Advice on Opening a Game Store!

[WayneLigon]

Look at some of the threads about game store employees as well. Have you given any thought as to scheduling and who else you might get to be at the store when you cannot be?

1. They need to know what you have in the store and where it is.

2. They need to know what's coming down the pipe. 'Hey, if you're buying this, you'll love 'X and Y', which we should have next month'. My comic store owner has probably been able to finance his car off what he's sold with this technique.

3. They need to have a sense of how to deal with people. Kids, females and the curious (or lost) mainstream guy are all people. They are potential money in your pocket.

4. They must have a sense of decorum, bathe at least daily, and have a nice wardrobe that consists of something other than black t-shirts. They must know what a barber is. They must know what a razor is. They must know what a napkin is.

 

[Djeta Thernadier]

3. They need to have a sense of how to deal with people. Kids, females and the curious (or lost) mainstream guy are all people. They are potential money in your pocket.

This is a really good point. I can't count the number of stores I've been in where the employees either treated me like I didn't belong there or like I was obviously beneath them. I want to think it wasn't because I'm a female but who knows... It may have been. Either way, make sure you have good, well trained employees, because nothing turns a potential customer off faster than surly, rude employees who make them feel unwelcome.

Likewise, you also don't want your employees to follow customers around the store constantly asking them if they need help. This makes people feel like they are being watched and like they can't just browse.

 

[Loki3]

Well this is from someone who has owned one Hobby Shop and recently a dedicated Gaming Shop. Here is what I learned.

Gamers are fickel. You will have to carry a large selection of product but not alot of one type. And to the person who said Large Customer count doesnt equal Large sales is 1000000 percent right plus or minus 1 percent. !! Be prepared to RUN the business the life of a game shop owner isnt gaming its ordering, cleaning, stocking, and most importantly and sometimes most hardest of all is keeping track of whats new and whats coming so you can keep your customers abrest of whats coming, and also YOU HAVE TO KNOW what your customers are talking about. Become knowledgable in all but not a master of any......... know your product at least to the point where you can talk turkey with them in a relativley competant way.

Also, LISTEN but dont listen too carefully, yes I just counterdicted myself. What I mean is this. If 2 customers come in and say hey we play game X and you dont have game X, DONT just go out and order it for the store. Instead have a solid Special Order system, usually in most states you can have X in 2-3 days, so offer those that want X, the chance to order it. Or make a set day or days your order days. I ordered Mon, Wed, and Fri. That way I had rotating stock coming in on Mon, Wed, and Fri.

Both shops were failures. The hobby shop becuase I opened it the day before 9-11 and the economy dumped thereafter, plus I was new to it and made all and I mean all the classic mistakes. But the second was in a good area, good traffic and I feel I did everything correct,............well most everything. Except get Insurance (see below)

Still failed. Ya see one of the problems ya will run into is that we gamers are loyal, and if there is a gamers store close by that they have been using you have to offer something they dont.

Some suggestions.

1. Wargaming tables. Have lots of them and supply some misc basic terrain.
2. General table, 8' standard folding leg tables work great have alot of them.
3. A pop machine, this is a NEEDED staple.
4. Have sanctioned play there. Start a Magic & YuGiOh league.
5. Have tournaments. this draws people.
6. Offer raffles once a month I did this and it was profitable and fun.
7. Use the pop bottle return money to fund once a month something for the gamers.

Also, product. Like I said above you need to have a decent selection, but dont carry too much of any one thing. I sold a ton of D20 stuff, but I rarely had more than 2 of any book. Have alot of consumables like Dice, Deck holders, Card sleeves, Paper and Pens I made a good margin off of this stuff and sold a ton of it.

LOCATION. This is a key, along with that HAVE A ADVERTISING BUDGET. You will need to advertise you are opening soon, I suggest once you get the building you will have 1-2 months before you are ready to open, start advertising get the word out. Make flyers up and pass them out at games, tell your friends, etc,...... announce it on boards like www.goblinsgames.com if no one knows your opening then no one will come to ya, and if yu can get them into your shop and they can see you offer something fun and something the other guy doesnt then you will have return customers hopefully.

Also get Insured. Get a good alarm system, PROTECT what you have. I didnt and I got broke into and they took enough to out me out of business.

So good luck, and dont listen to anyone that tells you not to. Have the balls to do what you dream of. I dont regret opening what I did, and I look back at it as a great experience. Yes I dont own them anymore and yes it cost me alot of money, but I DID wat others just TALK about. And had alot of fun while it lasted.

