Death of the LGS

[Graybeard]

I have two mlocal gaming stores that I rarely go to. The main reasons are poor service and poor selection. I buy most of my books online or at the local Borders because they are much cheaper. I frequently get coupons for 25% or more for Borders. What I tried to get at my local shops when I went there were dice, battlemats, and used books. Each store had a few used books but nothing of interest. As for dice, all they had in stock were d6's. Neither of the stores carried battlemats or any magazines of interest to gamers. Both had a small selection of comics and a couple of game tables devoted to Warhammer. One store is about 4 miles from my house and the other is about 10 miles away. There used to be a great store near where I worked but they closed due to death of the owner. He carried plastic models, magazines, comics, all types of games including card, board, and rpgs. He carried non fantasy card games ioncluding things like UNO. He had demo days often and invited customers to either run a demo or join a game. He was friendly and personable and easy to talk to about nearly any subject. It didn't matter if you were a regular customer or not. As soon as you walked in, if he wasn't busy with another customer, he would acknowledge you, ask questions, and talk to you about any and every subject. I remember the first time I went in, I was looking for HarnMaster product which is extremely difficult to get in stores. He had a great selection and offered to order anything I wanted. He even had contacts with other game stores around the country and would buy items from them for a customer. If you were a regular customer he would give you a discount or throw in some small items for free. On a demo day I attended for a Big Eyes, Small Mouth game, he payed for pizza for everyone there. I really miss that store.

 

[Mercule]

If I gave the impression that I was relying on the handouts of people to keep my business alive, I apologize. The business itself is quite successful for a year-old operation; we continue to innovate and expand, and part of that is an increased online presence such as posting here.

Dunno if you gave that impression, but you didn't not give that impression, if you follow me. I was going, largely, with the law of averages on this.

In reading your later posts, though, it seems like you are running a store that might get me to stop in. I think the wireless Internet is a great idea, especially with DDI, as you said.

I don't really have any specific ideas, though. I've got four kids, a 40+ hr job, and a lot of church activities I'm involved in. Even if I had the ideal LGS, I wouldn't have time to hang out there, anymore.

About the best I'd do -- and I used to do this when we had a better LGS in town -- is stop in on my way home from work or while running errands and browse, chat, or get news. That environment made me want to spend my money there. In all honesty, a 30% discount through Amazon is still darn hard to overcome. But, a 10, or even 15% difference would be fine if the store was warm and inviting, professional, clean, and convenient.

The stores I've enjoyed and tried to spend money at have all been carpeted, had well organized shelves, and had posters on the walls that weren't all cleavage or came out of the back of a book. The people behind the counter all looked sanitary and socially well adjusted. Many of them had TVs that were playing quietly other than for special events. And, their game tables were always in good condition and out of the way.

The current LGS, that I avoid, has a yellowed tile floor, spartan shelving, posters with crease marks and industrial white walls. The people behind the counter are either the greasy, forty-something, overweight guy in t-shirt and shorts or the twenty-something scrawny guy with long, greasy hair, a mangy goatee, and wearing some death metal t-shirt. Neither one will acknowledge you without being hailed, even if you're standing at the register with a handful of books. The main store area is filled with basic tables and the product shelving is only on the walls, which gives the impression of having to walk through somebody's gaming area (I've never seen more than one game going on there, but still) to actually browse.

Did I actually bring up the appearance of the staff? Yes, I did. Appearance is a huge part of how people related to you, at least in a business sense. If you look (and maybe smell) like the homeless dude begging for pocket change, don't be surprised if people treat you like that homeless dude. I don't think anyone is surprised by the notion that people like to buy from a clean, well maintained store. So why would anyone be surprised that people also like to buy from clean, well-groomed clerks? (It probably bears being explicit, here, that I have no idea what you look like and it would surprise me if this applied to you, based on your comments thus far, but I mention it because it does seem to be a theme for some stores.)

Gamersgambit: I'm a 39 year old roleplayer who's childhood gaming store was a shop that specialized in model kits. Roleplaying games and miniatures were given about 15% of the floorspace, but there were no tables and no one on the staff appeared to know anything about the games.

Ditto. Actually, by the time I was a senior in high school, I'd been shopping there long enough that the owner started asking me for suggestions on what was good. He was a coin collector, his wife did some sort of stitchery, and everything else was to keep those afloat.

That might actually be a great perspective. It's okay to have your own preferrence and reason for being there. But that doesn't mean it has to be your largest source of revenue. Just don't go all Comic Store Guy on the people supporting you.

