Can one start the FLGS?

"Terry Austin" wrote: ...
> Seebs wrote in
>
>
>> On 2008-03-08, Allen Wessels wrote:
>>> Absolutely. The trick to competing is finding goods/services where
>>> there's no competition.
>>
>> Yeah. Unless it's because there's no market.
>>
>> But seriously, TWO COLLEGES. That has to be able to yield a gaming
>> market.
>>
> How big are they? How many students? What sort of colleges? There's
> several
> assorted colleged in, for example, Springfield, Missouri, but they're
> mostly small, and mostly female students. I wouldn't be my rent on that
> beign a big enough market for support a gaming store. Rolla, on the other
> hand, is an engineering school, mostly male, and while rather smaller, is
> a
> much more viable market.

Springfield, Missouri not too long ago had at least two gaming stores, and
one of them was real good!
 >> Stay informed about: Can one start the FLGS? 

On Sat, 08 Mar 2008 00:26:45 GMT, Gutless Umbrella Carrying Sissy
wrote:

>My first thought is that you should look more in to setting up an
>internet/mail order set up, to buy at wholesale, and sell stuff
>locally out of your trunk. Mail order is a *lot* easier a business
>model to get in to. A lot cheaper, too, when you don't have to pay
>for retail space.


Main problem I'd see is that some sources won't let you have a dealer
account (thus wholesale prices) unless you have a real brick-n-mortar
store someplace. Archaic view, I think. I bring it up because I was
told a few years ago that WotC is one of those outfits that insists on
a brick-n-mortar presence, not just a website or eBay Store.

BP
 >> Stay informed about: Can one start the FLGS? 

Alien mind control rays made Seebs <usenet-nospam.TakeThisOut@seebs.net> write:
> Simple question: I recently moved to a small town, and so far as I can tell,
> this small town simply does not have a friendly local gaming store within
> about twenty miles.

yeah, you're kind of hosed down there.
misty mountain games in burnsville is the closest i'm aware of.

> Any of you rgfd'ers ever run a retail store? I am not about to give
> up the day job, but I might help some people organize something.

not i, though you might contact some of the small stores in the area
and see if they'll let you pick their brains. village games up in
anoka are good people, and seem to be pulling off the small FLGS thing.

--
n_n n_n drow.TakeThisOut@bin.sh (CARRIER LOST) <http://www.bin.sh/>
|"|n_n_n|"| ---------------------------------------------------------------
| | " " | | "That looks pretty fatal. I think you have to return to the
|_|_[T]_|_| character generation section." -- One character to another
 >> Stay informed about: Can one start the FLGS? 

On Mar 7, 5:58 pm, Seebs <usenet-nos... RemoveThis @seebs.net> wrote:
> Simple question: I recently moved to a small town, and so far as I can tell,
> this small town simply does not have a friendly local gaming store within
> about twenty miles.
>
> Any of you rgfd'ers ever run a retail store? I am not about to give up the
> day job, but I might help some people organize something.

Here are some tips:

1) Where I live, one of the FLGSs has the owner's house right upstairs
of it, with the stairs in the back room. If you could buy or
commission such a place and move into it (and make the necessary
arrangements with city hall), the store could add only three or four
hundred to your monthly mortgage payment rather than costing you $1000
or more in rent.

2) See how many of these small markets you can combine until they add
up to a store. FLGSs where I live sell RPGs, CCGs, miniature wargames,
board games, comics, action figures and anime -- and the tie-in novels
for all these products.

3) You'll get more impulse shopping from the students if they don't
have to drive or ride a bus to your store. The ideal site would be
within walking distance of both campuses.

4) Offer free delivery to the dorms if you can.

5) If the market is small, you may want to limit your hours to 1pm to
8pm, Monday to Saturday, and maybe 1pm to 6pm on Sunday. That way,
you'll only need one shift of staff.

6) You and your staff may have to go the extra mile to make the games
friendly to newcomers and expand the market.

7) If any of your lower-budget customers are like me, they'll be
asking often about specials and bulk deals. Will you have something to
tell them?

