Opening a game store
Hey everybody. I'm posting here because a friend of mine and I are working on opening a game store here in Knoxville, TN. Well, Lenoir City (it's right outside of Knoxville). I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions or leads for us. Let me summarize what he and I have been talking about. He is going to be the owner/operator and ideally would like for it to take off enough that he doesn't have to be there every day. I will be managing the place and doing the day to day stuff. We both have experience in the field. I have been selling video games for 6 years now at a large retailer and he helped his dad open a business a few years ago (and he is a big gamer as well). We know a bunch of people with the product knowledge and drive to work for us, but it will probably be a while before we can afford to hire anyone else on. Right now we are hoping to have everything up by November/December so our first month or two can be busy with Christmas sales. Here are some ideas we've had for the actual store:
New and used: We want to carry more new stuff than other used game stores around here while still carrying used from NES till now.
Clean games: Our cartridge games will be cleaned and then shrink wrapped to keep dust out and so the price sticker will go on the wrapping as opposed to the cart itself.
Demos: You can demo any game as long as it is used. We want to have a demo station for every system we carry, but if we can't do that we might have a switcher set up with 2 systems on one TV. You can demo M rated games as long as there is no nudity and you wear headphones (which we will provide). We don't want moms angry at us.
A tiered customer loyalty program: $10 a year gets you 10% off used and 10% more trade. After you've spent $2000 (just a rough number right now) it goes to $8 a year for 12% off used and 12% more trade. After you spend $5000 it goes to $5 a year for 15% off used and 15% more trade.
Imports: We want to carry imports for the DS at the very least and will special order anything for a fee.
Toys/Shirts/Soundtracks: As long as they are related to a game we carry we want to carry other merchandise that goes along with it.
A good grade program: Every kid (grades 1- 12) that brings in a report card of all A's and B's gets 10% off one purchase.
Tournaments: We want to run weekly tournaments on everything from Tekken to Tecmo Bowl. These would most likely be held on Friday nights after we closed and there would be prizes for 1st - 3rd place. We are also thinking about having a "Beat the Owner" thing where if you can beat him at a game you get a special t-shirt or a coupon or something. We would also like to do one big tournament a year with about 4 or 5 different games.
Does any of this sound good to any of you? Do you have suggestions on what you would want to see in your ideal game store? We are hoping it all works out, and being gamers ourselves we think we have a good grasp of what people want but we want to hear from you guys as well. Thanks.
New and used: We want to carry more new stuff than other used game stores around here while still carrying used from NES till now.
Clean games: Our cartridge games will be cleaned and then shrink wrapped to keep dust out and so the price sticker will go on the wrapping as opposed to the cart itself.
Demos: You can demo any game as long as it is used. We want to have a demo station for every system we carry, but if we can't do that we might have a switcher set up with 2 systems on one TV. You can demo M rated games as long as there is no nudity and you wear headphones (which we will provide). We don't want moms angry at us.
A tiered customer loyalty program: $10 a year gets you 10% off used and 10% more trade. After you've spent $2000 (just a rough number right now) it goes to $8 a year for 12% off used and 12% more trade. After you spend $5000 it goes to $5 a year for 15% off used and 15% more trade.
Imports: We want to carry imports for the DS at the very least and will special order anything for a fee.
Toys/Shirts/Soundtracks: As long as they are related to a game we carry we want to carry other merchandise that goes along with it.
A good grade program: Every kid (grades 1- 12) that brings in a report card of all A's and B's gets 10% off one purchase.
Tournaments: We want to run weekly tournaments on everything from Tekken to Tecmo Bowl. These would most likely be held on Friday nights after we closed and there would be prizes for 1st - 3rd place. We are also thinking about having a "Beat the Owner" thing where if you can beat him at a game you get a special t-shirt or a coupon or something. We would also like to do one big tournament a year with about 4 or 5 different games.
