Where did you first buy your D&D stuff?

[Lord Vangarel]

In response to a post on this thread it got me wondering where everyone first bought/acquired their D&D stuff from and how it's changed since.

For me it was the early 1980's and a new kid in school lent me his copy of the Red Box OD&D set saying it's a great game that would be fun to play. After reading through and loving what I saw I searched my local town and found there were 3 outlets selling Dungeons and Dragons books. A bookstore, a newsagents with toys, and a toy store. All were within 5 minutes walk of where I lived. I played a mixed up version of Basic and Advanced.

It pretty much stayed this way until the late 1980's when suddenly the local book store no longer stocked D&D materials. The newsagents closed and the toy store shut soon after. Suddenly I couldn't get D&D stuff anymore and the nearest store, as it happens another toy store, was now 20 miles away. Some journey but it coincided with my new found ability to travel huge distances.

In the early 1990's my source of all roleplaying materials became a Virgin Megastore, which was now 40 miles from where I lived, they had a much larger selection than the toy store that was closer, so it became my store of choice and buying became a once in a while trip where I'd emerge with a handful of new books and games. I also found a job in another town and as it happened it had a toy store and bookstore selling D&D books so it wasn't so bad and I went to picking up releases for 2nd edition as they happened.

By the end of 1990's no stores sold D&D or other roleplaying materials anywhere within 70 miles of where I lived or worked so my purchases turned towards a new online store called Amazon!

Today no local stores stock D&D unless you live in a city. It makes me kind of sad that my kids, their friends, and all of their generation won't be exposed to the same opportunities to just pick up the books within their local area as it looks like a neat way to spend some time.

If I hadn't had local sources of the game as a kid I probably wouldn't be playing it today.

 

[Mark CMG]

We got ours straight from the source from TSR in Lake Geneva by mail order when first available and made regular trips to the Dungeon Hobby Shop after it opened (which wasn't long after, IIRC). My buddy, our first DM, had a woodgrain box copy and I later picked up a white box set.

 

[ephemeron]

I grew up in a rural area, and my Mentzer Basic and Expert boxed sets came from a toy store in the nearest shopping mall, which was about a half-hour's drive from home. I got my Rules Compendium, first AD&D stuff, and occasional Dragon from bookstores in that mall. That phase would be the late '80s-early '90s.

The big city about an hour away from my childhood home is where I first discovered specialty hobby shops. By college (in the mid-late '90s), I had an FLGS that was easy to get to, so most of my gaming purchases came either there or from Half-Price Books. And then RPGNow got started, and has become my main source of gaming stuff, with the occasional FLGS or (more rarely) Amazon purchase.

I still look for the RPG section every time I'm in a bookstore, though.

 

[trentonjoe]

I used to check the 1E PHB out of my middle school library, that was in 1986.

 

[TerraDave]

the very first books where bought for me, probably from a bookstore. (I still remember seeing the holmes basic in a book store--which I didn't buy--way, way back when).

In those glory years, even smallish towns would have hobby game stores. I loved those. Always one within about 30 miles of where I lived. Also did mail order, including from the Dungeon hobby shop, like Mark, and Wargames West. They where great. (then they had some change, and changed their name, and sort of sucked).

In the biggish city, FLGS have sort of gone away and then come back: 3 in the city and close by, then up and down a bit, then none (some farther out in the suburbs) then back to 1 right in the heart of the city. Much more euro board game oriented now.

If I can I will stop by. But I do use amazon, Nobleknight--which has replaced those great stores of the old days, Miniature Market, and sometimes Paizo--though I do not play PF.

EDIT: And of course I buy pdfs from dndclassic.

 

[Sacrosanct]

My older brother actually got me started with the Basic set in 1981 (Moldvay), so the first "D&D" product I bought was a couple minis from my store in Ketchikan Alaska. My first book was actually Palace of the Silver Princes, and then Moldvay's basic set from there. Then the AD&D MM shortly after

 

[SkidAce]

45 minute drive to the big city...where the mall had a "Waldenbooks" if I recall correctly. 1982?

 

[Lalato]

A friend introduced me to D&D sometime between 1980 and 1981. The closest place was a hobby shop (model trains, war games, D&D) that was a 30 min bike ride. Later you could find stuff at Sears. Later still it was comic shops, dedicated gaming stores, and big bookstore chains.

 

[KirayaTiDrekan]

I got the Mentzer "Red Box" for my 12th birthday and discovered more D&D books at the Mr. Paperbacks bookstore in the local more shortly there-after. An actual game store was about a 30 minute bike ride away. Of course, I usually didn't have any money so most of the time I just gazed at them longingly. A friend gave me his copies of the 1E Monster Manual, Monster Manual II, and Spelljammer boxed set and my first actual D&D purchases were, as I recall, the 2nd Edition Player's Handbook and the Rules Cyclopedia.

 

[Agamon]

I was pretty young, let's see if I remember. This was a year or so before the first FLGS opened. I got the Moldvay red box and Against the Giants from a toy store in the mall, and the Sentinel and The Gauntlet from a record store downtown not long after that. Got a 1e PHB for my birthday and the MM for a grad gift (my buddy had the DMG) later that year. Not sure where where my parents got them, though.