Where Should the Next DP Videogames Store Be?

[Scrimble]

I didnt see Scrimble's post probably because i was typing it when he posted, but it just goes to show that there are a lot of people intrested in classic games around here. Wappingers is right in the middle of Poughkeepsie and Fishkill.


Heh well let's just say I know a few people who would be willing to help out...

[Drag0nsfyre]

Washington state. :D Spokane to be exact. :D

[Soviet Conscript]

My suggestion is obviously biased, but here in Washington Pa it would be great. We have EB and CD Warehouse for used games, but only in the current gen. There is no shop here to trade or buy carts. The EB in McMurray used to before EB stopped doing that and a lot of people here in Washington made a special trip there because the nearest place after that would be 40 minutes to an hour from Washington as opposed to 20 from McMurray. A lot of new stores have been opening here and we've a burst of economic activity, but nothing in this genre. The need certainly exist here.

ha, acually i'll second washington PA to, even closer for me. you mean the EB at donaldsons crossroads? its was a godsend when they put that there for me since i work next door to it. driveing to robinson was tireing. as for classic gameing though your right. theres not much in the way of it in the tri-state area except maybe in Pittsburgh or Trader Jacks

[sonicteam]

i agree with scrimble and segatasanshiro, the wappingers,poughkeepsie area has the usual gamestop and EB where they only have current titles and employees who are basically trained to con you into pre-ordering a game you don't even want, so a digitpress around here might fare well , as far as the local store to get vintage games from , they base their pricing according to ebay and give less than yard sale value for trade in's ,plus the stock of classic gaming is extemely low , perhaps the variety than digitpress can provide would reel in more costumers, segatasanshiro, scrimble, lucid defender, and myself all live locally so we would be more than glad to lend a hand if needed.

[PSXferrari]

Hey if you want an a nice area in desperate need a good games store, you gotten bring it to CT. Trust me, this place is a baron wasteland for old games. Sure, we have our EBGames and GameStops here and there, but nothing that sells anything older than PS2 games. You would virtually be running a monopoly out here. The only place to get games right now is eBay and MIRACLE finds at thrift shops. Either they never sold video games in CT until the late 90's, or no one's giving up their old stuff.

I'm from the Norwich/New London area, but even I can be honest and tell you that that's no place for a game store like yours. That best spot is to New Haven area-- you have huge commercial locations throughout the area; just check out Route 1 through West Haven, Milford, etc. (You definitely don't want it in New Haven; but the towns surrounding it are perfect.) It's fairly close to where you are now without being too close. (Until you're running a huge multi-store business, you definitely don't to own a store that you're 3000 miles away from). The closest classic game store is ridiculously far from that area. There are only one or two GameStops in the area too, and they suck.

You got plenty of people from all demographics; and it's one of the biggest New England college towns outside of Boston. Like Jersey, it is also densely populated so you have a huge customer base. Unlike a lot of the people on here saying to come to "My Hometown", I'll telling you a place that's way over an hour from where a live (despite that fact that i probably sound like the mayor right now). Just think it'd be a brilliant place for a store if someone would finally give it a try.

[udisi]

udisi: Joe can't open one out there, TRade N Games is already within the area, and he already provides everything that the DP store provides.


DreamTR: yeah Trade N Games is in Fenton, MO, it's still a good 30-40 miles from me. The 8-10 store franchise Slackers also competes here on the old stuff a bit, but they've seemed to concentrate more on their DVD/Music, appeal side of buisness. There's also some Game X changes down near TNG south county way, but really the east side of the missippi river(Illinois side) is the fastest growing area in illinois and only has Slackers dealing in anything before the PS2/GC/XBOX era. You have to cross the river and go into South County, or North County to find any worth wild classic game stores. We actually get a fair amount of Missouri traffic coming over here too.

I think you could put a classic game store on the East side here, and do plenty well. Fairview Heights, IL is a giant commerce area just 12 miles from the river and right off the main Interstate. Look it up, and you'll see the area is supporting 4 Gamestops (2 used to be EB's)and a Slackers. I know for a fact one of the used to be EB's was the top performing one in the region last year. I'm just saying this region could probably support another good clasic game store. You could also probably go North county(St Charles or O'Fallon, Missouri way and do well) The Suburbs here been doing very well in the growth dept.

I also agree with you though, that Nashville, TN would be a good place too. It's not as big as this region, but it's definitly an underdeveloped metro area when it comes to classic games. It may be a better choice sice Joe knows you'll be in the area whereas I doubt he knows much of anyone in this area.

My honest opinon though is for Joe to keep it regional for now. It's easier to travel between stores if you need to. There's plenty of areas near Jersey to expand into for now. What about maybe the ABE area in PA? Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton. It's pretty much smack dab in the middle of NY, Washington, DC, and Philly. It's close to Jersey, and has a nice population base.

[ubersaurus]

I'd look into Ann Arbor, myself. From my experiences there, outside of a gamestop away from the center of town I've not seen not much in way of game stores there, particularly downtown's area. Further, it's a college town with U of M's campus there, right near Ypsilanti and their Eastern Michigan campus, and still within easy driving of Detroit. And Pinball Pete's is in downtown Ann Arbor as well, one of the biggest arcades probably left in the country. Certainly a good all expansive game store could overlap a bit with the crowd that goes there.

