Well, it's confirmed, me and some business partners are opening a store. Won't be able to do miniature war games due to store size constraints but we will be selling cards, RPGs and boardgames, plus accessories and some clothes and such.
So, what do you like to see in your FLGS? A members program? A specific layout of merch?
>inb4 air freshners
Oh, and it'll be in North Spokane, WA, fyi. Image semi-related.
>>45951028
Remember MTG will probably be your biggest customers. Have a tournament regularly scheduled.
I say that as a 40k player.
>>45951028
You should call the store "Closing in Six Months."
>>45951028
If thats your floorplan? Add a jackass bar to the front entry, so that someone who runs in and grabs stuff has to vault it or flip on his head like a retard on the way out. It helps minimize theft by making it more inconvenient.
Also, a camera pointed at faces on the way in that takes shots would be a great deterrent as well; "Smile, youre being filmed for security purposes!"
>>45951028
>me and some business partners are opening a store
>Some business partners and I
I like a store that does not butcher the Queens English. I like a store that doesn't perpetuate the culture of illiteracy and pretend it's OK.
>>45951117
Already plan on it. FNM and Drafts every week, small tournament every few weeks.
>>45951028
Window displays. Casual stuff out front so people don't get scared and do a 360 out the door.
>>45951417
And ROTATE those displays so that they dont get sunburnt, and so they remain fresh and cool
and try to do something witty, like have a sandwich board out front like a coffeehouse or Bar has to bring people in on a whim.
>>45951254
And I like people who aren't horrible pendants but we can't all get what we want
Big board/ big calendar that's easy for all to see listing game times, details, and provide for classifieds.
Also, about wargaming, thought of taking some ply wood, surfacing it and just have it placed over ISO standard folding tables?
>>45951570
When not in use, just put it against a wall or in storage.
>>45951417
>>45951452
Already planned this. We're keeping family boardgames and some plush toys at the front. We're also having a sign board put out front with little quips and a "sale of the week" on it.
>>45951216
Not mine, just one I found that looked decent.
>>45951452
>ROTATE
Oh yeah, forgot about this. Makes your store look like shit if your stuff is all faded.
Also don't be a dick to people. Seems like common sense, but I think some store owners become tired of all the looky-loos after a while.
>>45951597
>just one I found that looked decent.
I reinterate my assertion that you need a jackass bar, and/or theft deterrrence. A good part of your first few months will be scum testing the waters to see how much stock they can get away with and how easily.
Have a bat under the bar. And a baseball and glove. Your lawyer will thank you for that. 'premeditated' is such an ugly word
>>45951570
I have a 4 ft x 4 ft calender all ready for it. As for the wargaming bit, I would personally love to stock it but until we can afford a larger location we can't.
What are your thoughts on a membership program and what kind of perks you'd want for it?
>>45951028
Expect to find all your chairs scattered to the wind, at least one dirty diaper per day and half of your shelved goods on the floor at all times.
And you'll never get rid of that cat piss smell short of murdering the offender before he makes it inside.
How many square feet? what kind of area is it in?
No room for gaming at all?
Don't play games and actually run your store be attentive at the front desk.
You have no clue how often I walk into a game store and the dick behind the counter is off playing magic with other jerk offs.
>>45951881
Once we get the rented private room put up, 1790 sq ft. It's right on a highway and a few blocks from a shopping center.
>>45952029
I plan to. I'll have a coworker do boardgame sessions for our monthly boardgame events, another judging Magic and other card tournaments, but I'm running inventory and such.
Go to all of the gaming shops in the area. Look at what they do and don't do.
Magic is the big ticket item for 'my' shop.
>>45952578
Magic is the big ticket item for 80% of shops.
>>45952578
Mostly magic and comics. Only one is going to be a competitor, but we'll be on the complete opposite end of town and, unlike them, stay open until 10 (11 on Fridays and Saturdays).
>>45951638
I plan to have security cameras and such.
>>45951028
So, would this be good for a membership program?
>Discounted drinks/snacks
>Free shipping for any gaming goods you order through the store
>Point system to get a discount
>Free pack of cards from a game of your choice/dice set costing no more than $10 for your birthday
>Access to company newsletter/fanzine
>Discount to print things/rent the private game room
Thoughts? Cut anything? Add anything?
>>45951028
RULE ZERO OF GAME STORES:
YOU MUST BE ABLE TO SEE ANYONE ANYWHERE FROM THE COUNTER
0.5) WALL UNITS HOLY SHIT unless you're a fucking Walmart there should be no wall that isn't kitted out for merchandise
1) Don't bother with a kids area
2) You don't have enough merchandise space laid out
3) Less space on T-shirts if any
4) Lounge isn't space efficient enough
5) Space on books isn't as big as you'd think, it's mostly sudden surges when a new something comes out, otherwise mostly doing custom orders at a discount
6)
>>45953261
1) Don't be a jew with snack prices, the snacks are just to keep people there.
2) Shipping is killer and can be a lot depending on the items
3) Any discount system is OK, just make sure they can't game it to cheat you because they will
4) NO they'll abuse the shit out of this signing people up for free shit
5) News/fanzine is too much work just have a facebook page like everyone else
6) Definitely, keep one public web terminal and printer with login
>>45953367
Cont.
Rule zero #2: Any of your customers will jew you at any time and you must always think of them as fucking Skaven, but you must also never ever imply this in your interactions with them. Keep it friendly, but keep it secure. Your best friends since childhood will go out of their way to screw you over if they can save 5$, let alone steal shit outright.
6) Vending machine would be through a company which will take a slice of profits. Just don't have a shitty/slow POS (point of sale) system and the snacks will add up.
7) Speaking of which make sure you've got a proper inventory system.
8) !!! SECURITY CAMERAS !!!. Not just fake ones. Someone WILL just break in at night over the weekend and empty the store, it's happened.
9) Bitz box.
10) You WILL need a part-time consultant JUST for MTG unless you actually play it yourself. It's also too big to ignore.
11) Amazon. Fuck ebay, fuck paypal. You can/will make more from online sales than brick and mortar.
12) You don't have enough storage space, trust me. You'll accumulate: Crap from the friendly store that shut down, racks of shit from people that offer to rent space to keep their shit there, that one guy doing commissions who wants his own painting station, and you need somewhere for employees to press their face into a pillow and scream.
13) Calendar of events
14) Public postings board
15)
>>45953488
Cont:
Rule zero #3: Your inventory system is just as important as the products, and employees with access WILL consider stealing shit at some point.
15) Partner with whatever restaurant is within a minute on foot to offer discounts.
16) Airplane travel cushions available for seats on request
17) You WILL have to consider Air-conditioning into factoring your layout
18) DISPLAY CABINETS. People will try to sell armies or advertise their painting services.
19) Figure out when whatever shipping company you've opened an account with comes by to pick up packages, or otherwise find out when you want to drop off packages at the shipping center by. The most important thing for good reviews is fast shipping
20) An extra 20-30 cents on packaging is nothing compared to the good review's you'll get for going above and beyond
21) You WILL buy into DOA games at some point unfortunately and be stuck with shit taking up shelving space
22) Keep extra folding tables on hand and figure out if there's anywhere you can expand to in an emergency that's OK with the landlord (Out front, in the hall, etc). You will NEVER have enough space
23) Get a vacuum that isn't shit. Don't cheap out on the vacuum
24) Scrounge events for free display shit, they normally throw this crap out but it's the bee's knees for decor
>>45952029
>be attentive at the front desk
Get a bell. The super generic kind because everyone knows what it means.
You should still always have someone at the front: having a bell is a backup plan. That is: don't fuck up, but you're going to fuck up sometimes, so minimize the damage.
>>45953367
>>45953488
>>45953629
> 1) Don't bother with a kids area
Kids area is a good differentiator - people who want to game but have kids exist, and they'll be loyal if nobody else is doing it. That said, if you have a kids area, you will expected to be a daycare. Don't actually do it unless you're willing to actually be a daycare (for money).
> 4) Lounge isn't space efficient enough
> 22) Keep extra folding tables on hand and figure out if there's anywhere you can expand to in an emergency
Inefficient seating is quality seating. Find the most dense arrangement you can stand, then take out half of it in a checkerboard pattern. When things get full, fill the gaps back in with folding tables.
This only makes sense if you have a fair deal of space, but I'm assuming you have room because Spokane.
> 5) Space on books isn't as big as you'd think
Regular book stores have a display table with a stack of the thing everyone is buying, then one of everything else in the shelves. Think of your shelves as a way of expressing your store rather than a way of shoveling product. If you're short on space, it's classy recommendations. If you have more, it's the place that has literally everything. You have to actually go restock things after every sale, but this is a high markup business, not Wal Mart.
> 6) Vending machine // snacks
Pass out those cheap wooden chopsticks with messy snacks like cheetohs. It's an ancient meme and people will laugh, but it'll save you some stained product.
Also, stock something vaguely healthy. Actual vegetables go bad so they're expensive, but nuts and dried fruit come in bags like everything else.
Looks good, but I would flip the shelves around so you can see down them like this.
>>45954547
Not my layout, I'm just using it for inspiration...
>>45951342
People can and will want to draft as often as possible.
If your customer base has enough people for it, try to have at least two Drafts a week.
Beyond that, don't force redrafting rares.
Allowing customers to discuss other FLGSs as well as buying and selling from eachother without leaving the building first is another great way to not be a dick.
>>45951028
It's a bit out of alignment with the goal of making money, but as a Pauper player I can never find tournaments.My FLGS actually /has/ Pauper tournaments; however, they're at the exact same time as the Force of Will tournaments, so no one ever attends them.
>>45951028
Anon I would drop the kids area and instead have more retail space. A solid magic and other TCG display zone for singles will commonly take up a lot more space and you do not want people dumping their kids there. And don't think they won't, if you have a designated zone, the parents that don't really bother to look after their kids will just leave them there, I've seen it happen before. Parents and kids are not a loyal customer base, the kids don't tend to stick with anything long enough and the parents are too busy with life to make regular purchases.
The stuff >>45953367 is saying has merit. I recommend a shop vac, they get a lot of work done
>>45955037
I'm not having a kids or lounge area starting out (90% likely at least). And I have a vacuum at the ready already.
>>45954989
I have never heard of Pauper...
>>45953892
>Also, stock something vaguely healthy.
Enough of the small portion of your clientele that want this will be paying actual attention, so you can't just grab something with healthy buzzwords.
>Actual vegetables go bad so they're expensive, but nuts and dried fruit come in bags like everything else.
Hard cheeses are another great choice.
>>45955189
>I have never heard of Pauper...
It's an eternal format. All commons.
Has an official banlist, but only for Online.
If you do support it at your store /be clear/ on the banlist!
>>45954989
>>45955241
>It's a bit out of alignment with the goal of making money
>All commons.
Expanding upon this slightly, Pauper decks tend to cost $20-40, typically around $30-35. Except Burn, which is around $100.
Almost every common worth money is a staple in Pauper, and a few commons are only worth anything because they're Pauper staples.
Again, from the perspective of encouraging you to support Pauper:
>People who pickup Pauper won't drop their old formats.
>A few people who already play Pauper will come to your store.
>It's an enticing starting point for new players.
>>45951028
Startups typically enough money to cover your business costs for the first year. Make sure you run the place cheap enough and have money stored away to make it past the hurdle that two thirds of new businesses don't survive.
change position of book case, move the racks down a bit so you can see everything, no kids play place because thats not the usual crowd and theirs no point alienating your target audience, on that note move computer closer to counter to prevent CLOP faggots from jerking off a wad on slow days, move tables over to accomidate.
Serve food on the side, get some permits and a fryer vat and shove it into the kids area as you can still see everything from there, a nice cup a fries and an average burger will do magic for your business again know your target audience, if you can afford it try the pizza route because your store will become a god among LGS's, Loss prevention is key.
>You WILL need a part-time consultant JUST for MTG unless you actually play it yourself. It's also too big to ignore.
Try to become a certified Magic judge, if you aren't already.
>>45956909
>if you can afford it try the pizza route because your store will become a god among LGS's
This is accurate. Failing that, try:
>Partner with whatever restaurant is within a minute on foot to offer discounts
>>45953367 >>45953488 >>45953629 know what they're about.
Reread all of those posts.
>me and some business partners are opening a store
... then show those posts to everyone you already know will be working in the store.
Also make sure your register is in LOS to the front door, it is another good theft deterrent, and make sure you can see any computer stations you have from the register, those are two places you definitely want to keep an eye on when it is busy.
Are there other game stores around? If there are get a taste for what they sell and plan around that, for instance if you have a big minis following you will want more then two paint tables that are back to back, if you don't have a big minis following two tables should be fine, but still don't have them back to back like the picture. A lounge isn't really needed honestly, I would say more table space over a lounge, but that also depends on your volume of customers, if you arnt filling tables regularly you could do extra stuff like that, but I wouldn't plan for it initially, it would be better to keep your playing tables comfortable so they can be multi use, and have enough of them so people can sit at them and run pnp games/magic/or minis games. Honestly I would also say keep your nice tables uniform, and have the folding tables for special events only, having folding tables on your floor for normal business looks tacky having nice tables looks nice.
Also remember to not stuff your shelves unless it is something you know will sell, if it is something that sells once in a blue moon keep two or three at most, because stuff being out of stock for sometimes months at a time does happen and you want to keep it filled. Get a food license and sell drinks at the very least, water, sodas, ect, my LGS has a fridge just right next to the register. Also make sure you let people know they can order stuff through you, I know plenty of people, myself included, that will order through an LGS if they like it rather then order online.
Also, use our wall space more efficiently, like honestly, I would move the minis tables away from the walls and put the minis displays closer to the tables, you want people that play to see others who play.
These are some of the advices given by the owner of Varusteleka, which is biggest milsurp store in europe on social media. This is just what I can recall.
Have Facebook account for your store and update it often. That meaning once in 1-2 days with update that is meaningful. No need to spam updates as fb feed has limited space and fb has nifty add and post management system.
Same thing goes to Instagram/twitter. Meaningful updates there.
Even if there is 100 likes in the page you need to continue to show activity. Good first impression is important.
If you are going to get a website either get good one or do not even get one. There is no middle ground. Shit website is waste of money.
Acquire good inventory system that allows easy check up to see what you have and make sure that it stays accurate. Saves time and effort to not do inventory every month.
Get your accounting to proper firm. Self-made accounting only gives grey hair and it makes mistakes possible. Real account guy is weight worth of gold.
Would a TV with an old xbox 360 hooked up streaming Hulu and Netflix as well as playing DVDs be a fun thing for background noise. Considering I'll have them disabled if I'm not there, I won't have to worry about anything raunchy getting played.
>>45957650
If you do this you're distracting from the reason people go in. Not to mention most streaming licenses are for private viewing only.
>>45951117
You might be surprised by turnouts for other games, my LGS is getting more in for Dragonball Z card game than anything else
>>45957673
Hmm... True. How about youtube videos? It's mostly just for background noise, but yeah.
>>45957090
GET a judge. Don't try. GET one, or BE one. You will NEED one for DCI certification, and you will need that for a healthy mtg customer base.
>>45955189
If you haven't heard of Pauper you don't know enough about mtg to run a gameshop. Either do your due diligence or get someone in the know.
The biggest obstacle to shops who want a minis audience is Games Workshop. You will have to jump through hoops of fire if you want to become a certified retailer. If you don't, you will have to rely heavily on other games, especially card games for your base.
>>45957702
Background noise is still noise. If your shop is trafficked enough to be making money, it will be loud enough as it is. People need to hear each other talking in order to play games. Have a big monitor somewhere near the counter to play music/videos during downtime/when it's quiet. You'll mostly use it for event announcements or tourney brackets. Make a slideshow featuring your buylist(s) and specials. Use this as space and save on fliers/posters.
You'll also want to be aware that free space is always a premium. People will want to come in not just for organized events (which you need to be having about every day you are open. MTG, YGO, Pokemon, Heroclix; anything you carry, have organized play.)
Don't underestimate board games. The board game market is BIG. And giving people a place to come together and play will mean that they'll want to come to that place when they want to buy new games. Keep abreast with new board games just like you would with new sets/expansions to card games or minis games.
>>45957702
>>45957650
>background
Pandora radio. Take tips from the music/soundtrack for campaigns threads on /tg/ and get some custom stations together.
NO TV. You don't want people loitering or asking to use it for other stupid shit.
Am
>>45953367
>>45953488
>>45953629
trust me. Forgot to mention the radio on my list.
Just don't have it too loud. It's better than not having it at all.
>>45957650
Here's how I'd handle it:
Have maybe three or four flat-screen monitors in the place. Kid's area, behind the folding tables, and over by the 8x4 tables.
Wire them to one or two towers behind the counter. (three if you want to be super fancy.)
The monitors behind the folding tables becomes an easy location for a tournament timer. Same for the minis section. It displays who's playing who next, and then the time left in the round.
Then, the one in the kid's area is running something that's kid-friendly, but also nerdy. Shit like Avatar the Last Airbender, the nerdy animated movies of the 70's, 80's and 90's (Last Unicorn, Flight of Dragons, Hobbit, Iron Giant), The Princess Bride, Any Star Wars, etc.
So the idea is that the majority of the time, only the kid's area TV will be making noise, but if you wanted to, you could play on the other monitors, for like, evening events.
Technically, as long as you're making no effort to monetize the showing, and have paid for the copy of the movie you're playing, you should be fine showing films to the store.
I agree and disagree with >>45957852 on the Television point. I think most of his points are legitimate, but on this one I disagree: handled properly, television is fine. As long as the central control is in your hands, and it fits the atmosphere of your shop/neighborhood. I have a friend who has two TVs in his shop, but he works in a touristy town, so it makes sense to be a little more normie-friendly. Also, I'd argue it's likely to minorly help your sales by making your spot mildly more appealing to teenagers with disposable income by being a place with seating, food, and various forms of entertainment.
His pandora suggestion is spot on, however. My friend gets tons of compliments, and even requests to BUY what he's playing, and he has to say "It's just a Pandora station for Movie Soundtracks. It's gone through like, 3 movies."
>>45957715
>Haven't heard of Pauper
>Not good enough to run a shop
Hey, I'm the RPG expert, my other coworkers are way more informed on it than I am. I do play it, but only casually and a few drafts. Tried a tournament once and beat my first opponent but got wiped by the next. Fun but still.
As for minis, I'm going to go through Reaper. Huge selection, and the Bones selection is cheap. Throw in paint and a paint station, we're good until we expand.
>>45957823
We will have something going everyday except Sunday (YGO, MtG, Pathfinder/D&D, a few others that I can't think off at this time).
>>45957852
I guess I'm biased to background noise. I've been in retail for years and every place I've worked has had music or a TV running. Something about background noise makes a place seem more inviting and subconsciously makes people linger longer and therefore more likely to buy something.
>>45957932
I've mentioned it before, the store won't have a kid area...
>>45957932
Oh, shit, I forgot to mention: You can (and should, if you use them) use subtitles on the TVs if you don't want them competing with each other/the radio
This can be especially useful in specific times of the year. For instance, just shoot one over to TBS during the Christmas season, and you can hook someone to your shop for twenty, thirty minutes as they watch the end of Favorite Christmas Movie 618, and then they'll likely buy something to justify the time they spent. Or the mom will watch the movie as the kid shops, or vice versa.
Also, where exactly in North Spokane? I have family in the area, so I may visit.
>>45957947
Haha, so you did. Sorry, it's 2:30 here, I missed it in the brief scan I gave the thread, saw it right after you pointed it out.
But yeah, in that case, just put it so they're visible from the main seating area.
>>45957983
>Also, where exactly in North Spokane? I have family in the area, so I may visit.
The location we're in discussion for at the moment is adjoined to a military recruitment center. It's right of Hwy 2 (can't think of the address atm, it's late as you said). Look for us, if all goes well we should be having a grand opening in June or July (store will be called "The Wizard's Tower Games and Collectibles")
Don't support reselling via your store unless you are getting a hefty portion.
You are a store. People reselling their armies/games/shit are COMPETITION.
How are everyone's interpersonal skills. Can you handle shitheads? Can you deal with creepers in a way that stops creeping without losing either customer?
How are you going to handle confirmed cheaters at game night? Jerks? Whiners? The unwashed?
Can you keep them as customers and correct their ways?
What are the rules for banning someone?
Are you prepared to lose friends over the store? Because you will, or you will lose money. If you lose money, you lose the store.
How is accountability divided between the business partners? How can you remove one?
Think of the shittiest things you and fellow employees have done at other retailers. How will you deal with partners or employees doing this to you?
How much do you want this place to be a clubhouse vs just a store? The more things you have for people to do passivly (TV, computer, sofas) the more it will encourage them to just spend all day there, doing nothing. Do you want that? How does it improve your business over paint stations/game tables?
If you're not doing a lot of wargaming, you don't need to rent storage space. CCGs and RPGs are very portable. Storage is unsightly if not kept tidy. Its also a insurance liability.
