So, my lifes going downhill and I plan on openning a video game store, but need help.

Follandboy

Follandboy

CAGiversary!
Feedback
27 (100%)
BACKGROUND (not needed to read)

I graduated college in December of 05 with a degree in Physical Education and I have been substituite teaching and coaching since. I had hoped to get a full time job teaching PE this fall, but ended up 0-3 on my interviews(its hard in NY). I did not let this get me down, and I planned on substituite teaching and coaching this year and broadening my search next year for a job. Yesterday, I got a phone letting me know that 2 of my coaching jobs (football and basketball) have been filled by school employees (school employees always get first shot at the coaching positions). Now, I am looking for new coaching positions, but I am not so positive. So I am considering openning my own video game store.

If any CAGs want to check their local Classifieds and see if any schools need a certified PE teacher, Id appreciate that.

HELP NEEDED

Now I have run a small video game store that was primarily online and made descant profits, but since the old EBgames.com went under, it put that bussiness under as well. The main problems I have with openning my own store would be will taxes and book keeping as I have no training in professional bussiness running. I was wondering if I should attend my local community college and take an Intro to Bussiness class, if there are any helpful books, videos, websites to checkout, or if anyone could supply me with any other helpful info.

My ultimate goal is to open this shop and keep it open between 3-9pm on weekdays and 10-10 on Saturdays, so I can still make solid money substituite teaching(and expanding hours over the holidays). I have about $10,000 save up in the bank to start up. I would hope to run this shop for 1 year hands on and then get a fulltime teaching position in the fall and hire people to run my bussiness for me.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks Guys and Gals.

If I do end up trying this idea out, I will be intrested in buying large lots of games, so you can PM me with any such lists if intrested.
 
Indy gamestores seem to go one direction, and its not in the direction of starting up.

You'd have to bring in enough people doing trades to warrant that additional expense of rent on a store front.

Its all very...daunting
 
Good luck with this... I knew someone who opened his own store but when it came to new games, he honestly couldn't compete because of the deals BB / CC / EB / GS would hold.

You're going to be a big fish in a small pond... relying on other stores for your stock (ala the EBgames morning deals) is already a bad start, imo.

Like DMK said, you're going to have to pull customers from the huge chains somehow to make enough used game trades. You need something that EB / GS / BB / CC don't offer.
 
Here's an idea if you are trying to sell new games, when someone buys a game new from you have them save the receipt or something, and if they trade it in, they get more credit or cash back than they would if they bought it from some place else
 
personally i think you'd be better off with an ebay store

even tho ebay has insane fees their fees are relative of their sales, with a store the rent is gonna be the same if you're selling 1 game or 1000

pick up huge game lots off of craigslist/garage sales, throw them on ebay

or you can put an ad in the paper and online that you buy used games and flip those onto ebay

i guess the only negative would be if you teach it'd be hard to get to the post office when it's open, but now you can do all of that stuff online and just drop it off in the morning or they pick it up from your house depending where you live
 
Honestly, I know I can make money. My location for my store only has an EB and Wal-Mart. I also know the majority of the kids in the area and I could draw them into my store that way. I have plenty of big ideas, and I am positive making money would not be a problem.
 
[quote name='Follandboy']Honestly, I know I can make money. My location for my store only has an EB and Wal-Mart. I also know the majority of the kids in the area and I could draw them into my store that way. I have plenty of big ideas, and I am positive making money would not be a problem.[/QUOTE]

Kids have shitty trades.

Good luck though, EB and Wal-Mart are still big competitors, some of the biggest in the industry. I've seen a few indy stores pop up every once in awhile, all with something that made them different, and all of them failed... just know you're getting into a market where the battle will always be upstream 110% of the time.
 
[quote name='Follandboy']Honestly, I know I can make money. My location for my store only has an EB and Wal-Mart. I also know the majority of the kids in the area and I could draw them into my store that way. I have plenty of big ideas, and I am positive making money would not be a problem.[/QUOTE]


You might want to try ebay and buying one of those 100 PS2/gamecube bundels for like 500 - 600 bucks. Most of the games reak but there are some okay games in there. instead of just doing buying and selling Do Trades. Figure if you can trade games off for say 3 or 4 bucks per pop once you do 100 trades you now have 100 games and almost paid off that 500 bucks.



quote
have no training in professional bussiness running. I was wondering if I should attend my local community college and take an Intro to Bussiness class, if there are any helpful books, videos, websites to checkout, or if anyone could supply me with any other helpful info.



Book keeping is very simple and taxes should be very simple as well. if you dont think you cant handle it you might want to look into hiring someone to do your first year. You probally could go to the local campus and talk to the business teachers and they should be able to hook you up with a student who would do it dirt cheap for the exp.

intro into account will help you with book keeping (but dont go too deep into it cause half the stuff is mostly for BIG companies) like FOD and other stuff

tax class would be harder to find (at least here) you need to complete at least 5-7 classes of business before they will even allow you to take a tax class.



i did this for myself when i ran a small game business out of my home back in 93 to 95 (made less then 500 so didnt have to report heh heh)

unless i did it wrong this is how i sort of did it

cost of game - price sold game at = profit or loss

now sticking them in the right spots is harder

Like rent of store bleh bleh bleh

if it goes on the income statement or the balance sheet or something else (AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH account class flashback nightmares LOL)

I say just take a Intro to accounting and it should help you cause it will be able to tell you how to keep track of everything.
 
