What Does a Game store need to Succeed In The Modern Day?

[Thierry Henry]

Make room in the store for a couple bad azz pole dancers with dangerous curves. They can do a dance routine to include Metal Jesus.

 

[FAT$TACKS]

The game shop we have here pretty much only makes it work through using the most predatory business practices one can. Through a combination of lying, cheating, and stealing, they manage to stay in business. Basically they act as a siphon to remove all gaming related items from the community and ship them out to other parts via ebay.

So, if you want to stay in business do the following as I've seen it in practice and it seems to work.

When someone brings something in to sell and it is of some value, be sure and tell them how worthless it is, or lie about what it really is. Tell them that original that they bought new in the store 30 years ago is just a knock off reproduction, that theirs is a more common variant and not worth as much, or test it on your system that you keep hooked up at the counter that doesn't work right so you can say the game is junk and offer to toss it out for them or just take it in the lot of stuff you're buying for next to nothing.

When someone wants to buy an item in the shop do either of the following. Don't put a price on it and when they bring it to the counter, look it up on ebay then price it 10% to 20% higher. If the buyer complains, inform them that they can buy one on ebay but would have to wait, while they could be playing this one as soon as they get home. Your other option is to put two price tags on an item. One, the lowest price, is located where the customer can see it when your item is displayed in the case. The second must be out of sight but when you go to ring the item up that is the one you use. When or if the customer catches on, just explain that must have been an old price tag that didn't get removed, because a lot of these items come from yard sales and such and have little price stickers on them. If they buy it, great, if not put it back in the case with the cheap price showing again.

Anything worth having you must put up for sale on ebay. Do not put it out in your local shop or you won't get top dollar from people bidding against each other on it. Also, if a local wins the auction and wants to pick it up, you'll still need them to pay the shipping and handling fee. If they ask why, be sure to blame ebay for that, make up some shit about fees and what not, and that your packing material and handling and such you are paying for because the item was already boxed to ship when you started the auction. Then give them their item in a used plastic sack preferably the same one that it was brought into your store and sold in, that way you're not out the cost of a new plastic bag. After all you paid for that bag as it came with the product you bought.

No refunds, only exchanges. Also, try and charge a restocking fee, even if the reason for the return is your fault, such as having packed up the wrong item.

Locals are just a waste of your time, so fuck them. Remember, your market is online, so don't worry about fucking over the locals when they come in to gawk. Charge out the ass be rude, spend as little time dealing with them as possible, all you can afford to care about is the people coming in to sell, and the online sales.

Follow those rules and you should be a success.

 

[sr20det510]

Have guest appearances by YouTube stars like Metal Jesus. He will bring in the crowds due to his ability to rock.

Heck yeah! Great idea, just imagine all the groupies that would show up.

 

[Jibbajaba]

What can a physical store offer that selling online can't?

A place for people to come sell/trade in their games. If you do online-only, how are you going to get inventory? By being the 900th asshole to simultaneously have an "I BUY GAMES 4 CASH" ad on Craigslist?

If you live in the right area, you can be successful with a games store. As has been said, you need to sell other stuff, besides used video games. Trading card games, video gaming-related "merch" like plush toys, shirts, etc. Repair kits for things like N64 controllers. Repair services, because in this day and age most people still can't figure out how to stop their NES from blinking. 8BitDo wireless controllers. Have some systems set up to play and a couple of tables for people to play MTG and whatnot so that you can turn into a hangout spot, then sell them soda and junk food. Etc, etc.

 

[Lukejaywalker23]

The game shop we have here pretty much only makes it work through using the most predatory business practices one can. Through a combination of lying, cheating, and stealing, they manage to stay in business. Basically they act as a siphon to remove all gaming related items from the community and ship them out to other parts via ebay.

So, if you want to stay in business do the following as I've seen it in practice and it seems to work.

When someone brings something in to sell and it is of some value, be sure and tell them how worthless it is, or lie about what it really is. Tell them that original that they bought new in the store 30 years ago is just a knock off reproduction, that theirs is a more common variant and not worth as much, or test it on your system that you keep hooked up at the counter that doesn't work right so you can say the game is junk and offer to toss it out for them or just take it in the lot of stuff you're buying for next to nothing.

When someone wants to buy an item in the shop do either of the following. Don't put a price on it and when they bring it to the counter, look it up on ebay then price it 10% to 20% higher. If the buyer complains, inform them that they can buy one on ebay but would have to wait, while they could be playing this one as soon as they get home. Your other option is to put two price tags on an item. One, the lowest price, is located where the customer can see it when your item is displayed in the case. The second must be out of sight but when you go to ring the item up that is the one you use. When or if the customer catches on, just explain that must have been an old price tag that didn't get removed, because a lot of these items come from yard sales and such and have little price stickers on them. If they buy it, great, if not put it back in the case with the cheap price showing again.