Obviously I'm biased since I live in the area, but if I were opening a game store in southeast michigan that would be my number one option to look into.

Metro Detroit is another possibility. In this downriver area that I live in, I can think of 2 EB games, 3 or 4 Game Rushes, a Game Crazy, and about 5 Gamestops. And that's just downriver! I don't even have a good sense of how many there are in Detroit proper or on the north side(Achika may recall from her time here). There is one store that sells classic games on the north side, called Flipside, but their stock is small as they deal in classic media as a whole. There's also a weekly flea market downriver, and another one north of here, with a few dealers in video games(with a paltry stock of older stuff; mostly overpriced NES and Genesis games).

Again, I'm not familiar with Detroit proper, as most of my friends don't care about going to flea markets and game stores more than 10 minutes away, and I have yet to meet anyone with any indepth knowledge of the city itself, but downtown, midtown, and uptown are all good areas(midtown has Wayne State University AND the College for Creative Studies), so.

[jcrosby]

I would also have to agree with the Nashville, TN / area posts. As it would appear at least for the time being retro across the board is on the rise, and tapping into the college market might be a good avenue to pursue.

Putting a store within a reasonable driving distance from as many major universities as possible would be ideal as the student base is rotated every 4 years, thus one potential market of customers would always be rotating. Nashville is also a popular tourist location and fairly high traffic hub in terms of travel.

I personally live about 2 hours from Nashville, but would however be willing to drive that far a weekend a month to just be able to browse a solid and well put together game store. Being in Nashville you would also be within 2.5 hours from Knoxville TN, 3 hours from Memphis TN, 3 hours from Louisville KY, 4 hours from Atlanta GA, and 5 hours St Louis, MO.

Close enough for the hardcore gamers from the areas to make a small pilgrimage to the store if they wanted. That being said I wouldn’t discount a store semi close to where you are currently at now either, as it would indeed make the commute, as well as surprise visits much easier.

[DreamTR]

A point on what ubersaurus said as well, the Ann Arbor strip where the University of Michigan is has no "real" game store, just a bizarre comic/anime/action figure store with "some" new video games, and an oddity collectables type place with weird vintage artifacts of pop culture.

There are a few game stores in the Detroit area (way west of the city in the safer suburbs) but nothing that I would call extraordinary.

[djsquarewave]

I guess I know now why the only decent indie store I've been able to find in the California Bay Area is in Brentwood, which is a nice happy 40 minute drive through the hills from here. While it would certainly be a dream come true to have it in my own backyard, I'll say that anything further west would make it an easier road trip when I finally do decide to check it out.

Though if you're saying "we have this and this and this but they're not that great you should come here"... :fist:

...Washington state wouldn't be too bad. :D

[GarrettCRW]

I'd say the Vegas Valley, if only because it'd help a bit with the promotion and further establishment of CGE.

What further seals the deal is that the area only has chain stores, and the arcades in the area are A) in the casinos, and B) lack any real amount of classic gaming. And there's no lack of available retail space in town, either.

[digitalpress]

I've already posted that I under stood why he wouldn't go by friends store and open there. and again, Isay the choice should be joe's and not up to people like us. do you think Dominick Dimato(the man who started the Dominicks food store in IL) got his 120 store chain going by asking local customers where they think the next store should be. no he did research
went to local neighborhoods,check out the territory and brought the right locations.

Sorry Dan, you're not making a whole lot of sense to me. Doing research INCLUDES getting the pulse of your future clientele. There is no better demographic for this than the good people of this forum community. I would be remiss in my duties if I didn't hear as many opinions as possible before moving forward. Is this little thread the deciding factor in a location? Of course not. I never said it was. I have a number of potential sites in mind, and others have popped up on my radar now thanks to this thread.

I'm sorry if this sounds rude. You and I simply have completely different viewpoints on the subject. Let's agree to disagree.

[Lone_Monster]

Let me go in a little more detail about my place (Stuart, Florida), or at least where it would be cool to put a game store. There's a little plaza across my development which is down one of the main streets where I live. It's five minutes away from a community college and a tech school (where I go), so I'm sure there would be a lot of attention to it. The closest Gamestops are about 15 minutes away and literally one or two minutes away from each other.

[RCM]

Philly or NYC...two cities I spend a lot of time in.

Instead of opening another store why not focus on net sales? That way the DP store is in everybody's neighborhood!

[ubersaurus]

A point on what ubersaurus said as well, the Ann Arbor strip where the University of Michigan is has no "real" game store, just a bizarre comic/anime/action figure store with "some" new video games, and an oddity collectables type place with weird vintage artifacts of pop culture.

There are a few game stores in the Detroit area (way west of the city in the safer suburbs) but nothing that I would call extraordinary.

I'm just south of the city and there's a lot of(gamestop style) game stores, as I pointed out :P The import store in Garden City to the west of Detroit closed recently, however, they dealt in older games as well but were too badly overpriced and outclassed, apparently, by the internet.

Canton, MI is another one of those western suburbs DreamTR mentioned, and it's one of the cities in the area that is experiencing major growth.

Of course both cities are fairly close to Toledo Ohio, Monroe Michigan, and Windsor Ontario, all of which are pretty noteable cities in the area.

