The problem is stock turn. My FLGS has one or two copies of everything Gloranthan in print and some that's out of print. Both HQ and Mongoose RQ. He sells two or three copies when something first comes out, gets a copy for himself and the rest stay on the shelves. Glorantha is not that different from most other RPGs either. Considering that about half his stock (by value) is RPGs I'm not convinced it makes sense for any retailer to carry much stock and unless there are several local customers for a line they'll tend not to bother.
He is adament that games shops are necessary to bring in new gamers and he certainly runs a lot of events. However they are mostly collectable cards and miniatures events where the publisher provides prizes and turnover to stock holding is good.
So yes, having stock on a game shop shelves is helpful but it's not enough. And I'm not sure in the context of an RPG what's needed.
-- Donald Oddy http://www.grove.demon.co.uk/
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