Do you ever dream of opening a video game shop?

[Eduardo]

I currently can't get employed in what I studied. I'm over qualified so to speak. I saved around 10 grand. And I kept wondering about this hobby as a business. I read some articles but it's way easier said than done.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1860433/where_to_buy_wholesale_video_games.html?cat=19

http://www.ehow.com/how_5018911_start-video-game-business.html

Some rental space opened up next to my house. I keep dreaming and thinking about this.

[Mobius]

Indeed, I do. And I, too, have 10 grand saved up and am thinking of doing something game-related with it. But I'm also gainfully employed, so trying to start a business would, in all likelihood, mean quitting my job and that's scary.

[Greg2600]

Considering how much I hated dealing with crackpots while working in my father's sports card store for many years....No.

[Eduardo]

I live very lean because i liive off my parents for now. The thing is that if this doesnt work out then I wont have my little nest egg anymore.

[dreamcaster]

I'd love to run a game store. I have worked retail and as much as I loathe customers, I like the environment nonetheless. Plus I'd like to be my own boss.

[mobiusclimber]

Yeah I've been dreaming about it for awhile now. No money to do it tho. All the game stores in Seattle are seriously overpriced so I figure I'd actually have a chance of making it... except that there are a LOT of game stores in Seattle.

[DDCecil]

I finally did open my own store after dreaming about it for many years, but it unfortunately failed after the first year.

Oh well. At least I tried!

Edit: I'll post some responses later. I'm having a hard time putting my thoughts into words!

[Mobius]

I finally did open my own store after dreaming about it for many years, but it unfortunately failed after the first year.

Oh well. At least I tried!

How did you go about it? What were the biggest problems? What worked well? What would you do differently?

[Baloo]

How did you go about it? What were the biggest problems? What worked well? What would you do differently?

I'd like to know about that as well.

That's what I'm planning to do anyway, after I graduate college. I want to open up my own video game store. I've got my ideas swimming around, and working in an independent video game store helps me learn more and more about the business. And more and more I want to open up my own store, heh.

[duffmanth]

I dream about doing this every day! I'm well educated, and have been out of school for about a year now (I've become a professional student of sorts over the last 10 years or so), but can't find work in my field of choice. I use to work at an indy game store about 7 years ago for a few years, and really enjoyed it. The place was like a big playground when there were no customers and nothing to do. Myself and my buddy that I worked with at the time would just play games on our demo systems all day or just screw around on the Internet. We both met a lot of customers who became good friends, and the store just had a really cool and laid back atmosphere to it. Unfortunately we also saw some of the down sides; the occasional asshole customer, the slim profit margins on the new games and consoles, and the many responsibilities that come along with owning and running a business. Some day though, under the right circumstances, I would love to open my own game store, be my own boss, run it the way I want to, and not have to answer to anyone but myself : )

[Jorpho]

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1686670
http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=137578

[Arkhan]

Hell no. I can't deal with idiots coming in being idiots on a daily basis, lol.

plus the mom/pop video game store thing is a dying trend. They aren't lasting

at least around here

[kupomogli]

I used to. After seeing the profit you'd make unless having some connections then no. You're better off finding a good source for merchandise and then use Ebay to make profits.

[The_Chosen_One]

I don't know how much stock I'd put into an article that contains the following sentence:

Most directories you will need to register with, most are either free or paid.

Most are either free or paid? What are the rest?

[Eduardo]

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1686670
http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=137578
Thank you for the links but I don't feel they are the same question. Those two are stating that they are thinking about opening a shop, mine is asking others if they have ever considered it. I think the replies reveal it.

[garagesaleking!!]

the proper outlet for video games these days is online. trying to stock a full store inventory is not worth it. its a thing of the past, probably such a high failure rate, im guessing 80-90%

[ReTrO-pLaYeR]

I want to become an employee at our Slackers CDs and Games store. They sell plenty of vintage games, but nothing beyond the NES era from what I've seen. The sad fact is, I think I actually know more about these games then some of the employees do. 20 dollars for Super Mario Bros.3...loose? My ass.

