Things I HATE about owning a Local Game Store - Magic the Gathering
Вставка
- Опубліковано 20 сер 2024
- Looking to discuss all things TCGs with other people who care?
Join the discord server at www.kitchentab...
Product and Merch- gamegrove.gg
TCGplayer Affiliate- tcgplayer.pxf....
Need to get in contact with me?
kitchentabletcg@gmail.com
Kitchen Table TCG
117 State Route 34
Box 6119
Hurricane WV, 25526
Magic the Gathering will always have a place in my heart, but I also love exploring new TCGs. I started playing games in college after years of failing at sports and have been addicted ever since.
Pokemon started the craze and addiction - moving me away from baseball cards and into the world of constant organization.
#mtg #mtgcommunity #Magicthegathering
#mtgarena #mtga #mtgo #mtgcommander #mtgfinance #mtgixalan #mtgneon #mtgMH2 - Ігри
![Дон ДОН, Алаудинов и СБЕЖАВШИЕ из под Курска ахматовцы 😁 [Пародия]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/dEfCf5IK26Q/mqdefault.jpg)
As a small business owner I can tell you that the hate and competition is real. I learned early on to never throw shade at my competitors. I once had a customer tell me "I was at that other shop and they were talking smack about you all. So I decided to come see what they were afraid of", those words stuck with me. After hearing that I made sure to always talk up the other business and even send folks their way. It makes it hard for them to talk smack without making themselves look petty, negative energy turns off the consumers desire to spend.
Imagine owning a restaurant. Actual stress.
Giga Chad business power move, I respect it
Same, I will send folks to other shops knowing they carry something I dont. I didnt get in the business to be an ass hole.
It feels like gambling because it is.
@@mikegrant8031 it's worse than gambling, at least skill can earn you something in gambling. Cards are just 99% rip offs with no return value.
A possible tip for missed deliveries.
The owner of a game store I used to frequent had made friends with another business owner in the strip mall, and their business hours were opposites so they set eachother up as secondary dropoffs if they were closed.
Or a PO Box is always an option. I'm not sure if there are rules for distribution shipments, though.
When I owned my game store there was a hobby shop in the same town that sold a Magic the Gathering but nothing big. I specifically chose my inventory to not be in competition with the guys shop. But when I stopped in after opening he not only knew exactly who I was but treated me with such animosity. It was very sobering and made me feel sad.
My parents owned a comic book/ game store from 1993-2018 and when I was a kid my dad had run out of comic book bags and boards so he went down to the other shop to buy a package so he could get the comics he just bought taken care of. The owner started yelling and told him to get out and so my dad left he then went and started a sale on books and a few months later the other store had to shut down. My dad didn't have a problem with him until that day and decided to teach him a lesson for being rude.
So I’m guessing you can’t give me 105% trade in on my stuff…I thought we were friends
Yeah 50% would be nice and work well for both. The gamestop method doesn't work. Dont believe me. Ask gamestop stock and closed stores.
@Sneakyeggs A store usually pays about 40-50% of retail from a distributor, why would they pay 50% for a used product from a customer?
@@Mittens_GamingIt depends. A high value item that a person knows they can flip quickly for a good amount of money often gets bought, even by stores, for somewhere around 70-80%; I've seen a local store go all the way to 90% before, simply because they knew a guy they literally could call that day who was willing to buy it, and did. Random nonsense that they have a case full of that slowly sells? Yeah, youre getting 50%.
The LGS I go to does 75% cash 80% store credit.
I’ll echo this - I got a very sought after promo card a few years back and the store offered me basically 90% of the value in cash.
They had a guy coming in the next day paying cash for it immediately. To basically hold a card for the night, they made 10% with almost no work or effort.
Stores that stick to anything below 60% on non bulk rare cards are to be avoided.
This was 100% more interesting than to know what is great about stores.
Watched it fully interested even though I literally never wanna open a game store
I used to own a small store and I would say that having no control over the quality of the product used to drive me nuts. You're basically relying on big companies to produce valuable products. But, also have no bargaining power over them.
Then they go around and make 4th edition.. uhg
What always has bothered me a lot about almost every store I have been to in 20 years is the air quality and smell of some people. At every MtG Sealed event I have been to there was at least one dude who stank horribly, but no store owner ever said a word, though everyone was aware of the issue with those people.
I went to a LGS to pickup an order during a friday tournement. The place smelled like a nasty locker room.
Smells like Magic
LGS I used to go had a sign on the wall about personal hygiene. It didn't help much.
I play yugioh and the turrneys usually kick up funk but one time there was an x wing tournament right before and I’ve smelled anything like it. There was a girl waiting for her I imagine bf and she had her shirt over her face. The place was in a basement with no ventilation.
I used to run an LGS and we have asked people to leave. It's a rough interaction but, a needed one.
Multiple stores scheduling same time tournaments outside of weekends is so anti-consumer but I can imagine the frustration of that and wanting your own time but weekends are prime days.
As a store owner this is so accurate. Everyone you know wants a discount and everyone wants you to give them more money for their stuff on collection buying. UPS/FedEx just tend to screw you over if it’s not your normal driver, I don’t open until 2:30 and loved finding a $12,000 order left in front of the dominos next door last week. That could’ve torpedoed my whole month if not the business. Then everyone is so addicted to instant gratification that they may not be reasonable because your UPS driver decided to forget about you that day on other days.
So Louie with UPS you can set it that you pick up your orders at a set location they have so you don’t get screwed. I’m looking into it myself.
I also find I can’t do any hobby related items in my store. It’s mostly a miniatures store. You don’t have time. At least we get to live through others enjoying our space though.
On other game stores I’ve always tried to be cordial and have decent relationships but everyone just avoids each other. What I find more is some of the community is extremely tribal about “their store” and it’s half amusing and half stupid. They tend to cause more issues than the actual owners.
I'm always happy to pay full price. Full price is usually pretty comparable to me ordering it from across the country, but without the 3-5 business day wait. I keep trying to pass on taking _too_ good of a deal. I enjoy supporting local businesses in town.
Get normal business hour and you wont have that problem with ups lol
As someone who was at the bottom of the totem pole at UPS when eventually they laid me off for lack of available hours before I could get in the union, yeah sometimes you get a schmuck like me making barely minimum wage who is just struggling to stay on schedule on a route they've never done and will happily cut corners to save time. I'm definitely not bitter
As one who frequents my lgs and is friends with the owner and workers, I can relate to the first one in regards to others i see in the shop.
I never ask for a deal, and frequently get one, because I move a lot of product for them from my personal purchases. They throw in extra packs, singles, occasional minimal markup (just the costed out price per item for overhead in addition to what they pay), stuff like that, and I am grateful.
When I see people coming in and asking for what sort of deals they can get if they buy 3 packs instead of just 1, and expect to pay what the store paid, and then proceed to get angry when they don't get a discount, it just shows the lack of knowledge and care for the shop owner.
I find myself often giving a role reversal scenario to them and they often respond with "yeah, i would give everyone at cost pricing", showing themselves to be a foolish person when I respond with "then how do you pay your employees and rent, utilities, purchase new product, etc, if you sell everything 'at cost'?
Kind of helps them see it is a business, not a way to get your buddies cards for rock bottom prices at every turn.
They're not real friends. They should support you by not asking for discounted price
So as an ups driver. You can make friends with drivers that is a good idea. But you run into issues when they are out and someone else is covering the route. In my building there are some companies that opt to pickup their packages at the local center instead of having then packages put on the truck for delivery. Could be a possible option if you are willing to pickup at your local center. And if you miss a package 3 times it is an ups policy to return to sender. Hopefully that helps a little.
Speakings as a delivery driver we have our own schedules and route to adhere to and if we go off it or linger too long to make a delivery it can (and often does) throw off the flow of deliveries being made and setting the driver behind. Many of our usual businesses open at the typical time of 8 am which you can almost always count on , some close for lunch to come back an hour or more later, and the ones the open around 8 am also usually all close around the same time (at 5 pm - 7 pm). Then there's businesses with weird hrs unlike the rest that may open later than they are reported to, may close earlier than they are reported to, may not even open at all where they are supposed to be.
Trust me when I say we have our own problems to deal with on the regular and though none of us want to miss a delivery its difficult to ensure it when your operating hours don't fit into the flow of a daily route. In those instances id recommend setting up a system of trust with a neighboring business that has normal operating hours so your delivery can be entrusted to them, or simply have your deliveries on hold for you at the nearest depot to be picked up at your convenience.
Not being open till 4 is crazy. You miss so much prep and open sale this way. I would have one solid opener to be open 11 to your 4 do that on busy days so you can be ahead and accept your ups and you always can try to buy out local store product. Make your repacks so you can bulk up your buys with inventory they will later sell back and you can recycle this stuff over and over
I worked as a delivery driver. Problem with getting you delivery at a certain time is we don't get to plan our itenary. We have to follow the most optimal routing to get everything done on time. That means you might be the last stop or the first stop. Your best bet is to pick up packages from your local UPS store.
You just popped up on my feed and I thought this would be a fun watch. I actually transplanted to northern WV about 5 years ago now and we bought our house in a nearby town a little over 2 years ago. I found a local game shop in town and on my first visit, they said they just announced they were closing. It was sad and as an adult with 3 kids and precious little time to game in any capacity I appreciate a LGS owner who are passionate about your work.. Based on your reviews, It looks like you do just that. Unfortunately you're two hours away from me But if I ever find Myself in the area. I'd love to stop by and support your store. Thanks for your hard work!
I opened my game store this past Feb. I'm not 100% a tcgs store. I do all kinds of board, miniature, and rpg games. I felt this video on a spiritual level.
I have a hunch that it would actually be pretty difficult to open a store and not support things like board games, miniatures, etc. as it gives people a reason to enter the shop. What would you say about that? I feel like a lot of the time tabletop gamers (among other types of games) and TCG gamers overlap, and not supporting both gives them a reason to go to competitors to do business.
Where’s your store located?
I own an LGS too in North AL and we have the same issues.
We just give up having a life and open at 11am, just to STILL miss deliveries sometimes because “the business was closed”. A tip from me is ask your UPS driver for the number of their office. You can’t get it from calling UPS, but they can give you the number of someone who can call the driver and tell them to bring your package back.
I love when people think our margins are great. I make at best like 30% margin on product. From my experience in other retail establishments, that’s the same as your average grocery margin. Which is only sustainable due to the volume of product moved in a grocery business. We will NEVER move the same kinda volume.
I might play one commander game a week. I wonder why I even keep as many decks as I have since I can’t seem to even play half of them.
The only thing here is thankfully the relations with other stores aren’t too negative. It does help that the closest LGS to me is like 30 min away tho.
I use to run a nonprofit where we were typically open after hours, and no amount of signs would get delivery drivers to come knock on the office door where I stood half a chance to answer it. I even watched them fill out the missed delivery form, stick it on the door, and never even knock.
Anywho, pro tip for businesses that work odd hours is to place a hold on all deliveries. Once or twice a week I would make the rounds to ups, DHL (it was a while ago 😅), and FedEx to pick up my packages. I'm sure that now they probably even have notifications so you don't have to call or waste a trip for nothing. But it made my life a lot easier.
I appreciate you and the fact that you're honest and have to guts to run a store. It's hard to find a game store, let alone a good one. The closest one to me focuses on table top gaming and isn't very welcoming for the other games they sell.
The biggest issue with LGS for me is that far too many forget that customers can purchase the product online and usually for less than in store. A lot of us want to purchase in store as opposed to online, but marking a product $40 above what I can get it for online I can't justify spending at that store.
I can’t personally say I’ve seen, for example, a new mtg set being sold for 40$ less online than in store. I will say that I have absolutely seen a 20$ difference but at the end of the day that extra 20$ is what literally keeps that store in business. They are not trying to price gouge or over charge. They are simply trying to stay afloat. The profit margins in this kind of business are so low that they HAVE to mark up all their product up a specific amount regardless of what people can buy it online for. If they tried to beat all the prices out there their business would be very short lived
@@skatemafia666 An LGS near me was asking $70 for an MTG Streets of New Capennna bundle. Double its cost online. When I turned it down, they pressed me for why, and I was honest that I could get it way cheaper online (or frankly at my favorite LGS, but they were out of stock). They just huffed and said I should support my LGS over Amazon..... Like yeah duh, I would, if you weren't trying to absolutely fleece me.
@@RyanJames93 yeah there are of course gonna be some lgs’s that are just price gouging. Which is very sad. Ultimately it will lead to their own demise. In that kind of situation I wouldn’t blame anyone for buying online. I would too
My local lgs sells play boosters for 10 a pack. Bundles are 80 dollars. Every single product and event is marked up to high hell. I just go in to play and leave.
@@skatemafia666Recent example (before the whole "out of stock" crisis): Star wars unlimited booster boxes were selling for like $90 online versus $120 at most LGS. $120 is MSRP, so the LGS is not gouging, but it was still considerably higher than online.
The whole delivery problem sounds like your fault, your not opening your store until 4 o'clock' what did you expect?! 🤷♂️
Yeah thats wild my lgs is 10am
4pm open is wild. I own an LGS and 1pm is our bussiest hour.
As far as the hobby, my store had become part of my hobby. You have to have a passion for bother sides. I havent played magic in forever but Id rather be behind the computer listing product online to sell. If you have time to play after opening a store its one of two things:
1. You opened the store to have somewhere to play and dont care that you arent making as much as you can.
2. Youre so successful that you know have employees that run the store and you are able to free up time.
As far as making friends, Im in it to make money, Im not in it to make friends with other owners. That being said, i do believe in working relationships, so that everyone profits, but I will always choose myself and my store above others
Yup, When I managed the shop I was in, it was the same way. People hated our shop just because we were close to them. They would purposely try to set times the same as ours. If we had commander, or modern nights and they didn't have anything going on the rest of the week they would schedule the same events at the same time, trying to Cannibalize our player base. Overall I loved my time at the shop I was at, but at the end of the day the stress was crazy. Some weeks we would get an incredible influx of money then the next week we wouldn't even have the money to pay for product. Lots of stress, lots of worry.
This video is a grim reminder of why I gave up on my dream of running an LGS.
It always excites me to see one succeed, but it's just so hard to do because of issues like this. Some of the best shops around my local area just couldn't make the money to stay afloat.
Hope you guys see years of success, man! Love to see it.
i"d just be open during the day 9am till 9pm , 10pm on fridays, pick your closed days once you find out the locals work patterns (which days is town quiet)
as for events , always charge a premium your running a service not just selling a product.
pokemon when we were kids was never cheap , it was a birthday, Christmas present but now its every week , theres room for a margin big time but if you cater to those thatvwant stuff for near at cost or constantly trade hit cards for rrp product , it will cut down your margins and cost more to restock dealing with reservations , limited stock etc
dealing in collections is a time sink and very slow return.
i'd just maybe combine your tables on certain days for board games, 40k etc maximising the use of space outside of weekly tcg events.
Having worked at a game store, "customers" seem to have a really hard time to understand that the employees want to get paid. The amount of time we've had to deal with people being salty about having to pay an entrance fee for tournaments or a membership fee to book tables. You have to pay cause I want to get paid, otherwise I'm going home and you're getting kicked out cause the place's closed...
Players need to form clubs. That way they don’t have to pay those costs and retailers don’t have to have play spaces. We have 30 people in our weekly club that play a variety of games. We can stay as late as we want as well so we aren’t inconveniencing employees. Many of our tournaments are sponsored by our local game stores even if they aren’t hosted at the store.
bro tables are supposed to be free. It costs yall nothing. Theres a reason so many a yall are going under.
I disagree tables should be free. No other table is free anywhere else : you can't go to a restaurant, take a table and bring your own food. Hell you can't even go to a restaurant and just sit there, why should it be allowed with LGS? Maybe if these people had a membership or entrance fee they wouldn't need to price gouge us.
@@pascalsimioli6777 They dont charge to sit at a restaurant table. You sit as long as you want while deciding what to spend your money on. Same as a good game store. They dont need to price gouge to begin with, its why people steer well clear of certain shops and so many bad one are going under. You sell board games. You arent a high end driking or gambling den lol. You dont warrant an entrance fee like a state fair.
Thanks for video Louie, good to see the other side. Let’s see some Commander nights with just you and a few friends away from the store, I would watch.
there are 2 games stores in my town. The one I work at has barely (if any) animosity towards the other store. Heck, we even send people their way when we know we don't have something in stock and know they might. The other way around though is disappointing. They tell people in their store not to come to ours because of random BS reasons. Multiple card games that our store brought in and grew a community for all left for their store due to the fact that they break street dates and msrp rules... but they don't get punished for them. I'm friends with a lot of the players that go to the other store too. As an worker and a friend of the owner also I'm stumped... lol
got a similar situation in my college town. seems to be a common thing
Indeed, it sucks to have a sort of double standard. That is due to negligence and bad decision making in an agreement sense.
I owned a game store, the animosity from other stores was a pain in the butt, the deliveries were always arriving around 9 am, and I paid event organizers for special games in store credit, and when customers found out, somehow I was taking away the fun because others could run the events so much better and they deserved the store credit. Magic at my store died when I joined the WOTC program, i when I opened drew out all the kitchen table players. Once the guy I had started the official play stuff, I went from 20 to 30 regulars to 5, and he was there and well liked within the original group. No matter what I did I never regained that enthusiasm from the kitchen table group.
Another thing I despised was the guys who would buy stuff upu had in shop, then come and tell you who they bought it from, the price, and how they only came to my store to play with their friends. It really made me start to wonder why I tried so hard to keep the place going.
I hate that part. It's why I don't tend to say such in other stores. Rather in a confined or external setting like a fast food joint.
My family does and I get pissed off at them for not being respectful. I just zip up now cause people don't listen.
The actual owning of a game store seems cool… the “business” of owning a game store seems like a nightmare…
Youre definitely not alone in feeling this way. Ive talked with 2 different LGS's in different cities, and they shared the same sentiment. The first one I talked to shared his frustration of Karlov, and how it seemed like it was a really good set, but hes still trying to sell some stuff from it. Everyone wants a hobby store, but not many *want* a hobby store
Personally prefer hobby stores, but overall interest in standard as a format is limited to a degree. Hence the issues with the sets.
This was a very wholesome video. I hope people watch this and continue to support their local stores. We need them now more than ever. I don't want to live in a world where we only shop online for our hobby items (cards, video games, pop culture items, etc.) Keep the power in the hands of local people so we can spread the love.
This was a really informative video! I’m hoping to own a game store in the future as a retirement plan and I love learning about people’s experiences. Wonderful video man and best of luck with MH3
Loved the perspective and being able to relate. Man… FedEx has killed me. My UPS guy is AMAZING! Also, we’re pretty close with a couple stores in the area- even launching a con with two of them.
I work with a small mom and pop part time in the office, full time in the field. I often tell new people coming to work that profit doesn't mean 'easy cash'. That we need profit, to pay the lights; the property insurance; business taxes such as unemployment insurance, etc. Then there's the cost of maintenance of the trucks and gear, replacing the same as crews wear them out (or have accidents), etc. I know my boss and while they live better than I do, they're far from 'rich'. They don't drive new cars; live in a mansion, or go on expensive trips. I have come to call them feast and famine months. Some months the company is doing well, others it chews through any profit that comes in.
"It feels like gambling." Yeah, homie. That's the entire business model. That's what you're doing every single time you sell a pack. Why would Wizards treat you (their customer) any different than you treat your customers? By owning a LGS you're essentially a small Casino who has to rent out their slot machines from a larger company.
Lol what a dingdong you are.
He's not talking about not knowing what's in the packs, he's talking about not knowing what's in the set so he doesn't know if it's gonna be worth investing in, because he doesn't know if people are going to want to buy it.
Before you buy a pack, you know what's in the set (at least I assume you do) so you know what you could get. He's talking about how he doesn't know if you will want to buy it, because you'll know what chase cards there are vs. him not knowing if there will be any chase cards, and if so what their value will be, or what the demand will be for them.
Totally NOT the same as cracking a pack, lol. Unbelievable.
Thanks for the honest view on all this.
I get the competition between other stores, but I find it hard to believe that multiple stores in the area, all working together to sponsor games, tournaments, and get new players into the game isn’t a boon for all.
Have too many stores can certainly be bad in the sense that they can’t all stay afloat, but a healthy amount of stores working together is absolutely a good thing. It would be cool if down the line you and other stores could work together to find a way to get larger events for tides that help rise all ships. Good luck though!
It’s actually extremely a boon as everyone adds to the customer pool, but bad game stores that are poorly run don’t understand that unfortunately
Good video! On the first point, no matter what field, i dont ask my friends for a discount. I want to help and support the business. While im not best friends with people at my lgs, i still choose to buy there when i can.
If you wanna see how popular a set is before you order it then you should be paying attention to the Japanese versions of the sets in which all come out months before the English set and the prices very much reflect in English.
Gotta say man good job on the tables and chairs! Can’t tell you how many stores I’ve seen go cheap on chairs and it’s scary when you know they are only rated at 200lbs and there be a lotta big boys pushing 300+. Lotta stores sitting their customers on soon to be scrap metal, not to mention the potential liability/safety problems that could happen. Metal rods are sharp when they snap
The store I frequent has really cheap chairs. One guy I know almost got dumped in the floor because the legs on his chair went sideways under him and he's not even a big guy.
I’m hoping to open a game store here in my hometown that has literally nothing for kids to do and I am glad I happened upon this video. I’ve befriended game store owners and knew about a few of these and there are only 2 friends I’d discount for. 1 doesn’t even play and the other I’d have to literally force it on.
