New Store Stocking Advice

[Mclimbin]

Hey all,

I've been talking to a person who is opening a new gaming store in my area (ok, 45 min away, but that is the closest store we have!) He recently asked me if I had any suggestions on what to stock as far as Warlord. I thought it would be interesting to ask some of the more experienced players and BLs here. What do you think? What would you like to see stocked in your store?

 

I'm not sure what his budget is, so just give me your best case scenario.

Edited November 8, 2007 by Mclimbin

[Stubbdog]

Ok, so you have already answered the first question.. local store verses online

 

Personally, I would tell them to pick out say 3-4 factions and get several from those, rather than trying to get 1-2 minis from all 10 factions. More factions can always be added later, but if you are starting out new then you would want people to be able to aquire small starter sized armies (500 point) without having to make 2-3 trips to do so. Then as they learn and enjoy they will want to expand those armies and can relay to the store employees what they are needing.

 

Also, a good way to try and have success in a new store is to try and get a few in store demo armies that people can just come in and play without having to buy. The more they play the more they will probably purchase it afterwards. This is acheived by either the store being willing to take the write off to get some playing armies in house, or someone (like yourself) beign a black lightning at the store and using earned points to donate miniatures to the store's general play army fund.

[Saint Vierzehn]

The three-packs were popular, and the starter sets were popular, but Reaper isn't putting them out anymore.

 

Your store owner could probably get some extra sales if he was willing to do a little repackaging.

 

-StV.

[Mclimbin]

Thanks for the advice and info Stubb and SV. Anyone else want to chime in?

[Saint Vierzehn]

I've been thinking about this more.

 

If I were setting up a store, here's what I would do. First, I would put together 750 point lists for each faction. I would favor high point cost models, and models that were visually stunning (which, btw, is exactly the opposite of what I do when putting together a serious tourney list). Those lists should be fairly inexpensive to build moneywise, because they'll have a low model count. Then I would buy enough Reaper models, repackage them, and put two army starter packs for each faction up for sale.

 

I would buy & paint two armies for use in the store, for display and demos.

 

I would buy one blister of every game model that Reaper produces for Warlord, and put them on the shelves. It'll take some extra work at first to keep the store stocked. I would take orders from customers for the models they want, to encourage them to visit the store often. Once the customer base was built up a bit, I would increase my stock.

 

Early on, I would hold a 750 point tourney. Publicize it well in advance. First prize would be 250 points worth of minis, of the winner's faction. At the award ceremony, I would announce that there would be another upcoming tournament for 1000 points. And then 1250 points after that, and then 1500 points after that.

 

I hope all works well for you.

 

-StV.

[Mengu]

Have them ask their distributor about a Warlord Game Starter Package (basically everything Crusader and Necropolis, including army packs), or Warlord Complete Line Package (one of everything except army packs). These deals may change slightly depending on discontinued products, but this should give you a rough idea of what they would get.

[ReaperClark]

He recently asked me if I had any suggestions on what to stock as far as Warlord.

 

Have him call me

940.484.6464 ext 111

 

I'll talk with him about his options.

[Mclimbin]

He recently asked me if I had any suggestions on what to stock as far as Warlord.

 

Have him call me

940.484.6464 ext 111

 

I'll talk with him about his options.

Thanks Clark. I'll let him know.

Michael

[joshuaslater]

Yup. Straight to the man is the way to go.

[VelveteenRabbit]

Go slow but present it well... I know that there is a lot of assumption that goes into buying product. You assume people will like certain things and that they will pick up like wildfire and before you know it everyone will want in on it. That's just not the case. I think a lot of gamestores kill themselves buying product that they can't move. I've done it and it hurts. Some things you can't even E-bay to get rid of and get your investment back...

 

Consumers seem to assume that retail stores get stuff for free and that their product interests should always be 100% supported even if they are the only person in town that actually buys it.

 

It's hard to explain that you would love to carry $3,000 in Warlord for instance, but also have about 200 other lines that your store is trying to support... Really the only option is to make it pretty and hope people will special order from you. Get the basic starters, get some people playing, then start trying to anticipate their future purchases.

 

That seems to be how all games work in retail.

 

Oh, and be a pal and never ever buy a single thing off the internet again. I guarentee that your friend is going to need every penny you can send his way...

[mooseyjoe]

We have 3 stores within twenty minutes of my house and another opening. And I can tell you which does the most business and why. Discounts. The one that is farthest out of town in the shoddiest building with the least space still does the most business and stocks the most product. Here is how they do it. 20% discount if you buy online. That means it defrays the cost of shipping, or, if you elect to go pick it up in the store, its just a straight up discount. And they like it too. Everything they sell on line brings less profit, but it is a guarunteed sale, not a gamble that sits on the shelves. Sure they lose half of their 40% markup, but half of something is waaaay more than all of nothing. Also, when selling minis any store is in direct competition with the internet. Sure we all know the guys at the store. Sure we like that they have playing space. Man o man do we want them to stay in business. But many customers still go with the cheaper product because they can't afford to waste cash trying to keep a sinking business afloat, even if it is the nice thing to do

 

And since they do have the store, they still get those impulse buyers that want some shiney stuff right now. Also, when you need to order something, you order it from them at a discount rather than from some web site at a discount.

 

 

After the discounts the most important thing is presentation. A store should be clean, full of friendly people, and stocked floor to ceiling with miniatures. I should not spend 20 minutes peruseing half filled aisles and not find anything I am willing to buy. I am a gamer with a ten-spot in my pocket, put something shiney in my hand. I want to feel like I am at a proper store with a friendly knowledgable staff, not at a half empty used car lot (we have one gaming store still in business like that). I would much rather talk to the nice young lady behind the register at the discount store than some beardy guy at the understocked/overpriced store.

