Unscrupulous game retailers?

"You agreed to buy the games at the price suggested, and you have renegged on that deal. I don't want to burn any bridges behind me, but I feel like you're not being fair to me or my game. I have been very up-front and honest, and I don't feel that's being reciprocated. I've sold my game to other retailers at the same price without a hitch. I don't think it's fair or ethical to give one retailer a special deal, so please return my games to me."

-- What would you do in the same situation?

Put the above paragraph in a letter (maybe not an e-mail but an actual letter) and send it to the retailer.

Good luck,
- Seth

Another thing that might help in the future is to require a purchase order ... basically a pre-invoice from the store stating the number of units they wish to purchase and at what price, complete with signatures. That might seem a bit overly formal for a one-man-shop selling to a local game store, but it makes the invoicing part much easier.

And invoicing can be anywhere from "due upon receipt", which means that the store is supposed to send a check off as part of their next check run (usually in a week or two) after receiving the games ... through 30-day or 60-day terms -- but I probably wouldn't go higher than 30-day terms, personally. But sure to state the terms on your invoice.

-Bryk

Hmm, this does seem to be a sticky wicket. On the one hand, it seems like they bought your game without really thinking it through, but on the other hand, it seems like your game is not flying off their shelves.

I think you would definitely be warranted to insist that they honor their agreement with you, however, what I think is more important is that you get your game moving in sales in their store. I think you can certainly get them to pay you, but it may leave a sour taste in their mouth, which will be particularly soured if they can't sell your product. The next time you come to them with a game, they'll say "no, we don't think so", and you don't want that to happen.

What I would probably do is encourage someone who's going to buy the game anyway to buy from that store, to demonstrate that your product sells. Or, you could try to do an in-store demo or something, to move the game (if that would actually be likely to move the game).

On the other hand, have they tried to sell your game? After all, they are the retailers; they are supposed to be the experts in selling games. How much complicity do they have in your game being stuck on their shelves? How has it performed in other retail shops? Knowing that might also help you have something to say to them.

I don't know. I think if it were me, I'd either yank the product, or insist that they honor their agreement with the proviso that I'd do everything in my ability to help them sell it. (and if it won't sell, you aren't burning any bridges, because they wouldn't have wanted your future products anyway...) I don't think I'd let them have the game for less, nor would I do the consignment route unless that's something that you planned to do anyway. Either sends a dangerous message that the store can bully you around, can agree to something in writing and then back out at their leisure. If it was possible that they were only going to want your game if it was a big seller, they should have ironed that out up front, not agreed to take the game at your price, and then negotiate again when they saw how it went.

I think being as diplomatic as possible is the way to go, but you can do that while being firm and business-like. I would just make it clear to them that they agreed to the original terms, that you've offered the same terms to other retailers, that you're willing to help them sell the games, etc. But for them to say "we haven't sold, thus we won't pay" or "we want you to give us a discount" is unprofessional and inappropriate. (and find a nice way to say that!)

Good luck! It's a shame that you have to deal with this stuff. It's definitely helping me to see that doing this for a business is not the way I want to go! For me, it's "publish or perish"!

-Jeff

PS I think that if you wanted to, you could direct them to this conversation as proof of your professionalism, because to my surprise, you haven't "named names" here. That suggests to me you're not just venting steam, but that there is a legitimate business problem here, and it's commendable that you want to resolve it in a business-like manner. Kudos!