But yeah, the Detroit neighborhoods are shitholes. I'd avoid anywhere too close to them like the plague. I hear the midtown area is one of the safest parts of the country for whatever reason, though...probably something worth verifying.

[Xexyz]

I'd love to see a second store open up in central/upstate NY. Maybe I could actually visit then :)

Although, you would have competition with another classic game specialty store chain, Game Craze. I'm not sure how big the chain is, but it originated in Rochester, and expands all the way down to at least Syracuse (two locations near where I live). I think they have at least a dozen locations in this state.

[Dan Iacovelli]

Sorry Dan, you're not making a whole lot of sense to me. Doing research INCLUDES getting the pulse of your future clientele. There is no better demographic for this than the good people of this forum community. I would be remiss in my duties if I didn't hear as many opinions as possible before moving forward. Is this little thread the deciding factor in a location? Of course not. I never said it was. I have a number of potential sites in mind, and others have popped up on my radar now thanks to this thread.

I'm sorry if this sounds rude. You and I simply have completely different viewpoints on the subject. Let's agree to disagree.

hey whatever you decide I know it will be best for you.
I do know I was comparing two different things,my bad but as most of the people said start off in location close to you instaed going to places like california or IL, save on travel expense and such, then start branching out further after you the second store makes a good profit.
(IL basicly doesn't have enough mom and pop stores (Sean kelly's is basicly the only I could think of in chiacgo area, there was a die hard video game store, and there was of course mars merchandising and computer dungeon)
we could use a couple more though :)
you also have to think about traffic and rental expense: as somebody said it would be less money to lease a store space in mall then have stand alone store(most stand alones don't last long enough,which is why you stores like EBgames in malls then have store by themselves (trade n games and sean kellys store are the exceptions though,and prob your first store)
this will be my final post on this.
instaed of posting another question I figured to add to this:
your asking everybody here on DP there two other forums you should post this if you want a good idea: atari age and Jaguar sector-II

[savageone]

Raleigh, NC and this doesn't need a lot of explaining.. Home of Epic games (which is technically located in Carey, but same difference) making it an area that gamers are naturally attracted to.

[diskoboy]

Since I live in Nashville, I'll concur with everyone who has voted for here.

Here's why we desperately need one - We used to have a great store here called the Nashville Game X-Change.

You needed it... They had it - even the more rare stuff... It was a great store, unfortunately, it was in a very bad part of town. I worked at the Babbages closeby between 2000-2002. But fortunately, I was in a mall with security, so we didn't have the rampant crime they were exposed to.

They had already been robbed several times. But in 2004 or '05, one of the employees was shot and killed. They closed pretty much immediately. They never re-opened anywhere else, and no one really knows what happened to their inventory. The two owners were much older uber-hardcore gamers. Rumor has it - they just kept all the games they had.

And EB Games or Gamestop don't sell games for the systems I'm looking for (pre-NES or almost anything Sega after the Genesis). That only leaves Nashville with the Great Escape. It's basically a comic book store that buys video games. They usually have a shitty selection, and they don't test the games they buy, or check CD's for scratches.

We need a retro gaming store, with people who know what they're talking about, and doing, really badly!! :) Just if you do come here, stay away from Antioch (now known as 'Little Mexico').

[rscaramelo]

How about somewhere between Boston and Providence? We have very little around here besides the usual suspects. It's not too far from NJ.

RC

[calthaer]

Not bloody likely! C'mon, you're a gamer. Do you think there's a marketing analyst out there that understands THIS kind of business? My accountant and lawyers are STILL perplexed.

They do not necessarily need to understand your business to show you where the highest concentration of people LIKE your customers who are not your customers are.

If you have customer addresses, a market data analyst can find out that the majority of your current store visitors are, say, between 19 and 40, male, average income of $40k, 50% single / married, spend ~ $1000 / year on games, and are from within 150 miles of your store, etc. Then a market analyst could locate a series of zip codes that would be another epicenter for a similar customer demographic.

Of course, you would need to combine that information with some common sense (i.e. - there's another indie game shop nearby, etc.), but this sort of information can help you see the "bigger picture" of an area's economic growth / decline combined with the concentration of potential customers that are present in an area when you're deciding where to put a store.

But I've never priced a study exactly like this for retail, so I'm not sure if your return on investment would be worth it.

[Dan Iacovelli]

if you want to really do research and for free, go to fandata.com
they have lists of local stores(yes even gaming stores) just use thier search engine to find what stores are close.

[chrisbid]

You say you want to be near the Gamestop / EBs of the world? Come to Columbus Ohio. There are 26 (roughly) of them here within 30 miles. 2 in the same mall even... can't get much closer than that ;)

I will also say that all my favorite classic gaming sources have either gone under, or abandoned the classics. Plus there are lots of chances to make perverted ads using Ohio States giant block O logo.

Good luck with the expansion / worldwide domination tour.

hey scooter, if you remember chris that had the game/music exchange on hard road, he left the business for a day job a couple of years ago but he recently came back and opened a store on N High Street near Henderson Rd called Play It - Trade It. he already has a very good selection, and while the rare stuff is fairly expensive, the common stuff is actually priced to sell.

there are quite a few other mom n pops here, and while the quality isnt as good as they once were, mainly crazy burt whittling down to one location in grove city (that may be gone for all i know), its still a pretty saturated market.

