Question to Game store owners/empl - Shoplifting?

[Dextolen]

I have noticed that every game store in my area that had space set aside for in store gaming, tournaments, etc. has gone out of business.

Is shrinkage (shoplifiting) a big problem with stores that feature this sort of environment? If you have any experiences on how you dealt with the problem I'd like to hear about it.

 

[LostSoul]

Re: Question to Game store owners/empl - Shrinkage?

Is shrinkage a big problem with stores that feature this sort of environment? If you have any experiences on how you dealt with the problem I'd like to hear about it.

I hear that shrinkage is a big (hee hee) problem in cold environments. I live in Canada, believe me, I know what I'm talking about.

 

[pensiv]

Do women know about shrinkage?

 

[Zigmutt]

this may just be me- but I think you should rename your thread as "shoplifting" cause my first impression was when you come out of a warm pool and there was a cool breeze that came by... and ....

And then I i noticed you talk about shop owners- and my attention turned to "shrinkwrap" but I see that that is not your point either....

back on topic:
shoplifting- I don't know about you guys, but back when I was young- I was usually hesitant on stealing from small stores- maybe it was that it was a small shop owned by a guy I knew and talked to a lot... so it was a personal connection. But larger stores, and chains, I had no problem there...

hope this does not get me into any trouble...

and I have noticed that FLGS are going out of business a lot nowadays. I have seen two stores (been around for 10 years each) go under. They blame Internet stores that don't have the overhead that they do- and keep the books in their garage until someone wants it- and sell at a much lower price (since buyer pays for shipping) so-

hmmm wonder if this will continue. I can't stand being without a Gaming store. I have not bought a product for 3 months. And I will not buy from BUY.COM- for reason of principle- and that they have not shipped that last thing I ordered 6 months ago...

 

[roytheodd]

I have noticed that every game store in my area that had space set aside for in store gaming, tournaments, etc. has gone out of business.

Is shrinkage (shoplifiting) a big problem with stores that feature this sort of environment? If you have any experiences on how you dealt with the problem I'd like to hear about it.

Dextolen, if you're a retailer then there is a better place to ask.
There is a somewhat exclusive message board designed for people in the industry. They screen applicants pretty good to see if you qualify for membership, but if you have a storefront you should have no real trouble getting in.

If you think you fit the bill, then send me an e-mail at rch@alliance-games.com and I'll send you the weblink.

 

[brak1]

It's been 2 years since I ran a store, so take my observations with a grain of salt.

It's always been difficult to find the "perfect" gaming store employee. A person who is knowledgeable about the various products and can run demos as well as run the register, be polite and courteous to non-gamers, handle such responsibilities as ordering and stock-tracking is a rare one. Especially when the best most gaming stores can do is minimum wage.

Most of the gaming stores I go to now used to have one or the other - a guy who knows everything about GW but ignores you when you come to pick up your order or a guy who is unfailingly helpful and polite but couldn't give a rat's behind about D&D. More often then not nowadays I see the second guy. And honestly, I'd rather buy from him. At least I know I'll get what I ordered.

Unfortunately that guy has neither the time nor the interest to set up games, keep track of players and/or research new products. So if the store used to have gaming space, it tends to disappear.

And the stores that kept the first guy on? Well... I doubt I'm the only one not ordering stuff from there. Add that to the general inattention to the drawer, product theft and customer satisfaction... get enough of that and there goes your business.

So, those elusive employees that combine the two sides? Solid gold, baby. Worth their weight in metal figs. I still see a few, and those stores have both gaming space AND a healthy business.

 

[SemperJase]

I see the problem as a bad business plan. In the Denver metro area where I live, there is one RPG only store that is successful.

The other stores that sell RPG products are diversified. I'm thinking of one with multiple outlets that sell board games and novelties as well as RPG's (probably about 1/10th of the total inventory). Then the large bookstores also sell RPG materials, admittedly only the more popular titles but the market doesn't seem to bare stocking of the smaller titles. Then you also have the Internet competition competing with the FLGS.

Add it all up and it doesn't look good for the small RPG shop.

 

[Oracular Vision]

Although it took several months to get all the data together, my little hobby store was losing $2,000 a month, when we finally pulled the plug. Later, in business school, I discovered we had broken just about every rule about running a small business, such as excessive sunk costs in slow moving inventory, no paper tape in the cash register, etc., etc.

It only cost me $3,500 to learn that it can't succeed in small markets without some other form of income...and we had in-store gaming of course...

 

[Tarek]

Success & Game Stores

A good game store, one that intends to stay in business a long time, really needs to diversify and carry family games or mass-market products of some kind.

At the game store where I work part-time, we carry boardgames, puzzles, comics (a fair number of the off-beat and independant, primarily), and a large number of party games, card games (of the non-collectable type), and beer & pretzel games.

We also have the obligatory Wall of Games Workshop products and the less-common Wall of Collectable Card Games. This is all in addition to the D20 stuff, Gurps, White Wolf, the historical wargames & associated miniatures, the terrain-making equipment, all the Clix games, science-fiction & fantasy novels, etc. Most of the stock is RPG-related, though.

Oh, did I mention the four miniatures gaming tables, 14 3x5 gaming tables, and the RPG room?

The owner's philosophy is that the business is a business FIRST, and it must appeal to and reassure parents in order to draw customers in. Parents are subtly reassured by the presence of Monopoly and chess sets, not to mention the brightly-lit and clean ambiance.

Also, the buyer keeps track of what sells and what doesn't sell; anything which doesn't sell isn't reordered, no matter how much it might be a favorite of a store employee. Most game store owners open a store in order to support their hobby, and buy inventory according to their own taste in games. Very hit-or-miss, and these stores usually go under after a few years.

And to forestall customers taking all their business to the Internet, the owner does have a program where if you're a member of one of the local gaming organizations, you can get a 10% discount.

It seems to be working; 9 years in business and getting ready to open a new store at a new location.

A note on in-store gaming; at best it pays for itself, at worst it detracts from the employees' ability to deal with paying customers. The business supports the in-store games but the in-store games can never support the business. That's one reason that the owner doesn't charge people to play in the store.

As for shoplifting, yes, it happens. When we catch someone, we sit them down, call the police, and possibly contact their parents. It's very humiliating for the shoplifter. Some still get away with it, but we do our best to prevent it.

Tarek

 

[Paul_Klein]

This is a very informing and sobering thread for me, considering I'm seriously considering starting my own business (guess what kind