 

 

The least important thing is playing space. In the past 3 years we have had 5 stores in my area. The one with the most playing space died first. Next we lost the one with the third most space. The 2nd most space store is still here by virtue of its premium location (premium for a gamestore in a low rent building) but is always on the edge of failing. The two stores with the most stuff and fewest tables always have the most customers. Besides, if you watch any gamestore on a saturday you'll see that the folks sitting and playing often buy less then the guys who only come in for 5 minutes. It doesn't do you any good to have a game table if the gamers aren't paying their rent. If you want to have a gaming club where your buddies can hang out and game without buying things, thats one thing, but a store needs to be a store.

 

It is also important to be careful with how you allot any playing areas. I have seen a gamestore owner kick out middle aged men wih jobs and deep pockets to make room for 3 middle schoolers to play yu-gi-oh. Thats bad business. You can bet that those fellas don't like to make their $250 army purchases through him now. But hey, at least hes still getting $15 a week from the yu-gi-oh kids.

 

 

I'm sorry to go on so much, but I live a stone's throw from one of the best stores I've ever seen and one of the worst, and I hate to see people end up with stores like the worst.

 

 

 

On topic: As far as stocking for warlord, I would say stock the shiney things first, because that is what will catch people's eye and get them interested.

[Madog Barfog]

It is also important to be careful with how you allot any playing areas.

 

I'd like to take an off-topic moment to congratulate you on the correct use of the word "allot". Allow me to follow up with the fact that "a lot", as in "They have a lot of minis", is 2 words. This often gets misused on the Internet.

 

Thanks for knowing the difference!

[RayRangel]

Get him to call Reaper sales dept. and whomever does hobby distributing in your area. The hard truth is that gaming consumers rarely know as much as we think we do about the business end. We know what WE would like to see and we have a subjective FEEL for what other gamer's might like. However, the distributors and the direct sales guys know the hard facts about what sells and what doesn't. They know how to help the retailer stock and market for the long haul, not just for today or tomorrow, it is, after all, in everyone's best interest to see the retailer succeed.

 

That's not to say my opinion, and yours, as a consumer is not important. It's just that this is sort of like voting. You vote for the products that you would like to see stocked with your dollars, special orders, and requests. You also vote by actively playing games in the store, offering to demo for the publisher and game store; BUT, your votes go in to the ballot box with everyone else's including the card players and the girls bying plushy dragons.

 

Besides, I'll be honest. I'm a fickle gamer! I buy, paint, and play on a whim. Warlord is holding my interest right now. Six months from now, if Reaper were to spring a hard Scifi skirmish game based on R.A.G.E. (my dream is that someone will sculpt figures in 1960's style space suits so that I can have a Lunar battle between the USA and CCCP in craters and a moon base!) I'd be all in. Then what would happen to the poor retailer that I advised to get all that stuff that I thought I was going to get for Warlord? I'd be all kinds of guilt ridden if the he stocked based on my advice.

 

Hey all,

I've been talking to a person who is opening a new gaming store in my area (ok, 45 min away, but that is the closest store we have!) He recently asked me if I had any suggestions on what to stock as far as Warlord. I thought it would be interesting to ask some of the more experienced players and BLs here. What do you think? What would you like to see stocked in your store?

 

I'm not sure what his budget is, so just give me your best case scenario.

[Magnus]

Mooseyjoe nailed it! There is so much in there that the new and established store owner could learn from. I am one of those middle-aged gamers with fairly deep pockets and a lack of focus that has helped pay the rent on several game stores in the areas that I have lived. I had a great friend that ran a very succesful store in the Northern Califorinia back in the early 90s and he managed to actually make money during a period when the CA economy was really hurting. I think one of the biggest draws was a well lighted display case with very nicely painted miniatures. It wasn't Reaper back then but he had two starter armies painted and available for demo for that curious newbie. Of course there was some gaming space but not much. In fact the "club" guys usually met after hours as we needed to clear space for bigger games. As an owner he insisted that folks watch the "colorful" language as he was sensitive to the soccer Mom and her son who might just walk out. He was friendly and knowledgeable about the products he sold and if personally didn't like a product he didn't make that known to the customer. Yes, I have been in a store with a product in hand only to be told by the store owner that it was a stupid game simply because he didn't like it. Oh yeah, I walked out and never walked back in.

 

As far as Warlord goes I agree; talk with the nice folks at Reaper, but most importantly I think you will sell so much more by actually getting new folks to play the game. A running demo night/afternoon where folks can give it a go will really help. Giving a small discount on special orders will also help. I don't expect the local store to stock the whole line but when I do need a special order it is nice to get a little off the top as it is a gauranteed sale. Get those small demo armies started, build a small gaming board with some nice terrain, it works so well at the conventions I can't believe that more local stores don't do the same thing.

 

I wish you luck, I seriously think that Warlord is one of the best small unit games I have ever played.

 

Cheers

Magnus

[claymoore]

The owner of one of my lgs told me that Reaper made a huge impact in his startup with their advice and willingness to deal with him directly. After two years this store is doing very well. Warlord does not fare well in this area so the owner has decided to stock more Warlord singles since they sell better to cross-over gamers than packs do. He also has the entire range of DHL. Talking to Reaper directly is good advice.

As for gaming space, the lgs with the most tables does the most business here and the lgs that has the second largest gaming area is a close second. Several other factors, such as location affect this as well.