Thoughtcast #11

Happy New Year!

Tomorrow the drawbridge will lower, the portcullis will raise, and Calico Keep will once again be open for business! We didn't just sit around during our 17-day break, though. The first thing you'll notice on your next visit is a new store layout. We'd post pictures here, but we'd hate to ruin the surprise! You'll just have to come in and see for yourselves ; ) 

The layout isn't the only thing that's changed; the world of trading cards has come through some truly tumultuous changes over the past few months, the repercussions of which has affected the way we do business across all our product types. There's a lot to cover, so let's break it all down into small tapas-sized chunks for you to digest.

 

Magic: the Gathering

As I've briefly discussed with our MTG regulars, Hasbro turned Magic distribution on its head late last year with the announcement that they will no longer be supplying hobby stores directly, but rather through 3rd party logistics (3PL) partners starting with Kaldheim.

What this means for us as Magic retailers is that the cost price of sealed Magic product has risen by almost 30% with the introduction of a middleman in our supply chain.

What this unfortunately means for Magic fans is that we (and other hobby stores in Oceania) is that we will have to raise our prices accordingly. Here at the Keep, you'll find a 15-20% price increase across the Magic range, as well as an ever-so-slight increase in MTG Singles pricing of about 7%; this means that our buylist prices have also risen to match, so you should get more value for cards you wish to trade in!

 

Dungeons & Dragons

It's not all bad news from Hasbro though; opening the floodgates to Wizards of the Coast distribution also means that we now have more options for sourcing D&D materials!

With our new supplier established, we can now happily pass our savings onto you; All D&D Sourcebooks are now $70.00 (down from $75) across the board, with Alternate Cover books now priced at $80.00 (down from $85).

 

Flesh & Blood TCG

Oh boy. This is the big one. You may have seen Seven Sharp's coverage of Legend Story Studio's success story, but those in the know would agree with me when I say that Flesh & Blood's success was massively understated.

With a price growth on First Edition printings that is comparable to Bitcoin, especially in the booming US market, we have decided to take steps for future set releases to protect the interests of players over investors.

Starting with the release of Monarch in April, our initial pricing will be as follows;

Online Sales/In-Store Sales:

  • $1,200.00 for Sealed Monarch Booster Cases
  • $300.00 for Sealed Monarch Booster Boxes

In-Store Sales:

  • $570.00 for Monarch Booster Cases with box seal and shrink wrap broken immediately after purchase
  • $144.00 for Monarch Booster Boxes with shrink wrap broken immediately after purchase
  • $6.00 for Monarch Booster Packs

By destroying the factory seal after a sale we accomplish the following;

  • The customer is confident in the integrity of the product prior to purchase
  • By deflating the investment value of the product, we are confident that the customer's intention in buying the product is to open it for themselves, rather than hold for investment purposes.

This type of policy is new territory for us; and we welcome your feedback. Card availability has always been an issue for the TCG community in New Zealand, across all games. The core philosophy behind this decision was to ensure that cards landed, first and foremost, in the hands of players.

As with all our preorders, these won't be going up onto the site until we're 100% confident that we've secured our inventory. You can expect preorders to be available some time in April.

 

Board Games

Lastly, we've spent an ungodly amount of time repricing our entire board game range. Overall, prices have dropped by a decent chunk! Take a look at our range and see what you think; and let us know if you think something is still a bit too dare!

... and that's everything worth noting for now!

We're looking forward to seeing you all again after almost 3 weeks! Let us know what you think of the new layout when you're in ;)

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