Thierry Henry
Tung's Hair Stylist
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2013
- Posts
- 1,026
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.
Have guest appearances by YouTube stars like Metal Jesus. He will bring in the crowds due to his ability to rock.
What can a physical store offer that selling online can't?
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.
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?
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.
In the classic sense, a video game store is obsolete. You would need to offer something that people can’t get cheaper online
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.
What does a game store need these days?
.... hookers and blow
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?
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...
Send one over to Goose there, sounds like he needs a bit of action.
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.
Amen to that.the more people who are willing to fight that scumbag Bezos, the better.
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.