 

[ichabod]

My advice from having run a game store in three years:

Don't undercapitalize
Advertise strong when you first open, be stingy with advertising after that (unless you periodically have new customers because you are near a college). Concentrate on cheap stuff like flyers.
Have a used section
Have a place where people can play
Organize tournaments, charge a small entry fee, and use it all for prizes (at your cost). You break even on the entry fees, and the people in the store will buy stuff.
Make it a place where kids are comfortable and more importantly where parents are comfortable letting their kids go.
If most people drive in your area, parking is important.
Have a board for gamers seeking gamers. People like it and it helps you keep track of what they're playing.
Treat it like a business, not a hobby.
Go to local conventions. You can advertise and make money at the same time.
Do special orders, but keep in mind you need to be very organized about special orders.
Don't be afraid to cut prices on junk that isn't moving.
Front list sells the back list (new items in a game line help sell the older items in a game line).
Wait until [political statement edited]

 

[LightPhoenix]

This is semi-random, and you probably already know this, but...

When you start your business, be sure to talk to your lawyer and bank about having a business bank account. That way, if you are sued because of something that happens in the store, or you go bankrupt, or any number of other things that can go wrong do go wrong, your personal assets are safe, and only your business assets can be targetted by a judge.

 

[Greatwyrm]

When you start your business, be sure to talk to your lawyer and bank about having a business bank account. That way, if you are sued because of something that happens in the store, or you go bankrupt, or any number of other things that can go wrong do go wrong, your personal assets are safe, and only your business assets can be targetted by a judge.

No offense to LightPhoenix, but this just isn't true. Having a business bank account offers very little, if any, protection from lawsuits. It really just makes things easier when your accountant tries to explain your funds to the IRS.

Your business structure can protect you, though. There are several different ways to set up a business (sole proprietorship, partnership, limited partnership, LLC, corporation, S-corp, and others). The protection they offer, tax consequences, and regulations for each may vary depending on where you live. As many of us have said, get a lawyer. They're the only ones qualified to give you facts about stuff like this, especially since each state has it's own rules.

 

[BigFreekinGoblinoid]

First, a quick apology for the snarky post about always hearing "Don't Do it". As I mentioned, it just gets a tad frustrating, so a big "Nothing Personal" to BigFreakinGoblinoid and thanks for the initial effort.

Hey RatPunk! Definitely no hard feelings at all on my part, especially as "don't do it" was not MY advice in particular, so I did not take your post personally...

In fact, the LGS owner and gaming buddy I mentioned in a previous thread is in the process of opening a second store, ( arranging lease terms at a new mall now )!

Said buddy spends 70 Hours+/week working, and many more hours on the phone away from the game - definitely dominates his existance. He seems to really enjoy it though, and it seems very rewarding to him.

I'll reiterate my offer to ask him anything in particular for you if you wish...

BFG

 

[Bleys]

This is just a random bit of advice from visiting various game stores over the years (as well as thinking about what I would do ). If you do have an area to allow people to play, try to arrange it so that the people playing don't block customers from getting to something they want.

I can't tell you how many different stores I've been to where nearly half the store was inaccessible because the gaming area was right smack-dab in the middle of the store, with very little room left around it when there weren't people standing at it.

I realize that a lot of this boils down to how much space you can get and how much it costs, but it's something I think should be kept in mind and can help to make things a little more friendly

 

[LightPhoenix]

No offense to LightPhoenix, but this just isn't true. Having a business bank account offers very little, if any, protection from lawsuits. It really just makes things easier when your accountant tries to explain your funds to the IRS.

None taken! I'm a biochemist, not a lawyer. If we were talking about making glowing plants, then I might take offense.

This was information told to me by a friend, who is starting a sports production company. His family's lawyer did tell him this, though I probably bungled the terms and such.

I didn't say it specifically protected from lawsuits. It protects your personal assets from lawsuits. My friend was told that he (and his partner) could not have funds taken from personal accounts due to something like bankruptcy if they had a special business status. This may differ in a state that isn't NY, and hell, I (and my friend) could have been lied to. But this is what I heard, and I tend to believe it. Otherwise all those Enron people would be poor as paupers, and you better believe the CEO of Enron is still rolling in money.

But, another good reason to investigate yourself! Not to offend anyone, but a public messageboard is not the appropriate place to get facts... just look at some of the oriental weapons threads in House Rules!

 

[Uruk]

Depending on where you're at in Indiana location is going to be a major factor. Downtown Comics and Comic Carnival have pretty good coverage of Indianapolis eventhough their selection is pretty poor, basically only D&D. The Game Preserve and Boardroom Games are both on the north side of Indianapolis though they do have detracting issues. I'm not sure about the surrounding areas, but you also get into the boondocks pretty quick until you get to Lafayette or Bloomington which 1. aren't that big and 2. are all poor college students.

Having said all of that there's no game store that has both a nice variety of stock and that doesn't shrinkwrap all of their books. There's also nobody that has any decent frequent buy programs to incentive buyers to come in the store versus go on-line. Also, I don't believe there are any stores that carry any of the plethora of gaming software packages out there. I'm sure at least one company out there would work with you to setup a demo for your gaming area to help them sell product and to give you an additional draw for clientele.