Brainstorming Thread: A Cooperative Game Store

Can't speak much to a functional game store, coop or "standard", but I've heard enough tales of a coffee-shop/game-shop to make the idea appealing. I actually got tipped off to a location off the Lawrence stop that would be pretty baller for a coffee spot (ie, no other coffee shops within a solid half mile, and none of them right by the stop). Foot traffic for people on the way to work = money.

The short/sweet version is that the game inventory is purely icing on the coffee-flavored cake. Come the end of days, you can throw the stuff up on eBay for 70% retail and still get your investment-in-goods back, so while it would take some doing it's a moderately safe investment. Rolling the whole thing into an "easy to handle", high-profit sector is basically just adding inefficient money gains for the love of the gaming aspect, but if the morning spiel pays your bills, having a few guys playing a board game or two (while most likely enjoying a freshly espresso'd something-or-other) isn't going to kill your business.

Obviously different than what you're talking about, but it's something that I think would actually work in the business world, in a sustainable fashion. As for more of a co-op model, the idea, I think, is generally to share rent/utilities on a space, to give the members a private club-esque place to play. The idea being that outsiders could come in and give us money to further offset costs, rather than "being a game store", it would have been more of a gaming space that sold stuff if you needed it. But maybe that's just my hazy recollection.

Thanks for the thoughts so far guys.

Both of you touched on things that I've been thinking a lot about.

I'm actually working on a rough business plan. All of the cooperatives here are loosely linked by an organization called the Riverwest Cooperative Alliance, an organization that is meant to promote synergy between the coops and help facilitate businesses built on the cooperative business model. I've already talked a little with one of the people involved since he's also the volunteer coordinator at the food co-op and he thinks its an interesting idea that needs fleshing out.

Now there is precedent here for some of what I'm suggesting. People's Books uses the exact same structure ($20 membership/volunteer option and 5%/15%) with the need for way less staff and enduring way less stock movement. People's Books though, as I understand it, is struggling for the same reasons as a game store would - inability to compete with the convenience and discounts of the internet, even with focusing on radical texts and zines. They run events and offer up their space so the community feels invested in helping to maintain the space.

That being said I feel like the "3 hours per week" volunteer model actually would have the ability to make a cooperative game store more successful. There are so many games on the market and they all sell best when there is an advocate. Volunteers don't just need to be cashiers and merchandisers... They can be Outriders/Press Gangers/TO's/league and campaign facilitators, etc. They can run events outside of the shop. No space at the shop that night for M:TG? Well if people want to get together at the Riverwest Public House instead? Awesome. Run with it. That's synergy that helps both coops.

Cat and Mouse has also been an inspiration. Their date night program or their new "Ladies Only" gaming-and-tea on Saturday afternoons demonstrate innovation at getting people through the door, attracting different clientele and being more of a community center.

Speaking of which, with volunteers, there could be after school programs that use gaming as a way to keep kids off the street and foster future gamers at the same time. A lone shop keep needs the afternoon to order product, stock shelves, and plan events. Volunteers invested in the store and community though could make events like that more feasible.

There would need to be table fees and incentives that offset them too. One of the local gaming chains in the burbs runs Pathfinder Society stuff religiously and charge you $2 to sit at the table, which isn't bad and the culture of gamers here doesn't seem to mind it (they are well attended).

I think the idea has some wings. Like Joel mentioned, having a cafe or at least a "snack" element would give it a service that allows people to game and "hang". Having root beer and shit on site, and a relationship with the Riverwest Co-Op Cafe to bring in prepared food would circumvent food prep licensing and support the cafe. The Riverwest Public House does this for Sunday brunch. You order at the bar and someone bikes it two blocks from the cafe so you can eat it. Haha. As I said, this is a unique neighborhood.

Keep the thoughts coming.

This is a fair point, though I think some of that apprehension is mitigated here where there is faith in the cooperative model. Also, no one would be asking for anyone's money until a business plan was in place. I'm trying to rough out that business plan.

Part of building a cooperative business involves meetings, discussions, and community involvement early on. For someone who wants to understand the nuts and bolts of the operation to investigate it's viability, it opens the business up to complete transparency. 

