Conflicted interests

Being a small business owner myself, I like to support small businesses whenever I can. In some things that’s a lot easier than others. For example, I’m something of a gamer. I enjoy board games, card games, pencil-n-paper RPGs, etc. For the most part the games I enjoy are not something you find in mass distribution. With a few exceptions you won’t walk into Target and find the games I play. You’ve got to find small businesses to carry them.

In previous towns I lived in that hasn’t been a problem. There’s usually only one store in the entire town, or at least close enough to me that I would be inclined to go there. But the longer I live in Sandy the bigger the problem grows. I’ve found at least four small businesses within a decent range that carry the stuff I like, and they all have at least some overlap.

One has the misfortune to be located in the mall. I avoid the mall as a general rule. It will be difficult for them to get my business. On the other hand, if they’re able to survive at the mall, they’ll probably be okay without my business. They’re more of a general toy store, too, but their selection of board games is pretty good.

The second is primarily my source for Warhammer Fantasy miniatures and supplies. They’ve also got the nicest older gentleman running the store who, if I’m not careful, I could end up talking to for hours.

The third is the best source of Pokemon I’ve seen in a small business. Target was our main supplier until we discovered this store. And Target seems to get a wider selection of box sets and the like, too, which is problematic. They do carry other games, but they do seem rather focused on a few core games, in which I have little interest so far.

The fourth is mostly dedicated to board and card games, like “Ticket to Ride”, or “Carcassone” and the like. They dabble insignificantly in Warhammer, and recently eschewed Pokemon. Their selection is fairly broad, and they have a game area where most of their games can be tried.

So what’s the trouble? 1) There’s no one-stop-shop that meets all my needs, and 2) I can’t support them all, as much as I may like to. Two of them I found the same day, which caused no small amount of consternation. They’re all run by nice people, and I want them all to succeed.

There’s a fifth store in my area I’ve yet to make it to. That’s probably for the best. I clearly take this sort of thing far too personally. It’s doubtful my patronage will make or break any of these stores, but I’ve lived places where good stores have gone under, leaving a massive void. I’d hate to see that happen, too. The one thing by far worse than having too many options is having no options at all.