Rent and salaries are going to be the highest expense. If you think you can manage the store by yourself or with just a couple of close friends/family you can cut down expenses dramatically.

The biggest issue I see is hiring - every game store owner I have talked to has always said their biggest problem was finding employees who woulnd't steal from them.

As a teacher, you're in an AWESOME position to get those kids in your store. They do trade in crappy games for the most part, but everybody trades in crappy games. And if you keep driving home the point that they should bring you their games instead of selling them at garage sales, you could essentially hit all the garage sales before anybody else (since they'll come to you before they even put them out).

It concerns me that you don't have business experience though. You should find a partner or at least "mentor" who will walk through the financials with you.
 
Seriously, the financials aren't hard at all. That would be the least of my concerns. You can buy a Quicken Point of Sale system from Sam's Club for $1000 (might be a little bit more) and that would make everything a breeze for you.

As long as you can get people into your store you seriously shouldn't have any problem maintaining it. All you need to do is offer say $5 (or some amount) more trade in that g-stop (which won't be hard) and sell at the same price. You are making $5 less per trade but you are going to have a lot less overhead and expenses than G-stop would so you are able to do it.

1 other thing. The only hard part is going to be starting it up. Once you get the trades in you are increasing your money exponentially. Example

-You buy 1 game for $20 (pay cash)
-Kid brings in 2 games you give him $20 trade in credit and he takes the game above
-You then are selling those 2 games for say $30
-Another kid brings in 3 games, you give him $30 in credit and he takes above game.
-You then sell those games for $60 (or 20 apiece).

Very simple example but therefore on that $20 you have now turned it in to $60 when those 3 games sell.

Eventually your whole inventory of used games is going to be running off of stuff that people have traded in and you didn't pay a dime for. Once you get those trades coming in you are in great shape.

That is what i would be worrying about (getting trades coming in), not the financial stuff. Keep good record and then hand it off to an accountant if need be.

1 other thing. I would consider starting up in a different location (ie not next to walmart). That rent is going to be pretty expensive compared to other sites and it might be hard to cover the first couple months. Find a cheaper location with maybe a little less traffic so you won't have a problem covering rent when starting up. Then as things get going move locations.

I would seriously consider an ebay store though. Trades are going to be difficult but you are going to be able to sell stuff for a lot more and a lot quicker.
 
I've thought about opening my own place before (not selling video games though) but getting started is a huge risk. I honestly don't know how you can compete with the bigger chains - they can afford to take huge losses on video games because they make it up selling other products. What happens when you buy a lot of $40 games and then 4 weeks later the MSRP drops to $20? This will surely offset any profit over that span unless you are selling crack in the back alley.
 
Honestly, your best bet is to stay out of it. You say your life is going downhill, well, this isn't the best way to get back on top.
 
[quote name='rabbitt']Honestly, your best bet is to stay out of it. You say your life is going downhill, well, this isn't the best way to get back on top.[/QUOTE]

QFT.
 
I agree with the ebay store idea. The Post Office shouldn't be a problem between the machines that they have in the lobby and USPS.com. Your biggest worries would be hitting garage sales to get stock and haggling on prices. Also, you could get the word out in the schools that you are buying used games and build stock that way.

Who knows? If you are successful, you may be able to open your own B&M store.

Good Luck with what you decide.
 
What you might be able to do is go to the local strip malls and ask the store owners if you can sell some of your wares there and give them a cut of the profit, say 5%. My friend does this with the Tuxedo shop he owns. He puts a few shirts/ties/vests on a rack he supplies at the local dry cleaners (about 20 in all) and once a week stops by to pick up the sales. They sell themselves he says. Some weeks are better than others. Granted a Tux shop is a natural fit for a dry cleaner, so YMMV.

As for the bookkeeping, contact your local branch of the IRS, they offer free services like tax advice and general bookkeeping (This is a kinder, gentler IRS nowadays) Just don't forget to charge sales tax! States will nail you!
 
I don't have any experience in the business of running a store, but it seems like the straight retail places go out of business a lot. I would recommend offering services as well. I know there is a cool place in town here with computer equipment set up so kids can come and have LAN parties and stuff. They pay to use the computers to play multiplayer games and the like. This place makes money off of drink sales as well. I suggest this because they have been in business for quite awhile. I bet you could also attract people by holding CCG tournaments like a comic store would.