Does any of this sound good to any of you? Do you have suggestions on what you would want to see in your ideal game store? We are hoping it all works out, and being gamers ourselves we think we have a good grasp of what people want but we want to hear from you guys as well. Thanks.
Comments
~~NGD
Also, the demo stations are cool too. Very good idea for getting immediate customer feedback.
Kids birthday parties. They have groups of like 30 kids come in, they have a bunch of plasma tvs playing any games the kids want, then they load in a bunch of pizzas. Their myspace has some pics of their set up here: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=80536087
Hope this helps, and good luck!
sounds like a gamers game shop. awesome.
Here's the link:
http://www.ageexpo.com/
Best of luck to you and your business partner, will definitely be an excellent store.
We will definitely be attending the expo, I don't know about advertising though. We are in the fund raising stage right now. He's got to work on a business plan and get a small business loan. Once that's out of the way it's pretty much a done deal, so if we get that soon then I will ask him if he wants to do anything at the expo. NGD, our goal is to have a better place to go than game haven. It started because we've both had some bad experiences there and have run into some staff that have no idea what they are doing. That's not to say they are all bad, we just want to do something more our style.
I'm the ultimate cynic when it comes to small business in the USA. I've written volumes on various boards, so I won't go into details here.
That said, if you don't have a loan or a business plan, you've got nothing. I commend your spirit, but for chrissake get out there and talk to your loan officer, and shop around different local banks.
One more thing - you mentioned that you don't know about advertising - you're in fundraising stage. Let me say it once: advertising IS fundraising. It's cheaper than the finance charge you'll score on your bank loan, and you couldn't ask for a better chance to launch your business.
Even if you don't have a loan secured by early September, if you're still as serious as you say you are about doing this, you will BEG BORROW AND STEAL to become a sponsor for the Expo and get your name out to the local community.
Think of it this way - Dain is spending hundreds on all kinds of media advertising, including some nice shiny TV spots, that will drive YOUR CUSTOMERS into the room where YOU'LL BE WAITING. The price you pay to sponsor the expo and get your business name all over the place will be a fraction of what we spend.
It's economical, and you will never, ever find a more focused group of respondents.
If you're serious, email me - dangevin@verizon.net - and we'll talk more. I can share a little of my store background if you want to "talk shop" as well. I'll help in every way I can, but you need that loan secured immediately.
Here's the thing, though. I'm not the owner, I'm not the guy who is paying all the money. In fact, none of my money (I don't have any anyway) is going into this. So, I can't vouch for where the money is going to be spent (ie. sponsoring the expo) no matter how I feel about it. However, I will pass this forum along to my partner and see what he thinks. It's his store, I am just going the be the manager and I help him come up with ideas. I appreciate the feedback.
By the way, this may be your only chance as the Expo isn't guaranteed to be in Knoxville next year - or anywhere in the SE for that matter. I'm not making any statements about that, other than we WILL be doing a 2009 expo, and the site IS NOT set in stone yet. It's a big country, and we have a lot of members...
I beleve almost half the members are Canadians...bring it here
By the way, this may be your only chance as the Expo isn't guaranteed to be in Knoxville next year - or anywhere in the SE for that matter. I'm not making any statements about that, other than we WILL be doing a 2009 expo, and the site IS NOT set in stone yet. It's a big country, and we have a lot of members...
I beleve almost half the members are Canadians...bring it here
I think somewhere in the midwest. SOmewhere like ohio or illinois. Theres a ton of people in that area.
Bring it to the North East
That is also a good idea.
Hey everybody. I'm posting here because a friend of mine and I are working on opening a game store here in Knoxville, TN. Well, Lenoir City (it's right outside of Knoxville). I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions or leads for us. Let me summarize what he and I have been talking about. He is going to be the owner/operator and ideally would like for it to take off enough that he doesn't have to be there every day. I will be managing the place and doing the day to day stuff. We both have experience in the field. I have been selling video games for 6 years now at a large retailer and he helped his dad open a business a few years ago (and he is a big gamer as well). We know a bunch of people with the product knowledge and drive to work for us, but it will probably be a while before we can afford to hire anyone else on. Right now we are hoping to have everything up by November/December so our first month or two can be busy with Christmas sales. Here are some ideas we've had for the actual store:
New and used: We want to carry more new stuff than other used game stores around here while still carrying used from NES till now.
