D&D 4E With 4E coming out, best time to open game shop?

[Wolfspider]

Go to RPG.net and create an account.

Then read the many, many horror stories that have been posted over the years about "not so friendly local gaming stores" (NSFLGS). It is really horrifying and disappointing to read how business people involved in our beloved hobby have really screwed up royally in providing gamers with a store that respects their needs and strives to meet them.

Make avoiding these pitfalls your mantra.

And make sure you stock lots of miniatures and card games.

 

[pawsplay]

I'll be doing graphic design from a mini-office inside the store during the day. There will be some help here serving customers from both wives. He teaches high school and will mind the store in the evening. We'll keep on doing this until the store is doing well enough to support us, if ever.

If you plan on running the front in your spare time, I don't see how it's going to make much of an impression to customers. And shrinkage controll will be a big issue if you're distracted all day.

 

[Vrecknidj]

...what do you think would be the most profitable time to open a game store? The soon we open, the sooner we need to work on repaying debt so I am taking the most hesitant approach I can. I just wanted feedback to make sure I wasn't too hesitant.

I don't know anything about retail businesses, so, take this with that proviso.

I would open at the end of August. I know this means after 4e comes out. But, here's my reasoning.

1) You have colleges nearby, so summer will be slower than the rest of the year.
2) GenCon is in August, so there's some buzz.
3) In September, the college kids come back and haven't yet realized they have to study instead of play D&D.
4) You'll have about two months before the holiday shopping season starts, so you get a bit of a look at what a normal month might look like, but, right before some income gets going.
5) You can run the Worldwide Game Day stuff in November to move from the excitement of the opening into said holiday shopping season.

If you can't pay your bills by February, then, you know it's time to close, and you haven't invested too much. After all, the holiday shopping season should give you a solid cash boost to help sustain you through January and February. If it doesn't, you'll know the shop probably won't keep itself running. If it does, you can push through and see if you can survive the summer. Even if you barely make it through summer, if you make it, you'll be okay because of the next holiday season.

Oh, and I'd open up an eBay store to move excess product that doesn't move from your physical location.

Dave

 

[Shortman McLeod]

I'll be doing graphic design from a mini-office inside the store during the day. There will be some help here serving customers from both wives. He teaches high school and will mind the store in the evening. We'll keep on doing this until the store is doing well enough to support us, if ever.

I'm assuming neither of you have kids.

Seriously, why not? (I mean, "Why not open the store", rather than, "Why not have kids" ). This is the kind of thing you can do with a supportive wife before the kids come along and dominate everything. Good luck, brother.

 

[helium3]

Me and my good buddy are finally going to make the dream come true and open a game shop (of course we both will still have to work elsewhere for actual money ). We were inspired to go forward because of 4E coming out, seemed like a good time to get into business.

Our plan is to not buy any 3.x D&D as it doesn't seem a wise investment, and jump right into 4E. We will of course have board games, card games, minis, dice and all the other stuff. We were thinking of opening doors about a month before core books hit. What do you think? Sooner, later?

I would say the best time to open up a game/hobby shop is sometime in 1972.

Heh heh. Just kidding. I think time is less of an issue than other things like, 'how are we going to attract customers?', 'how are we going to make shopping in our store a memorable and pleasant experience?', 'what products are we going to carry and in what quantities?'

From what I can tell from friends of mine that run small retail establishments, if you decide to open a store and you start now, you'll probably be ready to open your doors by the time the core books hit if you don't make any major mistakes while putting your business together.

 

[PaulofCthulhu]

Really? I used to live on 44th and Pine... Never once encountered another gamer (unless I already knew them.) Went to school at Drexel, and transfered to Temple... No gaming clubs, or anything that I could find at either school. (Granted I graduated in 2001.)

Philly's demographics just don't meet the gamer demographic.

I used to live on South Melville Street, (just past 45th & Baltimore), there was a games shop nearer Univ. Penn (where I worked at the Museum) that I used to visit from time to time. I remember buying Horror on the Orient Express from there (as it had just come out). Alas, can't recall the name of the store.

Paul