RF Generation.  The Classic and Modern Gaming Databases.RF Generation.  The Classic and Modern Gaming Databases.

New on the Blogs
Hot Community Blog Entries
Nielsen's Favorites on Channel 4
RF Generation Message Board Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Did you miss your activation email?
March 29, 2024, 09:52:48 AM
Home Help Search Calendar Member Map Arcade Login Register
News: RF Generation: You are standing in an open field west of a white house, with a boarded front door.

RF Generation Message Board | Gaming | Video Game Generation | Opening a Game Store 0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic. « previous next »
Pages: 1 [2] 3 4 ... 15 Print
Author Topic: Opening a Game Store  (Read 40898 times)
RetroRage
it's not that bad...You can barely notice it.
Donor
*****
Posts: 1909


 Stats
« Reply #15 on: May 05, 2013, 05:08:17 PM »

There is a large theft problem up here to begin with so security is something I'll have to take quite seriously. I've got a couple friends that work for a security firm in town so I'll be picking their brains to try and find the right balance of safety and consumer appeal.

A store around here bags up all the loose games and zip ties them to brackets on the walls.  It works pretty well and it keeps theft down more than you'd think. 

Also, if you're looking for a consignment deal with an art vendor I know a guy Wink

Got a name in mind for the store?
Logged

techwizard
Donor
*****
Canada
Posts: 3840


 Stats
« Reply #16 on: May 05, 2013, 05:27:03 PM »

"Gaming with Crabs!"
Logged
Link41
The King of Hyrule
Donor
*****
Canada
Posts: 4139


 Stats
« Reply #17 on: May 05, 2013, 05:44:40 PM »

"Gaming with Crabs!"
Hmm, nothing quite like gaming when you got the itch huh? Tongue
Logged


SirPsycho
Naked Koei Dude
Blog Writer
***
United States
Posts: 3255


 Stats
« Reply #18 on: May 05, 2013, 05:57:16 PM »

Start small and expand once you have a core group of customers and see where there are overlapping opinions on what you could financially support adding to your store.

The local store in my area has become the one stop geek shop when it was started with purely video games and some basic sports memorabilia. All of the owner's expansions were planned out and based on what his audience wanted (and what stores went out of business or had bad service).

Since this initial opening he has gone on to successfully add in Magic cards, Warhammer, comic books and graphic novels, and some other small group based tabletop games, etc.

Another part of the store's success has been just having a basic discount. This city has a major D1 university and Fort Riley's Big Red One and company less than half an hour away, so it made perfect sense for the owner to have an always in effect student and military discount. So if you have some demographic like that, which is easy to reach out to and probably interested in games of various sorts (the soldier are big into Warhammer here), then offer some sort of incentive like that.
Logged

Women were the reason I became a monk - and, ah, the reason I switched back... - Morte

Well I, for one, plan on discovering the secrets of the multiverse by rubbing cottage cheese on my belly and eating vast quantities of fresh-water fish. Mmm... cheese. -The Nameless One
Fleach
Blog Writer
***
Canada
Posts: 2762


 Stats
« Reply #19 on: May 05, 2013, 06:41:59 PM »

You're getting fantastic tips Crabby!

I thought some more about your idea and came up with these ideas:

Food/Drinks: might not be a good idea because of perishability. You'd hate to order or buy a few slabs of Red Bull only see low sales and the rest of the stock spoil or exceed the best before date. I don't see many people coming in to look at games and get hungry or thirsty. You want to be a video game store. Stick to it. Plus video games don't expire (although some people would disagree Wink)

Debit/Credit: the fees are going to bit you in the bum. Have a read of this article on credit fees to merchants in Montreal. Up to 3%. Ouch! The best solution is to have an ATM on site or close by.
Logged

"Another exciting Canadian"

Like RPGs and Indie Games? Check out my blog!

Co-host of the RF Gen PlayCast http://rfgenplaycast.podbean.com/
Crabmaster2000
Podcast Crew
****
Canada
Posts: 13564


 Stats
« Reply #20 on: May 05, 2013, 07:21:24 PM »

Lots of more great feedback guys!! Thanks so much!!