I was talking to Strell the other day about the hardships of starting up a small game store, and I think that unless you offer something radically different from EB or Gamestop, that competition is virtually impossible. I hope my suggestions help out.
 
first off you need to see if your area needs another game store. if anythign d suggest you start up by handing out flyers to your basic demographic and if youre dead set on buying a store find a small place in a good traffic area that you can man with 1 or 2 people easily and still keep an eye on your customers.

what kinds of games do you want to deal in all console and pc or just console? and will you deal in older console games and systems? id suggest you dont get into pc games because it seems there alot more of a headache then console games not to mention more people do console gaiming than pc ( imo).

one way you can gaurantee your store to do etter than most stores if you have other local gaming franchises is to offer more for trade ins. now i wouldnt trade in games for money because youre going to attract alot of stolen games hell you probably still will if you trade at decent trade in prices but if people hear you can get 20 bucks trade in from your store vs 10 or 5 from eb or gamecrazy people will go the extra miles to get to your store.

also dont stop doing online business you can sell alot of your trade ins you get from pople online either here at cag or amazon.com or any other number of places which would mean you need to find one basic means of shipping games to people anlso id suggest you use a mean that allows for tracking of games and make that a basic add in part of your shipping process since not all game stores do that.

id also recommend doing some research on getting import games into your store and see if economically if its worth goign into it. in the beginning it may not be so id just stick with american games and branch out further later if your business grows. id also suggest doing contests every now and then to get people comign to your store like gaming constests and you could even create your own local newsletter and a net one where you let people do reviews on games as well as previews and deals and such and maybe if someone wanted to sell their stuff locally have a section that deals with local gamers wanting to trade or sell to local gamers.

overall you need to see what it is youd and others would want in a gaming store that you dont see in most videogame stores and find a way to add it into yours. people if thye feel connected to your store will be loyal to it and you could do quite well. i just worry with the new consoles coming in how youd go about decinding how much of what to get and if you wil sell consoles or just games. if you sell just games you can keep your overhead down and minimize the overall risk and headache that comes with dealing with consoles that dont work. if youre not in a rush to get into the usiness do your research and see how the next 2 new consoles do and work from there.
 
I was thinking of doing the same thing, but an Ebay store or w/e is a better way to go due to the rent.

If you want to know the business side of things, get yourself a student copy of Peachtree Accounting. If you can learn this like a pro, you can always have something to fall back on, as accountants are always in need. Pay might not be great, but it would pay the bills between teaching jobs. I have it, and I'm learning it for when I go back to work....eventually.

Take your ebay store and also sell at the flea market on the occasional weekend. But be sure not to oversell your stock.

The other problem with having a B&M location with trades is that you have to follow local pawn shop ordinances and get a license in some instances. Depending on the laws, you have to get some sort of identification with your trades. Something your kids may not have.

I'm debating starting up an internet game/dvd store, but I need to find distributors that I can make a profit on.
 
[quote name='CocheseUGA']I was thinking of doing the same thing, but an Ebay store or w/e is a better way to go due to the rent.

If you want to know the business side of things, get yourself a student copy of Peachtree Accounting. If you can learn this like a pro, you can always have something to fall back on, as accountants are always in need. Pay might not be great, but it would pay the bills between teaching jobs. I have it, and I'm learning it for when I go back to work....eventually.

Take your ebay store and also sell at the flea market on the occasional weekend. But be sure not to oversell your stock.

The other problem with having a B&M location with trades is that you have to follow local pawn shop ordinances and get a license in some instances. Depending on the laws, you have to get some sort of identification with your trades. Something your kids may not have.

I'm debating starting up an internet game/dvd store, but I need to find distributors that I can make a profit on.[/quote]


if you need an id to do trade ins how is it kids are able to trade in games do they have to go in with parents now to get the trade in done for them or do they let kids do it but for teens and adults you need id?
 
[quote name='lokizz']if you need an id to do trade ins how is it kids are able to trade in games do they have to go in with parents now to get the trade in done for them or do they let kids do it but for teens and adults you need id?[/QUOTE]

Depends on the local jurisdiction. My GS just asks me to fill out a form and Rhino doesn't ask for anything. But when I lived in NC, you had to provide state issued ID and you had to be 18 to sign a trade contract. Depends on the local pawnshop laws.

Basically, some jurisdictions want to be able to find your ass if they suspect you of pawning off stolen property.
 
[quote name='BKPartisan']I don't have any experience in the business of running a store, but it seems like the straight retail places go out of business a lot. I would recommend offering services as well. I know there is a cool place in town here with computer equipment set up so kids can come and have LAN parties and stuff. They pay to use the computers to play multiplayer games and the like. This place makes money off of drink sales as well. I suggest this because they have been in business for quite awhile. I bet you could also attract people by holding CCG tournaments like a comic store would.[/quote]
Awesome Idea. When I was on vacation, we came across this place called Area 52. We went there and paid.. I dont know, it was like 5 or 10 dollars per hour to use the place. There were rows and rows of these super computers with a ton of games (I played battlefield 2 the whole time lol) and there were 2 or 3 TV's with Xbox & Ps2's hooked up. It was pretty awesome. The computers were also hooked up to the internet so you could E-mail / use instant messangers, etc. The internet part would appeal to older folks as well who do not have computers in their house and want to e-mail friends & family. Now I'm not saying you have to get this extreme with rows of computers, but I think something like this would aid your buisness well. A section for gaming, and a section for selling games. I like that idea, and i think it could drag in some customers. The computers used some kind of software where you had a username and password and you log on and after you add time there is a timer saying how much time is on your account, etc. I think that this would appeal to all ages, depending what games you put on there. My 7 year old cousin went to the Area 52 place, and she was playing Backyard Baseball, and she was having an awesome time. This may be something for you to look into, seperating yourself from the EB / GS, etc. All the games / controllers they had were behind a counter to prevent stealing. They had a crappy selection of the console games, but having a game store selection shouldnt be a problem. I would probably live there if you did something like this :lol:. Also, I think adding arcade machines in this section would be AWESOME. Like many people said, offering a little bit higher trade in prices would be key. I think that if you add some games to play, and had some higher trade prices, your store would be the place to be.
 
