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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Delemental" data-source="post: 1328894" data-attributes="member: 5203">Not much I can say here that hasn't already been said, but having worked in a gaming store for a couple of years myself, I can offer a few tidbits on what worked for us.First, I must disagree somewhat with the person who said to focus on older gamers.  While younger gamers don't have as high of an income, the income they do have is nearly 100% disposable.  And you'd be amazed at the amount of money some kids can get from their parents.  I'm not saying your friend should turn her shop into Chuck E Cheese, but stocking some Yu-Gi-Oh cards or running an "under 12" D&D game once a week can't hurt.Public image.  Remember that not everyone who walks into the store is a die-hard gamer.  There are "soccer moms" bringing their kids to play card games, there are gamer girlfriends, normal business folks peeking in to see what kind of business just replaced their favorite donut shop, and so on.  So the first thing they see when walking into the front door should probably not be a life-sized cardboard cutout of "Sheeba, the Succubi Temptress" and a big sign saying "We have plenty of copies of the Book of Vile Darkness!"  Don't cover up your windows - adult bookstores and bars cover their windows.Employees.  When your friend reaches the point where she wants (or can afford) employees, remember two words - pay them.  I've seen too many stores that tried to do a "half cash, half trade" deal with their staff, or worse.  Almost all of them don't exist anymore.  The adage 'you get what you pay for' applies here - you don't tend to get good customer service out of  someone making the equivalent of $4 an hour.  I know that a gaming store isn't going to have the money to be lavish with their employees' salaries, but still...Discounts.  There's already been good advice given about discounts.  One thing that worked for us was 'event-based discounting'.  Planning a Warhammer 40K tournament?  Everyone who signs up gets a discount on wargaming supplies from the time they sign up, through the event, and for a couple of weeks afterward.And the best thing to remember is that not all advice is good advice.  The things I've mentioned may be the worst things in the world for your friend's business.  The best thing is knowledge - know your location, your market, your customer base.</blockquote>

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