Anything worth having you must put up for sale on ebay. Do not put it out in your local shop or you won't get top dollar from people bidding against each other on it. Also, if a local wins the auction and wants to pick it up, you'll still need them to pay the shipping and handling fee. If they ask why, be sure to blame ebay for that, make up some shit about fees and what not, and that your packing material and handling and such you are paying for because the item was already boxed to ship when you started the auction. Then give them their item in a used plastic sack preferably the same one that it was brought into your store and sold in, that way you're not out the cost of a new plastic bag. After all you paid for that bag as it came with the product you bought.

No refunds, only exchanges. Also, try and charge a restocking fee, even if the reason for the return is your fault, such as having packed up the wrong item.

Locals are just a waste of your time, so fuck them. Remember, your market is online, so don't worry about fucking over the locals when they come in to gawk. Charge out the ass be rude, spend as little time dealing with them as possible, all you can afford to care about is the people coming in to sell, and the online sales.

Follow those rules and you should be a success.

You must have had a bad experience with said store

 

[NeoSneth]

inventory. You need to have a massive existing inventory, and you need to have a steady influx of trades or used games. that means you can't be remotely near other stores.
There was a few interviews with some indie game store owners recently. That's pretty much what they said. Friendly atmosphere doesn't hurt of course.

new games are damn near impossible to stock because you get about a 5% discount at wholesale, and then you have to sell all your stock to stand a chance at profit. It's just not worth it.

 

[evil wasabi]

Besides a time machine. I might be able to rent out a small store in a decent neighborhood for somewhere around $2000 a month & figured I would ask. Has anyone here tried? What was your experience like?

In the classic sense, a video game store is obsolete. You would need to offer something that people can’t get cheaper online

 

[wyo]

The game shop we have here pretty much only makes it work through using the most predatory business practices one can. Through a combination of lying, cheating, and stealing, they manage to stay in business. Basically they act as a siphon to remove all gaming related items from the community and ship them out to other parts via ebay.

So, if you want to stay in business do the following as I've seen it in practice and it seems to work.

When someone brings something in to sell and it is of some value, be sure and tell them how worthless it is, or lie about what it really is. Tell them that original that they bought new in the store 30 years ago is just a knock off reproduction, that theirs is a more common variant and not worth as much, or test it on your system that you keep hooked up at the counter that doesn't work right so you can say the game is junk and offer to toss it out for them or just take it in the lot of stuff you're buying for next to nothing.

When someone wants to buy an item in the shop do either of the following. Don't put a price on it and when they bring it to the counter, look it up on ebay then price it 10% to 20% higher. If the buyer complains, inform them that they can buy one on ebay but would have to wait, while they could be playing this one as soon as they get home. Your other option is to put two price tags on an item. One, the lowest price, is located where the customer can see it when your item is displayed in the case. The second must be out of sight but when you go to ring the item up that is the one you use. When or if the customer catches on, just explain that must have been an old price tag that didn't get removed, because a lot of these items come from yard sales and such and have little price stickers on them. If they buy it, great, if not put it back in the case with the cheap price showing again.

Anything worth having you must put up for sale on ebay. Do not put it out in your local shop or you won't get top dollar from people bidding against each other on it. Also, if a local wins the auction and wants to pick it up, you'll still need them to pay the shipping and handling fee. If they ask why, be sure to blame ebay for that, make up some shit about fees and what not, and that your packing material and handling and such you are paying for because the item was already boxed to ship when you started the auction. Then give them their item in a used plastic sack preferably the same one that it was brought into your store and sold in, that way you're not out the cost of a new plastic bag. After all you paid for that bag as it came with the product you bought.

No refunds, only exchanges. Also, try and charge a restocking fee, even if the reason for the return is your fault, such as having packed up the wrong item.

Locals are just a waste of your time, so fuck them. Remember, your market is online, so don't worry about fucking over the locals when they come in to gawk. Charge out the ass be rude, spend as little time dealing with them as possible, all you can afford to care about is the people coming in to sell, and the online sales.

Follow those rules and you should be a success.

Right here. Fucking nailed it.

 

[Jibbajaba]

In the classic sense, a video game store is obsolete. You would need to offer something that people can’t get cheaper online

It's not even just about being cheaper. I KNOW I can get what I want online. I can get in my car and drive to the nearest game store (which in my case isn't particularly close) and maybe they'll have what I want, or something else that at least made it worth the trip. Or maybe they didn't and I just lost an hour of my life. For me, a trip to the game store is a very rare occurrence (maybe once per year), and one in which I go in with no expectations other than to hopefully find something interesting/cool. Any time some "need" crops up for a gaming item, I know that I can just go on eBay and buy one unless it's something rare, in which case a gaming store is even less likely to have it.

So building on what I said earlier, a game store's primary function seems really to be as a place for average folks to sell/trade in their games, rather than being a place to buy games. Like I said, I think that in the right location and stocked with enough of a variety of inventory to not be putting all of one's eggs into one basket, a game store can still do fine, but were I thinking about starting a small business, a game store it would not be.

