Retro collecting is dying!

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disgaeniac:
If I ever start up/open a gaming store of my own (which, btw, isn't a pipe dream for me...just something that I'm giving A LOT of thought & time studying, researching, and - in general...just learning as much as I can about all of the facets that you don't become knowledgeable about by default - just from being a gamer & a collector); so far, I've thought of a few *Fun* ideas for some potential store names:

A. GameStopped,

B. GameStopper, and or

C. GameStopping ==>

==>you all get the idea...something along those lines (unless those names would be illegal or some shit, due to their being so close to "Gamestop" ;)

Actually, a few weeks ago, a...*not* really a friend so much as...I guess, someone that I've had multiple profitable (for both of us (gaming-related)) business transactions with over the last 6 or 7 years, or so - make me a (what, to me, is a Blatantly obvious & very transparent) "Too-Good-To-Be-True" offer/proposal for terms and a price to buy & take over his current store + all of his current inventory.

This is, most likely, where the *serious* thought of me doing something gaming-related like that might be fun to run as a hobby kind of thing, and (hopefully) get tons of old & rare games brought to me!

The fact that I wouldn't be relying on the business/profits for my well-being & to support myself, I think, is what could make it fun.

I'd love to hear all of your thoughts/suggestions about something like this...

Oh.

And...No.

I'm not gonna be buying his store because:

- I don't like its location,

- it already has a reputation as being a pretty sleazily owned & operated "Pawn Shop" of everything electronic (spy cams, computers, etc + I don't *know* anything about these types of things), and

- well...like I said - In real life; "too good to be true" is *Always*...too good to be true. :P

bikingjahuty:
For a brief period I too thought of opening a game store and did my own research as well and picked the brains of several game store managers and owners I know. They expressed that while they all get a fair amount of traffic coming in and out of the store, much of their business is done online through Ebay or Amazon. The store's main purpose more than anything is to serve as a hub for people to take their games in and sell them to you so you can turn around and sell them for a profit. One game store I frequently go to does about 70% of their overall business on Ebay, while the rest comes from customers actually coming in and buying stuff. And when people do buy stuff in the store, 90% of the time it is very common, but sought after games like Zelda, Mario, Sonic, Final Fantasy, and those sort of games. Almost all the game store employees I know say that they get at least 10 people a day coming in asking for either Mario Kart, Mario Party, Super Smash Bros, or Zelda.

So overall I think it is a cool idea, but there is one major drawback of owning a game store besides having to pay for the space, employees, lights and all that other overhead. Especially with older games, which is a HUGE money maker right now for the local game stores, they are getting brought in less and less. It is getting so bad that many of these stores have to go on Ebay or offer crazy incentives to get people to sell their retro games. One store gets about 80% of their pre 6th gen merchandise online and barely makes money of it. It is more a tool to get people in the store rather than make money, which is pretty smart. Most of the stores I talk to say they are still getting a healthy amount of PS2 to current gen games/consoles brought in and haven't had to go the online route with these consoles yet. Still, you have to make money to keep the store open, and it's hard when you are only making about $5 off a copy of Super Smash Bros.

But it's a very hard business to survive in, especially when competing with other used game stores in the area. I have seen many stores go under since I have been gaming, and the most of the stores that are still around say they just get by most months. I have come to the conclusion that the best business model you can have as a game store is to not have a retail/warehouse location, but to somehow get people to bring the games to you without it. I have yet to find out what method would be just as good or better than having a store for people to bring their games in, but if you could figure it out and be an online only retailer you'd be in a very good spot to make a lot of money. But anyhow, that is what I have found out. Let me know if you have any other questions :)

teck:

--- Quote from: bikingjahuty on March 16, 2014, 07:06:56 pm ---For a brief period I too thought of opening a game store and did my own research as well and picked the brains of several game store managers and owners I know. They expressed that while they all get a fair amount of traffic coming in and out of the store, much of their business is done online through Ebay or Amazon. The store's main purpose more than anything is to serve as a hub for people to take their games in and sell them to you so you can turn around and sell them for a profit. One game store I frequently go to does about 70% of their overall business on Ebay, while the rest comes from customers actually coming in and buying stuff. And when people do buy stuff in the store, 90% of the time it is very common, but sought after games like Zelda, Mario, Sonic, Final Fantasy, and those sort of games. Almost all the game store employees I know say that they get at least 10 people a day coming in asking for either Mario Kart, Mario Party, Super Smash Bros, or Zelda.

So overall I think it is a cool idea, but there is one major drawback of owning a game store besides having to pay for the space, employees, lights and all that other overhead. Especially with older games, which is a HUGE money maker right now for the local game stores, they are getting brought in less and less. It is getting so bad that many of these stores have to go on Ebay or offer crazy incentives to get people to sell their retro games. One store gets about 80% of their pre 6th gen merchandise online and barely makes money of it. It is more a tool to get people in the store rather than make money, which is pretty smart. Most of the stores I talk to say they are still getting a healthy amount of PS2 to current gen games/consoles brought in and haven't had to go the online route with these consoles yet. Still, you have to make money to keep the store open, and it's hard when you are only making about $5 off a copy of Super Smash Bros.

But it's a very hard business to survive in, especially when competing with other used game stores in the area. I have seen many stores go under since I have been gaming, and the most of the stores that are still around say they just get by most months. I have come to the conclusion that the best business model you can have as a game store is to not have a retail/warehouse location, but to somehow get people to bring the games to you without it. I have yet to find out what method would be just as good or better than having a store for people to bring their games in, but if you could figure it out and be an online only retailer you'd be in a very good spot to make a lot of money. But anyhow, that is what I have found out. Let me know if you have any other questions :)

--- End quote ---

Ah, I didn't mention this before, but my store is brick and mortar only.... We do not buy or sell online at all.... Despite this, we are still doing well....

Warmsignal:
I think the best name for running your own store is GameSpot, lol. Just send spies in to check GS current prices and trade values, then try to beat them by a small measure. Problem is, as a small business, distributors won't cater to you. Some games you won't be able to get day one, you also won't make, but loose money on new games. Your model will rely entirely on used game and consoles. Everything is out of pocket and you're competing with an entity that has endless pockets and aggressive sales strategies that you likely don't know anything about and can only hope to copy. If you deal in classic games, that's a whole other ballpark. Clientele are fickle and jaded, not to mention stock is scarce and hard to find at resell-able prices.

90snostalga:
How about Wii-R-Games for your retail store name?

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