 

[gamersgambit]

Everyone, your replies and feedback continue to be appreciated. Keep 'em coming! Even if you can't support me as a personal retailer (or don't want to), your explanations of why *not* can help out people like me who want to know why not. One of the biggest problems any retailer has is actually understanding the loss of customers that occurs--a customer who comes in, doesn't speak to anyone (or has a brief chat), then leaves, never to come back...well, that person may well have a reason not to come back that has to do with the store--but the owner/employees will never find out what that is.


Corjay sez:

Rent out table space for RPG's. Since RPG's are a loss for you at the moment, first, I would suggest that you rent out tables for the RPG crowd instead of just letting them use them freely, because RPG's require more space and the more space you give for it, the less you have available for more money-making ventures. Logic, I'm sure they'll understand, and which is similar to pool halls.

This is a pretty interesting topic. I decided to do this not too long ago. My (pretty large) group of in-game customers about had an apoplectic fit, because they'd been coming to the store for nigh-on ten+ years without having to pay for the privelege of playing there.

When I explained to them that the store was staying afloat on the backs of the Magic players (who paid money, at tournaments, for the privelege of playing at the store, buying their own prizes for the group in the process), that helped a bit. But (and this is a big but) they didn't want to pay a flat fee that didn't get them anything.

After much back-and-forth we came up with a solution (and I post it here in case any other FLGS owners are reading, or for you to share it with your FLGS owners):

1) Customers can spend $260 (in a year) on product in the store. If they do, they don't have to pay any table fees for the rest of the year.
2) Customers who spend $30+ in the course of a month, don't have to pay any table fees for the next 30 days.
3) If they don't fall into 1) or 2), they pay $5 a week to play there (some play in multiple games at the store). That money doesn't disappear, however--it's put into a store credit for them in the store, which they can then use to buy product (or apply as a "discount" to a product) in the store. In other words, it works a bit like a bar tab only in reverse--you pay, it goes into your "tab", and you can buy things with it.

This worked well when we had the "3.5 draught" and RPGers didn't have anything to buy there, and it's proven to be a relatively popular program. It works quite well for gamers without a lot of disposable income, as well--they can "save up" towards a game book that they might want but don't have the cash on hand to buy.

I'm wondering if anyone else has any creative suggestions along these lines?

 

[carmachu]

Ditto. Actually, by the time I was a senior in high school, I'd been shopping there long enough that the owner started asking me for suggestions on what was good. He was a coin collector, his wife did some sort of stitchery, and everything else was to keep those afloat.

That might actually be a great perspective. It's okay to have your own preferrence and reason for being there. But that doesn't mean it has to be your largest source of revenue. Just don't go all Comic Store Guy on the people supporting you.

Same here. The one place I drove out of my way for was an old hobby shop that was a hole in the wall, who could get anything if he didnt have it quickly. Nice old guy ran the place and very personable.

 

[carmachu]

This is a pretty interesting topic. I decided to do this not too long ago. My (pretty large) group of in-game customers about had an apoplectic fit, because they'd been coming to the store for nigh-on ten+ years without having to pay for the privelege of playing there.

When I explained to them that the store was staying afloat on the backs of the Magic players (who paid money, at tournaments, for the privelege of playing at the store, buying their own prizes for the group in the process), that helped a bit. But (and this is a big but) they didn't want to pay a flat fee that didn't get them anything.

After much back-and-forth we came up with a solution (and I post it here in case any other FLGS owners are reading, or for you to share it with your FLGS owners):

1) Customers can spend $260 (in a year) on product in the store. If they do, they don't have to pay any table fees for the rest of the year.
2) Customers who spend $30+ in the course of a month, don't have to pay any table fees for the next 30 days.
3) If they don't fall into 1) or 2), they pay $5 a week to play there (some play in multiple games at the store). That money doesn't disappear, however--it's put into a store credit for them in the store, which they can then use to buy product (or apply as a "discount" to a product) in the store. In other words, it works a bit like a bar tab only in reverse--you pay, it goes into your "tab", and you can buy things with it.

This worked well when we had the "3.5 draught" and RPGers didn't have anything to buy there, and it's proven to be a relatively popular program. It works quite well for gamers without a lot of disposable income, as well--they can "save up" towards a game book that they might want but don't have the cash on hand to buy.

I'm wondering if anyone else has any creative suggestions along these lines?

Thats not a bad thing, depending on availablility. A fee isnt bad, so long as accessability is there. Like my local game store, their open game night for minis is wensday 6pm-9pm. No way I'd pay any fee for that limited amount of time.

 

[Korgoth]

Perhaps I am also unique in being a gaming store that keeps a large variety of out-of-print and non-D&D/White Wolf RPG materials in store, as well. I should hope not, but that may be the case.