Well, I think people have the right idea here, but I think your getting a slightly skewed view.

I think you definitely need to do something to separate yourself from your local competition. Offering more for trades is one thing (though, you need to turn that into profit somehow). So, one thing to do might be a focus on either imported games or older generation games. Sell the new stuff too, but many EB's and Gamestops in my area have very sparse collections of anything not current generation. Plus, early on, you can sell some stuff on ebay to help keep the business going.

Now, you also have to think about who your target audience is going to be. Your a specialty store, so you aren't going to get everyone. One thing you can do is put systems out there and let people play. This will make your store a local hangout, but a lot of people coming in won't be paying customers (then again, they could be one day). But, my local Gamecrazy's does this, and it drives me nuts. The neighborhood riff-raff hangs in there all day, and I hate navigating around them to look for what I want to purchase (so, I rarely go there unless there is a sale). So, you gain some/lose some.

I think getting a low rent place would be critical. If your a good store that offers stuff that others don't, people will find you. So, location isn't neccessarily critical in the long run. But, it can be in the short run.

Good luck if you do it. Just remember that 80% of small businesses fail in the first 5 years. So, even if you do everything right, there is a chance you can fail. Expect long hours and low money early on, but if it works, it could be great in a few years.
 
Thanks for all fo the help guys here are some of my ideas that would garuntee me profits.

1)Trade-in prices at EB are horribly low. Like $3 or $4 for a game they sell for $15? I could easily offer at least half and make a good $5 per game sold. I could also lower my prices. ie. Buy a game for $7 that EB gives $4 and then sell it for $13 when EB sells it for $15 and I am better off in both ends.

2)I primarily plan to sell used games of all kinds. Currnet gen and past gen. There is a market for everything, and I could always sell the stuff online. One of my concerns is that with the new systems coming out, people will demand that stuff, and most of it is expensive.

3)I would have TV's set up to try games before you buy.

4)Weekly game tournaments. Pay $5 to enter a Madden Tournament and the winner gets $50 in credit or something.

5)Sell food and drink

6)I know the area and I can drive the kids in to my store through school.

7)I will not be relying solely on the profit of this store for livlihood.

8)I am not forced to listen to a computer. ie. If someone comes in and has 20 PS2 games for trade that EB would give like a $1 each for, I could see that I would get more for them and offer whatever I want, not what a computer says.

9)I am not looking for a business that lasts 40 yrs, but one to get me through the next couple is the only thing needed.

10)I will probably be the only employee, unless I find a business partner. I may need an accountants helps.

Thanks Again Guys.
 
[quote name='Follandboy']Thanks for all fo the help guys here are some of my ideas that would garuntee me profits.

1)Trade-in prices at EB are horribly low. Like $3 or $4 for a game they sell for $15? I could easily offer at least half and make a good $5 per game sold. I could also lower my prices. ie. Buy a game for $7 that EB gives $4 and then sell it for $13 when EB sells it for $15 and I am better off in both ends.


make sure those eb are selling those games. You dont want to get stuck with tons of games noone wants


2)I primarily plan to sell used games of all kinds. Currnet gen and past gen. There is a market for everything, and I could always sell the stuff online. One of my concerns is that with the new systems coming out, people will demand that stuff, and most of it is expensive.


depending on your market this might be ONE MAJOR MISTAKE in selling older games. Local place here (mcvans) is stuck with 1000's of older games noone wants. they might see one game sell every 2 months or so)





3)I would have TV's set up to try games before you buy.


always keep the equipement behind the counters though. Dont allow the customers access to the systems ( i known people who would pop up the system and swip the game when the workers are helping others out)


4)Weekly game tournaments. Pay $5 to enter a Madden Tournament and the winner gets $50 in credit or something.

You got to check your state laws about this. Some states will not allow you to do this (its called gambleing and its outlawed in some states) or you need another licence


5)Sell food and drink

Dont do this. You will get into a major mess if you sell food. You will need a licence to sell food or drink in your store. If you dont get a licence and someone turns your in your mostly #$#$#$ . First time probally be a warrning but 2nd time they probally shut you down.



6)I know the area and I can drive the kids in to my store through school.