[chrisbid]

oh, and i will vouch for ann arbor. i went up there for a concert last october, and the town had pretty much every kind of niche store (records, comic books, head shop, odd clothes, etc) for college kids except a video game store

[slip81]

Southern RI or CT would be nice. not so much because I live here, but mainly because there aren't ANY independantly owned game stores in the area.

I mean we have gamestops and EB's, but other than that I can't think of a single game store that sells anything pre PS2 south of Boston.

There are a few (i.e 3 or 4) gamecrazy's in the area, but we all know how those are for classic gaming.

[tinstar]

Reading PA would be a great place for your store. we have 2 eb's a gamestop a game crazy and 1 microplay here. your store would kick ass here

[Goblin]

I count myself lucky living so close to the original, but I would suggest you position somewhere in Connecticut close to 95 (maybe Stanford or something a bit more north). I am involved in a number of other niche hobbies, and I think nothing of hoping in the car on a weekend to make a few hour trip to any of the surrounding areas to visit them. By locating away from your current store you don't risk competition with yourself, and might pull in more of the New England area collectors who might drive 2 hours to visit you but wouldn't drive 5 hours.

[ghsqb]

I count myself lucky living so close to the original, but I would suggest you position somewhere in Connecticut close to 95 (maybe Stanford or something a bit more north). I am involved in a number of other niche hobbies, and I think nothing of hoping in the car on a weekend to make a few hour trip to any of the surrounding areas to visit them. By locating away from your current store you don't risk competition with yourself, and might pull in more of the New England area collectors who might drive 2 hours to visit you but wouldn't drive 5 hours.
Just a thought Joe, but what about heading West?
Being in Canada I don't think I'm in a position to suggest the most precise spot, but somewhere in Nevada, California would seem to be a good idea.

A lot of the old school game companies were based out there and it stands to reason that there would be a strong affinity for your type of business in that area.

There's also the tie-in with CGE which is a given, there could be an almost constant CGE vibe in a West coast store (on a smaller scale) and I would think you could put to good use some of the contacts you've made over the years to good use and do some cool promotional stuff at a store out that way.

[AB Positive]

Up here we see a huge amount of "Retro-gaming" revival, with only one store that actually sells anything pre-PS2, in Plaistow.

Plaistow is a far cry from any of the true retro-gaming hubs in new hampshire though - UNH is full of gamers, as is PEA (Phillips Exeter Academy) as well as three or four other private academies. All of whom practice the more liberal style of teaching, and allow their students who board to come and go semi-regularly. A good amount of these folk are your MIT-styled people.

Someplace triangulated near these spots, Durham/Newmarket, Portsmouth, Dover, and Exeter - would kill. Its where I was thinking of doing a store until I hit on my IT job.

the Dover/Durham border would work, it'd be on the way from both the Portsmouth and Dover UNH bus stops, Newmarketers could walk/bike there, and you'd have the COAST bus from Exeter to hit the PEA kids. Portsmouth Christian Academy is just down the road, as well as 4-5 high schools. Low-crime area (mainly pot possession and speeding charges around here) so Security would be less of an issue.


... I hadn't thought about this at all.

-AB+

[PDorr3]

oh please open one up in NY, preferebly one on Long Island :)

[Vinnysdad]

It would be great if you opened one up in California. Southern CA actually. I live in Ventura County and the only two retro shops I know of closed down last year due to owner death and ridicolous prices not lack of customers. It would be great if I didnt have to drive an hour and a half to Gamedude anymore. Seems to be a good market out here as far as I know.

[Vigilante]

I really don't know much about business so I'll just add my 2 cents.

Being in Clifton, you have the NY crowd, it's only like 1/2 hour away from NYC.

I think of the big chains, like Micky D's, Walmart, whatever. They didn't open one place on the east coast and the second store on the west coast. They stayed relatively close and branched out from there.

With that said, I think maybe you could go twards Philly, another large place which is close. If not South, you could go North up twards Boston. It's only a short drive and you can move stock yourself if need be.

Opening up a place in the middle of the country doesn't make sense when most of the population of the United States is on the east coast and the west coast. Sorry if anyone takes offense at that, but that's just the way I see it.

I used to work for a computer rental company years ago. They are/were based in California. LA, SanFran, Vegas, lots of offices out there. They tried to open up for the NYC crowd and after 2 years I had to quit, they were killing me. I think they closed up the place a year later. Again, I say it was because we were too far away from home base and it felt like we were not a team, but more like them and us.

I hope this helps.

[jcheatle]

While several people have brought up Pittsburgh (and to a lesser extent, Philly) as possible locations for the PA area, I would suggest State College for several reasons. There are also drawbacks, of course, but I'll mention those afterward.

First, the good: It's centralized to the basic middle of the state, cutting off travel time by ~2-3 hours compared to Pittsburgh. You've got a campus with 42,000 students in the middle of the city, so that's roughly 10,000 new potential customers from year to year. Not only this, but many who graduate with degrees from PSU stay in the general area.

