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

[Keefe the Thief]

There have been some excellent threads on opening game shops on RPG.net, you should see if you can find them. Regarding your question: There are many more important things you should think about when planning your game shop than 4e, and changing the timeframe of your opening for this could be pretty dangerous, IMHO.
And always remember: the best place to open a game shop is the 80s.

Nevertheless, good luck for living your dream!

 

[Abstraction]

Both me and my partner will actually be working full time at other things for money to pay our bills. I am hoping and planning the store to become profitable in a year, but perhaps a year and a half at the outside. I have a business plan that takes this all into account. I think the timing is good for opening the store. The area we are opening in has zero game stores. There are two larger cities each a half hour away which also have zero game stores. There is a college in each of those cities. We will be hosting game days every weekend with rotating schedules of D&D, other rpgs, miniature games, board games, collectable card games, kid-friendly games and gaming-oriented workshops. So, yeah, don't think I'm jumping in here blind. Hard work, little to no money, got it.

I didn't mean to suggest that we were actually delaying opening the shop until 4E. We are just now getting it all together. We are only in the planning stage. I was just thinking that, as long as we haven't incurred any expenses yet, 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.

 

[Scribble]

I would say open it sooner rather then later.

Maybe save a sizable chunk of cash for 4e related stuff, but start with non d20 games, and boardgames and collectibles. Start generating an income, and word of mouth that your store is there (even if you're not making a profit yet.) People won't come knocking just because you have 4e... They need to know about it first.

If people start knowin you exist, and you start building relationships, they'll come to you for 4e, as opposed to a book store, or wherever they've been going.

To the gamer in Philly. Having just moved out of Philly, I can commiserate that there aren't any game stores. But seriously, Philly isn't a game town. Cross the bridge into Jersey, and there are a few game stores.

 

[Mallus]

Having just moved out of Philly, I can commiserate that there aren't any game stores.

Ain't no-one here to commiserate with... a game store only offers me the chance to pay more for gaming materials.

But seriously, Philly isn't a game town.

Huh, that's not my experience at all. I have far more gaming opportunities than I have time to play. Plus, I see people reading game books out in public on a fairly regular basis, though my wife and I live really near UPenn.

 

[pawsplay]

What do you think?

1. I'm not entirely sure 4e wil be, uh, an unqualified success.
2. Even if it is, you never want to base a retail business around a particular product.
3. In fact, retail takes a lot of skill and a little luck, so unless you are prepared to try two or three locations over the course of 2+ years, don't count on making a profit.
4. The Internet has changed retail a lot and it's going to be difficult to predict what's going to work in the future.
5. If you're not interested in making money, why not run a gaming club instead of a storefront?

 

[Scribble]

Ain't no-one here to commiserate with... a game store only offers me the chance to pay more for gaming materials.


Huh, that's not my experience at all. I have far more gaming opportunities than I have time to play. Plus, I see people reading game books out in public on a fairly regular basis, though my wife and I live really near UPenn.

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.

 

[Mistwell]

I think you should do it. It's harder to make a profitable game store these days, but it is not impossible. Work hard, pursue your dream, and I think you have a chance to make it a viable business.

Here in Los Angeles we have seen some game stores decline, but a few truly excel. For example, The Game Empire in Pasadena, CA is doing very good business right now, and it is purely because of their own hard work and dedication. They are very organized, have large clear aisles, have a very clean shop at all times, have a lot of light inside the store, have both a mens and womens room, have a lot of gaming tables and tournaments, and a good stock of games. They even had as a requirement that both of their wives had to approve of things before they could go in, because they really wanted to attract women to their store as well as men (and it worked). There are always people buying stuff there, any day and hour of the week. The place has a lot of people on every weekend.

http://www.gameempirepasadena.com/

Just remember, business will not come to you. You have to earn the business, and get people interested in the product and your store. Make it a welcoming atmosphere.

As far as when? You need to get all your ducks in a row right away. You will need your licenses and tax IDs and incorporation and all that stuff before you can order products from a distributor, and you need to open an account with the distributors and place an order from a distributor far in advance of the product arriving for you to sell. So, you already need to be on top of it now (even if you don't open the physical address quite yet).

 

[Tashtego]

Business of Gaming Retail

Lloyd, over at rpg.net. has an excellent series of columns about how to run a successful gaming store: http://www.rpg.net/columns/list-column.phtml?colname=businessofgamingretail

Also, Marcus King of Titan Games has a regular column about running his store: http://www.rpg.net/columns/list-column.phtml?colname=counter

 

[Wormwood]

Best time to open game shop?

1983, I'd say.

 

[CleverNickName]

I'm comfortable with cost estimates, budgets, and investment criteria, but I am not an economist. So with that said, here is my advice:

1. Make sure that your store has a website, where customers can reserve books and come in to pick them up, or have them shipped to their door. This will allow you to reach more customers anywhere in the world without spending much more overhead (advertising, for example.) A good site can cost you a couple grand (or more), so save money by building and hosting the site yourself if you have the skill.

2. It is very difficult to run a successful business on a single product, especially a product with such a specific niche as roleplaying games. Think of other products or services you could offer that would compliment your business plan and expand your customer base...used books, models and hobby supplies, video games, comic books, and so forth are popular choices, but even a hot dog cart in the right area could be highly effective for supplemental revenue. In fact...

2a. If you are going to host games, tournaments, and other games at your establishment, you should consider putting an espresso machine at the counter. Coffee and fountain drinks have low initial costs that can be sold for high return (and gamers need their caffeine.) If you get a good enough of a location with a lot of foot traffic, the espresso bar could almost generate enough revenue on morning coffee sales alone to carry the rent, allowing you to sell books and gaming materials at break-even profits (which means you can stay competitive with online book retailers.)

3. Listen to Mistwell, above, because that is some really good advice for any business...not just gaming.

Good luck! I would love to have my own gaming store, but I'm too much of a chicken to open my own. Besides, it is almost impossible for a little guy like me to compete with our local used bookstore.