For "sales", look at pricing for new products on Amazon and similar sites. They tend to have items sold at 15% off MSRP with free delivery. You have that to complete with.
I tended to get better discounts when I bought more. Dropping $50 usd is meh but dropping $600 usd gets more attention and thus maybe a consideration for a better discount deal.
Buying stuff, reseller has to make a profit. Most people are lucky to get 60% of what it's worth with 40-50 being reasonable because the reseller may cut the end buyer a deal too.
I will support stores I play in, but not occasional visits. I wouldn't pay massively above online store prices if I am not using your store. Too many store owners fail to realize this.
Alao keep in mind that any job takes lots of time.
Thank you so much. I have a small little Gameshop that I use. Thanks for the insights on how I can help the local store stay viable.
Used to work at the legendary store The Only Game in Town in New Jersey in the late 2010s before it closed. It was a great experience but everything you said in this video is absolutely true. I'm not surprised stuff with allocation isn't any better. Losing interest in the hobby also happened to me but recently I've been getting back into MtG again and finding joy in it once more. Thanks for this honest look into the business side of the gaming world.
This is the only TCG market related videos I like to watch, not someone who tries to manipulate the market with click bait videos but someone who actually owns a card shop and gives insight not only for the community but for other people who want to start their own store
We have 2 local game stores where I live. One is an OG store that’s pretty highly recognized by Wizards themselves and another that’s just started a few years ago. From what I can tell, they actually don’t mind the competition and it’s proven to be really healthy for the Magic community here. One store will fire 30 minutes later than the other so that if anyone ends up late to one, they can take the 10 minute drive to the other instead. They’ll offer different prize support, price points, and promotional items so that neither is definitively a better choice. Once the second store began to take off, it helped with the overcrowding of the first and now they both have a lot of regular customers/players (we might need a third store now, help 😅). I’ve even seen the employees play at the other store from time to time. It’s possible that behind the scenes the sentiment towards each other is a bit more negative, but from what I’ve seen, it doesn’t seem to be.
This sounds like two stores in my area!
Alot of people dont grasp that a business has overhead. Businesses have to also buy things, pay taxs, licenses, fees, they have utilities, rent, etc. My family owned a bakery for awhile and it was wild to see just how many people dont grasp that fact. When i make a product and sell it to you, i need the profit on the products initial cost to manufacture also cover all my overhead and "hidden costs" of running a business AND create enough profit for it to also go into my pocket, because that is my income much like working a 9-5 and taking home a paycheck is an income for many others.
Coming from the western PA area, the competition between stores happens here too. The stores almost fall into cliques, where some of them will coordinate events to be very appropriately spaced out over the weekend, and completely choke out other stores. Offer greater prizes for the very top players that newer stores cant compete with [even when the newer stores advertised their events on the same day weeks to months in advance], etc. Its getting better, but there are a handful of stores here that genuinely would like nothing more than to run their competitors out of business.
Bro, i didn't even know there was an LGS in Teays Valley. I go by the Lost Legion, and Boardroom a lot. I'll definitely swing by and check you guys out!
I hope there isn't as much animosity as it seems between the stores in our area! I love being able to switch up which store I go to for what games I play. Game Grove is always such a hospitable and fun place for when my friends play Song of Ice and Fire, as well as Magic! I feel like if there were to be any ill will felt, then the player base in our community would have some way of helping alleviate it. I want the gamers in our area to have the best time together, no matter where it's at! Thanks for creating a one of a kind shop in the Kanawha Valley, and hopefully it lasts as long as possible!
Thank you for the insight. I knew that any business was difficult. But didn't think about some of the lesser known aspects.
You hit the nail on the head in so many ways. I experienced many of the same things with my business.
An LGS that doesn’t open until 4 is wild
The rivalry between other stores reminds me of this one LGS I used to go to would run FNMs at such a high loss, because he wanted to siphon the customers to his store. It worked in the long run, because his store is the only one in the area now. I asked him why, and he said “Because these other owners are my competitors, not my friends and definitely not my community”. Which makes sense. Might as well go scorched earth, to ensure not having to deal with any long-term rivalry
Ups and FedEx have hold package options where they will drop your packages off at the nearest UPS or FedEx retail location so you don't have to be running around town. Or you can get a "pobox" either at the post office or at a ups store so you never have to worry about package deliveries. It's a little cost prohibitive when counting pennies but it's an option
Talking to my soul right now.. Three years in and a lot of amazing things have happen but also the day to day grind is real beyond most peoples understanding until you are here running it. The distro side made me laugh as it is gambling with your money, most of time its way in advance before you can gauge interest. Unfortunately with low margins you can't make many bad gambles on products if its a flop. I have been finding myself losing the hobby as well, which is really sad because that is the whole reason we wanted to bring the love to others and to fall out of love because of time and effort and just feels like work absolutely sucks. We are different sides of the business as we focus on board games more than TCG however TCG is a big part of our store now. We also have a channel called Champions of Tabletop, so happy I found your channel and your store. Absolutely love your attitude and know there are many of us out there just like you. Wish you the best.
A true friend doesn't ask for a deal, but will instead support your business regardless of price. They want to see you succeed.
I know deliveries and just getting product on time can be a pain. My local store owner has had to leave the shop during business hours to pick up tournament prizing while the tournament was going on because the driver just forgot the deliver it. We also got the last new set of FaB a week late because the distributor missed the order.
I used to work at a game store in Kanawha City ( it has since closed down ) at one point there were 4 game stores in the Kanawha Valley, there was just way too much oversaturation. There's no way an are with a population that size needed 4 separate dedicated gaming stores. Three of them have closed, and the one that's left is starting to dwindle now that there's a store in South Ridge that can also sell beer.
Which store was the one in Kanawha City?
As a UPS driver, if I didn’t know that my LGS opens late, they would’ve been screwed for most releases. Most drivers don’t care, and the store isn’t even on my route. So I feel for the owner on release week. I always tell him just to have them hold it at the depot if you’re trying get it without having to depend on the driver to care
However, such a great video. Makes me think a lot about my home store
I remember those two game store at my local town that DESPISED eachoder and they kept on starting rumor about eachoder, stupid stuff like "Ho that game shop opens the booster before selling them" or "Ho that shop won't sell you card if you're Jewish" and one day it a was at a breaking point where one of the owner tried to burn down the other's store, luckily he missed and burned a kebab shop nearby (sucks for the kebab but like nobody died and he could reopen the restorant barely a year later) so in the end only on shop was standing because the other owner got arrested XD
Well, that escalated quickly!
@@Muhahahahaz yeaaaaa it did XD
You have extremely valid points, whenever you have a job that services others, friends and family will always want a break. My LGS here on Guam charges almost 80% above MSRP :(
As a food truck owner, we're all really cool and supportive of each other.
Jealous of that I run a food truck and the other trucks in my area seem to pray on my downfall.
Food trucks with similar menus tend to be pretty mean. Only so many Mexican food trucks can be serving burritos in one pod. There are so many in my town.
100% agree with your sentiment about the friend discount. If someone is truly your friend, they’ll want to support your business by paying full price for items instead of asking for a deal “come on man we’re friends”
Earlier this week I went to preorder a collector booster box and a bundle for Bloomburrow at my local shop. That is until I saw the massive mark up on everything. $300 for collectors, 60 for bundle is nowhere near market value. I get having to mark up some, but when the store 15 minutes away is doing $230 and $45 why would I buy from you?
Very interesting to hear this side of the story, I'm glad you have the passion for running a gaming store.
I was a keyholder at a LGS for 6 years, and lemme tell you, the people that don't understand how distribution/retail works also applies in large scale corporate retail too. Like the same "let me buy it for what you bought it for" and getting mad they can't... in a store you're obviously renting, to an employee obviously paid to be there...
This just popped up on my feed and I live down the street. Pretty cool. I'll have to swing by.
I have thought about starting a game store and this is awesome! Thanks for the thoughts, it makes it more real for me!
"Stop by!"
Me--who lives in OR-- "Heck yeah!"
Great video. I am a regular customer at my local game store here and from now on I wont ask for a discount anymore :D
I always want to support my lgs but I have such a hard time when their booster boxes and commander decks are always $20-30 higher than tcgplayer at launch
I've been friends with various LGS store owners for decades now and your speech sounds exactly like something one of those friends might say. Most of your complaints are pretty much things I heard in 1996, 2000, 2005, etc. The business does not really change much.
Me being friends with the owner means that I drive him home sometimes when his car is at the mechanic and in turn I get special permission to hang out in the "employee only" are. I still pay regular prices.
My area had a pretty bad animosity between stores but it was very much a personal thing. Many of the employees of the newer store used to work in the older store and left under less than friendly circumstances. The owner of the older store was apparently a very polarizing individual though I personally never had any issues with him. However, both stores kept it professional enough that the feud did not spill onto customers. As long as you were not rude about it, no one cared if you shopped in both stores. The issue went away when the old store owner retired and the replacement store has no history with the other store so they do not really acknowledge each other.
Friend discount should be an increase in price. Since you are my friend, you want to support my business, right?????
I think the biggest reason game stores don’t like other nearby shops, is that it’s like in football. If you like your team, you have to hate every other team.
Kudos to you for putting your customers over your gaming. I remember going to a LGS in the early 2000s, waiting at the counter for several minutes with a $100+ order while the owner and his buddies were playing PC games. That store didnt last long. Best wishes to you, your fam, and your business
Some great perspective, keep up the great content Louie!
I always enjoy your guess the card get the card. I have been struggling here lately and I sold all my commander decks just to stay afloat but I haven't lost my love for the game. I'm definitely going to start buying from your site
I run a small ebay/mercari collectible business, and I can relate to the part about having to sacrfice what you love in order to do what's best for the business. When I come into possession of a card I want for myself, I find myself having to turn around and sell it. I'm still small and barely profitable, so anything that I take out of the business will negatively impact my opportunities for growth.
It sucks.
What about a yearly competition with a trophy for each game played but LGS vs LGS. Split profits, builds all the businesses at once, friendly competitions to help promote, etc. would that maybe be an idea? Squash bad blood in the decks
My family had a retail computer store for 20 years (91-2011) and I felt the was an animosity among the local stores in the area for sure. None of us would go venture out to the other area stores. Like in those 20 years, I had no idea what the other stores even looked like inside. I might have known who owned it because some customer said "so and so owns that shop' or maybe I looked it up online to see who opened a shop.
So something you can do for the UPS man is get yourself a commercial lock with a code option. You can program multiple different codes. You can get a lock that tells.you when the code is used. Its not a perfect solution, but i like it more than giving away a key.
Opens at 4pm. Holy shit.
Ha. 2pm on Fridays and 12 on Saturday and Sunday.
People work during the week. What time does your store open?
Former LGS employee. I wish everyone understood we are submitted to allocation for highly sought after product. We cant only get so many from all our distributors. We are looking. Sorry you have to wait.
Side note: Thats why my store never took payment on preorders.
With UPS, you can get them to deliver to the nearest UPS store and then pick it up when you can.
I was having a discussion with someone about ordering from distro. They were like "well adjust your order then when you know it's a bad set." Wut? We place orders for it months in advance. 1 or 2 more sets release between the time I place my order for each set.
Now that I’m working for a small local business (not an lgs) the amount of people who claim to know the owner and try to swindle a deal out of me because of it is insane.
Whenever I go see my buddies band perform, I buy merch and often pay more than what they’re selling it for. And I buy my ticket every time. Friends support their friends business, not try to swindle deals from them.
Having had a business for almost 10 years, card shops in my area have 2 problems. Firstly, they don't rent out time in their play spaces or tables, like every other activity space. Secondly, they don't employ sales people. All just minimum wage retail workers. So they have huge spaces that don't make money, and product that they don't push, only sell organically. Not sure if this applies to your situation. But good luck to you in any case!
As the owner of a woodworking business I understand 100% Anytime Im not building my business I feel like I'm neglecting it and could be doing more instead of relaxing Usually limit myself to play arena when its too late to saw wood. I also get along with woodworkers who live further away than the ones closer to me. Local woodworkers compete with me non local woodworkers give me ideas and tips
West Virginia represent! Popped up in my recommended, had no idea!
This is a great video. It’s nice to see some insight from a LGS owner. I hope to turn my online LGS into a retail store someday. I’d love to get your opinion on some of my products. Let me know if you would like and I can send you some samples.
These were some fresh takes on owning a game store! Thanks for the insight.
Sometimes when you ship you can have UPS or whoever send it to a pickup point rather than sending it to your shipping address.
Saw LGS on the thumbnail and thought it was Local Gun Store.
"We are all competing for the same customer base"
Yes. That is exactly why. You are taking food off of their table.
I have a small store but I hear you. With only 1 little one it’s still very hard. I take some time once a week to play in the store but that’s when I have an employee working.
I'd be tempted to ask the "friends" where they work, visit them and ask for a discount (they may not have paid a thing for it, since they just "work there").
The same reasons I chose to close my Hobby Store business in the Philippines. I lost interest in the game and that one sucks. Good Topic bro!
Friend should pay full price if they're really friends. You should support your friends businesses.