boost Paper Magic sales when that's about to completely collapse within the next 6 months assuming the ongoing "stay at home" order continues to last that long. Paper Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games are an unsustainable business model when Magic has more inventory in stock at LGSs than most of it's "competition" combined.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
The problem with mail deliveries is that the U.S. Government is privatizing the Postal Service by making it harder for brick and mortar retailers (which are now a non-essential business due to the pandemic) from staying in business while empowering big online retailers like Amazon which have the ability to offer lower prices and higher efficiency. In other words the U.S. Government is using the pandemic to give big online retailers like Amazon an economic advantage over brick and mortar retailers who were already on life support. They were hit pretty badly due to the 2008 Financial Crisis and now with the current Recession along with using the pandemic for one-sided financial gain is the ultimate death sentence.
You do understand the USPS has programs in place for small businesses? They're not completely left in the cold in terms of shipping costs. The reason why Amazon can trounce any other business smaller than itself is pure volume. Amazon sends out more packages each second than every single LGS can absolutely hope to ship, even if we count all of an LGS in store sales for the month as shipments, for an entire month before the pandemic. Amazon doesn't need the help of the USPS giving them a discount to edge out anyone. Amazon simply demands it because a single penny saved on mailing equates to billions in savings each year. Exact same reason why Wal*Mart tried to cut out the banks and issue their own credit cards.
In any case, the whole privatizing the USPS has been an argument for decades. Long before Trump came along. Here's the thing most people fail to mention. The POTUS and the appointed Board of Governors have no authority to privatize or sell of portions of the USPS, not matter how loud any president jumps and shouts. The USPS was established in 1792 by Congress and reorganized to be corporation-like in 1970, again an act of congress. Despite the weird pseudo-private nature of the USPS already, if anyone wants to privatize it further, it would take another act of congress to do so. This is the same congress that worked to impeach Trump. Do you really think they're going to do something Trump actually wants?
Do you really think they're going to do something Trump actually wants?
To be fair most Republicans hate the Postal Service because online retailers were eating away federal taxpayer dollars from shipping more than the amount of revenue these businesses were making from their customers. Why do you think Bush 43 tried to de-fund it back in the mid to late 2000's? Back when I first heard about this it didn't make much sense until later. That would explain why brick and mortar retailers have been struggling for decades when the market bubble started to burst in the late 2000's and early 2010's.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
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I have an EDH / Commander deck that I borrowed from a friend of mine that I hang out with during the weekends and now I'm worried I'll never be able to return the deck back to him with all the LGS's in my area in lockdown due to the virus. I could try to mail it to him though I don't know his home address as I'd much rather deliver it back to him in person as crazy as it sounds in the current times we're in right now. My job is safe for the most part even though Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been pretty strict in regards to how many people are allowed in an occupied area at once since their limit is 10 people.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
Even though I've seen a bunch of people saying they were gonna be playing online, I still think that there's a certain experience that you get from playing at an LGS that playing online can't replace. In a sense, playing at an LGS is more of a social experience as well.I guess you can say it's more of a social experience that yo can't get online. Plus There are people that won't wanna pay to have collections online in addition to paper
https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2020-03-22/us-coronavirus-lockdown-to-last-10-12-weeks-top-trump-official-says
I think it's already too late for these small businesses that are heavily in debt right now. They have no chance of competing online against Amazon and eBay because the margins are too low. When you're buying for $78 a booster box and someone is selling $80 shipped online then there's no way that you would lose money selling for $80 shipped online. Card singles used to be a good source of revenue for these small businesses however they're buying Secret Lair products at the exact same price you are and then marking them up just like a reseller. The Local Game Store (LGS) is really no different from a reseller on Facebook Marketplace or on eBay.
They might buy collections but as we know Magic collections' value are going to decrease in this upcoming economic recession because Magic is a luxury item as it's going to be one of the first items that people will be forced to stop buying during times of need. A lot of these stores are going to end up becoming barren wastelands due to the Coronavirus pandemic. They don't attract the cleanest people when it comes to personal hygiene and even If they were clean you don't want to be in large crowds. This is going to have a major effect on their bottom line. This is the straw that will break the camel's back.
