Thinking about opening a store...

JoeCamNet

JoeCamNet

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First off, not sure if this is the right place for this, but I figure the general area is right, so if not I'm sorry.

Now, I wanted to post here because I know there's a few business owners on these boards and I wanted some advice.
I've been thinking about and I've been having discussions with family about starting up my own business. A game store, obviously.
I feel I have the understanding of what to do with the store, rules I'd practice and the general knowledge of what to buy and sell, along with some family who has already run a business successfully for 15 years and would be able to assist me on that side of things.
My questions I pose to the all knowing CAG boards are:

1.) Is this a worthwhile venture? Or is this a pipe dream I should forget about?
2.) If anybody is currently running a store, what kinds of startup money did you need for stock/supplies/location and whatever else. My guess was $50,000, but I didn't really do any research in the matter on what a location would be for rent and what supplies and fixtures run.


Any info, encouragement or insults are welcome. I've always felt like I was meant to own and run my own game store, but I'll be damned if I run a GameStop or work at some other indie store... All the stores in my area just seem in such disarray. Messy stores, disorganized, shit piled up everywhere...not to mention games that are in atrocious shape... Plus who the hell wants to deal in VHS tapes?
I just feel like I know what they're doing wrong, I know what I would do differently, and I feel I could succeed, but is it worth it?
Thanks for reading, hope to see some replies!
 
You are too vague. Brick and Mortar or Online, or both?

You will be competing with the online game-trading sites now too, not just GameStop.

What do you do when someone wants to turn in your 1000th copy of Madden 07, do you reject it
or give him 5 cents? How do you plan to stay competitive with pricing. Will you sell new games? Will you wind up with a stock of just old, crappy games?

Whos going to want to get store credit or sell games to you unless you offer more than GameStop, or if you offer credit you have to have enough stock to make credit worthwhile.....
 
I have always had the same dream of opening my own game store as well, but I have never seriously looked into getting financing or any major steps towards that goal. Maybe someday if I hit the lottery...

Good luck to you if you do go through with it.
 
It'd be a brick and mortar store.
As for somebody trading in Madden 07, after a set number of copies of a certain game, I would refuse the trade. I dont' need 48 copies of NBA 05 sitting on the shelf not moving. As for pricing, I would of course stay as close and reasonable as possible, but I won't overcharge like GameStop does or certainly how some of the local stores charge. It's obvioulsy a case by case basis and something I can't really go into detail with on a mesage board. I would keep track of what games are retailing for and their street value. I'm not going to ask $40 for a game that only goes for $20 on eBay, I'd need to have prices that ensure product moves and doesnt' sit on the shelf for weeks/months. And of course, I won't be like GameStop and offer $8 for a game they turn around and sell for $54.99. Again, this would be a case by case basis, but I'd like to offer at least 1/3-1/2 of a games "used" value to a customer for trade or credit.

I also plan to reject games that people are attempting to trade as a disc only game (unless it's Suikoden II or something). I will run this store in the sense that if it's something I wouldn't want to buy, I wont' buy it to re-sell in my store.
As for condition of the discs, I will also invest in a disc buffing machine. That way I can keep the discs that come in in good shape and I can also charge to repair and buff discs for customers.

I want to bill my store as "The Game Store for Gamers"
It won't be the casual place that has every single Sponge Bob game and 30 copies of Ice Age: The Meltdown for GameCube. I want to have a wide variety of games for all gamers, in the kind of condition they'd be happy to buy and pay for and want to come back. I'd want to have a high initial investment so that I can afford to stock up on the best of the best with games.
I would plan on carrying PS1, PS2, PS3, Xbox and Xbox360, GameCube, Wii, Game Boy (the whole family from GB to GBA), DS, PSP and Dreamcast. I would also hope to carry select classic titles, but again, I dont' want a store overrun with Desert Strike and Eeek the Cat.

As for selling new, it's something I'd like to do, but that's somethign I'd have to decide later on if I can get with a good distributor.

I'm very anal retentive with my games and the game stores I go to and that's why I feel I want to start my own, because I havent' found ANY stores that can offer what I want to have. The closest is Slackers in the Illinois/Missouri area, but most of their prices are incredibly unreasonable.


Thank you for your questions, Rusch, I hope I did my best to answer them.
 
Everyone wants to have a hobby that they can turn into a job so I certainly wish you luck as you pursue your dream.

However, I just can't stand retail. I've owned several business operations but all have been of the b2b nature. I don't think I could handle a retail location and its not just the idea of having to deal with customers in person all day long, all of whom are looking for a way to take money out of your pockets. Personally, I find the complete lack of any real barriers of entry into the market to be the biggest negative. Competition is fierce and it is just way to easy for the little guy to stomped on. You would really need something special to make it a worthwhile venture, IMO.