Izret I'm wondering why you would cross off rentals like that? I assumed it would be fairly easy to implement. For example when I used to manage a Roger's Video they would charge X amount of dollars for the system and require a deposit on top of that price to be refunded upon the item returning. So say a kid wanted to rent a 360 for the weekend we would have charged him like $30 plus a $200 deposit (when the system was still new). That way there is no risk on the stores end. If they keep the system/damage the system/keep it extra days beyond the agreed upon rental period I can take it out of the deposit. Seems like a very low risk way to deal with rental to me, or am I overlooking something?

Also regarding the New game releases, my area is pretty sparse even with those. I could always start with easy sellers and expand from there if it works well. I'd also be interested to see if there is a market for niche titles up here since NO ONE stocks them locally. I find games like Persona, Ico, Beyond Good & Evil, Ni no Kuni, etc. at the pawn shops in town on occasion, but none of the retailers here tend to stock those games so they are likely purchased online and shipped here.

I'm gonna make it my goal to sit down over this next week and try and come up with the essential services I'd like to provide for an initial opening. I'm gonna try and cut it down to the right level of manageable and not over ambitious with a sprinkle of awesome (hopefully).

To everyone that has commented so far.... Thanks so much!!!

PS - Ebeh, lmao
« Last Edit: May 05, 2013, 07:25:24 PM by Crabmaster2000 » Logged

Want to see someone barely eke through a whole pile of NES games? Check out my youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/us...00Crabmaster?feature=mhee

300+ NES games beaten since October 2011

Co-Host of the Rfgeneration Collectorcast:
http://rfgenerationcollectorcast.podomatic.com/
Fleach
Blog Writer
***
Canada
Posts: 2762


 Stats
« Reply #21 on: May 05, 2013, 08:36:59 PM »

I like your thinking on the new release games. But beware minimum order quantities and other demands set up by distributors. If you're the only guy in town with the in-demand new releases you could be on to something. I anticipate you making more money per sale from retro games. Have a read of this and put into the current gen context: http://kotaku.com/5937166...es-were-so-damn-expensive

As for inventory... try buying games from pawn shops with the intent to resell. Set aside your doubles and unwanted game to be resold. Start establishing a varied inventory with something for everyone. Price fairly but keep profit in mind.

Location: I've said this before... you want and need foot traffic. Pick the right spot. You don't need a big shop because what you intend to sell doesn't take up a lot of space. Plus, if your space is smaller it'll look busier and that'll give people a positive impression.

Try doing some market research by perhaps putting an ad in the community paper with a survey asking how many household members play videos, which systems, hours spent gaming each week, etc. That'll help you so much if you know your area's demographics. As they say, know your audience, or in this case - market.
« Last Edit: May 05, 2013, 08:39:37 PM by Fleach » Logged

"Another exciting Canadian"

Like RPGs and Indie Games? Check out my blog!

Co-host of the RF Gen PlayCast http://rfgenplaycast.podbean.com/
The Metamorphosing Leon
Laying on the green leaf, left and abandoned...
Donor
*****
United States
Posts: 9496


WWW Stats
« Reply #22 on: May 05, 2013, 09:26:45 PM »

As far as pay to play I'd suggest being careful with how much you invest in your setup. A place down here opened up as a pay to play/coffee shop with  like 25,000 dollars worth of gaming rigs, four giant flatscreens, fancy gaming chairs, and every system and game you could imagine; they all sat empty the entire time the place was open. The place did fairly steady business on the coffee shop end, because the local nerd crowd liked the idea of a place centered around them to hang out, but they didn't touch the P2P stuff and the place ended up closing after about six months.

Main thing is just don't drop a ton on your initial setup unless you know you'll get the business.
Logged

When shall his new form be revealed?
RetroRage
it's not that bad...You can barely notice it.
Donor
*****
Posts: 1909


 Stats
« Reply #23 on: May 05, 2013, 09:43:21 PM »

Lots of more great feedback guys!! Thanks so much!!