I think this will have a big effect on people flipping products and that includes Local Game Stores so it won't last forever. You're going to see card prices and inventory drop. Whose going to realistically buy Standard or Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths when there's nowhere to play? When people get laid off from their jobs and need money they aren't going to buy Ikoria or any future Magic products let alone for other Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games. When these businesses go bankrupt then there's really no place to play Paper Magic so you're stuck having to play on Arena or MTGO.
The problem is that these store owners don't treat the Local Game Store as a business but more as a hangout place which normally isn't a problem per say. They don't open Local Game Stores to make money, they open them because they love it. However labor of love doesn't always keep the lights on. Stores that are in financial difficulty right now who are juggling credit cards getting maxed out are not going to be able to survive this. Stores that aren't doing really good but are stable and don't have so much debt are going to be pushed to the brink of elimination. They'll have no choice but to liquidate all their inventory and there will be an opportunity to buy these businesses.
JP Morgan says that 47% of small businesses have less than two weeks of working capital. Assuming even distribution that means at least half of Local Game Stores are closed If there's no customers right? These businesses are still paying rent. Rent is also a huge issue for them right now. They're already on the edge of bankruptcy as we speak. Cards will drop, everything will drop in a recession. Magic cards as well as other Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games like Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokémon TCG are going to be the last thing on peoples' minds as they're going to need to pay medical bills. Maybe they lost a job. Brace yourself as this is going to get really bad really soon.
Even though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are encouraging businesses like the Local Game Store and GameStop to stay closed, the rent doesn't go away so the overhead doesn't go away and it would be bad to ask your employees to take a pay cut or I'm not going to pay you because you're not working. I'm very scared for Local Game Stores in my area because I like them and appreciate the service they give me to be able to play my favorite games. We're all in this struggle together unless the U.S. Government manages to intervene and saves them from going under.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
While prices for this game are absurd, prices dropping isn't good and stores could struggle. I hope that people come back after the shutdown to support stores in force
Recently at work I was given a parole slip to show to police officers notifying them that I work at a supermarket during this 30 day "Stay at Home" Shutdown so that I won't lose my job or get laid off. I was also rewarded with a $25 gift card to spend in case I needed to buy groceries for my family as well as getting a 50 cent raise on my next paycheck. Just spent $100 worth of groceries so I'm set for the next few weeks. I might pick up some more toilet paper If my store happens to restock them though I think we're going to have to import them from other countries to sell.
Also you can help urge Congress to send substantial, regular payments to the people:
https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/i-support-the-open-letter-to-congress-send-substantial-regular-payments-to-the-people
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib also introduced a Universal Relief Proposal to Congress:
https://twitter.com/RepRashida/status/1241377540524126208
It's imperative for the U.S. Government and Congress to suspend evictions, mortgage / rent, and utility bills / payments during the Coronavirus Lockdown in order to prevent potential economic collapse without intervention. Without acknowledging the crisis we all face currently we're at a much larger risk than just the health concerns over COVID-19. You can help sign the online petitions below to help fight in the effort:
https://www.change.org/p/gretchen-whitmer-suspend-evictions-mortgage-rent-and-utility-bills-during-mandatory-covid-19-shut-down
https://www.change.org/p/florida-governor-governor-ron-desantis-suspend-rent-mortgage-utility-payments-during-the-coronavirus-2
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
Suspending rent for a short time is possible. I had it done to me by my then landlord when I lost my job. I was, however, still on the hook for utilities. Which was fine because I made other arrangments. But not all rental contracts are the same. Mine did not include utilities so it worked out. As part of that agreement I did almost all my own maintenance anyways (never got my deposit back though, jerk.)
Utilities cam be suspended but care must be taken. Those are considered "services" and the utility companies will track your usage and you will have to pay what's owed at a later date. You can develop a payment plan over X months. Your bill will be higher but you need to learn to turn off the lights anyways.
Mortgages are tricky. It's not a rent and your thirty year mortgage can balloon in unexpected ways depending on interest rates and the like. Be careful and do the math. Otherwise, you'll regret it.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
The moment it stops, people go back in the store (i cant wait to get back to play).
----
Money wise it will be terrible, no matter what this is cutting deep in the pockets of all the owners.