I'm glad to hear it. The only LGS in my area that I have much interest in browsing (for role playing games; I have an excellent historicals wargaming store to which my general complaints do not apply) has a nice little used section where out of print stuff is displayed and priced reasonably. That's a store I would go out of my way to visit, just to buy moderately used old school stuff for cheap.

I think a good game shop should have a dress/odor code. I'm not a fashion plate or anything... I'm a pudgy thirtysomething with long hair and a beard (Viking heritage, man). But I shower at least once a day and I always wear a shirt that completely covers my powerful hara. As delightful as it may be to have a plump hara, I keep mine to myself and expect others to do the same. Cute girls may have exposed midriffs if they like, but fat guys need to wear a proper shirt. When I see a big dude with his belly hanging down past his undersized geekshirt I want to claw out my eyes. And with all the cheaply-available water and chemical hygiene goops available in our culture, nobody has any justification for public stinkery unless they just came in off a construction site. Thus, there should be a dress/odor code.

While I'm offering these helpful suggestions (which you probably already implement, because it does sound like you have a good shop), decor is important. White, dirty walls with ancient, faded posters and haphazardly-displayed dusty product make for a depressing environment. A store should look nice, smell good and have a pleasant atmosphere.

 

[jdrakeh]

I'm lucky to have two excellent, locally owned, hobby stores available here in Colorado Springs. I shop (and buy) at both of them. The reason I use the word "lucky" is because I've lived in lots of places and I've found that clean, friendly, game stores with expertly managed stock and reasonable prices are the exception, not the rule.

Most gaming stores that I've been to commit the same sins of retail -- stocking items based on personal taste, only carrying a small selection of products, hiring unknowledgable or unfriendly staff, etc. I've seen poor management decisions kill far more game stores than any new edition of D&D or competition from 'big box' stores.

 

[ironvyper]

I think that renting gaming tables and internet access is probably the key to being successful. However as someone who has been gaming for years and never gamed at a store maybe listing the reasons why i never wanted to play at any store before could give you a better idea what keeps people from doing so and help you to work on those things...

1. Privacy. I like to run semi-mature games and horror themed games. Theres nothing worse for your sense of suspense or immersion then someone wandering over and asking you what game your playing and if they can sit in or watch. I've had players bring SO's to in-home games do this and its terrible for the enviroment, i cant imagine how hard it must be in a public or semi-public venue.

2. Grownup time. Gaming for me is grown up time to relax and forget about work and the kids for a few hours. Just to sort of re-live being a free teenager with some friends and having fun.
We all usually have a 6 pack when we game or more and no one does much to watch their language or character behavior. That sense of being able to totally relax and just have fun seems like it would be seriously inhibited by playing in a business.

3. Food. When we game everyone usually chips in for pizza or some other take out and brings snacks. Ordering a pizza to a store thats in the middle of business hours seems.... inappropriate.

On to more positive things though. As someone whose spent years working in sales and marketing i can offer some advice.
Optimize your website for search engines. Its not hard to find companies to optimize you for 50$ to 100$ rather then the 2 or 3 thousand others charge. I say this because i tried just for curiosity googling your site. My results are

"game stores in fairlawn nj." Your meetup group came up #5, the stores site isnt on the first page at all.

"gaming stores in fairlawn nj." Again your meetup.com group comes up at the top but no listing for the site itself.

"dungeons and dragons stores in fairlawn nj" Meetup.com group. but not the site itself. Also #4 on the search results is a 4e demo from windows.

With different combinations this is repeated over and over. Its good to have a meetup.com group and its good to have it listed. But lots of people who might buy books from you aren't looking for a meetup, they have a group already or just don't want to join another site online so wont even click on it.

Having a website is nice, but if your not optimized to where your site actually comes up if people run a search for what you offer its really not going to do you any good. Its the same as having a store off a dark alley in the ghetto wont get you walk ins or paying for commercials on the golf channel at 2am wont get you business. Your website in this age of business is both your commercial and your business location. It has to be treated as such and set up to where people will find you.

Looking over your website i noticed a few things too. Your online store needs to be set up and opened ASAP. You can incorporate your knowledgeable customer service by posting your own reviews of everything on your site. Try to get your employees and currently loyal customers to do the same. Then you can create a more interactive ordering enviroment and by being a local store your more likely to have people who glance at it want to come in and chat about games because they saw how active your site is. Once they're in your store they're at the mercy of your salespeople. Along those lines try to get some of the people who game at your store to put up story hours in your forums and post any openings they have for players. Make yourself a community spot online and its more likely to follow in person.