You want an A Then buy my games LOL



7)I will not be relying solely on the profit of this store for livlihood.

never risk more then you can afford to lose. Maybe in few years this will be a sole part of your income but dont expect to be rich over night




8)I am not forced to listen to a computer. ie. If someone comes in and has 20 PS2 games for trade that EB would give like a $1 each for, I could see that I would get more for them and offer whatever I want, not what a computer says.


ummmm i would make sure they wasnt ripped off from some place before taking them in. if they were the cops can come into your store and take all the games away and pay you nothing (happen to a pawnshop owner i know)



9)I am not looking for a business that lasts 40 yrs, but one to get me through the next couple is the only thing needed.


i wouldnt invest in the game market then. It probally be 3 to 5 years before you seen a major profit. If you looking to run something for 1-2 years i wouldnt really invest in gaming (stick with ebay route)


10)I will probably be the only employee, unless I find a business partner. I may need an accountants helps.


Check with your school to see if anyone is major into accounting. You might be able to help a student learn the ropes and get a person to do all your work for free (or cheap)

too bad you wasnt around here. I would invest (i been looking for a new place to invest since the last dude went belly up back around 98)





Best of luck to you . you got major guts in opening up a store. Anyone who opens up a store has major guts .... : )




I would open up a local shop but we are flooded with too many stores here and with the new systems coming out I wouldnt open up a store now.



one last thing. YOu might want to try to stock up on the games say in AUG - OCT and then Open your store around OCT or NOV if you can get a major short term contract someplace. 70-80% of all game selling happens between NOV to JAN
 
There are some good ideas in these responses.

There is one game store in the area I frequent DUE TO their older selection of games (they have everything; Vectrex, Neo-Geo, SMS, imports, etc. I saw a prototype Space Invaders 2600 cartridge there last time!). And it's 25 miles from my apartment. It's much better to see and feel that stuff in a store than on Ebay. They have a LAN party room in the back, stocked with their own PC's which always seems busy. They repair systems and seem to do well with that also.

I've seen other stores modify systems and RENT games (especially imports) but you can guess the headaches involved in that.

I would say you need to spend a substantial amount on advertising. It's far to easy to walk into a EB/GS/GC/BB/etc. simply because they're everywhere. People won't come if they don't know you're there.

I'd call some other independant shops (not in your area, of course) and talk to the owner. They'll know what works for them.
 
[quote name='Follandboy']Thanks for all fo the help guys here are some of my ideas that would garuntee me profits.

1)Trade-in prices at EB are horribly low. Like $3 or $4 for a game they sell for $15? I could easily offer at least half and make a good $5 per game sold. I could also lower my prices. ie. Buy a game for $7 that EB gives $4 and then sell it for $13 when EB sells it for $15 and I am better off in both ends.
.[/QUOTE]

There is a reason EB gives $3 or $4 dollars for those games, and it's not because they are greedy assholes (though that is part of it). It is probably because the games will sit on the shelf for six months before they sell, if they ever sell, and they aren't popular at all.

You'll be buying a game for $7 and watching it rot on the shelf for $13, while EB can afford to buy it for $4 and have it sit on the shelf for two years.

And yea, people are going to want the new systems / games too, so good luck competing with Best Buy / Circuit City / Wal-Mart whoever who will always be one step ahead of everyone when it comes to deals and new games. The local store here tried to get new games, but he couldn't afford to do overnight and 2 day shipping like the big companies could, and he couldn't afford to slash his prices like they could.

He got his games a week later after the hype had pretty much blown over... I remember he got in San Andreas almost a week after everyone else did. All the big stores had already sold out once and restocked before he even got his shipment in.
 
If you have a big enough store, Arcade machines could be WELL worth it.

A DDR machine could bring in a lot of money. Tournaments could bring in a ton of money.

LAN centers could work well if you have the area for it.

I've seen a lot of small shops set up and close within 3 months (I live on Long Island), but here the rent is way high and there are GS/EB/CC/BB/GC everywhere. And no, you don't have to spend A LOT of advertising. Gamestop doesnt spend nearly as much money as most game places do, they only need to get you in there once, chances are you'll keep going back. They get a lot of word of mouth advertising. Don't try and beat these places...offer the kids there something that they cant get anywhere else.

Also, see if you can contact major game companies directly. See if you can get big standees or something else, and in exchange, you'll place whatever they give you in their store. If successful enough in the future, you can charge for the in store stuff, and maybe even sell off the standees.

Those are my two cents.
 
yeah a lan set up could do money especially when ti comes to selling food and snacks. i dunno about an arcade though have they picked up since the 90's? last time i actually went to one was to play house of the dead 2 and after that it was like why bother you can get games better than arcade on home consoles. ddr is the only game you ever really hear about doing well or being popular.
 
[quote name='Number83'](This is a kinder, gentler IRS nowadays) Just don't forget to charge sales tax! States will nail you![/quote]

This isn't true for selling on ebay or ebay stores i don't think, as in you don't have to charge sales tax. Correct me if im wrong.
 
[quote name='MrMaddness']If you have a big enough store, Arcade machines could be WELL worth it.

A DDR machine could bring in a lot of money. Tournaments could bring in a ton of money.

LAN centers could work well if you have the area for it.


Those are my two cents.[/QUOTE]


dont know about arcade machines. YOu will want to make sure you insured. I know one local bowling alley has a DDR machine and a kid fell and cracked his head. The parents are sueing the #$#$ out of the bowling alley
 
Would it be possible to buy up another franchise? I think it would be a lot safer then making your own store.

The way you want to do it makes an E-Bay store make way more sense.
 
I would do an Ebay store, but buying the games is the major problem. If I openned this store, I could run the store and still sell online, that way stuff doesnt sit on shelves too long.
 
As said before if you open up a store it's going to make the bookeeping a lot harder. Sales tax, rent and extra miscellaneous expenses.

Online you don't have to worry about sales tax as you don't have a physical presence anywhere. I would assume you would do it out of your home, so there wouldn't be extra rent. Im assuming you already have internet since you are posting here. Sites like Endicia.com or Stamps.com make the shipping really easy so you wouldn't have to worry about standing in line waiting to ship packages.

By the way, where do you live (where is Hinsdale)? That might make it easier to decide whether you can do it or not.
 
i would recommend doing the "online business" route unless you think theres a good market for used games in your area.

Eb and Gs suck when it comes to trade ins and dont pay cash for games, so that could be one option.

As far as business classes go, i don't think they could help much in what you are trying to do. You are trying to find your little niche in the market making it grow. Im not convinced it would be money well spent
 
[quote name='Follandboy']I would do an Ebay store, but buying the games is the major problem. If I openned this store, I could run the store and still sell online, that way stuff doesnt sit on shelves too long.[/QUOTE]
I wouldn't do this. A local store I used to go to started doing the sell on ebay and store thing. I stopped going and many others also because now the only thing you find on the shelfs are shit games that can't get $2 on ebay let alone the $10-$20 they are asking for in the store. Before ebay the store had a great selection and awsome trade-ins. After ebay they no longer have any newer used games or games that are hard to find.

The owner got greedy and he lost many customers due to it. Why should I trade my games in for same as ebgame prices (maybe 5% higher) if they don't have jack to spend the store credit on. Why should I trade my games to this store if they are just going to be asses and sell my game on Ebay? If I wanted to sell my game on Ebay I will do it my self and make the money from it.
I used to spend tons of cash at this local store and I even bought my launch PS2 games there after I picked up my PS2 at Software Etc. *cash not store credit. Many will go to a local store instead of a chain but these people won't if you are taking goods away from the community. Is it worth the few extra bucks now if you end up loosing it in the long run?

Never forget don't shit where you sleep. And most important never forget the ones who are paying your bills.
 
[quote name='kurrptsenate']i would recommend doing the "online business" route unless you think theres a good market for used games in your area.

Eb and Gs suck when it comes to trade ins and dont pay cash for games, so that could be one option.

As far as business classes go, i don't think they could help much in what you are trying to do. You are trying to find your little niche in the market making it grow. Im not convinced it would be money well spent[/quote]


The reason G-stop and EB try to persuade you into taking trades is because giving out cash creates a major cash flow problem. Especially for a smaller business. If you give someone $20 for a trade you might be sitting on that $20 for a long time. If enough people do it you aren't going to have enough to pay your bills.
 
[quote name='schuerm26']As said before if you open up a store it's going to make the bookeeping a lot harder. Sales tax, rent and extra miscellaneous expenses.

Online you don't have to worry about sales tax as you don't have a physical presence anywhere. I would assume you would do it out of your home, so there wouldn't be extra rent. Im assuming you already have internet since you are posting here. Sites like Endicia.com or Stamps.com make the shipping really easy so you wouldn't have to worry about standing in line waiting to ship packages.

By the way, where do you live (where is Hinsdale)? That might make it easier to decide whether you can do it or not.[/QUOTE]

I am considering starting up in Olean, NY which is an hour and half outside of both Rochester and Buffalo. Its right on the PA line. The only stores within a 50 mile radius are 2 walmarts and an EB.
 
[quote name='spoo']I wouldn't do this. A local store I used to go to started doing the sell on ebay and store thing. I stopped going and many others also because now the only thing you find on the shelfs are shit games that can't get $2 on ebay let alone the $10-$20 they are asking for in the store. Before ebay the store had a great selection and awsome trade-ins. After ebay they no longer have any newer used games or games that are hard to find.

The owner got greedy and he lost many customers due to it. Why should I trade my games in for same as ebgame prices (maybe 5% higher) if they don't have jack to spend the store credit on. Why should I trade my games to this store if they are just going to be asses and sell my game on Ebay? If I wanted to sell my game on Ebay I will do it my self and make the money from it.
I used to spend tons of cash at this local store and I even bought my launch PS2 games there after I picked up my PS2 at Software Etc. *cash not store credit. Many will go to a local store instead of a chain but these people won't if you are taking goods away from the community. Is it worth the few extra bucks now if you end up loosing it in the long run?

Never forget don't shit where you sleep. And most important never forget the ones who are paying your bills.[/QUOTE]

First off, if your trading in your games, why do you care where he sells it. News flash, he's only buying your games because he thinks he can get more for it in the long run. He isn't doing it to be neighborly.

Secondly, sure being greedy sucks. But, many small stores need ebay to help keep the money coming in. So, just to turn this whole idea off would be a mistake.
 
[quote name='Follandboy']I am considering starting up in Olean, NY which is an hour and half outside of both Rochester and Buffalo. Its right on the PA line. The only stores within a 50 mile radius are 2 walmarts and an EB.[/quote]

what's the population? Judging by mapquest it looks like 1 eb for that size of a town is probably plenty. Not saying you couldn't go in there and do well but it doesn't look like a highly populated area.

I looked at wikipedia and it said the population is 15,000 or so. This could be tough on trade-ins. Have you talked to the eb manager before? Just go in and find out about their trade ins. Just generally do they get quite a bit?
 
That does seem like kind of a small town for 2 game stores. Not that it can't be done, but like others have said, it's tough. There's a reason places like EB buy so low and sell so high. If you're planning on having an actual business, rent isn't cheap. Then you need to add in utilities, advertising, and other various fees. And it may take time before you see that money, and while you can sell some stuff on e-bay if it's not selling, on the flip side you need to keep enough stock around to draw people in to want to come in and shop. And after all of this, you want to see some profit on top of it all, even if you're not relying on the money you want to see something for putting in 6 hours every day.

I think the key is that you have to offer something unique. Tournaments are a great idea, though like someone mentioned you have to check the laws on that since it could be considered gambling. Allowing the opportunity to try games before buying them is a good idea. It needs to be more than just another store or people won't care.

There's a reason most small businesses fail. Many reasons, actually. Like someone else said, contact other stores and pick the brains of the owners. If their stores have survived more than a couple years they're probably doing things right. Find out what they take for trade-ins compared to EB and what they sell games for compared to EB. You might find that they don't sell for much cheaper because the expenses add up faster than you think and those costs need to be covered somehow. I think taking your time and researching extensively before starting anything would be a good idea.
 
Another thing:

Im just going to use Kansas City as an example because i am familiar with it having lived there before. If you look at the G-stop store locator you will see that there are someting like 20 stores with 20 miles of any area around the city. This includes all the somewhat close suburbs.

If you condsider for the entire KC metro area the population is 1,836,038 (according to wikipedia). So the population divided by the number of G-stop stores is 91,802

So there is basically 1 g-stop or eb store for every 91,000 people in the area. I realize there are other stores besides G-stop and EB there but it won't change that number really drastically. Raise it to 35 stores and it's still 1 store to every 52458 people.

You are trying to get another store into an area where there is only 15,000 people. Making the ratio 1 store to every 7500 people or so. That's assuming there isn't some other game store i don't know about or you haven't said anything about. Sounds like it will be difficult.
 
basicly i think everyone would open up a ebay game store but the one major thing that is stopping 99.9 % of us is there is really No way to get a massive flow of games every week/ month cheap


With a store you will have people coming in and selling you games dirt cheap
 
[quote name='lordxixor101']First off, if your trading in your games, why do you care where he sells it. News flash, he's only buying your games because he thinks he can get more for it in the long run. He isn't doing it to be neighborly.

Secondly, sure being greedy sucks. But, many small stores need ebay to help keep the money coming in. So, just to turn this whole idea off would be a mistake.[/QUOTE]
Like I stated why would I trade in my games if they no longer have any thing I want to buy with store credit since many games go on ebay. The store was doing ok before ebay. Also I am not like the many "flippers" here that buy a crap game for cheap just to get a few bucks more in trade in. I am just not a collector. I see no reason to keep a game I no longer play.

My point being if you are getting x amount of games coming in and you are putting y amount of games on ebay and z amount of games on the shelves.
Is z amount of games on the shelves enough to keep the kiddies coming in to trade you the game instead of ebgames that has the z game they want?

My second point would be instead of putting x game on ebay after y amount of time you would be better off of having a bin with x games and put a "buy 2 get one free" sign. You will attract a few more customers this week and hopefully get many trade-ins to keep a growing inventory so customers keep on coming back for more.

Go the ebay route or got the instore route but don't get mixed up and do both. I guarantee you won't get enough trade-ins to satisfy the walk-ins let alone enough to support the walk-ins and the ebayers.
 
[quote name='schuerm26']Another thing:

Im just going to use Kansas City as an example because i am familiar with it having lived there before. If you look at the G-stop store locator you will see that there are someting like 20 stores with 20 miles of any area around the city. This includes all the somewhat close suburbs.

If you condsider for the entire KC metro area the population is 1,836,038 (according to wikipedia). So the population divided by the number of G-stop stores is 91,802

So there is basically 1 g-stop or eb store for every 91,000 people in the area. I realize there are other stores besides G-stop and EB there but it won't change that number really drastically. Raise it to 35 stores and it's still 1 store to every 52458 people.

You are trying to get another store into an area where there is only 15,000 people. Making the ratio 1 store to every 7500 people or so. That's assuming there isn't some other game store i don't know about or you haven't said anything about. Sounds like it will be difficult.[/QUOTE]


Thats an intresting point and 1 that'll have to seriously consider. One thing though is that people from all over the area come to Olean to shop. I am not sure how many people this adds.

I went out yesterday to get some phone numbers for potential sites to see how much rent would be a month. This really is probably the deal maker or breaker.

I figure if I sell a game at $5 net profit each, I would have to sell 200 games a month(6 games a day) for $1000 an month, which is what I am expecting rent to be.
 