You could draw from all over the state, as central PA is DEAD. To even get to a worthwhile flea market, you need to drive toward Pittsburgh or Harrisburg. Sure, there are the standard EB/Gamestops but nothing else really. Unlike Pitt or Philly, there are no other options. There are also many other cities with college campuses (Clarion, Indiana, Altoona, H-Burg) within relative driving distance, and of course, State College is situated just off I-80, so that will only aid in getting folks there.

The area has been dying for something of the genre since the Playland Arcade shut down about 4 years ago. Keep in mind that it didn't shut down due to lack of customers. Rather, it was packed clear to the end, but the owner was in his 70s and didn't want to renew the lease for five more years. And lest I forget that for five or six weekends a year, 100K Nittany Lion diehards swarm the town, plus things like Arts Fest and the like. It may not be the exact clientele you're looking for, but depending on your location, there may always be foot traffic. And I'm sure you'd agree that lots of curious customers is always better than no customers because some will stay.

Now, the drawbacks... if it wasn't for PSU, you'd be in the middle of nowhere. The college definitely offsets this, but it's still the truth. Thus, comparatively, is NYC or a major metropolitan area more attractive? Probably. Is it possible that I am overestimating the demand? Again, perhaps. Lastly, when we look at the drawing area, it may not be as wide reaching as I think, and Pitt/Philly (tri-state on either end) might be better on the whole, even with competition.

However, as I said, if you are intending to move into PA, consider State College. I may not live there, but I have friends who do and will frequent your store constantly. Hopefully, I presented the "move near me" argument in an objective way. Best of luck in your search.

[DefaultGen]

.....

[PapaStu]

If your going to look to be quite a ways away from your current store I whole heartidly reccomend the Bay Area. All the good indy shops have died in the Bay Area proper (yes 4Jays in in Antoich, but thats really not in the Bay Area, thats on the other side of the hills in the hot hot schmarmy valley). Hell I'll be back there come this summer and would kill to not have to shop at an EB/GS store in that not too distant future.

[j_factor]

jfactor: uh....I can think of at least 20 game stores I have been to (with classics) on the West Coast. What part of the state are you searching? Game Dude, Alameda Game Exchange, 4Jays, Game World Exchange, A&J Games, and at least 5 others I went to in the NoCal area...

Um, I specifically said "north of Hollywood and south of Seattle". Game Dude, Game World Exchange, and A&J Games are all in LA County. One or two of them may be slightly north of Hollywood, but they're in that area. 4Jays is pretty far out there, not really close to city population at all, and it's not really a great store. That leaves Alameda Game Exchange, which I must admit I haven't been to in a long time, but it's not exactly big, and it's far enough from my suggestion of Sunnyvale.

I don't know how long ago you went around norcal looking at game shops, but a lot of them went out of business. And I've still yet to hear of anything in Oregon or southern Washington, or central California (ie San Louis Obispo).

[DreamTR]

jfactor: dojosky and I went to at least 5 of them when I visited NoCal. One in Burlingame, and a bunch of others scattered all over the place and hidden. Yes, Game World Exchange and Game Dude are north of Hollywood among at least 3 others I know about besides those but pretty well hidden. It's not complete dead, but considering he lives in Sactown and took me to all of these and has been living in Nocal for awhile, there are still plenty to be had.

There is also BREGames in Fresno, which has a pretty nice warehouse, but it's a shame Treasure ISland went out of business last year, they had the largest stock of classic gaming I have ever seen (pre-NES stuff)

I went to NoCal less than 6 months ago.

[Dan Iacovelli]

bre still in business?
I brought most of lynx games from them they had good service.
remember the A exchange newsletter? I used get it from them until they changed it to Gem newsletter.

[Flack]

Although I would love to see a Digital Press store in the Oklahoma City or Tulsa area, there are three Game-X-Change stores in the Tulsa area and one in the OKC area so far. While I have no doubt you could beat their prices, I don't know if moving into the area of an established chain that sells retrogames would be the greatest business decision.

That being said, I'll champion whoever mentioned Arlington, TX. It's a great area that hasn't been industrialized to death, and it's directly inbetween Dallas and Fort Worth, right off the highway. There's a Six Flags there and lots of hotels and touristy stuff, so people are always going there on vacation. I'm guessing DP is enough of a niche market that you would be able to pull in customers from both Dallas and Fort Worth, plus Denton (a college town) and Lewisville are also close. It's a big shopping area, that's for sure.

[marvelus10]

Vancouver BC Canada

[jcheatle]

Though I'm sure being located near a school is pretty much a given (and if it's in walking or biking distance from another school, even better), I'm not sure a college town like Penn State would be ideal. There might be a market for used games, but new stuff? I remember times when being able to afford a pizza was a luxury ;) Just from the few times I hung out at DP, it seems most of the kids are middle school or high school-age, with all of their parent's income at their disposal (muwahaha).

Yeah, I hear you. I was just throwing out an idea, but I will say that re: State College, as of the last census, 69% of residents 25+ had a bachelor's degree or higher (opposed to PA's statewide 22% average). This would mean, in theory, that those people have better paying jobs with more disposable income for their children. Just a thought, but you're absolutely right about college kids being poor usually.

And really, I'm just trying to play the "come to my area" card with some valid rationale. :) That and *if* Joe wants to be in PA. Like I said, there are probably lots better spots all over the country.