WUBRG#BlackLotusMatterWUBRG
👮👮👮 #BlueLivesMatter 👮👮👮
Maybe that's the way it's meant to be. We've already lost the generation gap war to convince them otherwise. There's absolutely no reason why gaming companies like Wizards of the Coast, Konami, and Pokémon Company International should still be manufacturing and managing Paper Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games in the year 2020. This isn't the 90's anymore where there's still a need for a physical location to play these games. This is really reminiscent of how the North American Amusement Arcades died out in the early to mid 2000's when the hardware on home consoles were able to outperform them without needing to crunch so many quarters / tokens. It's this pay-to-win loot crate gaming model that's milking the crap out of us and it's not just predatory towards children 13 and under but gets people addicted to the point where the risk just isn't worth the reward. I'd like to say that there is a reward but it's small compared to how much you're willing to pay for it. Unfortunately there isn't a cheaper alternative that's just as successful because there's always that rush when it comes to opening booster packs that you don't get from other gaming genres.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
Having an actual card in your hand, something tangible and solid will always feel more real, more permanent and collectible aspect of a TCG. Just as it is a different feeling to pop in a CD or put the needle to a spinning record, there is a sense of ownership and pride to hold it in your hand and actual say/think "this is mine." And because we will always have that psychological& emotional connection, we will typically/usually need a place to compete and be social animals w/ said objects. The LGS will always be that central hub. No Starbucks, Barnes & B\Noble, or fast food joint will ever compare. The LGS may be a bear in hibernation, but once things warm up & the suns comes out from behind the clouds, social gatherings to play Magic will resume. Arena, Untap.in, Magic Online, etc... will all just be "in the meantime" to hold us over.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
Which would those be? I know there are fast-tracked trials in the UK which hopes to have data available by June, but even they are trying to temper expectations that they are unlikely to find a magic bullet. Even if that trial finds something promising, a treatment for a virus that can render someone contagious for a week before they even know they need treatment won't slow the spread, it may even increase it as people get reckless thinking that it's over.
We know a vaccine is over a year away, an effective treatment will save many lives but I'm not sure that really signals the end to the pandemic and social distancing.
Archatmos
Excellion
Fracture: Israfiel (WBR), Wujal (URG), Valedon (GUB), Amduat (BGW), Paladris (RWU)
Collision (Set Two of the Fracture Block)
Quest for the Forsaken (Set Two of the Excellion Block)
Katingal: Plane of Chains
Moreover, If peoples' governments absolve themselves of any responsibility of providing aid under the pretext of "it's an open economy", then the actual impacts of that economy are far far worse. Job scarcity for example would be more common as many businesses literally can't afford to be open but there may not even be expanded unemployed insurance to weather it. It's already bad enough that the U.S. Government has run out of small business loans to keep essential and non-essential businesses for filing for bankruptcy permanently after this is all said and done. While there are plans that use surveillance as the core of a re-opening sooner-than later plan, I don't trust most politicians advocating the most basic phase being widespread testing, simply because that very step clarifies just how bad our current situation with this pandemic really is.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
Hurray...can't wait to hear how such places cause a spike in the virus and how the quarantine only gets extended more because people can't for the life of them stay at home. "
"They can't just take away my freedom during a pandemic."
-Probably an American
got two orders from scg already arrived, but I cannot pick them up from the post office. Family members are freaking out if I so much take a step outside our front gate.
edit: and the fear of my family is justified, in some mornings I can hear neighbors outside the house coughing. wtf, I'm inside the house yet their cough is so bad I can hear it.
Nexus MTG News // Nexus - Magic Art Gallery // MTG Dual Land Color Ratios Analyzer // MTG Card Drawing Odds Calculator
Want to play a UW control deck in modern, but don't have jace or snaps?
Please come visit us at the Emeria Titan control thread
https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2020/04/16/tabletop-gaming-store-owner-arrested-for-violating-lockdown-order-pinellas-deputies-say/
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
Nexus MTG News // Nexus - Magic Art Gallery // MTG Dual Land Color Ratios Analyzer // MTG Card Drawing Odds Calculator
Want to play a UW control deck in modern, but don't have jace or snaps?
