opening a store

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so yeah thats one plan i hope to go through with. Opening my own gaming-oriented store.

anyone know anything about starting a store?

it sounds like a good idea to me since i wouldnt mind the retail aspect of it.

what are the things you like in a gaming store?

(btw this isnt going to happen for years, im just thinking about it now)

If you want to compare notes, our store is celebrating its' fourth anniversary next month - antiques, but strategy and preparation isn't too different actually.


M.

yeah id just like a rough rundown of the basic stuff needed, cost to rent, starting inventory, fixtures etc.

thanks!

Rent is a killer; that's why we own our building. Compare rates per sf, and don't be afraid to leverage rates against each other.

Are looking at video games, or other gaming? Either way, you will need locking cases and fixtures, counter, back storage, point-of-sale computer, receipt printer, point-of-sale software, credit card machine (if desired), cleaning supplies, security system, advertising in-store, external adverts, inventory, bills, and paying yourself and your employees. Actual cost will depend on size of store. At present, a 3-4' low locking case will be 80-150 and a 3'w by 6'tall will be 200-300.

You need to do demographic studies of who is in the area, who travels through it, their level of affluence, and more, to make sure you pick a place where you can be successful. This will help determine appropriate stock levels. Are you going to do new, or specialize in used?

Give yourself sufficient margin for error, and the first three years are the hardest.


M

In Fred DeLuca's [of Subway Sandwich] book Start Small, Finish Big
http://www.amazon.com/Start-Small-Finis ... Descending

He advocates testing the basic idea as cheaply as you can. For example, could you rent a booth at a couple of conventions and see what sells?

And 80% of new businesses fail. And that's the fact of the matter. Know it, embrace it.

And the biggest reason is "undercapitalization." That is, the new business owner doesn't really have enough money to do it like it needs to be done. Just like in real estate 'Location, Location, Location' being the three most important things, I think it's the same in retail. Maybe in antiques, the customers are diligent enough to seek you out. Maybe. But look at GameStop, they pay the money to get good locations. Even if you mail out postcard advertisements with a map to your store, I'm not sure that's anywhere near enough to shore up a bad location. And it goes without question that you're got to spend money on effective signage.

Security and safety, it's not right to have someone working by themselves in a store. It's not fair to the employee, it's not fair to you. Even with cameras, you want at least two persons at any one time.

Even customers who really like your store, might only come once or twice a month. And that's why it takes a while to build up enough clientele to run enough volume to turn a profit.


I have managed three different retail outfits, never owned. It's not as people-oriented like you might think. It's often kind of lonely. Even good customers don't really fully appreciate how much you do. And employees don't have the same skin in the game like you do.

Minority viewpoint: if you as an owner are working more than 20 hours a week on any particular business, you are not keeping the perspective and flex like you need to be keeping.

If I was opening a retail location in the United States, I might move to Atlanta or Phoenix. That is, I might move to a growing city to get as much going in my favor as I can. It's that important. And you'll need to make your own decisions for Ireland.

How you thought about selling over the Internet?

Now, it might cost $5,000 or so to set up a website that's attractive and functional (and easy to update) with payment options like PayPal or similar, but still, that is an order of magnitude cheaper than a storefront location.

Plus a website has more potential upside.

I have thought about this myself, but there are some issues with this idea:

*When selling over the internet, you have a wider range of potential customers, but you also have a lot more competition. That is, unless you are dealing in unusual/unique goods or services.

*You have to have a building/warehouse to store the items.

*Shipping can be a hassle.

*Then, there is the problem of growing too fast and getting overwhelmed (lots of phone calls, emails, or too many orders to deal with, and not enough people to handle it).

My advice would be to make your business as unique as possible and try to stand out from the rest. For example, if you open a retail store, and there are 20 other stores selling the same exact items in your area, for less money, then you probably won't do to well. You also have to know your customer base, and figure out what kind of goods/prices/services they want.

Around here, people basically want things as close to free as possible, and want it done yesterday, so that makes it hard on anyone to start a business.

Go to www.rpg.net they have a collum called behind the counter which talks about opening a game store and they have a collum called the business of gaming retail.

http://www.rpg.net/columns/list-column. ... me=counter

http://www.rpg.net/columns/list-column. ... mingretail

In store gaming brings in all kinds of other sales like people buying dice, pre-painted gaming figures, snacks, and sodas which all add up if you can keep the gamers buying. Demos also bring in sales of newer game systems. I have bought tons of games because someone showed me a really good demo. I worked at a gamestore from 1986-90, best time of my life. What ever you do, do not let the phone bill lapse thats one of things that killed us durring a slump in sales. Make sure to try to build customer loyalty by remembering peoples names and buying habits. We had some guys that could have bought one or two of their books, dice, and figures cheaper at another store but they chose to buy them from us because we talked to them everytime they were in the store. We were everybodies budies.

Since you know product, supplier, and customer, could you make supplemental money on the Internet, perhaps even on eBay? And might you recommend this as one way for newcomers to ease into the business?

If the internet would have existed when I worked at the store we certainly would have took advantage of that, the store I worked at was open from 1980-90. it only takes a few minutes to box up a game, slap on a label, and call ups. Best of all thats one customer that did not disorganize the merchandice, lol. We had people that would visit us from Rochester and Toronto who were looking from out of print stock we would bend over backwards for these people since they drove so far to shop at us. We even would let them know by phone when we came across something we knew they would like. They would send a money order or credit card number and we shipped it out.