[ubikuberalles]

I figure you should put it somewhere in the midwest. Locate it in the center of the country so that it's easier to get to by DP members and put it near (but not necessarily in) a large city (so you can get decent business from non-DP members). Maybe in a small town or suburb near Kansas City or St. Louis or even Indianapolis? Unless they're too close to Chicago. In that case go further south like Oklahoma City or the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.

[cyberfluxor]

Raleigh, NC and this doesn't need a lot of explaining.. Home of Epic games (which is technically located in Carey, but same difference) making it an area that gamers are naturally attracted to.

That's only about 2-3hrs away from where I'm at and has a good population, but I'm not sure about what places or demand is there.

Here in Hamption Roads there's already several stores scattered around and a lot of pawn shops, thrift stores, flea markets, EB/GS stores... It'd be a rough place to get a handle of from NJ, I'd more so suggest Richmond, Virginia if you head into this state. Friends I know at VCU say there's like 1 GS and Best Buy, that's it. There's no competition, but of course there is crime in that city (some of the worst in the country) so that's the negative, but a few colleges. :)

[DreamTR]

Dan: BreSoftware mostly sells on eBay now, but they still have a store, and a ton of crap for sale, same one from years back.

Stonic: I have to disagree about kids not being able to afford new games, most colleges know that kids have TONS of freaking spending money, and they are more than likely to be bombarded with credit cards on campus. What will they do with their new credit cards? Hrm....But yeah, they will not have REAL money, just plastic!

[Garry Silljo]

Some people have mentioned that a nearby college is a benefit. I forgot to mention that when I suggested Washington Pa. There is indeed a college in town, W&J (Washington and Jefferson). So if that is a plus add that to my earlier comments on the area.

[roxybaby]

However, New York, particularly Manhattan, is another matter entirely. I'm nearby and there are all kinds of social factors involved, making it a pretty likely target.

Joe, I would be in serious danger of blowing my entire paychecks there on a bi-weekly basis. Fair warning! I think there are three great spots in the city: Herald Sq. (two Gamestops in walking distance of each other); Union Square (big hang out for the college crowd, and where my office is); Upper West side 110s and higher (Columbia, etc.). Rockefeller also has potential IMHO because of the Nintendo store, but rent there is outrageous even for NYC.

If you decide to stick to the tri-state area, I would recommend finding a store that is easily accessible by both highway and train. I take Metro North to go on shopping trips and um, drinking trips, all the time. Being reachable by train also helps bring in the youngins who can't yet drive.

[PSXferrari]

I count myself lucky living so close to the original, but I would suggest you position somewhere in Connecticut close to 95 (maybe Stanford or something a bit more north). I am involved in a number of other niche hobbies, and I think nothing of hoping in the car on a weekend to make a few hour trip to any of the surrounding areas to visit them. By locating away from your current store you don't risk competition with yourself, and might pull in more of the New England area collectors who might drive 2 hours to visit you but wouldn't drive 5 hours.


Now here's an intelligent person!!! Yay! I second this idea. As I mentioned in my post, I recommend the West Haven/Orange/Milford area off I-95 (i.e. the surrounding area of New Haven). It's a great commercial location, plenty of business, a lack of competition, and close proximity to Joe without being TOO close. What more can you ask for in a new location? This is well over an hour from where I live, so I'm saying this not to be biased, but based on my knowledge of the area as a former college student there.

The Stamford/Darien/Greenwich area, as you recommended is also very nice (and RICH), but I don't think it's as diverse and populated as the New Haven area. Still it's nice to see a well-thought recommendation. I'm pretty sure, as much as Joe loves games, he's in business to make money. Saying "come to my hometown in Michigan" or "open your 2ND STORE like 3000 miles away in Washington state" sounds to me like people wanting to put DP out of business, rather than actually offering anything constructive.

[wrldstrman]

If I could open a store I would put one in Pittsburgh the city gets a ton of traffic. and its close to 3 of the biggest flea markets in the north east..

[Vectorman0]

Now here's an intelligent person!!! Yay! I second this idea. As I mentioned in my post, I recommend the West Haven/Orange/Milford area off I-95 (i.e. the surrounding area of New Haven). It's a great commercial location, plenty of business, a lack of competition, and close proximity to Joe without being TOO close. What more can you ask for in a new location? This is well over an hour from where I live, so I'm saying this not to be biased, but based on my knowledge of the area as a former college student there.

The Stamford/Darien/Greenwich area, as you recommended is also very nice (and RICH), but I don't think it's as diverse and populated as the New Haven area. Still it's nice to see a well-thought recommendation. I'm pretty sure, as much as Joe loves games, he's in business to make money. Saying "come to my hometown in Michigan" or "open your 2ND STORE like 3000 miles away in Washington state" sounds to me like people wanting to put DP out of business, rather than actually offering anything constructive.


I agree Joe should stay away from most places between Westport and Greenwich, because the lack of diversity you mention would lead to a lack of business I think. However I think right off Route 1 by exit 14 off I-95 would be a very good location. There really aren't any good stores that have any old stuff anywhere around here. It's always very busy and it seems all the parking lots around there in most shopping centers are always packed every day of the week. That area is also very diverse, compared to the surrounding parts of Fairfield county. And the Gamestop right there would surely bring in business.


