Supporting your local gaming store is a very important since what you buy from them not only helps keep them open but shows the owner what is important to the customers which in turn encourages them to support that game with special gaming sessions. However it is not always the best option to buy from the store where you go play at. The internet has tons of deals, especially for those that do not want to buy the entierty of a product but just one specific piece. I know for a very long time I wanted the narthecium for the apothecary but did not want to buy a command squad box for one piece of wargear so I turned to eBay to solve my problem.
I really try and do most of my model purchases through game stores because there are so few around me that the little bit that I can support them with, I will. A lot of stores will give a 5-10% discount on all of their products which is a huge benifit and should never be scoffed at. I know some other stores have what can be called loyalty points where the more you buy the more points you earn to get some store credit or they have a straight up loyalty program where if you sign up for it they give you a flat 5% extra off of purchases. Wargaming is an expensive hobby so don't be afraid to ask what sort of discounts are available. One of my "local" stores gives out military, teacher, and student discounts on top of their standard 10% off of GamesWorkshop products. A way to help yourself and the store generate sells is to ask them if you can run an event in there store. The daily grind of opening/closing, dealing with customers, stocking the shelves, and everything else involved in running a store can leave little time to properly run events that could generate more income for the store. This is where you come in. Ask the store manager what event you can run such as an escalation league, campaign, or tournament, and in return for you running this higher profile event that will bring more people into the store they will offer a further 5% off of game products for those that sign up for the event days and actually participate. There is a dozen things you can do along this line such as prize support, awards, or even a hug from the stores one "cute" person, these usually require a modest participation fee. Get out there and work with your friends and store owner to get more games in, money going further, and making the hobby better.
For some of us just getting to a "local" game store is an event by itself and you might have enough time to try and get one game in if you are lucky and can't use that precious gaming time trying to start up a large scale event to get a sweet discount. In this case the internet is your friend and ally. Ebay offers a bunch of great deals especially when you buy in bulk. I have seen thee boxes of assault terminators for about $90 when they normally cost $150. The trouble with this is saving the correct amont and having it at the right time when what you want is actually available. The internet way is probably the best and surest way to save a few bucks but you really need to be patient to be able to find the right deal. Everyone has their own priorities of what is more important, fast shipping, free shipping, refundable, how many stars the seller has, all that sort of stuff. It's not like all the planets have to be in alignment to find a good deal but it can feel like that sometimes.
I'll admit that my purchase history is pretty erratic but I do tend to support local stores whenever possible but I have grabbed a few E-Deals in my time. I would also encourage you to support your own local store even if it is a GW store that does not offer any discounts just because it is absolutely worth having a store with friendly people to play with and good tables to play on. Naturally if your local store is full of bastards and the manager is a crazy person then don't go there. I use the internet for hard to find bits, or bits that are awesome but the rest of the kit is underwhelming and I don't want to buy the full box. Each person will buy based on their own needs almost every time though. I hope you got something out of this little post, if you have your own money saving tricks then please put them in the comments. Have an Emperor blessed day, even you Chaos worshiping scum! ;)
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