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Do you have to pay for a table at your wargaming/rpg/cardgame store?A pal of has moved to go to school and told that the store close to him charges for table time. I have lived in in 3 different states been to nine different stores from the time i was 12 (now 36) and have never seen or herd of it before, is it common?

Never seen it - though I have often thought they should.

One of the big gripes I hear from store owners is that they provide a place for people to game...but then those people buy stuff online. My response has always been, so charge them for what you are providing that they can't get online. As long as it isn't an exorbitant amount - if what they provide is worth while...people will pay it.

Personally though, the last time I played in a store - I was about 12. Since then I have played in my own home or in other peoples homes - or the occasional club when I was overseas.

Yes, No, Im not sure, IF we are doing it at night yeah, but not during the day.

Yeah, at least in New York they do (well the one of the only two in the city does, the other store that doesn't being a GW store, which isn't that much better)

A gaming table exists in your store for 2 reasons:
1) To attract brand new customers to the products you sell through demo games.
2) To garner customer loyalty through your existing customers by giving them a place to play

Which is really one reason: to sell more stuff.

A gaming table for 40k takes up at least 60 square feet of store space. You're paying rent on that space. The table needs to earn you as much money as you could earn from selling more stock in the same area. The idea is that it does this by multiplying sales in other areas.

If people are coming in, playing games on your tables and walking out without ever buying anything from you, the table is losing you money.

If I ran a game store, I would charge per hour for use of tables, but give the gamers store credit for use (that day?) to be spent on any non-food items in the store. Win-win for everyone, right?

Trasvi is right in that gaming space is as much advertisement for the store as it is a place to play. Offer a good, comfortable gaming space, offer a good product range, and get to know your customers. people will buy there.

You'll get the odd stingy person who will never buy there, but thats just the nature of the business.

If I was ever asked to pay to use a table, I'd just go play at home. I already spend money at the store, be it on figs, books, or food while playing. Paying to use the able just seems silly.

No charge at our store, but most of the regulars here don't do much buying online, other than Forgeworld. Our store has a membership fee of $30 per year for 10% off every non-food item in the store, so it's a decent incentive to get people to keep buying stuff at the FLGS instead of any online retailer.

I haven't been able to afford much in the sense of miniature purchases the past couple years, but getting a chance to head to the LGS maybe once a month is always nice for some time to de-stress and have fun. Our LGS doesn't charge for table use, but I try my best to grab an Americano or a small mini or a pot of paint each time I play there if I can.

Here is my take on it.

I buy where I play. This costs me 10-20% more than buying online, and i feel like I'm doing my part to support the store. If my FLGS started charging me a table fee I would pay it. However unless he was willing to match the percentage off from online retailers I would at that point see no bennifit to buying there.

My FLGS is struggling to keep the old playerbase of 40k alive after the old store went under. They have massive amounts of terrain and feasibly 10 tables to play on. Right now, if they charged people to play on them, it would bankrupt the store because nobody would want to play. If they decided to charge later it would prevent some of their players from actually playing (like me atm) because we can't afford to even buy the minis atm. However, building off of what I've seen discussed so far, offering a welcoming place to play and hang out as well as an HQ for campaigns, tournaments, and even hubs for clubs to get together before they go to a grand tournament or Games Day is as it has proven to have been, a solid business plan that encourages the ethical growth of the hobby. I hope that charging for tables to play is a flub of a business plan - the hobby is expensive enough as it is - having a middleman that makes it more expensive just for the sake of making some extra money is justification for leaving or seeking another venue.

If the store in my area ever started asking for us to pay to use the tables, that would be lolz. Currently they

-Kick 40k players off gaming tables for Magic the Gathering
-Neglect to put orders in for GW products

So, lolz.

We don't have to pay for table space at my FLGS. Hence I do try and buy everything from the owner.

In our area we have access to 3 tables all the time and more during down days. I try and get something or have my FLGS order for me whenever I can.

Dan

On one note I see where charging for tables makes sense, especially since many people dont buy when they go in there to play (Lets face it most people buy models between 1-3 times a year by my reckoning). However I do try to at least buy something when I play at my FLGS, even if its just a Booster pack (local FLGS does not sell warhammer stuff, the nearest one that does is 100 miles away)

I've never played in a store that charged for space other than stores charging an entry fee for tournaments where they provide prize support.

However, back when I used to play in game stores, I bought most, if not all, of my stuff there.

My current store does not charge for playing space, but almost everyone buys most of their models or paint there. But my current store does not have the authority/ability to buy/maintain terrain for themselves, which means that everything we use save the retail space itself is provided by us.

I did play at a store which offered a membership which included a 10% discount and unlimited use of their gaming space. But that store had beautiful terrain/tables, 2 store armies for the staff to use for demo games/painting demos etc.

I've never been to a store that charged us to use a table, but I have thought that it wouldn't be a terrible idea to have a donation jar that people can put money into that is specifically used to buy and maintain the stores terrain collection.
I've seen small children do terrible things to terrain... terrible things...

I've seen it before but only in super packed Stores and it's only $2 dollars and you get it back in drinks from the refrigerator. Sadly, there is no Cher Wine.

No, haven't seen it. That said, I would think "store credit for the amount you pay" would be a pretty cool deal all around.

Say you have to pay 5 dollars for a table. You then get 5 dollars worth of store credit on your membership.

You're stacking up money to buy your GW figures, they are making you shop from them, you are getting the table "for free"
I'd support something like that.

