Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

http://www.thetowergamecenter.com/2014/thanks-for-the-memories/

I lived in the north Atlanta metro area for 10 years and was so happy when this store opened up. The old War Room was closing up and there was no FLGS in my part of town. Even though I'm not in Atlanta anymore, sad to see this one go. Not sure why the owner won't sell the store or look for another way out.

It looks like this leaves only two stores in the Atlanta area and both are in the NW (Marietta, Kennesaw area). I never could understand how the Gwinnett/Forsyth/Hall county area couldn't support a game store. The population of these three counties is over 1M people and it's still close to north Fulton county. Phoenix Games was a nice store, but they were way to focused on 40K and FoW and had issues keeping WM in stock.

Is Atlanta turning into a gaming 'dead zone'?

Atlanta is the home town of Wyrd Games, makers of Malifaux.

You would think that with a population based described as over 1M you'd be able to support at least 3 sizable games stores. So how far do you think you'd need to drive to get to an actual brick and mortar shop close to your area?

I think we are going to have to face the reality that as time goes on the BM isnt a viable business model.

Competing against the internet is just not going to work for the majority of stores. They run on shoe string budget and cashflow.

You think finding a game store is bad, try finding a model shop!

Pretty much this.

My local store sells GW product at 10% off, which is just about all that he can afford as the markup on GW stuff is only 33% over here in the UK. That means that, less 10%, he makes less than a quarter of each items actual value on each sale which kinda sucks. As well as that, he has to compete with the internet, which often do products at 20% off or more. Players don't seem to understand that paying that extra 10% secures them a place to play as well as a secure outlet for all their gaming supplies.

Literally the only thing our local store is making money on right now is Magic The Gathering, to a point where he is close to not stocking any wargaming products at all, which sucks a lot.

I'm surprised that Tower is shutting down. It was a great place in a good location.

I think that one in Covington would be a great idea, Treefort is the next closest on the south-side, and thats like 70 miles off.

Giga-bytes is way north and GW in Sandy Springs is also a bit far (also who wants to buy GW anyhow?).

I think there might be something in Athens as well, but again its a bit far.

One thing wrong with most game stores is lack of outreach, or if they have any it is spotty and inconsistant. Advertisement is your friend as is social networking and promotionals.

Get the LEO, Military, Student, Honor Roll discounts as well as booster cards to get the name out there and grow your base.

I would kill to have a 33% mark up, just to let you know the average mark up in Australia is 78% although that is not across the whole GW product range but it is close.

Sucks to British I guess.

 fullheadofhair wrote:
I think we are going to have to face the reality that as time goes on the BM isnt a viable business model.

Competing against the internet is just not going to work for the majority of stores. They run on shoe string budget and cashflow.

You think finding a game store is bad, try finding a model shop!

The business model is viable. (Although my definition might be different from yours or anyone elses, although we all have sort of the same idea in our heads. )

The problem is, running a game store is very similiar in some odd ways to the resturant business: Easy to get into, easy to fail, high turnover.

Too many people start game/hobby/comic/model stores because they love the idea of owning one and are hobbyists. Many times they aren't businessmen. Or have some business experience, but the wrong kind. (Running a GW store, for instance leads to a false idea that you know what you are doing and can run your own store.)

Right now now, opening and keeping a store open takes industry knowledge, business sense, accounting, budgeting, product knowledge, passion for the hobby, patience, retail experience, and a huge amount of work. Plus having the proper financial backing, and the proper location. You can get started without all that knowledge, it just increases your chance of failing at some point.

Many times the people that could run a great game store also realize they could make 2-3 times that much money doing other things and then just playing all the games they want with friends.

 fullheadofhair wrote:
I think we are going to have to face the reality that as time goes on the BM isnt a viable business model.

Competing against the internet is just not going to work for the majority of stores. They run on shoe string budget and cashflow.

You think finding a game store is bad, try finding a model shop!

I disagree. A gaming store just needs to be more business savvy and look for more income streams.

The most successful gaming store in Atlanta right now is Giga Bites Café. That store derives a significant portion of their revenue from food sales. They provide copious gaming space with an exceptional amount of terrain, encouraging people to play there, and then provide a decent sized selection of sandwiches, smoothies and coffee drinks for the player while they're in the store. The store has been open for almost a decade now, even surviving (and growing) through the entirety of the recession.