Clean games: Our cartridge games will be cleaned and then shrink wrapped to keep dust out and so the price sticker will go on the wrapping as opposed to the cart itself.
Demos: You can demo any game as long as it is used. We want to have a demo station for every system we carry, but if we can't do that we might have a switcher set up with 2 systems on one TV. You can demo M rated games as long as there is no nudity and you wear headphones (which we will provide). We don't want moms angry at us.
A tiered customer loyalty program: $10 a year gets you 10% off used and 10% more trade. After you've spent $2000 (just a rough number right now) it goes to $8 a year for 12% off used and 12% more trade. After you spend $5000 it goes to $5 a year for 15% off used and 15% more trade.
Imports: We want to carry imports for the DS at the very least and will special order anything for a fee.
Toys/Shirts/Soundtracks: As long as they are related to a game we carry we want to carry other merchandise that goes along with it.
A good grade program: Every kid (grades 1- 12) that brings in a report card of all A's and B's gets 10% off one purchase.
Tournaments: We want to run weekly tournaments on everything from Tekken to Tecmo Bowl. These would most likely be held on Friday nights after we closed and there would be prizes for 1st - 3rd place. We are also thinking about having a "Beat the Owner" thing where if you can beat him at a game you get a special t-shirt or a coupon or something. We would also like to do one big tournament a year with about 4 or 5 different games.
Does any of this sound good to any of you? Do you have suggestions on what you would want to see in your ideal game store? We are hoping it all works out, and being gamers ourselves we think we have a good grasp of what people want but we want to hear from you guys as well. Thanks.
Best advice I can give is to give you critical points on what all you've mentioned. Try to take this the right way - my aim is to help.
Number 1 - You mentioned you want to carry more NEW stuff than other stores around here. Keep in mind I'm not from Tennessee, but the profit potential for NEW games is ridiculously LOW. You'll be looking at something crazy like $3 a game IF that. I'm not saying NEW games are a bad idea, but starting out I'd stick with used until you can get a supplier in there and you find out that yes NEW games will bring more people into the store.
Number 2 - shrink wrap isn't a bad idea, but then you also mention people to be able to try out games. You're going to want to stick to one of the two. If people get to try out games you don't want to keep shrink wrapping games - plus if you decide you want to shrink wrap everything there will be time associated for it, the cost of the wrapping, the cost of the sealing machine, etc. If you despise stickers you may want to go for a color code policy. All games under $4 get a small orange color sticker ... etc - and since you are running it hopefully you'll be knowledgable if some punk switches the stickers around.
Number 3 - high end users ... high end users people that would be spending $2,000 or more per year are typically either rich or have spending issues. Instead of the dollar amount discounts ... I would consider after X amount of trade ins or after X amount of purchases you get an additional _% off your next game purchase or purchase of X amount. You'll probably get more turn around this way and more loyal customers - people don't like waiting for discounts so give them smaller discounts but more often.
Number 4 - tournaments can be fun - these should be viewed as a publicity stunt. If you expect to make any money off of them go ahead and shut that down right now. What it will do is drive hardcore members back in your store.
Number 5 - This may not mean much to you - but if you start up a store and there is time - TRACK purchases by as many different variables as possible. Let's say you find out that majority of the purchasers at X time of year are mom's searching for Christmas gifts. That's great ... what you'll want to do is send out fliers directed toward them.
Number 6 - Rent - rent will be your major obstacle as space is expensive...you'll have to move a lot of carts quickly in order to make money that's why Gamestop and others don't carry NES due to the space .