Also theres some dead links on your home page. Anything thats "coming soon" should be "coming down" because it makes it look like your under construction, not a finished store and website. Its better to have less listed but have what is up be fully fleshed out and supported then having a bunch of good ideas that arent done. It makes people glance at your site and think to themselves "oh its still under construction. I'll check back in a few weeks" and then it slips their mind and they never do. Its like having an empty store shelf, you always keep your shelves faced so that customers think your a well organized and stocked store that does lots of business. Same thing with your website, dead links are the same as blank shelves. Makes it look unfinished and disorganized. And post pictures, just look how many peoples responses here involved stores being dingy,dark and disorganized. It sounds like yours isn't so show that off.

BTW if any of that sounded snarky or sarcastic i didnt mean it to. I do most of my business presentations face to face, not being able to insert jokes, body language and tone of voice detracts from the freindly presentation of ideas. but it was all in good intention.

 

[Felix]

Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Borders, and the other deep-discount big box stores are killing my desire to support D&D slowly.

Think of them as Wal-Mart, only worse. Buying your stuff at WalMart certainly saves you money, and may put local retailers out of business but they provide very little other than product (and tax base for your community, but few people apparently care about that).

You want me to pay you a premium for goods I can get more cheaply and more conveniently? If you want that, you have to give me a reason. This thread has already provided suggestions.

On the other hand, your FLGS--me, people like me--are the cradle of the gaming population.

This is absolute arrogance. Neither you nor people like you cradled me in my gaming infancy. No gaming store fostered me as I went through high school. No gaming store I've ever been in has tried to interest me in local games or ask my preferences and suggest other things I may like as well.

And you write this post that attempts to guilt me into shopping at your store, as if I have some obligation to you not to save money and time by ordering at a discount retailer? Maybe you didn't mean to, but that first post of yours reads like you think I should feel bad about not having bought a book from you. And when I read something like that, I'm a whole lot less likely to buy from you.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Before I post further, I wish to state that I prefer to buy my gaming stuff from LGS...but I have a few good ones from which to choose.

You want me to pay you a premium for goods I can get more cheaply and more conveniently? If you want that, you have to give me a reason.

As a gamer with an MBA, I know enough about the retail end of the biz to know that certain big retailers are allowed to buy gaming products for much less than LGS's can. That "premium" you're paying is typically the difference between the bulk discounts, economies of scale, and even cross subsidies inherent in the big retailers' business model that simply cannot be matched by the LGS.

Simply put, the typical LGS probably cannot compete on the basis of cost.

That leaves service. Simply put, Online or BB retailers can't touch you there.

Provide gaming space if you can. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but that may even entail going into a larger retail space to accommodate demos and product coexisting. Like a factory store, a LGS that demos good games can see an immediate and lasting impact on the bottom line...at least for the products demoed. Like other areas of retail, there is probably also a measurable increase in overall sales the longer customers stay in the store. Demos add to that time.

Know your customers. Besides gaming, one of my other loves is music- I own thousands of CDs, for instance. My local music retailers know me and my tastes in a way the online retailers simply don't. I've walked into some of those stores and been told by a manager (or other knowledgable staffmember) that a certain limited edition supergroup side-project CD had been released, and they were holding one of the store's 2 copies for me...and I didn't even know that the project existed.

Provide an inviting environment. Gone are the days when you can run a LGS out of a dingy, dark, dungeonesque storefront. The hobby has grown, and expectations have followed. Make sure your store is well lit and the climate is comfortable. If you can, provide refreshments and access to bathrooms.

Also, examine your store's layout Like I mentioned above, the longer someone stays in your store, the more money they're likely to spend. Following that bit of info, the Central Market grocery stores are all designed like a simple, single-path maze with only a couple of shortcuts. Essentially, a shopping trip through CM means you pass virtually every product in the store.

You also don't want to crowd your customers. A shopping study showed that aisles that were too narrowly spaced meant that customers collided with/brushed against other customers more frequently (the "butt-brush factor"). That repeated disruption of personal space resulted in people leaving those areas...and those stores.

Help your customers network. Most game stores in my area (and in the 2 cities in which I resided before) have had some kind of message board or folder for those seeking other gamers of a particular game. If it hadn't been for Dragon's Lair in Austin providing a message board, I might not have found the guys I gamed with for my 4 years in Law School. Insanity might have resulted.

Ring your own bell You can follow all of the best advice offered in this thread and still fail if nobody knows what services you offer. How best to do that depends on your budget and the resources available in your area.

For more tips, check out Paco Underhill's books, Why We Buy and Call of the Mall. They're both fun reads and educational to both retailers and customers alike.

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Buy-Science-Shopping/dp/0684849135[/ame]
[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Call-Mall-Geography-Shopping-Author/dp/B000F3T4CC/ref=pd_sim_b_1[/ame]