(They recently moved to a new, much larger location, and haven't gotten the kitchen up and running in the new place yet. Hopefully, they should have it going soon.)

Yep, Giga Bites is a great store. I wish we were closer so I could get down for a visit.

xraytango wrote:
I'm surprised that Tower is shutting down. It was a great place in a good location.

I think that one in Covington would be a great idea, Treefort is the next closest on the south-side, and thats like 70 miles off.

Giga-bytes is way north and GW in Sandy Springs is also a bit far (also who wants to buy GW anyhow?).

I think there might be something in Athens as well, but again its a bit far.

There's also the giant Hobby Town just a bit north of where Giga-bytes is now. They've got a very nice sized room for the gaming section and a good 10+ tables set up there.

 mikhaila wrote:
Yep, Giga Bites is a great store. I wish we were closer so I could get down for a visit.

Agreed.

Though I do end up making the 7hr trip whenever possible.

mikhaila wrote:

 fullheadofhair wrote:
I think we are going to have to face the reality that as time goes on the BM isnt a viable business model.

Competing against the internet is just not going to work for the majority of stores. They run on shoe string budget and cashflow.

You think finding a game store is bad, try finding a model shop!

The business model is viable. (Although my definition might be different from yours or anyone elses, although we all have sort of the same idea in our heads. )

The problem is, running a game store is very similiar in some odd ways to the resturant business: Easy to get into, easy to fail, high turnover.

Too many people start game/hobby/comic/model stores because they love the idea of owning one and are hobbyists. Many times they aren't businessmen. Or have some business experience, but the wrong kind. (Running a GW store, for instance leads to a false idea that you know what you are doing and can run your own store.)

Right now now, opening and keeping a store open takes industry knowledge, business sense, accounting, budgeting, product knowledge, passion for the hobby, patience, retail experience, and a huge amount of work. Plus having the proper financial backing, and the proper location. You can get started without all that knowledge, it just increases your chance of failing at some point.

Many times the people that could run a great game store also realize they could make 2-3 times that much money doing other things and then just playing all the games they want with friends.

For any kind of business, really. When my wife bought an existing business, we had no idea how much work it was. An inkling, but not much more. Even after more than 2 years, she still pulls 50 hours plus work weeks. She's incredibly in tune with trends, which helps us stay ahead of the curve, but that's even more time spent researching. That's the biggest unknown, imo. You can't rely too much on "what you sell now" and yet every new range, or product, is a gamble.

Cyporiean wrote:

 mikhaila wrote:
Yep, Giga Bites is a great store. I wish we were closer so I could get down for a visit.

Agreed.

Though I do end up making the 7hr trip whenever possible.

You're a trooper, and a rarity. Not a lot of customers can afford to spend that much time travelling to a place to do a bit of business, unfortunately. I find my customers expect a rebate if they drove more than 20 minutes to come to our store.

 Mathieu Raymond wrote:
I find my customers expect a rebate if they drove more than 20 minutes to come to our store.

Wow, talk about entitlement.

..and one that is all too common. I used to see it all of the time. People will badger you for discounts, purchase from online stores, and then will be butt hurt when you close for lack of income........and it is YOUR fault that they no longer have a club house to loiter about in.

 crazyredpraetorian wrote:
purchase from online stores, and then will be butt hurt when you close for lack of income........and it is YOUR fault that they no longer have a club house to loiter about in.

I'd say I was guilty of this, but it's actually been ages since I played in a game store(in fact, the last time was at Giga-Bite's new location whilst Cyp and OTL were there and I dropped a bunch of cash on EFT models) or in fact even visited one for something other than a pot or 2 of paint...

 Mathieu Raymond wrote:
You're a trooper, and a rarity. Not a lot of customers can afford to spend that much time travelling to a place to do a bit of business, unfortunately. I find my customers expect a rebate if they drove more than 20 minutes to come to our store.

Nah, I'm just insane and used to driving long hours to vend at shows.

I'll be driving 14hrs to a show 'near' Mikhaila's shop in a few weeks.

 fullheadofhair wrote:

You think finding a game store is bad, try finding a model shop!

Not to one up here... but try finding a model shop that ISN'T 3/4ths RC or model train.