Video game store

steve_

Iv a question about acquiring stock for a new video game store. Games have always been a passion of mine and id would love to one day own my own store. Obviously i wouldnt make a dint in the irish market compared to GAME and Gamestop but even to earn a living dealing with one of my greatest passions would be nice.

My main problem is regarding stock. Im sure there are suppliers from which to buy PAL games from but where would i even begin trying to sniff them out? Would i have to go through sony, nintendo and microsoft individually and order directly from them or would i have to start lower down the chain.

Initially i wouldnt be buy massive amounts of stock nor consoles. so maybe i would have to find a supplier that caters to smaller orders.

Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated

bigneacy

You could ring Game or Gamestop and ask who their supplier is. Worst case scenario they say they won't give you the info and thats it but I don't think they'll be too territorial if they know you'll only be a small operation,

Other option is to ask one of the smaller video rental stores, they probably use the same wholesalers so they shouldn't have a problem giving you the info.

CompFix

You need to take a look at the market and see how many independent shops are currently trading, very few.

Xtra-vision, game, gamestop & smyths are the main bricks & mortar stores.

Play.com, ebay, amazon & play asia are the main online stores while you also have the locally based Gamesnash.ie.

Price is a major factor these days and with large communities like Bargain alerts on Boards and other similar sites, consumer loyalty towards the industry has all but disappeared as people search for the cheapest price.

I'm not saying it's impossible but you've a long road ahead before you can keep your head above water with it.

bigneacy

Perhaps if you got it trading sucessfully you could get bought out by a chain?

Although if you're doing it for love, perhaps that not an Ideal solution?

Seperate

bigneacy wrote: »

You could ring Game or Gamestop and ask who their supplier is. Worst case scenario they say they won't give you the info and thats it but I don't think they'll be too territorial if they know you'll only be a small operation,

Other option is to ask one of the smaller video rental stores, they probably use the same wholesalers so they shouldn't have a problem giving you the info.

The likes of those lads would be buying in massive quantities from the manufacturer/publishers.

There is a couple of companies who distribute titles here, if you contact the major game publishers, they will give you the details.

Fergal C

Seperate wrote: »

...if you contact the major game publishers, they will give you the details.

That would also be my approach. Contact the major companies such as EA, ask them if they will supply you direct, most if not all of them will tell you they won't, then ask them where you can purchase their games for your shop.

Gambler

A few years ago I looked at something similar and found two companies that supply some game related stuff, Beaumex and Sean Fagan Wholesale.

From what I recall you can also approach Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft directly about supply, if you aren't looking at buying the right quantities from them directly they can put you in touch with the right companies.

Gamesnash.ie: Pat

Hi Steve,

There's a variety of reasons why you should think very very carefully about getting involved in a straight forward gaming store as described. It genuinely is a business that I wouldn't advise any independent retailer to try and get involved in at all as things stand.

That said to answer your question Microsoft,Sony,Nintendo would only deal with sales for their own party titles you'd be looking to source stock from 20+ different publishers if you were looking to buy directly. Minimum orders can be as high as 200 units per sku which leaves only the very big players in a position to deal with them directly. As has been mentioned there are a couple of smaller wholesale distributors but I can tell you from bitter experience they can be dearer to buy from than the local Game or Gamestop at times. :mad:

How serious are you about this? Do you have capital in place? Is gaming retailing what your heart is set on or would anything gaming related tick your box as such ?

bigneacy

Maybe not what you're looking for, but how about opening a second hand game shop?

Take the webuyanycar.com business model, and transfer it to a bricks and mortar store except games instead of cars.

So you buy second hand games from customers for x, add your overheads y and sell them for z

Could be a nice little earner for you, as you said it'd be more a passion than a gold mine.

You could get a small new titles section if you still wanted to go down that road. You could even see about buying old snes's and megadrives and games for them second hand off ebay or whatever and sell them too!

justindublin

I was involved in DVD purchasing for few years I know two of biggest distributors of DVD and Games are the ones below and they also deal in some small orders. Give them a shout, there nice guys.

NCV DISTRIBUTION LTD
Unit 2, Loghlinstown Ind Est,
Ballybrack Dublin
Phone: 01 282 64 44

Sean Fagan Wholesale Ltd
Unit 4B, Avonbeg Ind Est,
Dublin 12
Phone: 01 4199984

steve_

wow!! thanks guys for the replies its all extremely helpful. I guess i should of mentioned that im an avid fan of gaming and have been since i can remember. The retail sector for gaming, for me is unmatched when it comes to its customers and content not to mention the genuine excitement of new titles coming out. Iv worked for GAME for two years and enjoyed every moment of it. I guess this where the seed was planted. I actively tried to find out who GAME's suppliers where but as mentioned before i reckon they just bought directly from the big companies.

When it comes to store content, i reckon i would only focus on current gen titles and maybe try to sell on some retro titles to try hit that niche market. Also i would be very interested in dealing with apparel, t-shirts, caps, school bags. The amount of times customers asked about these products while i worked in GAME was insane!! Also i would try involve gamers more it seems stores want nothing more then to just sell the games when a huge chunk of that market are active online gamers with that competitive spark. This is something i would like to exploit and use as a way to build a strong customer base. But its all well and good typing this down and currently its just an idea in my mind, but the passion and will is there, its just trying to get the ground work done and find out if it financially wise to take the plunge at the moment.

But your thoughts and suggestions are very much welcomed. Thanks guys.

steve_

Also just a quick question. Do any of you reckon the games industry will ever go fully online? like no more disks just digital downloads. Is there benefits for companies such as microsoft or sony selling to chains like GAME? Is it something that will always remain or is it on the way out?

docdolittle

steve_ wrote: »

Also just a quick question. Do any of you reckon the games industry will ever go fully online? like no more disks just digital downloads. Is there benefits for companies such as microsoft or sony selling to chains like GAME? Is it something that will always remain or is it on the way out?

Well there is cloud computing (Which is already out but is going to apparently grow soon enough) With the likes of onLive and other services following it. Many games are also going onto services like xbox live. Online services are still fairly expensive at the moment which still keeps hard copies competitive.

Many people still prefer getting the actual copies of games though. I'd say that B&M shops will keep going for a fair while yet. Just look at the amount of special editions that are sold with the release of some games, it is phenomenal. Pre-owned games also are a huge draw for many gamers, but with publishers introducing DLC available for a one time download with new game, this might drop a bit. Oh and downloading a full game can sometimes be time consuming and if you have a download cap on your broadband, it won't help your bill

Best of luck with this

steve_

i can see things heading that way for PC for sure i just feel the console market will always remain in a physical form. The format might change but id like to hope games will remain something i can buy and own and collect and cherish. Ah one can dream i guess

Gamesnash.ie: Pat

steve_ wrote: »

wow!! thanks guys for the replies its all extremely helpful. I guess i should of mentioned that im an avid fan of gaming and have been since i can remember. The retail sector for gaming, for me is unmatched when it comes to its customers and content not to mention the genuine excitement of new titles coming out. Iv worked for GAME for two years and enjoyed every moment of it. I guess this where the seed was planted. I actively tried to find out who GAME's suppliers where but as mentioned before i reckon they just bought directly from the big companies.

When it comes to store content, i reckon i would only focus on current gen titles and maybe try to sell on some retro titles to try hit that niche market. Also i would be very interested in dealing with apparel, t-shirts, caps, school bags. The amount of times customers asked about these products while i worked in GAME was insane!! Also i would try involve gamers more it seems stores want nothing more then to just sell the games when a huge chunk of that market are active online gamers with that competitive spark. This is something i would like to exploit and use as a way to build a strong customer base. But its all well and good typing this down and currently its just an idea in my mind, but the passion and will is there, its just trying to get the ground work done and find out if it financially wise to take the plunge at the moment.

But your thoughts and suggestions are very much welcomed. Thanks guys.

One thing to consider in the future if the mods don't mind me mentioning it here is opening your own Gamesnash Live gaming centre. We're compiling a franchise package at the moment which may suit you. Something like Gamesnash Live can be opened on a fraction of the stock investment needed to open a fully fledged gaming store.

steve_ wrote: »

Also just a quick question. Do any of you reckon the games industry will ever go fully online? like no more disks just digital downloads. Is there benefits for companies such as microsoft or sony selling to chains like GAME? Is it something that will always remain or is it on the way out?

Digitial distribution is one of the reasons I was advising to steer clear of opening an independent store. The market is shrinking dramatically and is the reason why Game / Gamestop etc are buying digital distribution companies and now branching out into DVDs, Phones, CDs, Computers etc Ourselves expanding into Gamesnash Live sites is a way of protecting ourselves from digital distributions effects.

docdolittle wrote: »

Well there is cloud computing (Which is already out but is going to apparently grow soon enough) With the likes of onLive and other services following it. Many games are also going onto services like xbox live. Online services are still fairly expensive at the moment which still keeps hard copies competitive.

Many people still prefer getting the actual copies of games though. I'd say that B&M shops will keep going for a fair while yet. Just look at the amount of special editions that are sold with the release of some games, it is phenomenal. Pre-owned games also are a huge draw for many gamers, but with publishers introducing DLC available for a one time download with new game, this might drop a bit. Oh and downloading a full game can sometimes be time consuming and if you have a download cap on your broadband, it won't help your bill

There will always be a demand for boxed copies but it is a changing marketplace. There's a few interesting threads in the games forum on the changing landscape of new versus pre owned sales in shops but the brief synopsis is that publishers are making efforts to take value out of pre owned product, for example by introducing one time only redemption codes for online play meaning someone buying a pre owned game will have to pay a fee to the publisher to access the same content as what is available new. The main bricks and mortar sites are close to and in some cases loss leading on new titles but making 40% on pre owned games. That's why at times it is cheaper to buy a game from Gamestop than one of the distributors listed above. Ultimately this isn't sustainable if the demand for pre owned games drops. Technology is required to avail of digitial distribution and it is years away from being available to a large section of the population here who are still on dial up.

It's a market that is undergoing some major changes and turthfully nobody knows exactly how it will pan out.

steve_

I for one think it will be a sad day for gaming when you can no longer buy a hard copy of a game. I reckon its a good few years away just yet but i can still see games being released as both digital downloads and hardcopies even when digital downloads come into full swing. Id say a vast majority of gamers both casual and hardcore would rather have a physical copy then a digital one. Now unless the industry gives consumers no other option then to buy digitally thats another story altogether. If anything i can see stores stocking games similarly to xbox live cards. Games would come prepaid on fancy collectible cards or something as to not fully take away the joys of collecting games.

steve_

Gamesnash.ie: Pat wrote: »

One thing to consider in the future if the mods don't mind me mentioning it here is opening your own Gamesnash Live gaming centre. We're compiling a franchise package at the moment which may suit you. Something like Gamesnash Live can be opened on a fraction of the stock investment needed to open a fully fledged gaming store.

Cheers Pat thats a very interesting prospect. And it is something i was always intending of including in the store. But at the moment im thinking maybe a brick and mortar store is a bit forward, maybe i will begin by selling online but still include the social gaming aspect of things. It just seems like too much of a risk at the moment to go and buy premises plus my stock levels would have to be allot higher then if i was online only. At the moment im a one man band so this is why im leaning towards online sales to begin with. Im starting college now next week also so my cashflow wont be as high as before. Im doing web design in college so i might attempt to design the site myself then outsource the e-commerce side of things

BostonB

Seems to me that the amount of floor space in shops for games is decreasing, and they are selling primarily the mainstream most popular games. Seem like any games that don't fit into that have moved to online sales.

steve_

Allot of game stores are full of clutter, games that sell a very small amount of copies each month. This is why i think online can thrump many stores by selecting only the best games to sell while reducing costs on buying stock. Dont get me wrong i know choice mean allot to customers but there are so many bad games on the market that stores struggle to shift.

steve_

Im trying to work out start up costs but cant seem to come generate any solid figures. Maybe one of you lads here from gamesnash can shed some light on initial start up funds. Ill be operating from home first and im also looking to get a site made up. Then obviously ill need to get stock which brings me to another question. Lets say a distributor has a minimum order of 30 games. Would this be 30 of the same game or would i be able to pick and choose 30 different titles?

Pacing Mule

steve_ wrote: »

Im trying to work out start up costs but cant seem to come generate any solid figures. Maybe one of you lads here from gamesnash can shed some light on initial start up funds. Ill be operating from home first and im also looking to get a site made up. Then obviously ill need to get stock which brings me to another question. Lets say a distributor has a minimum order of 30 games. Would this be 30 of the same game or would i be able to pick and choose 30 different titles?

Ballpark figure with no stock would be 30k depending on how suitable your premises would be and how much alterations would be needed. Stockholding of a typical game / gamestop gaming store would be anything from 500k to one million. You'd need a minimum of 500 - 600 individual skus to look anything more than half arsed. Top titles cost €38 - €40 ex vat to buy in so even 2 copies of each one would set you back close to 50k.

The minimum order quantities would vary - case sizes are usually 15-25 of each sku ( thats 15 to 25 on each platform ) at a time but if there is demand to split boxes between a few smaller retailers it can be sometimes done. Worst case scenario is you're the only retailer looking to get a title in and you're hit with a min order of 10 cases - particularly with PC games that none of the independents are stocking at this stage.

steve_

Considering i would be starting online only and operating from home hopefully that will reduce costs allot. I think your right about the 30k mark when it comes to stocking maybe 40-50 titles per console and having maybe 3 or 4 copies of each to begin with.

Pacing Mule

Sorry I read your post wrongly there. Yeah 30k would be about right for initial stock from an online perspective if you're getting 4 copies across those skus.