Opening A Game Store?

[GirlGamer55]

Since I know jack all about business and making money, I'll tell you what I like to see in a store.

I like hole in the wall places, out of the public eye. Those ones are more likely to have better prices (that's my reasoning but it turns out not to be true half the time..) or at least better selections.

Then you have places like Gamestop. They don't give a $%*@ about you or your games and will give you nothing for what you have, but jack up prices on the stuff they sell. That's why I avoid them and any other chain like the plague.

I will go to chain pawn shops because at least...60% or the time I end up snagging some not well known games for quite a lot less then on eBay. It depends on if they have someone who knows games working there, if they have a huge selection on games, if they handle retro games often or just do new games.

Anyways back on topic. Pricing...this is something that I think will make or break you. I know people have to make a profit, but I don't go to a local store out of the way to end up paying eBay prices or higher. Some places you can deal with people...like pawn stores, some of them arn't set on the sticker price. You should put that out in the open if your willing to make a deal or not or if you have set prices. I'd be more willing to go to a store that I can cut a deal with then a set priced store. Reminds me of a place I went to in Iowa, the guy was willing to cut off like 10 bucks on a stack of games I got, not a ton but when I only had so much in my pocket...it mattered to me. If I lived in Iowa I would have been going back there because of that.

Also speaking of stickers...FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, NEVER USE SUPER STICKY STICKERS!!!!!! And if you do...ffs don't plaster em on the games labels. That's another thing that ticks me off and keeps me from coming back to a place. If you don't even put enough care into making sure you don't f*ck up a label, then you don't care for your items.

Hope that helps.

[Menegrothx]

Maybe you could work from home, rather than start up a gaming store of your own? You are more likely to make money/not go bankrupt if you sell your stuff on the internet. That way you wont have to pay rent, property taxes and that sort of stuff, and you can have a worldwide customer base rather than just limiting your sales to your local area. Many of the local game stores I buy retro games from seem to work that way, 1 guy "retro game stores" that don't have an actual physical store, they sell their games on auction sites as a company.
I don't know about you but my dream is to work at home, so that kind of deal sounds awesome to me.

[Hobie-wan]

Just to add, having a store or restaurant that sells current products is much different than one that sells vintage items. If you run out of hamburger buns or Hanes underwear, you just put in an order with your distributor. If all you've got are common games that everyone already owns in your neighborhood, you will have a lot more work or need a lot of luck to get more desirable titles in.

[oxymoron]

Maybe you could work from home, rather than start up a gaming store of your own? You are more likely to make money/not go bankrupt if you sell your stuff on the internet. That way you wont have to pay rent, property taxes and that sort of stuff, and you can have a worldwide customer base rather than just limiting your sales to your local area. Many of the local game stores I buy retro games from seem to work that way, 1 guy "retro game stores" that don't have an actual physical store, they sell their games on auction sites as a company.
I don't know about you but my dream is to work at home, so that kind of deal sounds awesome to me.

Working from home has its positives but it can be a bitch too. I mean being at home all day gets to become boring as all hell quick. I don't think Ebay is my life calling but It sure would help get disposable income as well as help during college.

[oxymoron]

Just to add, having a store or restaurant that sells current products is much different than one that sells vintage items. If you run out of hamburger buns or Hanes underwear, you just put in an order with your distributor. If all you've got are common games that everyone already owns in your neighborhood, you will have a lot more work or need a lot of luck to get more desirable titles in.

It can be bitch at times but my local store doesn't accept games valued at under $2.50. While it can be a pain the ass that I can't unload the stack of PS2 sports games in my garage, I know it helps them avoid bankruptcy to an extent.

[oxymoron]

@GirlGamer55

Thanks for the advice.

[Menegrothx]

That's a good point Hobie. You need to constantly worry about how and where to find new games to sell, and being able to sell them for more than what you paid for them.

Working from home has its positives but it can be a bitch too. I mean being at home all day gets to become boring as all hell quick.

Nah it doesn't. Plus when you're at home, you can be on your underwear, you don't have to shave or worry about how you look in general, you can listen to music etc, things you can't do when you run a regular store. And more importantly you don't have to deal with customers

[Jmustang1968]

Having a storefront has a few benefits above just online. While it is much riskier and more expensive to have a storefront, you have people bringing games into you. With online only sales you will have to dedicate s lot of effort into hunting games.

There are also still a bunch of people who still do not like or trust buying off the internet. You can attract these customers. Walk in impulse buys are another benefit.

Online competition is almost purely driven by price with low customer loyalty. Having a store you can offer value in good service and build up trust to get repeat customers who may be willing to pay more for that comfort and convenience.

A big issue with a store though will be having an initial robust selection of games and inventory. If you start online you can start small. If you only have a few items in your store then it will turn customers away.

[Luke]

Free advice:

If you are going the "vintage" route I would highly recommend two options: Sell from home, or rent a "corner" at an established antique store.

Let's call a spade a spade. You aren't college educated in business, and selling video games isn't like selling burgers and pizza. You need to have a business model that is tested to be successful, and part of that "trial run" would be to find out and minimize your overhead and run a break even analysis to see if you can be profitable.

If you sell on-line, your overhead mainly consists of your living costs, inventory, and seo which is a plus. On the flip side of that your competition is ten fold and your work load increases ten fold. You won't sleep much, I can tell you that. And working from home sounds great, but remember that your home also becomes your office so you don't get to "go home after work".

The drawbacks of selling at an antique store include increased overhead and limited inventory. The bonuses include having an established storefront, plenty of foot traffic, and word of mouth. Location is key, and you'd have to do your homework on that too. Your local chamber of commerce can help with this.

If you dive into this, it would be wise to hire a business consultant (which I am) to guide you along running a start up business. And don't just sell games and consoles, create a brand.

[nikon_62]

There's one modestly successful game store in my area. Another one came and went in the last few years and another one is struggling a town over from the one that does well.

The store that does well is clean and well organized. The owner is really knowledgeable about games and always willing to answer questions.

They have a good selection of rare titles and CIB consoles that are fun to just go look at. He refurbishes consoles and fixes carts as part of the business as well.

I mostly keep going back because the store has a good selection for almost every console and he only sells games that are in nice shape. I know some people just want games that play but I appreciate someone who sells the best condition titles possible. He charges for the legwork that takes but I keep going back because I know I can buy nice CIB bundles of games that will work without any trouble.

My two cents is that a retro game store is a hell of a lot of work to do well and not just be another flea market seller that leaves all the legwork on the collector. If someone puts the effort into having a good retro game store I'm going to be a repeat customer.