Please come visit us at the Emeria Titan control thread
https://www.facebook.com/kitchentablegames/
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
Also literally taken from Galen Wood on the matter for a news article:
^ can't make this up as there is people who posted this same stuff on his facebook page.
Also it takes place in the state of the crazy, Florida. Oh and its an American who talks about "Their god given rights" and how he believes the quarantine surpresses his liberty and freedom. Its practically double jeopardy.
Wouldn't be surprised if he gets higher bails posted for continuing to break the law.
Please do carry on spreading the plague mister Galen Wood.
Nevermind those incidents like where eighteen dead people were found in a nursing home as the caregivers didn't want to show up. Or how god-fearing Americans tried to hold service to spite the state for saying they were "non-essential" which resulted in their bishop literally ending up dead the next week. Or how the main leader for a group of survival nutjobs that held national park in Oregon a couple years ago with guns just died of the virus. Or how a man in Taiwan was fined $33,000 for breaking quarantine because he wanted to go clubbing.
Or how a man in Australia tried to circumvent a store's policy of having only 3 of a given item by getting a bunch of lackeys to buy their share for him and taking it off their hands, then being surprised he can't sell Toilet Paper and Hand Sanitizer online because that would be profiteering, and the store won't accept it back even when he realizes he wasted over $10,000 on all this supplies.
This isn't some earthquake or twister that goes away as quickly as it showed up. its going to keep festering and spreading until no one is infected.
Then the question becomes how are they going to liquidate their inventory If they're not even allowed to physically enter their store? The product HAS to go somewhere. It can't just be sitting around collecting dust while they wait until they can open shop again just to pay off small business loans / rent they can't even owe to their landlord only for them to go bankrupt permanently. Since the U.S. Government can't even help fund these businesses with the loans necessary to pay off their landlord they're already screwed either way.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
The issue for brick & mortar game stores is that for many of them, selling online was more of a side job. Yet now they are being thrust into an economy that wants more online purchasing. As that can be done safely from the home. While people had made fun of fake LGS's that were only a digital store, they are the ones that profit the most off of this time as they just have to keep doing what they were already doing.
And this pandemic is just another nail in the coffin for physical game stores. Can't blame Wizards or Hasbro this time as they didn't perdict such an event either as its causing complications for them also delaying their products. Can't really blame Speculators except for the limited edition products like Secret Lairs as even the non-lair fetchlands have been going down in price as people don't have money and sales are drying up. Cockatrice, MODO, and Arena while criticized for not being able to play in person, are now the holy grail for people and their ever increasing boredom of having stay at home.
Fake LGSs were mainly trying to stay in business through selling promos they got from what the game companies distributed to them when they were originally intended to be given out to participants for Organized Play events. That's one of the big reasons why Wizards of the Coast stopped supporting Local Game Stores before the pandemic and now they tried to help them in a terrible last ditch effort to boost Paper Magic sales when that's about to completely collapse within the next 6 months assuming the ongoing "stay at home" order continues to last that long. Paper Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games are an unsustainable business model when Magic has more inventory in stock at LGSs than most of it's "competition" combined.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
You do understand the USPS has programs in place for small businesses? They're not completely left in the cold in terms of shipping costs. The reason why Amazon can trounce any other business smaller than itself is pure volume. Amazon sends out more packages each second than every single LGS can absolutely hope to ship, even if we count all of an LGS in store sales for the month as shipments, for an entire month before the pandemic. Amazon doesn't need the help of the USPS giving them a discount to edge out anyone. Amazon simply demands it because a single penny saved on mailing equates to billions in savings each year. Exact same reason why Wal*Mart tried to cut out the banks and issue their own credit cards.
In any case, the whole privatizing the USPS has been an argument for decades. Long before Trump came along. Here's the thing most people fail to mention. The POTUS and the appointed Board of Governors have no authority to privatize or sell of portions of the USPS, not matter how loud any president jumps and shouts. The USPS was established in 1792 by Congress and reorganized to be corporation-like in 1970, again an act of congress. Despite the weird pseudo-private nature of the USPS already, if anyone wants to privatize it further, it would take another act of congress to do so. This is the same congress that worked to impeach Trump. Do you really think they're going to do something Trump actually wants?
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta