[OT] Have questions-setting up game shop

Hi all, I have been thinking of setting a game shop,either the full blown shop
or a out of my garage type setup. I have looked into the government small loan
stuff but my big question is who could I talk to find distributors. The other
shops in other towns dont want to give me the answers probally because I will
be taking their business. Anyone have any info on this?

Thanx, Kirk

> I have been thinking of setting a game shop,either the full

Um, where are you? Laws, banks, governments, distributors, etc. vary greatly
from country to country.

In a message dated 04/28/2000 11:41:35 AM US Eastern Standard Time,
> steve@pugh.net writes:

<< Um, where are you? Laws, banks, governments, distributors, etc. vary
greatly from country to country.

Steve >>

Central Indiana, soon to be northern Georgia. US of A

Kirk

> > I have been thinking of setting a game shop,either the full
Also you should know many distributors will not ship to you if you don't have
a store front. So I would highly recommend against the garage type setup if
you are really serious about this. As to distributors, you at least have two
on this list. One if you reside in the UK (GZG) and one for the US
(Geo-Hex). Once you set up an account with them, they might refer you to
others for the items they don't carry. It's not about competition, it's about
being a full service supplier. If I as a supplier have all the answers, who
are you going to call first (g)?

***
but my big question is who could I talk to find distributors. The other shops
in other towns dont want to give me the answers probally because I will be
taking their business. Anyone have any info on this?
***

Sorry, don't have much on this, but my limited understanding would indicate
the distributors share the shops reticence.

A distributor demands volume, and a startup already sharing a town, the
internet, whathaveyou, has to demonstrate that they can deliver orders of that
volume.

They don't care to deal with consumers who are merely looking for wholesale
prices, nor do they wish to offend regular, long-term customers. I won't
debate the morality (I certainly don't have any say in this) but I can
understand it.

How detailed is your business plan so far? What are your figures for markets?

The_Beast

***
How detailed is your business plan so far? What are your figures for markets?
***

Sorry, I meant these as rhetorical, not to continue the discussion on the
list.

The_Beast

In a message dated 04/28/2000 12:04:49 PM US Eastern Standard Time,
> devans@uneb.edu writes:

<< How detailed is your business plan so far? What are your figures for
markets?

 The_Beast >>

Like said, I am just starting to look at what it is going to take. As far as
markets go,there is only one shop in town that carries anything and it is all
GW-based. Other than that the closest shop is an hour away from me. I
want to
make the shop as broad-spectrum a place possible but still carry product
that people will buy. No figures yet, not sure where to go. Kirk

> Alderfek@aol.com wrote:

> Like said, I am just starting to look at what it is going to take. As

Go to the library and get books on starting-up small retail businesses.
Then get all the data about the city you are planning on setting up. The
Chamber of Commerce should be very useful. What is most important is
population data, laws governing businesses in that area, tax laws, and zoning
regulations (you may not be able to legally operate out of your garage).
Before you even decide to start this business you NEED to KNOW how many people
are in the area, what age groups, income levels, typical hobbies for age
groups in that area, crime rates, rent rates, utility rates, tax rates,
competition in your business, etc.

You also had better be willing to work harder and longer then you have
probably ever worked before, have good chance for success, and are willing to
make the sacrifices necessary. If you don't you will probably lose a lot of
money. Also
if you have a wife/girlfriend/family, be sure they:
1. understand what you are going to be doing 2. accept how much time you will
be working, near term reduction in income, etc.

3. are will support this decision for period of time long enough to get your
business up and running smoothly. This time period is dependent on many
conditions.

I worked for a start-up before; it's not easy.

> On Fri, 28 Apr 2000 12:34:30 EDT, Alderfek@aol.com wrote:

> I have been thinking of setting a game shop,either the full blown

Well, my first thought is: DON'T DO IT! My second is: You still thinking about
it? DON'T DO IT!!!

While in college, I worked for a comic store as their "game guy" (now I'm
their "computer guy" and while I don't make any money at it, I get comics and
books now for 40% off...). I am also a customer of the local miniatures store.
It took a couple of years for the comic store to become the area's number one
game store, and that was in an era where GW was just booming and board
wargames were still popular. The local store is open some semi-weird
hours (closed Sunday and Monday, 10 to 6 Tuesday, noon to 6 every other day)
but reasonably long. They made VERY little money the first two years, and
survived
on the main storekeeper being semi-retired and the owner having a second
job. Now, their location stinks, but they are also only the third (now second)
true
miniatures selling, non-GW  store in a city of 2.5 million.

It will be tough. Even this local store I mention above has to carry a lot of
GW stuff to stay solvent. I don't mind, as it means he can bring in lots of
esoteric historical stuff, but it's not easy. You go big into one game that
tanks or never takes off, and you may never recover.

If I haven't dissuaded you, it's either because, 1) you are a masochist,
2)
you are insane, 3) you've scoped out your market and found a need. Assuming
the last one (as there is nothing I can do about the first two), then you'd be
better off with a store front than a garage based business. The latter has
less risk, but you'll be less likely to get stock from distributors and you
will get far less traffic to your business.

I suspect, based on another game store in town that closed up and their
thinking in this regard, that e-commerce will take over the smaller
hobbies. It's already a significant part of the hobby, and I think it will
become more significant. Ask Jon and he'll tell you that mail order is a big
thing in Britain. It's unfortunate as stores bring in new customers and
promote the hobby (GW figured this out) but it's also risky, and it's hard for
a store to work.

Have you thought of going to another store in the region and asking if they
wanted to form a franchise or some sort of buying group? Opening up a branch
of a store might be easier, financially, for you. Being able to buy in serious
bulk will allow for better discounts.

Whatever you end up doing, good luck!

> On Fri, 28 Apr 2000 14:49:19 EDT, Alderfek@aol.com wrote:

> No figures yet, not sure where to go.

One more thing... have you thought of asking the distributors about what they
feel a store needs to survive? They should be able to give you a rough
estimate of the number of people in a given area and in an extended area, and
how this translates to their customers. They may be able to ballpark something
like "you need a customer base of 200,000 in the area, and at least 50,000 in
the city itself for you to have a go at it."

The distributors may be more likely to tell you the keys to success than
potential competition. Have you also tried contacting some stores that are on
the other side of the country? Check for web pages, and call them up.

> On 28 Apr 00, at 12:04, devans@uneb.edu wrote:

An excellent source for info on distributors is the Games Quarterly magazine,
an industry resource that lists, products, manufacturers, distributors and
organizations.
Call 303-254-5824/5820 (fax) for info on how to obtain a
copy. Or contact them by email at msmgqc@aol.com

Of course you can contact us direct, we do sell wholesale to stores.

KR, Geo-Hex

> but my big question is who could I talk to find