Around 2010 I was involved in the Chicago Vegan Co-Op. We had a half dozen or so meetings before we started putting money into it. We started with a lot of interested individuals, but by the 6th meeting had been distilled down to 6 core people, and we began buying in bulk from vendors on a special order basis. It was cool while it lasted, and that year I saved a lot of money on vegan items. However, we learned quickly that a tiny mark up wasn't bringing in enough money to expand (we wanted to work toward a retail space, and even with as many as 30-40 people being in on our bulk orders it would have taken years to get to that point). Still, anyone that came to the meetings had access to every bit of minute financial data and a voice in our decision making process.

Since you guys were on the precipice of starting a gaming club or store, I'm trying to find out what you all had in mind to make it work. I'm sure everyone that had investment enough in the idea to go to that meeting right after NDG closed probably walked away with an idea in their head of what they wanted to see. I'm curious what some of those ideas were.

I think utilizing volunteers outside the store is probably a brilliant idea. Game space is a double-edged sword. On one hand, having people sitting in your store, building mini's at your tables, or playing games (for free) doesn't make you money.

On the other hand, other people looking in, seeing people having fun, and wanting to come in and see what the ruckus is about, *does*. Essentially table space is a marketing cost, that many game stores don't seem to realize.

But having people who are willing to run events for you for a small discount, taking them to other co-op locations for shared growth, could be a great way to utilize the manpower. The Dojo up north (and south, now) only pays minimum wage, but my friend that worked there got swag all the time, mad discounts, etc... he basically got paid to play games, occasionally run events, and turned it all into plastic and board games.

Shoot, if I had a store, and I knew that Jeff was looking for a fresh copy of Zombiecide, I could easily offer him a free game if he demo'd it for a day. The lost cost of said box is, what, $30? Easily worth the 5-6 hours of running demo's, dealing with newbies, knowing the game, and having excitement for it that will generate the real sales. Granted that's more of a barter system, but still.

It'd be ideal to have a basement-type space, dedicated to hobby gaming and the like, that you could rent memberships to. $20/mth gets you all-access to a loaded basement of tables and terrain. Shoot, you could even subsidize with a painting service (pending new glasses ;D). Most shop owners spend their down time fiddling on teh internet or watching movies. Even if a quarter of that time was spent on $15-20/hr painting projects, it'd give you a nice supplemental income, and some really interesting show-pieces/conversation starters. Really that's something you should push (your painting skills in general). How cool is it for a 12 year old to get to break open one of the starter boxes and try a quick game? How much cooler is it if they're painted to such a high standard and look SO FRIGGEN AWESOME?

Granted, that again has nothing to do with a co-op and everything to do with your particular skillset. But hey, if you're involved, then it should.

Game space is really key. But I am going to throw a point of view out there which I don't want folks to take the wrong way.

There are a few number of folks that can barely get 3-5 hours a week to play every other week. If I walked into a shop and got bumped off a table or anything of the sort by someone who was a "Vol Member" or some such I would never come back.

Really there are a limited number of folks with a combination of work and Wife/Fiance/Hubby you get the idea, who can make it out and volunteer. If its anything less than an awesome game store like Eileen runs or Alex @ dojo they will go there.

Both of those however cease being as important if you have the best space, active groups, and tons of terrain. That is I spend an hour and a half in the car once a week to go to the dojo/wanderers

It needs to be centrally located as Nick pointed out.

I am very familiar with Co-Ops. This isn't food though its plastic crack and other various gaming.

I don't think it does. And I'm not sure that's what Dex was trying to say. But Dex is right, this isn't food. This isn't something people "need", at least not in the traditional sense. However, most people who hang out at game stores, record stores, or comic stores, spend hours there out of commonality and community. I've spent the last 25 years gaming and going to punk shows because they both gave me that sense of community. The collective members of CST hang out to "get your game on", but it also gives each of you something more or you wouldn't go back to gaming with the same group of folks.

I think it is that element of gaming that would allow something like this to potentially succeed.