Ask your relatives -- especially retired ones -- whether they can
lend you money to get started. In the case of relatives you haven't
spoken to in a while, be prepared to pay interest, though hopefully
less than the banks would charge.

9) Go to the library and take out a book on how to write a business
plan. Once you've written one, some of us may be able to lend you
money.

10) You'll gain a competitive edge -- even when the competition is a
hundred miles away -- if your MTG events are sanctioned by the DCI.
 >> Stay informed about: Can one start the FLGS? 

"BP" <reply.DeleteThis@newsgroup.please> wrote in message
news:6a85t3tuqiqfqm4r6fl5trhdnkh4dj66qc@4ax.com...
> On Sat, 08 Mar 2008 00:26:45 GMT, Gutless Umbrella Carrying Sissy
> wrote:
>
>>My first thought is that you should look more in to setting up an
>>internet/mail order set up, to buy at wholesale, and sell stuff
>>locally out of your trunk. Mail order is a *lot* easier a business
>>model to get in to. A lot cheaper, too, when you don't have to pay
>>for retail space.
>
>
> Main problem I'd see is that some sources won't let you have a dealer
> account (thus wholesale prices) unless you have a real brick-n-mortar
> store someplace. Archaic view, I think. I bring it up because I was
> told a few years ago that WotC is one of those outfits that insists on
> a brick-n-mortar presence, not just a website or eBay Store.
>
> BP
>
That is so true. back in the mid-90s, I was finishing up my degree and was
in a small college town where there was a large Magic: The Addiction
following. People had to travel 50 miles for their gamers crack. I needed
extra money and thought the magic cards were the way to go. I was going to
do a street vendor thing. At the time WotC was only selling to distributors
such as Wargames West, who were then reselling to stores. None of the
distributors would work with me because a didn't have a brick-n-mortar
presence and thought that I would be competing with their mail order
business.

Cyrus
 >> Stay informed about: Can one start the FLGS? 

On 2008-03-08, Jim Davies <jim.DeleteThis@aaargh.NoBleedinSpam.org> wrote:
> 1) See if there's a bookshop, comic shop or maybe music shop that
> would hire you some space. There'll be a lot of shared clientele. If
> you can't make it there, you can't make it as a pure games shop.

There's only one bookstore, and it's utterly packed already -- and, I think,
not especially profitable.

> 2) See if the colleges allow market stalls on site (they often do in
> UK universities, YMMV). Certainly see if either has an FRP or
> wargaming society. Analyse your market.

I don't know what a "market stall" is in this context. I went to one of
them back in the day, and I never heard of an FRP or wargaming society,
but I knew no fewer than three or four gaming groups.

--
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 >> Stay informed about: Can one start the FLGS? 

Seebs <usenet-nospam RemoveThis @seebs.net> wrote in
news:slrnft470l.53k.usenet-nospam@guild.seebs.net:

> On 2008-03-08, Terry Austin <taustinca RemoveThis @gmail.com> wrote:
>> Good luck with that. You can't go below minimum wage without breaking
>> the law, and most retail businesses don't pay more than that anyway.
>
> At least around here, very little is at minimum wage; most things are
> more.

I expect you'll find that in retail, it's not much more.
>
>> You need a very thorough business plan. How much is rent? How much
>> are utilities? Minimum wage, times number of hours of labor you need
>> per week, and double it (yes, double it) to find the true cost of
>> your employees. Advertising costs. Merchant account costs.
>
> That's about what I was estimating.

Don't estimate. Put together a spreadsheet.
>
>> Find your own niche. Amazon's is price. It is *not* service.
>
> Yeah. If I do this, one thing is, we'll have our used inventory
> online and kept reasonably current. That'd be something.
>
You might also look for small independant publishers. Amazon requires ISBN
numbers for *everything*.

--
Terry Austin
"Dude, we're all your bitch, but only Ken's wearing the juice."
- tussock

"Just throw a rock, and what screams will probably be a moron."
- Elvis (no, not that Elvis)
 >> Stay informed about: Can one start the FLGS? 

