Attention All Gamers!!!

[Wanderlust]

I need your help!!

Some friends and I are working on a business plan to open up our own gaming store. The plan is to sell video games, collectables & merchandise, D&D (and various similar RPG's) and comic books. In addition we will be playing host to different game tournaments and LAN parties. So here's where you come in...

What I want to know is this: What is your local game store lacking? What have you always thought would be cool to see in a gaming store?

I'm looking for unique and innovative ideas that would help set us apart from corporate gaming stores. Any suggestion would help!

Thanks!

[Jack Frost]

Well first of all you need Magic the gathering. If you price it right you can bring in a lot of revenue that way.

Next you need Warhammer and Anima, those are pretty popular or so I'm told.

You also want a somewhat large shop for tournaments. I hate playing magic elbow to elbow. You need to make sure you don;t over charge for things. I got pissed when I learned at my local shop the trade-in price was half the buy price. I.E Jace was now 40$ instead of his proper 80.

Another cool thing would be to have a place to play miniature games like warhammer.

I hope this was helpful, a lot of it was inspired by my local place.

[Knave]

Events that help those of us who don't play major games such as World of Darkness and Warhammer get into the action. I've read some of the source material, and if I knew a place near enough to play, I would.

[Requiem of Insanity]

Avoid Warhammer if you have a local Gamesworkshop. To compete against them you would literally have to steal their community, which they wouldn't let fly. As I have seen my local shop open up Warhammer the GW helped them out, but after three months or so nobody bought anything from the Shop and GW let them sink on their own. In order to make money you'd have to run tournaments, and then charge admission, which as soon as the GW gets wind they'll host a tournament to counter yours, and make it free. The hobbies already expensive, so you can see who'd win.

HOWEVER, if there isn't a GW nearby, then do it. The sales would be good if you can build up a community and I have old documents of campaigns and such that I can send your way to help create the hobbyist community. (I worked for the company)

Don't stretch yourself to thin with multiple games and such. The shop we have out here is very similar to the one you want to start up but it's mostly just been dominated by Magic, L5R, and that's it. Even the LAN tournaments suck and don't gain much. Knave is right, MAGIC is the powerhouse. People will by boxes of boosters on new release for a set which is released every three months. booster boxes are 90 bucks, so a box of booster boxes would be 300 dollarish.

Promotion is name of the game. You gotta figure to make profit you have to get your name out, and then hook in the regulars. Use those regulars to bring in the sub regulars, then through the power of customer service bring in the one or two time customers from those sub regulars. I seriously think this is more important than location, because even with the best locations you aren't going to do well if you community is only 20 people. To succeed you need a minimum of 50 plus regulars. That's 50 people who will regularly spend anywhere from 20 to 40 dollars on average. Do the math.

I have more ideas for you to help, as I have seen several card/game/lan/cafe/etc. etc. shops go down the hole and barely break even to moderately successful. You want more, let me know.

[Max Dirks]

You're biggest money maker will be trade in video games. New video games for the mature consoles (Xbox 360 and PS3) cost retailers approximately $50. MSRP is $59.99. Ten bucks isn't much per new game. So to stay afloat, you'll have to vary your trade in product to make the most money. It will require a constantly updating database of game price fluctuations. Be fast with your start though because big box stores like Best Buy and H.H. Gregg are getting into the video game trading business. It's a huge untapped market. Distinguish yourself by your employees. Don't hire the typical douche bags who work at Gamestop who pretend they are better than everyone else. I feel like jacking one each time I leave that store.

Your market for non-LAN folks should be young moms who's kids can't buy rated M shit. Hire some good looking dudes, teach them to be friendly to those types and you can sell them on anything. Offering services is good too. A lot of young gamers (surprisingly), don't have internet access or are blocked from accessing online play. As consoles and games generally require updates, offer a onetime setup charge for $50 with free upgrades. Those setups take 2 minutes so it's free money. Also, find an underwriter and offer service plans on consoles. That junk is about 40% profit.

Despite what's written above, you will not make money on card games or what not. That'll be fun. It will help you ring in regular customers, but the money will all be in the video games and related services. Good luck.

[Silence Sei]

Try and appeal to people with varied tastes without going overboard.

If you can find Meatwad beanies at a cheap price, buy em and sell em. Just don't dedicate a whole panel to Adult Swim shows. You're not Hot Topic, or Hastings.

Furthermore, if you can bulk up the price on certain games (try finding some classics for the PS1 like Suikoden 2, or really old school like original Metroid for the NES), then you can sometimes go as high as 15-20 bucks more than what you bought it for without people batting an eye.

A few good PS1 suggestions that still sell high

Vandal Hearts
Vanguard Bandits
Suikoden 2
Tactics Ogre
Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure
Grandia

RPGs can be a strong selling point for games, because a good portion of them can survive the test of time. I'm replaying Suikoden 2 for the 500th time right now.

