Prizes question
General forum
Posted on Jan. 13, 2014, 1:07 p.m. by SharuumNyan
I haven't been in the forums for a few months, and wow they look different!
Anyway...I was wondering about how other game stores distribute prizes for FNM and other tournaments. At my main LGS we get packs as prizes (between 1.5 and 6 packs per player depending on the event), and we can trade the packs in for store credit. Store credit can be used to purchase anything in the store, excluding preorders and tournament entry.
I heard about another store in town that only gives out store credit as prizes, and they give lots of store credit - way more than my store gives out.
Then I found out why. Their store credit can ONLY be used to buy singles - you can't use it on any new merchandise in the store. And their singles are more expensive than anywhere else in town (and WAY more expensive than buying singles online).
So basically this store is tempting people in with the promise of a large payout, but in actual value it's pretty worthless. Sounds like a total ripoff to me.
Has anyone else heard of a store that does something like that, or worse? What does you LGS do for prizes?
I believe we do 1.5 packs per player entry split between usually the top 3 or 4. If we have FNM promos, we give those to the top players as usual.
January 13, 2014 1:20 p.m.
SharuumNyan says... #4
I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks it sounds kind of shady. They've done other things at this store too that makes me stay away. For example, they won't let people trade cards inside their store. I'd never heard of any other store doing that either.
January 13, 2014 1:21 p.m.
Servo_Token says... #5
My lgs gives 1 pack per player as a door prize, anywhere from 6-12 packs for first place (depending on how many show up), 5-10 packs for 2nd, 4-6 packs for 3rd, and 3-4 packs for 4th. It's not the best prizes in the area (Other store does half a box to first, and like 7 packs for 2nd as the only prizes), but I like it because it's fair.
If that shop is forcing you to pay for overpriced singles, just don't go there. They're not very bright people to be running their store that way, and they probably don't even deserve you as a customer.
January 13, 2014 1:24 p.m.
Yeah that sounds crappy. We do 2 packs a person and it is distributed from the top in some percentage.
January 13, 2014 1:29 p.m.
Servo_Token says... #7
2 packs per person? How much does it cost you to get in?
January 13, 2014 1:38 p.m.
SharuumNyan says... #8
2 packs is pretty good. Usually at FNM we have 1.5 per person plus promos. $5 for standard and modern, $15 for limited.
January 13, 2014 1:44 p.m.
Btw I didnt mean u get 2 packs a person but they throw in 2 packs per person into the prize pool and distribute that amongst the top people
January 13, 2014 1:50 p.m.
How is getting a ton of store credit to use on singles a bad deal? Buying singles saves money on packs, which are about the best way to waste money on Magic.
January 13, 2014 1:57 p.m.
At my current LGS there're different payouts for store credit depending on the number of players and the buy-in price, either $5 or $10. For first place it ranges from $20 for an 8-player $5 buy-in, to $200 for a 72-player $10 buy-in. They essentially distribute the buy-in money among the top 4 players for 8 to 16 player tourneys or the top 8 in 17 and more player tourneys.
January 13, 2014 3:32 p.m.
SharuumNyan says... #15
zandl, like Jp3ngu1nb0y said, it's about the price of their cards. If you can get a Hallowed Fountain online for $8, but they charge $15, that $15 in store credit you just won is only really worth $8.
So if my store paid out $10 in store credit in prizes, and they boast that their store paid out $15, the $10 at my store is actually worth more than the $15 at their store.
I'm sure people will figure this out and stop going there eventually. They tend to attract people who are new to the game, so I guess those guys don't really know they're being ripped off yet.
January 13, 2014 3:35 p.m.
Also they do 4-player EDH Free-for-all events on Saturdays with a $5 where everyone gets packs. 3 for first and 1 for the others. You sign up after 4:30 PM and once they have 4 participants they start the game and get another game lined up for the next group.
January 13, 2014 3:35 p.m.
Our store for FNM its top 8 get paid out then 9-16th get a pack
January 13, 2014 3:36 p.m.
lord_of_the_snakes says... #18
my store does this, but you can use credit for everything in store, and singles are fairly priced, payout is based off of how many people enter, 5$ per person, and is split between top 4-8, and anyone who doesn't get credit may get a random pack, one guy usually gets these packs and gets a rare worth more than the top payout.
January 13, 2014 4:51 p.m.
Tradeylouish says... #19
My store holds fairly small Standard FNMs, so they're free but don't reward any prizes other than the FNM promo card to the top 4. The limited events always have booster packs as prizes. Most of the rest of the tournaments have free prerelease flights up for grabs.
January 13, 2014 5:02 p.m.
megawurmple says... #20
Our LGS is a bit stingy with prizes. We pay the equivalent of $5 for entry, but prizes are basically 2 packs for each player who won all three of their matches, and 1 for each player that had 2 wins and a draw. That's normally about 10 packs given out, with 25-40 entrants to the FNM, averaging about 0.4-0.25 packs per player, at $5 entry. From what I've been reading, that basically sucks.
January 13, 2014 5:09 p.m.
My LGS has different prizes for different events. The prize payout for FNM is a minimum of 7-4-2-1 for first, second, third/fourth, and then 5th. through 8th. with promos going to first and second. Our FNMs are free, and the prize pool increases with more players, but we generally have 60 people each week.
Booster drafts are also 7-4-2-1. Side events/small tournaments are dependent on the number of players, usually 5-3-1-1 for top four. On the 18th., they're bringing back their $100 Standard tournaments, where the prize payout will be similar to FNM, with first getting $100 cash.
Entry fees for events that aren't free are a minimum $4 purchase on sealed product or $5 in singles. The $100 tournaments will be $5 cash, but a larger prize pool for everyone outside of top four.
People at my shop aren't greedy either and are often down to split top four.
January 13, 2014 6:57 p.m.
Any self-respecting shop will have different prize payouts weekly based on the number of participants. When a shop has the same payout with a tournament of 16 people versus a tournament of 24, something's not adding up and I would talk to the owner/tournament organizer about it.
January 13, 2014 7:02 p.m.
I don't play enough at any one shop to notice a pattern. I tramp around from GS to GS and play a different format each week, but I think at the one nearest me it's 1 pack per person plus a handful of single promos distributed at random.
Last Friday, for example, there were only 13 players for a booster draft. There was one table of seven and another of six. Top six got prizes: 1 pack each for 5th and 6th, 2 packs each for 3rd and 4th, then I think 2nd got 3 packs and 1st got 4 packs.
Then there were about 5 singles laid out and die was rolled to pick players at random to come choose one. I came in sixth and in addition to my pack got a foil promo Warleader's Helix .
I've been to Standard tourneys at another shop that a 4$ entry and even with only a dozen or so players would give out something like 6-8 packs each to first and second place.
raithe000 says... #2
I've seen everything from 2-3 (or more) times players packs, distributed to the top players, to set numbers of packs for record, to store credit/cash for big events.
Forcing you to only buy singles, not even packs though? Never seen it before, and sounds really dishonest.
January 13, 2014 1:18 p.m.