I'm a rather large fan of Stefan Feld, but when I discovered how much fun I enjoy his games, many of his titles started to slide out of print. I would stalk the BGG Auctions and Marketplace, to see if I can find an affordable copy, but I haven't had much luck with that.

Well recently, the conversion rate between USD and the Euro has fallen more in favor of the USD, where it wasn't far from a $1-for €1 transaction. Just for kicks and giggles, I was able to find a new copy of Notre Dame for $28 USD. Nearly half the cost of the cheapest price on the BGG marketplace. Then I noticed, even with paying a ton in shipping... it was still cheaper than anywhere else. I packaged it with Las Vegas Boulevard - which Ravensburg has said to have no plans to distribute it to the USA at this time.

So to continue my kicks and giggles, I started checking another title that is a bit tricky to find for a reasonable cost. Game Salute does a lot to price control. And from Game Salute, Keyflower: The Merchants is a rather pricey expansion. But as of yesterday, it was a hair cheaper to order it from Germany, shipping included, than to order it locally. Add in a couple other games, and it wasn't even a fair contest.

It is getting to be cheaper to buy many games off of Amazon.de than it is on Amazon.com or other retailers.

So if you are looking for hard to find games or games that aren't going to have US distribution, check amazon.de. And apparently, you can also check for easy to find games too. It still may save you a few bucks.

Just be sure to check if it has an english translation or if it is language independent and has english rules somewhere.