[Wolfman 20]

Try and appeal to people with varied tastes without going overboard.

If you can find Meatwad beanies at a cheap price, buy em and sell em. Just don't dedicate a whole panel to Adult Swim shows. You're not Hot Topic, or Hastings.

Furthermore, if you can bulk up the price on certain games (try finding some classics for the PS1 like Suikoden 2, or really old school like original Metroid for the NES), then you can sometimes go as high as 15-20 bucks more than what you bought it for without people batting an eye.

A few good PS1 suggestions that still sell high

Vandal Hearts
Vanguard Bandits
Suikoden 2
Tactics Ogre
Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure
Grandia

RPGs can be a strong selling point for games, because a good portion of them can survive the test of time. I'm replaying Suikoden 2 for the 500th time right now.


What about games like FF 7 and all that. I know it was a long game, but still. In my eyes, it is one of the best RPG games out there. Even by today's standards.

[Tainted Bushido]

You also want a somewhat large shop for tournaments. I hate playing magic elbow to elbow. You need to make sure you don;t over charge for things. I got pissed when I learned at my local shop the trade-in price was half the buy price. I.E Jace was now 40$ instead of his proper 80.

If you're upset at the standard practice throughout the community I'm sorry to say you'll be disappointed a LONG time. I very rarely see business' buy cards for higher than half the going price, because if they sold it for going price, they'd make NO money. Everyone from video games to card games buys low and sells high.


Despite what's written above, you will not make money on card games or what not. That'll be fun. It will help you ring in regular customers, but the money will all be in the video games and related services. Good luck.

This is so blatantly ignorant I'm not even going to try and counterpoint. I understand gaming is a strong market, but if you do intend to go cards, don't buy into that propaganda.

If you offer something, try to create support for it. Even if it is support for once a month, that is more support than some places. If you sell DnD or Pathfinder, create nights to play the organized play. If you sell Magic, participate in Friday Night Magic. If you do L5R try to hold constructed or booster draft tournaments. Set it and forget it strategies is what is causing mom and pop stores to close. Without any support you will not see much return.

On the Video Game side of things, you can also offer support. You can host tournaments for fighting games and FPS. Try to build up a going community. Leader Boards that are composed of only people who enter the leagues you put out is a good way to do things. It creates a friendly competitive atmosphere. But, you have to decide how you want to support each community. Do not half ass it or both will suffer.

[Hysteria]

Do a survey of the local area and see what stores exist and what they sell. Look at them and then decided what the local niche could be. We had a games workship and a mindgames near each other and the mindgames undercut the games workshop and took them out. So who ever set up the games workship didn't think too much about competition after the store was opened.

Also look at the foot traffic in the area, what sort of people vist the shop strip?

[Silence Sei]

What about games like FF 7 and all that. I know it was a long game, but still. In my eyes, it is one of the best RPG games out there. Even by today's standards.

No, you don't want a FF unless you know there's a lot of FF fanboys in your vicinity. Even then, they probably own all of the old ones. Final Fantasys have been so mass produced and reissued that they are virtually useless for price. You'd be lucky to make any sort of profit out of 7.

[Wolfman 20]

No, you don't want a FF unless you know there's a lot of FF fanboys in your vicinity. Even then, they probably own all of the old ones. Final Fantasys have been so mass produced and reissued that they are virtually useless for price. You'd be lucky to make any sort of profit out of 7.

Ha, You're right. The only way you could make a profit is if it's in mint, unopened and still in good shape. Hell, I made I think like a hundred off my copy with a strategy guide that don't help worth shit in the end of the game. And that's with it being scratched up, but still playable.

[Max Dirks]

http://www.videogamepricecharts.com/game/playstation/final-fantasy-vii

I just recently sold my copy of FF7. My box had soda spilled on it but I had the original book with it and I managed to make $17.00 for the trade (cash mind you) at this local video game trader. According to that website average selling price is around $25.00. That's a hot little $8 profit. Fanboy or not, it still makes money. ALSO, which I find most bothersome, is the game is STILL worth this much even though Sony re-released it digitally on PSN.

[SirArtemis]

http://www.videogamepricecharts.com/game/playstation/final-fantasy-vii

I just recently sold my copy of FF7. My box had soda spilled on it but I had the original book with it and I managed to make $17.00 for the trade (cash mind you) at this local video game trader. According to that website average selling price is around $25.00. That's a hot little $8 profit. Fanboy or not, it still makes money. ALSO, which I find most bothersome, is the game is STILL worth this much even though Sony re-released it digitally on PSN.

I just played hte emulator.

[Wanderlust]

Wow! I have to say I got a lot more than I bargained for out of this thread! Thanks a lot to everyone!!!