 

[madman]

There's a shop near me that is mostly retro games from what I can tell (if they have post PS2 stuff I haven't browsed it), they've been around 10 years and they're in a pretty high rent area. Prices are generally lower than EBay, but the owner does price teh rarez at tard prices, mainly to bait people into trading a shit ton of carts he can move easily for something that'd otherwise be in the display case for 2 years. They even have really OG pre-crash shit and lots of imports. Really nice place and the owner isn't a vidya game douchey doucher douche as EG would say. They don't do repairs, but they do sell shit like plushies as others have mentioned. I really don't know how they survive in that area, but the few times I've visited there's always been plenty of business. Like JJ said though, not a business I'd want to get into. I imagine you've got to put in serious hours including looking for scoopz at thrifts and flea markets, which in the city is almost impossible.

Spoiler:

The Mexicans scoop anything flippable at all the thrifts.

 

[wingzrow]

What can a physical store offer that selling online can't?

Testing out of items in person on real hardware? Maybe atmosphere, but that would be pushing it. I've seen a lot of similar stores (not in my area), that host Magic/yugioh tournaments on the side, so they become sort of community hubs for hobby fans.

 

[madman]

Testing out of items in person on real hardware? Maybe atmosphere, but that would be pushing it. I've seen a lot of similar stores (not in my area), that host Magic/yugioh tournaments on the side, so they become sort of community hubs for hobby fans.

There's also the more casual gamer who might not know what they want, then they see a box or ask an employee about a recommendation. It's like buying anything else, there are hardcore people who know what they want and others who are just out shopping and not sure what they might buy. And as mentioned there's the immediate satisfaction of "holy shit, I remember seeing ads for this in EGM, but I never got it, I can go home and play this in a half hour if I buy this now."

 

[JohnnyFever]

What does a game store need these days?

.... hookers and blow

 

[evil wasabi]

What does a game store need these days?

.... hookers and blow

Or marijuana and boy love.

I mean, think about the market dude.

 

[Gamefan]

Besides a time machine. I might be able to rent out a small store in a decent neighborhood for somewhere around $2000 a month & figured I would ask. Has anyone here tried? What was your experience like?

I have to say it, but maybe offer a place to play tabletop games?

 

[JohnnyFever]

Honestly, you need to offer things other than games. Here in Tacoma there's a barbershop/bar/bike repair shop... All under one roof. It's awesome. You can't be game-dependent. There are some jokers out there that think you can put on a really unrealistic/unreasonable Saturn display with $500 games and generate business. That's laughable.

 

[oliverclaude]

Zeitgeist in this situation often brings more lookie-loos than cash.

That's like asking: What can a physical woman offer, that porn online can't? Well, guess what...

 

[LoneSage]

That's like asking: What can a physical woman offer, that porn online can't? Well, guess what...

This isn't about masturbation versus fucking women. It's about putting your life's savings into starting a business that could make or break you. It's about money, and how much of it you can make opening a retro game shop in 2017.

I have a huge amount of respect for people who start businesses but I have not read a single thing here that hasn't insinuated this idea isn't just a huge money sink.

 

[Dr Shroom]

Send one over to Goose there, sounds like he needs a bit of action.

He can start a store with the one permanently stuck in his ass.

 

[Heinz]

He can start a store with the one permanently stuck in his ass.

 

[oliverclaude]

This isn't about masturbation versus fucking women. It's about putting your life's savings into starting a business that could make or break you. It's about money, and how much of it you can make opening a retro game shop in 2017.

I have a huge amount of respect for people who start businesses but I have not read a single thing here that hasn't insinuated this idea isn't just a huge money sink.

Legit point, but really, it's not that much of a hazard, as you picture it in your post, at least not in Europe. Running a small independent business contains risks, but also strong benefits. It's not for everyone, but so is working in an office coffin, packed like dead sardines with other faceless employees. Being one's own boss can be much healthier, than you think.

 

[Heinz]

Legit point, but really, it's not that much of a hazard, as you picture it in your post, at least not in Europe. Running a small independent business contains risks, but also strong benefits. It's not for everyone, but so is working in an office coffin, packed like dead sardines with other faceless employees. Being one's own boss can be much healthier, than you think.

Mowing lawns would be a far better idea with more freedom and all of the above.

 

[Yoshi]

the more people who are willing to fight that scumbag Bezos, the better.

Amen to that.

 

[neo_mao]

Fellow Massholes can speak better to this than me but what is the name of that place in the Natick Mall? They are a store but they also have like an arcade and some kind of tournaments or something. I only went there once or twice while waiting for a table at Cheesecake Factory but seems pretty busy...so maybe they are on to something.

 

[FilthyRear]

Fellow Massholes can speak better to this than me but what is the name of that place in the Natick Mall? They are a store but they also have like an arcade and some kind of tournaments or something. I only went there once or twice while waiting for a table at Cheesecake Factory but seems pretty busy...so maybe they are on to something.

Game Underground.