Game store product selection?

Dristram · Post by **Dristram** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 11:42 am

Im working on the initial product order for a new game store and would like to get some feedback from fellow gamers on what to stock. I have a beginning list, but want to make sure there isnt something Ive left out.

So my question to you all is, when you walk into a game store, what products/games must it have in stock for you to consider the place as a legitimate game store?

Thanks!

DangerDwarf · Post by **DangerDwarf** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 11:51 am

A more than a nominal selection of non-d20 items.

But it better have Shadowrun and Rifts stuff specifically. It just isn't a game store if I dont see SR and RIFTS on the shelf somewhere.

Post by **finarvyn** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 1:29 pm

In my opinion, the best game stores cary some sort of variety of products. I can go into a Barnes & Noble to get d20, or WOD, or Shadowrun, or RIFTS. What I can't find in a generic bookstore is stuff like C&C or Zomeies!!! or Runequest or Call of Cthulhu or Traveller. That kind of thing.

What I like to see in a game store is the kind of product that I might not see elsewhere, so I can thumb through it and impulse-buy the game. I can't do that at a regular bookstore and I don't like to impulse-buy as much online because I'm buying a product totally blind.

And lots of dice in different colors. I'm a sucker for dice, even if I have jars of them already. Just the other day I saw a set that was burgandy with yellow numbers and thought "I'll use these next time I run a Barsoom adventure" because somehow the colors of dice remind me of certan settings.
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Tank · Post by **Tank** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 2:38 pm

Dice, pewter figurines, and most importantly several hefty, unorganized boxes of out-of-print merchandise!

Tadhg · Post by **Tadhg** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 4:25 pm

I think you need a little of everything that you can fit into the store. Even d20 stuff.

Comics

books

boardgames

puzzles

minis - both pewter and plastic

dungeon tiles, battle mats

3D dungeon pieces stuff - Dwarven Forge or other

Of course, it'd be nice to have a C&C section with samples of everything.

LA as well.

Metamorphosis Alpha

Star Wars

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Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 6:16 pm

Metal miniatures.

Dice

C&C stuff

L5R stuff

Shadowrun stuff

GURPS

Mutants and Masterminds stuff

Goodman modules

Necromancer modules

Having this would make me happy.
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seskis281 · Post by **seskis281** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 7:21 pm

Adding to what Tree said:

Kenzer Co. stuff - Hackmaster, Aces and Eights

Warhammer/miniatures, I think, are a must for any gaming store - that's a pretty solid consumer base there.

Board Games in addition (not just RPG stuff) - Axis & Allies materials always sell well, as do the Settler games, LoTR board games, etc.

Much as I hate to say it - WotC basic product lines like Pokemon for the kiddies. Yu Gi Goh seems big right now for the younger group.

And, while my personal preference goes to stocking TLG, Necromancer, Goodman product lines for RPG you pretty much have to carry some support for WotC D&D lines, but I'd wait till spring and start with 4e and concentrate on the FR materials, as that will be what sells across system tastes.

Just my two bits.
P.S. - I personally also like to see gaming stores remember Chess - good boards and unique sets are something that has been lost over the years in gaming stores.
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kaomera · Post by **kaomera** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 7:38 pm

The first thing I would suggest is that you set up a "special orders" binder, have your distributor catalogs available so that you can check on product numbers / availability, and make a special effort to keep up with new products and to ensure that any special orders get dealt with as efficiently as possible (and in my experience distributors can often make this a bit difficult).

Cheapass games / Cosmic Wimpout / Fluxx - these take up little room, you can sell them to semi-gamers (or even non-gamers) fairly easily, and they're fun.

There are a number of higher-end board games (especially stuff like Carcassonne and Settlers) that sell really well around the holidays, make sure you stock them, as well as a few games for someone who wants something "like Carcassonne" (for example) as a gift for someone who already owns that game. Also a few classics like Risk, Stratego, Monopoly, or even Life and Candyland.

a few more general ideas:

Decide if you want to do CCGs at all, and if so which ones. Find out what other local (and even semi-local) stores are carrying.

It might, in general, be a good idea to have a list of other stores you can send customers who want something you don't stock to, including pine-wood derby cars, model airplanes / cars / ships, model rocketry, electronic / console / PC games, etc. Or even hobby-gaming stuff that you just don't happen to carry.

Put your hours of operation on your business card and website!

Good luck!
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DangerDwarf · Post by **DangerDwarf** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 7:43 pm

[quote="finarvyn"] I can go into a Barnes & Noble to get d20, or WOD, or Shadowrun, or RIFTS. What I can't find in a generic bookstore is stuff like C&C or Zomeies!!! or Runequest or Call of Cthulhu or Traveller.

Heh, the closest Barnes & Noble to me has an abysmal RPG selection. Maybe 4 books total last time I went.

2 of those 4 books though?

C&C PHB 1st Printing

C&C M&T.

Absolutely no d20.

Philotomy Jurament · Post by **Philotomy Jurament** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 7:53 pm

What I look for may or may not be helpful, since I think I'm out of the mainstream (perhaps not so much on these boards, but certainly for the RPG market, in general), but here it is:

Old/Used material (TSR, Judges Guild, Traveller, etc)

C&C material

Call of Cthulhu material

non-random Miniatures

Gamescience dice (yeah, I'm particular)

Gaming Tables

Coke/Water Machine

Board Games (especially stuff like old Avalon Hill, FFG, MMP, GMT, etc)

I'm not terribly interested in d20 material, these days, but I'll usually check to see what a store has in the way of Necromancer Games and Goodman Games modules.
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serleran · Post by **serleran** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 8:18 pm

Customer service that doesn't blow.

seskis281 · Post by **seskis281** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 8:25 pm

DangerDwarf wrote:
finarvyn wrote:
I can go into a Barnes & Noble to get d20, or WOD, or Shadowrun, or RIFTS. What I can't find in a generic bookstore is stuff like C&C or Zomeies!!! or Runequest or Call of Cthulhu or Traveller.

Heh, the closest Barnes & Noble to me has an abysmal RPG selection. Maybe 4 books total last time I went.

2 of those 4 books though?

C&C PHB 1st Printing

C&C M&T.

Absolutely no d20.

Wow, that is kind of shocking. Around here all the bookstores (Barnes & Noble in Green Bay and the local Bookworld) carry is straight WotC D&D line, with the smaller local store carrying more Goodman and Necromancer d20 than the Green Bay large store. I have to go an hour to Appleton WI to find a gaming store carrying C&C (which that one does - has a nice selection of just about everything). My local gaming store concentrates more on the card games (Pokemon and Yu Gi Goh) and Warhammer, so RPG is basically about a year behind even on 3.x materials. You can find old 2e stuff he's never sold though.
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SoulCatcher78 · Post by **SoulCatcher78** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 11:16 pm

serleran wrote:
Customer service that doesn't blow.

There's the key ingredient!

GreyLord · Post by **GreyLord** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 12:21 am

Some WotC products. Miniatures, also Heroclix seems to be popular right now as well. Dice.

Also obviously Castles and Crusades, might want to have an advertising campaign with it though.

Comics and comics related stuff is good, make sure that you allow them to have a monthly subscription to comics.

Also if you have a supplier that's close...see if you can't get on person that will tend the store, and be a little light on supply. Instead say you can order whatever they want and have it to them really quickly (without the shipping and handling of Amazon or other mailed items!), and then you can reduce the amount you are buying but not selling in some items. Don't overstock or over extend yourself.

Dristram · Post by **Dristram** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 12:25 am

SoulCatcher78 wrote:
There's the key ingredient!

I've noticed that after asking my question about selection on various forums and e-mail lists, I've gotten a lot of responses on how to run a game store well which is telling me that a well run game store is more important than selection. That is a good sign for game stores with owners who know how to run a business. Selection can grow and morph according to the local customer's interests. And a well run game store can adjust to that and keep them happy.

SoulCatcher78 · Post by **SoulCatcher78** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 12:31 am

Dristram wrote:
I've noticed that after asking my question about selection on various forums and e-mail lists, I've gotten a lot of responses on how to run a game store well which is telling me that a well run game store is more important than selection. That is a good sign for game stores with owners who know how to run a business. Selection can grow and morph according to the local customer's interests. And a well run game store can adjust to that and keep them happy.

If you plan properly, you can always grow your business in whatever way is necessary to accomplish your goals *beating year over year sales numbers, increase profit per ticket, etc*. Obtaining buy in from your staff is key in getting your customers to return. Without a returning customer base, you'll only have a lot of unsold merchandise.

Dristram · Post by **Dristram** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 4:01 am

Since 3e is not very viable to push at the moment, what other RPGs should I push to the fore?

Castles & Crusades is going to be my spotlight RPG.

What about others like?:

Savage Worlds based rpgs

Aces & Eights

Omni System games (High Medieval?)

True20

BESM

Rolemaster

Ars Magica

White Wolf products

GURPS

Palladium products

Shadowrun

HERO

Others?

seskis281 · Post by **seskis281** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 4:09 am

Dristram wrote:
Since 3e is not very viable to push at the moment, what other RPGs should I push to the fore?

Castles & Crusades is going to be my spotlight RPG.

What about others like?:

Savage Worlds based rpgs

Aces & Eights

Omni System games (High Medieval?)

True20

BESM

Rolemaster

Ars Magica

White Wolf products

GURPS

Palladium products

Shadowrun

HERO

Others?

Well of course I agree C&C to be signature, but I concur especially with GURPS, Shadowrun, and I can't believe I forgot the White Wolf products - I think World of Darkness and Vampire should always do well as a very story/roll-play game, and it has a big following.

I mentioned earlier but I'll say again - definitely look at the Kenzer stuff with both Hackmaster (however they retool it) and their new Aces and Eights (since by all accounts this was one of the big hits at GenCon).
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CharlieRock · Post by **CharlieRock** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 10:46 am

A Game room with a few tables and chairs. Munchie rack is optional, but much appreciated.

P.S. I think Magic:the Gathering and other CCGs are good sellers. Personally I am not impressed overly much with these. But they seem to be a stable leg game stores can depend on.
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StealthSuitStanley · Post by **StealthSuitStanley** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 12:15 pm

I would also try to get into Heroscape. There are a lot of HS players out there. The problem is that Wal-mart sells it for about the same price as you can buy it from Hasbro. But finding some of the hard to get expansions would be worthwhile.

If you don't stock HS, at least offer places to play and if you have enough players, start some tourneys. Those usually are self promoting and self sustaining.
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Omote · Post by **Omote** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 12:58 pm

Customer service, customer service, customer service! A clean, professional store WITH A GAMER'S TOUCH! A store that runs like big chain stores, but doesn't act like big chain stores.

But that is kind of off topic. Sorry.

As for product, I like to see a few complete lines. For example, don't just carry one C&C PHB, carry the entire line. You don;t have to have the entire line of every thing, but a few complete, of near complete lines is a good way to go. It annoys me, and annoys customers that you only carry particular book of every line of products. That book, more often then not, tends to be the book in that line that everybody already has anyways.

For example, if you decided to stock new Shadowrun, get the whole new line, not just the core rules. Most likely, the people that are shopping for shadowrun already have that book. The Shadowrun core rules help sell the rest of the line for sure, but if you think Shadowrun is a worthy line to stock, don't just get one book.

The one book theroy is good for those product lines that you think will interest only a few customers.

Best luck.

..............................................Omote

FPQ
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SoulCatcher78 · Post by **SoulCatcher78** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 2:24 pm

High margin accessories! Someone already mentioned pewter minis and dice but it can't be stressed enough that you should build some margin into each sale. From a retail standpoint, books have a not so hot profit margin (once you have to pay for shipping/markdowns/ect).

Omote is correct I think in his suggestion (carry more than just the "core" of a system). Keep up on who has just changed editions (Changeling from White Wold for instance) but don't be in too big a hurry to dump titles that are primarily fluff or setting specific (I just got 2 FR realms books for .56 plus shipping that are 90% story and therefore perfectly usable due to the rush to unload 3.5e stuff from retailers that work with Amazon's used network).

serleran · Post by **serleran** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 2:27 pm

Allow people to order, and pre-order, and allow discounts or some form of "rewards." Really, if you can bend the store to the will of your customers, you have them... its all about service.

Omote · Post by **Omote** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 6:50 pm

Pre-ordering is good and all, and I say definitely tell the customer's to pre-order AND special order to their heart's content. BUT, there is nothing, and I mean nothing better then having product on the shelves. Gamers want to ooh and ahh over the book that is at the gamestore. When a prosepctive buyers sees something he wants on the shelf, he's more likely to buy it then and there.

Selling stuff via the special order method is fine (and a good practice when used on moderation), but usually works better of the game is on the shelf.

PRE-ORDER MANIA. If you press pre-orders, make sure you have a good way to keep track of customer downpayments on the like. There is nothing, and I mean nothing worse as a store owner having to give a customer back his money because you screwed up a pre-order/special order. If there are other people in the store with a customer demanding his money back for bad service, it's like cutting your own throat.

Best luck!!!

.......................................Omote

FPQ
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Dristram · Post by **Dristram** » Sat Sep 29, 2007 12:21 am

Treebore wrote:
Goodman modules

Necromancer modules

Having this would make me happy.

You know, I had those modules in my store and they never sold. They were dead product for me. I wonder why the sell in some stores and not others. I had a LARGE D&D player base, and I pointed out those modules, but they didn't sell.

Emryys · Post by **Emryys** » Sat Sep 29, 2007 6:41 am

It's funny... I've seen these sell in some and not others too (same city even) and I suspect it's a demographic thing. Even though they are all D&D players, depending on style (OS Vs. Eberron) can be the difference. Perhaps having some of each type and more of what your store demo-G is would work best. Defining your stores customer demographics is the hard part though...
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