Number 7 - Thieves - Keep an eye out on everyone. Remember...other people in your store won't necessarily point out that so and so is ripping you off of a game. Consider keeping game discs of expensive titles behind the counter and pull them out when a purchase is made.
Number 8 - Good Luck - I would definetly spend time talking to EarlyWorm as he's been in the gaming industry forever and would have a lot of great knowledge.
Number 9 - Don't underestimate ONLINE sales. Some items you just can't sell at your store for whatever reason - but will sell online at a nice inflated cost.
and #4 - listen to the man, he's spot on.
Finally, trust your true instincts. For every purchase you make, you need to honestly poll yourself - would I relinquish my $39.95 for this (foo)? There's an easy way and a hard way to stock a store. The hard way is to stock it with cheap crap with a good markup that you need to hard-sell, and train your employees to push. The easy way is to just get what people want. If you have a nose for this, great.
Take a lesson from Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt. I guarantee you every person reading this thread (except Wizard_666 who still doesn't own one AFAIK!) has one they're trying to get rid of. This doesn't make it worthless or undesirable though. The ripoff artist at my local flea market gets $25 a pop for them loose every weekened.
I'm just saying - the best choices may not be the most impressive or glamorous. Having a rack full of every sealed soundtrack to every PS RPG ever released would certainly be impressive - to 1% of your clientele. And of that, you'd be lucky if 10% of them will give up the cash to actually take one home.
"Number 8 - Good Luck - I would definetly spend time talking to EarlyWorm as he's been in the gaming industry forever and would have a lot of great knowledge."
Thanks for the reference.....but since I went from 8 stores down to just 1, I may not be the best person from whom to take advice! LOL LOL
antofarabia:
1.We know new stuff will not be for much (or any) profit, but we want to at least try it for a little while to see if it helps get and/or keep people coming in
2. We are thinking that if we have multiple copies of a game one won't be shrink wrapped so we can use it for a demo, however, if we only have one copy we will gladly unwrap it as we got the shrink wrap machine for cheap (er...free) and have access to the wrapping for the same price.
3. That's a great idea, I just threw in some numbers as an example. We haven't really figured out all the details of this. We were thinking lifetime spending, not per year. We are thinking of some different ways to give discounts for certain things, however we don't want to just throw discounts around everywhere.
4. We don't plan on making any money from tournaments, we just want people to know where we are and what we are up to. It's most definitely for advertising only. A more welcoming atmosphere is something I would love to see at other stores around here.
5. We are definitely thinking about that. The place I work now lets us look up the top 20 sellers per system, which is handy for our research as well. Tracking the type of customer and what they're looking for is great.
6. True, rent will suck. There's no two ways about that. We are willing to change according the environment and demand. Anything to keep the place afloat.
7. I've worked retail for 10 years. I know that it's not one certain type of person who tries to rip you off. We are trying to plan accordingly.
8. Thanks for the tip.
9. We are thinking of trying to run a a brick and mortar alongside either our own online store or an ebay based store as well. That way if we get anything that we know is worth more than people around here are willing to pay we can throw it online.
danegevin: We are looking into what register/inventory programs we can get as we want to be able to track sales, inventory, and customer lifetime purchasing and whatnot. I don't want to end up without a barcode system, it would make everything so much easier.
I want to make this a place I would want to shop. I don't want to charge ridiculous amounts for crappy games (one place around here has Total Overdose for Xbox for $30, I mean, come on). I want to be somewhere you guys would want to come, with a little product for collectors and fans, but, at the same time somewhere that's welcoming for everyone. By the way, $25 for mario/duck hunt? That's crazy.
By the way, $25 for mario/duck hunt? That's crazy.
Yep. I don't shop with him. I get stupid and try every year to ask about something that catches my eye but I've never been able to give him a dollar. There's a point after which you're just fleecing your customers. But the non-net-savvy keep coming back to him, he's been there since the early 80's with Atari stuff and he's just the go-to guy for Pottstown. I toyed with the idea of opening up a VG shop to compete but there's really no point, he wouldn't go anywhere - his stock must be at least 20,000 NES carts. Even if I got every trade in from here to eternity he's got at least 5 years worth of stock. We'd both just wind up making much less money than what we're doing now (my reselling local finds online and his reselling local finds to the flea marketeers).
