Opening A Game Store?

[Jmustang1968]

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.

I think this is good advice except for the antique shop. I don't think you will get the customer base you want. I would say trying starting at a flea market on the weekend or some sort of hobby/gaming/comic shop.

[Luke]

I think this is good advice except for the antique shop. I don't think you will get the customer base you want. I would say trying starting at a flea market on the weekend or some sort of hobby/gaming/comic shop.

That's where advertising comes in.

I go antiquing often, and you would be surprised how many video games have been popping up in corners. Usually the stores have two business practices: They sell everything for you and take a percentage of sales, or you rent a corner and collect all revenue. Both have their pros and cons, but if you generate a buzz and generate traffic your percentage of sales goes down and so does the rental price of your corner. It's an interesting business with a lot of potential.

[SpoonyBard]

First of all I want to thank you for taking the time to write this. If i'm correct you believe that with the right ethic an indie store can strive past any franchise? In retrospect that would seem right but how come you always see indie stores closing and not franchises? By that I mean any franchise I mean a company w/ 5+ stores.

I think an independent store with the same financial backing it would take to start a Play N Trade could easily do just as well. I think most independent stores don't open with $250,000 backing them up, and that's probably why they don't do as well. If you could start up your own shop and immediately have a $30,000 advertising budget, and could spend at least 5% of your sales on advertising, how could you not establish just as much of a name for yourself?

Not to mention, being part of the Play N Trade brand, you're opening yourself up to any scrutiny people have against the other stores. You could be selling boxed copies of Earthbound for a dollar and paying out sixty for copies of Madden 03, but if the guy driving by was ripped off at a Play N Trade 50 miles away, he will probably never stop into your store just because it shares the name.

[oxymoron]

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.

Thanks for the advice. I never said it was like selling pizza and burgers. I said I have the advantage of learning the in's and out's of running multiple franchises before I graduate and w/out having to climb the proverbial ladder. Also, according to my father and his many business associates, retail electronics is much easier than the retail food industry. So i guess in a sense it could be seen as conditioning.

[oxymoron]

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

Trust me, It gets BORING. I went to a charter school for sophomore year because I feel majorly behind. It was damn awesome getting to sit at home and play games all day but soon got monotonous. It really sucked having to have until 3 pm to be able to get out and chill w/ others and not being in the "circle" as much. I no longer fake being sick not to go to school anymore.

[o.pwuaioc]

Trust me, It gets BORING. I went to a charter school for sophomore year because I feel majorly behind due to mary jane. It was damn awesome getting to sit at home and play games all day but soon got monotonous. It really sucked having to have until 3 pm to be able to get out and chill w/ others and not being in the "circle" as much. I no longer fake being sick not to go to school anymore.

That's not working from home. That's being a loser at home. Working from home is very different.

[oxymoron]

Trust me, It gets BORING. I went to a charter school for sophomore year because I feel majorly behind due to mary jane. It was damn awesome getting to sit at home and play games all day but soon got monotonous. It really sucked having to have until 3 pm to be able to get out and chill w/ others and not being in the "circle" as much. I no longer fake being sick not to go to school anymore.

That's not working from home. That's being a loser at home. Working from home is very different.

Because being a 27 year old who sits on the computer and picks on people is the symbol of success. Fuck off prick.

[o.pwuaioc]

Trust me, It gets BORING. I went to a charter school for sophomore year because I feel majorly behind due to mary jane. It was damn awesome getting to sit at home and play games all day but soon got monotonous. It really sucked having to have until 3 pm to be able to get out and chill w/ others and not being in the "circle" as much. I no longer fake being sick not to go to school anymore.

That's not working from home. That's being a loser at home. Working from home is very different.

Because being a 27 year old who sits on the computer and picks on people is the symbol of success. Fuck off prick.

Don't take things so personally. I wasn't picking on you, I was saying that sitting at home, smoking pot, and doing nothing else is not anywhere nearly the same as "working from home". You have absolutely zero experience in telecommuting, and there's a vast world of difference between the two. But hey, I must just be some old fart for telling you that. Don't take my knowledge at face value, cool kid.

[oxymoron]

That's not working from home. That's being a loser at home. Working from home is very different.

Because being a 27 year old who sits on the computer and picks on people is the symbol of success. Fuck off prick.

Don't take things so personally. I wasn't picking on you, I was saying that sitting at home, smoking pot, and doing nothing else is not anywhere nearly the same as "working from home". You have absolutely zero experience in telecommuting, and there's a vast world of difference between the two. But hey, I must just be some old fart for telling you that. Don't take my knowledge at face value, cool kid.

Oh, okay. That just came off as a extremely harsh thing so I responded in the same way. I don't smoke pot anymore and stopped when I started charter school. Also, I never used it as a vice to look cool. Is it not possible to smoke pot just to smoke pot, jeez? I can almost guarantee that you have more experience than me. All i'm saying working from home can become monotonous. Sure lounging around in your boxers sounds cool but after a while the novelty wears away(this I can personally vouch for). Nothing beats being your own boss but it's best to keep work and home apart. Maybe rent a small office in a strip mall?

[Menegrothx]

Trust me, It gets BORING. I went to a charter school for sophomore year because I feel majorly behind. It was damn awesome getting to sit at home and play games all day but soon got monotonous.

Suit yourself. I did high school by homestudying and I loved every minute of it. Except when I had to go to school to do the exams. Depends on your personality I guess, whether you're an indoor or outdoor person.