Izret I'm wondering why you would cross off rentals like that? I assumed it would be fairly easy to implement. For example when I used to manage a Roger's Video they would charge X amount of dollars for the system and require a deposit on top of that price to be refunded upon the item returning. So say a kid wanted to rent a 360 for the weekend we would have charged him like $30 plus a $200 deposit (when the system was still new). That way there is no risk on the stores end. If they keep the system/damage the system/keep it extra days beyond the agreed upon rental period I can take it out of the deposit. Seems like a very low risk way to deal with rental to me, or am I overlooking something?

Also regarding the New game releases, my area is pretty sparse even with those. I could always start with easy sellers and expand from there if it works well. I'd also be interested to see if there is a market for niche titles up here since NO ONE stocks them locally. I find games like Persona, Ico, Beyond Good & Evil, Ni no Kuni, etc. at the pawn shops in town on occasion, but none of the retailers here tend to stock those games so they are likely purchased online and shipped here.

I'm gonna make it my goal to sit down over this next week and try and come up with the essential services I'd like to provide for an initial opening. I'm gonna try and cut it down to the right level of manageable and not over ambitious with a sprinkle of awesome (hopefully).

To everyone that has commented so far.... Thanks so much!!!

PS - Ebeh, lmao

I love the rental idea.  Not everyone can justify dropping $200+ on something like a TurboGrafx just to own it, but I could totally see people feeling comfortable enough to rent the thing for a few days if it meant getting the deposit back.  The only thing you're overlooking would be certain systems being in short supply if someone were to break something like a Turbografx or NeoGeo or what have you.

I was thinking too you could set up kinda like a video game museum, something for people to talk about and bring em into the store.
Logged

Izret101
Postmaster General; Wielder of the Mighty Banhammer
Director
*****
United States
Posts: 22655


WWW Stats

Champion of
   
« Reply #24 on: May 06, 2013, 09:20:46 AM »

Izret I'm wondering why you would cross off rentals like that? I assumed it would be fairly easy to implement. For example when I used to manage a Roger's Video they would charge X amount of dollars for the system and require a deposit on top of that price to be refunded upon the item returning. So say a kid wanted to rent a 360 for the weekend we would have charged him like $30 plus a $200 deposit (when the system was still new). That way there is no risk on the stores end. If they keep the system/damage the system/keep it extra days beyond the agreed upon rental period I can take it out of the deposit. Seems like a very low risk way to deal with rental to me, or am I overlooking something?

Also regarding the New game releases, my area is pretty sparse even with those. I could always start with easy sellers and expand from there if it works well. I'd also be interested to see if there is a market for niche titles up here since NO ONE stocks them locally. I find games like Persona, Ico, Beyond Good & Evil, Ni no Kuni, etc. at the pawn shops in town on occasion, but none of the retailers here tend to stock those games so they are likely purchased online and shipped here.

I can't see many people being interested in putting down a deposit for the full cost of ITEM X to borrow it.
If that is the route you were to take that would certainly negate most/all of the risk involved.(This is obviously not something i had though of lol)

You clearly already have experience with it and have seen it work.

My rental experience is:
here is a 60$ game give us 5$s bring it back in a few days. If you don't you get banned and we charge your account. If you do and it is damaged we might do nothing we might make you replace it.

As for the other suggestions...
They must have all been more widely accepted. No news is good news right lol
« Last Edit: May 06, 2013, 09:24:43 AM by Izret101 » Logged

Crabmaster2000
Podcast Crew
****
Canada
Posts: 13564


 Stats
« Reply #25 on: May 06, 2013, 09:38:22 AM »

Izret I'm wondering why you would cross off rentals like that? I assumed it would be fairly easy to implement. For example when I used to manage a Roger's Video they would charge X amount of dollars for the system and require a deposit on top of that price to be refunded upon the item returning. So say a kid wanted to rent a 360 for the weekend we would have charged him like $30 plus a $200 deposit (when the system was still new). That way there is no risk on the stores end. If they keep the system/damage the system/keep it extra days beyond the agreed upon rental period I can take it out of the deposit. Seems like a very low risk way to deal with rental to me, or am I overlooking something?