The only comfort I have is now that the internet is so prevalent, I'm certain his sales have dropped off to a fraction of what they were in the 90's and early 00's. But when you're set up at a $30/weekend flea market stand, you only have to rip off one person every week to cover costs. Speaking of the internet - when I solidified my business plan, the internet was my #1 competitor, larger than wal-mart, with competing tabletop gaming shops a distant third place.
I'm just saying, there's a right price for every item - don't sell yourself short 1. because of your personal feelings about an item, and 2. because of what some of us elite collector bastards think
I have a vintage game store near me that does fairly well and their biggest money maker seems to be...
Kids birthday parties. They have groups of like 30 kids come in, they have a bunch of plasma tvs playing any games the kids want, then they load in a bunch of pizzas. Their myspace has some pics of their set up here: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.vi...
Hope this helps, and good luck!
Yeah, I figured that was their big moneymaker.
They have assloads of tournaments and such too, and even have bands play there (Powerglove, the band I used to be in way back, played there. And signed a Power Glove. Some other video game band played there too...The Kode I think?)
By the way, $25 for mario/duck hunt? That's crazy.
Yep. I don't shop with him. I get stupid and try every year to ask about something that catches my eye but I've never been able to give him a dollar. There's a point after which you're just fleecing your customers. But the non-net-savvy keep coming back to him, he's been there since the early 80's with Atari stuff and he's just the go-to guy for Pottstown. I toyed with the idea of opening up a VG shop to compete but there's really no point, he wouldn't go anywhere - his stock must be at least 20,000 NES carts. Even if I got every trade in from here to eternity he's got at least 5 years worth of stock. We'd both just wind up making much less money than what we're doing now (my reselling local finds online and his reselling local finds to the flea marketeers).
The only comfort I have is now that the internet is so prevalent, I'm certain his sales have dropped off to a fraction of what they were in the 90's and early 00's. But when you're set up at a $30/weekend flea market stand, you only have to rip off one person every week to cover costs. Speaking of the internet - when I solidified my business plan, the internet was my #1 competitor, larger than wal-mart, with competing tabletop gaming shops a distant third place.
I'm just saying, there's a right price for every item - don't sell yourself short 1. because of your personal feelings about an item, and 2. because of what some of us elite collector bastards think
Dangevin, why don't you have your store anymore? Or do you?
Shopping for games is a strange beast. People do go where it's cheap, but they'll also imprint upon a place if they really connect with a person. That's why tournaments are important draws, but not necessarily moneymakers (overtly). I ran countless tournaments and events - it was part of the business model to have an event every night, 7 days a week. It's tough keeping it interesting, esp when there are people who are just plain better. And lately with everyone competing online from the comfort of their own home, it's tougher than ever to get them to come into your store and throw down.
I firmly believe that I lost almost all of my D&D market to Everquest, Guild Wars and WOW. And a lot of my Magic and Warhammer, as well.
Anyways with all of the trials, if I had made ANY profit at all - some small glimmer of hope - I would have kept going as long as I could. But it was a money sink - during some of the slowest months I had to borrow money to make rent, and the exhaustive schedule meant towards the end that I didn't even get to play any of the games that I was selling - ever.
I ran the place well, and saw every other tabletop gaming store in the area close their doors - some other ones even blipped into and out of existence while I was open. But the market's just not there.
I think it's there for classic games right now, but I also think it's just as fleeting. I can see a time just around the corner when video games sales will be virtual...they'll still be available from EBGames and whatever, but when you can download Halo 4 at 12:01 on the release day, why wait in line at a store?
I've read a lot about them and how they treat the games stores. It's really shitty.