"Dirk Collins" <dirk.collins.RemoveThis@verizon.net> wrote in
news:SWpAj.110$Zo3.31@trndny05:

>
> "Terry Austin" wrote: ...
>> Seebs wrote in
>>
>>
>>> On 2008-03-08, Allen Wessels wrote:
>>>> Absolutely. The trick to competing is finding goods/services where
>>>> there's no competition.
>>>
>>> Yeah. Unless it's because there's no market.
>>>
>>> But seriously, TWO COLLEGES. That has to be able to yield a gaming
>>> market.
>>>
>> How big are they? How many students? What sort of colleges? There's
>> several
>> assorted colleged in, for example, Springfield, Missouri, but they're
>> mostly small, and mostly female students. I wouldn't be my rent on
>> that beign a big enough market for support a gaming store. Rolla, on
>> the other hand, is an engineering school, mostly male, and while
>> rather smaller, is a
>> much more viable market.
>
> Springfield, Missouri not too long ago had at least two gaming stores,
> and one of them was real good!
>
Perhaps the demographics have chance in the last 30 years. Perhaps the geek
girls have changed in the last 30 years.

--
Terry Austin
"Dude, we're all your bitch, but only Ken's wearing the juice."
- tussock

"Just throw a rock, and what screams will probably be a moron."
- Elvis (no, not that Elvis)
 >> Stay informed about: Can one start the FLGS? 

On Mar 8, 6:10 pm, Seebs <usenet-nos....RemoveThis@seebs.net> wrote:
> This one, we definitely can't do -- there's four people in my household
> already, some hope of possibly adding more,

I'd put that on hold until the store is firmly established. (Depending
on your ages, you might want to have some eggs and sperm frozen.)

> and we just BOUGHT a house.

Where is it located, in relation to the two colleges? Could part of it
be converted into a store, given a construction loan or second
mortgage?

> I'm not sure what a DCI is. Is MTG Magic: The Gathering?

It's the Duelists' Convocation International, the only body that
sanctions Magic: the Gathering events so they can count toward player
ratings and help players get into professional events.
 >> Stay informed about: Can one start the FLGS? 

Seebs <usenet-nospam DeleteThis @seebs.net> wrote:
> Simple question: I recently moved to a small town, and so far as I can tell,
> this small town simply does not have a friendly local gaming store within
> about twenty miles.
>
> Any of you rgfd'ers ever run a retail store? I am not about to give up the
> day job, but I might help some people organize something.

I haven't, but a friend did. He and a friend invested about $10,000,
rented a small shop, an started an absolutely great shop that always
had a bunch of people in the back playing all sorts of games. The
shopkeeper was usually among them, and a regular customer was behind
the counter. It was my favourite spot in the city for a couple of
years, and then my friend fled the country with a huge tax debt.

In other words, when you run a business, don't forget that it's a
business, and not just a hobby. Do your administration, pay your
taxes, manage your stock, make a profit, and run a business. Lose
sight of that, you'll end up fleeing the country with a tax debt.


mcv.
--
Science is not the be-all and end-all of human existence. It's a tool.
A very powerful tool, but not the only tool. And if only that which
could be verified scientifically was considered real, then nearly all
of human experience would be not-real. -- Zachriel
 >> Stay informed about: Can one start the FLGS? 

On 2008-03-08, Gutless Umbrella Carrying Sissy <taustinca RemoveThis @gmail.com> wrote:
> Depends on what your goal is. In this case, it does not appear to
> be to maximize income.

No, but I absolutely do want to carry D&D stuff.

My primary goal: I want a decently-stocked gaming store in my home town.

I'm willing to spend a little money towards accomplishing this. I know other
people who would be willing to, if not "spend money", at least "contribute
unpaid time".

--
Copyright 2008, all wrongs reversed. Peter Seebach / usenet-nospam RemoveThis @seebs.net
http://www.seebs.net/log/ <-- lawsuits, religion, and funny pictures
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Game_(Scientology) <-- get educated!
 >> Stay informed about: Can one start the FLGS? 