I also think you should stay within driving distance if you open another store.

[mb7241]

I agree with DreamTR. Stick to where the potential buyers are. If there was a DP store in the Nashville or Murfreesboro areas, you could pretty much count on me visiting every couple to four weeks (and I'm 100+ miles away without a vehicle). I'm always good for going into classic game stores and buying stuff, and there's quite a few like me in this general area. When Gamestop took over Rhino, that basically ended the supply of vintage games in stores around here (two other guys and myself basically wiped the 50-mile radius clean). We could definitely use a DP store.

[PSXferrari]

Southern RI or CT would be nice. not so much because I live here, but mainly because there aren't ANY independantly owned game stores in the area.

I mean we have gamestops and EB's, but other than that I can't think of a single game store that sells anything pre PS2 south of Boston.

There are a few (i.e 3 or 4) gamecrazy's in the area, but we all know how those are for classic gaming.


Taking my own advice, I might have to go down as the only person in this topic to DISAGREE with another poster who wants a game store in the area I live in (rather than seconding their opinion). Like you, Slip, I live in that area (Southeastern CT to be exact), and definitely hope that Joe doesn't lose his mind and put a store here. The area just would not do well. Yes, we are severely lacking game stores and the closest GameStop to me is 30 minutes, but there's a reason for that. The demand isn't as high in this area as others and I think it lacks a good commercial location with good surrounding towns for business. Things are too spread out, and honestly just not a great area for business. It's either too rural in places (i.e. lacking customers) or too poor in the city locations. So I can't recommend it for a successful business.
(Also must disagree with the recommendations of upstate NY, which I'm familiar with, for similar reasons. The area along 84 has some okay towns, but nothing spectucular... and everything is way too spread out in NY. Unlike New Jersey, you're servicing to a much smaller area in NY because you lack the sending towns that can generate customers from a wide radius. I think Joe will find himself right at home on 95 in Southwestern CT, which is densely populated like NJ).

[Vinnysdad]

jfactor: dojosky and I went to at least 5 of them when I visited NoCal. One in Burlingame, and a bunch of others scattered all over the place and hidden. Yes, Game World Exchange and Game Dude are north of Hollywood among at least 3 others I know about besides those but pretty well hidden. It's not complete dead, but considering he lives in Sactown and took me to all of these and has been living in Nocal for awhile, there are still plenty to be had.

There is also BREGames in Fresno, which has a pretty nice warehouse, but it's a shame Treasure ISland went out of business last year, they had the largest stock of classic gaming I have ever seen (pre-NES stuff)

I went to NoCal less than 6 months ago.


Are you talking about Treasure Island in Ventura, CA? If you are then damn I couldnt stand that guy! Almost got into a fight with him because he constantly sold me broken crap and would get mad when I returned it. His store seemed to have everything though.

[PSXferrari]

I agree Joe should stay away from most places between Westport and Greenwich, because the lack of diversity you mention would lead to a lack of business I think. However I think right off Route 1 by exit 14 off I-95 would be a very good location. There really aren't any good stores that have any old stuff anywhere around here. It's always very busy and it seems all the parking lots around there in most shopping centers are always packed every day of the week. That area is also very diverse, compared to the surrounding parts of Fairfield county. And the Gamestop right there would surely bring in business.


I also think you should stay within driving distance if you open another store.


Personally not even familiar with what town is of Exit 14, but anything on Route 1 is a gold mine in my eyes. Route 1 is definitely the biggest, longest, and best strip of shopping in CT going on for dozens of miles through a ton of towns. The area I've been referring to is also on Route 1 but further up-- most of the exits in the 30s range off 95 are very good (I believe the mall area is off 36). Like I said, don't know enough about Exit 14 to comment on it, but I'm a big fan of any store opening up on Route 1. It just could not fail.

[DreamTR]

Vinnysdad: That's the guy! I drove back and forth three times wasting my time because he was never there when he posted he would be, he promised he would clean up the place and have me go through the back of the store when the time came, but he never did, he yelled when I wanted to see items, and he always tried to price things on the Game Dude list. It was a pigsty in there, nothing less than that. He even told me even if I spent 2K-3K it was not worth his time to deal with me because his rent was 5K a month. How do you like THAT form of customer service?

[Vinnysdad]

Vinnysdad: That's the guy! I drove back and forth three times wasting my time because he was never there when he posted he would be, he promised he would clean up the place and have me go through the back of the store when the time came, but he never did, he yelled when I wanted to see items, and he always tried to price things on the Game Dude list. It was a pigsty in there, nothing less than that. He even told me even if I spent 2K-3K it was not worth his time to deal with me because his rent was 5K a month. How do you like THAT form of customer service?


LOL He did the same thing to me. He would get pissed if I walked in and tried to spend money. I used to tell him are you running a fucking store or not. The place was a horrible mess and your right about him never being open. He would open up maybe twice a week. First time I was ever glad a video game store went out of business.

[zektor]

Joe, why dontcha take over NJ *first* :) Hows about in Wanaque? Close to you, close to my work :), and there seems to be a whole lotta gamers in the area.