I'm only 14, so of course I'd be considered too young/unintelligent to work behind the counter. Well, at least I know Colecovision wasn't manufactured by Nintendo (like my friend thinks). Even with a 4.0 GPA and an advanced knowledge of the vintage video gaming realm wouldn't net me a job there. I'd think I'd be a fairly good candidate, since I could easily give price values for NES-N64 era stuff- and also help older players reconnect with the past consoles if they aren't too great at remembering what exactly they had or the games they might have enjoyed.

[Swamperon]

I'd love to and think about it often but I would only ever do it if money wasn't a concern i.e. I had hundreds of thousands in the bank. So short of winning the lottery, it probably isn't going to happen!

[Push Upstairs]

That dream was never there, but my dream of working in a game store has already been fulfilled.

As awesome as it was to play games at work, get first dibs on incoming merchandise and hang out with a co-worker who was awesome, it wasn't worth the downsides that came with the job.

Mostly, there was no way the place could complete with big box stores when it came to new games, and people tended to trade in the same games/system that there were already 20 copies of in the backroom. Then there were the scuzzy "regulars" who would frequently try and sell obviously stolen merchandise.

[MachineGex]

The best way to stop loving a hobby is to make it your business. This may not be true for everyone, but don't think you will be "paid to play video games" all day by opening a store. You will have fair less time to play/enjoy games because opening a store is long/hard work.(that's what she said) Seriously, you will be buffing discs and helping customers all day, no time for playing games. When you go home, you will not want to play games so much.

[FxMercenary]

I thought about it, but I would probably want to keep have the stuff that came in for my collection, so my business would fail lol.

[Dangerboy]

At this point my dream job would be to have a position that has nothing to do with the public ever again.

[bartre]

honestly, i love working with people, even the dickbags.
but still, i don't think i could get a game store to work around here, there's two major ones, and a third that kinda does games, but mostly movies and music.
part of that is that i'd have a hard time selling some of the stuff.
the other part is that one of the game specialty stores is too awesome to compete with, aside from occasional overpricing and lack of inventory

[Einzelherz]

No, I like being able to afford food.

[StoneAgeGamer]

The whole existence of Stone Age Gamer is because of a dream. Not really a dream in the since of something I was working towards or hoping for, but I had a dream one night about opening an online classic gaming store. Next day I told me fiancée (wife now) that I wanted to do it and would she be for it. She agreed.

Our initial investment was only about $5000 of our money. We have put more money in over the years, but every year since we have opened our sales have gone up considerably each year. We have not had to rely on income from Stone Age Gamer so we just put the money we make back into it and are letting it mature.

I would say if it something you really want to do, start off online first and keep a part-time or full-time job. The risk is significantly less this way. If you can build your online business up to help support your new brick and mortar store then you will be in a much better situation and will be more likely to get a loan from the bank if needed.

[8bitgamer]

It would be cool to own a videogame store, but I owned a couple of comic book stores during the early '90s and will never again go into retail ownership. I liked the work well enough, and most of the customers were pretty cool (though we did have our fair share of drooling idiots), but I didn't like the feeling of being "on duty" 24-7. Sure, I took time off, but I always had the feeling in the back of my mind that I was on call. Plus, cash flow was always an issue. It's a huge responsibility, one that I don't care to take on these days.

[sixwayshot]

Pretty much every family member or family friend says that I've definitely got the knowledge and personality to own and operate a game shop, but I'm not too sure. My uncle has tried to get me to seriously consider opening up a shop, but he assumes that I'd be selling my own collection. Which isn't happening-- At least, not right now.

Which means that I'd have to build up a stock of games. Which means spending a lot of money, in addition to all of the other expenses that will come with a business like this.

Honestly, I'd love to be able to sell games for a living. I just don't have the cash or the time right now.