Trasvi wrote:
A gaming table exists in your store for 2 reasons:
1) To attract brand new customers to the products you sell through demo games.
2) To garner customer loyalty through your existing customers by giving them a place to play

Which is really one reason: to sell more stuff.

A gaming table for 40k takes up at least 60 square feet of store space. You're paying rent on that space. The table needs to earn you as much money as you could earn from selling more stock in the same area. The idea is that it does this by multiplying sales in other areas.

If people are coming in, playing games on your tables and walking out without ever buying anything from you, the table is losing you money.

If I ran a game store, I would charge per hour for use of tables, but give the gamers store credit for use (that day?) to be spent on any non-food items in the store. Win-win for everyone, right?

Sounds like a good start, though people who have no need for new products might get tired of paying. Alternatively a 'membership fee' say, monthly, that gave gamers a discount on purchases and access to play games any time during business hours might work as well. Discount encourages purchases, membership is basically free money (or money for the gaming space).

I want to open my own hobby/gaming store in the far future (going to business school right now) and this is a tactic I am considering using.

Everybody pays for tables.
Discounted models and pay direct, or more for your models and play for "free".
Because if they haven't charged for tables, It's allready calculated in the price.

I don't have to pay for tables at my FLGS, and I try to do a decent amount of my buying there to support the store. I can see the reasoning in charging for tables if the people at the store are just using the tables and not making purchases.

I haven't seen pay to use the tables but they do rent out dedicated table spaces for people to stow their stuff and work on their models.

I buy models at the FLGS and all my paint as my "table rent"

I've never seen it done, though I wouldnt be against it but the table better be pretty nice with some good scenery if I'm going to pay to use it

For me it would depend on the terrain quality and perks. If the store had straight up kick-ass terrain that is diorama quality to play on AND they constantly spent time keeping it repaired and updated then I would have NO problem. At my current store the terrain is okay but mostly club provided, built, and maintained. They also provide no discounts or incentives for the club that brings 20-30 players every Wednesday to buy from them. And if you want any wargaming product outside of GW they have minuscule selection. They don't even offer a discount on stuff they have to order like other stores. I know the majority of our club has said they would purchase so much more from the store if they A) Gave even a 10% discount to members, and B) Stocked more games other than GW and MTG.

MTG is their indisputable cash cow so they don't care too much...

My local Gaming Shop offer free gaming tables, the terrain is club made and maintained. They also offer us 20% off GW product on hand and will gladly order us anything GW at a 15% discount. They also have cheap drinks and snacks.

No, i don't have to pay but I am going to buy something because I am using their space.

Trasvi wrote:
A gaming table exists in your store for 2 reasons:
1) To attract brand new customers to the products you sell through demo games.
2) To garner customer loyalty through your existing customers by giving them a place to play

Which is really one reason: to sell more stuff.

A gaming table for 40k takes up at least 60 square feet of store space. You're paying rent on that space. The table needs to earn you as much money as you could earn from selling more stock in the same area. The idea is that it does this by multiplying sales in other areas.

If people are coming in, playing games on your tables and walking out without ever buying anything from you, the table is losing you money.

If I ran a game store, I would charge per hour for use of tables, but give the gamers store credit for use (that day?) to be spent on any non-food items in the store. Win-win for everyone, right?

See, now that's an idea I can get behind.

In my view, gaming tables are an added value service, and I wouldn't game in a store with no tables, or a store that expected me to pay them money for table time. I'm a consumer first, any other attitude is foolish in a capitalistic society, and as a consumer my obligation is to seek the best value I can; right now that means the internet. Adding gaming tables and/or a painting space, thereby making the store a club in miniature rather than just a retail outlet, provides enough added value to make up for the price differential between shopping in the store and shopping online. Charging money for those tables is essentially the same as not having them, from the perspective of a consumer seeking maximum value, however charging a reasonable amount and giving the customer the same back in store credit is an acceptable compromise if the store is genuinely unable to maintain the tables without doing so.

I do think limiting the store credit to the same day is a bit too restrictive; a player might have enough cash and free time to go to the store and have a couple of games with their mate, but not enough to actually buy any product until they get their next paycheque, and in such cases you've just eliminated the added value again and thus encouraged them to buy online instead, since from the consumer's PoV they've already compensated you for the table time by paying for it. A better solution might be a "loyalty" system; play 5 games in store, get a store credit to the value of what they spent on those 5 games, and maybe chuck something else on top like one free game on the tables when you use the credit(doesn't count towards the 5 for the next discount of course).

 Killian wrote:
For me it would depend on the terrain quality and perks. If the store had straight up kick-ass terrain that is diorama quality to play on AND they constantly spent time keeping it repaired and updated then I would have NO problem. At my current store the terrain is okay but mostly club provided, built, and maintained. They also provide no discounts or incentives for the club that brings 20-30 players every Wednesday to buy from them. And if you want any wargaming product outside of GW they have minuscule selection. They don't even offer a discount on stuff they have to order like other stores. I know the majority of our club has said they would purchase so much more from the store if they A) Gave even a 10% discount to members, and B) Stocked more games other than GW and MTG.

MTG is their indisputable cash cow so they don't care too much...

MTG is every stores Cash cow, and its events are more important. Although my store will boot magic players out if its our night they generally take over alot. Like our monthly tournament is at the mercy of the card players, pushing it to a day when very few can show up( the one time they changed it too another day they had the best turn out ever.) And for every new release they will hold special nights, and 6th edition didnt even get a peep from them.