Death of the LGS

[PaulofCthulhu]

My local gaming stores blinked out of existence one by one. They no longer exist.

Few remain in the UK (with its population of 60 million).

From my experience the net is good for supporting existing tabletop players, but not so good at recruiting new ones, that's likely the crux. Overall, atrophy.

 

[Felix]

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.

Oh, of course. As a gamer with a MA Econ (since we're flashing creds ) I'm a huge fan of economies of scale and bulk discounts. That's one of the reasons I dislike the pejorative tone gamersgambit took with the large retailers.

And gamersgambit, DA is absolutely right: service is the arena where you can compete with large retailers and win. If the service is good enough, it will be worth paying premium prices. You'll have to work hard convincing people of that, though.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Some other features my LGS's have that I didn't mention:

Deep backstock, dilligent OoP searching Game Chest in Dallas has games dating back to the dawn of the hobby, including such wonderments as the CCGs Doom Trooper and Hyborean Gates. They (and others) will work hard to find things Amazon and Borders never heard of.

Demonstrable Game Knowledge. Even if you can't demo a game during regular business hours, if you or your staff know the game well enough by reading reviews or actual game-play, you'll make sales. Amazon may make suggestions based on buying habits, but you'll be able to make informed decisions by comparing the games' mechanics & play, difficulty, and quirks.

 

[jmucchiello]

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.

Actually grocery stores use a different trick. They place the most frequently purchased items as far from one another as possible. That's why produce and dairy are usually in the two corners farthest from the front door. Not sure there's an equivalent in the GS retail space.

 

[JoeGKushner]

Some other features my LGS's have that I didn't mention:

Deep backstock, dilligent OoP searching Game Chest in Dallas has games dating back to the dawn of the hobby, including such wonderments as the CCGs Doom Trooper and Hyborean Gates. They (and others) will work hard to find things Amazon and Borders never heard of.

Unless the game store owner is getting a premium on them, I can't see this being a real value added stream.

1. Takes up space.

2. Slow moving.

3. Taxed year after year.

 

[Corjay]

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?

This is actually quite a brilliant solution. Good thinking. How do you track it? Punch cards? Customer keeps their receipts? Account Book? Database? (Customer keeps receipts is the best way to turn it into pure profit.)

 

[Caliban]

Here is my problem I had 2 GSs, one Local and Friendly, the other one not so Friendly and not so local.

FYI, there are good game stores that aren't located in malls.

I frequent 3 different game stores across the Valley that support D&D by providing gaming space and hosting RPGA events.

West Valley: (my preferred store because I game with the owner)

Imperial Outpost Games
Address: 4920 W Thunderbird Rd # 121,
Glendale, AZ 85306
Phone: (602) 978-0467


Central Valley:

Game Depot
3136 S Mcclintock Dr Ste 11
Tempe, AZ 85282
Phone: (480) 966-4727

East Valley:

Gamers Inn
1232 E Southern Ave #14
Mesa, AZ 85204
Ph: 480.507.0509

 

[Caliban]

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

A simple system that's seems to work for the stores here in Phoenix is hosting events for the local RPGA clubs. The club charges the players $1-2 per mod, and then raffles off a gift certificate for the store. That way the players don't feel like they are paying "rent" and product gets moved off the shelf.

Having a fridge with sodas and snacks is another moneymaker - RPGA mods generally run 3-5 hours.

If you don't have an RPGA club in your area, help start one. For all it's flaws, the RPGA does provide a stable group of diverse gamers that need a place to play. A FLGS can be a good "neutral" ground to play at, out of the way of kids, spouses, or roommates. (It also keeps the gamer funk out of your house...)

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Actually grocery stores use a different trick. They place the most frequently purchased items as far from one another as possible. That's why produce and dairy are usually in the two corners farthest from the front door.

Right- and the Central Market layout is a conscious departure from that norm.

Not sure there's an equivalent in the GS retail space.

Not exactly, but there are some close substitutes. For instance, one of my FLGSs places all RPG New Releases in the back of the store. You have to go past everything else to see the new goodies. Meanwhile, up in the front by the registers, you find dice, CCGs and CMGs.

Another store runs all of their demos in the back of the store. Again, you enter the store, see the ad saying they're running a game demo, and have to wander past all of the other stock to get there.

Unless the game store owner is getting a premium on them, I can't see this being a real value added stream. <snip many good points>

Having not seen his bottom line, I can't say for sure.

I suspect that he gets is a core of loyal repeat customers who routinely go in for OoP game X, then buy New Gee Whiz Game 2Ed.

After all, he's been doing that for at least 15 years, and his store must be clearing a profit because he's in an actual, major indoor mall right off of a major freeway. His rent must be the highest of any LGS in D/FW.

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):

That isn't a bad customer rewards program.

One of my favorites used to have a punch card system- you got a punch for every $25 spent on gaming goods and after 10 punches, you got a $25 store credit.

Like your program, it rewards the customer in such a way that it encourages them to keep returning to the store. Unlike your program, if you didn't get your ticket punched, your payoff was delayed by that much. In a way, that makes it better- you get the benefit of having your customers repeat business, but don't necessarily have to give them their payoff when they would normally have earned it. Of course, they usually gave regular customers another punch card if they forgot their original, and then unified the cards down the road.

Having a fridge with sodas and snacks is another moneymaker - RPGA mods generally run 3-5 hours.

Especially if there is no nearby food and/or your store has a "No outside food & drinks" policy.

 

[Lord Xtheth]

Where I'm at there are 3 major FLGS... One of the stores is HUGE, has tons of playing space but they take every chance they get to rip off their customers. Their Card section is underlit, leading to under quality singles to be sold at near mint costs. Their random packed minis strangely "open during shipping" and no one pulls good rares... even though the store itself has alot of the big pull singles for sale. I stopped going there entirely.

One other FLGS is very friendly and has a fair amount of gaming space, but he doesn't ever bring in enough stock in. The guy sells out his product the same day he brings it in, and doesn't go ahead and make bigger orders or even try to get enough products for his customers. Otherwise it's a good place to go.

The other FLGS is the one I go to now... except it's realy a comic shop that just so happens to also sell my games. They always have stock... and I've bought stuff by the case from them. They earned my support.

For books however, I went to Amazon. I like delivery to my door... and I wanted to make sure there was product... Now Amazon set back my recieve date 3 times and I'm starting to reconsider. The down side is that NONE of the FLGSs here Have 4E products at all.

Lame