[rbudrick]

Manchester, NH would be a great choice, imo. And, no, not just because it's pretty local to me, though I would volunteer to help with the setup. There's a bunch of Gamestops and EBs in the area, and most people are so sick of them. There's a bunch of colleges and tech schools in Manchvegas, and it's a good sized city with a growing suburbia (crapload of kids everywhere). I'm not sure where all the people keep coming from over the last few years!

Also, Manchester is home to the Mall of New Hampshire, so if you are positioned close to there where your competition is, people will think of you before or after they leave the mall.

Also, Nashua, the next closest city, is about 25 minutes away, where the Pheasant Lane Mall is (a little smaller than Mall of NH), where you have a GS and an EB. Also, right across the street from the Mall is another EB, and on ramp to Manchester is also across the street from the mall. Nashua's also got a bunch of tech schools and a couple smaller divisions of larger local colleges.

On top of this, it's not a long drive back home, and you'd have a presence in New England.

-Rob

[neuropolitique]

The Atlanta area is tricky right now, IMO.

With the purchase of Rhino and Game Swap recently closing most of their stores and going the Poker route, there isn't really a good source for Classic games. North of the city there is tons of money. Within 5 miles of my house there are more than 30 thousand people with an average income of more the 100k. There are colleges spread throughout the area, but no real "College town" area to speak of.

I say the area is tricky, though, mostly because of the Game Swap collapse. At one time they had 3 or 4 stores in various areas of North Atlanta. now they have just one in Discover Mills. Also, they have decided to sell mostly just Poker supplies. Last time I was by I didn't even bother going in, so I'm not sure if they carry any games at all now. It didn't look like it. Their prices were always high, imo, and the "rare" stuff in the case was always the same laughable stuff. The staff was pretty similar to Gamestop/EB, in that it was people who didn't necessarily know much about what they were selling. They did have one good guy, who I once bought a 130XE from, but he was the only employee you could count on.

Maybe they put themselves out of business by their practices, or maybe the area just isn't a classic game sort of town. Dunno. But as much as I'd love to see a store here, i think there are better places.

Places like the Tri-state area. I'm with those that think you should build up the area before venturing out into other, more foreign areas.

[Rekcuf]

New Paltz New York. It's a college town, it's close, it's hip... I'd run it for you..

:angel:

[sisko]

The Phoenix area has no quality classic shops at all. GameStop is everywhere, but Games+ is horrid, and GameZone isn't much better. I'd love to have a store like this around here, and I'm sure there are several gamers that would too.

However, the indy shops don't seem to fare too well. I'm not sure if that is due to bad location, bad management, or both.

If you did decide to open one here though, I'd seriously consider running it for/with you, and I'm sure I could bring a small handful of solid employees as well.

[DreamTR]

sisko: but BOOKMAN's OWNS! And Atari 2600.com does mail order there...

[koster]

Why not rent an RV, fill it up with game inventory, and do a virtual store tour of the US? You can list all the stops you plan to make based on the recommendations people have provided in this thread and see what sort of support you get in those areas when you roll through town...

I'm half-way kidding. :) I'd rather see the current DP store offer mail order before opening another store that is too far away for anything but a road trip.

[itobandito]

heres a vote for CT, since you live in Jersey you could probably keep an eye on it easier while at the same time increasing your client base.

[playmessiah]

Joe,

I am very excited to hear you are thinking about opening another store… Congrats!

Look to the middle to lower income areas surrounding the bigger markets. You will be able to find reasonable rents as well as have a steady source of trade ins. Some of the chain’s have their most profitable stores in these areas. The LAN room could also be a big success in this sort of environment.

What is your time frame? Would love to discuss this with you in detail sometime...

Best of luck!
Brad

[sisko]

sisko: but BOOKMAN's OWNS! And Atari 2600.com does mail order there...


Whoops, forgot about them. I hate shopping there though. Rooting through those N64/SNES/NES games is impossible. That being said, positioning a store 45 minutes away from either location would be no sweat.

[PallarAndersVisa]

the D.C. area would be great. I live in Richmond myself and there are zero stores that carry anything earlier than PSX. Me and all of my friends always complain about it, and I make trips occasionally to Virginia Beach to visit Cool Stuff, which carries all the old shit. Great store. So I'd imagine a D.C/B-town area store would be pretty central to a lot of gamer's needs.

[Grunaki]

If you're feeling adventurous, you could give Winnipeg a try..

Nothing like that around here as far as I'm aware.. There are quite a few EB Games stores and a couple of HMVs that sell games, but nothing that encourages people in to come play games together.

EB have a few consoles set up and generally let you 'try before you buy' if they're not too busy. Other than that, it's a pretty open market - and there are plenty of gamers here who would love a store like yours to play with..

[PSXferrari]

Why not rent an RV, fill it up with game inventory, and do a virtual store tour of the US? You can list all the stops you plan to make based on the recommendations people have provided in this thread and see what sort of support you get in those areas when you roll through town...

I'm half-way kidding. :) I'd rather see the current DP store offer mail order before opening another store that is too far away for anything but a road trip.


Classic idea. Imagine getting the RV hi-jacked! Hey, with half these recommendations it seems like people are trying to put Joe out of business anyways (i.e. "Saskatchewan has no game stores!"; yeah, no shit). At least the travelling RV will have a good story behind it. Talk about shoplifting.