Yeah, this isn’t a go/no-go thread. My CPA and I will make that decision.
This is a way to crowd-source potential marketing ideas to jump start things. The venture is about as risk-limited as a retail store can get.
Definitely. I’d also check out the BGG (board game geek) conventions. They’re strictly about tabletop gaming (PAX conventions are kind of a mix- video games, tabletop games, and general nerd/geek culture).
And of those three I only want to do two of them. I don’t think we can compete on video games.
Though it was just proposed that I put a few old coin-op games in the gaming room. I’m thinking of doing it but haven’t made up my mind.
I’ve mentioned that the digital market is a strong competitor when it comes to comic books, but when it comes to graphic novels and collections you might want to check out your local libraries to see what they have on the shelves. They may be giving away what you are trying to sell for a profit-I know my public library has a whole section dedicated to them.
Don’t check the stuff on the shelves, check the stuff in the catalog that is NOT on the shelves.
Most libraries have on-line catalogs where you can see their inventory and what’s available. Find the books which have a long waitlist to help figure out what the currently popular books are. Maybe even look at the catalogs in cities where graphic novels would be more popular, like perhaps San Francisco, to see what the leading edge of popularity might be.
That is true, also.
I could see coin-op games keeping some traffic in the store during slow periods. You wouldn’t want them to distract from from the tabletop gaming environment though.
Coin-op games seem like a better idea than vending machines for snacks and drinks. You can offer a wider array of snacks with a lower capital cost if you just have the employees sell the snacks. Unless there are lines at the checkout (in which case, good for you!) the labor cost of this is low and it keeps your clientele engaged with your staff. You want to offer a retail experience that people can’t get online. Spending all their time choosing and buying from a machine is exactly what Amazon offers.
Here’s an idea–school fundraiser community nights are a big thing these days. A fast-food or fast-casual restaurant has a “family night” where some % of sales go to a school or a school PTA. Sometimes it’s all sales, sometimes it’s of people who identify themselves as part of the fundraiser. Some places really get into it: they have teachers helping serve tables, or they get in a face-painter or some sort of craft station. It’s not just for “pick up dinner at Whataburger”. it’s “go to Whataburger and see/be seen”. Schools promote the HELL out of these things. You could do a “family game night” or something where you agree to donate a % of sales of merchandise. Have demos of age-appropriate games. Offer a discount for teachers, and get them to run games–they will call the kids over.
Middle school might be ideal for this–lots of families feeling like they are growing apart, and parents looking for things they can do together. Lots of young geeks with allowances and finally the attention span to save up.
I’d agree- that’s a losing fight, with what seems to be an inexorable move to digital delivery and services like Steam/GOG/Battle.net/Origin.
I’d say that PAX is a mix plays more to the strength of its data. You’re a store owner. Your current, hardcore base is dwindling. You want new people. New people have varied interests. New people are less likely to be hardcore tabletop-only players, and instead be all-around people who also like to play tabletop. Sounds like a description of PAX to me. That and you can flip the coin the other way around. Say you want book data. Oh no, your data came from a convention that serves both books & movies!! Is your data really tainted by the knowledge that the people who like books there also like movies? Seems pretty normal to me. Why would it be a negative? Why consider the data on your specific field lesser-than because the people there have more than one interest?
Though if you think that you only want data from purist tabletop players, I forgot to mention there’s PAX Unplugged, which only does tabletop. So there’s that.
A game store opened up in my town, and I am really rooting for it. The things that turned me from a one-time shopper to somebody who will go there for gaming needs are:
[ol]
[li]A really friendly front end person who asked me very good questions about what kinds of things I like in a game, then walked me around to choices.[/li][li]A front-of-store gaming table that looked up and smiled when I came in. And a couple of people chimed in with support for some of the game recommendations from the employee.[/li][li]A nice range of costs, which translates into me being able to get games as ‘thinking of you’ gifts.[/li][li]Board game workshops. For $5, you can come in and play whatever games you want (that are already opened up) to give them a dry run before purchase.[/li][/ol]
Essentially, for me it is the vibe. I’m a middle aged lady but have been playing D&D since I was in eighth grade. Walking into a game store where it feels like nobody wants you sucks. The female staff will help, but so will making sure you hire outgoing staff in general. And, try to cultivate your on-site gamer base to be neutral-to-nice people, not the people who scowl.
I would like it if there were cards on some of the games that give an employee recommendation, like you sometimes see in a video store or a wine shop.
On a very small note, the owner put out this bowl of catnip cat toys that his mom made, and sold for a couple of bucks. Little things like that can be a nice, small revenue stream. They also make it feel homey.
The owners also host a game night for teens at the library a couple of blocks away. It seems like a nice thing.
Oh, I wasn’t saying NOT to go to one of the PAX conventions (been to PAX South myself), but that one of the BGG cons might be a good thing if tabletop games are expected to be a large part of the business.
I’d describe PAX as primarily video gaming and tabletop gaming, with a good dose of nerd culture thrown in (nerdcore rappers, etc…).
A couple of resources:
Dan Gearino recently wrote a book called Comic Shop: The Retail MavericksWho Gave Us A New Geek Culture. It’s mostly a history of the comic stores and the wild-and-wooly days of the direct sales market, but it also goes through the boom-and-bus periods of the comics industries and how retailers have (or haven’t) survived. The end section is an overview the most successful comic shops in America and goes through their business philosophies and what makes them distinctive.
There actually used to be print magazine called Comic & Game Retailer that had a good run, but gave up the ghost about ten years ago. Finding a contemporary online equivalent would give more useful ideas on marketing and updating a games store than crowdsourcing.
Here are the archives for a long-running column by game store owner Marcus Brown.
I actually saw this book on the shelf of my local game store the other day.
Friendly Local Game Store by Gary Ray. It covers all aspects and starting and running a game store.
Any updates, Mr. Chance?