#1 Aspect of a game store (poll)

I used to own a video game store, and to make a long story short, the owner of the building I rented from wanted to raise rent by double, and the economic meltdown had just happened, so I decided to wait a couple of years before putting in the kind of investment that is needed to go really big. That said, I was quite successful at it, and I have an entire garage full or shelving, displays, racks, etc. I have been thinking that it is something I am ready to do again in Q4 of this year. So in general, what qualities would make you go to a small store over a large retail chain?

I usually prided my store on A. Giving a lot more than the retail stores for trade-ins (My average trade in value for a new release was $25-30 and always sold between $40-$45), B. Selling new games for $57.99, C. Accepting non-game merchandise as trade in (figures, movies, etc), D. Having a huge selection of games and systems from all eras. E. I had a 360, PS3, and Wii running demos of whatever people wanted to play on 32' flat panels.

The areas I lacked in were A. Getting new releases on time. When you are ordering a small amount of a game, say under 20 copies of Madden, the distributor puts you at the bottom of the priority list. It feels like pulling teeth sometimes to get your orders there on time. B. Getting the name out there to EVERYONE.

Nothing other than price and distance really. Cute female employees help too.

If you could find some way to maintain a website with at least some prices/trade-in values, that might help.

everything on that list besides the non game stuff. I think offering more on trade ins than gamestop(which is extremely easy to do) is a great way to bring people in.

I do have a website available so I was planning on having sales and stuff on it. You are suggesting like a page where it would give 100 or so titles and what the current trade in value is?billyd5301

I think holding tournaments and stuff for local games say once a month could be cool if you have the facilities for it. Charge a small entry fee for all competitors and have merchandise give-aways as prizes. Getting new releases on time is huge though, most people want new games the day they come out, if you could some how do like preorders only on new games, with your discounted price, that might attract more people to preorder from you, but you will still need to deliver on time.

I go to game stores to buy older games that are cheaper. I like those bins that are like 19.99 and under.

Customer Appreciation is the most important aspect for me. I hate Gamestop, but I go to them for pre-orders because the employees are awesome and friendly and actually know what they're talking about.

Here is my opinion..

#1 - CUSTOMER SERVICE. If you can offer a great shopping experience, be polite and respectful, I'll go out of my way to give you business.

#2 - Unique experience. If you have some retro games / consoles around the store that is a bonus. Plus, being able to BS about the 'good ol days' of gaming with the staff would be great fun. Be different....be knowledgeable about games.

I personally hate buying at Gamestop just because I mean jack crap to those guys. They dont care to talk about games, and usually know less than the average Joe about games as well. They want me to buy their games, trade them back for nothing, and then annoy me with trying to buy extra's evertime. If they truly paid attention to their customers and knew them they would know by the 50th time that "NO" from me means NO. I dont want your friggin magazine subscription and warranty. I would like to be able to walk in, debate why this game is good and why it is bad, talk about classics, and have a good relationship with my retailer. Experience is key.

...that was a long rant. Anyway, hope it helps you....and us!

love goin in to my local gamestop and talkin to the guys there ad then buyin me a new realease

When you are a small business you can do all the things that you are mentioning, like talk to someone one on one and actually help them find something that they would want to play. A lot of people actually do not know what they are looking for and it helps to have the knowledge to help them with that. EB used to be that way for the most part, but Gamestop is anything but. I also never sold discount cards, awful magazines, or warranties. You have a Warranty with the company your system is made by. And much lower prices are better than 10% off cards any day.billyd5301

I hate to sound all evil corporation like but people like that discount stuff. Even though you have low prices people still like to see discounts/sales/benefit card programs ect. So maybe you could raise your prices a little and implement that stuff. Like start a membership program that gives the prices you orginally had planned . That will also help to make repeat customers. Its just good business.

I just don't believe in it. I believe in having sales, giving out coupons, and other promotions, but I don't believe in selling "discounts" on inflated prices. A lot of people around here do not buy their discount card either. So if my used game is $40, and theirs is $55, the difference is very noticable, and I think that gets repeat business as well.

And too, Gamestop doesn't care about the discount aspect of that at all. They could afford to give 10%, heck 20% off everyday without the card. The key for them is making you sign up for a magazine that they own in order to ship a disguised sales flier to your doorstep every month. I obviously don't print my own crooked magazine, so I wouldn't benefit from that aspect.

Old/new mercendise, I once went to a Gamestop looking for used Gamecube games I could play to keep me busy while I waited for my Xbox 360 to be repaired. When I asked the guy at the counter if they had any he said "Sorry, we stopped selling Gamecube games awhile ago.". OK, I don't care, but while I left to check another game store in the mall I was shopping at I passed used Game Boy Advance games and used PS2 games. It seems silly to have used games that were from the same generation as a bunch of games they aren't selling, they should have all the games people are going to want, whether it be old or new , I don't want to be stuck looking for good Wii games. By the way, were is this video game store of yours?

My top two would have to be New and Old school, along with Tourneys and such.

The areas I lacked in were A. Getting new releases on time. When you are ordering a small amount of a game, say under 20 copies of Madden, the distributor puts you at the bottom of the priority list. It feels like pulling teeth sometimes to get your orders there on time. B. Getting the name out there to EVERYONE.

billyd5301

Thats why you buy more new games then you need and order the pre-order bonus ones for all who pre-ordered.

New releases on time is pretty good. Id like to have a game store, but probably only an online store and sell them on a website - send from warehouse to costumer. Seems cheaper. May I ask, where do you order your games from?XenoLair

Having non douche bag employees (I'm talking about you, Gamestop!!) helps.hillelslovak

I know what you mean, one of those employees convinced me into buying MW2, I hope he got laid off for that.

New Releases on Time Every time I think. I like to Pre-Order games that I think are highly anticipated to ensure I get a copy and can join in the fun too :)

ok all these guys seem right about service and prices and blah blah blah, but coming from someone in business school, work on your marketing, and make sure the store looks nice, people might complain about gamestop but their stores are pretty nice with all the displays and what not. work on making the store nice-looking basically. i hate to say it, but i don't go to the closest local game store because it just isn't that nice inside, even if i i can get a game for 5-10 cheaper from gamestop.

if you can afford to do tourneys then hell yeah! i would go if there was prizes.

ok all these guys seem right about service and prices and blah blah blah, but coming from someone in business school, work on your marketing, and make sure the store looks nice, people might complain about gamestop but their stores are pretty nice with all the displays and what not. work on making the store nice-looking basically. i hate to say it, but i don't go to the closest local game store because it just isn't that nice inside, even if i i can get a game for 5-10 cheaper from gamestop.

if you can afford to do tourneys then hell yeah! i would go if there was prizes.

jlevin860

No offense but that seems a bit shallow, you just said that Gamespot is better than most local game stores because it looks nice inside, but everyone there just harp at you to buy something because they are paid in commission and then they try to be your friend by saying things like "Hey BRO, want to pre-order Modern Warfare 2 it is going to be the biggest game out there. If you don't get Modern Warfare 2 you won't be cool, all your friends will playing it".

lowest prices on older used games and a wide selecton is important to me. I am a collector, so i NEVER trade in games, so the trade in value is not something i look at. a good atmosphere where i can try out games and chill would be a big plus though. i think if u had some TVs with game videos on demo that would be good. I may not be a typical gamer, but I dont care about games being available on the FIRST day it's released. I think thats a good way to waste $60. Why not wait til after reviews come out and THEN decide if a game is worth $50+? you could start a good videogame rental company too. blockbuster is soon going out of business and gamefly is the only other "competition" with hollywood video going under also. there would be a good profit margin renting games instead of selling them. just an idea.

I rarely buy from a store anymore because ordering online is just way too easy:DSo what I like in a website is a full list of all games available in each category e.g. Pre-Order,Latest Releases,Classics etc.What I like in a store is that games are displayed in order with each genre e.g. Sport,Fighting,Racing,Action/Adventure etc. so you can easily compare similar games without searching in many locations.I never trade games but I occasionally rent so that is an option that I like although not a necessity;)

You're store sounded pretty awesome. I would have definitely went there if I was in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately I'm like...3 or 4 hours away :(

i have 3 gamestops near my house, 2 of them are close by and the other is about 20 minutes away, i always go to the one that is 20 minutes away, sure it wastes a little bit of gas and the selection is a bit less, but the employees there are nicer than any others, they actually try to make conversation, thats why i take the few extra minutes to go there