Also regarding the New game releases, my area is pretty sparse even with those. I could always start with easy sellers and expand from there if it works well. I'd also be interested to see if there is a market for niche titles up here since NO ONE stocks them locally. I find games like Persona, Ico, Beyond Good & Evil, Ni no Kuni, etc. at the pawn shops in town on occasion, but none of the retailers here tend to stock those games so they are likely purchased online and shipped here.

I can't see many people being interested in putting down a deposit for the full cost of ITEM X to borrow it.
If that is the route you were to take that would certainly negate most/all of the risk involved.(This is obviously not something i had though of lol)

You clearly already have experience with it and have seen it work.

My rental experience is:
here is a 60$ game give us 5$s bring it back in a few days. If you don't you get banned and we charge your account. If you do and it is damaged we might do nothing we might make you replace it.

As for the other suggestions...
They must have all been more widely accepted. No news is good news right lol

I was more thinking rentals for newer systems. I can't see to many people wanting to rent an NES for the weekend, but parents who don't want to dish out $300+ for a Wii U/Xbox 720/PS4 are definitely willing to shell out $40-$50 for their kid to play one on their birthday weekend or pro-D weekend even with the deposit. I would have no problem doing that with older systems too, but I doubt it would be  used much.
Logged

Want to see someone barely eke through a whole pile of NES games? Check out my youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/us...00Crabmaster?feature=mhee

300+ NES games beaten since October 2011

Co-Host of the Rfgeneration Collectorcast:
http://rfgenerationcollectorcast.podomatic.com/
Tynstar
Achievement Whore
DB Editor
****
United States
Posts: 15625


 Stats
« Reply #26 on: May 06, 2013, 10:38:18 AM »

I have nothing to add other then I have often thought about how it might be cool to open a game store. But then I think I love games and dont want relying on them for income to make me hate games.
Logged

Crabmaster2000
Podcast Crew
****
Canada
Posts: 13564


 Stats
« Reply #27 on: May 09, 2013, 09:47:11 PM »

After talking with a few local business owner and other guys online I'd love to start something small in the very near future. Unfortunately there is nothing comparable to a flea market in my area, which would be ideal. What do you guys think about starting basically a "local" store on Facebook?

I could come up with a store name and post available items with updates when new stuff comes in. Could advertise myself on kijiji, craigslist and the local facebook Buy/Sell/Trade. Think something like that could work to start building myself a brand and start moving/buying some items?
Logged

Want to see someone barely eke through a whole pile of NES games? Check out my youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/us...00Crabmaster?feature=mhee

300+ NES games beaten since October 2011

Co-Host of the Rfgeneration Collectorcast:
http://rfgenerationcollectorcast.podomatic.com/
blcklblskt
Nintendo 64
DB Contributor
***
United States
Posts: 4056
Awards: 2017 Fantasy Football Winner



 Stats
« Reply #28 on: May 09, 2013, 10:07:32 PM »

After talking with a few local business owner and other guys online I'd love to start something small in the very near future. Unfortunately there is nothing comparable to a flea market in my area, which would be ideal. What do you guys think about starting basically a "local" store on Facebook?

I could come up with a store name and post available items with updates when new stuff comes in. Could advertise myself on kijiji, craigslist and the local facebook Buy/Sell/Trade. Think something like that could work to start building myself a brand and start moving/buying some items?

That could be a great way to start.  Not to mention the amount you'd save by not having to rent a store, pay employees, taxes, etc.
Logged
techwizard
Donor
*****
Canada
Posts: 3840


 Stats
« Reply #29 on: May 10, 2013, 12:55:03 AM »

agreed that would probably be a good way to start, though you might want to double check facebook's policies on that just to be sure they're not going to shut you down without warning for breaking some rule about businesses. very cost effective way to get going, and at the same time once you're ready to get a physical location up you'll already have a customer base who know you and could tell their friends.
Logged
Pages: 1 [2] 3 4 ... 15 Print 
« previous next »
Jump to:  


Login with username, password and session length

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.21 | SMF © 2015, Simple Machines
Simple Audio Video Embedder

RF Generation Theme derived from YabbGrey By Nesianstyles | Buttons by A.M.A
Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!
Page created in 0.166 seconds with 23 queries.
Site content Copyright © rfgeneration.com unless otherwise noted. Oh, and keep it on channel three.