However, what is your market like? Is it full of Walmart, Best Buy, Gamestop and other independent game stores? If it isn't then you may have an advantage.

If you are serious, draw up a detailed business plan. Get cost estimates not only for initial inventory but for locations that you like, high traffic locations, and also get an idea of the costs that a solid marketing campaign will bring with it. Most small businesses fail in their first 2 years due to poor or no advertising. Try to get an idea of what your total costs of doing business would be and then go from there.
 
Thanks for the advice.
In the area I live now, there's all the big stores and like 3 small time used game stores, so I wouldn't want to do it here. But about 1/2 hour away, there's only a walmart, k-mart, gamestop and a game crazy. Nothing that really targets the classic games or the collector's and hardcore gamers market. 45 minutes away in a different direction from home all there is around there is a Walmart and a Gamestop, which is even better, but it's a smaller area, though its a college town so that might help a bit. If you're familiar with NEPA area, I currently live in Wilkes Barre and the two areas I'm looking at are Hazleton and Bloomsburg.
My main goals will be to find a great location, talk to the local radio stations and to have a hell of a grand opening. I would look into getting The OneUps to play the opening if this all does happen.

I know that startup is going to be the hardest part and I think if I can get through the first year doing well, I can make it. I've got people on board who are willing to see this happen, all we need now is the proper financing and we would need to execute. But due to some family problems (family in a divorce, some nagging legal bullshit) it wont' happen for at least another year or two, but dammit I need to plan this and work on making this happen as early as possible.

I thank everybody again for all the comments, well wishes and advice. The more I think about doing this, the more days and weeks that pass, it makes me want to do it even more. I feel this is something I need to be doing and hopefully some day in the future I can come to these boards and proclaim that all CAGs get 15% off anything in the store! :D
God knows I'll help my CAGs out if they felt the desire to make a trek to my store...

The one thing I've never been able to decide...a store name.
Best thing I can think of is "The Warp Zone" but even that is kinda ehhhh.
 
[quote name='JoeCamNet']Thanks for the advice.
In the area I live now, there's all the big stores and like 3 small time used game stores, so I wouldn't want to do it here. But about 1/2 hour away, there's only a walmart, k-mart, gamestop and a game crazy. Nothing that really targets the classic games or the collector's and hardcore gamers market. 45 minutes away in a different direction from home all there is around there is a Walmart and a Gamestop, which is even better, but it's a smaller area, though its a college town so that might help a bit. If you're familiar with NEPA area, I currently live in Wilkes Barre and the two areas I'm looking at are Hazleton and Bloomsburg.[/quote]

I haven't lived in Bloomsburg for about six years now, but the last time I was there it was definitely lacking for a video game store. The only thing there was a Gamestop but if you've been in the Columbia Mall you know that place is a joke. It's like a closet. So I think you could do well there. Especially with second hand sales near the campus. Perhaps a little place off of Main Street?
 
Take a hard look at where you feel the industry is going as far as digital content and downloadable games.
 
Las Vegas is a good market for independent video game stores, as there is only one I know about (Game World), and it's awful. All I ask is for a local Toys N' Joys, but no, I get Game World; the brick and mortar store equivalent to camel droppings.
 
[quote name='JoeCamNet']As for somebody trading in Madden 07, after a set number of copies of a certain game, I would refuse the trade.[/quote]
You have to be really careful about stuff like this. If you reject someone's trade, they're going to take it elsewhere... along with any business they might have given you. Gamestop will take anything in trade. What incentive would a customer have to be a patron of your store over a chain like GS?

I got pretty far in the planning stages of opening my own game store (except it had more of a CCG/tabletop focus) and ended up scraping it just because the failure risk was too high for the initial investment. It's really hard to compete with places that are as ubiquitous as GS.
 
I bought and sold video games online for three years.

Eh...

The industry has gone to crap since the latest generation of consoles.

The general guidelines for any business are to start VERY small.

If you lose $10K, no big deal. A second job or some overtime can clear that up.

If you lose $100K, maybe you'll get lucky and find a mate who already owns a house.

As wubb hinted at, the traditional game store may be gone at the beginning of the next generation. You may buy a console online and, then, you may buy a subscription that allows you to play a certain number of games for a certain number of hours.

If you're going to sell games from 2 generations back, you need to find somebody who is already doing it successfully. Otherwise, you'll be like Game Crazy.
 
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