On 2008-03-08, SeaHen <seahen123.RemoveThis@gmail.com> wrote:
> 1) Where I live, one of the FLGSs has the owner's house right upstairs
> of it, with the stairs in the back room. If you could buy or
> commission such a place and move into it (and make the necessary
> arrangements with city hall), the store could add only three or four
> hundred to your monthly mortgage payment rather than costing you $1000
> or more in rent.

This one, we definitely can't do -- there's four people in my household
already, some hope of possibly adding more, and we just BOUGHT a house.

> 2) See how many of these small markets you can combine until they add
> up to a store. FLGSs where I live sell RPGs, CCGs, miniature wargames,
> board games, comics, action figures and anime -- and the tie-in novels
> for all these products.

Yes. Definitely thinking along those lines.

> 3) You'll get more impulse shopping from the students if they don't
> have to drive or ride a bus to your store. The ideal site would be
> within walking distance of both campuses.

Absolutely. If I can't do that, I can't make the store work.

> 4) Offer free delivery to the dorms if you can.

Sexy, sexy, idea. I like it.

> 5) If the market is small, you may want to limit your hours to 1pm to
> 8pm, Monday to Saturday, and maybe 1pm to 6pm on Sunday. That way,
> you'll only need one shift of staff.

That is also probably a good choice.

> 6) You and your staff may have to go the extra mile to make the games
> friendly to newcomers and expand the market.

Planning it already.

> 7) If any of your lower-budget customers are like me, they'll be
> asking often about specials and bulk deals. Will you have something to
> tell them?

Probably not right away -- what we'll probably have is a brochure on the
FLGS and why it isn't as cheap as Amazon.

> Ask your relatives -- especially retired ones -- whether they can
> lend you money to get started. In the case of relatives you haven't
> spoken to in a while, be prepared to pay interest, though hopefully
> less than the banks would charge.

Not practical -- the only relative with money just helped us get the house.


> 9) Go to the library and take out a book on how to write a business
> plan. Once you've written one, some of us may be able to lend you
> money.

Yup. I'm currently VERY early in the "wouldn't it be nice" phase, but I'm
planning to do a proper business plan and all. Or, ideally, be the organizer
who causes someone else to do it.

> 10) You'll gain a competitive edge -- even when the competition is a
> hundred miles away -- if your MTG events are sanctioned by the DCI.

I'm not sure what a DCI is. Is MTG Magic: The Gathering?

--
Copyright 2008, all wrongs reversed. Peter Seebach / usenet-nospam.RemoveThis@seebs.net
http://www.seebs.net/log/ <-- lawsuits, religion, and funny pictures
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Game_(Scientology) <-- get educated!
 >> Stay informed about: Can one start the FLGS? 

On 2008-03-08, mcv <mcvmcv.RemoveThis@xs4all.nl> wrote:
> I haven't, but a friend did. He and a friend invested about $10,000,
> rented a small shop, an started an absolutely great shop that always
> had a bunch of people in the back playing all sorts of games. The
> shopkeeper was usually among them, and a regular customer was behind
> the counter. It was my favourite spot in the city for a couple of
> years, and then my friend fled the country with a huge tax debt.

> In other words, when you run a business, don't forget that it's a
> business, and not just a hobby. Do your administration, pay your
> taxes, manage your stock, make a profit, and run a business. Lose
> sight of that, you'll end up fleeing the country with a tax debt.

Thank you. Luckily, I grew up around small businesses (I think my parents
ran four while I was growing up, I've done two or three so far) and I'm
familiar with that side of things.

Not that I've been very good at making money at it.

--
Copyright 2008, all wrongs reversed. Peter Seebach / usenet-nospam.RemoveThis@seebs.net
http://www.seebs.net/log/ <-- lawsuits, religion, and funny pictures
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Game_(Scientology) <-- get educated!
 >> Stay informed about: Can one start the FLGS?