@Supa Yes, they are - we have already asked NIS to assist with some form of price break due to the exchange rate issue in SA but they want bigger order volumes from SA which presents a problem as guys wont commit to orders at those prices. Will keep you posted though as we are working on it!

@ Richter - No problem and thanks, we appreciate your guys support. I think people forget we do this as a labour of love - none of us drive jaguars! But we do love games and the other items we sell and especially like the fact that we cater to like minded people.

Retail margins have to be that 30/40% minium to cover expenses and make profit as a normal, clothing retail can go to a GP as high as 200%+ (That's how they can do these "60% off" sales but you also have factor in the amount of theft they get) however our sector (Gaming retail specifically) runs on incredibly low margins, like I said from 3% to 17% at most. Very often we make just a few Rands on a gaming item. So again, it boils down to trying to shift as many units as possible. Some game you can other games you cant so it takes careful planning to survive the tough months.

Tea said ...

@Supa Yes, they are - we have already asked NIS to assist with some form of price break due to the exchange rate issue in SA but they want bigger order volumes from SA which presents a problem as guys wont commit to orders at those prices. Will keep you posted though as we are working on it!

you should show them the price of sorcery saga, I really doubt that game has a big order volume

@Supa - yeah, their argument is it's niche and they wont sell many so in order to cover the license cost it needs to RRP at a certain amount. Ours is, sell it at a fair price and we are sure even guys that don't usually buy JRPG would be tempted to pick it up due to the lack of key releases on psv at the moment.

I will say this, since discovering AWX many moons ago Augst 16 2010 (got a Superman Doomsday Collecters edition), their pricing has always been equal to or lower than Recomended Retail Pricing, very seldom have they been higher. This is a feat on its own as RRP has been on the increase everywhere.

The amount of games and memrobilia I buy has decreased over the year (coz crappy life with its expensive speedbumbs) however the credit system and martket related prices of AWX has still allowed me to support my hobby.

My point is that retailers all over SA and other online shops are much of a muchness in terms of price for games. Will it be great if there was a regulatory body ensuring that products are margined out fairly (from developers to studios and retailers) lowering the pricing of games but thats not going to happen.

So realising that game prices are X amount everywhere maybe I think the question that should be asked is how to keep customers buying games with escalating prices that is out of retailers hands, how can AWX give added value?

What AWX does very well is keeping customer service beyond reproach, a couple of times Tea in particular went out of his way to make sure I was happy with what I bought.

The other thing being explored well is embracing social media, hyping events, and creating a community.

The competitions and giveaways are important too.
Last April AWX held that Injustice competition, I was a runner up but was still allowed to get a CE by paying in the differnce. I had AWX logo on my video and i recieved a couple messages asking where AWX was coz that staue was cool. When Deadpool came out, it was cheaper somewhere else but I still got my copy from AWX coz they are good to me, and the fourways branch is closer...location...location...location.

So my point is that from me personaly, as much as prices will go up and amount of funds for hobby gets less, when I do spend I rather do it at AWX coz I know they are RRP and strive to make custoemr experience better.