I've done some investigation in the past. The universal piece of advice I've recieved about opening a game store is - in a nutshell:

Don't.

Just don't. The margins on games are too small to possibly compete.

If, however, you still want to then, in my opinion there are a few things that you can do that will increase your chances of survival:

Hump pre-orders like you've never humped anything before.
The benefit to pre-orders is several fold. First, there's chance the person who put the money down won't come to pick it up. People shop while high. People come down with the flu. People get arrested. It happens. It's the law of averages. Insurance companies have made billions on this kind of math.

While you may not see a lot of this action, on the occasions it does - free money. You just made $5 for nothing. Just set up a 48 hour limit to pick the game up after release day, or else they forfit the money. You might have an angry customer or two on your hands, but you're NEVER going to work retail without turning off some people. Throw any notion you have of being everyone's best friend. Mr. Hooper's store woulda been raped by Wal-Mart. I'm not saying be an ass, if you have a dude who comes in all the time, cut him some slack. I'm just saying it's an unfortunate, necessary evil.

Part two to the pre-order delight is to order only 10% more than you have pre-ordered. One thing that will surely hurt you is overstock. Overstock is really, really, really bad. You're better off losing a sale because you're understocked (margins on a new game were something like $2, with new Next-Gen prices it may be more) than if you have to mark a game down to $20 to sell it. Scenario 1 you "lose" $2, Scenario 2 you lose $20.

So only buy what people have pre-ordered plus a little to fill the shelves.

I'd say increase it to 20%-30% for guarenteed money titles like Madden but don't get too crazy. Again it's better to be understocked than overstocked.

Finally as far as the pre-orders are concerned, the best way to get someone to order from you instead of someone else is - Free Schwag. Now, I know what you're thinking, since I just got done going on about how small the margins are and now I'm saying give stuff away. You have a point, however - again, every pre-order you give is GUARENTEED MONEY. One way or another.

So the free schwag is as such... Order a box of gachpon toys from Japan (the 100-200 yen kind, about $1-$2) and give one away with every order. Get game related ones. Right now they have mario keychains for 100 yen (less than a buck), they look like little eggs and when you press the button it makes a sound from the original SMB. Super cool. The point is give SOMETHING for every pre-order. This is how you'll win over the pre-order crowd. You're charging the same as the big boys, but you're giving the buyer a little something extra. I shopped around before pre-ordering Harvest Moon DS to see who had the little free keyring. Probably cost a nickle, but I went to three places before getting it and I'm happy with my purchase.

The point is, although you're giving a dollar away you're getting at least two in return. If the person never shows, then you made $4. Wanna get crazy? Do compound pre-ordering. Have the person pre-order three titles and get one used game $9.99 or less (again, math on it is simple. You're probably giving $4 for a game you'll sell for $10. You're gaining at least $4.50 for the pre-orders [est. profit of $1.50 x 3] and upwards of $15 if they should need to flee the country). Your customers would love it - "Here's a free game to play while you wait for the games to be released". The point is this, the way things are your profit margins would be sadly more on a Mario keychain than a Mario game. Use this to your advantage.

Run a concession stand that looks like a game store.
It's a simple idea, with as much room as you can spare, add chairs (or better yet couches) and maybe a demo station or two (if you can swing an arcade cab, do it) and most importantly have a nice little refridgerator stocked with water and red bull. I wouldn't balk at free wire-less, just be sure to put the password on a chalkboard in the building so the freeloaders have to come in.

Again, you'll make a lot more money on drinks and snacks than on the games themselves. Make it nice and comfy so that after a person buys a game you can be all "Hey, you want me to pop that into that TV over there? I'll buy you a drink if you can beat me." Or what have you (again, keep in your $1-$2 giveaway range).

If that guy and his friend stay for 2 hours and buy 2 drinks each, you'll make as much money as you did on the game. The big bonus is your store looks and feels 'friendly' and 'welcome', as well as busy.

And if you get some little kids who don't have money? "Sorry, you have to be 18 or older or buy a game to play it." You get one that's really sucking the life out of you? Throw him out (again, you will have to be a dick now and again. If he's not spending money, and he's always there... Go Gord on him.)

Otherwise try your damnedest to encourage loitering amongst paying customers. Again, having them simply buy a higher margin item (such as food and drink) of their own accord - whilst playing and enjoying their new game in a friendly atmosphere - will go much further than trying to shove replacement plans and warranties down their throat.

I keep harping on 'profit margin' for a reason. Ever notice how many pizza places there are? Thousands. Know why? Because the profit margins on pizza are insane, huge even.

You'll want new games, of course, but realistically if you can focus on getting as many people to buy as much other stuff as possible, then you'll have a better chance.

Everything else is sorta obvious. Offer good trade ins, customer loyalty cards and what not. Hold the occasional tournament, do whatever you can to encourage the 'hardcore' element but be sure to devote as much time as you can to the casual element. Your Madden players make up a huge percentage of game sales.

Just my opinion.
 
Yeah, something as simple as a keychain will bring in customers. Hell, I'd go to your store rather than GameStop if I get a cool little keychain for a preorder. (Unless of course, GameStop was giving away something even better.)

And the concession stand idea, sounds awesome.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top