Sales, Distribution - how do I sell my game?

Well, if you want to try canada, here are 2 good stores in montreal that sell a pretty wide variety of games:

http://www.tourdejeux.com/
http://www.levalet.com

you can probably send them either a sample, or even a pdf version that they can try and a price list.

In the US, there are quite a few stores also, heres one:

http://www.funagain.com

If you make good contact with these stores, you actually become your own distributor :)

If your game is designed to appeal to the hobby market (as opposed to the mass market), your best bang for your buck is the GAMA Trade Show. You can meet and talk with both distributors and retailers, as well as learn a lot about the market and strategies for success. They publish a good chunk of information for new publishers/manufacturers as well.

http://www.gama.org

I disagree with some of the approaches listed above. While it is true 10 years ago a distributor or rep may have walked by your booth and taken a chance, the marketplace today is quite different. Distributors want 6 month advance notice of your product so they can solicit the retailers and want to see your advertising campaign ideas well in advance. You have to understand that no one actually wants to work to SELL your game today, they want a product that SELLS itself, either through a lot of advance marketing (pricey) or by word of mouth (cheap but erratic). For example, a distributor's phone rep is most productive when he is busy taking orders for a gross of CCG packs, not randomly calling around to stores saying, "Here's a neat new game, will you try two copies in your store?"

For a start on getting to know the distributors, go here:

http://www.gtmguide.com/hobbydist.htm

and here:

http://www.gtmguide.com/internationaldist.htm

and read up on what each distributor wants/likes to sell so you don't waste your time on guys that don't do your kind of thing.

I'm guessing your best approach would be to sell direct via a website and build an audience (plus get some playtesting in - maybe tweak the rules a bit based on feedback), then go retail.

Bon Chassé
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Doing publicity on the Web or other medium is a full time job. If you still have job to do on your game, start a web site and put a blog on it. Have a newletter. Start publishing weekly screen shot. Publish a small extract from the rules, then the full rules. If you can have a flash presentation of your game like Avalon hill is doing at the moment.

Do press releases, have people talk about you, create a hype.

In the newletter have a discount and/or contest and give boxes away.
Yes this is costly but if correctly done, you can attract poeple to buy from you.

Finally set a shop to buy your game directly from you. Always sell you game to the suggested retail price or else nobody will want to distribute your game.

Publishing is a lot of work, but don't neglect the marketing aspect of the publishing or else, you will have 1,999 boxes in your basement and one given to your mother.

Have a good day.

Having just been to the GAMA Trade Show for the first time I can tell you it is not a great place to meet with major distributors if you don't plan ahead. Some of the big distributors had purchasing guys who were NEVER at their booths and were available by appointment only. Guess what? They were largely booked up with appointments by the time GTS had actually started.

So, I'd say that it is a GREAT place to meet with purchasing agents for distributors IF you do some networking before you go.

It's not that the distributors aren't at GTS, 'cause they are. However, you don't need to speak to random guys, you ned to speak with the people directly in charge of purchasing.

Our website:

http://www.veritasgames.net/

has a Game Design section. Look up the glossary entry on distributors and the article on establishing payment terms for distributors. That'll give you some information.

Honestly, if you are doing one or two small games then you are best off hooking up with Impressions or Key20, who are fulfillment consolidators. They will help you get into distribution, warehouse your stuff, ship it out, etc., all for a chunk of your sales. They are a good deal for a small company with one or two products.

If you are willing to bust your butt making a lot of connections and have a big budget game or a licensed product then you can probably work your way into distribution without a fulfillment consolidator

Getting back to the original premise here, this link http://www.gtmguide.com/manmath.htm to basic manufacturer's math may prove helpful to you in setting the correct price for your game.