[Eduardo]

I worked with Anime DVDs back when people still paid for anime and it was not bad. You do find yourself turning slowly into Comic Book Guy and banning people from your store. When people figured out torrents, the anime business was done. I really enjoyed conventions and meeting people. One of the most rewarding parts was that people actually listened to you and those who cared about the hobbie became friends. But alas the economy is in the crapper, the goverment makes it diffiicult for the little guy (property taxed doubled here this year) and video giants take a huge dump on your head.

[SamuraiSmurfette]

I liive off my parents.

Personally, I'd work on this first. And I'm not being snarky. Just that it's not fair to them that you go out seeking your dreams and profits while they have to fund it.

[ihavethatpma]

I think that it would all depend on the area you're in, how many game stores are already there and how many people in town that are looking for games on a regular basis. In my entire county there are around 100,000 people (I think), but I'm sure that <150 of those people are searching for NES and SNES games, and I think I'm being generous with that number. Even major stores like Game Crazy and Gamestop are going out of business because more and more people are finding what they need online. 95% of the time, you can find what you're looking for online through eBay, Amazon, forums, etc, but the chance of finding that one thing you need at the local store is very slim most times, and it's often more expensive.

So, I believe that opening a storefront is a bad idea, but if you're looking to get into the video game business, online is where it's at.

[NayusDante]

I've actually read into the process for opening a Play N Trade, which seems to be the best idea in this situation. Sadly, there's a lot working against you if you go down that road. My local PnT (Oldsmar, FL) has been gone for a few months now, though I've heard rumors that it just moved (not what the PnT website says).

They claim that the upfront costs to start up a new franchise location is $200,000. I think this might include purchasing a storefront, not renting, and assuming a good buyer's market for real estate.

From what I learned about their supply chain from the owner, you order the retro games in units. If you ask for NES games, they send you an assortment. I don't believe they have a system where you can ask for a particular title. The bargain bin seemed to be full of common games that didn't move, even though they were priced well. The rare games will sell in the store, but I would make it a habit to eBay the common titles on a weekly basis.

They don't seem to have the supply chain to sell new consoles, or the shipping rates to stock oversize products like Rock Band.

GameStop has the supply chain and the capability to stay ahead, but GameStop isn't a "friendly" business. You're buying a brand and conforming to their specifications. If you just want to sell current stuff, that's the way to go.

I honestly think that the Play N Trade franchise would be excellent if you could do better than GameStop. They don't seem to get products in time for midnight releases, but you could hold tournaments and events on release day. If you offer more for trades and sell for less than GameStop, you could get their business, but your profit margins will be lower. The retro stuff, however, could offset it if you use eBay right. Tell your customers about your eBay storefront, list all the retro stuff and common titles you want to get rid of, and offer local pickup as a shipping option.

[Icarus Moonsight]

I've actually read into the process for opening a Play N Trade, which seems to be the best idea in this situation.

Me too. My assessment went the other way though. Every PnT place that has managed to stay open around me puts their best stuff on eBay anyway... You are better off on your own without a franchise at this point. DP franchises have been brought up a few times, but AFAIK, that's about it.

The internet business run out of a closet has more appeal to me honestly.

Overhead is killer. Wonder why most places charge over eBay or at parity? We'll, if they didn't, they couldn't exist.

[Eduardo]

Personally, I'd work on this first. And I'm not being snarky. Just that it's not fair to them that you go out seeking your dreams and profits while they have to fund it.

They can afford it.

[skaar]

They can afford it.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner.

http://i.imgur.com/nT3b8.jpg

Disdain.

[EvilSlefo]

I dream about running my own video game store. You would figure it would be succesful, with all the collectors and what not.

The reality is, I think, just not realistic. I live in Chicago, and there are 3 places that I can think of that have their own store. For the most part, the guys are getting by, but that's it.

Just think of all the different types of collectors there are: TG16, NEO GEO, RPG guys, old school Nintendo, imports, etc.

What I'm getting at is this: We are a niche audience with several niche's within.

The place I go to in Chicago is great for getting old controllers or wires, etc. They do have games, but the pickin's are usually thin.

I dream it, but wouldn't buy into it. :bawling: