Hmmm...interesting. I live in Warren, MI near Detroit. That's one thing I am doing is checking out local places that are in to what I might do. See if they offer any help. Where abouts was that again? East town?

One problem stores like these have now is online ordering. If you know enough to do this, I would highly recommend and online store to sister your retail store. At Http://www.paypal.com they show how to make an online shopping cart, which is a really simple process of cutting and pasting. This could booster your bussiness enough to be able to keep your store open ont he retail side no matter how it did.

Hehe ALready factored that in! Hehe but thanks i forgot PAYPAL was a good way to go. THANKS

you know if there are any malls in your area you might want to think about renting a cart form them before you go and open a store. might be lower overhead, and a godo way to get started.

thanks that is a good idea! might have to do something like that. THANKS!

I think the biggest thing you need to consider (besides startup cost) is will your store provide something that no other store in the area provides? There has to be something to draw people away from the chain stores to your store. Some ideas: Miniatures painting service and/or classes; store-sponsored games; Food (not just soda & candy, why not coffee, pastries & sandwiches? Of course, that brings a whole new dimension to it); book signings/ celeb appearances; selling (used?) sci-fi & fantasy books & movies as well as gaming materials; sponsoring/ partnerships with other groups to get the word out. My son is in the gifted program at school, and every few months they have a "Family Game Night," where families bring games and every gets together and plays different games. They charge admission and raise money for the program. If there was something like that in a school nearby, you could sponsor it, or maybe host some games at it. My town also does an annual "Merchants parade" every summer. I mentioned to my local gaming store owner that he should get a few people in costume to be in the parade. He shrugged it off, but imagine the exposure! I deliver for the local Domino's, and our parade "float" was just the owner in a trailer tossing dough in the air while "That's Amore!" blasted from a 2000 watt sound system borrowed from my day job. But the reaction was incredible.

My only other advice: gamers running a gaming store is, quite literally, the inmates running the asylum. You have to treat it as a business, and think about it in business terms, in order for it to succeed and thrive. Good luck!

SWEET! Very very good advice! Family night, mini painting classes, all good stuff. Coffee is a must. Hehe. Thanks so much all that you've said was a big help.

Write a business plan.

Write a good business plan.

Thanks

Warren, huh? I grew up there. But that's not why I'm posting. I read the entry and the comments. Then I thought, "What type of store would I want to go to?" There are a few stores around where I live (East Lansing), but I rarely go to them. I talked about it with my wife a little and we (mostly she) came up with some good points.

Clean. Gotta be clean, especially if you're going to have food around. Make sure there are plenty of trash cans and someone to empty them. Maybe have some trays or even custom gaming tables with cup holders and stuff. Post concise rules about what can and can't be where.

Inside layout. Make sure you keep the gaming/relaxing/eating part away from the merchandise. See #1. Plus as another posted, you have to be careful of theft. I can see someone's game bag is sitting at the table and whoops, the book "fell into his bag". ;) Another reason layout is important is that it can be frustrating to wade through the gamers to get to the merchandise. If I'm a customer, I don't want to have to run the gauntlet of tables, people, etc. to get to the rack of minis at the back.

Community. If you want people to stay, it needs to be a community, not just a place to show off your new Magic cards. I really liked the idea mentioned about getting involved with the schools. "Game Night" can be fun, but be careful. Be sure to have enough "adults" or chaperones. You don't want some bossy rule-monger or kid with a twinked out deck to lessen the fun for everyone else. This might also be a good way to get kids parents involved. Try to have different ways for people to find similar minded folk. Gaming groups can be extremely different. I've been in a few groups over the years and the ones I tried in a "public" venue were the ones I left because we didn't click. There needs to be a "gaming group dating service" or something. Answer 10 questions and find a match. ;)

Business plan. Already mentioned, but a smart idea. Spell out what you want to do and how you plan to get there. "I want to have fun selling geek gear" is a noble quest, but doesn't pay the bills. =) It is encouraging that you've already started looking into things like licensing and legal issues before opening the store.

Two places in East Lansing:
http://www.fortresscomics.com/
http://www.21stcomics.com/index.php

They have some good qualities and some not so good ones.
Hmm. If I think of more I'll add it.

Completely awesomely great advice. Loving all of it. Good stuff. Ill check those sites and try and think of more ways of family night and all that later on. THANKS A LOT!